episode_0015

I went to the hospital in a state of pain and returned.

When I was half-collapsed, Ji-won helped me not die.

I was upset about him taking my wallet without permission, but he did it for my sake.

I thought I should thank him when I get back home.

And Ji-won even worried that I might collapse while at the hospital with me.

There were times when I felt unwell while dating Seong-a noona.

But I’ve never had someone worry about me like this before.

It felt good inside that Ji-won was concerned about me.

But as soon as I got back home, that thought shattered all at once.

“Hey!! Damn, the boss is so tough!!”

“Take the TV and game console and get lost to the next room.”

Ji-won said he would take care of me by my side.

But as he couldn’t defeat the boss in the game, he started getting angry.

Please, just leave me alone since the voice in my head is echoing…

When I got mad at Ji-won, he apologized and left with an apology.

Sometimes it’s better to be alone in times like this.

So I stared at the ceiling for a while.

Soon I felt better, got up from my seat, and came out of the room to have something to drink.

“What’s up? Do you need anything?”

As I came out, Ji-won also came out of the room.

When asked if I needed something, I just said I came out to drink water.

In response, Ji-won told me to lie down on the bed and said he would bring me water.

Although he was overly attentive, I could only say thank you as he insisted on doing it himself.

After lying back down on the bed, I stared at the ceiling again.

Is this how people act when they’re sick?

I cried a lot yesterday, feeling like I caught a cold. It’s not just a cold; it feels like I’m half dead.

“Are you asleep? Dead?”

“I’m still alive.”

Ji-won entered the room.

I wanted to ask why it took so long to bring water, but refrained.

He brought porridge.

“What? You can make porridge?”

“I learned from Chef Baek Jong-won.”

Saying that, Ji-won showed me Baek Jong-won’s recipe on YouTube.

“But this is abalone porridge recipe, anyone can see it’s just plain porridge?”

We don’t even have abalones at home.

And there’s nothing suitable to be used as ingredients.

“Why make porridge, idiot.”

I’m anxious. Extremely anxious. What if I eat it and I die? But since he made it for me with effort, I felt obliged to eat some.

Summoning courage, invoking the names of saints, I took a bite…

I thought I would foam at the mouth when I ate it.

“Why does this taste good?”

Surprisingly, the taste was just average.

Not amazingly delicious or terrible.

Just plain.

Surprisingly, the ordinary taste was fine for me now.

“You see, I’m confident in my cooking.”

Come to think of it, Ji-won effortlessly made stir-fried pork too.

With that skill level, this must be normal.

Well, making plain porridge isn’t that difficult.

Maybe it’s just tasty.

Taking another spoonful to eat, a thought crossed my mind.

“Why does this have no taste at all?”

“Oh… I forgot the salt. But it’s okay, you won’t die from a lack of salt~.”

Indeed, it wasn’t trustworthy.

After finishing the porridge, Ji-won brought water and medicine.

I feel sorry for his care.

Today, I am the patient.

So, it should be okay for a day.

Even though I had such a painful day.

Back then, I asked Seong-a noona to come and visit me, but she said she couldn’t because she was drinking with friends.

It was really painful, almost heartbreaking.

I wanted someone by my side.

And I felt lonely.

But somehow, this time, I didn’t feel lonely.

“Ji-hoo, are you okay?”

Ji-won was looking at me with a worried expression.

When I see that look, I can’t say anything.

Hurry up and play next to me.

With that thought in mind…

I quietly closed my eyes.

**

My head hurts…

But there’s no actual pain.

The dizziness has stopped too.

It seems like I don’t have a fever.

I must be all better now.

But for some reason, I kept feeling this heavy sensation in my body.

Maybe it’s like a hangover, I thought as I tried to get up from my spot.

“Ugh…”

Someone was sleeping next to me.

I don’t know why the kid is next to me.

And the current situation is clearly a back hug scenario.

I have no idea what’s going on.

Right now, it seems best to wake up Jiwon, so I shook her.

“Why aren’t you wearing pants?”

Strangely, Jiwon was only wearing panties.

“I don’t usually wear pants when I sleep… I want to sleep a little more.”

She said that and started lying back down on the bed.

