I lifted my eyelids, barely regaining my consciousness, and water trickled down the hollows of my eyes.
‘…Sweat?’
I opened my mouth to mutter such a question unconsciously, but nothing came out except the sound of air escaping from my deeply sunken throat. It seemed like my voice was completely hoarse.
I grasped my swollen, throbbing throat with my hand and turned my motionless head to look around.
“…….”
This place wasn’t Prism’s dorm, Pantheion’s dorm, my home, nor the home of Han Seungbeom or Choi Jeokhyeon. It was an unfamiliar place.
And instead of everyday sounds like the ticking of a clock or the vibrations of a building, I heard unmistakable human sounds. Filled with an indescribable sense of unease at the presence of another person, I hurriedly checked my physical condition.
‘…Can I run?’
My limbs felt a little heavy, my vision was not precisely in focus, and my ears were ringing a little.
This much is fine. It’s doable.
If it was my original body, I would have been in better condition, but this body belonged to Han Seungbeom, who had a scrawny physique. I should take that into consideration.
After I made that judgment, I immediately jerked my upper body upright.
“Ugh!”
Then, before my hazy mind could fully adjust, I felt a sharp pain as if I had been hit in the head with an awl when I moved my body. After holding my head for a moment and grimacing, I quickly pushed through the pain and pulled the blankets off my body.
I didn’t want to be in an unfamiliar place, defenseless, with other people.
I also hated wasting time without gaining anything.
‘I have to find Lim Seunghoon.’
I stupidly lost him.
I had to find him as soon as possible and get the information.
‘I need to strike him first before he can counter…….’
After muttering that to myself over and over again, I unconsciously moved my body.
When my bare feet touched the floor, I felt an icy coldness, like stepping in a snowy field. My fevered skin seemed to feel relatively cold, perhaps because I had been buried under the blankets for so long.
I frowned at the sensation for a moment, but then my vision blurred. I fell to my knees and let out a stifled groan, and the presence of the other person drew closer.
“You need to lie down.”
In response to the tone that sounded as if he was trying to coax a child, I slowly raised my head and found a familiar face in front of me.
It was Choi Jeokhyeon.
As I stood there facing the red eyes looking down at me, his hand pressed on my shoulder, forcing me to sit down on the bed I had been lying on earlier. The hand that held me down stayed where it was, and the guy, standing straight as a board as usual, held up his palm as if telling me to stay still for a moment. Then, he muttered something I couldn’t understand.
“Yeah, do that.”
“…….”
“That won’t do. Bring it to me right now.”
It seemed like he was holding something up to his ear with the arm that was out of my sight.
I checked it out and realized that Choi Jeokhyeon was on the phone.
‘He must have stepped out of work.’
Once I realized that the ‘
other person
‘ nearby was Choi Jeokhyeon, and that this unfamiliar place was nothing more than the unnecessarily spacious hospital room he’d brought me to, the tension that had been wrapped around my entire body instantly eased.
‘Ah.’
And then, little by little, the memory of vomiting in the bathroom and collapsing began to come back to me. I also recalled the image of Choi Jeokhyeon lifting me off the floor and bringing me to the hospital.
‘…My head feels dull.’
I felt both frustrated and guilty for dragging him into this, someone so busy that even during a short break, he was constantly receiving work calls. And I was disappointed in myself for almost acting impulsively in pursuit of another
meaningful result
.
“…….”
In this trash-like state, I wouldn’t be able to achieve a satisfying result even if I chased after Lim Seunghoon. In fact, the chances of being caught in a weakness were even higher. As much as I wanted to deny it, that was the reality. After giving myself that brainwashing to suppress the urge to run off right now, I flopped down on the edge of the bed and slowly closed my eyes.
I could feel Choi Jeokhyeon, who had been on the phone, quickly turning to glance at me when he heard the sound of my body dropping onto the bed. But after confirming that I had simply rolled over, he returned to his conversation with the person on the other end of the call.
‘…It’s become even harder to look at Han Seungbeom’s aunt’s face.’
It was another repetition.
Since it was Choi Jeokhyeon’s doing, the agency, the members, and Han Seungbeom’s family likely hadn’t been informed of the situation. Given the nature of my occupation, he would have thoroughly controlled everything to prevent any information from leaking out to reporters.
But this was a matter of conscience.
It was like walking through a minefield—these things kept happening at unexpected moments, and I had no idea how to stop them. I hadn’t done anything bad. I hadn’t even drunk alcohol on purpose. And yet, here I was in this situation again.
‘How should I deal with stress and fatigue?’
It wasn’t fun to face a problem I couldn’t find a solution to.
As I was clenching my teeth, I felt the bed move.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Choi Jeokhyeon sitting cross-legged on the empty space of the bed. Apparently, the call was over.
“How are you feeling?”
“So-so.”
“That was a pointless question.” Choi Jeokhyeon said with a faint smile.
I didn’t understand the meaning of his words, but my head was pounding right now, so I didn’t have time to think about it further.
I flatly blurted out a question that suddenly came to mind while looking at Choi Jeokhyeon’s face.
“…Why is your face like that?”
“That’s right. I look like a mess, don’t I?”
Choi Jeokhyeon, seemingly accustomed to it, showed no reaction to my tone and replied with a smile, his eyelashes fluttering.
His hair, which was always neatly styled with wax, had a few strands out of place, and the dryness in his eyes seemed to make the speed of his eyelid movements slower. There were also a few wrinkles in his suit, which his employees ironed to perfection every day.
