DFLT 57

After buying cigarettes, Heonyoung went to the hospital’s outdoor smoking area and quickly smoked one. He naturally put a second cigarette to his lips and took a deep drag, and the stuffy weight that had been clinging to the inside of his mouth was sucked down below his lungs along with the smoke.

“I’m crazy.”

He had clearly lost his mind. Otherwise, why would his own mood be plummeting when Ji Yeonoh was the one who was sick? Heonyoung took his phone out of his pocket.

—What.

Kang Dojin’s voice on the other end of the line was deeply subdued. He must have had an amazing kiss with Ji Yeonoh just a few hours ago, so what could have possibly put him in such a foul mood? Lost in thought for a moment, he forgot to answer, and Dojin spoke first.

—Sorry. What’s up? It’s a surprise to get a call from you.

“Ji Yeonoh is in the hospital right now.”

—What? Yeonoh’s in the hospital?

The gloomy voice was gone, replaced by Dojin’s startled voice filling the speaker. He could picture it as if he were seeing it. He must have been lying in bed and then shot up like a spring.

—What happened? Just a few hours ago, we were together—.

Dojin, who had been asking this and that in an excited tone, poured out a waterfall of words before letting out a huge sigh.

—Ha…. I was such an idiot, I didn’t even notice….

The call ended after Dojin said he understood. As soon as Heonyoung sent the address via text message, the “unread” status disappeared. It was obvious what would happen after that. He probably wouldn’t be able to bear watching their tearful reunion of love.

A subtle grating feeling kept scratching at his nerves, but it was difficult to pinpoint its source. That was why he had called Dojin. Because there was no way his rock-bottom mood could be because of Ji Yeonoh. He would hand Ji Yeonoh over to Kang Dojin, swallow a sleeping pill with whiskey to fall into a deep sleep, and when he woke up, he would feel better soon. He had to.

“They said it’s overwork.”

While he was unconscious, quite a few calls had come from Seowon and his mother. It seemed they were worried because he hadn’t come home without notice so late at night. As soon as he checked his phone, Yeonoh first called Seowon.

—How can you talk about collapsing from overwork like you just had a good meal?

Seowon answered, jumping in protest. In truth, an exact diagnosis hadn’t been made yet, so there wasn’t much else he could say, but he didn’t want to worry him needlessly.

“Don’t tell Mom, just keep it to yourself.”

—Which hospital is it? I’ll go right now.

“Aren’t you at your part-time job now? It’s late, so come in the morning.”

—I’m almost done. And is that what’s important right now? If you were in the same situation, you’d leave work or whatever and come see me.

“…Hiss. I can’t argue with that.”

Defeated by the rather logical rebuttal, Yeonoh told him the hospital, urged him to be sure to finish work before coming, and then hung up.

He didn’t think he had ever been hospitalized before. No matter how tired he was, caffeine was always enough, and even when he caught a cold, he would be good as new after resting for about two days.

“Am I really getting old….”

He had never experienced such severe chills before, so he had been worried something was wrong with his body, but he breathed a sigh of relief at the result that there were no abnormal findings.

‘Ji Yeonoh, get a grip and breathe.’

The voice he had heard right before his mind was completely blanketed by the thought of being cold was Seo Heonyoung’s. Because he was having something of an argument with Seo Heonyoung. The more his emotions flared, the more a painful cold, like being cut to the bone by a sharp blade, washed over him, and he trembled until he seemed to blow a fuse. The chill hadn’t completely subsided even now, but it was a relief that it was much better than before.

In his unconscious state, while struggling with the cold, he had memories of his body warming up from time to time. Like how ink dropped into a bowl full of water slowly spreads, warmth had spread to his fingertips and toes, allowing him to escape the pain for a moment.

What was that? It was warm, just like the body heat when skin touches skin when someone hugs you. Could it be that Heonyoung’s body heat had touched him…. The absurd fantasy made his face flush on its own, and as he pulled the blanket up to his neck, he realized. With five of these thick blankets on, of course it would be warm.

What on earth am I thinking…. He only touched my hand for a moment to check my temperature, have I not fully woken up yet? As he lamented, covering his forehead, the hospital room door opened. Yeonoh, who was cautiously watching Seo Heonyoung’s unpleasant expression, gently began to speak.

“Um, Executive Director. I think I heard Managing Director Do Sehyun’s voice earlier….”

“You heard right.”

“Ah, so Managing Director Do came by.”

He had said he was having dinner with Sehyun’s family today. It was an understandable flow of events, so Yeonoh nodded.

“I should thank him.”

He pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, but Seo Heonyoung’s expression crumpled fiercely. Wondering if he had crossed a line, Yeonoh was at a loss for words.

“In this situation, you’re saying you’re thankful to Do Sehyun?”

“Pardon?”

Yeonoh, unable to understand Heonyoung’s intention in sharpening his tone at him, asked back, but he quickly shut his mouth at the white medicine bottle he showed him.

“I found it while looking for your ID for the admission process.”

“…Ah.”

“Putting aside the reason for now, you intend to thank Do Sehyun who gave you this?”

“……”

“Do you even know what this is before taking it? Does ‘theoretically no problem’ mean the same thing as ‘safe’? You were used. And you’re thanking him for that? Do you have any pride?”

The irritated tone was, for all intents and purposes, no different from him flying into a rage, but why did he sense a subtle worry in his way of speaking? He had heard all sorts of Seo Heonyoung’s tantrums, but this strange and complex irritation was a first.

Still.

He has no idea how much worry and heartbreak I went through before deciding to take this medicine. To think I wanted to yell, ‘I took it to try and stop this one-sided love you loathe so much, to try and fix everything, can’t you try to understand?’

“You have that ‘don’t butt in when you know nothing’ look on your face.”

On top of everything, does he now have the ability to read people’s minds? Instead of bothering to deny it, Yeonoh chose to look away. As if he had grasped that pathetic intention, Seo Heonyoung let out a dry laugh.

“Alright, then tell me.”

Heonyoung’s voice grew closer, and the faint scent of tobacco reached him. Following the source of the sound, he turned his head to see Seo Heonyoung leaning his arm on the bed rail, having come right up to him and pushed his upper body forward. Yeonoh’s frozen eyes widened.

“…Heek!”

“What is it that I don’t know?”

Th-this is a little too close.

“Th-th-that is….”

His smoothly sculpted forehead, brow bone, and the line of his nose had an incredible presence even from afar, but seeing them up close, his heart refused to cooperate no matter how he resolved to calm down.

As the flustered Yeonoh just stuttered, Heonyoung straightened the body he had been leaning on and picked up the suit jacket he had draped over the sofa armrest.

“The reason is obvious, isn’t it? Ji Yeonoh must have voluntarily stepped up for fear that the TG Group he loves so dearly would go under.”

Seeing him gather his belongings, it seemed he was preparing to leave. Thinking that not bothering to clear up the misunderstanding might be a good strategy, Yeonoh maintained his silence.

“Executive Director, get home safe—”

Slide, Thud!

Yeonoh’s farewell greeting was cut clean off by the sound of the door opening urgently.

“Hyung!”

Ji Seowon, who had appeared so tactlessly just as he was about to say goodbye to Heonyoung, ran over, crying as if his brother had contracted a fatal illness.

“Be quiet! It’s nighttime.”

Even though it was a private room, it was still a ward with other rooms nearby. Yeonoh slapped Seowon’s arm hard enough to make a sound for being so loud.

“Sorry, sorry. How are you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think I can be discharged tomorrow.”

Seowon fired off a barrage of worried questions. Seeing him run all the way here late at night because he was his brother, he felt a pang, thinking he had raised his little brother well.

“What do you mean, overwork? That jerk of a boss always made you work overtime on weekends too….”

The touching moment didn’t even last 10 seconds.

“Hey, wh-what are you talking about!”

Yeonoh, his face bright red, waved his hands frantically, trying to do damage control. Behind Ji Seowon, Seo Heonyoung was watching the scene with an amused expression. The thing that was feeling a pang was no longer his heart, but what would soon be his future.

“Oppa, I’m here too.”

She had said she was working with Hyeyoon. It seemed she had heard the news and they had come together after finishing work. He turned his gaze that way to thank her, but he saw Dojin beyond Hyeyoon. Remembering what happened earlier, Yeonoh, at a loss for what to do, greeted her with an awkward smile.

“Uh, th-thanks, Hyeyoon. For coming all this way so late.”

“And this person said he’s a sunbae you’re close with, oppa. Seowon knew him well, too.”

When he was being mentored by Dojin, he would sometimes call Seowon over and buy him things like ice cream or shaved ice. Seowon also followed Dojin well, so the two knew each other quite well.

“You, you even know Ji Yeonoh’s family?”

Seo Heonyoung asked Dojin, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course. Seowon follows me around so well.”

“Is that so?”

Seo Heonyoung, who hadn’t batted an eye at Seowon’s “jerk of a boss” comment, now had a somewhat displeased look on his face. He then placed the suit jacket he had been holding on his arm right back down on the sofa armrest. Uh… wasn’t he about to go home?