HWAMB — Chapter 57

Bzzz— The screen lit up with a vibration.

Without thinking, I quickly lifted my head to check it.

[Young-ho: Eun-jae, you asleep? lol]

[Young-ho: If not, wanna play capo? The guys are all here ㅇㅇ]

The tension drained out of me, and I buried my face back into the pillow. I replied half-heartedly.

[Me: sry already lying in bed too lazy ㅇㅇ have fun]

Immediately, the messages started flooding in.

[Young-ho: lololol damn~ sleeping early so you’ll grow tall^^]

[Me: ㅗ shut up]

[Sang-soo: lmaooo roasted]

[Ji-hyo: ahahaha wtf Kang Eun-jae already going to bed?]

[Me: I said I’m not sleeping, I’m just lying down]

The constant notification sound annoyed me, so I turned the alerts off. After staring at the white ceiling for a while, I picked up my phone again.

I started typing.

[Hyun-woo, about earlier—]

“….”

I didn’t send it. I just stared at the words until I deleted them.

[Hyun-woo, I’m sorry for just leaving like that today. But you should try saying things more nicely too—]

“…Sigh.”

No, that wasn’t right.

I deleted it again. Typed, erased, typed, erased—until only one word was left.

[Hyun-woo]

The cursor blinked and blinked. In the end, I erased those three letters too and shut the screen off.

“This is so hard…”

It wasn’t even my first time dating, so why did this feel so unfamiliar?

I had expected it, but it really was harder than when we were just friends.

Because when you’re excited and have expectations, the hurt doubles when things go wrong.

‘Was I overreacting?’

The thoughts chased each other in circles. Soon I shook my head. No, this time I had every right to be angry.

Nodding to myself, I turned off the light. When things get too complicated, sleep is always the best answer.

* * *

When things got too complicated to think about, I slept. Afterward, I could usually sort things out more calmly.

Or, if I was lucky, sometimes the problem had already resolved itself.

That was how it usually went.

But this time…

“Hyun… woo, you said?”

-Yes, he collapsed last night and it was chaos until dawn. We had to rush him to the ER, and the doctor said it was a gastric spasm.

The words struck me like thunder out of a clear sky. Shim Hyun-woo, sick? That was like saying the sun would rise in the west tomorrow.

I had lived a fairly healthy life myself, but compared to Hyun-woo it was nothing.

Ever since manifesting as an alpha, he hadn’t even caught a cold.

“So… how is he now? Is he alright?”

-He finally broke his fever this morning and is doing better. The doctor said it was stress-induced. At your age, there are a lot of things to worry about.

Stress-induced…

Was it because of me?

Thinking about yesterday made my stomach twist.

-You be careful too, Eun-jae. For now, he’s okay, so don’t worry too much.

“That’s a relief…”

I let out a sigh of relief, and my uncle sighed with me.

-Do you know what Hyun-woo said the moment he came to? He made us promise not to tell you.

“…He did?”

-Yes. He fell asleep right after saying that. But what choice did we have? You’d be waiting to go to school together this morning.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand, my heart pricked as if by sharp blades. Filled with guilt, I murmured to my uncle.

“Honestly… it might be my fault.”

-What do you mean?

“I might be the reason for Hyun-woo’s stress…”

Laughter boomed from the other side of the line. From the way it overlapped, it sounded like both uncles were laughing together.

-Hahaha! Did you two fight?

“…A little.”

-Well then, stop by after class today and visit him. Hyun-woo will be bored stuck in there.

His warm, gentle voice soothed my shrunken mood. He didn’t scold me as I’d expected.

-At your age, that’s normal. You fight over nothing, only to realize later it wasn’t such a big deal. We did the same—arguing constantly, not knowing we’d end up marrying each other someday.

His reminiscing tone sounded almost joyful.

He sent me a text with the hospital location pinned on a map.

[It’s not your fault, so don’t worry. And don’t skip class ^ ^v]

Even those words brought some comfort, but once I got to school, I couldn’t focus at all. Out of habit, my hand scribbled notes, but my head was elsewhere.

Was he really that stressed? Damn it… I shouldn’t have left like that. I should’ve just comforted him.

If it was bad enough to land him in the ER, then it must’ve been serious.

I only half-listened to lessons, scribbling notes while waiting desperately for school to end.

After the seventh period, homeroom was dismissed.

“Eun-jae, today—”

“Sorry, I’ve got something urgent. I have to go.”

Flustered, I didn’t even check who spoke, just shoved my books into my bag and ran out of the classroom.

I hurried down the stone steps until the school gate came into view. But unlike usual, the area was buzzing with noise.

“Whoa… look at that fashion. He really stands out.”

“Isn’t that car the MAX3 series? That’s insanely expensive. Who’s he waiting for?”

“No idea. But damn, he’s good-looking.”

Sure enough, near the front gate stood a huge, expensive-looking car—and someone waiting beside it. A sudden sense of dread hit me.

The sleek silver finish and gleaming wheels screamed luxury. The broad hood and sharp roofline flashed brilliantly in the sunlight.

And in front of it, a man in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, wearing yellow-purple gradient sunglasses, was staring at the gate.

Obviously waiting for someone.

Why was he here?!

No matter how I looked at him, it was Hyun-seo hyung. His bizarre outfit and the fancy car didn’t match at all, making him stand out even more.

I almost wanted to believe he wasn’t here for me.

They say a face completes fashion, and honestly, even dressed like that, he still looked good.

If anyone else had worn that, it would’ve been a completely different story.

Hyun-seo really owed his looks to our uncles.

But regardless, I didn’t want this kind of attention right now.

Better to quietly slip out the back gate…

I turned on my heel and made for the back gate. But before I got far, someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Faster than I expected. You were on the relay team during the sports festival, right?”

I turned at the familiar voice, and the first thing I saw was that blinding Hawaiian shirt.

Hyun-seo was looking down at me with a grin, not a drop of sweat on his face.

He had crossed the distance from the gate to here in no time, and without even sweating?

For real, what did this guy even do with his life? He didn’t have the stamina of someone who just killed time with glassblowing as a hobby.

As I reeled in shock, whispers spread around us. All eyes were fixed on me and Hyun-seo.

In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to run away.

* * *

In the car, old songs were playing. Sitting in the passenger seat, I clutched the seatbelt tightly.

I’d been forced in.

The wheels rolled smoothly as the car pulled away.

“I need to visit Hyun-woo at the hospital.”

“Mm? Ah… Don’t worry. I came here specifically to drive you there.”

“What? Why?”

I didn’t mean it harshly—it was pure surprise. He was the eldest, destined to be the heir, with so many responsibilities. Shouldn’t he be too busy?

“It’s a bribe.”

“…Excuse me?”

“There’s nothing for me to lose by getting on your good side, Eun-jae.”

“….”

“It just means I want us to get along.”

His words carried weight, but I nodded anyway. Not like there was much he could gain from me.

Hyun-seo hyung pulled up the hospital location on the map and said,

“If you’ve got a song you like, put it on.”

“No… I like this one.”

“Really? You’ve got similar taste to your brother.”

“…Sounds like you’ve gotten close to him.”

“Mm. My inner sense of closeness keeps growing.”

It didn’t sound entirely positive, yet he chuckled as he adjusted the volume.