Nurse Me, Babe!
A jet-black sofa, clearly made from high-end leather at just a glance. Gwak Seon-woo sat on it with his legs crossed and arms folded. He wore a distinctly displeased expression, yet even with that sour look, his presence seemed perfectly suited to the room—like a piece of art curated to match its surroundings.
Standing before him with a troubled face was Gwak Seung-hyeon. With one sitting and the other standing, their eye levels didn’t align. Seon-woo had to tilt his head up slightly to meet Seung-hyeon’s gaze, but his face was far too stern and cold to look like someone who was “looking up” to anyone.
Normally, Seung-hyeon would’ve responded to such a look from Seon-woo with a teasing smile and a coy, “Why are you looking at me like that~?” But today, he remained tight-lipped—for one reason alone.
Both Seon-woo’s and Seung-hyeon’s eyes were fixed on the same thing: the cast on Seung-hyeon’s right arm, bulky and ominously severe even at a glance.
“Haah…”
A long, heavy sigh escaped. If Seon-woo had seen Seung-hyeon like this without knowing what happened, he would’ve immediately frozen over and spat out, “What the hell happened to you?” But he didn’t. Instead, he just sighed—deeply, over and over.
Because he already knew exactly what had happened.
And more than that—he knew why it had happened.
In the past, Seon-woo had constantly suffered from strange, unlucky situations thanks to the “System” interfering with his life. But even before and after escaping the System, Seon-woo was someone who almost never experienced anything undignified or unlucky. He didn’t trip over rocks. He didn’t stumble in front of others. He didn’t faceplant or end up with a busted nose from falling. That kind of clumsiness was completely foreign to him.
Today was an exception.
He and Seung-hyeon had been walking side by side when a reckless cyclist brushed past them far too closely. Seung-hyeon had immediately pulled Seon-woo toward himself to protect him, but in the chaos, Seon-woo’s foot caught on a sunken section of the pavement. He stumbled, lost his balance—and the two of them fell to the ground together.
The real problem was that Seung-hyeon, during the fall, had slammed his arm hard against a utility pole. He was the type who rarely showed pain, but even he had grimaced and groaned, his usually pale face going ghost-white. Seon-woo, alarmed and stricken, had immediately rushed him to the hospital.
And then…
“I’m really fine, Director.”
Seon-woo’s expression was still troubled as he stared at the cast on Seung-hyeon’s arm. Ironically, the one injured was trying to soothe him. Since they got home, this was already the sixth time Seung-hyeon had said he was okay. But seeing how Seon-woo’s frown refused to lift, Seung-hyeon added with a half-joking tone:
“I looked pretty pathetic falling like that, huh?”
“What do you mean, pathetic? It was just bad luck today. No—actually, it was all because of me.”
“How is any of this your fault, Director?”
It was a conversation where both were desperately trying to take the blame off the other. Seung-hyeon looked at the self-blaming Seon-woo and did his best to reassure him. He even held out his casted arm toward him and said,
“See? I may have a cast, but I can still move my arm like this…”
“Don’t move.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the sight of Seon-woo’s dead-serious expression, Seung-hyeon instantly complied. Like a scolded child, he lowered his head, and Seon-woo, watching him, gave a firm reminder.
“From today until your arm’s fully healed, don’t use this hand for anything.”
His tone sounded like he had made an unshakable decision. Seung-hyeon smirked, one corner of his lips lifting playfully.
“You’re going to do everything for me, Director?”
“…Yeah.”
He hadn’t expected such a blunt and decisive answer to his teasing. Seung-hyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Everything? Like eating, getting dressed…?”
“Even bathing.”
Seon-woo calmly answered the part Seung-hyeon hadn’t even dared to ask. His face was composed, unbothered. Seung-hyeon, who rarely broke composure, couldn’t stop the flush that suddenly spread across his face at the mention of bathing.
Fixing his gaze on the speechless Seung-hyeon, Seon-woo laid down the final word.
“So stop trying to do anything yourself and focus only on healing.”
“It’s about time to eat, isn’t it?”
“Oh, then I’ll—”
Seung-hyeon, dazed until then, perked up at the mention of food. But just as he tried to stand, Seon-woo firmly pressed him back down onto the sofa with a hand on his shoulder.
“I said stay put.”
“I can still cook with one hand.”
“Oh, please. How do you plan to cook without using a knife?”
Seon-woo scoffed at Seung-hyeon’s protest. Even for him, that was a ridiculous idea. Dropping the argument, Seung-hyeon offered a compromise.
“Should we order something, then?”