I really don’t know what to say.

Anyway, I have to go to school before it’s late.

Leaving Jiwon sleeping, I decided to go to school.

I must have slept next to her all day, taking care of her.

It was too close for comfort.

But it was well-intentioned. Let’s not dwell on it today.

I arrived at school and sat down.

Sunah, who should have been sitting next to me, wasn’t there.

This could be considered a different memory.

It felt like we had completely broken up.

I realized I had become perfectly single now.

“Hey, Jaeya? Did you harass and dump Sunah?”

I heard the voices of the girls sitting behind me.

What nonsense is this about harassing and dumping?

Did I harass Sunah?

I don’t know what they’re talking about.

I just felt like Sunah might have said something because we broke up.

Should I talk to Sunah separately? I thought.

Let’s not worry about it; it’s not my concern.

So, I waited for the professor to arrive, organizing today’s lecture content on my smartphone and turning on my laptop.

While I was summarizing the lecture content in a Word file,

– Bang!!!

A man in front of me slammed his laptop hard.

My laptop, which I saved up to buy, an expensive one.

“What’s going on?”

Let’s ask what’s happening first. The man started staring at me as if he wanted to kill me.

“Are you… Kang Jihoo?”

He knows my name. Is he a senior in our department?

Since my name was correct, I confirmed it.

Upon hearing that, the man sighed heavily and spoke.

“Hey… come with me.”

For some reason, even though I didn’t understand why he called me, I decided to go out.

What on earth is happening?

**

When we went outside, the man started smoking in the smoking area.

“Do you smoke too?”

“No, I don’t smoke.”

I don’t know when he started using informal language already.

Is he a senior in our department? I’m not sure, but since it’s our first meeting, I’m using formal language.

If I use informal language, do I need to treat him as a senior? I wondered.

After finishing his cigarette, the man approached me and said,

“Are you the guy who harassed Sunah?”

“No, I didn’t harass her.”

I told the truth.

If anything, I was the one who got gaslighted.

I had thought of being the best boyfriend to that sister, never once did I harass her.

As I finished speaking, the man sighed heavily again and looked at me, continuing,

“In that case, let me rephrase. Are you the guy who dated Sunah?”

“That’s correct.”

As I finished speaking, the man stared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

-Slap!!!

And then, he slapped me hard.

This guy…

Is he openly engaging in school violence?

It’s a bit surprising, but I decided to hear why he hit me.

Damn, it hurts like hell where he hit me.

But I already anticipated this.

From his expression, it was clear he was going to hit me.

“So, you’re the bastard who harassed Sunah.”

“Just hit me a bit more.”

Saying that, he approached me slowly, rolling up his sleeves.

What should I do? Should I just take a few hits like this?

I did come here expecting to get hit in the first place, though.

If he hits me a few more times, it’s going to hurt.

It’s going to hurt like hell.

“I don’t understand why I have to get hit.”

“I’m hitting you to make you realize that.”

As he rolled up his sleeves, I could see the dragon tattoo on the man’s arm.

Alright, he’s the guy I messed around with a bit back in high school.

I know this guy well.

There was a guy back when I was in high school who had a dragon tattooed on his arm or leg.

It’s surprising that this guy went to college.

The man approached me as if to hit me once more.

He began to raise his arm.

I don’t know. Let’s just take a few more hits and call it a day.

Or maybe someone nearby will call the cops.

There are witnesses and evidence.

Let’s just take a few hits.

Thinking like that, I closed my eyes quietly, waiting for the punch to come.

“Hey! That’s the police station over there! Someone is getting beaten up here!”

It was almost miraculous; someone was calling for help.

Quickly call for help and ask the police to come soon.

While thinking that.

I realized that it was a voice I often heard from somewhere.

No way… It can’t be, right? I reopened my eyes that I had shut in disbelief.

“Hey!! Kim Jiwon! What are you doing there!!”

Jiwon was standing there.

“Hey. Give me your phone.”

The man approached Jiwon and demanded his phone.

Jiwon took a step back and slowly started to run away.

“Hey! I called the police! You jerk! You’re screwed now!!”

How can he be so bold and confrontational, that idiot…