The mug that Sanho was holding suddenly tilted forward, and coffee splashed all over Yoonju’s blouse. Sanho’s finger, which was hooked on the mug’s handle, bent awkwardly. Soon, the mug slipped from Sanho’s hand and fell to the floor with a clatter.
“Ahhh!”
Yoonju, whose thin blouse was completely soaked, hurriedly bent forward, but the hot coffee had already drenched her chest. Sanho stared intently at Yoonju’s back as she rushed to find something to wipe herself with. The sound of Yoonju sniffling could be heard vividly from beyond the partition. And then, footsteps.
A voice he wanted to hear was uttering words he didn’t want to hear.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Coffee, spilled, ah… what should I do….”
When Sanho looked over the partition into the office, he saw Siwoo just coming out of his private office, taking off his suit jacket. Siwoo was using his jacket to cover Yoonju’s blouse. The thin blouse, already small and emphasizing her figure, was now soaked, making her underwear clearly visible. However, it seemed that Yoonju was more concerned about the pain from the hot coffee. Siwoo bent down worriedly to look at Yoonju.
“Let’s go to the infirmary. Quickly. You might have gotten burned.”
Yoonju nodded, tears streaming down her face. Sanho slowly bent his knees and sat down. The translucent partition concealed his body.
“…….”
He stared intently at the coffee that had pooled on the floor. The shattered remnants of the mug were stained by the coffee. Sanho reached out toward the sharp debris.
“…….”
His fingertips touched the sharp piece. He pressed down with force. The sharp fragment began to cut into his fingertip. A small droplet of blood formed, growing larger as Sanho pressed harder. The dark brown liquid began to mix with the deep red.
“Sanho, where are you?”
Only after hearing Siwoo’s voice did Sanho pull his hand away from the sharp edge. It was a surprisingly brief moment, but his fingertip was already deeply cut.
“Sanho.”
Siwoo walked over the partition. He looked at Sanho, who was kneeling, and quickly checked the coffee stain mixed with the red blood and the shattered mug. Siwoo’s eyebrows furrowed sharply. He hurriedly bent down.
“Are you okay…!”
He grabbed Sanho’s hand urgently. Thick drops of blood fell from the edge of the open wound. Siwoo quickly wrapped Sanho’s injury with a napkin from the table. His manner of lifting Sanho by the shoulders was hasty. Looking around at the stiff employees, Siwoo said,
“We’re going to the infirmary.”
“Oh my. Did Sanho get hurt too? It happened when the mug broke.”
The employees looked at Sanho and Siwoo with worried expressions. Siwoo pulled Sanho close and hurriedly walked away.
The infirmary was located on the second floor of the building. They passed by the kindergarten, hair salon, and gym set up for JR employees, entering a much larger infirmary than a typical hospital. The staff sitting at the desk jumped up in surprise upon seeing Siwoo and Sanho.
“Oh, Director. What happened to Team 2 today….”
“He hurt his hand. Where’s the doctor?”
The staff made a troubled expression. As their gaze moved toward the firmly closed examination room, Siwoo’s eyebrows narrowed even further. With a sigh, Siwoo exhaled sharply and spoke to the staff.
“Could you prepare some disinfectant and bandages? He’s bleeding too much.”
The staff’s eyes widened. To him, Sanho’s injury probably didn’t seem like an emergency. Unlike Siwoo, who was biting his lip in anxiety. However, he nodded and replied.
“Yes, yes. This way….”
It was a place lined with thin hospital beds. It looked like a miniature version of a hospital emergency room. Siwoo sat Sanho on a bed and pulled over a wheeled round chair to sit in front of him. Sanho continued to stare at Siwoo, who was still frowning.
“Hyung.”
Siwoo remained silent, his lips pressed tightly together. The staff brought a stainless steel tray and placed it on Sanho’s lap, dropping red iodine onto a cotton ball. Grabbing the round cotton ball with tweezers, he placed it on Sanho’s fingertip. The red disinfectant seeped into the wound. Despite it being very painful, Sanho’s face remained expressionless. Slowly, Sanho opened his mouth.
“…Hyung.”
“…Yeah.”
The voice that sounded angry replied shortly. Sanho gazed intently at Siwoo’s face.
“Are you only applying the medicine to me?”
Siwoo stopped his hands and faced Sanho. It was an unexpected question. Feeling the anger that had been bubbling up inside him subside a bit, Siwoo opened his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“This… applying medicine and all. Is it just for me?”
Sanho’s expression, looking at him as if Siwoo’s answer was more important than his injured hand, finally made Siwoo chuckle softly. When he carefully applied the disinfectant and spoke again, his voice was a bit softer.
“Don’t get hurt.”
“Why won’t you answer me?”
“…….”
“Is it really just for me?”
Siwoo chuckled again.
“I don’t want to answer because you keep getting hurt.”
“…….”
“Sanho. Don’t get hurt. Okay?”
“…….”
“I regret bringing you to the company.”
Sanho’s head, which had been looking at Siwoo, drooped down. In a small voice that Siwoo probably couldn’t hear, he slowly replied.
“I regret it too… We should have just been alone.”
Only after Siwoo carefully wrapped the bandage around Sanho’s injury did he stand up. He told Sanho it was okay to go back to the hotel, but Sanho stubbornly shook his head. He seemed determined when he said he wanted to leave work with his hyung. Siwoo sighed lightly and nodded.
“…….”
