WOEIWHMB – Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I shouldn’t have run for no reason.

“Damn it… those pickpocket bastards.”

“Dong-woo hyung!”

Hearing Kang Mu-hyeok’s urgent voice from afar, I instinctively raised my own.

“Oh, Mu-hyeok! Over here!”

“Yeon Dong-woo!”

As his voice drifted farther away, Yeon Dong-woo let out a sigh.

“No, I’m right here…”

Muttering weakly, he walked while bracing himself against the alley wall when suddenly his vision went completely white, and he couldn’t see anything.

“Ah… again.”

After saying it without thinking, he carefully lay down on the ground to ease his condition.

A hazy memory that had surfaced suddenly became vivid.

I had been taken away in an ambulance before.

Just like now. No, back then, I was riding a bicycle.

Trying to catch up to Kang Mu-hyeok, who was riding alongside me, I pedaled like crazy and reached a rest stop, then sat down next to him on a bench where he was resting.

Just like now, my vision suddenly turned white, and I couldn’t see anything. It had been so sudden and terrifying.

‘Ugh…’

‘Hyung?’

‘I can’t… see. I can’t see.’

Kang Mu-hyeok was saying something beside me, but I couldn’t hear him properly.

I lay down on the bench as he guided me, and I heard him say he was calling an ambulance.

The field of vision that had been filled with nothing but light, like a fully opened camera aperture, slowly began to fill with autumn scenery.

At some point, the ambulance arrived. I tried to walk on my own, staggering, but Kang Mu-hyeok slipped his arms under my back and thighs and lifted me up.

When I ended up being carried princess-style, I was so embarrassed I tried to get down.

‘I can wal—’

‘He suddenly collapsed after saying he couldn’t see.’

At the firm voice he used to explain to the paramedics, Yeon Dong-woo unconsciously became obedient.

Kang Mu-hyeok’s calm explanation of the situation left a strong impression.

In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, they ran various tests.

During that time, I could feel my body gradually returning to normal.

It had happened because blood had pooled in my legs, temporarily cutting off oxygen supply to my head. According to the paramedics, I had fainted.

Anyway…

Lying in the emergency room, I felt completely fine.

“Mu-hyeok… I’m okay.”

“We need to run tests.”

“No… I’m fine.”

“No. We need to do the tests.”

“I’m okay…”

It was really awkward.

I’d caused such a fuss, even riding in an ambulance, only to be completely fine.

I tried to sneakily get up and tell Kang Mu-hyeok we should go, but he wasn’t the type to let that slide.

In the end, we finished all the tests and left the hospital with nothing but results saying there was nothing wrong.

I really was fine.

“Hyung!”

“I’m okay…”

Just as memories seemed to surface, I felt fine again the moment I saw Kang Mu-hyeok.

But Kang Mu-hyeok’s face, slick with sweat, was filled with fear.

Even as his eyes widened in shock and he breathed roughly from running over, he carefully checked me over.

Had he looked like this back then too?

“Get on my back.”

“No, I think it’s because I ran suddenly.”

“I said get on. We’re going to the hospital.”

“It’s the same as when I was riding a bike—”

After Yeon Dong-woo grabbed Kang Mu-hyeok and stood up, brushing dirt off himself from lying down, his body suddenly lifted, and he was hoisted onto a broad back.

And just like that, it was straight to the hospital in a taxi.

The doctor we’d seen that morning came over and ran a series of tests, and perfectly fine me could do nothing but watch Kang Mu-hyeok’s reactions.

Thinking about it, chasing a motorcycle on foot was completely ridiculous.

My money… sigh. I probably ended up spending more on hospital bills.

“That was dangerous.”

At Kang Mu-hyeok’s sudden voice, Yeon Dong-woo nodded.

“…Yeah.”

“So what if you lose your wallet? What if something serious had happened in that alley? Did you forget you hit your head?”

At the scolding delivered in a flat tone, Yeon Dong-woo lowered his head.

He’d known Kang Mu-hyeok for a long time, so he could tell the guy was truly angry.

Just looking at the veins bulging on the back of the hand gripping the hospital paperwork made that clear. Even his forehead showed pronounced veins.

“Where do you think you’re chasing them without a shred of fear? Do you think the security here is like Korea? What if they’d lured you in and kidnapped you?”

The barrage of reprimands filled with question marks made Yeon Dong-woo’s chest shrink.

Still, being scolded like this didn’t quite feel real. His head felt foggy.

