Chapter 89
The next day.
“Being young, his recovery is good. Surgery isn’t necessary, we’ll keep the cast on a bit longer and monitor his progress while he receives physical therapy,” explained the gray-haired doctor, looking at the newly taken X-ray. I urgently asked on behalf of Joo Kwon-oh as the doctor slowly typed on his computer.
“Are there any aftereffects? Also… what should we be ca-careful about?”
“With fractures, there can occasionally be aftereffects, but young people’s bones heal quickly, so it should be fine.”
Only then did the tension in my tightly wound shoulder muscles seem to ease a bit.
As I sighed in relief and smiled, Joo Kwon-oh shrugged one shoulder and poked my side with his finger.
After hearing all the precautions, Joo Kwon-oh said as we left the examination room:
“See? I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”
I raised my eyebrows at those words.
“Stop saying that. Would you say it’s no big deal if I broke a bone?”
“…Why is the peach suddenly so good with words?”
It sounded like he was genuinely surprised, not just teasing. I’ve rarely been complimented on being good with words in my life, so I felt somewhat proud. I also felt good simply because the test results were positive.
“I’m only… good at it in front of you.”
“Good. Being good with words only in front of me. Well, there’s no need to talk much in front of other bastards anyway.”
When we returned to the ward, all the other patients’ beds were empty. It seemed like they were all lying down watching TV or on their phones just a while ago.
“Everyone’s gone. Did they get discharged?”
“They’re all old geezers, so they go down for physical therapy in the morning and don’t come back up.”
The inpatients did indeed look quite elderly.
I took the opportunity to look around the now quiet room. Although the building was old, it wasn’t as bad as Joo Kwon-oh had insisted yesterday when he said I absolutely shouldn’t be here. Sleeping on the guardian’s bed was fine too.
Having confirmed directly at this morning’s examination that Joo Kwon-oh’s arm wasn’t in such a serious condition, the tension that had me on edge eased considerably. Naturally, my thoughts turned to what happened yesterday.
Yesterday. Joo Kwon-oh said he had come out right after me, not long after I left the hospital.
We could have missed each other because I wasn’t paying attention to my phone, but thanks to him finding me at the cafe, we were able to meet again safely. And I spent the day in the hospital room as I had wished.
‘Now that you’ve checked, go back to Seoul.’
Thinking about yesterday still gave me mixed feelings. There was still some lingering disappointment towards Joo Kwon-oh, who had seemed unusually cold, but when I recalled his flustered explanations at the cafe and his face drenched in sweat, such trivial emotions quickly vanished.
Joo Kwon-oh explained that he had acted foolishly because he didn’t want to appear pitiful to me. When he apologized more sincerely than ever, asking for forgiveness, I stubbornly insisted that I would forgive him if he let me stay with him in the hospital room.
It happened not to be my part-time work day, and Joo Kwon-oh’s family was too busy with work to watch over the hospital room. With no more excuses to refuse, Joo Kwon-oh had no choice but to reluctantly allow it.
“Oh, by the way, Kwon-oh, when are you getting discharged?”
“Why are you standing there uncomfortably? Sit here.”
Joo Kwon-oh plopped down on the bed and patted the space next to him. Is it okay to sit on the patient’s bed when there’s a guardian’s bed available?
With him urging so insistently, I hesitantly sat down next to Joo Kwon-oh on the patient’s bed.
“I asked when you’re getting discharged.”
“Don’t know. They said to stay a few more days, I think. Anyway, the bone will heal on its own, so can’t I just get discharged early?”
“You talk about it like it’s someone else’s… Ah. Wait, Kwon-oh. If we do this here…”
Joo Kwon-oh had already buried his nose in my neck and was smelling me. When did we get so close?
I twisted my body to get away, but Joo Kwon-oh, who was stuck to me, didn’t budge at all.
“Sniff. Hah… I wanted to smell this so badly.”
“Wh-what if someone comes in?”
I curled up and gripped Joo Kwon-oh’s shoulders tightly. But far from separating, he wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me even tighter and pulling me towards him.
“Then I’ll just pull away when that happens.”
Unlike my flustered state, Joo Kwon-oh was completely calm. It seemed like two men tightly embracing in this open hospital room was no big deal to him.
Even though I was nervous about the possibility of being caught by others, I couldn’t firmly push Joo Kwon-oh away. After experiencing worry and sadness yesterday, I too desperately needed his embrace.
Feeling the heat rush to my face, I whispered in Joo Kwon-oh’s ear.
