TWYW C13

“I-I’ll write it tomorrow.”

—You have to write it by this week. That way, we can meet next week to revise it together.

“I’ll really write it.”

—Yeah, you really should. Unless you want to fail this liberal arts class.

“I said I’ll write it……”

Not wanting to lose, Gyeoul replied in a small, grumbling voice.

—Alright. It’s late. Hurry up and get some sleep.

“What the, you’re the one who called……”

—That’s right, honey is going to sleep now, so I’m hanging up.

Stunned by Yuhyeon’s words, Gyeoul couldn’t pull the phone away from his ear even after the call ended, frozen in place. Without even needing to check the mirror, he wiped a hand over his face, which he knew must have already turned beet red, and closed his eyes.

Honey, honey? honey…….

Gyeoul shook his head, his mind suddenly clear as if his body had never ached. Yuhyeon’s voice continued to linger in his ears. Gyeoul had to spend a sleepless night, his heart pounding as if it were broken and about to explode.

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Waking up before the sun was fully up, Gyeoul let out a groan and tossed and turned. His condition was even worse than before he fell asleep; Gyeoul felt as if a truck had run over his body while he was sleeping. Even so, he was worried about whether he could go to his part-time job at the café today.

Gyeoul kicked off the blanket and painstakingly got out of bed, heading for the bathroom. When he lifted his T-shirt to wash, he saw that his body, bruised more severely than the night before, was turning a dark blue in various spots. If there was any silver lining, it was that the bruise on his face was faint, noticeable only upon close inspection.

Gyeoul let out a deep sigh, stepped into the shower booth, and turned on the water. Even with the normal water pressure, he felt a throbbing pain when the stream hit the most severely bruised areas. The only consolation was that it wasn’t as severe as the time he was beaten when his parents found out he had enrolled in the creative writing department. Being so used to being hit, Gyeoul could already roughly picture in his head how long it would take for the wounds to heal. That was how accustomed Gyeoul had become to his father’s violence.

After showering, Gyeoul applied the little remaining ointment onto his wounds, changed his clothes, and finished getting ready for school. His aching body seemed to be screaming at him to stay in bed, but since home was not a safe haven for him, Gyeoul chose to grab his bag and leave.

After his morning lecture, Gyeoul walked up the stairs with slower steps than usual, heading to the place where he always spent his time alone. As expected, he sat down in the quiet, empty space and took out the used laptop he had bought before entering university. The laptop, purchased with money earned from his part-time jobs, was the most expensive thing Gyeoul had ever bought. He had bought it from a second-hand goods website after deciding he would definitely need it for university.

Gyeoul typed on the keyboard, writing the liberal arts report he had forgotten about until Yuhyeon’s call last night. But the constant throbbing pain in his body kept bothering him, so he took out the cigarettes he had bought at the convenience store in front of the school. Not knowing how to relieve stress, Gyeoul’s little act of rebellion, smoking, was his own small way of coping. In truth, smoking didn’t solve anything, but it held the meaning of defiance toward his foster parents.

Looking down at the campus from the top of the hill, Gyeoul took a drag from his cigarette, but feeling only a bitter taste spread in his mouth, as if his body was in really bad shape, he quickly stubbed out the cigarette he had barely smoked. Gyeoul ran a hand roughly through his hair and placed his hands on the laptop again to start writing the report.

“Working hard on your assignment.”

A familiar voice reached Gyeoul’s ears as he was in the middle of writing his report. When he lifted his head, he saw Yuhyeon’s face, which felt like it had been a while.

“……I always work hard.”

Gyeoul answered with a 괜히 grumpy tone and glanced at Yuhyeon.

“Did you smoke?”

Yuhyeon sat down next to Gyeoul and suddenly leaned in close to smell for cigarette smoke, causing Gyeoul’s body to freeze completely.

“What happened to your face?”

“M-my face? What about it?”

Gyeoul rubbed the bruise on his face that he had momentarily forgotten about and shifted his body to sit a little farther away from Yuhyeon.

“Did you get in a fight?”

“What fight? I just bumped into something.”

Feeling a pang of guilt, Gyeoul couldn’t meet Yuhyeon’s gaze properly and turned his eyes back to the report he was writing. However, he could still feel Yuhyeon’s eyes staring intently at him from his side.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on.”

“You’re not sick, are you?”

“I’m not sick. And even if I were, what does that have to do with you, sunbae?”

Afraid that he might reveal his battered body, sharp words slipped out of Gyeoul’s mouth without him realizing.

“It has nothing to do with me. But because you keep lying, I want to make it my business.”

“I’m not lying.”

He hadn’t known Yuhyeon for long, but from what he had seen, he knew how perceptive he was. Yuhyeon was the type to easily understand the hidden meaning behind Gyeoul’s insincere words. So, if Gyeoul were to get up and leave first to avoid Yuhyeon, he felt he would notice his poor physical condition from his slower-than-usual steps.

“Ah, ack.”

While Gyeoul was lost in thought for a moment, Yuhyeon pressed firmly on his side. It wasn’t even that forceful, but it was enough for the badly injured Gyeoul to curl up. And right after, Yuhyeon lifted up Gyeoul’s shirt. Gyeoul quickly pulled his shirt down to cover himself, but it was clear that Yuhyeon had already seen the mottled bruises.

“You should at least hide it properly.”

“……I told you it’s none of your business, sunbae.”

“Get up. Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Let’s go to the hospital. How are you going to walk around in that state?”

“I have my part-time job.”

Gyeoul replied, looking at Yuhyeon with a stubborn face.

“And it’s not something you need to worry about.”

“Really? I shouldn’t worry?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about it.”

At Gyeoul’s firm reply, Yuhyeon stared quietly into Gyeoul’s eyes. Gyeoul met Yuhyeon’s gaze without avoiding it, and then Yuhyeon stood up from his seat.

“You mean this.”

“I always mean what I say.”

“That last part was a lie.”

“……”

“Fine, I get it. You do you.”

Gyeoul watched Yuhyeon’s back as he turned and walked down the stairs. He was the one who had told him not to worry, but he couldn’t understand why he felt a strange sense of disappointment that Yuhyeon had turned his back and left first. He tried to comfort himself by thinking it was just because his body ached that he was getting sentimental over nothing. As it was almost time for his part-time job, he packed his bag and got up.

Arriving at the café just in time with steps slower than usual, Gyeoul went into the break room, put down his bag, and started working. He moved his body more busily than ever, hoping that concentrating on his café duties would make him forget his aching body for a while.

“Gyeoul, are you okay?”

“Yes?”

“You’re breaking out in a cold sweat right now.”

“Ah, it’s just a little hot.”

Even Gyeoul himself could feel his overexerted body gradually getting worse.

“Go look at yourself in a mirror. You wouldn’t be saying that if you saw what your face looks like right now.”

“I’m really fine……”

“Stop being stubborn, put down what you’re doing, and go home and rest.”

Although he felt his body getting heavier, Gyeoul didn’t want to go home early. Since he had nowhere else to go even if he left the café, he tried to say he was fine and would work more, but in the end, the owner had to push him out, forcing him to leave the café early.

With nowhere particular to go, Gyeoul stood in front of the café, unable to leave easily, wondering if he had no choice but to go back home. Just then, the phone in his pocket started to ring. Gyeoul stared at the phone he had taken out for a moment before pressing the call button.