The walk ended very quickly. All three acted as if they knew Seo Jaehoon didn't want to sit on the bench to rest. Was worry contagious? Eventually, even Park Mina asked if she should go inside.
I nodded, my face clearly exhausted. Right, I'd be dragged home by Nam Kangwoo like this. I felt a little sorry for Park Mina, and I didn't want to go home.
"Go... go ahead. I'll stay a little longer..."
Sitting down... I trailed off. I had no energy. I must have bled a lot from my nose, because I felt dizzy. My vision was spinning a little more than usual. The warm weather only seemed to amplify my dizziness.
The face of Seo Jaehoon, who was sitting next to me, darkened rapidly. Just go, please.
I covered my face with my palm and slowly exhaled. I never got used to the dizziness. It always made me feel nauseous. Seo Jaehoon, who was the quickest to notice my condition, slowly stroked my back.
"...Dizzy."
"I know."
I didn't want to, but I leaned heavily on Seo Jaehoon. My damn weak body made me want all four of them to disappear, but at the same time, I wanted at least one of them to stay and take care of me. Conflicting emotions continued to clash.
"...Annoying."
I muttered to myself, leaning on Seo Jaehoon.
The remaining three, no, excluding Park Mina, the other two, protested against Seo Jae-hoon staying with annoyed voices. I didn't really care who stayed... but Seo Jaehoon didn't seem to feel the same. The stubborn bastard wouldn't budge.
I could hear footsteps moving away, as if they were all leaving. The sound of feet scuffing against the ground gradually faded. When am I going...? I'll probably go home with Nam Kangwoo...
As I thought that and slowly lowered the hand covering my face, I immediately saw Seo Jaehoon's eyes looking at me.
"...Ah..."
What a surprise. I barely swallowed the rest of my words. Seo Jaehoon was always surprisingly... I hated to admit it, but surprisingly handsome.
Yeah, every time I saw this bastard, I thought people absolutely had to be pretty or handsome. I stared at Seo Jaehoon without realizing my mouth was open, and when I saw him smile, I smiled back, without a thought in my head.
"Feeling a little better now?"
A warm hand cupped my cheek. Only then did I realize I was still smiling. So thoughtlessly. I quickly lowered the corners of my upturned mouth and nodded slightly.
"Yeah..."
Seo Jaehoon gently pressed on a certain part of my cheek that Taehee Mo used to press.
"Dimples are showing."
"..."
"I've been seeing you cry more than smile, so I haven't really seen them."
It wasn't that I cried more. It was that I was scared shitless of these bastards most of the time. And I only cried... a few times, I think.
My face flushed with the scattered memories that surfaced. The reason he remembered me crying so much was probably because the times I really cried were recently, and because of this bastard.
I stared blankly at Seo Jaehoon, feeling strangely ticklish at his words, then quickly turned my head away. Crazy bastard...
I gathered my wits and focused on the scenery of the lake, which looked quite different from when I had seen it at dawn, taking it all in. I habitually raised my knees and rested my chin on them. It's nice... it would be even better if this bastard wasn't here. It was a shame.
Seo Jaehoon and I seemed to spend some more time sitting there. Maybe about 30 minutes, or a little longer.
I wanted to keep sitting there, but Seo Jae-hoon seemed eager to go. I, being quick-witted compared to this bastard who couldn't read the room to save his life, noticed it and dropped my propped-up legs to the ground.
"...Go ahead first. With the others."
"How can I leave you here alone?"
"...I don't know when I'll be back here... and the lake is pretty."
I glared at Seo Jaehoon, then stared as if entranced at the surface of the lake, where the sunlight was scattering. It's so pretty. I muttered to myself. The spring breeze blew gently at just the right moment. It's so nice...
I swept back my hair that was fluttering in the wind and noticed a hand reaching out towards me, and I flinched.
Seo Jaehoon, who swept back my hair that was scattering in the wind, said,
"You're prettier, to me."
This crazy bastard said exactly what I had said to Park Mina earlier. Goosebumps rose all over my body. I couldn't hide my bewilderment as I looked at Seo Jaehoon, who was spouting such cheesy words so casually, and I opened my mouth.
"Crazy bastard..."
The words came out involuntarily. Seo Jaehoon burst out laughing at my quiet voice. It was a light laugh, as if it would fly away in the breeze.
