episode_0167

Jinyeseo quickly hid behind a large tree in the garden. She still stuck her head out to look at them.

The two people from a distance were engrossed in a conversation about something, not yet aware of Jinyeseo’s existence.

Although he couldn’t hear the content, it was clear that Yeonmin-ha was throwing a tantrum toward him that bordered on being violent.

But the man neither got angry nor harshly rejected her pity.

I just treat her with a calm expression the whole time.

“… !”

Then, Jin Ye-seo opened her eyes wide in surprise at Yeon Min-ha’s subsequent actions.

After looking around quickly, she ran to the man and hugged him tightly in the chest.

‘Wow, how shameless…!’

The body of the opposite sex was firm and strangely stable, completely different from the soft body of a woman.

Jin Ye-seo’s earlobes naturally turn red as she recalls the sensations of that night.

‘Why is he accepting that again…’

It was truly a series of surprises. That compassionate man would do something like that, and in broad daylight, so nonchalantly. Furthermore, the man was showing an attitude that went beyond calmness and was completely used to it.

“Ugh… ”

Jin Ye-seo unconsciously clutched her chest when she saw him. A sharp yet sharp pain was stabbing her heart.

A strange, alien sensation that I feel for the first time since I was born, yet is extremely painful.

Still unable to guess its source.

***

The long life in the ward was now coming to an end. The stitches on the wounds had all been removed, and the various test results were stable.

The manager said that he could be discharged as early as tomorrow.

I’m not feeling all that good. I feel overwhelmed when I think about catching up on the piled up homework and lectures that I’ve missed. There are other things I have to deal with as well.

First of all, I should focus on the fact that I am leaving this stuffy space. Well, honestly speaking, it wasn’t all that bad.

There is no better place to be alone and organize your thoughts.

Any new visitors who wanted to make friends with me during this opportunity were taken care of by Yeonmin-ha, and even she had to return to the dormitory at night.

It may have been a measure taken in consideration of my personality, which doesn’t like meeting people very much. I’m just grateful to Yeonmin-ha. Thanks to that, I’ve regained some peace of mind now.

… I was thinking that way until just now.

“Hello, junior!”

“… ?”

I stared blankly at the intruder who had suddenly barged into my hospital room. A female student with a teardrop mole on her left eye and a fresh face like a peach was waving happily at me.

“Kwon Yuri… Senior?”

“Hey, right. Even though I told you to call me sister. Now, repeat after me. ‘Yuri sister.’”

“… ”

Instead of answering, I turned my head and looked out the window outside the ward. Then, as if Kwon Yuri had read my thoughts, a refreshing smile appeared on her face.

“Min-ha will be a little late today. It’s the day of the student council’s regular budget. I avoided it on purpose.”

“… What brings you here?”

She’s still a difficult woman to deal with. Nominally, she’s from the complete opposite faction. But she doesn’t show any hostility like the old pity or Jin Ye-seo, and instead, she just grins like a naive person every time she sees her.

I really need to be able to figure out what he’s thinking.

“What happened? Of course, I came to visit you.”

Kwon Yuri asked back as if to say, “Why are you asking such a thing?”

“Here, this is a gift for visiting the sick! It’s a top-grade stimulant made by our pharmaceutical company!”

She strode toward my room as if it were mine. Then she sat down on the chair and placed the large package she was holding on the table.

“Is this really something precious? It’s much better than most commercially available medicines.”

Then he takes out a small bottle from inside, opens the cap himself, and hands it to me.

“Our junior is still a chick, so he tastes like strawberry.”

“… ”

“Oh, it’s okay! Thank you. What’s this between us?”

Kwon Yuri whined as she looked at me with a puzzled expression. I took the bottle and looked inside. The red color was appetizing. The fresh fruity scent tickled my nose.

It’s the perfect condition to hide something like poison.

“Hmm? Why?”

Kwon Yuri, whose eyes were shining brightly, tilted her head.

“… ”

Yeah. Of course they wouldn’t try to assassinate me in such a stupid way.

but…

“… I’ll try it later. I don’t have much of an appetite right now.”

Still, it was still a bit uneasy. I pushed the bottle aside without even putting it to my lips.

“… Huh.”

Then, Kwon Yuri gives a slightly resentful look. The expression on her lips, which feels quite childish, but surprisingly, it suits her quite well.

“So, what are your intentions this time?”

“You have an ulterior motive. If you say that, I feel really bad. I was worried and came to visit you in the hospital.”

Kwon Yuri pretends to be angry, folds her arms, and turns her head away.

“I didn’t know that my senior would worry about me that much.”

“It would be so lonely if the junior I was supposed to eat with died first.”

“… ”

“Oh, okay. From what I can tell from what you’re saying, it looks like you’re feeling better. You don’t have to worry about dying.”

Kwon Yuri glanced at her watch, shook out her skirt, and got up from her seat.

