HWAMB — Chapter 9

Held in place with no way to move, all I could see was Hyun-woo’s chest and stomach.

It had been so long since I’d seen his upper body this close—probably not since we were kids.

When I had touched it earlier, it had felt firm—so firm it was almost unfair.

‘When did he get this built?’

The rising sense of defeat made me regret touching him at all.

‘I mean, I did see him shirtless when he lent me his uniform after mine got soaked…’

But I must not have noticed back then. What I hadn’t seen then, I could see now.

I tugged up my own shirt and pressed at my chest. No muscles like his—nothing.

I hadn’t expected much, but the difference still stung.

I thought I ate well, exercised regularly, but… I never imagined the gap would be this big already.

The difference between an alpha and an omega was undeniable.

Letting out a small sigh, I suddenly heard a drowsy voice above me.

“Done touching me?”

“…?”

I looked up to find Hyun-woo’s eyes wide open, staring straight at me.

My hands froze on his chest. I lowered my gaze, then raised it again to meet his.

His lips curved slightly upward, and it took me a long moment to realize what that meant.

My face flushed red, from my neck to the tips of my ears.

“W-w-when did you wake up?”

“…If someone’s groping your chest like a pervert, wouldn’t it be weirder not to—mph.”

“Okay, okay, just shut up for a second, Hyun-woo.”

Clamping my eyes shut, I covered his mouth with both hands. To my frustration, he obediently stayed quiet.

Damn it. Why did he only behave at times like this…

Silence, heavy and suffocating, filled the room.

When I tried to slip away, Hyun-woo’s arm tightened around my waist, pulling me back.

The more I struggled, the harder his arms clamped down. Unable to escape, I finally whined at him.

“Why! Why are you holding me so tight in my own bed?!”

“And where do you think you’re running after feeling up my chest?”

His blunt retort left me speechless.

I mumbled, almost like an excuse.

“I… I didn’t, like, grope it like a pervert… I only poked twice…”

“…”

“F-five times…”

He didn’t even bother asking, but my guilty conscience spilled it out anyway.

Hyun-woo, cold as ever, replied.

“Poking or groping—it’s the same thing.”

“Ugh…”

“Eun-jae, I’m really embarrassed. How are you gonna take responsibility?”

He grinned, brushing my sweaty bangs back.

I couldn’t tell if the sweat came from the fever or from my burning face.

Cornered, I floundered, opening and closing my mouth like a fish. Hyun-woo’s gaze urged me to keep talking.

So I squirmed and buried myself under the blanket, pulling it all the way up over my face. He chuckled softly at the sight.

“Eun-jae, why are you embarrassed? I’m the one who got poked in the chest. I should be embarrassed.”

“S-sorry.”

The moment I admitted it and apologized, my face flared up even more.

What I’d just done felt like something I’d regret for life—a black mark in my history.

Like a broken machine, I stayed still, just breathing.

Then came Hyun-woo’s amused voice.

“And?”

“…And what?”

“Not gonna take responsibility?”

His persistence clearly meant something else.

If I’d been in my right mind, I’d have realized he was teasing me, as always.

But I wasn’t.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally tugged the blanket down, lifted my shirt up to my chest, and muttered,

“D-damn it… If you’re that upset, then poke mine too…!”

Hyun-woo’s eyes went wide, stunned.

It had been a long time since I’d seen him that flustered.

Before I even realized, he yanked my shirt back down at lightning speed.

Gone was his smug composure. Now he couldn’t even look at me, staring upward instead.

“You… what the…”

He seemed at a loss for words, stumbling over half-formed sentences, then shot up, covering his face with both hands and sighing deeply.

What the hell.

“What’s with you? You’re the one who told me to take responsibility…”

“You’re unbelievable. Damn it… messing around with someone burning up with a fever—what kind of bastard does that make me…”

The back of his neck and the tips of his ears were burning red.

As I tried to sit up too, his warm hand pressed my head down, pushing me back onto the bed.

With one hand on my forehead and the other on his own, Hyun-woo stared at the floor.

“You still have a fever. Just stay put.”

“Where are you going…?”

“…Bathroom.”

He shot me a sharp look, then quickly turned away and walked out of the room. His steps were awkward and unnatural.

There was a knock at the door.