I turned my back on this laughing bastard and started walking forward. I wanted to get as far away as possible. But as always, my incredibly weak body staggered, leaving Seo Jaehoon behind. Before I knew it, a hand reached out and wrapped around my waist.
"Want me to give you a piggyback ride? Why are you staggering so much?"
Seo Jaehoon's face, asking as he pulled me close, was too close. Crazy bastard...!
I tried to escape from this bastard's arms. I wiggled a bit, but the more I did, the tighter Seo Jaehoon held me.
"...Let... go! And don't say weird things."
It was hard to believe, but my face was burning. My heart was pounding wildly.
***
After returning to the condo, Seo Jaehoon laid me down neatly on the bed. He even told me to rest because I was dizzy.
I wanted to tell him to go say that to his friends, but as always, I was too weak, so I just closed my eyes tightly.
These guys didn't close the door to the room I was lying in, like they did at home, but left it open a little more than halfway. Life sucks... Ironically, I no longer felt awkward or uncomfortable with the door being open. Humans are creatures of adaptation, after all.
I flickered my eyelids, lost in silly thoughts, and drifted off to sleep. The sounds from outside gradually faded. It sounded like they were telling me to get some sleep, but even that wasn't clear as my consciousness drifted away.
I fell asleep without dreaming, and woke up because someone was telling me to eat something. It was none other than Nam Kangwoo who shook my shoulder gently and chased away my sleep.
"...Mmm...?"
"You need to eat something. It's already night."
The outside of the window was pitch black. How long did I sleep? It was definitely daytime, but when I woke up, it was night.
Nam Kangwoo looked at me with a bit of pity, as I was still half-asleep and not fully conscious. Why... we were supposed to go home, was it because we couldn't?
"I brought you some porridge."
"...Ah... but I'm not hungry."
My voice was cracked. I wanted water more than food. I reached for the glass of water neatly placed on the tray. The water, like sweet rain, flowed into my parched mouth. Only then did I feel a little more awake after emptying the glass.
"What time is it...? When are we leaving?"
Nam Kangwoo chuckled, letting out a puff of air, at my dimwitted question. A little hollowly.
"It's too late. You were sleeping so soundly, so I talked to them about going together tomorrow."
"...Together...?"
I was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. Originally, two of the three would stay with Park Mina and stay for two more days before returning home. Why are we going home two days early?
"You keep getting sick, too. Mina seems worried, as much as we are."
Ah... I felt like things kept going wrong. And I was right. It was ruined. It's already uncomfortable enough, and now I'm going home with all three of them in tow.
When does school start again? I mulled over the vaguely remembered date. So... it was next week...
Noticing that I was lost in other thoughts, Nam Kangwoo reached out a neat hand and gently wiped my wet lips.
"Stay awake a little longer before going back to sleep."
"Huh? Uh..."
I gave Nam Kangwoo a blank look at his words. I thought, how could I be sleepy when I've been sleeping all this time? No matter how weak I am and how much I sleep all day, it was impossible for me to sleep a whole day.
But it was even more embarrassing and uncomfortable to sit facing Nam Kangwoo, so I picked up the spoon on the tray. In order to eat at least half and get this bastard out of here.
"It's abalone porridge."
"Ah..."
"I'm trying to feed you everything that's good for you."
I was about to scoop up a spoonful of porridge when I met Nam Kangwoo's eyes. It's not like my body will get better just by eating good things... why? Why bother...?
"So you can hold on a little longer, I guess."
The strength drained from my hand. The spoon I was holding fell onto the sheet. Along with the porridge I had scooped up about halfway. I didn't even want to dare to guess what I was holding on to.
"What are you doing, spilling it, Ha Yeoul? I brought it on purpose so you could eat good things and get healthy."
These scary bastards... I suddenly thought of Hansel and Gretel. The witch who locked the siblings in a house made of candy and tried to fatten them up to eat them. There was only one witch, but there were three of these bastards. What are they trying to do by making me healthy?
"...I don't have an appetite..."
"Eat it even if you don't. Seo Jaehoon ordered a box of lotus roots."
Crazy bastard...
"I heard lotus roots are so good for nosebleeds."
When I get home, I had to either break or throw away the juicer without Seo Jaehoon knowing.
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