“Are you staging a protest because you don’t want to do it right now?”
Yeon Haejeong, still failing to grasp the situation, let out a derisive snort and tossed the words out coldly. Munyeong was in no state to answer — he desperately averted his gaze, covering his hand and curling his body in tighter. When his reddened face crumpled in pain, Yeon Haejeong’s mercilessly set brows lifted in puzzlement.
“You really don’t want to… hey.”
As Munyeong twisted his body, gasping for breath as though hyperventilating, Yeon Haejeong gradually began to register the gravity of the situation, his expression stiffening. The coldly indifferent eyes that had been so unfeeling slowly started to lose their composure, unable to conceal the bewilderment creeping in.
“Hey……. Im Munyeong.”
His gaze, growing gravely tense, bore down on him — but Munyeong had no room to care. He wanted to hide it. He just couldn’t.
“You…….”
A voice that was almost like a shock rang in his ears like tinnitus.
“…D-don’t… don’t look….”
Munyeong pleaded, his voice trembling. Munyeong’s eyes, twisted in anguish, were wet with tears. Through his furrowed brow, every wretched emotion mixed together and reached Yeon Haejeong. The domineering figure who had been lording over him like a tyrant just moments ago was nowhere to be found — all that remained was a flustered fool, completely at a loss in the face of this unexpected emergency.
“What’s wrong with you…….”
“…Hh.”
“…You, why…….”
Yeon Haejeong’s voice trailed off, his face caught in a panic. Every trace of his forceful manner had vanished, leaving only his stunned eyes trembling uncontrollably.
“What is it, why are you like this, right now!”
Yeon Haejeong snapped back to his senses and urgently cried out, grabbing Munyeong by the shoulders. The sight of him enduring the pain with a flushed face — anyone could see he was suffering.
“Does something hurt? Where does it… wh-where does it hurt, huh?!”
Yeon Haejeong shouted, his face twisted with worry. It was a sight he couldn’t believe even with his own eyes. Even if he seemed delicate on the outside, he had always thought of him as someone with a solid core. But seeing Munyeong in such distress, his mind went completely blank. On top of that, the hand trembling as though an electric current had run through it — it felt distant and surreal to Yeon Haejeong.
“I-I’m fine…….”
Munyeong gritted his teeth and pushed the words out. The pain was the lesser problem. Munyeong, who would have rather died than have Yeon Haejeong see him like this, kept repeating only the words don’t look over and over.
“Shit… Dr. Kim, no, my personal physician……. No, 119……. Shit!”
More flustered than Munyeong, Yeon Haejeong frantically rummaged around searching for his phone. But this wasn’t his bedroom, so there was no chance of it turning up — and in the end, failing to find it, Yeon Haejeong grabbed Munyeong’s arm as he struggled to breathe and shouted with a desperate, anxious face.
“Where — where does it hurt. Why is your hand doing that!”
“…Ha, I’m fi… ne… p-please, leave….”
“Leave, what do you mean leave! Damn it…, did I — did I force you into it? Huh?”
Even Yeon Haejeong’s hands were shaking. At the sight of him trembling just as much as Munyeong’s broken hand, Munyeong let out a faint, hollow laugh, his color having drained from his face. Feeling the pain gradually subsiding, Munyeong slowly shook his head.
“……It’s n-not… that….”
“Not? Shit… seriously. Ha, let’s go to the hospital.”
“……It’s really not… ugh.”
“What do you keep saying it’s not! Get on my back, hurry. We’re going to the hospital!”
Yeon Haejeong forcibly grabbed Munyeong’s arm and made him hang from his neck. Munyeong wanted to refuse but had neither the strength nor the presence of mind to do so. Unable to overpower him, Munyeong ultimately had no choice but to be carried on his back. The pain was fading, but his hand was still trembling faintly. The broken hand dangled, hooked over Yeon Haejeong’s shoulder.
Munyeong rested his cheek against his shoulder like a person drained of every drop of blood in his body. There was no strength left in him, no energy at all. I’m fine, please don’t. Even the words to stop him wouldn’t come out of his mouth. Whether it was from the shock, or because the external stimulation had hit him even harder, his consciousness gradually began to fade. As Munyeong’s vision slowly dimmed and closed, he caught a glimpse of Yeon Haejeong’s face from an angle he had never seen before. A face that had lost all reason, plunged into panic. An expression that didn’t suit someone so arrogant and haughty. Looking at that face, the words don’t worry circled through Munyeong’s mind.
He wanted to tell him not to worry, that he was fine — he wanted to soothe him. That was how pitiable that startled expression looked to him.