It couldn’t have been Hyun-woo, who had just gone to the bathroom.

And my brother had said he’d be late today…?

Feeling uneasy, I checked the clock.

It was almost nine at night. That meant only Hyun-woo and I should be in the house…

After a tense pause, the tightly closed door suddenly swung open.

“Eun-jae. Come out and eat some porridge.”

“…Hyung?”

The tension instantly drained from me, and my voice cracked. My face went slack like an idiot when I saw my brother standing there in a cute yellow apron.

“Why are you… I thought you said you’d be late tonight?”

“Ah… things finished earlier than expected.”

…Did Hyun-woo call him even though I told him not to?

“When did you get here…”

“Not long ago. You were asleep when I came.”

He shrugged casually, like it was nothing. Suspicious, but there was no sign he was lying.

My brother came closer and pressed his hand to my forehead to check my temperature.

“…So you were asleep. I thought you were chatting, since Hyun-woo went into your room.”

“Really? He must have been tired too, because he fell asleep next to me…”

“…He slept next to you?”

The sudden chill in his eyes made me clamp my mouth shut, but it was too late.

Arms crossed, my brother stared down at me with a sharp expression. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

“Come on… you think Hyun-woo would ever try something with me? And besides, we used to always sleep like that when we were little.”

“That was when you were kids.”

“I’m telling you so you don’t get the wrong idea—it really was nothing.”

“Why don’t you just say you only held hands.”

“Ah! I said it wasn’t like that! We really just slept!”

“…Fine. Wipe your eyes and come eat.”

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he believed a single word. Watching him leave, I let out a short sigh.

‘If I said I was the one who touched Hyun-woo while he was asleep, he’d never believe me anyway.’

The memory of prodding Hyun-woo’s chest came crawling back, making me cringe.

I did as my brother said, wiped my face, and sat at the table. Hyun-woo, who had been about to leave when he saw my brother come home, was dragged to the table against his will.

The table was silent as the grave. Shame hit me all over again, and I couldn’t even look at Hyun-woo.

Sensing the atmosphere immediately, my brother smirked. I knew it wasn’t a good kind of smile.

“Hyun-woo, want to stay over tonight?”

“No.”

He refused without hesitation, and my brother gave a disappointed smile. Chewing on warm porridge, I felt bad and added my voice.

“You should stay. It’s already dark out.”

“It’s fine.”

“What, you got honey waiting for you at home?”

“Midterms are coming. I need to study.”

Coming from Hyun-woo, that line was so out of character it was laughable.

I frowned, exasperated, and dropped it. “Fine. Whatever.”

Just as I finished my porridge, I sneezed. Hyun-woo pulled a few tissues and held them out, telling me to “blow.” I snapped at him not to treat me like a kid.

My brother’s expression grew colder and harder.

In the end, he offered to walk Hyun-woo home, under the excuse that the streets were dangerous at night and that he was thankful for Hyun-woo taking care of me. He stepped out with him for a bit.

I didn’t know what they talked about in private, but I had a bad feeling it wasn’t anything good.

‘If my brother misunderstood and lashed out at Hyun-woo, I’ll have to apologize later,’ I promised myself silently.

* * *

It was only after resting for two more days that I was able to go back to school. As always, Hyun-woo was waiting in front of my house on the way to school.

He had insisted on staying home for two days to take care of me too, but I forced him to go by assigning him the “grave duty” of taking notes. He scowled, clearly displeased, but still went to school in the end.

My brother had taken one day off work during those two days to look after me.

I didn’t know what to do with the guilt, but he told me warmly that one day off was fine, and even apologized for not being able to take proper care of me all this time.

But I was fine.

I was lonely at times, yes, but Hyun-woo was there, and his parents always looked out for me too.

Above all, I knew very well that my brother hadn’t chosen to be so busy—it wasn’t because he wanted to.

Walking beside Hyun-woo as usual, exchanging little bits of meaningless chatter, I suddenly thought of the bite mark on my arm. It was gone now, but to say I wasn’t still bothered would be a lie.

“Oh, right. Hyun-woo, here’s your name tag.”

“…? Ah. Just keep it. I’ve got two spares anyway.”

Hyun-woo gave a short grunt of acknowledgment and answered easily.

