I also stood up from my seat and shook hands. His hand was as big as Baek Woojin’s. The man’s hand was so large it completely covered mine and more.
“Ah… Thinking that this connection might be the last makes me so regretful…”
“Is that so…?”
I was surprised by the man who called it a connection when we hadn’t even met for 10 minutes.
“If it’s okay with just Seungyeon-ssi… could I have just one hug…? I’m really grateful…”
“Pardon? A hug?”
I looked at the man with surprised eyes. Then he added that it was fine if I felt burdened.
I thought about it a little. Does ‘hug’ have some special meaning in this novel? It doesn’t seem that different from the real world and inside the novel…
Hmm, do I need to think about it so complicatedly? Anyway, we’re both men, and these days there are lots of free hugs on the street too. I thought it would be fine.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
“R-really? Thank you!”
As soon as permission was given, the man spread his arms and hugged me tightly.
“…Huk!”
But his strength was much stronger than I expected, and my breath was blocked. When I was trying to escape from his embrace by pulling at his collar because I couldn’t breathe properly, it happened.
BANG! A tremendous crash was heard, then suddenly my waist was pulled back with strong force.
“Ahhh!”
At the same time, the man who had been hugging me screamed and fell to the floor with a thud.
“What do you think you’re doing right now.”
And Baek Woojin appeared with a fierce expression, lightly embracing and lifting my waist.
“Woo… Woojin-ssi…?”
When I looked up at him with a flustered face at his sudden appearance, only then did Baek Woojin meet eyes with me.
I trembled without realizing it. His gaze was frighteningly cold.
“Did that person just sexually harass Chae Seungyeon-ssi?”
“Pardon? Sexual harassment?”
I was shocked. At Baek Woojin’s unexpected question, I just blinked and looked at the man who was awkwardly getting up from the floor. The man also seemed flustered, apparently having heard those words.
“Hey now. You suddenly push people around. And what… sexual harassment.”
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi, it’s okay to tell me. Was it sexual harassment?”
Baek Woojin let the man’s words go in one ear and out the other and asked me again. I was confused by this situation itself, so I came to my senses belatedly and answered.
“…N-no.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure…”
Baek Woojin looked steadily into my eyes as if confirming my innocence, then nodded.
“Did you get the medicine?”
“No, not yet…”
Baek Woojin approached the pharmacist with big strides while embracing my waist with one arm. I looked exactly like a koala clinging to its mother.
“The medicine for patient Chae Seungyeon, is it ready?”
“Ah, he… here it is… It’s for 3 days, morning and evening… twice a day before meals, no after meals… 30 minutes after eating…”
The pharmacist also seemed surprised by Baek Woojin’s intensity and stammered while holding out the medicine bag. Baek Woojin quickly presented the card from inside my coat. The payment was also completed speedily. Baek Woojin continued to embrace me and started walking again.
“Hey!”
As he headed toward the entrance door, the man shouted from behind. But Baek Woojin acted as if he couldn’t hear anything at all and walked straight out of the pharmacy door. I was helplessly caught with his arm around my waist and couldn’t do anything about it.
“Hey, um, Wo… Woojin-ssi, you can put me down, I’ll walk…!”
“This is more convenient.”
“……”
As soon as we came outside, I struggled and asked him to remove his arm from around my waist, but Baek Woojin flatly refused. No matter how strong he was and how easily he could lift me, it definitely wouldn’t be comfortable… Baek Woojin walked steadfastly in that state.
Thud.
“Watch your head.”
Finally, when we arrived at the parking lot and he opened the passenger door, Baek Woojin let me go. But that wasn’t the end of it. As soon as I sat in the passenger seat, he examined my condition here and there without rest. His behavior was like handling a precious item that had been stolen and then recovered.
“Anywhere else? Did he touch you anywhere else?”
“What? Touch… that’s not, ah… we just shook hands briefly…”
“Let me see.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Baek Woojin spread out my palm and examined it this way and that, then let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s enough now. Put on your seatbelt.”
“Yes… I’ll put it on…”
When I replied in a dejected voice and put on my seatbelt, Baek Woojin stood there quietly.
“If I was rude… I’m sorry.”
“……”
I looked at Baek Woojin without saying anything. Honestly, rather than him being rude… I was too flustered by experiencing something for the first time. But on the other hand, I could understand Baek Woojin’s behavior. I knew it was because he was thinking of me.
Honestly, thinking about it now, a man I’d never seen before had suddenly requested a hug. From Baek Woojin’s perspective, some strange man was embracing his companion, so he had no choice but to act that way.
No, rather, wasn’t it fortunate that he helped me escape the scene without causing a big commotion?
“…No, I think I was too careless with someone I was meeting for the first time…”
I said that and added that he should get in the car quickly since it was cold.
Clunk.
Baek Woojin immediately got into the driver’s seat, turned the heater on high, and warmed the seats. Soon, quiet warmth wrapped around my body comfortingly.
After a very brief silence, Baek Woojin spoke.
“…Would it be alright if I heard what happened with that man earlier?”
Baek Woojin asked carefully before driving.
“Well… it would be a bit long to explain… there were circumstances…”
“I’d appreciate it if you explained even if it’s long. I think I need to hear all the related cause and effect.”
“……”
“I think that’s the only way this anger will subside.”
If he put it that way…
I told Baek Woojin the entire story from the moment I entered the pharmacy until the angry Baek Woojin appeared.
“…So you received this vitamin as a token of gratitude.”
“Yes, the honey tea… I’m sorry. He kept crying like a real child and that was the only thing I could think of to comfort him…”
I felt sorry that I hadn’t been able to properly drink the honey tea Baek Woojin bought twice. Perhaps understanding my feelings, Baek Woojin smiled faintly once and held out another honey tea from his coat.
“Actually, it was 2+2.”
It was absurd enough to be officially designated as a Baek Woojin-brand joke, but thanks to that, the heavy atmosphere lightened a bit.
“May I check the vitamin?”
“Yes, but it just looks like vitamin C to me…”
When I took out the vitamin from my coat pocket, Baek Woojin looked at the brand and immediately said.
“It’s a black company product.”
“Ah…”
At my sigh, he tossed the vitamin into the console box. It seemed like he was telling me not to eat it.
Well, it was still a gift though…
“Let’s really go home now.”
As if all business was finished, Baek Woojin immediately started the car and turned the steering wheel.
“But, Woojin-ssi… may I ask you one thing too?”
It was just as the car was pulling out onto the road. I decided to ask about something I’d been curious about.
“Please go ahead.”
“Well… why did you examine my hand like that earlier? We only shook hands…”
Then Baek Woojin glanced at me once and said calmly.
“I was worried that… a scent might have gotten on you.”
“A scent?”
“Yes, an alpha scent.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
