Reincarnated as a Housekeeper in a 19+ Gangster Romance Novel - Chapter 10

TLed by Mimo (Bedtime BL)

I just wanted to eat ramen late at night.

So, remembering that there was a convenience store down this alley from my last outing, I was walking down on it when I stumbled upon a dying stranger. A knife was plunged into his abdomen, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air.

Though I've never seen him before, his face felt eerily familiar.

It's exactly like that guy on the cover.

Can I just pretend I didn't see him and pass by?

The man lay with his eyes tightly shut behind his glasses. His neatly slicked-back hair and thick eyebrows framed his face.

With his rugged, masculine features, there was no doubt: this was Jeong Hwanhui, the male lead of the novel.

The cover of the book A Secret Romance with the Housekeeper featured the male and female leads locked in a tight embrace. I remembered it well. The face on the cover was unmistakably his. Yet, for some reason, Jeong Hwanhui was now bleeding out before my eyes and dying.

This wasn't in the novel...

In the novel, the main story begins with the female lead's introduction. In other words, this was a prequel. Right. The male lead couldn't possibly die. This means I can just ignore this and move on.

I glanced indifferently at the seemingly unconscious Jeong Hwanhui before walking past him.

Someone else will save him if I don't.

"Hey, the blood trail stops here."

"Over there?"

"He can't be far. He's badly wounded and couldn't have gone far. We have to kill him today! This is our chance! If not now, who knows when we'll get another opportunity like this?"

Ah, I really don't want to get involved in this...

After unifying the entire organization, I'd been living a life of leisure. Now, suddenly thrust into this heart-pounding situation... This is exactly what I didn't want!

I glanced at the dying Jeong Hwanhui. No matter how I looked at it, if I ignored him and walked away, he'd surely be caught and killed by those gang members soon.

In the end, I quickly backed up and approached Jeong Hwanhui again to assess his condition. First, I needed to stop the bleeding. I tore my t-shirt and swiftly applied emergency first aid.

Growing up in the organization, emergency measures like this were second nature. Plus, I had basic surgical experience. As a gangster, there were often times when we couldn't go to a doctor, so we had to learn these skills out of sheer necessity to survive.

After administering first aid and confirming that Jeong Hwanhui was breathing steadily, I hoisted him over my shoulder and started moving in the opposite direction of the voices. I distinctly remembered a dilapidated motel nearby. Let's head there first. 

All this just for a trip to the convenience store? What a damn ordeal.

I hurried toward the motel.

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Huff, huff.

He's ridiculously heavy. Of all people, he had to be taller and bulkier than me, making him much heavier.

I practically threw Jeong Hwanhui onto the motel bed.

To avoid raising suspicion from the motel staff, I pretended to be dealing with a drunk older hyung, urging him to sober up as I took the room key and came upstairs. Thankfully, the dark clothing hid the blood well, allowing us to get there safely.

I quickly stripped Jeong Hwanhui's clothes off. The blood-soaked fabric clung tightly, making it difficult to remove, so I simply ripped his shirt open.

"What a bloody mess."

I had hastily applied first aid, but there wasn't time to remove the knife yet. Pulling it out now might be dangerous...

I stared at Jeong Hwanhui, who was gasping for breath, before getting up and rushing out of the room.

Remembering there was a pharmacy nearby, I hurried to find it. I needed to buy supplies for emergency treatment.

At the pharmacy, I grabbed everything from bandages to various medications, then cautiously returned to the motel, scanning my surroundings for anyone who might be following me. Thankfully, no gangster were in sight.

They must have given up searching this area and moved on. A stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

I rushed back to the motel room. When I returned, Jeong Hwanhui's face was drenched in cold sweat.

First, I needed to remove the knife.

Humph!

I took a deep breath, gripped the knife handle tightly, and pulled it out in one swift motion.

Blood splattered across my face as Jeong Hwanhui coughed violently, spitting out blood. It was as expected.

I calmly stopped the bleeding, sprayed some antiseptic I'd bought at the pharmacy, and skillfully began stitching up the wound.

I was worried since it had been a while, but thankfully my hands moved with practiced precision. After concentrating intensely, sweat dripping down my face, I finally heard Jeong Hwanhui's breathing stabilize and let out a sigh of relief.

We have passed the critical point. I finished applying ointment to the minor cuts and covered him with a blanket.

I was just going to the convenience store. What the hell happened?

He almost died.

If I hadn't shown up, would Jeong Hwanhui have died? Or would he have found another way to survive?

