The raindrops falling *huduk huduk* on the leaves were heavy, seeming like rain that would last quite a while. It was a situation worth worrying about, but Yoonjo remained relaxed throughout. The mountain was just somewhat low, and as long as the rain stopped, there would somehow be a way out.
“But if it rains all night, that would be a bit troublesome. Dongtae must be hungry.”
*Weng!*
It was quite suspicious how well he understood and responded to the word hungry. Maybe he’s actually a person, he thought, fiddling with Dongtae’s paw.
Dongtae, who had been sitting quietly for a while, suddenly stood up. Looking outside with his ears perked, Dongtae tapped Yoonjo’s hand with the tip of his nose. It seemed like he wanted to go out, so Yoonjo joked around and grabbed Dongtae’s paw.
“What’s wrong, Dongtae-ya. I told you we have to wait? When it rains, we can’t go anywhere.”
Dongtae’s ears moved again. Yoonjo, who had been trying to hold onto Dongtae as he anxiously stomped his feet, stiffened at a sound faintly heard from far away.
He thought, no way. Yoonjo, who barely got up from his seat, limped and struggled to open the wooden door. Perhaps because it was crudely made, it didn’t open well. As the door opened as if breaking, the sound became a bit clearer.
It vaguely seemed to be calling Ji Yoonjo. The moment he opened his mouth to respond, Dongtae burst out.
“Dongtae-ya!”
Startled, Yoonjo ran forward and fell right there. Muddy soil covered his face and body without discrimination, but that wasn’t what was important. Yoonjo roughly wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and tried to get up.
“Yoonjo-ya.”
When a voice that shouldn’t be heard was heard, Yoonjo just blinked quietly. Was it a dream? He wondered if he was hearing things from being in the rain too much. Nevertheless, thinking just maybe, Yoonjo slowly raised his head.
Rough breathing, completely soaked shoes and clothes, and finally, a man getting rained on without even an umbrella.
“…Hyung.”
It was Ki Seonwoo.
“Yoonjo-ya, I found you.”
At the worry spreading between his rough breaths, Yoonjo was dazed. Seonwoo’s expression, which had been looking at such a Yoonjo with strange eyes, hardened stiffly. Immediately kneeling on one knee, he examined Yoonjo’s leg.
His ankle was swollen. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d attached a calf instead of an ankle. On top of that, it was dyed bright red. From the outside, it looked quite serious. When Seonwoo carefully stroked that part, Yoonjo said awkwardly.
“Uh, this is fine. It’s just a little sprained, so if I rest…”
“How would you know that!”
At the rough voice that suddenly burst out, Yoonjo shut his mouth. He was the one injured, so he wondered why Seonwoo was raising his voice like this. And more than anything, this was the first time Seonwoo treated him this way, so not knowing how to react was even bigger.
“Ha….”
In the place where a moment of silence passed, there was only a faint sigh. Seonwoo, who had wiped his face with his palm as if wiping away rainwater, said in a quite calmed voice.
“I’m not mad. If you’re hurt, you should say you’re hurt. I almost said let’s just go.”
“……”
“Let’s hurry and go down. We need to go to the hospital.”
“What about Dongtae…?”
“Dongtae’s right next to us, so don’t worry. Your leg comes first.”
Get on my back. Looking at Seonwoo showing his back while saying that, Yoonjo twisted his lips. The kindness that came whenever he was about to forget was suffocating. While flatly refusing saying no, his hands caring for him had no hesitation. He pretended to be indifferent but wasn’t at all.
That wasn’t because it was Yoonjo, but because of Ki Seonwoo’s personality of treating anyone kindly if they were human. Nevertheless, Yoonjo came to expect once in a while. Just maybe, perhaps, at least once, thinking. It was like that now too. A person who was an eyesore went out with even his pet and ended up like this, yet he’s told not to worry.
Yoonjo squirmed and grabbed Seonwoo’s back and climbed on. Seonwoo skillfully received Yoonjo’s body and stood up. Though it must be hard because it was an uphill, Seonwoo walked as if it was nothing. The regular footsteps continued for a long while before stopping briefly. They had already reached flat ground.
“…Hyung.”
“What.”
“I like you even more, hyung.”
“You’re saying that even in this state?”
“I know, right….”
As if the heat from his head had finally spread throughout his body, Yoonjo kept rubbing his face against Seonwoo’s coolly cold skin. Each time Yoonjo rubbed against him, Seonwoo let slip words saying it’s okay. That nothing serious would happen, that nothing would happen. At that kindness, tears suddenly climbed up in Yoonjo.
Yoonjo, who had been with his eyes pressed tightly against Seonwoo’s nape, made constant efforts to hold back his breath that kept trying to become labored.
“Sleep for a bit. When you wake up, the pain will get better too, and everything will be okay.”
Yoonjo couldn’t even respond and went *keung*, scrunching up the tip of his nose before grabbing Seonwoo’s shoulder firmly.
“Don’t endure the pain. If something feels strange, you have to tell me right away.”
“It’s not that….”
Yoonjo, who had been making nasally sounds, kept swallowing the flowing snot while going *kkeuk kkeuk*. Yoonjo, who had been hanging onto Seonwoo for a long while, shouted along with tears.
“Hyung, I… like it, so much!”
