# Chapter 135
Though the touch was careful, my body flinched and staggered, losing balance. But embraced by arms as solid as rock, my body was steadied.
“…Be careful.”
“…Okay.”
I noticed Moon Seoheon’s prominent Adam’s apple bobbing. When I looked up, our eyes met and he gave a somewhat bitter smile.
It was just for a moment, but my heart relaxed—until he lifted the hem of my clothes, making me unconsciously clench my fists.
“Huh?”
“Lift your face.”
But his expressionless face and calm voice made my surprised reaction disappear completely. I raised my head as he instructed, and he easily removed my top, then neatly folded and stacked it.
With my upper body suddenly exposed, I reflexively covered myself with my left arm, but Moon Seoheon didn’t even glance at me, making me feel like I was overreacting. Feeling awkward, I naturally raised my arm to fix my hair, then glanced to my right.
Jung Hyoin, who had been silently watching what we were doing, slowly blinked.
As I looked straight ahead, continuing to fidget, Moon Seoheon, who had placed the neatly folded clothes on the sofa, turned his head to face Jung Hyoin.
“What about you?”
Though his question was incomplete, Jung Hyoin seemed to understand what he meant and nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
After this brief reply, Jung Hyoin approached with large steps and wrapped his arm around my right shoulder. Moon Seoheon, who had glanced at the long, slender hand on my shoulder, reacted a beat late and stepped aside. Instead, he put his arm around my opposite shoulder and dragged me along.
Thus, surrounded on both sides by the two guys, I had no choice but to move awkwardly toward the bathroom. There was no need for this much support, but I didn’t ask them to let me go.
When we entered the bathroom, the humid air made me frown.
Though the sweat I’d shed during rehabilitation therapy had already dried, my body felt sticky, so I needed to shower at least briefly. Washing my hair wouldn’t be a problem, but it was still uncomfortable to wash my body alone, which is why I had urgently found a caregiver. But as luck would have it, because of my mother who insisted on being with me during the examination, the test date that was originally scheduled for the day after tomorrow had to be moved up. This was because her schedule had become busy due to a sudden outside contract.
I could take the examination alone, but my stubborn mother had contacted the caregiver saying she didn’t need to come. By now, I would have already finished washing and be resting… but I couldn’t say anything to Moon Seoheon and Jung Hyoin who had come instead.
While I was inwardly expressing my embarrassment, Moon Seoheon and Jung Hyoin seemed to be contemplating as well, as they entered the bathroom but showed little movement.
Though it was a single room where I could wash comfortably without worrying about others, the shower booth was too narrow for three people. After looking back and forth at the hesitating guys, I barely moved my lips that wouldn’t part easily.
“I think it would be better if only one person came in.”
“…”
“I’m just going to wash roughly anyway, so you both don’t need to help.”
Unlike the two who looked so expressionless they almost seemed languid, I spoke in a small voice with tension, and they both lowered their gazes simultaneously and let out small sighs.
It should be me sighing now. I tilted my head up in a manner that looked displeased. Then, ignoring my words as if they had no intention of adding anything, Moon Seoheon asked Jung Hyoin:
“Hyoin. You go behind him and hold his head. We need to wash his body first.”
Am I the only one who finds this absurd? The funny thing was that Jung Hyoin, as if he had no objections, went behind me as Moon Seoheon said and embraced me, making me lean against him.
Losing my balance and falling backward, my back pressed firmly against Jung Hyoin’s chest. As my stiffened body stood rigidly, Moon Seoheon, as if telling me not to be tense, gently rubbed my bandaged right arm. His other hand was already pulling down my pants.
Of course, this position is comfortable for removing clothes, but why were the two of them working together like this?
Especially Moon Seoheon, who didn’t seem to mind at all that I was pressed tightly against Jung Hyoin, maintained an indifferent expression throughout. I couldn’t understand what he was thinking and looked at him with suspicious eyes.
He glanced at my furrowed eyebrows and lowered his head. Now looking at my remaining underwear, he let out a short “hmm” before asking awkwardly:
“I’m going to take these off too, is that okay? How did the caregiver do it?”
His tone was plain, without any strange intentions. Only then did I realize I had been trying to assign unnecessary meaning to the actions of the guys who had come all this way to take care of me.
My face instantly turned red. It was embarrassing because not only were Moon Seoheon and Jung Hyoin the ones who came when they had time, but I also felt caught having impure thoughts.
It was just the other day that I had decided not to associate anything with what I had seen in the anime, but unconsciously I kept viewing things through colored glasses.
“…She washed me carefully so water wouldn’t touch my wounds. She thoroughly cleaned the parts I couldn’t reach myself.”
I continued my explanation while recalling the hearty yet kind caregiver. The caregiver, who had some similarities to the manager, was careful not to make me uncomfortable, not just when moving around, but even when washing, and took care of all my needs.