This part wasn't covered in the original story, so I had no way of knowing. Honestly, I did consider ignoring it, but letting the main male lead die would have been a disaster. At that moment, saving him was the only option.

I don't regret it, but...

I glanced at Jeong Hwanhui. This could drastically alter the story. A mere housekeeper saving the male lead's life? The narrative felt off.

Given Jeong Hwanhui's rigid personality, he would undoubtedly go to any lengths to repay the debt if he discovered I was the one who saved him. That would mean the end of my ordinary life as a housekeeper.

Well, if that's the case, there's no need to complicate things by becoming his life-saver.

I quietly approached Jeong Hwanhui and removed his broken glasses.

Jeong Hwanhui's eyesight was notoriously poor. The novel described him as practically blind without his glasses.

I slipped the glasses into my pocket. Since I needed to monitor his condition for a while, it was best to keep him from recognizing me.

If I could, I would have handed him over to a hospital or his gang subordinates. But given Jeong Hwanhui's profession as a gangster, a regular hospital was out of the question, and I had no way of knowing his subordinates.

Informing his family was even more impossible.

Jeong Hwanhui would never want to show his weakened state to his family. He cherished them above all else.

Secretly helping him recover while waiting for him to regain consciousness was the best I could do.

I sighed and pulled a blanket from the closet, clumsily spreading it on the floor beneath the bed. I just need to be out of sight before Jeong Hwanyoung and Jeong Hwangyu woke up for breakfast. I decided to stay by Jeong Hwanhui's side until he regained consciousness. After all, nothing is more miserable than being alone when you're sick.

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"...It hurts."

When Jeong Hwanhui regained consciousness, his vision was completely blurry. Though he couldn't see clearly, he instinctively sensed he was in an unfamiliar environment. The blanket's rough texture was the opposite of the soft material he usually used.

Jeong Hwanhui rubbed his eyes. Only blurry shapes were visible. Then he realized his glasses were gone. Wary of the unfamiliar, cramped room, he quickly scanned his surroundings.

Am I... still alive?

Where am I?

Jeong Hwanhui threw back the blanket.

"Ugh."

Even the slightest movement sent a wave of pain through him. Glancing down, he saw his body wrapped in bandages.

What happened? I clearly remember hearing a strange man's voice in the alleyway, different from the Fire Dragon Faction or my own men.

Did... that man treat me?

Judging from the fact that he helped him, he didn't seem like a bad person, but who knows. He might try to steal confidential information from the organization after treating him.

Jeong Hwanhui suspiciously scanned his surroundings. If he was an ordinary person, he wouldn't have kept someone dying from a knife wound in a room like this instead of taking them to a hospital.

Fortunately, it seemed no one was around. He needed to escape quickly...

"...Huh? You're awake?"

Jeong Hwanhui tensed at the voice and tried to sit up, but the searing pain forced him to grit his teeth and collapse back down. Someone rushed over and gently laid him back down.

The man was too small to be a gangster. Unfortunately, his glasses were gone, making it difficult to see clearly. I squinted, but something seemed to be obscuring him, like a mask. Because of this, it looked like something white was floating around.

"You shouldn't get up yet. I just stitched you up, and the wound will reopen. You've only just woken up after three days."

"...Who are you?"

"Me? Just an ordinary, kind-hearted citizen passing by. Oh, you must be hungry. I brought some pumpkin porridge. Want some?"

The man, who treated him with such casual familiarity that anyone would mistake them for friends, rummaged around and held something up to his mouth.

A suspicious, yellowish substance appeared before his eyes.

The man called it pumpkin porridge, but it might not be. Still unable to trust him, he refused the offer.

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Eat. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. I'll disappear on my own when you've recovered, so eat up. You'll heal faster if you do."

The man's voice was warm and friendly, completely devoid of hostility.

Should I believe him?

After being betrayed by so many who had pretended to be friends, it was impossible to trust anyone. But the man's words weren't entirely wrong.

If he had intended to kill me, he would have done it right then. Whatever his motives are, I'm powerless now. My best course of action is to feign compliance, lower his guard, recover my strength, and find a way to contact the outside world.

Having coldly assessed the situation, Jeong Hwanhui slowly opened his mouth.

As if waiting for this moment, a spoonful of pumpkin porridge slid into his mouth. The sweet, warm porridge flowed down his throat, and he felt a faint surge of energy returning to his body.

...It's actually quite good.

The pumpkin porridge made by this mysterious man was surprisingly delicious.

CHAPTER 9 ⬅ ♥︎ ⮕ CHAPTER 11