Jung Jinhoo stared blankly at Jaeyoon, who was lying on the hospital bed with an oxygen respirator in a spacious room filled with the strong smell of antiseptic. Two days had passed since Jaeyoon fell down the stairs. Fortunately, the surgery had gone well without any issues. Nevertheless, Jaeyoon’s eyes remained firmly closed, showing no sign of opening.
“Jaeyoon…”
A trembling voice escaped from between his light pink lips. An overwhelming sense of anxiety kept creeping up his back. What if Jaeyoon never opens his eyes again… Jung Jinhoo shook his head. A drop of blood trickled from his lips, which he had bitten hard.
“Sunbae Jinhoo.”
Lee Heejun, who had entered the hospital room, lowered his eyes at the sight of Jinhoo with his head bowed. Who could possibly understand how Jinhoo was feeling right now? As Jinhoo turned to look at him, Heejun handed over a white envelope he was holding.
“A man I met in front of the hospital room asked me to give this to you.”
“Thanks.”
Jung Jinhoo took the white envelope and pulled out two documents from inside. As he read through the contents, his eyes grew cold and distant. After checking the second document, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Interesting.”
Jinhoo’s expression was frozen, devoid of any emotion as he spoke. He turned his gaze toward Jaeyoon. After watching his peaceful sleeping face for a moment, Jinhoo gently took Jaeyoon’s hand, which was neatly placed on the bed, with both of his hands.
“I’ll be back soon.”
With a small smile, Jung Jinhoo turned to Heejun.
“Please look after Jaeyoon.”
“Yes.”
Watching Jinhoo’s retreating back as he left the hospital room, Heejun sat down in the chair where Jinhoo had been sitting, leaning his back against it. Looking at Jaeyoon lying on the bed, Heejun muttered softly.
“It seems like Sunbae Jinhoo is determined to do something. If you don’t want this to become a big mess, wake up soon. Wait, are you trying to catch up on all your missed sleep now? You’re staying in Jinhoo sunbae’s room now, after all.”
After quietly staring at the unresponsive Jaeyoon, Heejun let out a small sigh.
“Huh? Where’s Jinhoo…?”
Heejun’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Lee Minho carefully opening the door and entering the room. He turned his head to look at Minho. In just two days, his handsome face had deteriorated badly. Dark circles under his eyes and rough skin. Seeing Minho’s exhausted appearance, Heejun frowned.
“He went to catch the culprit.”
“…What?”
Minho’s eyes widened. Seeing his slightly parted lips quivering, Heejun stood up abruptly from the chair.
‘Why am I always surrounded by such frustrating people?’
As Heejun strode toward him, Minho unconsciously took a step back.
“Hyungnim, you know who the owner of that umbrella is, don’t you?”
Minho’s pupils trembled rapidly. Seeing this, Heejun narrowed his brows and swept his bangs back.
“Why did you hide it? Is your ex-lover more important than your own brother?”
“Lover, what do you mean…?”
“Kim Yeonwoo.”
“H-how did you…?”
What do you mean ‘how’? Looking at the flustered Minho, Heejun let out a sigh that had been building up.
“You made it so obvious, did you expect me not to know?”
“…”
“You fought with Lee Jaeyoon because of Kim Yeonwoo, yet you still can’t let go? Is he that precious to you? Precious enough to overlook his cheating with multiple people?”
“What…?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”
At Heejun’s question, Minho fell silent for a moment. Heejun quietly waited as Minho lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
“…I did wonder if that might be the case. I thought there was something different about how the kids around Yeonwoo treated him compared to just friends.”
“And you didn’t mind?”
“Yeonwoo is starved for affection. So…”
Heejun let out a small sigh. Wow, what incredible love you have there.
“I might have understood this in the past, but isn’t it rude to defend him in front of me now?”
“Huh…?”
“Hyungnim, you haven’t forgotten our contract, have you?”
“Contract? Ah…”
As Minho’s lips parted slightly as if he’d just remembered, Heejun’s forehead wrinkled sharply. In response, Minho waved his hands frantically in the air, blurting out what could barely be called an excuse.
“No, no! That’s not it…!!”
“Well, I knew from the beginning that you had lingering feelings for Kim Yeonwoo, so it doesn’t really matter. I’m in no position to criticize others. Let’s set this issue aside for now. The most important thing right now is…”
Heejun moved closer to Minho. Then, he pressed his index finger against the center of Minho’s tense chest and met his eyes.
“Why did you hide the owner of the umbrella?”