“I was a little surprised.”
It was a change that most people wouldn’t have noticed.
But knowing how much he hated to stand in front of others in the slightest disheveled state, I couldn’t take it lightly.
“…I see.”
Should I say I’m sorry? Or should I tell him that he doesn’t have to worry about me like this next time?
The former was something a person who was planning to improve in the future could say, and the latter was something a person who hadn’t received help could say.
As I struggled to open my mouth, Choi Jeokhyeon shook his head as if it was no big deal. He then gently pressed his palm against my forehead and muttered, “You still have a bit of a fever”. Afterward, he glanced toward the side of the bed and spoke to me.
“If you’re feeling better, let’s go back. You don’t like being in unfamiliar places.”
I turned my head to follow his gesture and saw that the IV connected to my wrist was about to run out.
I nodded.
***
“Mother-nim, Yutae has a fever again. I think you need to come pick him up.”
Even though I didn’t mean to, a memory from my childhood flashed through my mind.
I must have been dreaming.
I used to get fevers quite often before my body matured, before I surpassed the average height of my peers and my body became thicker with muscles. It was when I was so young that even the smart Seo Yuseong probably wouldn’t remember it.
I was born with a very sensitive nature, and whenever there were changes in my environment or I faced uncomfortable situations and people, I would get quite stressed. During those times, I would clench my mouth tightly and get sick with a fever. However, I lacked the experience and indifference to quickly fall asleep and recover, so I have memories of always feeling overwhelmed back then.
“It’s okay. It’s okay to be sick. Even Mom gets sick sometimes.”
My mother never scolded me. She always said kind words to me.
Those words alone made me feel so much better that I was able to fall into a deep sleep on the ride home in my mother’s car, which helped bring down my fever.
Why am I bringing up that memory again?
Before I had time to think about it, my mother smiled brightly and gently caressed my forehead.
My mother’s time had already stopped, and I had long since surpassed her age, so I wasn’t sure why her youthful face still looked so mature.
“Get a good rest. When you wake up, you’ll be okay.”
I closed my eyes one last time at the sound of that voice. When I opened them again, reality stretched out before me.
I touched a black car seat made of fine leather, not the light-toned, soft ones my mother used.
Yet, I didn’t feel uncomfortable, as the gentle rolling of the wheels to prevent me from waking up felt no different from what I experienced in my dreams. In fact, I even felt like my sharpened nerves had been dulled a bit. Just like when I was a child.
As I blinked my eyes absentmindedly, I heard Choi Jeokhyeon’s voice again.
“Are you awake? We’ve arrived now, so get up slowly.”
It seemed like I had dozed off while Choi Jeokhyeon was driving.
“Fortunately, there’s no schedule until the day after tomorrow. You can get some rest before going back.”
“…….”
“You wouldn’t go back there right now anyway. You don’t like to show a bad appearance in front of the members.”
What Choi Jeokhyeon said was true. I had called Lim Seunghoon on a day when the activity period was roughly over and I had some free time in my schedule, just to be safe.
But I didn’t know how Choi Jeokhyeon found out about my schedule.
I stared at him with a question about how he knew. In the meantime, he parked his car, opened the door, and stepped out, pretending not to notice the unspoken question.
Then, he casually brought up another topic.
“I already notified your manager that you’re staying at a friend’s house, via text. I hope the tone doesn’t give it away, but I can’t guarantee that.”
I let out a deep sigh at that.
The other members were also visiting their families since we finally got a rare break, so I didn’t think it would raise any suspicions. I felt a little uneasy about where the information was leaking from, but there shouldn’t be any major issues.
I got up from my seat, followed him into the house, and asked, “How did you know?”
“…….”
This time, it was a question spoken out loud.
But no answer came back.
Instead, I could only see a laid-back smile, totally ill-suited to the situation, plastered across his face like an iron mask.
‘You’re not going to answer again.’
I had a rough idea of what to expect.
I needed a trustworthy place to ensure security, and Choi Jeokhyeon helped me in the process. Although I didn’t mention who I was meeting with to talk to, the owner might have tipped him off since he was connected to the store.
‘Before I rushed out to the bathroom, I ran into the owner. He must have contacted him to report that something seemed off.’
Considering he came straight from work, it seemed a bit too quick. But I didn’t know how much time had passed while I was making a mess in the bathroom, so it wasn’t too far-fetched.
Having made a rough guess of the situation, I walked down the long hallway and flopped down on the sofa in the living room. Then, I asked in a deliberately light tone.
“Do you know where the belongings that were left in the room are?”
“Oh, the owner passed them on to me.”
He replied, and pulled my wallet and phone out of his inner chest pocket. I took them, glanced over them, and shook my head. This wasn’t what I wanted.
“No, not mine, but Lim Seunghoon’s. If I remember correctly, he ran off without grabbing his belongings. Where did you put them?”
“…….”
There was another brief silence.
Choi Jeokhyeon, who had been smiling nonchalantly until then, opened his mouth just as I was about to call his name.
“Of course it’s with me, Yutae-ya. But I can’t hand it over to you.”
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Translator’s Corner:
Oh to have a handsome CEO taking care of me while I am sick … what is this kdrama plot …
and this conversation is going to be long long …
Also you know there’s still new people finding this story and read it from the start, so time to time, I would get passive-aggresive comments in my notification and it’s so funny XD I’m enjoying the essays you guys wrote to defend MC (from others), it’s so fun how everyone already got so defensive over him in early chapters when nothing much has been explained XD