“The curtain… at least the curtain…”
“…”
“Kwon-oh…”
I heard Joo Kwon-oh chuckle.
“Why are you trembling over something like this? Someone might think I kidnapped you.”
Even as he said that, Joo Kwon-oh reached out with the arm wrapped around my waist and closed the bed curtain.
Although it was just a thin cloth covering, I felt a bit relieved now that we couldn’t be seen from outside. Still, being so close to Joo Kwon-oh made me nervous.
“It’s because we’re outside. Someone could come in…”
“I told you, all the old folks went for physical therapy. They’ll be busy with back and waist exercises until lunchtime, they won’t come up.”
“But your brother or… friends could come.”
“Those guys all left yesterday. Dad and brother are too busy to come today.”
“…”
I felt like I should say something more, but Joo Kwon-oh was holding me so tightly that my mind went blank.
His humid breath kept touching my chin and neck, giving me goosebumps in those areas.
After hesitating, I slowly raised my hands and lightly hugged Joo Kwon-oh’s back. His body was warm and it felt good. Although my heart was still pounding from the wariness about our location, I didn’t want to pull away because Joo Kwon-oh’s embrace was comfortable.
I had missed this warmth, this solid feeling, this scent. Just like Joo Kwon-oh had done, I leaned my face on his shoulder and rubbed my cheek against it as if acting spoiled.
The gentle caress of his hand made the slight remaining disappointment from yesterday completely disappear. I wanted to hold Joo Kwon-oh tightly without any gaps, but it was frustrating that I couldn’t because of his arm in a cast.
For a while, our irregular breaths intertwined in the quiet hospital room.
“Then… Kwon-oh.”
“Yeah?”
After holding him for a long time, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Can I kiss you?”
I looked up at him, and before Joo Kwon-oh could answer, I arbitrarily kissed him on the lips.
There was a small smacking sound as our lips quickly parted.
Even though there was no way anyone could have witnessed that brief moment, my heart was pounding so hard it made me dizzy. Kissing in a hospital room. Even if we were alone, was I being too bold…?
I tried to calm my racing heart as I recalled the soft, warm sensation that had just touched my lips.
“Ryu Jeong-ha.”
At that moment, Joo Kwon-oh called my name in a low voice.
“Y-yes?”
“What are you doing?”
“…No one saw us.”
Feeling self-conscious due to his serious tone penetrating my ears, I wondered if I had acted too rashly.
Joo Kwon-oh was looking down at me with one eyebrow furrowed, as if in disbelief.
“Is that all? Are you serious?”
“Th-then what should I do?”
“Since when have we just rubbed lips like this?”
He leaned his head towards me and kissed me again. Not just a peck, but pressing his lips firmly against mine, then rubbing them.
I was startled and put my hands on his shoulders to push him away.
“Ah ah. Wait, wait.”
“Why, why?”
“It hurts. My arm, it’s injured.”
Hearing Joo Kwon-oh’s groan, I hastily removed my hands.
“Ah. Sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think I’ll be fine if you kiss me.”
I was dumbfounded by his playful response.
I was so shocked, thinking I might have accidentally hurt his arm in the cast. But Joo Kwon-oh was just joking around with a perfectly fine face.
“…Are you playing around?”
“I’m telling you, I’ll be fine if you kiss me.”
“…”
As I glared at him with my lips tightly shut, he smiled and kissed me again. He lightly licked my lower lip with his tongue, as if being coy, signaling me to open my mouth.
I reluctantly reciprocated, but still couldn’t completely shake off my uneasiness. The curtain was far too flimsy to hide us embracing.
What if a nurse comes in? Won’t they find it strange that we’ve drawn the curtain? I feel like I should push Joo Kwon-oh away even now…
But I don’t want to push him away. I want to stay together.
My mind must have gone haywire because I ignored the correct answer that reason was shouting and clung to Joo Kwon-oh, entangling our wet lips.
The sound of our moist lips rubbing together spread clearly through the hospital room. Trying my best to minimize the noise, I kept missing the timing to breathe.
“Mmm…”
I tensed my stomach, trying not to press too close to him for fear of hurting Joo Kwon-oh’s arm.
At that moment, Joo Kwon-oh pulled his head back. He lightly bit my lower lip before releasing it, then pressed his forehead against my collarbone and breathed heavily.
“Hah. Fuck.”
“…”
“Fuck…”
Rough curses flowed from his mouth one after another.
I knew why Joo Kwon-oh was acting like this. The hospital gown was far too thin to hide what was between his legs.
