ETP Ch 90

Sungyeon, who felt his fresh pheromones all over his body, wanted to kiss Yoohyun right away.

It’s cheating to smile so prettily, joyfully, and cutely!

Does one’s nose sting when one is so happy? Sungyeon realized a feeling he had never experienced in his 33 years of life. Now, just looking at Hwang Yoohyun’s face made his tear ducts feel like they were welling up for no reason.

What should I do, Hwang Yoohyun. I plan to completely cling to you once I finish a few things.

Sungyeon braced himself again.

There was no time for this. He had to resolve the accumulated matters as quickly as possible.

“Sunbae-nim! Then I’ll be back! I’ll contact you when I’m done!”

“Uh, uh-huh. Go on.”

Yoohyun nodded at Bokseung’s energetic greeting.

Even after Bokseung left, his pheromones subtly lingered in the car. Yoohyun’s nerves, which were detecting the pheromones, were sharply on edge, not wanting to miss a single wisp.

After replenishing his fill of the satisfyingly sweet pheromones, Yoohyun got out of the car and headed to the cafe.

“One iced Americano, please.”

“Yes. One iced Americano is 4,800 won.”

“Here.”

Yoohyun confidently presented the card with the peach character drawn on it. The employee took the card, made the calculation, and handed it back. Yoohyun’s mouth was softer and more relaxed than usual when he received the card back.

“Please wait a moment!”

Yoohyun nodded at the employee’s words and took a seat by the window.

But it was when he was putting Bokseung’s card away in his wallet for safekeeping. The ‘Kim Bokseung Wallet Usage Coupon’ tucked in the back suddenly caught his eye.

Surely, he isn’t trying to use this purchase to settle that coupon, is he?

Bokseung had long forgotten the existence of that coupon, but Yoohyun was worrying unnecessarily. He even planned to prepare an excuse in case Bokseung brought up the coupon.

“Hmm.”

Yoohyun took the completed coffee, brought it over, and took a sip. Perhaps because Bokseung bought it, there was only a sweet taste instead of a bitter one. Was Americano this delicious?

Yoohyun, whose expression was nonchalant but whose mind was armed with inappropriate thoughts about Bokseung, turned on the screen of the tablet he had brought. It was to read the investigation report about the ‘Saebit Psychological Counseling Center.’

He had requested various investigations to check if it was a suitable place for Bokseung to attend. As expected, the report that came up overnight contained quite a lot of worthwhile content.

First, the overall investigation results about the counseling center were placed at the top. The counseling center had a more solid financial footing than he had thought.

It was connected with the district office in the area where the center was located, so it seemed to dispatch counselors not only for general counseling but also to schools within the district. Among them was the name of the high school Bokseung attended.

Is that why Bokseung started attending this center when he was a student?

Yoohyun imagined Bokseung in a school uniform and covered his subtly rising mouth corners with his large palm.

If he put a school uniform on that small body, he would be genuinely cute. Should I try putting him in one next time?

In his imagination, even if Bokseung puffed out his red cheeks and grumbled, he didn’t refuse the request to wear the uniform.

He imagined Bokseung in an oversized school jacket, fidgeting, and wiggling his toes.

Hmm, dangerous. Yoohyun’s imagination flowed to him personally untying Bokseung’s necktie and then stopped. The thought seemed a bit too suggestive for a public place.

Taking another sip of Americano, Yoohyun’s hand casually flipped through the tablet pages.

The more he read, the more he saw a sound and clean center with nothing shady.

Yoohyun was getting a bit sulky because there was no reason to bring Bokseung to the center run by his family.

He was checking the report with a listless expression when he came across this:

[Lee Sungyeon (33, Beta Male): Social worker who was in charge of Kim Bokseung from 20XO to 20XX. Known to have provided direct assistance whenever Kim Bokseung experienced financial difficulties. Presumed to have had a close personal relationship. (Refer to Attachments 3, 4) Died in a sudden traffic accident in September 20XX. Kim Bokseung, who was caught up in the accident, also woke up after being in a coma for one week.]

[Attachment 1: Lee Sungyeon_Self-Introduction_Resume.hwp]

[Attachment 2: Saebit Psychological Counseling Center_Counseling Log 20XO]

[Attachment 3: Incident Report of Traffic Accident at ㅁㅁ-dong Intersection_20XX_0913_.hwp]

[Attachment 4: ox Ilbo 0914 Society Section Article.link]

Yoohyun’s finger paused.

Was this about the accident Bokseung had told him about, where he was ‘in a coma for a week due to a traffic accident’?

