HWAMB — Chapter 40

“Ugh… thanks. I think I’m… ow…”

I tried to reassure him and stand up again, but pain shot through my ankle and I winced, collapsing back down.

This wasn’t good.

I thought it wasn’t serious, but it clearly was.

Seeing my ankle swell, Hyun-woo helped me to the nearest bench.

He pressed around gently and asked,

“Feels like the muscle’s strained… does it hurt here?”

“Ow…”

“If it’s really bad, let’s go to the ER.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that bad.”

The neighborhood clinics would already be closed, and it didn’t feel serious enough for the hospital right this second.

I told him I’d go early in the morning for a checkup. Hyun-woo frowned, then stood up.

“Do you have painkillers or patches at home?”

“I think I have patches… not sure about painkillers.”

At that, Hyun-woo told me to sit still while he went to the nearest pharmacy.

“If anything happens, call me. And don’t follow any weird guys.”

“I’m not a little kid. Don’t worry and just go.”

“Phew… fine.”

“Thanks. Oh, grab me a Melona bar on the way back.”

“You’re dead.”

Hyun-woo shot me a glare at my cheeky request. The mood lift attempt failed.

Leaving the bag by the bench, Hyun-woo ran off toward the pharmacy.

Once he was out of sight, I sighed and rubbed my swollen ankle.

‘What a mess of a day…’

This was supposed to be a nice date, just the two of us, but instead…

Instead of being remembered as “a fun outing,” this date would be “that time I got hurt being clumsy.”

From Hyun-seo’s sudden appearance to tripping over a rock—it really felt like a string of bad luck.

They say bad days always come with accidents in a row. Once Hyun-woo came back, I figured we should head home early.

‘My brother’s coming home late today… maybe I should just stay at Hyun-woo’s place.’

The hospital was closer to his house anyway—I’d ask him later.

Bored from waiting, I snapped a photo of my swollen ankle and posted it in the group chat with my friends.

Not long after, the replies came flooding in.

[ Sangsu: ? ]

[ Me: Sprained my ankle ^-^v ]

[ Seonghan: ? ]

[ Youngho: ??? ]

[ Seonghan: lol get wrecked ]

[ Sangsu: What were you showing off for this time? How’d your ankle end up like that? Hahaha ]

[ Youngho: Kang Eun-jae, you didn’t die, right? ]

[ Seonghan: LOL it looks like an elephant ankle. Guess you found a new friend. ]

[ Sangsu: LOLOLOLOLOL ]

[ Youngho: LMAO f*** hahahaha ]

[ Me: LOLOLOL shut up hahaha ]

Their reactions were all the same as usual.

[ Youngho: No but seriously, what the hell did you do to your foot???? ]

[ Sangsu: fr lol ]

[ Seonghan: fr lol ]

[ Me: It’s nothing ]

[ Sangsu: okok ]

[ Me: Just missed a step ]

[ Seonghan: ? ]

[ Seonghan: LOL ]

[ Youngho: Walking on the street?? ]

[ Me: Yeah yeah yeah ]

[ Youngho: On flat ground?? ]

[ Me: Yeah ]

[ Seonghan: lolol this idiot’s foot hahaha ]

[ Sangsu: LOL Kang Eun-jae you kill me hahaha ]

To kill time while Hyun-woo was gone, I kept exchanging messages with them for a few minutes.

When I mentioned I was at the night market, everyone said they were jealous. Seemed like they were all stuck in grueling cram school summer sessions.

[ Youngho: Damn… why does math even exist, pisses me off ]

[ Seonghan: Bet this idiot’s solving math problems from the textbook right now ]

[ Sangsu: 2222222 ]

[ Me: 3333333 ]

[ Youngho: For real, if I had a time machine I’d beat up Descartes first ]

[ Me: Agreed ]

[ Sangsu: lol that’s crossing the line fr ]

[ Youngho: Ah shit. Teacher’s here bye ]

[ Sangsu: l8r ]

[ Seonghan: Were you sneaking your phone in class lol ]

[ Me: bb ]

With a faint smile, I turned off the screen. Having nothing else to do, I let out a sigh and stared blankly up at the sky.

