Seungyeon flinched involuntarily at the shout full of anger. Jung Sanho’s eyes widened as if he had witnessed something impossible. Feeling like someone who had committed a wrongdoing, Seungyeon pulled his captured hand back.
“No, this is……”
“How did you get hurt like this? You didn’t cut your wrist, did you? Is it a cut or a scrape?”
Though his words were relentless, his touch was gentle. After carefully examining the wound, he shot up from his seat. He went straight into the bathroom and returned with a hand towel. The warmly dampened hand towel gently covered Seungyeon’s wrist. A stinging pain washed over him, perhaps from the water touching it.
“It looks like it was rubbed or pressed, but what on earth were you doing…… Just don’t move for now. You should’ve said something if you got hurt!”
After spewing a barrage of fuss and warnings, Jung Sanho rushed back to the bathroom. Until then, Seungyeon, who hadn’t given it much thought, glanced down at his wrist.
“Is it that bad……?”
It didn’t seem that bad when I checked earlier? Did it get much worse while he was running away? Seungyeon sneakily lifted the hand towel to check the wound while watching Jung Sanho’s reaction. It was bruised, scraped red, and the blood had clotted, but it wasn’t as tattered as he’d feared. Slightly painful, maybe?
“Not enough to be that startled……”
Seungyeon rubbed his wrist and rolled his eyes toward the half-closed bathroom. Speak of the devil—as soon as he became conscious of it, the bathroom door swung wide open. Jung Sanho appeared with several more towels and immediately approached the bed.
He shook out his wet hands. When his slightly cold body temperature touched his skin, Seungyeon’s body trembled involuntarily. Jung Sanho, who met his gaze while reading the room, picked up the hand towel Seungyeon had put down.
“How did you hurt your wrist?”
Jung Sanho meticulously rubbed Seungyeon’s palm with the hand towel. Whatever had been on his hand was quickly washed away. The feeling of being firmly gripped wasn’t bad, so Seungyeon obediently entrusted his body to him.
“You know that Go Yeongbin guy? No, he was waiting in front of our house. It’s lucky my mom was out, or she would’ve almost had a heart attack.”
Once the floodgates opened, words flowed out smoothly. Seungyeon explained in detail the absurd yet thrilling escape he had experienced. He was proud of himself for escaping on his own from that crisis situation. On top of that, he needed someone to be a witness in order to sue that evil Go Yeongbin. That’s why he kept talking non-stop.
“His car should still be parked in the parking lot, right? I wonder if my phone is still there too. This is really a badge of honor. If I hadn’t freed my wrist and stayed stuck there, who knows what Go Yeongbin would’ve done to me by now.”
He was a bastard who had already committed the crime of kidnapping. Seeing that he even brought a friend at his own level, he must have planned some horrible shit. The more he thought about it, the more murderous intent toward Go Yeongbin squirmed. Just you wait till I get home safely. I’m going to make that bastard eat prison food.
“That guy is a complete psycho, I’m telling you. I mean, how long has it been since I broke up with him and he pulls this shit? If this isn’t dating violence and stalking, what is?”
“……So you’re saying he kidnapped you? That Go Yeongbin bastard?”
Jung Sanho asked back with a coldly sunken face. After a moment of silence as if thinking about something, he patted the excited Seungyeon’s shoulder.
“First…… I got it. I understand the situation. I’ll take care of that fucking bastard myself, so hyung, just rest here for a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
Seungyeon urgently grabbed Jung Sanho’s hand. If Jung Sanho disappeared too, Seungyeon would truly be alone. Of course, it didn’t seem like he would abandon him and leave, but this was, how should he put it, a matter of feeling. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t anxious being alone in an unknown place without his phone or wallet.
“I need to get some medicine and that fucking bastard…… No, anyway. I’ll go get what we need.”
“If you’re going out, I want to go too. I want to get out of here too.”
With Jung Sanho backing him, Seungyeon had nothing to fear. Even if they ran into Go Yeongbin on the way, he was confident that Jung Sanho would throw a punch for him. I’m only counting on you. Seungyeon nodded his head, looking at him with a meaning of complete trust.
“If I’ve waited this long, that’s enough. And this level of wound will heal if I just put some spit on it. There’s no need to even look for medicine.”
Take me home too, and while you’re at it, it’d be even better if you accompanied me to the police station. Jung Sanho, who had been listening to Seungyeon’s enthusiastic words, bit his lip as if troubled. He frowned, alternately looking at the firmly locked door and Seungyeon.
“Still, it’s a bit much right now. If we run into Jung Seyeong on the way, that would also be awkward.”
