Chapter 93: [DO IT RIGHT]

“Wha—Kairo—” Eli sputtered, nearly tripping as he stumbled in the taller man’s grip, flailing like a cat being dragged by the scruff.

His voice pitched high with disbelief. “Wait, where are you taking me?”

Kairo didn’t answer. He didn’t even spare him a glance. His silence pressed heavier than words, the sound of his boots against the linoleum steady, thunderous.

His grip on Eli’s head was iron, steering him with merciless ease as though Eli weighed nothing at all.

“Hello?!” Lucas’s voice cracked from behind them, panic slicing through the sterile hallway. “Where are you going?! Where are you taking him?!”

Eli twisted desperately in Kairo’s hold, his hand stretching back toward his brother even as his body was yanked forward. “I’ll come back, I promise—!” His voice broke mid-vow, swallowed by the squeak of nurses’ shoes and Lucas’s echoing calls.

But Kairo didn’t slow. Didn’t bend. His jaw was locked tight, black eyes fixed ahead as his voice rumbled low, calm but edged with steel. “Keep quiet. Just follow.”

The command cut through Eli’s panic like a blade. Something in Kairo’s tone—an unspoken finality—made his protest choke in his throat. His chest still heaved, but his words died off, his body falling into reluctant compliance.

Dragged step after step, Eli finally found himself shoved through the hospital doors, the night air rushing cool against his overheated skin.

The sharp scent of disinfectant gave way to asphalt, exhaust, and faint traces of rain.

And then he saw it.

The parking lot stretched wide and ordinary—until that car.

A sleek, black-and-red sports car sat like a predator among the bland sedans and dented vans, its paint gleaming under the fluorescent lights.

It didn’t just stand out

—it owned the space. The lines were sharp, aggressive, polished to perfection. Eli’s jaw unhinged on the spot.

’Holy fuck.’ His heart practically stopped. ’That’s not a car—that’s a damn spaceship on wheels.’

Kairo marched him straight toward it, not a flicker of hesitation in his stride. His hand finally left Eli’s head, and for the first time since the ward, Eli could breathe again.

Kairo pulled the passenger door open with a fluid, practiced motion and turned that obsidian stare on him. “Get in.”

Eli blinked, pointing at himself with wide eyes. “W-What—”

“I’m not repeating myself.” Kairo’s tone dropped like a stone, firm, unyielding, carrying the weight of a man who wasn’t accustomed to being questioned.

Eli’s mouth went dry. His body moved before his brain could argue, legs carrying him into the leather embrace of the passenger seat.

The door shut behind him with a satisfying thunk.

The inside was worse—better—than the outside. Every surface gleamed, sleek panels glowing faintly with high-tech interfaces.

The leather seat swallowed him whole, buttery smooth, the faint scent of new car and expensive cologne wrapping around him.

It felt…illegal.

Like just sitting here

was a crime punishable by prison time.

Kairo slipped into the driver’s seat with that same quiet authority, his long fingers curling around the wheel, the other hand slotting the key into the ignition.

The engine awoke with a low, guttural roar. It wasn’t loud—it was smooth, deep, the kind of sound that spoke of raw power hidden under polished steel.

The vibration rolled through Eli’s chest, rattling his ribs, making his heart trip over itself.

His eyes went wide. The glow of the digital dashboard reflected off the sleek glass, painting his irises gold. The leather beneath his palms felt too soft, too expensive, like even breathing wrong might damage it. He sat stiff as a mannequin, every muscle locked.

“K-Kairo…” Eli’s voice wavered, cracking embarrassingly against the hum of the engine. He fidgeted, trying not to move too much, sitting so rigid he thought his spine might snap. “Where… where are we going? I—I wasn’t supposed to leave yet.”

Kairo didn’t answer. Not a glance. Not a sound. His movements were seamless, deliberate—shifting gear, turning the wheel, guiding the car out of the lot with predator’s precision.

The headlights sliced through the darkness of the street, swallowing the hospital behind them.

Eli’s gaze clung to the fluorescent glow in the mirror until it shrank, blurred, and vanished. His chest tightened, each breath thinner than the last.

His mom. His brother. He had left them standing in that cold ward.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “…Why did you grab me out of there?” His voice was small, fragile. “Where are you even taking me?”

Kairo’s black eyes didn’t waver from the road. His tone was calm, stripped of warmth, but heavy with authority. “Are you really not aware of your position?”

Eli blinked. “My… position?”

Kairo’s jaw flexed, the faintest exhale slipping from his nose. His hands remained steady on the wheel, the city lights streaking across his profile in sharp, fleeting angles.

“You’re the son of one of the wealthiest men in Korenea,” Kairo said evenly. “And yet you walked into a public hospital. Without a mask. Without an escort.” His voice dropped, sharper with every word. “And now you’re openly offering to pay for a stranger’s medical bills?”

The words struck like stones.

’Why does it matter?’ Eli thought bitterly, but his throat tightened when Kairo finally glanced at him, obsidian eyes glinting in the dark.

“As noble as your intentions may be,” Kairo continued, gaze snapping back to the road, “it was reckless.”

Eli’s chest burned. His brows knit, his lips pressing into a thin, trembling line. He wanted to stay quiet, wanted to shrink into the leather seat and disappear.

But the pressure in his chest broke loose, and the words tumbled out anyway, sharp and shaky.

“What’s so wrong with that? I was just—” his voice cracked, but he forced it louder, “I was just trying to help someone. With my own money.”

Heat curled across his skin, his hands fisting against his knees. His pulse thudded in his ears. “It’s not a crime to want to help…”

Kairo didn’t flinch. Didn’t shift. His face was unreadable, carved from stone, his eyes dark and impenetrable as he drove.

“And?” Kairo’s voice cut like glass, calm but merciless. “If word spreads that Elione Noa Ahn personally funded one family’s treatment, what do you think will happen?”

Eli’s lips parted, but no words came.

“It will be seen as favoritism. A headline. A spectacle,” Kairo continued, blunt. “Your parents have worked hard to keep the press away from you. Others are not so fortunate.”

Oh.

Eli’s stomach dropped, his heart plunging with it. He hadn’t thought about that—hadn’t even considered it. His desperation had drowned out everything else.

It was one thing for a wealthy stranger to donate. But for him—the heir of the Ahn name—to show up in person, to single out one family?

It would be like setting them on fire under the eyes of the public. The reporters, the gossip, the scrutiny… they’d never escape it.

His family would be bothered by the press.

Eli’s head lowered, his hair falling forward to shadow his burning face. His chest ached, and his voice trembled when it finally came out.

’I got too desperate… I didn’t even think.’

“…But I still want to help.” His whisper cracked, soft but stubborn.

The car slowed, brakes sighing as the glow of a traffic light bled red across the windshield. The world outside paused, frozen in the wash of headlights and rain-slick asphalt.

Kairo’s hands stayed steady on the wheel, his jaw set. But then—he turned, those obsidian eyes dragging away from the road to pin Eli in place.

The weight of that gaze pressed heavy on Eli’s chest, stealing the air from his lungs.

“If you want to help,” Kairo said, voice low and unwavering, “do it right.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep