To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 80: You can sleep for a while

Yun-tae got a call on his phone from Deok-ryu. It came as a surprise since he did not expect Chin-hwa's older brother to give him a call so early in the morning.

And it wasn't even a school day.

He wondered what he was after and thought back to how they came over and carried Chin-Hwa out while he was asleep. But that was around evening.

It was still too early to be pulling such stunts.

"Hello," he answered the call regardless, planning to discover the purpose of the call.

"Please, come outside. I came to take you and Hwa home, but I don't know your dorm room number, so I'll wait for you outside."

There were no more words said after that and before Yun-tae could even come up with the words to ask why he was here so early, he heard the beeping of the cut call.

He looked at his phone and sighed.

"Did something happen?" He wondered.

Deok-ryu's tone didn't exactly sound like it usually did. It was as if he was mad at something.

No. Yun-tae shook his head. He didn't know him well enough to ascertain if that was an angry tone or just a sleepy one.

It was, after all, 5 in the morning.

The dorms were usually closed from 10pm to 5am, so it looked like Deok-ryu waited for the doors to be open before hurrying to get his brother.

"I'm glad I packed last night." Yun-tae muttered, picking up his backpack where all his necessities were shoved in.

He exhaled and walked out the door, glancing once at his roommate who was sleeping peacefully.

Yun-tae found Deok-ryu resting his back on his car with his arms folded and his head lowered.

He looked lost in thoughts.

"Oh, uh... Good morning." He broke Deok-ryu's train of thought.

"Oh, good morning. Yun-tae, right?" Deok-ryu asked and Yun-tae nodded. "Sorry to drag you out so early, but I was eager to see Hwa, and I know I won't be able to return in the evening to pick you up, so..."

"No, it's fine." Yun-tae said. "I would've wanted it this way too. Why waste fuel, right?"

"Yeah,"

Yun-tae noticed that Deok-ryu wasn't acting like his usual self. He was more inclined all of a sudden, and the tone of his words was heavy, like he was suppressing a great deal of emotions.

"Let's go then." Deok-ryu said. "Hwa is asleep at the back so take the passenger seat,"

"Sure." Yun-tae said and made his way to the passenger's seat.

His eyes fell on Chin-hwa lying in the back with a blanket covering him. He was fast asleep.

Well, he couldn't say he didn't expect this, knowing what they did the last time they came to pick Chin-hwa up.

"Can I call you Deok Hyung, by the way?" Yun-tae asked. "Or would you rather I call you something more formal?"

"No, that's okay." Deok-ryu answered, putting on the engine. "You're a friend of Hwa, so call me whatever you like."

"In that case, Deok Hyung." Yun-tae smiled and Deok-ryu nodded.

"You can sleep for a while. It's going to be a long trip."

"Yes, thank you." Yun-tae said and rested his head on the closed window. He hugged his bag tightly, not that he was scared of it being stolen or anything, he was just feeling awkward.

If he placed down his backpack, there would be nothing to grab.

'I wonder what happened to him.' He thought, his eyes falling on the faint reflection of Deok-ryu on his window.

Since the sun was yet to rise, the sky was understandably dark, and that made it seem like it was still sleep time.

So, Yun-tae was able to fall asleep without any effort. He slept really late since he spent all night binge-watching a popular series. So, he was still sleepy.

Deok-ryu watched the road as he drove. One hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the window frame while supporting his chin.

He glanced at Yun-tae, who had fallen deep into sleep, and the Chin-hwa at the back. He shut his eyes for a second and then opened them, his forehead creasing in worry.

"Amanda, call Si-Si." He said to the AI in his car.

"Calling Si-Si." Came the response of the AI and what followed was a dial tone.

Deok-ryu placed an airpod in his ear to avoid disturbing the two while they slept.

"Hey, did you pick up our youngest yet?" Si-woo asked. She sounded wide awake.

"Yeah, I did. But I believe we have a problem." Deok-ryu said. "I found Hwa lying on the floor with tear streams on his face and a soaked rug. His eyes are swollen too."

"What?!" Si-woo exclaimed in shock. "Wait, are you saying someone hurt my little Hwa? Who's that bastard?"

"Hear me out, Si-Si. I saw his laptop open." Deok-ryu said, feeling hesitant to continue as he had not confirmed the facts yet. "And the search pasted on his browser was... Chronic diseases."

Si-woo's eyes widened but she remained silent. She looked away, closed her eyes, and then exhaled.

"You don't think he's found out about him, do you?" Deok-ryu asked. "I mean, I'm certain he would never reveal his secret, not when he knows what it'll do to Hwa, but... Did Hwa become suspicious?"

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Still, Si-woo remained silent till she was ready to speak.

"Hwa has always been exceptionally smart." She said. "All he needs is one clue to figure out what and where the rest of the pieces of a puzzle are. If Kang-woo lets out even one hint, it's definitely over. Chin-hwa will know."

"Do you think that's what happened?" Deok-ryu asked but Si-woo was just as oblivious.

They weren't certain about what triggered Chin-hwa's tears or why he opened up a search on Chronic diseases, so they could not depend on their speculations.

The only way to know for sure the cause of it all was to ask him once he had woken up.

Deok-ryu took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Alright," he glanced at Chin-hwa through the rearview mirror. "We'll ask him later. I hope it doesn't bring him to tears."