Seo Jaehoon, who had been standing in front of the water purifier, busily rummaged through the refrigerator and took something out to warm it up. He fussed over me, forcing a cup filled with a warm, strange-smelling liquid into my mouth.
"What... is this?"
"Something with bellflower root. What was it... uh..."
Seo Jaehoon bit his lip and blinked, as if trying to recall something.
"Pear and bellflower root. Yeoul-ah, I ordered it because it's good for coughs."
"That's right! Pear and bellflower root. Yeah, drink this and stop coughing. It looks like you're about to suffocate when you cough."
Mo Taehee, who had been facing Nam Kangwoo in a standoff, turned and approached me. He gently wrapped his arm around my trembling shoulders and whispered, "Try it."
"Ah... thanks."
I put the strange, medicinal-smelling liquid in my mouth and swallowed a few gulps. But unable to bear the disgusting taste and smell, I gagged and vomited the murky liquid into the sink. What kind of taste is this?
"Ugh—blech… hngh…!”
The cough that had stopped started up again due to the gagging. As I coughed and gagged at the same time, snot and saliva streamed down uncontrollably. This is so disgusting.
"Hey, goddamn it!! I told you to drink it, why are you spitting it all out? Does it taste that weird?"
Seo Jaehoon yelled at me, who was convulsing, and patted my back.
Ha... that crazy bastard... I wish he wouldn't beat me like that unless he was trying to actually hit me. It hurts like hell.
I reached out and turned on the faucet in the sink. I tried to wipe the liquid from my mouth and nose with the running water, but my clumsy hands trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Mo Taehee reached out and wiped my face clean. Just as neatly as I had wanted.
How humiliating.
"...Thanks."
I sniffled and said to Mo Taehee.
"Jaehoon, what on earth did you order? Yeoul wouldn't throw up if it wasn't that bad."
"...They said it was good for coughs. Damn... what does it taste like?"
Seo Jaehoon, looking wronged, drank the liquid that I had spat out, which was mixed with a little of what I had kept in my mouth. With a gulp, the liquid went down and Seo Jaehoon's brow furrowed deeply.
"This, goddamn it. No wonder Ha Yeoul threw it all up with a taste like this."
Seo Jaehoon contorted his face.
I felt a little relieved that my taste buds weren't the problem and moved away from the sink. Water droplets that had wet my face dripped from my chin. Perhaps because I hadn't wiped it off myself, my neck was damp.
"...Ah... it's all wet."
As I muttered softly, everyone's eyes focused on my neck. And as if by agreement, all three of their faces flushed red.
Why, what, what's wrong...?
Seo Jaehoon, who had particularly pale skin, turned as red as if blood was about to spurt out. Why is he like that?
Following their gazes, I slowly lowered my head. Then, seeing my skin showing through the wet clothes, I sighed softly.
You perverted bastards...
My thin T-shirt was soaked, revealing my chest. Even my nipples. The protruding bumps were clearly visible.
Seriously, did these guys eat something wrong? Why are their faces so red when they're all guys? How embarrassing.
I pinched the wet, clinging clothes with my thumb and forefinger, lifted my head, and said,
"I'm... not hungry. I'll just go wash up... Sorry, you couldn't finish your meal because of me..."
I spoke with an awkward smile. Seeing me, the guys who had been blushing together snapped out of it one by one.
Nam Kangwoo turned his head and cleared his throat, Seo Jaehoon cursed, saying that the pear and bellflower root was falsely advertised, and Mo Taehee, who was still staring at my chest, slowly raised his head and met my eyes.
"...Seriously."
"...Huh?"
"Never mind. Go wash up. We'll take care of cleaning up the kitchen."
I nodded with a slightly dazed expression and moved my feet. I was going to go into my room, take off my wet clothes, and go into the bathroom. Still holding the clothes that were wet and clinging to my body with my fingertips, I moved.
"How embarrassing. Why is it so see-through?"
I muttered in a small voice and was passing Nam Kangwoo by the table when a hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me forward.
"Kangwoo-ya?"
Nam Kangwoo, who had suddenly grabbed my hand, took me into his room instead of mine.
With the living room and kitchen in the center, there were two rooms on each end of the hallway. Seo Jaehoon used the room across from mine, and Mo Taehee used the left side of the opposite side, and Nam Kangwoo used the right side.
I was pushed into the room on the right in a bit of a hurry. Making an "uh-oh" sound, I turned to look at Nam Kangwoo with a slightly bewildered expression.
He naturally locked the doorknob and examined me with an unreadable expression. Then, as if wanting to let me know that he was angry, he nervously moved his feet and repeatedly slammed the drawers open and closed.
"Kangwoo-ya?"
