Gentle Giant Chapter 82
With regret, Dain pulled away from Juho’s lips and moved toward the desk. Even during this time, the bell continued ringing without stopping.
[Noona]
Seeing the text on his phone screen, Dain made a pleased expression and was about to press the call button, but after seeing the half-cast on his left hand, he hurriedly pressed reject. Then he called first before noona could call for a video chat again.
After a few rings, Dahee’s voice was heard.
-Dain!
“Yeah, noona! You called?”
-Mm, I couldn’t see your face properly last time when we met briefly. I missed you so I called for a video chat. Hang up quickly and call again. Let’s video chat!
“Uh, noona, I’m studying right now.”
-Are you at the library? You can just go to the lounge and do it.
“No, it’s not the library but…”
When Dain hesitated and didn’t give a clear answer, Dahee’s previously gentle atmosphere changed instantly. She called Dain’s name in a voice several octaves lower than before.
-Jung Dain.
“Huh?”
-What are you doing.
“I told you I’m studying?”
-I know you’re not, so don’t lie. Should noona come to your house right now? Talk face to face?
“No! I’ll, I’ll video call!”
At Dahee’s threat, Dain said he’d video chat and hurriedly hung up.
Dain looked at Juho standing beside him with a tearful face. Juho, who had come over to Dain wondering what was happening, also looked at Dain with a troubled expression.
Dain sighed briefly and pressed the video call button. Soon after, Dahee’s face filled the screen.
“Noona!”
-Dain, where are you?
“Uh, me? Uh, I’m at Juho’s house right now.”
As soon as the call started, Dahee asked where he was first, and Dain hesitated slightly but eventually told her without hiding it. Hearing that answer, Juho stood next to Dain and bowed his head.
“Hello.”
-Ah, yes.
Dahee received Juho’s greeting with a displeased face.
“Where are you, noona?”
-I just finished filming and was on my way home. Why are you at your boyfriend’s place? Not studying at the library?
“Mm, lately I can’t concentrate at the library. I’m studying at Juho’s place.”
-Why can’t you concentrate at a place made for studying?
“Th-that’s true. Haha.”
Dahee spoke with pursed lips. Dain, who couldn’t tell her about various circumstances, laughed awkwardly while wiping his sweaty nose bridge. And at that moment.
-Jung Dain!!
At Dahee’s sharp shout, Dain stopped rubbing his nose bridge and widened his eyes.
Dain just stared blankly at her face with wide eyes, not understanding what was happening. Seeing Dain who couldn’t figure out what was going on even after time passed, Juho sighed briefly and pointed to his left hand.
“Hyung…”
“Huh? What’s wrong, gasp!!”
As Dain unconsciously raised his left hand, the half-cast was revealed completely. This was why he didn’t want to video chat. Dain couldn’t bear to look at Dahee’s face and hung his head.
Juho took Dain’s phone. Right now, Dain wasn’t in a state to calmly explain the situation. Neither was Dahee.
Observing the two siblings, Juho carefully explained the situation to Dahee.
Dahee, who had been listening to Juho’s story while looking at Dain with shaking eyes, spoke as if she had made up her mind.
-Noona is coming there right now. Let’s meet at the cafe where we met before. I need to see for myself how badly you’re hurt. If your boyfriend wants to come, come together.
“N-noona!!”
Dain shouted urgently, but the call had already ended.
[Noona: I’ll arrive in 20 minutes. If you don’t come out, know that I’ll really storm into your house. | 5:02 PM]
Dain’s eyebrows drooped after receiving the chilling text message.
Of all days, why did she have to call today? Until yesterday morning, he was more than healthy, he was energetic.
However, Dahee had already left to come here, and Dain couldn’t stop her. Dain headed to the entrance with drooping shoulders.
“Juho, I’ll be back.”
“I’ll come with you too.”
“No! Noona will definitely nag really severely. If you come together, you’ll have to listen to a lot of nagging too.”
“How can I let hyung go alone? No way.”
“Juhooo.”
At his firm voice, Dain looked at Juho with moved eyes. His boyfriend was definitely the best.
Juho kissed Dain’s sparkling eyes looking at him and smiled brightly. He thought Dahee’s nagging might lessen a bit if he went. As long as he was sitting next to Dain, she’d want to escape the uncomfortable situation and end it quickly.
Juho calculated Dahee’s reaction in his mind while changing clothes.
* * *
Dahee stared at the two people sitting in front of her. To be precise, she glared at them with cold eyes.