Yoonjo, who shouted loudly, dropped the head he’d barely been holding up with a *tuk* at the dizziness that suddenly came. It felt like his brain was rolling around looking for empty space. Even with his eyes closed, the world seemed to spin. Can the Earth spin this fast…. He tried hard to put strength in his eyelids to come to his senses, but soon Yoonjo fell fast asleep.
***
Yoonjo was even snoring peacefully in his sleep. At that sight, Seonwoo breathed a sigh of relief. As the tension released, the fatigue he’d forgotten came all at once. Seonwoo, who entered the bathroom attached to the hospital room, let out an empty laugh seeing his haggard appearance in the mirror. To have not noticed until becoming this mess….
There were quite a few things to do before Yoonjo woke up. First, he had to convey the story so Yoonjo’s grandparents could hear it without being shocked, and he also had to bring clothes to change into. He had left Dongtae with Yoonjo’s grandparents, but without explanation. It was Seonwoo’s responsibility to convey the news to them who must be worried.
Seonwoo, who had roughly washed his face and adjusted his clothes, approached the bed to look at Yoonjo before leaving. The snoring sound was loud. He must be tired. The child had been alone in the rainy forest for several hours and had even injured his leg. No matter how familiar the place was, there was no way he wasn’t scared.
Hesitating, Seonwoo gently caressed around Yoonjo’s eyes. His eyes were red and swollen from how much he’d cried, and tear tracks were making white paths. Seonwoo, who carefully wiped around Yoonjo’s eyes and under his nose with tissue, unconsciously smiled.
It was because he remembered Yoonjo from the mountain.
*’Kkeuup, hup….’*
At the crying heard as soon as they came out of the mountain, Seonwoo briefly stopped walking. Then Yoonjo, who noticed like a ghost, asked why in a voice mixed with tears. When he said it was nothing, Yoonjo sniffled again.
*’Sleep for a bit. When you wake up, the pain will all get better too… it’ll be okay.’*
He deliberately didn’t tell him not to cry and tried hard to turn his attention elsewhere, but as time passed, Yoonjo’s panting became more severe.
It seemed like he was trying to endure in his own way, but as if he ultimately couldn’t endure it, Yoonjo wailed loudly and shouted.
*’Heuup, eu, hyeuiing, heueoong… too muuuch, kkeup, kkeu, I liiiike youuu… hup…. Uk, kkeuk. So, muuuch…! Heu, kkeu…!’*
It was pitiful crying as if he’d pour out all his tears and snot. He’d only seen his smiling face, so since it was the first time seeing him cry, not knowing what to do, Seonwoo stood still in place. Seonwoo came to his senses after Yoonjo, who had been constantly spitting out only the word “like,” became exhausted on his own and fell fast asleep.
He was burning with fever, and the swelling in his leg had become worse than when he first discovered it. He didn’t know with what state of mind he’d found the hospital. When he came to his senses, he was hearing the doctor’s explanation, and when he came to his senses again, it was the hospital room.
Seonwoo stayed by Yoonjo’s side for a moment before sitting on the simple chair. It was because he thought, wouldn’t it be okay to stay a little longer?
“Don’t like me. Where would you find someone as bad as me?”
*Deureurong, deureurong.* Even the snoring sound felt quite cute. Seonwoo, who had been beside the comfortably sleeping Yoonjo, stood up from his seat before long.
***
“Keuup…!”
Startled by the snoring sound, Yoonjo opened his eyes drowsily. Somehow his body felt stiff and not good at all. Yoonjo, who had been rolling his eyes around, slightly raised his head at the sound of the door opening. What came in were Grandma and Grandpa. As soon as the two discovered Yoonjo, they turned pale and rushed over.
“Oh my! Yoonjo-ya! What do we do! We need to call the doctor! Yoonjo-ya! Grandma’s here! Our grandson’s face is all red!”
“Oh my, this poor thing. Child, why didn’t you say something and go around like that? Yoonjo-ya! Grandpa came quickly!”
Yoonjo looked blankly at Grandma and Grandpa before smiling refreshingly, showing his teeth.
“Ah! I’m totally fine!”
Despite the bright smile, Grandma and Grandpa, as if not reassured, checked Yoonjo’s condition several times beside him. The two left around lunchtime.
Until just before leaving, Grandma and Grandpa held Seonwoo’s hand tightly and kept saying thank you.
The door closed, and only Yoonjo and Seonwoo remained in the hospital room. For a single room, the hospital room was quite large, so Yoonjo smiled awkwardly and then blurted out.
“How’s Dongtae doing?”
Feeling Seonwoo’s gaze looking at him blankly without answering, Yoonjo just rubbed the bed sheet. The characteristic rustling sound of hospital beds was heard loudly.
“Since I took him out, it’s my responsibility too. I heard somewhere… that people can be treated even if they’re a bit hurt, but it’s hard for dogs. Uh… but Dongtae didn’t seem hurt anywhere. He gave me his paws and everything.”
“What about you?”
“Ah, that, I just have my leg a little,”
“Right, your leg, just a little. You’re hurt. You know what the doctor said? Your ligament almost tore. If you’d been just a bit more careless, your bone would’ve cracked and your ligament would’ve torn too. Then you would’ve kept hurting your ankle over trivial things and couldn’t even do that farm work you like so much. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
He was angry. This time he was really angry. At Seonwoo’s fierce momentum, Yoonjo unnecessarily shrank his shoulders and lowered his head.
