Flowers Are Bait

Chapter 13:

Lee-yeon stood at the corner of the room, glancing frequently at the man getting his check-ups. She felt very anxious. She patted her arms, pulled at her sleeves, and bit her nails but nothing helped to calm her down. How can this happen? How?

She buried her face in her hands. Her heart pounded. She felt her whole body trembling perhaps because of her rapid pulse and anxious thoughts.

“It is still too early to draw any conclusions,” said the doctor, “We need more sleep data to understand the pattern. The patient might still fall into a long sleep starting tomorrow. We will have to wait and see.”

Today, Kwon Chae-woo had woken up ‘normally’. The man who had slept straight for three days, five days and even 12 days had suddenly woken up ‘normally’. For Lee-yeon, who had just one hope that he might fall in a deep sleep for several days, this was a shock! A stab in the back!

“There is nothing wrong with the patient’s brain,” continued the doctor, “There is a high chance that this might be a psychological condition. Sometimes the change is triggered when there is a shift in environment. A house feels different than a hospital, so that might have brought about some change in him. For now, it will be helpful to find the cause which defines his sleep pattern.”

While the doctor explained, Kwon Chae-woo glanced at Lee-yeon. “There is just one thing that comes to my mind,” he said. He rubbed his lower lip.

“And what is that?” asked the doctor, busy writing down on his table.

“I slept with my wife yesterday.”

An awkward silence fell in the room. Lee-yeon was horrified. The doctor slowly blinked and looked at her and Kwon Chae-woo in turns. He quickly fixed his composure and nodded. “Am I to understand that you two made love?”

“No!” exclaimed Lee-yeon. “We just slept on the same bed. Nothing of the sort!”

The doctor nodded. “Then let’s try that for the moment,” said the doctor, “It would be great if you two continue this and see how it goes.”

Lee-yeon’s face turned dark at the news.

* * *

While Kwon Chae-woo went to the hospital for physical therapy, Lee-yeon lay down on the sofa, watching the news in exhaustion.

『Voice phishing is becoming more deliberate. 』

The headline blared. But Lee-yeon’s head was a mess. If Kwon Chae-woo’s condition improves, she won’t be able to hide him. If he happens to go down to the first floor, it would only be a matter of time before Choo-ja finds out about him. But if Choo-ja does find out…

“If this contract gets leaked, I will understand it as a breach and that there was another accomplice.”

His threat to accuse Lee-yeon as the murderer might affect Choo-ja. She had only two choices: either convince Kwon Chae-woo to deceive Choo-ja or tell Choo-ja everything. She was lost in her thoughts and only heard the news reporter’s voice faintly.

『—Just like this recording, the frauds threaten the victim and stop them from hanging up by saying, ‘If you hang up the phone, we will consider it as a getaway.’ This is a technique used to prevent victims from receiving help from other people. 』

On the day of the incident, Lee-yeon had to talked with Kwon Chae-woo’s brother from night till dawn. The fact that she was at her most vulnerable state and didn’t have anyone to consult with, had made her more passive. Under pressure where she was being threatened, Lee-yeon had rashly signed the contract in order to escape the situation at the moment.

『Recently, the way they psychologically isolate the victims…』

Lee-yeon couldn’t take her eyes off the TV screen. Her blood ran cold, and her hands trembled. She hugged the cushion to calm herself. She crouched down to manage her anxious thoughts that was about to overwhelm her. Ever since Kwon Chae-woo had woken up, she hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep for almost a month. It was actually a little before that when her life had started going downhill.

The news reporter’s voice became faint and distant, and Lee-yeon could finally figure out a way to put an end to her worries.

She dialed a number on her phone.

Ring. Ring.

She heard the beep and tears welled up in her eyes suddenly. All her worries and struggles that she had tried to hide for two whole years began bubbling up inside her. It was finally time.

“Why are you calling me on a weekend?” said a voice from the other end of the phone.

“Choo-ja… I…” Lee-yeon sobbed.

“What’s wrong? Are you drunk?”

“I don’t know what to do! A vegetative man will work with us here in the hospital!”

Vegetative man? Is she on drugs? Choo-ja thought.

Lee-yeon’s story poured out of her, like a confession. She went at it for a long time. The details were confusing. It all sounded gibberish at first. Choo-ja ran to the hospital. When she saw Lee-yeon’s face, she took a step back. Bloodshot eyes, a reddish nose, and swollen lips. Lee-yeon was blowing her nose with a pile of tissues beside her.

Okay… okay…. Choo-ja tried to make sense of everything. She witnessed a murder. The murderer chased her. He got into an accident and became vegetative. And then… she brought him to the hospital…. Choo-ja checked the bottom of the sofa to see if Lee-yeon had hidden any bottles of alcohol.

“Choo-ja…”

There was nothing beneath the sofa. Seeing Lee-yeon, who never cried, bursting into tears in front of her unsettled Choo-ja. What happened to her? She thought.

“Why didn’t you call the police?!” asked Choo-ja, incredulously.

“I had no choice!”

“I have never heard of such a story ever in my life! I knew how stupid you can be ever since a broke kid like you began spraying nutritional supplements on the mountain! And now, you’re telling me you brought a vegetative man to the hospital. How amazing!” Choo-ja said sarcastically.

“Why are you telling me this now!” Choo-ja asked.

“Because…”

It broke Choo-ja’s heart to see Lee-yeon hesitating to tell her the entire truth. She hadn’t changed since the first time they had met. It didn’t matter how long they had been together and faced things in their lives, Lee-yeon still couldn’t open her heart to her entirely. It was always the same. Lee-yeon was only ever open to the plants she loved so much.

She grew up as a lonely little girl. Even if Lee-yeon looked like an adult person on the outside, Choo-ja felt that the lonely little girl was still in there somewhere. Choo-ja’s anger melted away at the thought. She sat down on the sofa beside Lee-yeon.

“So… you have been hiding a man all this time…”

“A vegetative man,” Lee-yeon corrected her, wiping her tears.

“So, then how can I help?” asked Choo-ja.

“Choo-ja…,” stammered Lee-yeon, looking as though she might burst into tears again. Choo-ja patted her back awkwardly.

“No need to thank me,” said Choo-ja.

“Okay… before anything else, I have to tell you that I lied to him and said I was his wife.”