Chapter 88
I rushed into the hospital room. Choi Kyung-won, being simple-minded as usual, was already chatting away with my high school classmate.
“Kyung-won. I got your stuff. I’m busy, so I can’t see you off.”
“Oh, okay. No need to see me off. But what about Jeong-ha?”
“Why are you asking me when you brought him? Anyway, just go home.”
“You didn’t forget anything from the stuff I brought, right?”
“No.”
Before leaving the hospital to look for Ryu Jeong-ha, I reminded my brother once more.
“Don’t touch my snacks.”
“I got it, you fool.”
My brother looked me up and down as if I was being ridiculous.
“But why is that friend… You didn’t really fight, did you?”
“I have something to talk about with him.”
Before my brother could ask more questions, I hurriedly left the hospital.
“Damn. How am I supposed to find him here?”
Once I actually got outside to look for Ryu Jeong-ha, I felt lost.
There weren’t many buildings around the hospital. As a result, there weren’t many people around either. Looking around the empty surroundings, I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of anyone resembling Ryu Jeong-ha.
He’s probably already left. And I can’t contact him. How am I supposed to find him? Did he already catch a taxi to Seoul? Or maybe a bus?
After pondering for a few seconds, I started asking people passing by if they had seen someone matching Ryu Jeong-ha’s description.
“Excuse me. Have you seen a young man with a pale face wearing a navy sweatshirt? His hair comes down to about here.”
When I asked this question to the fourth person, I finally got the answer I was hoping for.
“Oh, the young student? He said he was going to the terminal.”
“The terminal? The bus terminal? Thank you!”
As expected, the bus terminal was the most likely place he’d go.
I didn’t know why this man in work clothes covered in sand and cement knew exactly where Ryu Jeong-ha was heading, but that wasn’t important right now, so I just started moving.
I ran out to the main road to catch a taxi. Since I didn’t have a phone, I couldn’t call for one, so I had to flag one down on the street.
But today of all days, there were no taxis in sight. There were noticeably fewer cars passing through this remote area of Yongin.
After running around like a madman for a few minutes, craning my neck in all directions, I finally spotted a taxi.
“Please take me to the bus terminal.”
I told the driver while wiping the sweat from my forehead. I could feel him looking at me strangely for a moment, with my patient gown and cast, but soon the taxi safely departed.
This must have been Ryu Jeong-ha’s first time in this neighborhood. The thought of him leaving the hospital alone and heading to the bus terminal made me feel uneasy.
What the hell have I done? Making someone who came all this way out of worry leave alone. I’m crazy.
I don’t know how I’m any different from those pathetic guys I despised so much.
Belatedly, I realized just how pathetic my actions were today, all because of my misplaced pride.
He must be angry, right? I asked him to wait, but he left. He must not want to see me at all. I should apologize profusely as soon as I see his face. But what if Ryu Jeong-ha doesn’t forgive me?
To make matters worse, I don’t even have a phone now, so I can’t keep calling him. It’s driving me crazy.
Not long after, the taxi stopped. As soon as we arrived at the bus terminal, I quickly ran inside.
I searched thoroughly through the crowd of waiting people for Ryu Jeong-ha.
“Jeong-ha! Ryu Jeong-ha!”
I even tried calling out his name, just in case, but there was no response.
“Um… excuse me. You dropped this.”
Someone approached me as I was frantically searching around and spoke to me. They were holding out something, and when I took it, I realized it was a jelly snack that had fallen out of my pocket.
“Ah, thank you.”
I hurriedly took the jelly and then diligently searched for and picked up other snacks I had dropped around.
These were given to me by Ryu Jeong-ha, and here I am carelessly dropping them. I should have left them all at the hospital, damn it.
After finding all the snacks and putting them in my patient gown pocket, I stopped my frantic pacing. After thinking for a moment, I went to the ticket booth to check the departure schedule.
Has he already left for Seoul? Or is there a possibility he never came here in the first place?
As I was looking at the schedule on the electronic board, I made eye contact with the ticket booth employee who had been staring at me like I was crazy. They probably thought it was strange to see someone with a cast running around the terminal, but in a desperate attempt, I approached and asked if they had seen Ryu Jeong-ha.
“Ah… I think that person said they were going to some hospital.”
To my surprise, the employee said that Ryu Jeong-ha had gone back to the hospital!
I was dumbfounded, but at the same time, I felt a surge of energy in my body.
What is this? Is he running back and forth like a squirrel just to watch me wither away from worry?
But why did he go back to the hospital after coming all this way? I suddenly felt anxious, not knowing what Ryu Jeong-ha was thinking.
Before heading back to the hospital, I spotted a public phone inside the terminal. I picked up the receiver and tried calling Ryu Jeong-ha. But again, he didn’t answer.
“…This is driving me crazy. Damn it.”
No matter how angry he is with me, he should at least answer the phone. How else am I supposed to apologize? It’s worrying when I can’t contact him at all like this.
I clenched my molars and ran my fingers through my annoyingly long bangs.
Although there was a possibility the ticket booth employee had made a mistake, I had no other way to contact him, so I decided to go back to the hospital.
As I was about to hang up the public phone, I thought that Ryu Jeong-ha might have arrived at the hospital by now, so I called my brother.
“Yeah?”
“Bro. Has my friend come to the hospital room?”
“Who? No one’s come.”
“Hang up.”
