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I’m Not that Cruel Part 16 *Showki
Tension built on his shoulders as Shownu kept staring at the white wall. He had just came back from lunch and he was ready to leave work. Ever since Kihyun took a leave of absence things at work had been slightly better. It wasn’t because Kihyun left; no, in fact, it was because his countenance and behavior had shifted, thanks to Kihyun of course.
Three months ago he would said fuck you to Joheeon. Jooheon had been the one to suggest that they should have lunch with the new employee they had just hired. And it wasn’t a normal hiring. Shownu had purposely hired the new employee to spy on his father.
After meeting with father a few weeks ago, things started to change. His father became more pushy, demanding to know more about Kihyun, inquiring about his unborn children. Shownu said nothing, ignoring his calls, but his father got more aggressive.
Shownu knew his father wouldn’t let this matter alone. He always had to have the last say, always getting what he wanted.
“Thank you for lunch,” Wonho said from the door. Shownu turned around, surprised he had not left yet.
He usually (actually never) doesn’t have lunch with new employees. He doesn’t even think a boss should get to know employees into that extent.
Except when he suspects his father is possibly spying on his love life and on his children.
As weird as it sounds, Shownu suspects the new employee he just hired is spying on him by the orders of his father. Shownu suspected that his father hired this man to work for his company under the management of Shownu, knowing he could easily spy him there. Even gaining his trust in order to know more about Shownu’s life. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shownu inwardly smiled, proud that he was beating his father’s game.
Shownu would gain this new employee’s trust and then do the opposite for him. He would only tell him what his father wanted to hear.
Shownu was tired of his father. It wasn’t enough that he ruined his childhood and his chance of having a family, he now wants to do the same, just when he’s starting to find a new family. Shownu was finally allowing himself to be happy, letting his heart grow fond of Kihyun. His mind was already on his next goal, looking forward to life. He had kids on the way. He was not going to let his father take that all way.
To protect the people that are most important to him he will do anything.
Thankfully, Joheeon was with him when he took the employee to lunch. Wonho was probably confused as to why he took him to lunch seeing as no boss would ever go that far into knowing a new member of the office, but Shownu didn’t care. Wonho was there with another job in mind, and Shownu understood that Wonho knew in his mind why he took him to lunch. During this time Shownu kept his target at bay, only acting nice to throw Wonho off, if only to seem like he wasn’t aware of the situation. It was easier to get to Wonho’s confidence and to make him to be at least his friend if he pretended to not know that Wonho was there to spy on him.
“Don’t even mention it.” Shownu smiled, a forced smile that hurt even to make. After all, he was good at pretending.
Shownu smiled so wide that he hoped it made Wonho take it a sign that he wanted him to leave. Shownu had his hand on his chair slightly moving it side to side. His other hand rested on his hip as he stared at the new employee.
“Thanks again. If you need anything let me know.” With that said, Wonho bowed down and close the door.
Shownu breathed under his mouth a ‘sure’ and slouched down on his chair. His hands had immediately draped over the chair; closing his eyes hurt and his muscles ache with a pain that was too familiar to him.
He hated to have prolonged conversations, especially when he was talking to people he wasn’t comfortable with. Talking in the car had already agitated him. All he wanted was to be in close doors to think. He even was thinking of calling on Kihyun to know how he was doing.
The anticipation of hearing Kihyun’s voice quickly dissipated when his phone rang and it wasn’t Kihyun’s face displayed on his screen. Instead it was Leticia’s name.
A tired groan escaped his mouth. He wasn’t ready to talk to her. It had been years since he had seen her, and talking to her the other day had been really difficult.
But as he was scrolling through his contact list, his phone began to blare her name. Shownu had thought of ignoring her call but he didn’t want to be rude.
“Hi,” he breathed, closing his eyes.
His hands were really longing for Kihyun and he could only wonder what he was doing. Was he lonely at this moment? Sometimes he would regret not letting Kihyun stay at the office but he didn’t want to create more scandals with his employees or with other companies so he decided to keep their relationship and their children under the low.
“Hey, are you in your office right now?”
“Just got back from lunch. What’s wrong?” Shownu got up from his chair and adjusted the phone on his ear. Her voice alarmed him. Her voice was quavering and he knew from experience that she had been crying.
“It’s nothing. But I was at home and I suddenly had the urge to see our son in the cemetery and sitting there reminded me of how beautiful our son would’ve been.” He heard her sniff but quickly covered it with a cough. And without missing a beat she continued. “Then I had the urge to see you because you’re the only one can I talk about because you know the feeling and now I’m outside and I really want to talk to you.”
