“……”
Seonwoo moved the meal to the refrigerator instead of the microwave, then only wet his throat with a cup of water. Because he’d been eating poorly, his cheeks had become even more gaunt since being discharged from the hospital. However, Seonwoo had so little interest in his own body that he didn’t notice this. His indifference, whether toward others or himself, had been that way since childhood, but after the accident it had become particularly severe to the point of harming his health.
When he came up to the second floor, Seonwoo looked at Taejeong’s room at the end of the hallway. There was no light seeping through the door crack. He approached the sofa and opened the side table Junyeong had mentioned. There really was a key inside.
However, Seonwoo closed the drawer without touching the key. As if his only purpose was to confirm those words, he didn’t visit Taejeong’s room either and quietly entered his own room.
When he sat down on the edge of the bed, his legs suddenly went numb. He’d thought this much was walkable, but his weakened muscles belatedly complained of pain. Moreover, because he’d walked for a long time wearing loose slippers, various parts of his feet were numb. It seemed like blisters would form here and there by tomorrow.
Still, Seonwoo hit his thighs with his fists and moved again. First, he gathered the boxes that had been placed on the floor and began organizing them. He was planning to go to Dad’s studio from now on and leave the belongings there.
The reason was just. You could call it a useless stubbornness. Since the room was spacious, he could have left them in the extra space. But, for really no reason at all, he didn’t want to leave Dad’s things in this house.
He lifted all four organized boxes at once. Since his right hand was uncomfortable, he was essentially supporting them with one hand. Because his steps were even fast, the boxes swayed precariously.
Seonwoo tried to go down the stairs in that state. Whatever was urging his heart, the thought that he should divide the boxes into two and move them safely didn’t occur to him.
It was when he stepped his foot into the air. Suddenly his thigh muscles hardened like stone. As if it were a lie, the strength in his legs gave out. In that split second, instead of supporting his collapsing body, Seonwoo did his utmost not to drop the boxes.
But the boxes that had already tilted were falling into the air. Even while falling, he reached out his hand, but in the end both the boxes and his body came tumbling down the stairs.
Fortunately in his misfortune, his leaning body hit the wall, so he could avoid the sight of rolling all the way down. However, because he hit his right hand along with it, his entire hand throbbed. Especially the injured area burned as if it had been scalded.
“Ugh……”
Seonwoo grimaced and endured the pain. The knee that had been struck on the stair edge while falling also throbbed, but that wasn’t what was important right now. Dad’s belongings were scattered all over the stairs.
He immediately gathered up the boxes. However, it wasn’t easy to collect four delivery boxes’ worth of luggage with one hand. Things with weight were hard to even lift. On top of that, the pain in his right hand gradually worsened, making progress slow. At this rate, it seemed like it would only be finished by dawn.
Seonwoo swallowed a sigh and moved his body. Then something was kicked by his foot. It was his phone, which must have stuck out of his pocket at some point.
The moment he saw it, the Vice Director’s words to contact him anytime if anything happened came to mind. Just as those words said, Seonwoo needed someone to ask for help right now.
“……”
Seonwoo, who stared up at the second floor for a moment, left the phone as it was and went up. He headed not to his own room but to the bathroom right next to the stairs. Seonwoo stood in front of the mirror without even turning on the light and pulled down his mask.
Was it because he was looking in a dark place? The wound looked quite unsatisfactory. Seonwoo, who came to a conclusion in an instant, immediately clenched his fist and sent it flying toward his jaw.
It was just a moment, but it hurt enough to make his vision spin. It was incomparable to when he’d bumped his hand just before. Seonwoo supported his body on the sink and waited until the dizziness subsided.
How much time passed? When he composed himself and checked the mirror, he could see that the surrounding skin had turned red and it was more swollen than before. On top of that, physiological tears had even pooled.
Seonwoo squeezed out those tears to moisten around his eyes. Finally, with a satisfied face, he threw the mask in the trash and left the bathroom.
Whether it was adrenaline being released from the pain, his sensitive mood became elevated. He knocked on the door at the end of the dark hallway. Even though he already knew about the master key’s existence, Seonwoo chose to knock.
“Open the door.”
Naturally, there was no response. Even after knocking several times, it was the same. He couldn’t even feel any presence from inside. Just as he was thinking about whether to just sit in front of the door and wait, he heard the sound of the lock turning.
Through the narrowly opened door crack, disheveled hair was visible. Dark circles that had worsened compared to a few days ago were visible. But the eyes looking straight at him were an even darker color than that.
Just from making eye contact, it already seemed like he could hear curses in his ears. Before that actually happened, Seonwoo opened his mouth first.
“Help me out.”
“What?”
His voice was locked up. Not only was it low, but it was even slightly cracked. Looking at his disheveled hair too, had he been sleeping until just now? Seonwoo thought that perhaps his jaw wouldn’t survive today either.
“I spilled things on the stairs and it’s hard for me to clean it up alone.”
“How did that happen?”
“I suddenly fell.”
“……”
Taejeong’s eyes narrowed. With a look that seemed to say ‘is this guy really an idiot,’ Seonwoo tilted his face slightly so the bruised cheek would be clearly visible and said.
“I think it’s because you hit me.”
“So what do you want me to do about it.”
Seeing him frown, this was a reverse effect. Since he seemed to have no intention of participating in the conversation anymore and was even about to close the door, Seonwoo chose different words.
“What I spilled on the stairs is my dad’s belongings.”
Taejeong whipped his head around. Confusion was evident in the eyes looking at Seonwoo. So he reacts to this kind of thing. This was more effective than self-harm extortion. Seonwoo stopped shoving the bruised cheek forward and stimulated Taejeong in a different direction.
“I don’t want to leave them like that. Just help me for a bit.”
“……”
Taejeong couldn’t act as coldly as before. Through the door crack opened so narrowly that not even one leg could enter, an anguished face was visible. Seonwoo didn’t urge him anymore and waited obediently.
Then the door opened completely. Even that was just for a moment and it was so dark that the interior wasn’t properly visible. Taejeong was wearing a black tank top in this weather. If you’re hot-blooded, you must not feel the cold either.
“What are you staring at. Turn your eyes away.”
Pushed by brute force, Seonwoo’s head turned. Taejeong had pushed with the back of his hand against his hair.
“Didn’t you wear it to be looked at?”
“What?”
“Ah…… What I was only thinking came out of my mouth. It’s a joke.”
“Crazy bastard……”
Taejeong, who made a disgusted expression, immediately retrieved the hand that had touched Seonwoo. As if that wasn’t enough, he vigorously wiped the back of his hand on his training pants. He looked quite displeased, however he’d taken Seonwoo’s words.
However, at least all the guys Seonwoo had seen wore them for that purpose. For reasons like wanting to show off their bodies, typical of students that age.
Taejeong had the most to look at among them. The presence shown by his broadly spread shoulders and solidly built back was considerable. In comparison, his posture was slightly hunched, but if he stood properly, his shoulders and back would probably look much broader than now.
Was it because of the shaggy hair that completely covered his forehead and the hunched posture? The image of him wearing well-groomed clothes like the Vice Director and greeting patients didn’t come to mind. It seemed like his desk would be a mess with piles of documents and he’d unilaterally make diagnoses without even making eye contact with patients.