Jung Sanho was more conscious of his hyung who had been next to Go Yeongbin than of Go Yeongbin himself. There seemed to be some circumstances, but Seungyeon tactfully kept his mouth shut. After all, Jung Sanho was in the position of helping and Seungyeon was the one being helped. If he acted up here and Jung Sanho said ‘Sorry, but I can only go this far,’ Seungyeon would be the only one at a loss. Before becoming like a dog that lost its chicken, Seungyeon found a compromise.
“Then let’s rest here together and leave.”
How could I let you go alone? Without a phone or wallet, he couldn’t afford to lose Jung Sanho too. Meaning don’t even think about anything foolish, he quickly snatched his hand. Jung Sanho, who was awkwardly pulled back to Seungyeon, plopped down on the bed. Seungyeon even took off Jung Sanho’s shoes and fluffed the pillow to support it behind his back. Every time he tried to sit up, Seungyeon made a “Shhh!” sound. Whether the warning not to even think about running away got through, Jung Sanho stopped flinching as well.
“Don’t even think about ditching me and running off somewhere. Got it?”
Even after lacing their fingers together, he was anxious, so he neatly covered Jung Sanho with the blanket. If I had my way, I’d want to tie and bind his wrists tightly with the towels Jung Sanho brought. At the thought that he’d be screwed if he lost Jung Sanho, Seungyeon’s hands became busy.
He burrowed right into the same blanket and stuck closely to his side. Even if it’s a bit uncomfortable and awkward, if I do this, he won’t run off alone, right? Was it because he experienced kidnapping, something that happens maybe once in a lifetime? Seungyeon was beyond caring right now.
If they were stuck together this closely, no matter how nimble Jung Sanho was, it would be obvious. If he unlaced their fingers, lifted the blanket, or got off the bed, it would be immediately noticeable.
“You want me to stay like this?”
Unlike Seungyeon, who was very satisfied with the current position, Jung Sanho seemed awkward and couldn’t keep his body still for a moment. In a situation where personal space has gone to the dogs, it would be stranger if he felt comfortable. Seungyeon understood. He understood, but he had no intention of letting Jung Sanho go.
“Yeah. We’re staying like this until we leave.”
At Seungyeon’s declaration, more persistent than a water ghost, Jung Sanho let out a sigh that could be either resignation or regret.
***
His consciousness, which had been walking a tightrope between dream and reality, suddenly tumbled into reality. Seungyeon’s eyes trembled. It seemed he had fallen asleep without even noticing.
To the point where it was embarrassing how he’d made a fuss about not letting Jung Sanho go, at some point he had succumbed to the comfort of the bed. It was comfortable, and also because his tension had suddenly released.
How much time has passed?
Seungyeon wiggled his toes while still keeping his eyes closed. His mind was fully back, but when it came to actually getting up, he was too lazy to move. Should I suggest we just laze around here a bit longer since it’s come to this? There was nothing particularly urgent, and since it was already late anyway, sleeping soundly and then leaving wouldn’t be a problem.
Wondering if Jung Sanho had also fallen asleep, he perked up his ears to his presence. Though he wasn’t certain, judging by the irregularly heard breathing, it didn’t seem like he was asleep.
Come to think of it, he’s really curious too. To see him guarding his spot so obediently just because he was told not to go anywhere. If he wanted to run away, there would have been plenty of opportunities, but Jung Sanho who stubbornly held out was admirable in a way. Or was this position more comfortable than expected?
Seungyeon didn’t feel particularly bad either. How often would two grown men share one blanket? But thanks to being stuck together, he could feel his body temperature well, and there was a strange sense of security. Is this how a cicada on an old tree feels? Or maybe a kangaroo?
“Fuck……”
At the sudden curse, Seungyeon’s heart dropped. Since he happened to be imagining kangaroo Jung Sanho, he felt guiltier for no reason.
No, why is he suddenly cursing……?
Does he have the ability to read minds? Seungyeon drowsily opened his eyes, trying hard to calm his shrinking heart. He couldn’t see clearly because of the darkness, but Jung Sanho was closer than expected.
He opened his eyes slightly and secretly stole glances at Jung Sanho while pretending to sleep. Light seeping in from the window behind faintly illuminated his profile. Whatever else, his nose bridge is truly a work of art. Except for muttering curses, his lips also looked good, fitting the proportions perfectly. He looked older for a twenty-year-old, but conversely, he exuded a maturity uncharacteristic of his peers.
Jung Sanho, who had been muttering curses while looking at the ceiling, suddenly sat up. Seungyeon, startled, reflexively closed his eyes. With the feeling that he shouldn’t get caught here for some reason, he performed his utmost acting of pretending to sleep.
A few seconds of silence passed and the blanket rustled. Jung Sanho, who very carefully lifted the blanket and sat up, headed somewhere.
At the sound of shuffling footsteps, Seungyeon stealthily opened his eyes. Jung Sanho’s back, bathed in dim light, disappeared right into the bathroom.