By now, Shownu could hear her silently crying, trying her best not to be heard. That reminder tighten his throat, although he didn’t utter a sound. He knew all too well that feeling of not having his son and every time his birthday passed, he would imagine how big he would be and the words he would produce. It was hard to think how his life would’ve been with his son by his side but the reminder of his death made it impossible to actually visualize him as a grown child.
“I’m coming down .” And with that said, he had forgotten about Kihyun. He had these moments in the past with Leticia and although it had been years since the incident, he still found himself going to her to remember the past.
He doesn’t know if it’s because they can’t let go of the past or if the past is something they need to in order to live day by day. Regardless of the reason Shownu left his errands and told his secretary that he was going to be out for a half an hour and that no calls should be picked up or let anyone else bother him at this point.
Everything passed him in a flash and he did not notice any of his employees who were probably not doing their work and gossiping with one another. He didn’t notice the shock on their faces when they saw he was walking by while they were not in their right seats. He would deal with it later.
Having come back outside after just coming back from lunch altered his sense of time. Walking out Shownu swore the sky had darken and the air felt chillier. His suit was unbutton which permitted the air to enter inside causing his body to shiver.
It didn’t take long before he noticed her car parked a few feet away from the front door of the building. With a long sigh, Shownu ambled to her car, his steps the same as before.
He recalled the same solemnity that Leticia wore as he walked. The slowness of his body reacting to something that had already happened. He already knew what he was going to say. How he was going to hug her, how he was going to sooth her, and how they would both cry together for what they lost and what they know they can’t have together because they moved on. Shownu moved on.
And this time while he was ambling towards her, Shownu was a different man. He wasn’t walking into her car to remember their sad past but to mourn their child like any other parent who had last a child they have never met. They were united by their dead child and nothing more.
He had to let Leticia know.
~~~~
“That was delicious. I hadn’t had a burger in ages,” Kihyun said, already craving for another one.
They were still in Hyungwoon’s car but they had drove away from the fancy restaurant were Shownu and Joheeon had grabbed lunch with the new employee they hired. Instead they drove to the nearest fast food chain that had burgers, the tastiest the better.
”You eat hamburgers all the time.” Hyungwon was eating the last of his fries, dipped in ranch of course.
Kihyun shook his head. One of his children was beginning to move, causing the others to move as well. “Not with Shownu. He’s so obsessed with eating right that he rarely eats junk food. We eat a lot of vegetables, which I’m not complaining, but I still want to eat everything I used to eat before.”
“So that’s why he’s so fit. I was wondering he was just built like that.”
“He also works out before getting into bed. He can do one hundred push ups.” Kihyun smiled as if he was proud of Shownu, which he was, and he made sure to let Hyungwon know that Shownu was a man to be proud of.” Kihyun could never in his life do one hundred push ups not even one fully done.
“This is no time to swoon over boss. We need to find out why he’s hiding his other child from you and why he took the new employee for lunch when he didn’t with us,” Hyungwoon said, seeming upset that Shownu had never taken the other employees to lunch nevertheless to have a conversation with them.
“He took me to lunch so he probably doesn’t like you.” Kihyun laughed, a laugh that was cut short from the soft push Hyungwon gave him as his lips pulled down even further.
“Kihyun! Focus.”
“I am.” He indeed was. Finding out his secret was definitely the most serious he had been about something other than preparing to become a parent to three children in less than a few months.
To tell the truth that he was nervous was something that he didn’t want to say out loud. He had a hard time convincing his friends that Shownu wasn’t cruel, that he wasn’t playing with him as he did in the past and he can’t disappoint them now. Shownu can’t disappoint him now. He had convinced himself that Shownu wasn’t cruel, not when he was so caring, letting him inside his true personality. He needs to find out the truth once and for all.
“Okay, so we need to be serious. USE! OUR! MINDS!”
His left hand had hit the space between his index finger and his thumb with a serious face. Hyungwon was correct. They are here to look for clues. They need to be smart about finding out the secret.
USE OUR MINDS. An important phrase that will help him in this investigation.
“Let’s go. Minhyuk is meeting us at the front office. He has tea to spill.”
“Okay, let’s go. Let’s not let the tea get too hot.”
In less than ten minutes they arrived to the office where Minhyuk was waiting on a nearby bench, looking out into the distant to his right.
Hyungwon rolled down his window and beeped. Minhyuk looked after a few seconds of staring and then jumped from his seat.
Kihyun hadn’t been back in a few weeks and he had a feeling that he wanted to be back here and work. He didn’t mind being at home sometimes but he dearly missed doing something to occupy his mind.