Pull yourself together, Im Munyeong!
Through his fading consciousness, his urgent voice reached him from somewhere far away.
I was wrong, I was wrong, so pull yourself together. Please…!
That wretched plea for forgiveness — without even knowing why — echoed like tinnitus, and at the same moment, his vision went dark. A pitch-black darkness descended, and all consciousness flickered out.
**
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital bed. The sharp smell of antiseptic stinging at his nose and the IV needle inserted into the inside of his arm — even through a dazed mind, he could tell right away.
What struck him as strange was how spacious the hospital room was. It was a room with a lavish, hotel-like interior — a state-of-the-art wall-mounted TV, fabric sofas for guests, and even a private bathroom. He’d never been hospitalized due to financial issues, but he knew well enough how much money it took to use a room like this in a hospital. He wasn’t some naive fool who didn’t know how the world worked.
As his blurry vision gradually sharpened, he spotted Yeon Haejeong near the entrance of the room, engaged in a serious conversation with someone in a doctor’s coat. There was no trace of playfulness, none of his usual petulant expression — only sharpened nerves. The way his eyes were raised, the way his gaze reacted with such sensitivity — it was clear how on edge he was. The sight of him felt somewhat unfamiliar, and for a moment, Munyeong found his gaze drawn to him.
“―Either way, what can be fixed…… you’re awake?”
Perhaps hearing the sound of him stirring, Yeon Haejeong immediately turned his head. At that frighteningly swift reaction, Munyeong — who had only just woken up — gave a slow, dazed nod.
“You shouldn’t sit up yet.”
Yeon Haejeong said calmly and laid Munyeong back down as he tried to push himself up. The doctor, who had been watching Yeon Haejeong rush to the bedside from behind, let out a couple of dry coughs.
“For now, let’s keep him under observation until tomorrow. If there are no abnormalities, he can be discharged right away.”
“Discharged? Already?”
At the doctor’s polite explanation, Yeon Haejeong narrowed his eyes and shot back.
“…Ahem, yes. The CT and MRI both showed no issues, so there’s no need for great concern.”
“Even after he collapsed in that much pain?”
“As I just explained, since only specific nerves are damaged, there won’t be any impact on other areas. Looking at the patient’s medical records, it seems the diagnosis was made quite some time ago. The patient himself likely knows best. It’s a symptom that remains as a simple aftereffect, so the likelihood of it developing into a serious condition is close to zero.”
“But either way, the symptoms do exist, don’t they? Just because it’s not life-threatening doesn’t mean it’s not a problem, does it?”
Yeon Haejeong was addressing someone considerably older than him in banmal — completely naturally, without a second thought. On top of that, the sharpness in him made it feel aggressive. Munyeong, thinking that his aggressive tone was because of him, carefully reached out and tugged at the hem of his clothes. At that, Yeon Haejeong’s large frame gave a slight flinch.
“……Ahem, ahem. It’s not that it’s not a problem — but as I said, it’s an aftereffect. Aftereffects where the window for treatment and rehabilitation has been missed are issues that have to simply be lived with…… There’s nothing we can do beyond prescribing medication to manage the pain.”
The doctor explained calmly, his voice laced with regret.
“How does it make sense that a doctor can’t fix it? Are you a quack? If you can’t do it, you should be finding a solution — what are you so proud of?!”
Yeon Haejeong shouted harshly, clearly deeply dissatisfied with the doctor’s answer. Munyeong startled and this time grabbed at his arm desperately.
“What, are you in pain again?”
At that, the fierce, twisted expression immediately dissolved. He promptly wrapped his hands around Munyeong’s and asked with worry. At that sight, Munyeong felt something stir near his heart. The vividness of his worry, so plainly visible, lodged itself deep in Munyeong’s chest.
“…No, I’m fine….”
“…Ha……, fine, right. Damn. You even passed out.”
“I’m fine…….”
Munyeong let his words trail off and cast an uncomfortable glance toward where the doctor stood. As if to say — I’m fine, so stop keeping this poor person here — he showed his reluctance in Yeon Haejeong’s direction. Yeon Haejeong still seemed unsatisfied, letting out a huff of breath through his nose, but because of the patient in front of him, he had no choice — he gave the doctor a brief tilt of his chin, curtly ordering him to leave.
Only after watching the doctor disappear did Munyeong let out a breath of relief. Seeing him act rudely toward others made him feel uncomfortable. Especially when it was because of him. It felt like an innocent person was being made to bear the brunt of something trivial.
“…You were surprised, weren’t you…. Sorry.”