I had returned the uniform I borrowed from him before, but the name tag had stayed in my pocket and I’d forgotten to give it back. His quick, casual reply left me a little dumbfounded.

“What would I even do with your name tag?”

“If you don’t like it, throw it away.”

“You’re always telling me to throw things away…”

I gave him a look of disbelief, but still slipped his name tag back into my pocket instead of tossing it.

Hyun-woo noticed and smiled faintly. His warm hand pinched my nose.

“Looks like you’re better now.”

“Mm.”

I answered with a nasal sound, and Hyun-woo chuckled again.

Then he pulled something from his bag and handed it to me. A notebook.

“What’s this…?”

“You forgot already? The notes I took while you were out. The lessons all move at the same pace anyway. For the sections that were different, I borrowed the vice class rep’s notes.”

That was when I finally remembered. I thanked him and, with no expectations, opened the notebook.

The notes inside were neatly written, clear, and well-organized. It felt like I’d been hit on the head.

Honestly, I hadn’t asked him to take notes because I really wanted them—I just needed an excuse to force him to go to school.

Come to think of it, even before I asked, he’d told me, back when I first fell sick, to lie down and rest, that he’d take notes for me.

I guess he really meant it.

“You actually wrote these…?”

“You like it?”

“Yeah… a lot.”

A ticklish warmth filled my chest.

To be honest, I was really touched. At the same time, the thought slipped in: “Why the hell doesn’t this guy actually study…?”

“Oh, but you borrowed from the vice rep? That guy’s super picky about lending out his notes. Wouldn’t it have been easier to get them from the class rep instead? Not that it matters. Anyway, thanks a ton.”

At the mention of the class rep, Hyun-woo’s brow twitched slightly.

He clearly wasn’t fond of him. I noticed and asked curiously.

“What’s wrong? That kid’s nothing but nice, why don’t you like him?”

“So what, that makes me an asshole with no reason, and him the saintly nice guy?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Hyun-woo gave a short, bitter laugh and turned his head away sharply. He was sulking.

So, all the way to school, I had to keep throwing out random stories just to lighten his mood.

When we reached the classroom, a group of students was nervously loitering at the door. As I stepped aside to go in, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

I turned to see them bowing their heads, blurting out an apology.

“Uh, we’re… sorry!”

“…Who…?”

“You know, the water thing. We’re the ones who did it… It was supposed to be a punishment game between us, but it went wrong, and…”

Their sudden confession and apology left me stunned.

They didn’t look like the type to own up to things so honestly. The fact that they were bowing and apologizing felt even stranger.

Hands clasped together, they kept glancing nervously at Hyun-woo standing beside me.

When I shot him a glance, Hyun-woo was leaning casually against the wall, playing on his phone, not paying the situation any attention.

No way…

“…It’s fine. Just be careful next time.”

It was too weird to believe it had been a mistake, but dragging it out wouldn’t solve anything.

Once the apology was done, they scampered off upstairs. I looked sideways at Hyun-woo and asked quietly.

“You found out who did it… didn’t you?”

“Me? I was with you that whole time—how would I know? Guess their conscience got to them.”

He smiled faintly, eyes still on his phone, but the expression on his face looked far more chilling than innocent.

If it really had been an accident, they wouldn’t even have known who got drenched, much less come all the way to apologize.

Too many things didn’t add up, but I decided not to dig further.

When I went inside, my classmates greeted me warmly.

They joked that it had been so long they thought I’d died, then laughed it off with casual greetings.

Then, across the room, I met Jae-ho’s eyes.

A big white bandage was stuck to his cheek—the exact spot Hyun-woo had punched him in the infirmary.

The air turned awkward.

Wanting to at least thank him for helping me to the infirmary that day, I gave him an awkward smile and waved.

But Jae-ho bit his lip, shot up from his seat, and stormed out.

He made such a scene that even the friends around me frowned and stared at his empty chair.

“What the hell’s his problem? He need to take a dump or something?”

“Maybe he thought it was about him.”

“I dunno. He’s been like that lately. Probably just in a bad mood. Not like it’s the first time.”

“Still, first time I’ve seen him blow up at Eun-jae.”

They brushed it off, telling me not to worry.

I forced a thin smile back. For some reason, my wrist—where no scars remained—throbbed faintly.