Minhyuk had his eyebrows furrow. He didn’t smile when he saw Kihyun. He instead got into the back of the car and shut the door without looking at them.
Kihyun dropped his smile. Either Minhyuk was mad at them or he was going to tell them something serious that could hurt their feelings. His feelings.
“Well, hello to you too,” Hyungwon said, his voice matching Minhyuk’s somber look.
“Has Shownu messaged you at all today?” Minhyuk said, looking directly at Kihyun who had shifted in his seat to look at Minhyuk better.
“No, he hasn’t. He doesn’t message me when he’s working and I don’t message him back because I know he’s busy. Why are you asking me this?”
Why is he asking me this?
Wrapping his belly, Kihyun did his best to calm himself down. It’s probably nothing bad. He can’t jump into conclusions because innocent until found guilty.
“Are you serious, Minhyuk? Why are you scaring, Kihyun?” Hyungwon said, raising his voice and furrowing his eyebrows as well.
Hyungwon was always ready to jump in his defense. Minhyuk was a realist while Hyungwon was an illusionist. Hyunwon went around the subject. He would say anything to make you feel better and if he thought what you wanted to hear was a lie than he would lie to you. But MInhyuk was very different and sometimes Kihyun resented him for that. Minhyuk, no matter how much he loved you he would still tell you the truth even you were in your death bed. Truth would always defy sugarcoating to make someone feel better for Minhyuk.
And right now Kihyun wanted to slap Minhyuk for being too much of a realist when Kihyun would rather not be told even though he doesn’t even know what’s going on.
“Do you know if he ever talks to a woman at all when he’s in one of his important business calls?” Minhyuk ignored Hyungwon’s question and instead proceed to demand answers from Kihyun.
“He does talk to a lot of women since you know they are their own bosses too, you know.”
By now, Kihyun wanted to push Minhyuk out of the car and drive off. How dare him assume Shownu is cheating on him with another women when he’s pregnant with his children. He wouldn’t be that type of guy. Not that Cruel.
“I’m going to need you to step out of the car, Minhyuk. Look at how Kihyun is shaking. If you have something to say then say it now. Don’t just cause a storm and leave remains for us to rummage and figure out what it once was.” Hyungwoon said, his shouts vibrating through the car.
His voice had never been this loud and he had never called out one of his best friends. This was huge and Kihyun couldn’t help but feel terrible. He was causing his two best friends to fight and ever since he announced his pregnancy, Minhyuk had began to distance himself from Hyungwon.
This had to stop. Minhyuk needs to stop being mean to them and Hyungwon had to stop protecting him too much. He could take this partial truth from Shownu.
“Tell me,” he pleaded, his sigh exhausted and ready for what Minhyuk had to say.
Raising his hand to lightly touch his arm, Minhyuk spoke, a guilty resonance coming off from his voice.
“Well you can still catch him with the women inside her car. ”
Without having to be told where the car was, Kihyun noticed Shownu inside the car the second he heard ‘catch’.
And there he was. Shownu with another women wearing glasses who had her face pulled down in a somber look while Shownu talked, his face serious and with a hint of sadness. Kihyun knew that face he wore. Shownu wore that face whenever he would come back from his secret room and he would still have the face even when he eventually fell asleep during the wee hours of the night.
“They don’t look happy,” Hyungwon said.
‘That doesn’t look like a couple who are cheating,’ Kihyun thought.
“Whatever they are doing even if they are unhappy, this unacceptable. He should always tell you if he’s close to other women because if they were really friends and not secret lovers he would have told her to come to his office where everyone could see her and assume she’s a business partner, ” Minhyuk said, this time gentle and forgiving.
“Shownu is rarely happy. But I have seen that face before and I think it’s related to the sonogram I found the other day.”
“You think she could be the mother of their children and she’s telling him that he can’t see his child anymore?”
“Hyungwon, don’t start a narrative,” Minhyuk said, his eyes still on the Shownu and the woman.
“No, he’s probably right. We need to find out what he’s talking to her about and if she’s the woman who bore his child before we got together.”
No more assuming. It was time to get action and he was going to need his two best friends.
“Minhyuk you think you can find out who the girl is and befriend her? And Hyungwon get closer to Shownu and the new employee. I am not going another victim to a foul’s play. You both ready?”
“Certainly,” Minhyuk said.
“Let’s spill the tea.”
~~~
I had fun writing this part. I wish I had more time to write but anytime I get to write I will try to write everything that I still haven’t finished.
Comments and Votes are highly appreciated.
-Laterz Kelsi.
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