TIN 149

When I lived in the alley, there were often guys who tried to die by eating rat poison. Since it was their own choice, we usually pretended not to notice, but sometimes accidents happened when they mistakenly ate it because they were hungry.

In those cases, we could somehow save their lives by making them vomit within an hour, or at least 30 minutes. It was most effective to take out the pill immediately after eating it, but we were rarely that lucky, so the only way was to vomit it out before it was digested as much as possible.

So, what about the pill that Joo Do-hwa brought?

Since there was no clock in this room, I didn’t know how long I had been staring blankly. It felt like a short time, but it wouldn’t be strange if several hours had passed. Judging by the fact that the pill’s shape wasn’t visible, there was a possibility that it had already been digested.

Fortunately, Joo Do-hwa came to the room not long after I threw up. It was such an amazing timing that I vaguely realized he was watching me. There were no cameras visible in the room, but it wouldn’t be difficult to hide them invisibly.

“……”

Joo Do-hwa, dressed in comfortable clothes and accompanied by a servant, looked around the messy room with indifferent eyes. I thought he would sneer at me for throwing up again, but surprisingly, no words came out of his mouth. He just quietly came to the bed and lifted me up, who was slumped over.

“Ugh……”

When his hand pulled my arm, I unknowingly flinched and shrugged my shoulders. But I didn’t have the strength to push him away. Joo Do-hwa put his hands under my armpits and lifted me up, then straightened my body as if he were handling a child and ordered the servant.

“Clean it up.”

The place he headed to was the bathroom attached to the inside of the room. Joo Do-hwa laid me down in the spacious bathtub and, surprisingly, seemed to be trying to wash me himself. I thought he would have Henry do it like he had done once before, but I could tell by the sight of him holding the showerhead himself.

Is he planning to play house? Even though I felt ridiculous, no words came out of my mouth. All the energy in my body was draining away, and it was hard to even keep my eyes open.

“Sleep if you’re sleepy.”

Joo Do-hwa knew my condition quite accurately. I wasn’t sleepy, I was dizzy. I didn’t even have the energy to answer that. My flickering eyes didn’t open again after a certain point.

＊ ＊ ＊

I had a dream of endlessly falling into an unknown darkness. I couldn’t hear anything, but the quiet silence made me even more afraid. The sensation of falling down was similar to floating on gentle waves.

I slowly regained consciousness around the time I suddenly started to feel suffocated. I was clearly breathing properly, but I kept feeling suffocated as if I was underwater. It felt like my nose and mouth were all blocked, and I was barely breathing through a narrow gap.

“Heu…”

I forced my body, which wouldn’t move well, to toss and turn, and frantically clawed at my suffocating chest. As I scratched roughly in my sleep, my bare skin felt prickly and sore even through my T-shirt. My stomach felt hot as if I had swallowed a ball of fire, and my lower abdomen started to throb as well.

Why does it hurt so much?

Even while wandering in my dream, my body was so painful that I couldn’t stand it. It wasn’t even this bad when I had a fever, but the more the pain increased, the stranger I felt. My heart was beating anxiously, and I even felt like I was going to throw up.

‘It’s made by our pharmaceutical company. There are almost no side effects, and if there are any, it’s just a little stomachache.’

Right, I took the medicine. The medicine that Joo Do-hwa brought, which I swallowed in one gulp as if to protest.

The realization came with pain and an unfamiliar unpleasantness. It felt as if I had been covered in filth, my mood plummeting instantly. My already poor stomach churned violently, forcing me to curl up as much as possible.

I felt utterly miserable beyond words. I repeatedly justified my actions, telling myself it was the best I could do, but I couldn’t shake off the lingering unease. I had been so anxious that I had vomited, yet all I could worry about was this.

If it doesn’t work, will I have to take it again?

Could I really take it again?

If I have to choose again with my own hands…

“…Ugh.”

My head spun, my stomach churned, and I felt completely disoriented. I couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake, or even what I was doing.