Tonight, the stars seemed more numerous than usual.

“Wow, the stars are insane tonight.”

Not as many as in the countryside, but still plenty. If only Hyun-woo could see this.

‘I’ll tell him when he gets back.’

I took in the stars one by one with my eyes.

Unlike the countryside, the city lights were too bright, so the stars dimmed themselves, quietly waiting for their moment.

It was as if they were saving their brilliance for the time when they could shine the brightest.

I thought that was beautiful in its own way.

“Stars in the countryside are in the sky, but here in the city, they live on the ground.” That was what my father always used to say before he passed away.

As a child, I never really understood what he meant. But now, I felt like I was starting to.

“……”

I lowered my gaze again, looking at the scene before me.

Families holding hands, couples and lovers looking happy, workers rushing home after finishing their shifts.

The gentle lantern light hanging from the shop stalls shone warmly on all those people.

Suddenly, I thought of Hyun-woo, who always took photos no matter where we went.

So, just like he always did, I took a photo.

Click—the image on the screen captured that moment just a second ago.

It wasn’t shaky or particularly bad, but it wasn’t anything special either.

“Mm… as expected, this is hard…”

It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.

I quickly deleted the failed photo and tried taking several more shots.

They were a little better than the first ones, but still not great.

‘At least they’re more decent than the first.’

I’d show Hyun-woo later. Maybe someday I should ask him to teach me how to take pictures.

Lost in thought, I was scrolling through my gallery when suddenly a shadow fell over me, darkening the screen.

Thinking Hyun-woo had already returned, I smiled brightly and looked up. But the face before me was someone completely different.

“Oh…”

“……”

The smile faded from my lips. It was a face I knew well.

Jang Jae-ho was looking down at me, lips tightly shut.

‘Shit…’

He wore a black hoodie pulled up, his gaze cold and piercing.

Dark shadows hung beneath his eyes, making him look even more hollow, as if he hadn’t rested properly in days.

I’d heard he moved… so what the hell was he doing here?

Just when I worried things might spiral again, here came Jae-ho out of nowhere. Bad premonitions never missed.

I let out a sigh.

“What is it? You have something to say to me?”

At my cold look, like I was asking what the hell he wanted, Jae-ho bit his lip and clenched his fists.

Then, in a voice low enough that only I could hear, he muttered flatly,

“…I’m sorry.”

With that, Jae-ho slowly lowered his head… and dropped to his knees.

Right there in the middle of the street.

For a split second, I thought, ‘Is he messing with me on purpose?’ And sure enough, all the people enjoying the night market turned to stare.

Flustered by the sudden attention, I hissed at him under my breath.

“Are you crazy?! Stop it, get up!”

“……”

But Jae-ho stayed there, unmoving, head down.

The stares from all around were bad enough, but if Hyun-woo saw this scene, it would blow up into a fight.

Barely holding onto my sanity, I dragged myself up from the bench.

I grabbed Jae-ho, hobbling on my injured ankle, and pulled him toward an empty alley away from people’s eyes.

‘Damn, he’s heavy as hell.’

He let his body go limp, being dragged along, mumbling “I’m sorry…” over and over like a broken record.

For a second, I wondered if this lunatic had been drinking, but surprisingly, there wasn’t a trace of alcohol on him.

When we’d gone far enough, I shoved Jae-ho down to the ground and caught my breath.

Just that short walk made my sprained ankle throb.

“What the hell are you doing? Dropping to your knees out of nowhere in a crowd? You selfish bastard.”

“……”

“You think if you apologized in public, I’d be too embarrassed to refuse and just accept it?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then what is it.”

At my sharp question, Jae-ho hesitated before answering. The dark hollows under his eyes seemed even deeper than before.

“…I kept trying to find you to apologize.”

“…”

“Ever since that day… I haven’t been able to sleep. The day we fought.”