“Yes.”
Having left something behind, Professor Choi headed inside the examination room and came back pulling a cart full of medical supplies with a rattling sound. There were syringes in there too.
“Huh… By, by any chance, are you taking… blood…?”
When I saw the sharp needle of the syringe and got scared in advance, Professor Choi smiled broadly and firmly stated that he wouldn’t be drawing blood.
“Really…?”
“Instead, I’ll have to pull some hair.”
“Ah, if it’s something like that…”
As long as it wasn’t getting an injection, I could even let him pull dozens of hairs.
“Hmm, wait…”
When I pulled out a few strands of hair, Professor Choi took them and went back inside the examination room. It was natural that I found his movements puzzling as he left a perfectly fine examination room and moved around troublesomely.
No, if it’s going to be like this, wouldn’t it be better to just do it inside the examination room? Besides, it was burdensome having Baek Woojin across from me watching me as if he were monitoring me.
“Um… Professor. It must be inconvenient to move around, so I’ll go inside.”
So as soon as Professor Choi came out, I stood up and said that. But Professor Choi quickly pressed down on my shoulder with his hand.
“Now now, sit here. It’s because the inside of my examination room is stuffy. And as Chae Seungyeon-ssi will also experience, the older you get, the more you need to move… This is when I exercise… When you get old, your joints don’t work as well as before. And how severe is the loss of appetite, when eating isn’t satisfactory and digestion doesn’t work, it’s exactly like the feeling of ringing a bell…”
Professor Choi talked endlessly as if he had been waiting for someone to talk to. Then he muttered about how health is the most important thing, but lately his body had gotten much worse because he hadn’t been moving at all, and went into the examination room.
“……”
I slowly turned to look at Baek Woojin. When our eyes met, he sent me a look that said to just let it go in one ear and out the other.
“It’ll be over soon. Even though he looks like an eccentric, his skills are good.”
It seemed like he looked like an eccentric in Baek Woojin’s eyes too.
“May I go make a phone call for a moment?”
At that time, Baek Woojin stood up from his seat and said that. I wanted to say that it would be over soon, so couldn’t he wait a little and do it then.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
But I’m not a child, so I readily agreed and sent Baek Woojin outside.
Rattle, rattle.
In the meantime, Professor Choi came pulling another cart loaded with strange mechanical devices.
“Professor, Woojin-ssi went out to make a call.”
When I told him that, Professor Choi nodded and attached a patch connected to a machine on one of my arms.
“How long has it been?”
“…Yes?”
But Professor Choi asked me something strange.
“I asked how long it’s been since you met Woojin.”
Since he had been kind to me until just now, I was quite flustered when his tone changed abruptly.
Moreover, Professor Choi was misunderstanding our relationship. He thought Seungyeon and Baek Woojin were in that kind of relationship.
“Um… Woojin-ssi and I aren’t in that kind of relationship…”
“That guy has no dating experience at all.”
“What…?”
At the sudden outing of Baek Woojin’s perpetual singlehood, I just blinked my eyes.
“He’s never had anyone he was serious about. That guy doesn’t even know what the feeling of liking someone is.”
“……”
“But that guy personally brought Chae Seungyeon-ssi all the way here. But if Chae Seungyeon-ssi says you’re nothing to each other… Hmm, so it’s unrequited love? That guy… he’s finally awakened to real love.”
Tsk tsk, Professor Choi clicked his tongue while fiddling with the machine.
No, why does that make so much sense…? Even if he’s a perpetual single and this is the first time he’s introduced someone to others, how could it lead in that direction unless you ask the person directly?
“Um, Professor. I’m sorry, but…”
Professor Choi seemed to be seriously misunderstanding something.
“We really…”
“Marriage?”
“What?”
“When are you planning to do it?”
No, Professor, isn’t that going too far…?
Even if his perpetual single student has finally fallen in love… I don’t understand why that would naturally connect to marriage.
“Then will you start with cohabitation?”
“No… that’s…”
If you think about it, we were already cohabitating.
“Chae Seungyeon-ssi doesn’t have no feelings at all either. What’s the problem?”
“No, how do you know my feelings…?”
“You can tell just by looking.”
“What? No, there’s some misunderstanding…”
“Children?”
“Children?”
“Since you each have one child you’re raising, it would be good to have just one more here. It’s troublesome when there are many kids… but you should still have one child that’s the fruit of you two, you’re still young. Woojin, that guy has good earnings, so supporting a family of five would be easy. These days, do they call fathers with three kids ‘multi-child dads’? If it’s multi-children, there would be a lot of government support too…”
“No, Professor!”
Clang!
I couldn’t stand it and stood up abruptly from my seat. Listening to this, he was interpreting everything as he pleased, and I couldn’t stand to watch it anymore.
Even if this is inside a novel, what era are we in now, giving advice like this and that to people who haven’t even dated, let alone married yet…!
“It’s a misunderstanding! Woojin-ssi and I have nothing to do with each other!”
“…Nothing?”
“Yes! Nothing! Really, really nothing!”
And we shouldn’t! We’re definitely going to be in-laws…!
I couldn’t bring myself to say the rest and swallowed it.
“Really… nothing?”
At that moment, Professor Choi, who had only been talking to himself, carefully asked me.
“Yes, nothing.”
I spoke firmly and gave additional explanation.
“Even though I’m currently staying at Woojin-ssi’s house with my son… it’s not cohabitation in that sense. Right now it’s unavoidable due to circumstances, but I’m also planning to find a place and move out soon.”
“I roughly heard about the circumstances and know… But has Chae Seungyeon-ssi never thought about it?”
Professor Choi, who had removed the patch, spoke in a serious tone unlike before.
“Why Baek Woojin let you stay at his house and helps you from the beginning without any compensation.”
“That’s…”
It’s not like I hadn’t thought about it. At first, I thought it might be because he was like an angel who helps others… but the more I got to know Baek Woojin, the more I could feel that wasn’t it.
Maybe I was taking it lightly right now because my circumstances were unavoidable, or because Baek Woojin was Hyeol’s father-in-law, a family connection…
I began to reflect deeply. It was the same with what happened earlier. Baek Woojin, who always takes care of me and worries about me wherever and whenever. Coming here was also for my sake…
“It would be good to think carefully from now on. Don’t you think so too?”
“…!”
“Woojin.”
At Professor Choi’s words, I quickly turned around. Baek Woojin was standing blankly at the door, though I didn’t know how long he had been listening.
“Are you finished?”
After a fierce storm had passed through. Baek Woojin asked me with an indifferent expression.
“…”
I couldn’t say anything because of the conversation I had just had with Professor Choi.
The fact that words had been exchanged in his absence, and though I didn’t know how much he had heard… I felt sorry.
Baek Woojin observed me like that and then approached Professor Choi.
“Is the examination finished?”
“Yes, it’s finished. I’ll send the results by email tonight.”
“Thank you, then we’ll be going.”
As soon as his business was finished, Baek Woojin led me away.
“Oh, are we leaving…? Thank you, Professor…!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