I muttered Nam Kangwoo's name, which I don't know how many times I've called already.
I stopped in an awkward position and only turned my head to follow Nam Kangwoo with my eyes. Why is he so nervous?
Still pulling the clinging clothes forward with my fingertips, I used my other hand to smooth the ends of my bangs, which were wet and clumped together. I want to wash up because it's so sticky... and it's cold too.
As the wet area of my clothes gradually increased, I began to feel a chill. My body trembled intermittently, as if convulsing, regardless of my will.
I was standing awkwardly in the center of the room, shivering, when suddenly Nam Kangwoo's hand popped out of the dressing room with something white in it. The crumpled white cloth was a T-shirt, and I naturally reached out to receive it.
But my hand stopped pitifully in the air, and Nam Kangwoo came right up to my nose, grabbed the hem of my T-shirt without giving me a chance to stop him, and lifted it up.
"Nam Kangwoo, what... hey!"
The wet rag was quickly stripped off my body and fell to the floor with a thud. Looking at the crumpled clothes, I felt a surge of heat from the shame of being naked.
"What are you doing right now!"
I crossed my arms in an X to cover my skinny body as much as possible and trembled even more at the sudden coolness. The still-sunken eyes seemed to add to the coolness I felt.
Nam Kangwoo's gaze lingered on my pale body, which I was covering, before slowly rising to my face. A chill ran down my spine at the heat in his eyes. Goosebumps rose on my pale arms.
Seriously, this crazy bastard.
"Ha Yeoul."
"Why, why...!"
"You know you've been acting strange lately, right?"
This crazy bastard! I know I've been acting strange, but that's not something you talk about after stripping me down to my underwear.
I moved one of my arms, which had been covering my body, to grab the T-shirt in Nam Kangwoo's hand and pull it away.
"Just give me that—”
But, as if hardship and adversity were always my lot in life, my hand was caught in his. My body trembled helplessly.
Unlike Nam Kangwoo's empty smile, the heat that filled his eyes clung to my face and exposed body.
"Why are you really doing this?"
"Be careful."
"...What?"
“I said stop moving. I’m holding back.”
What is this crazy bastard saying?
I twisted the wrist that Nam Kangwoo was holding. I struggled with a weak force, but Nam Kangwoo seemed amused by my movements and instead pulled my wrist closer to him.
"Nam Kangwoo!"
"We’re all on the edge. It feels like we're about to cross the line with just one more step, but we're holding back with all our might as if we've made a promise."
"...I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"But you need to know that you're the one outside that line, not someone else."
Nam Kangwoo stared intently at my lips, which were repeatedly opening and closing as I failed to find the answer, then gently rubbed his fingertips over my exposed shoulder.
"Why are you trembling so much, are you scared?"
At Nam Kangwoo's monotonous voice, I reflexively shook my head. Nam Kangwoo, who had been gently rubbing my exposed shoulder, smiled emptily at my reflexive head shake.
This crazy bastard... no, Nam Kangwoo hesitated for a moment before opening the T-shirt and putting it over my head himself. He carefully grabbed my arms as if holding glass beads, put them in one by one, straightened my clothes, and then took a step back.
"Ha Yeoul."
"..."
"It’s also an option for you to cross the line before we do.”
"..."
"I'm letting you know."
Nam Kangwoo whispered in a low voice. As if telling me a secret that no one else should hear.
I still stared blankly at somewhere over Nam Kangwoo's shoulder before raising my head. When I met his eyes, which were still filled with heat, Nam Kangwoo's lips curved as if he was pleased.
"Ha Yeoul."
"..."
"It should be your name now."
At Nam Kangwoo's last words, I gaped like a fish, unable to say anything, and fled the room.
But as if my ordeal was not over yet, as soon as I opened the door and stepped out of the room, someone's rough hand grabbed my shoulder.
"Yeoul-ah."
"..."
I couldn't turn my head even at the gentle, worried voice coming from behind me. Mo Taehee and Nam Kangwoo know. Then does Seo Jaehoon... know?
"...I... I today..."
My voice trembled. I could feel myself trembling so much that it was pitiful.
"I want to rest, Taehee-ya."
As I moved my body, adding a small "sorry," Mo Taehee's hand, which had been holding my shoulder, easily fell away.
Without hesitating, I moved my feet. Seo Jaehoon, who was sitting on the living room sofa and looking at me without expression, caught my eye, but I didn't have the energy to deal with him. He fidgeted as if he had something to say, but after checking my face, he nervously shook his hair.
I passed through the living room, opened my door, and hid myself. I felt a strange sense of relief as the door closed behind me.
"Ha... this... this is really..."
Leaning against the door and sliding down, I sat down and carefully reviewed my conversation with Nam Kangwoo.
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