“I’ll go since I saw you’re fine. Anyway, it’s almost time for the student council to wrap up the year. Min-ha is too overprotective. How can you not even come to visit someone in the hospital? Right?”

This time, Yeonmin-ha’s words seem to be correct. But I’m a little confused.

I thought he was just trying to dig up some information by dragging his feet.

Are you going to go back after giving me just a little gift to visit you in the hospital?

“Still, I’m glad you recovered well.”

While I was worrying about Kwon Yuri’s intentions.

She adds one more word, almost as if whispering.

“That’s great. Seoyeon will really like it too.”

“What is that… ”

“… ”

Kwon Yuri disappeared in an instant without even answering the question. The hospital room became quiet as if no one had been there.

“Sigh… ”

I feel like all my energy is drained.

One of the things to do when you leave the ward.

You made that worry come back to me again.

I pondered the meaning of Kwon Yuri’s last words. Why on earth did she like my recovery?

After paying off the debt to Heukryeon, you can worry about it for a long time? Or…

“… ”

Anyway, it doesn’t sound positive at all. It gives me a headache.

If my intention was to shorten my life through stress, I’d say it was successful.

-dripping.

Then, a knock is heard. And the ward manager sticks his head through the crack in the door.

“Umm… Patient? There’s another visitor here… ”

What day is it today?

I don’t want to waste any more energy on it.

“Again? Sorry, but I have to go back… ”

I was just about to refuse.

The manager, who was checking the list, suddenly blurts out a familiar name.

“I’m a student at Jinyeseo… A first year student… ”

“… Yes?”

I asked back in a dumb voice without realizing it. I was already curious about Jin Ye-seo’s current situation.

Because the kid who said he’d come back disappeared without a trace.

Well, I thought he might have been discharged from the hospital… but I didn’t know he would be so confident in requesting a visitation.

… Now that I think about it, didn’t you say that Yeonmin-ha would come soon?

“… ”

I can’t really predict what will happen if the two meet.

Jinyeseo is really following that kid. Yeonmin, who used to look down on everything in the world, has been getting even more aggressive towards the female students lately.

I moved my body urgently, thinking of returning the letter of truth.

But by the time we reached the entrance to the ward garden.

“Hey.”

Suddenly a sharp voice is heard from behind.

“… Senior.”

Yeonmin-ha, who had returned to the ward before I knew it, was glaring at me.

“Are you here?”

“I just stopped by for a bit. I have to go again because I have a night class. Anyway, this damn academy is really… ”

Yeonmin-ha grumbled in a voice full of complaints.

I just stopped by for a moment…

But isn’t the distance between the ward and the main building quite large?

People are really diligent.

“But you… ”

Yeonminha finally turns her sharp gaze towards me. A cold sweat forms on my back.

If Jinyeseo finds out she’s here, she’ll definitely go crazy.

How should we handle this situation?

“You tried to train in the garden again without me knowing.”

“… Yes?”

But the words Yeonmin-ha spat out as she grabbed his wrist.

I asked back in a bewildered mood, but it seemed that Pyeongmin took this as some kind of evidence.

She made a confident expression. And she closed the distance, still holding onto my wrist tightly.

“I knew it. How many times did I tell you to be careful? Huh?”

Before I knew it, she was so close that I could feel her pitying breath. She stretched out her arm and put it on my back. I felt like a fly caught in a carnivorous plant.

Then he buried his nose in my chest, took a deep breath, and shook his shoulders.

“What are you doing?”

“Inspection.”

“Check?”

“Yeah. I think I smell a little bit of sweat… sniff sniff… ”

“… ”

He was so calm that I was speechless. What kind of person is this thorough? Come to think of it, he seems to really enjoy smelling pity.

Could this be the secret taste of a young lady from a prestigious family? Or maybe she was a dog in her past life.

Well, I didn’t train today in the first place, so there’s no reason for me to smell like sweat.

Since it’s so polarized, I should show some sincerity. I can make up for what I missed after I get discharged…

“Wait a minute… This smell… ”

Yeonmin-ha, who had been sniffing for a long time, suddenly stopped moving. There was a cold chill in her voice.

Yeonmin-ha asked me with her head raised while still being held in her arms.

Her eyes were literally burning like fire.

“By any chance… Did Kwon Yuri come and go?”

“… Yes.”

When asked like this, I couldn’t bring myself to tell a lie. Then, Yeonminha’s face began to turn bright red with anger.

“This bitch… I warned you so… !”

Yeonmin-ha released the arm that was holding me. Then she turned around and walked away in anger.

“I will never leave you alone. I will kill you regardless of the rules… ”

In an instant, the compassionate man left the ward and disappeared. In the place where the storm had passed, only silence filled the place.

“Phew.”

Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief. At least now, I feel a little grateful to Kwon Yuri. Thanks to her, the existence of another person in the ward was hidden.

I walked straight ahead and went out into the garden where Jinyeseo was waiting.

“… ?”

But soon, I couldn’t help but look puzzled.

The small garden was quiet and devoid of any sign of life.