‘I was in a traffic accident and was in a coma for a week before waking up. So, what is it? Cognitive impairment due to that shock! Because of that, my memory is erratic.’

He remembered Bokseung making an unfair expression while saying that. He had thought it was ridiculous when he heard it, but it seemed to have been a serious accident enough to make the news.

Yoohyun scratched his nose, feeling sorry for Bokseung for no reason.

He decided to look at the details of the accident later, and Yoohyun first opened the attachment file ‘Lee Sungyeon_Self-Introduction_Resume.hwp’.

His curiosity about the social worker, ‘Lee Sungyeon,’ who had supported Bokseung materially and emotionally and had a personal relationship with him, came first.

The photo on the resume and self-introduction Yoohyun opened showed a dark-skinned, neatly handsome man making an awkward smile.

Although his expression was a bit stiff, he looked like he was full of cheerful and positive energy at a glance.

Yoohyun stared intensely at the man’s face. It was strangely an eye-catching face. Was it because he slightly resembled Yoo Sunjung?

Yoohyun tilted his head, zooming in and out on the photo, then finally tore his eyes away from the picture in the resume and read the employment history below it.

He got a job immediately after graduating from cyber college. This counseling center was both the social worker’s first and last workplace.

Tsk, Yoohyun briefly clicked his tongue and quickly scanned the rest of the self-introduction.

The beginning of the self-introduction was unremarkable. ‘I was born in ㅁㅁ-dong, Gyeonggi-do…’ Indeed, it was a novel that could be called a biography rather than a self-introduction.

Yoohyun’s gaze, which was reading the self-introduction with an indifferent expression, paused briefly at the part where it said he lost his parents in high school.

Kim Bokseung also lost his only guardian, his grandmother, in high school, so there seems to have been this commonality.

Before he knew it, Yoohyun was meticulously dissecting the details about ‘Lee Sungyeon,’ Bokseung’s assigned social worker.

After checking the self-introduction, Yoohyun’s hand moved to the counseling log.

Normally, the personal counseling records of a client should be kept absolutely confidential, but there were countless ways to make the impossible possible in the world. And Hwang Yoohyun was good at using those methods appropriately.

[October 27, 20XO (Counselor: Lee Sungyeon)The client was wandering the streets after being chased out of the house due to a conflict with his grandmother last night. Living at the counselor’s house after contacting the counselor. Signs of assault visible on the face and neck. Recommended a hospital visit for treatment but client refused. Gave first aid at home with Fucidin and Medifoam. Attempted to contact the client’s grandmother several times to talk, but without success.]

Just reading a few counseling logs made him breathless.

The content mainly focused on Bokseung being chased out by his grandmother and wandering the streets, and Lee Sungyeon tirelessly running around day and night to retrieve such a Bokseung.

In this situation, Bokseung suddenly presented as an Omega, and there was also the Kim Taeon incident at school. It was understandable why the counselor cherished Bokseung.

Thinking that this was the person closest to Bokseung before Yoohyun met him, his curiosity grew a little more. This person must have seen everything about the boy that he hadn’t, and he felt quite envious of that.

Yoohyun scrolled through the counseling logs and spread out the final accident report and related articles across the screen.

Photos and videos taken from various angles filled the tablet screen. Yoohyun’s brow furrowed at the pictures of the accident scene, which looked serious at a glance.

After going through an accident like this, it’s understandable that the kid’s memory is patchy.

Yoohyun unconsciously thought in defense of Bokseung, then played the video.

In the video, the two people were struggling and fighting. The small body trying to jump into the road must be Kim Bokseung, and the bigger man trying to stop him must be Lee Sungyeon.

Yoohyun instinctively zoomed in on the video. Then he carefully examined the two people’s expressions and faces. Although the picture quality was good, their mouth shapes were not precisely visible.

Just as Yoohyun’s brow furrowed even more in frustration, the video ended with Lee Sungyeon completely enveloping Bokseung and being hit by the car.

Yoohyun closed the ended video and examined the incident report.

[…Based on the statements taken from witnesses near the accident scene, the cause of the accident was confirmed to be due to drinking and emotional entanglement between the two individuals. One person is deceased, and one is in a coma. The investigation was concluded at the request of the family of the deceased, Lee Sungyeon.]

‘Accident due to emotional entanglement.’

Yoohyun’s eyes widened.

This was unexpected information. Was the relationship between ‘Lee Sungyeon’ and ‘Kim Bokseung’ one that could involve emotional entanglement?!