“Sorry… for scaring you again because of me…”

When he apologized in a small, trailing voice, Kang Mu-hyeok ran a hand over the back of his head and let out a shallow sigh.

“Don’t chase them again.”

“Okay. But I remembered riding bikes with you.”

“Did you only remember riding bikes?”

“No, well… a small incident.”

At Yeon Dong-woo’s awkward answer, Kang Mu-hyeok narrowed his eyes.

“You mean when we lost our bikes at the restaurant and reported it to the police, only to find out hyung had ridden someone else’s bike from the rest stop?”

“……”

“Or when you collapsed while riding and we went to the ER?”

“Yeah.”

“And do you remember going home after that, eating pork ribs and cold noodles, then getting indigestion and going back to the ER that night?”

“……”

Yeon Dong-woo couldn’t lift his head. And that string of ridiculous incidents hadn’t even ended there.

“And the next day you caught the flu, and the month after that you got COVID?”

“I-I guess the hospital bills were a lot…”

“Is that really the issue right now?”

At Kang Mu-hyeok’s even lower voice, Yeon Dong-woo shut his mouth.

“Still, you got through it fine since you ate well and slept well.”

“When I was sick, did you take care of me?”

“No.”

“……”

“You told me not to come because it might spread.”

At the calm answer, Yeon Dong-woo’s brows drew together.

He felt a bit hurt, but at the same time, it made sense that Kang Mu-hyeok wouldn’t want to spread an infectious disease.

It was common sense, after all.

Still…

A vague bitterness filled his mouth.

During the taxi ride back to the hotel, Yeon Dong-woo kept his eyes closed. It was past midnight, so there was nowhere to buy food.

As soon as he entered the hotel room, Yeon Dong-woo opened the suitcase in the corner.

Next to the clothes were cup noodles, instant rice, and kimchi. As he fished them out, he felt something large looming over him from behind.

Glancing at Kang Mu-hyeok, Yeon Dong-woo spoke.

“Do you want some too?”

“I’m fine.”

Kang Mu-hyeok replied casually and opened the lower cabinet of the dresser.

From a small refrigerator he hadn’t even known was there, he took out three neatly cut slices of cake and some yogurt and placed them on the table.

“When did you buy those?”

“I told you earlier. I went out to buy a few things and ate lunch too. Yogurt seemed the easiest on your stomach, and if you handled that well, I was going to order room service.”

“…Thanks.”

Guilt came rushing in belatedly. He felt embarrassed for having thought Kang Mu-hyeok had just abandoned him to eat on his own.

Sure enough, what Kang Mu-hyeok added only made him realize how petty he’d been.

“No. I ate outside because I was worried food smells might upset your stomach. But now that I think about it, you’ve always eaten well and slept well even when you were sick.”

“How do you know I eat well and sleep well when I’m sick?”

“I kept the webcam on.”

“Webcam?”

“You told me not to come over when you were sick, so I told you to keep your laptop webcam on.

I even told you to show me how much you ate. When I saw you finish all the porridge and rice I had delivered, I finally relaxed.”

Ah… so he did take care of my meals.

The disappointment he’d felt earlier about not being nursed drained away.

Feeling much better, Yeon Dong-woo’s fingers moved lightly.

While Yeon Dong-woo ate yogurt with a teaspoon, Kang Mu-hyeok poured hot water into a cup noodle and opened a pack of kimchi.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Kang Mu-hyeok brought over medicine and water. Being stared at so intently made it hard to eat properly.

Perhaps sensing that, Kang Mu-hyeok rummaged through the suitcase, pulled out what looked like the instant coffee Yeon Dong-woo had packed, and made him a cup.

Then he took photos of the hospital documents they’d received.

While waiting for the noodles to finish cooking, Yeon Dong-woo casually voiced a question that had crossed his mind earlier.

“But… I thought you were straight.”

“I thought so too.”

“You said you liked me from the first time you saw me.”

“I thought you just caught my eye because you were pretty. I realized it was love later.”

The way he said it, like he was summarizing a plot, stirred a bit of irritation.

“Why didn’t you realize it was love?”

“Because you’re a man.”

“…Usually, if you like men, people think you’re gay.”

“I liked pretty women and handsome men. But the only person I wanted to strip was you.”

“Even saying that…”

At a loss for words, Yeon Dong-woo sipped the ramen broth. His face turning bright red was unavoidable.

“You never showed any signs that you liked me.”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”