Sanho’s injury was a bit strange. It was clearly a deep cut, but the area wasn’t wide. It was a narrow and deep wound, as if intentionally gouged out by a piece of broken glass. Siwoo, who had been slowly blinking, shook his head lightly. He didn’t want to think too deeply. The important thing was that fortunately, the kid hadn’t been seriously hurt. As he struggled to concentrate, pressing his fingertips against his forehead, the glass door of the private office opened cautiously.
“Director.”
Yoonju, with a pale complexion, hesitated as she entered. Siwoo straightened up with an “Ah.” Yoonju was wearing a large work uniform. It was a dark navy work uniform worn by those working on-site. She must have borrowed it temporarily after taking off her wet shirt. Yoonju carefully extended Siwoo’s jacket.
“This….”
“Oh. How’s the injury? Are you okay?”
As Siwoo accepted his suit jacket, he looked at Yoonju’s face. It seemed she had cried a lot, as her eyes were swollen. Her large eyes, which had been bright, looked somewhat hazy. Her eyelids were also red and swollen. Yoonju nodded slightly.
“Because of the burn….”
“Yes.”
“They told me to go to a big hospital… sigh, it might leave a scar.”
Yoonju’s voice was mixed with tears. She must have been very upset at the thought of possibly having a scar. Siwoo sighed deeply and frowned. He felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Yeah. Let’s go to the hospital right away. It’s okay.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Yoonju bowed her head slightly and turned to leave. But soon, she hesitated and turned back to Siwoo. When Siwoo looked at her with a puzzled expression, Yoonju bit her lip nervously, appearing even more hesitant.
“Um, Director….”
“Yeah.”
“Are you close with Sanho…?”
Siwoo tilted his head slightly. The puzzlement that had arisen in his eyes was now tinged with mild displeasure. Seeing Siwoo’s eyes twist, Yoonju flinched noticeably, shaking her head vigorously. Her innocent eyes were now filled with anxiety.
“Oh, no. Then I’ll go in.”
Yoonju hurriedly exited the private office, and Siwoo quietly watched her retreating figure. He had a strange premonition.
Yoonju moved quickly with her head down. She felt the worried gazes of the employees but didn’t say anything other than awkwardly smiling. After confirming Sanho’s empty seat, Yoonju let out a small sigh. It was a breath mixed with relief.
In a hurry, Yoonju gathered her things and stood up. She said she had to go to the hospital, so she would head in first. The employees nodded in concern at Yoonju’s words. Yoonju bowed her head and exited the office.
“…….”
Only after standing in front of the elevator could Yoonju relax her tense shoulders. As the pain from her burned skin subsided a bit, a greater emotion overwhelmed her. It was fear. Of course, she couldn’t be sure. But Yoonju thought she had clearly seen something. A light that had appeared in the pitch-black, empty pupils. The stark contrast of the white face and the dark eyes. A chill crept up from her toes again.
“Are you going in?”
At that moment, a voice came from behind her. Yoonju’s slender shoulders jumped. She tried to turn her body, but it wasn’t as easy as she thought. A shiver ran down her neck. Finally managing to stiffly turn around, Yoonju faced the neatly standing Sanho with his dark eyes.
“Ah… Sanho….”
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes, um….”
Yoonju hesitated. Sanho looked at her with a calm expression.
“I’m sorry.”
Sanho’s monotonous voice conveyed an apology. Yoonju forced a stiff smile and nodded her head. Her lips felt awkward, as if they weren’t her own.
“Oh, no. It’s okay….”
“…….”
“It wasn’t on purpose, Sanho….”
Unable to continue her words, Yoonju shut her mouth. She wanted to respond lightly. Sanho wouldn’t have done it on purpose. But that wasn’t true. It was definitely intentional. She clearly remembered the unnatural movement of the tilting mug. Even the angle of the finger that had reached out unnaturally afterward. She had seen the mug deliberately fall from the long fingertips.
But, had she really seen it? It had all happened in an instant.
Yoonju swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding heavily.
As Sanho gazed at Yoonju’s stiff face, a slow smile began to bloom at the corners of his mouth. Yoonju thought it was the first time she had seen Sanho smile. Or maybe not. Perhaps she had seen him smile when he was with Siwoo. Maybe even during the company dinner… when Siwoo had taken all of Sanho’s drinks, hadn’t he smiled then too? One thing was certain: the smile from that time was definitely different from the one now. The smile that appeared at the corners of Sanho’s mouth was very faint but extremely cold. Sanho slowly opened his mouth.
“Even if it was on purpose, well, it can’t be helped.”
His small voice rang out clearly. Yoonju slowly closed her mouth. She didn’t know what to say.
“You shouldn’t have a scar.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
Sanho’s lips moved as if to say something. Soon, Sanho lightly smiled.
“I mean it. Really.”
The electronic sound signaling the arrival of the elevator rang out. Yoonju looked at the elevator that had just arrived, relief washing over her as she bowed her head to Sanho. As the elevator doors closed, Sanho’s faint smile stiffened again.
I hope you don’t have a scar. I mean it. If you do… every time you see it, you’ll think of your hyung.
Siwoo, who was about to put on the suit jacket Yoonju had handed him, suddenly frowned. It wasn’t strong, but the faint scent of Yoonju’s perfume lingered. Siwoo carelessly hung the jacket on a chair and looked beyond the translucent glass door. After Yoonju had left the office, he saw a white shadow entering the office shortly after. It was just a flickering shadow, but Siwoo was sure it was Sanho. A white face, a white shirt, and black hair. The corners of Siwoo’s mouth, which had been stiff, gently curled up.
The phone he had placed on the desk began to vibrate. The caller was a very familiar name. Siwoo pressed the call connect button with a businesslike demeanor.
“Manager Jung.”
– Director, is it a good time to talk?
