Chapter 89: [ARE YOU KIDDING?]

A few minutes earlier…

“A hospital?” Kairo’s voice was low, more a murmur to himself than a question, as his car rolled to a slow stop across the street.

From his seat, his black eyes tracked the lone figure hurrying toward the sliding glass doors. Even from here, there was no mistaking him—Elione Noa Ahn.

His posture was tense, his steps uneven, almost frantic. He stopped only long enough to throw money at the taxi driver before storming inside.

Kairo’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. His jaw flexed. “Why a hospital?”

The question wasn’t casual—it dug at him, needling. Eli’s face had been pale, his movements rushed, almost desperate.

This wasn’t a leisurely visit.

Kairo leaned back slightly in his seat, letting his eyes roam to the sign glowing faintly above the entrance. His brows drew together when the name registered.

A public hospital.

Not a private, high-security facility where the wealthy sought comfort and discretion. Not where someone like Elione—the rich vlogger with generational wealth and an apartment in Aureum Gold—should ever be seen.

’This doesn’t make sense…’ His thoughts sharpened like blades, slicing through possibilities. ’If he were here for a routine checkup, he’d never come here. Too exposed, and I assume his family would have their own physician. Which means…’

He leaned forward, eyes narrowing. The memory of Eli’s earlier panic burned in his mind. The way he almost tripped over himself rushing inside. The raw urgency in his movements.

’Visiting someone. A family member, maybe. But in a public ward? That doesn’t align with the Ahn family. He should not even step foot in a place like this unless he had no choice.’

The thought pressed heavier the longer he lingered.

His gut told him this was no coincidence.

And Kairo trusted his gut more than anything.

He shifted the gear into park, the engine ticking into silence. The air in the car felt suddenly suffocating, too still.

Kairo unbuckled the seatbelt in one smooth movement and shoved the door open. The afternoon air rushed against his face, cool but carrying the faint scent of disinfectant from the hospital’s automatic doors that hissed open and shut with the steady flow of patients and visitors.

His boots struck the pavement with sharp, deliberate weight as he crossed the lot. Each step measured, purposeful. His eyes never left the entrance.

The air inside bit cold against Kairo’s skin, sharp with disinfectant, sterile in a way that clawed at the back of his throat.

The fluorescent lights glared too bright overhead, bleaching the linoleum floors in harsh whites and sickly yellows.

His boots clicked softly as he strode forward, the sound swallowed by the constant shuffle of nurses and the occasional squeak of gurney wheels.

He tugged his mask higher, the black fabric covering most of his face. The last thing he needed was whispers flying online: S-Class Hunter Kairo Ryu sighted in a public hospital.

But his eyes—obsidian-dark—never wavered. They tracked their target immediately.

Elione Noa Ahn.

The younger man leaned stiffly against the counter at the nurse’s station, knuckles pale against the polished surface.

His voice wasn’t loud, but Kairo’s hearing—sharpened both by instinct and power—caught every word.

“Anna Kim. Can you… tell me what room she’s in?”

Kairo’s stride slowed. The name snagged in his mind like a blade dragged across stone.

’Anna Kim… family?’

The nurse scribbled quickly, offered him directions, and in a blink, Eli was gone—his footsteps unsteady, uneven, almost frantic as he vanished down the hall.

Kairo moved to follow, melting into the flow of visitors, his presence quiet but predatory. The third floor was a maze, hallways branching in too many directions, doors lining both sides.

His jaw flexed with irritation as his eyes cut left, right, scanning.

’Tch. Lost him.’

For long minutes, he stalked the sterile corridors. Nurses passed with clipboards clutched tight, the faint echo of coughs and quiet murmurs seeping through half-open doors.

Every detail pressed at him, but none gave an answer.

Why here, of all places? Why a shared ward?

Eli lived in Aureum Gold, wrapped in luxury. He was a man who showcased silken sheets and crystal chandeliers in videos streamed to millions.

His type didn’t step foot into public hospitals unless dragged. If he had family, they wouldn’t be wasting away here, crammed into a room with four strangers under cracked ceilings and flickering lights.

Kairo’s fists curled inside his coat pockets. His instincts screamed, but his mind fought back with doubt.

’Was I wrong? Did I follow him here for nothing?’