Dain was internally shedding tears at that gaze, while Juho was completely uninterested. He was just concerned that Dain’s hand was still quite swollen.
“Give me your hand.”
After a long silence, Dahee reached out her hand. Her thin, long fingers gestured, urging Dain. Dain placed his hand on top of Dahee’s hand.
Dahee bit her lips while looking at her younger brother’s hand.
Her younger brother, who was both timid and careful, didn’t even run around when he was young. Because of that, he didn’t even have the common scratches from falling that boys usually get. But now, as an adult, a fracture. It was unbelievable.
“What is this, really! No matter what, you should have been careful!”
“I really fell in an instant. But I couldn’t just watch when someone was falling in front of me.”
“Then you should have caught them properly! What’s the point if only that person is fine? Look at yourself!”
“Mm, that’s true but…”
Dahee was right. He should have caught them well when they were falling beside him, but instead he got caught up and fell together. He had always thought he lacked reflexes for a cat beast-man, but he didn’t know it would show this obviously.
Dahee’s hand carefully rubbed Dain’s fingertips. Even though she was scolding Dain with words, she couldn’t hide her upset feelings.
After a moment, her gaze turned to Juho. Dahee, with sharp eyes, asked him.
“What was the boyfriend doing when Dain got hurt? Don’t tell me you were right there but couldn’t catch him?”
“That’s…”
“Ah, no. Noona! Juho wasn’t next to me then! It happened when I was alone!”
Before Juho could say anything, Dain covered for him first. He couldn’t let Juho get caught in the crossfire because of him.
Seeing Dain stepping up more actively than when he was being scolded himself, Dahee just snorted. This was why raising boys was useless.
Juho put his arm around Dain’s shoulder as he sat dejected from being scolded by Dahee. Seeing this, Dahee’s eyes became even sharper.
Openly showing affection in front of an adult. Nothing about this pleased her from start to finish.
However, Dahee softened her gaze, feeling sorry for her younger brother who had become timid from reading her mood. Despite everything, she remembered that this was the man her younger brother liked to death.
“So you just need this half-cast? For how many weeks?”
“Ah, no. This is a half-cast because of the swelling first, and I have to go to the hospital again tomorrow to change it to a full cast. The doctor said it would probably take about 4 weeks.”
“Really? Tomorrow? Hmm, noona doesn’t have any schedule tomorrow morning. Should I go to the hospital with you?”
Dahee said while checking her schedule on her phone. When Dain was about to nod at her words, Juho stepped in.
“I can go with him.”
“Pardon?”
“Going to the hospital together, I alone am sufficient. You must be busy, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
On the surface, it seemed like he was being considerate of busy Dahee, but his real meaning was to not interfere unnecessarily.
Dahee understood that meaning and frowned, but Dain was moved that Juho was even being considerate of noona. She sighed deeply, wondering if her younger brother had always been this clueless.
“No, is me being busy the problem? My younger brother is hurt. If I could, I’d want to take Dain away completely.”
At the mention of wanting to take Dain away, Juho’s lips twitched. It was the first reaction he had shown since entering the cafe and thoroughly observing.
Dahee caught that instant and felt like her frustrated feelings were completely cleared. As expected of a top-tier beast-man, no matter how sharp she was, he didn’t even blink. But as soon as she brought up Dain, he reacted sensitively.
Dahee smiled inwardly. Juho’s weakness was starting to show clearly.
“How about it, Dain? Want to stay with noona until your hand gets better? It’ll be inconvenient to be alone.”
Dahee’s eyes curved as she held Dain’s hand. At his affectionate noona’s words, Dain’s lips relaxed.
If he could, he would want to act spoiled with Dahee after a long time and stay together. However, midterms were in a week, and he was currently with Juho.
“Noona, I have exams now. I need to study, and I don’t want to make you worry.”
“What studying? Is studying the problem right now?”
“I have to study! That way next semester’s scholarship…”
“Noona will pay for it. Noona can definitely do that much.”
“Ah, no. I can get the scholarship if I study just a little, so why should noona pay money.”
Dain’s iron wall was effective even with family. The fact that he absolutely refused help from others within his own capabilities was very Jung Dain-like.
Juho listened to the siblings’ conversation and relaxed his stiff expression, gently stroking Dain’s waist.
He had been annoyed thinking Dain might immediately follow his noona, but before he knew it, his heart was filled with love rather than annoyance.
In contrast, Dahee was filled with frustration. Just when she thought she might divert his attention from his boyfriend, now midterms were the problem.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