After quickly ending the call, I went out to the main street and caught another taxi. I had been running around so much that sweat was dripping down my chin. It was frustrating that I couldn’t run as fast as I wanted to with my arm in this condition.
Being in front of the station, I found a taxi quickly this time. On the way back to the hospital, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind.
If Ryu Jeong-ha really did go back to the hospital, why?
I had a feeling it wasn’t because he particularly wanted to see me again. After coming all this way only to be told to leave by his boyfriend, he wouldn’t come back happily unless he was a fool.
Seeing how he keeps ignoring my calls, he seems to be quite angry.
No way… Damn, he’s not coming back to break up with me because he’s upset, is he?
“Crazy.”
A curse slipped out before I knew it.
As much as I hated to imagine it, this seemed like the most likely possibility right now. If I were Ryu Jeong-ha, I would have lost all affection for me too.
Ah. This is bad. This can’t happen. It would be terrible if he really wants to break up.
The taxi stopped in front of the hospital. After paying the fare, I was about to run straight inside when I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
“My brother said he didn’t come to the hospital…”
Then where could Ryu Jeong-ha have gone? There’s nowhere else to go around here. Maybe the passerby and the ticket booth employee had mistaken someone else for him from the beginning?
As I looked around with a serious expression, my eyes suddenly caught sight of a cafe building.
If Ryu Jeong-ha really did come this way, that cafe is the only place he could have gone nearby.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my body moved first. I wanted to confirm it for myself as quickly as possible.
Anxious that I might not find Ryu Jeong-ha at this rate, I ran like a madman.
“Huff, huff.”
Although it was said to be right next to the hospital, the distance to the cafe was considerable. Before I knew it, I was out of breath, and my heart was pounding incessantly. Just like that day when I ran to confess to Ryu Jeong-ha.
As soon as I entered the cafe, I could spot a familiar back of the head.
“Ryu Jeong-ha!”
Without realizing it, I called out his name with all my might. His shoulders flinched, and then he turned his head towards where I was standing.
Only after properly confirming Ryu Jeong-ha’s face did a wave of relief wash over me. He hadn’t gone back to Seoul after all. I almost collapsed in an unseemly manner.
“Haa, haa. Ryu Jeong-ha, you…”
I went over to Ryu Jeong-ha, gasping for breath. I had run so much today – at the hospital, at the terminal, on the streets – that my heart felt like it was about to burst.
“Kw-Kwon-oh. How did you…”
“No. I told you to wait, didn’t I? How could you just leave?”
“…”
“I asked around, haa, they said you went to the terminal… When I got there, they said you went back to the hospital. I barely found you after asking everywhere, damn. Whew.”
I wanted to explain how desperately I had been searching for him, but the words wouldn’t come out properly.
“You… Is it okay for you to be out like this?”
“Of course not. I… hah. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Ah, I didn’t see it.”
“Did you want to see me go crazy with worry?”
Despite my earlier resolve to apologize profusely when I saw his face, my damn mouth moved on its own.
“Ah, no. I thought you told me to leave…”
“I told you to wait so I could get you a taxi. And why did you come back here?”
I should apologize first, but in my frustration, questions keep coming out instead.
At my words, Ryu Jeong-ha avoided my gaze and hunched his shoulders. Ah, I’m not angry. I just wanted to ask what happened because I was worried and curious.
I want to calmly explain that he shouldn’t misunderstand, that I’m sorry for what I said earlier, but my overwhelming breathing won’t calm down.
I clutched my chest and quickly took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. As I was about to speak, Ryu Jeong-ha beat me to it.
“…I was going to wait and come see you again tomorrow.”
His voice was trembling.
“I’m not trying to interfere, really… I was just worried. It’s natural to be concerned when you hear that someone hurt their arm while working.”
As he was saying this, tears suddenly welled up in Ryu Jeong-ha’s eyes and quickly rolled down his cheeks.
I felt my fingertips go cold in an instant.
“Why, why are you crying?”
I was so surprised that I could barely speak. As I bent down to meet Ryu Jeong-ha’s eyes, he pressed his lips together tightly, wiped his tears vigorously, and shook his head.
“I’m crying because I’m worried. Why. Are you going to scold me for crying here too?”
“No…”
“I’m not going back to Seoul. I’ll just stay here without bothering you… I, I won’t say anything to you, so don’t say anything to me either!”
Ryu Jeong-ha spoke with a very firm voice that contrasted with his soft face.
The content wasn’t about feeling hurt or angry with me, nor was it a breakup notice. It was all contrary to my expectations.
He says he’s too worried to go back to Seoul and will wait here. All Ryu Jeong-ha wanted right now was to make sure I was really okay. That was the reason he was sitting in this unfamiliar cafe instead of going back to Seoul.
These words instantly made me feel like a fool for worrying in the car about how to appease him and avoid breaking up.
Because of this, I was momentarily at a loss for words. At the same time, I felt ashamed of myself for pushing Ryu Jeong-ha away, maintaining my pride for the stupid reason of hiding my weakness.
What is he, really? Looking at me with an innocent face that possesses not a shred of aggression towards the world, he gently dismantles my old and outdated values as if they were nothing, freeing me from their confines. Purely and warmly, without pretense. In the most Ryu Jeong-ha way possible.
The pride I had been wielding in front of Ryu Jeong-ha was nothing more than grains of sand scattering at my feet.
Now, all I could do was confess all my mistakes and admit that I was completely wrong.
“I’m sorry, Jeong-ha. I messed up.”