He almost turned back. Almost.

And then—

He saw him.

At the far end of the corridor, framed by the sterile glow, Eli stood in front of Room 508. He wasn’t moving. His hand hovered near the door handle but never touched it.

His entire body was taut, every line of his posture trembling like a wire strung too tight.

Kairo slowed, his sharp gaze narrowing. The younger man wasn’t just hesitating. He was… transfixed.

Staring at the wall.

Unblinking.

As if he could see something beyond it.

’What the hell…?’

Kairo’s steps quickened, smooth but heavy with intent. His shadow stretched long under the white lights, spilling across the floor until it reached Eli’s shoes.

Close now. Just a few feet away.

His voice broke the air, low, steady, impossible to ignore. “Elione.”

Eli jerked like he’d been shot. His whole body recoiled, shoulders snapping stiff, breath catching as though he’d been caught red-handed.

Kairo tilted his head. His eyes caught a detail he hadn’t expected.

Glasses.

Where had those come from? Just seconds ago, Eli had nothing on his face. And yet now—thin frames gleamed faintly under the lights, perched on his nose like they’d always been there.

But it wasn’t the glasses themselves that gave Kairo pause.

It was Eli’s expression.

Wide-eyed. Wild. His green gaze locked onto Kairo like he wasn’t looking at him but through him. His pupils dilated, his breath shallow.

And then—

“What the fuck?!” Eli’s voice ripped out, sharp and raw, echoing crudely through the quiet hall.

Kairo arched an eyebrow, unbothered by the outburst. His tone, calm but edged, slid back like a blade against steel.

“…Excuse me?”

▒▓ ▀▄█ ⚠ ▄█▀ ▓▒

Eli could see it.

He could see everything. The glasses stripped the world bare, peeled away every layer until there was nothing left hidden. His gaze—no, his instincts—dropped lower before he could stop himself.

And then—

God.

God bless.

Because God has blessed Kairo.

That… thing.

It wasn’t just big—it was inhuman. Heavy. Hung like it had no business existing on a mortal man.

Eli’s brain sputtered, short-circuited. He suddenly felt small. Smaller than small. He had been Lucien Kim, average in every way, and now Elione Ahn with a body that could turn heads—but in front of that? He felt like a stick figure next to a statue carved by divine hands.

’Holy shit… God, please forgive me, I’m not trying to ogle—but HOW—’

Heat exploded across his cheeks. He wanted to call upon the heavens, fall to his knees, maybe light a candle at the nearest church because that was not fair.

And then—Kairo’s voice cut through.

“…Excuse me?”

Low. Even. Dangerous.

Eli froze.

That’s when it hit him—he’d been staring. Staring like a deer in headlights, eyes wide, mouth half-open, and he’d just cursed him out loud.

’Oh my fucking God, I just ogled him like a pervert—’

Panic jolted him. He ripped the glasses off his face so fast he almost bent the frames. The world blinked back to normal, mercifully clothed.

Kairo was there, very much dressed.

A dark red coat, sleek and sharp, fell just past his knees. A fitted black shirt hugged his frame underneath, tucked into tailored black pants. Polished leather shoes gleamed under the sterile hospital lights.

A black mask obscured half his face, but it did nothing to dim the sharp obsidian of his eyes boring into Eli.

And somehow, the man radiated more dangerous heat clothed than unclothed.

Eli’s throat bobbed, his voice trembling when it finally slipped out. “W-What are you doing here, Kairo?”

His whisper cracked like glass, as though volume might shatter the thin thread holding him together.

Kairo didn’t blink. Didn’t move. His gaze narrowed, obsidian eyes like a blade pressing against the softest part of Eli’s neck.

“No,” he said, voice low but unyielding. “The question is—”

He stepped closer. Just one step, but it was enough to make the air tighten, enough to make Eli’s pulse trip into chaos.

“—what are you doing here, Elione Noa Ahn?”

The way he spoke Eli’s name was deliberate, precise, like a hunter pinning prey.

Kairo tilted his head slightly, sharp eyes flicking over him like he could peel back every lie.

“And why…” His voice dropped, softer, heavier. “…did you react that way upon seeing me?”

“I—”

Ding.

“—are you kidding me?!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep