Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 174

Looking back now, I regret it all.

I should have let her go earlier. I ended up exhausting not only her body but her soul as well.

All because of my own desires.

“Seol Suhyeon!”

The strength of hands gripping my shoulders and the voice jolted Suhyeon back to consciousness.

In her blurred vision, she saw Jeonghan’s tense face.

‘Do Jeong…han?’

Jeonghan fixed her gaze on him and spoke.

“Can’t breathe?”

Ah… I can’t breathe.

Suhyeon scrunched up her face and barely managed to nod. Seeing her pale face drained of all color, Jeonghan said,

“Look at me.”

He lifted her gaze and held it firmly.

“Look at me and do as I say. Don’t try to inhale, just exhale slowly.”
Suhyeon tried to follow his words, but she only hiccupped as if in a panic. Jeonghan held her face and said,
“Listen to me.”

Meeting her tightly shut eyes with an intense gaze, Jeonghan said,

“Focus only on exhaling slowly.”

…Ha… ah.

Suhyeon finally managed to exhale weakly. Watching her face, still drenched in fear, Jeonghan spoke in a low voice.

“Keep going. There’s no need to inhale quickly; just focus on exhaling.”

Suhyeon desperately followed his instructions. Overwhelmed and unable to do anything else, she focused solely on exhaling. Little by little, faint breaths began to escape.

The suffocating fear that had gripped her chest started to subside as weak breaths left her lips. Gradually, her breaths grew longer.

Haa… haa…

Suhyeon opened her lips wide, breathing slowly. After repeating this for a while, her breathing returned to normal.

Only then did Jeonghan relax his shoulders. His face, as he observed hers, was pale and stiff.

“Are you okay?”

Suhyeon swallowed dryly and replied.

“I’m… okay.”

Jeonghan furrowed his brow and exhaled deeply.

“It’s my fault. I should have told you later.”

Suhyeon shook her head.

“No. No matter… no matter when you told me, it would have been the same.”

“For now, lie down and rest a bit.”

Jeonghan tried to help her onto the bed.

“No, I want to hear everything now.”

Suhyeon resisted lying down and shook her head.

“Seol Suhyeon.”

Suhyeon took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry and tell me a bit more—”

“I’m not fine.”

Ah…

Only then did Suhyeon notice the distortion in his face.

“…Jeonghan-ssi.”

Jeonghan, clenching his jaw tightly, exhaled deeply.

“Please, just do as I say. I’ll tell you everything now without hiding anything.”

His low, cracked voice and eyes darkened with worry left Suhyeon unable to argue further.

When she relaxed, Jeonghan gently laid her down on the bed. Lying beside her, he placed her head on his arm as a pillow and stroked her cheek, as if checking her temperature.

“After you’ve had some sleep, I’ll tell you. Don’t worry and rest.”

“…Okay.”

Suhyeon closed her eyes. Tears filled her eyes from the memories of her mother, but as soon as she shut them, she quickly fell asleep.

Jeonghan gazed at her sleeping face with a look of pity.
Even though she’s so exhausted.

When he saw Suhyeon struggling to breathe right in front of him, it felt to Jeonghan as if his heart had plummeted straight to the ground.
Until her breathing returned to normal, he couldn’t breathe either.

“……”

Jeonghan stared at her face, listening intently to her now steady and rhythmic breathing.

With eyes still heavy with worry, he carefully wiped away the tears clinging to her eyelashes.

A few hours later, Suhyeon slowly opened her eyes, waking from her sleep.

Her unfocused gaze settled on him and lingered for a moment. Soon, her expression softened, as if she had regained her sense of reality, and Jeonghan silently watched her.

“Are you feeling better?”

Jeonghan reached out and gently touched her earlobe, asking in a low voice.

“…Yes. I’m sorry. I must have scared you.”

“It’s okay.”

Though he said it was okay, his eyes were still filled with worry.
Looking into his gaze, Suhyeon took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking.

“…Was it you who took my mom to the hospital?”