‘Don’t make a sound.’

Live, who said that? I don’t want to live, who answered that? Save me, whose wish is that?

As I floundered in these unanswerable thoughts, my already shallow breath grew increasingly rapid. Groaning and thrashing, I grabbed whatever was nearby.

A cool, hard, unidentified object cautiously enveloped my hand after a slight pause.

“…”

I instinctively knew it was a hand. Familiar warmth emanated from our intertwined fingers. Before I could even consider who it might be, a comforting scent gently settled over me.

Surprisingly, that alone made me feel calmer. The sweet fragrance soothed my anxious heart. My racing heart gradually returned to its normal pace, and my constricted breathing eased.

“Haa…”

So, I took a deep breath and pulled the hand closer. I buried my face in it and groaned with blissful satisfaction. It was as if the clinging anxiety had been washed away, and my mind instantly felt at peace.

How long had I been like that? The other person carefully stroked my hair. My bangs were soaked with sweat and a mess, as if I had been sweating in my sleep. As I slowly opened my eyes at the touch, the other person let out a soft exclamation.

“Ah.”

It took quite a while for my blurry vision to return to normal. Consciousness returned to my sleep-addled brain, and I realized that the scent I was smelling was pheromones. Blink, blink, I opened and closed my eyes, and saw a figure sitting on the bed.

“Are you awake?”

“…!”

It felt as if I had been splashed with cold water. Startled, I shook off the hand I was holding and sat up. In the process, I put my weight on my injured left hand, causing my healing thumb to throb.

“…”

I barely suppressed the groan that almost escaped my lips. I squeezed the bandaged finger tightly, narrowed my brow, and looked around.

A familiar ceiling, familiar lighting, freshly laundered bedding… and Joo Do-hwa.

“You’re looking at me like I’m a ghost again.”

The quietly muttered voice was eerie, like a ghost. Perhaps it was because his expression was so cold. Joo Do-hwa, with a chillingly expressionless face, chuckled and tilted his head.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“What…”

My mind was working far too slowly. I stuttered, unable to speak properly, and had to close my mouth again. Despite my foolish reaction, Joo Do-hwa calmly replied.

“You threw up yesterday.”

“…”

Only then did I understand the situation. I remembered Joo Do-hwa taking me to the bathroom, and then falling asleep at some point. A day had passed while I was asleep, as I could see the sunlight streaming in through the window when I inadvertently turned my gaze.

“That’s why you shouldn’t be so stubborn.”

He chided me in a leisurely, relaxed tone. As if he hadn’t tried to stop me. He was the one who brought the medicine right to my face, yet it was entirely my choice.

“All you had to do was say one word, but you’re so stubborn.”

The voice that followed was just as indifferent, as if it were someone else’s problem. He crossed his legs and took a familiar pill bottle out of his pocket. Then, he shook it slightly, as if to show off.

“…”

The rattling sound was as loud as thunder. I should have taken the last pill, so had he brought a new one in the meantime?

When he opened the lid and took out a pill, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. I thought he would tell me to take it again because I threw up, like yesterday.

But Joo Do-hwa put the pill he had picked up with his thumb and forefinger into his own mouth without hesitation.

“…Why are you.”

Why are you eating it?

“I forgot to tell you something.”

Joo Do-hwa, who had quietly started, crunched the pill with his molars. The act of crunching and swallowing was as natural as flowing water. His prominent Adam’s apple moved up and down, and his bright red lips formed a soft curve.

“I mistook the medicine.”

The slowly uttered words were incomprehensible for a moment. So was the sight of him rolling the pill bottle in his hand with a faint smile. Then, he met my gaze and nodded.

“This, the contents are just vitamins.”

“…”

My expression stiffened. While I was speechless, he put the pill bottle on the bedside table and got up. His gaze, looking down at me, was tinged with a slight smile.

“Rest.”

With those words, he left the room without looking back. The sound of the door slamming shut pierced my ears sharply.