But even as he said it, his face showed clear reluctance—he didn’t want Seon-woo eating greasy delivery food. Seon-woo gave a flat shake of his head.
“No need. We’ve got ingredients in the fridge, right?”
“Yeah. We went grocery shopping together two days ago.”
Though Seung-hyeon seemed a little confused, he didn’t press for a reason and simply nodded.
“Good. Then stay put.”
Without another word, Seon-woo turned and headed straight for the kitchen. Seung-hyeon’s brows furrowed slightly in disbelief.
He’s going to cook? That Gwak Seon-woo? No way.
And yet, not long after, the sound of dishes clinking and utensils moving began to echo from the kitchen. Stunned, Seung-hyeon sat there for a moment before rising to follow, needing to see it for himself.
When he stepped into the kitchen, he saw Seon-woo skillfully slicing vegetables. His movements were surprisingly smooth for someone who didn’t seem like they even belonged in a kitchen. Gwak Seon-woo was the kind of man you’d expect to step in only to grab a glass of water—nothing more. And yet here he was, actually cooking.
Watching him with a curious, unreadable gaze, Seung-hyeon stepped forward and wrapped his good arm around Seon-woo’s waist from behind.
“Need a hand?”
Apparently expecting Seung-hyeon’s approach, Seon-woo didn’t flinch at all. When he glanced sideways, their faces ended up just inches apart—close enough to kiss if either one leaned in even slightly. But instead of closing that distance, Seon-woo gave a sharp smack to the back of Seung-hyeon’s hand. His expression was stern.
“Sit down and wait.”
Chuckling aloud, Seung-hyeon obediently took a seat at the table. He figured that if he kept messing around, he might not even be allowed to watch Seon-woo cook.
There was a strange, ticklish feeling in his chest. Normally, Seung-hyeon was the one who cooked, and Seon-woo would be the one following him into the kitchen, asking if there was anything he could help with. But now it was the opposite. Watching Seon-woo’s back as he worked, sleeves rolled up, stirred up all sorts of inappropriate thoughts. Seung-hyeon covered his growing grin with his uninjured hand and subtly looked away.
***
“Oh my god, Team Leader! What’s with the cast on your arm? Are you hurt?!”
“Did you get into an accident? That looks serious!”
As soon as Gwak Seung-hyeon walked into the office, every eye turned to him. The reactions from the concerned employees bordered on theatrical, but it was hard to blame them. That cast on his arm made quite the impression. Even Seo Eun-jae—who usually acted like a cat forced to share space with a mouse when it came to Seung-hyeon—rose from his seat, looking genuinely worried.
“Oh no, you really look like you’re struggling.”
“It’s fine, really. I only came in because I can manage. But thank you for the concern.”
“You could’ve just used your vacation days…”
Seung-hyeon smiled reassuringly, as if to say it wasn’t a big deal. Hearing the exchange, Eun-jae carefully chimed in as well.
“Seriously though. You’re right-handed, aren’t you? Isn’t that going to make work pretty hard?”
Not being able to use one arm at all had to be incredibly inconvenient. Concern was evident in Eun-jae’s voice, but Seung-hyeon just let out a carefree laugh.
“I can still do what needs to be done.”
“Well… if you say so…”
“What? You’re not happy to see me back, Assistant Manager Seo?”
Watching Eun-jae nod reluctantly with a sour look on his face, Seung-hyeon put on a mock-wounded expression and asked. Everyone in the office could tell he was teasing, not just Eun-jae. Eun-jae flailed in protest.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”
“Oh, it’s not?”
Seung-hyeon flipped his expression in an instant, then calmly sat back down with a smirk. Eun-jae’s face made it clear exactly what he was thinking.
“This damn guy. I must be his emotional punching bag.”
Eun-jae shook his head in exasperation as Seung-hyeon turned away from him, his gaze sweeping over the rest of the team as he raised his voice just enough for everyone to hear.
“Really, I’m fine enough to be here. Besides… if I stayed home, my boyfriend would’ve been way too worried.”
“Oh my god~!”
“Woooow~”
Yoon, who sat next to Eun-jae, responded enthusiastically to Seung-hyeon’s words, but Eun-jae just turned his head away with a sour expression like he’d bitten into something rotten. Meanwhile, Seung-hyeon put on a mock-troubled look as he went on, pretending not to brag while bragging all the same.
He said his boyfriend was so worried that he couldn’t even sleep, that despite being terrible at cooking, the man had made meals for him, and even tried to feed him himself—which Seung-hyeon had to stop, and that had been the real struggle.
Eun-jae felt like he could punch something. He clenched his teeth and just turned his head away.
Lmaoooo