I remembered that I hadn’t felt self-conscious about being naked in front of her and smiled awkwardly.
“I haven’t sweated much, so you don’t need to be thorough.”
I added a word, telling them not to feel burdened, wondering if I had really been overthinking. But deep down, I secretly wondered if these guys were really just helping out of pure intentions.
“Got it.”
Moon Seoheon nodded and immediately removed my underwear. His calm gaze, without a hint of emotion, actually made me feel more awkward.
I wondered if this was really the same person who had hugged me and was about to cry while begging me not to die.
His touch was gentle as he had me sit on a chair with my legs extended. Even when unwrapping the bandage, he was extremely careful, as if handling glass.
Moon Seoheon’s hands hesitated when my leg was revealed after removing the bandage. My leg was bruised in various colors and swollen, making it quite gruesome to look at. The stitch marks from surgery on my knee and ankle looked repulsive even to me, so I completely understood his reaction.
“Ah, it’s better to put bandages on the wounds. There should be some in the drawer, I forgot.”
Noticing his wavering eyes, despite his calm behavior until now, I spoke casually. Only then did Moon Seoheon return to his normal self, rising from his bent position and going outside the bathroom.
“Whew…”
As I exhaled with mixed feelings, Jung Hyoin’s upper body, which was supporting me, rose slightly.
Licking my dry lips nervously, I turned around to see his half-closed eyes fixed on me. Under his steady gaze, I looked forward and blurted out anything. As an extra precaution, though it might be unnecessary, I covered my groin with my left hand.
It was equally embarrassing either way, with no other intention behind it—just an action born from awkwardness.
“Aren’t you busy these days? Everyone else seems to be.”
In response to my question, Jung Hyoin’s eyebrows twitched, and he let out a low sigh before giving a brief answer.
“Not really.”
I felt awkward at his somewhat stiff tone. Come to think of it, this was the first time since my return that I’d been this close to Jung Hyoin alone.
With the same unfamiliar sensation as when we first met, I kept my mouth shut, then mumbled while looking around outside.
“Why isn’t he coming back?”
I was referring to Moon Seoheon, who seemed to have been gone for a long time without returning. Soon enough, the door opened, and Moon Seoheon appeared through the gap, walking slowly.
Showing me the bandages in his hand, as if asking if these were the right ones, I nodded, and he approached again, bent his knees to squat, and leaned toward me.
“I’ll put these on.”
“…Okay.”
Moon Seoheon soon tore open a bandage and placed it over the stitch marks, concentrating intensely. His hair shook every time his face, which had come close, moved, tickling my forehead.
Soon after doing the same for my right arm, Moon Seoheon smiled with satisfaction as if the job was done, and by then I was starting to get used to this situation. Our eyes met, and his slowly closed and opened again, staring at me for a moment. Then he suddenly stood up, grabbed the showerhead, and lifted it. His movements were quick as he turned on the water and checked the temperature.
The water must have heated up quickly, as steam rose and enveloped the surroundings as it wet the floor. Moon Seoheon, standing at a distance to prevent water from splashing, adjusted the temperature by turning the handle.
Once it seemed appropriately set, Moon Seoheon turned around and looked at Jung Hyoin behind me, signaling with his eyes that it was time to start.
I leaned comfortably against Jung Hyoin as Moon Seoheon began wetting my legs with warm water. Even though waterproof bandages were applied, it wasn’t good for the wounds to get wet, so Moon Seoheon skillfully avoided the marks, spraying water from the tips of my feet to my neck.
Even the strong caregiver had difficulty washing my body alone, but with both of them, it proceeded easily without any discomfort.
Since I had one arm and one leg damaged, I would need to support myself against a wall or the floor with my one good arm to avoid falling even while sitting, but with Jung Hyoin firmly holding me from behind, all I had to do was just let my body be taken care of.
Once my entire body was wet, Moon Seoheon held a shower puff, squeezing body wash onto it to create lather. As he began washing, starting from my calves, I held my breath.
This is really strange. The guys don’t seem bothered at all, but I’m the only one feeling awkward and tense.
I tried to calm myself internally, telling myself they were just taking care of a patient, but when his hand gently washed up my thigh, tension gathered in my toes.
I was glad the white foam covered my grotesque legs, but the breathtaking sight before my eyes made me just close them. This made the refreshing scent of the body wash flood into my nostrils, intensifying the sensation as it spread.
The hand on my hip stopped moving for a moment, then without giving me time to find it strange, moved upward. As if being considerate, the shower puff deliberately bypassed the center area and touched my stomach, then slid down from my shoulder to my abdomen.
“Ugh.”
I bit my lip hard at the faint moan that escaped without my knowing. Ah, this really isn’t working. When I deliberately closed my eyes, the sensation became even more vivid, so I quickly opened them.
Brown eyes, darker than usual, were intently watching me.