“…The umbrella doesn’t belong to Yeonwoo.”
“Then, is it Kim Doha’s or whatever his name is?”
“How did—”
“It was written on the paper Sunbae Jinhoo was looking at. I think he probably requested a fingerprint analysis.”
“Fingerprint analysis… So that’s why he took the umbrella.”
“The school is trying to hush this up because they’re worried about their reputation being damaged after a student was seriously injured, so it seems like Sunbae Jinhoo is trying to solve this himself… Anyway, why don’t they understand that this kind of behavior damages their reputation even more when someone’s been hurt?”
Minho also narrowed his brows at the sight of Heejun’s expression, which showed his displeasure.
“But, it seems like Hyungnim knows the umbrella belongs to Kim Doha, yet you still think it was Kim Yeonwoo who dropped it there?”
Minho’s deep green eyes widened greatly.
“No matter how kind-hearted Hyungnim might be, there’s no reason for you to protect someone who seriously injured your brother, right? If that’s the case, it means the person who did this to Lee Jaeyoon is precious to you.”
“…You’re truly impressive. You sounded like a detective just now.”
“Jaeyoon occasionally says the same thing to me.”
“…”
Minho lowered his head and interlocked his fingers.
“I wasn’t protecting him…”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t think it was Yeonwoo. I thought that such a kind person couldn’t have done such a thing…”
As Minho bit his lips firmly, Heejun, who had been watching him quietly, eventually let out a long sigh.
“I don’t know what image of Kim Yeonwoo you have, Hyungnim, but one thing I can state for certain is that not everyone who lacks affection cheats.”
“…”
“And people don’t call someone who disrespects others and cheats on them ‘kind.'”
Minho shut his eyes tightly. His interlocked hands tensed. On the day of the incident, Minho had accidentally witnessed Kim Doha leaving the dormitory. Beside him was a first-year student who seemed to be from the same drama club. Looking at the sky full of dark clouds, the first-year asked Kim Doha if he had brought an umbrella since it looked like it would rain, and Doha…
– In Yeonwoo’s room… Do you have an umbrella?
– What? Oh, yes.
– Then it’s fine.
– What? Sunbae, don’t you have an umbrella?? My umbrella is small, it’ll be too tight for two of us, ah! Sunbae!!
At that time, Minho clearly heard him say “Yeonwoo’s room.” So if someone had an umbrella that day, it was definitely not Kim Doha but…
“It can’t be Yeonwoo. It shouldn’t be him. If it is…”
Heejun’s eyes widened. This person, I didn’t know he could make such an expression. Minho’s expression, which Heejun had never seen before, was both surprising and somehow refreshing. That this face, which had always been filled with gentleness, could now… Heejun placed his hand on Minho’s head. Soft hair flowed through his fingers.
“It’s natural not to want to believe that someone you care about hurt your family. But Hyungnim, don’t forget the order of what’s most important in crucial moments.”
Otherwise, you’ll come to regret it.
***
After all the club members had gone home, Kim Doha, who had stayed behind alone to check the club room one last time, massaged his stiff shoulders.
Ring, ring.
His phone in his pocket kept vibrating. As he sat down in a chair and answered the phone, an urgent voice came from the other end.
[Doha, where are you? Where are you right now? I miss you. Can’t you come here?]
His lips curled up at Kim Yeonwoo looking for him. Slowly tapping his finger on the desk, he remained silent for a moment without answering, then heard a voice calling his name: Doha?
[Why, why aren’t you saying anything? Doha!]
“Where are you?”
[The, the classroom. Doha, where are you? If you’re busy, should I come to you? No, I’ll go to you.]
“No.”
[I can’t…?]
His anxiety was transmitted through the phone. Kim Yeonwoo desperately searching for him—it was what he had always wanted. He liked that Yeonwoo depended on him, not Han Doyoon or anyone else. For some reason, Yeonwoo’s attitude had changed since hearing that Lee Jaeyoon had been hospitalized. He only looks for me, only depends on me… Kim Doha’s lips curved into a smile.
‘Lee Jaeyoon has his uses after all.’
[Doha!!]
“You said you’re in the classroom, right?”
[Y-yes!]
Hearing the voice instantly brighten, Kim Doha leaned back in his chair.
“Wait, I’ll come.”
[I’ll wait! I’ll keep waiting, so you have to come…]
Looking at his phone after the call ended, Kim Doha soon burst into laughter, chuckling. The once quiet club room was filled with his laughter.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself?”
“!!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
