Even though Surim wanted to pull away from the cool touch but couldn’t, he apologized frantically while half-crying. What was surprising even during his pleading was that even in the midst of all this, Song Hanyeong’s skin was so soft that his heart trembled.
Surim resolved to write in his diary today for sure. And he made eye contact with Song Hanyeong, who was looking at him with his head tilted crookedly, and was startled, shutting his eyes tightly.
He had to make an excuse or something right now.
“Your complexion doesn’t look good and you seem to have lost weight these past few days, so I was trying to ask, but since you said you were fine, I was worried….”
“You were worried.”
“Yes. D-do you sleep well? You look tired!”
Surim, who had opened his eyes to slits, glanced sideways at Song Hanyeong. The sight was quite amusing, so Song Hanyeong decided not to torment him further.
Once freed, Surim quickly hid both hands behind his back.
“Actually, I can’t sleep well. I have headaches too.”
“I knew it…! You can’t eat and you can’t sleep, so that’s why your complexion is so bad.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“Do you have some kind of worry?”
“If you knew?”
“What?”
“If you knew, would you solve it?”
“If it’s something I can solve for you….”
Surim, who had been hesitating, bent down again to bring his face close and whispered a question.
“By any chance, do you need more blood? I’m taking iron supplements these days, so maybe I could give a bit more.”
“…Jin Surim-ssi, if we draw more in that state, you’ll get anemia.”
“Ah…. I thought it might be okay to draw a bit more just once….”
Song Hanyeong let out a short hollow laugh. He’d thought at most he’d say he’d help with anything or to tell him if he needed anything, but to offer his blood.
For a moment, greed deepened in Song Hanyeong’s eyes. The desire to snatch up and devour this newborn puppy that approached knowing nothing welled up.
But the next moment.
‘N-no….’
The image of Jin Surim shrinking with a terror-stricken face obscured his vision. The sight of Jin Surim filled only with fear and wanting to escape from that place was not what Song Hanyeong wanted.
Erasing the Surim in his imagination that had suddenly appeared, Song Hanyeong spoke in a hushed voice with a picture-perfect smile.
“There isn’t any particular problem.”
At the small voice, Jin Surim moved a bit closer to him to hear his words.
“It’s just that my condition has been bad for no reason since a few days ago. There’s been a lot of work in various ways for a while, so fatigue must have accumulated.”
“Then should I go to the pharmacy and buy you a fatigue recovery set or something?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a cocktail of over-the-counter drugs that pharmacists combine. They combine things like vitamin C and magnesium, and it’s effective. I’ve tried it too.”
Surim continued speaking defensively toward Song Hanyeong, who was frowning with an overtly suspicious expression.
“It’s really effective. It helped me a lot during major exams.”
“Ah, that….”
Song Hanyeong, who seemed to be thinking about something, soon nodded. It seemed he’d seen someone around him take it before.
“Alright. Then I’ll ask for your help.”
“Yes!”
Surim, who answered energetically, ran to the pharmacy and bought various types of medicine through detailed consultation with the pharmacist. It was a combination where drinking one bottle of liquid vitamin drink, one pack of squeezable medicine, and two pills at once would completely eliminate accumulated fatigue.
Song Hanyeong swallowed the medicine Surim handed over along with cold water right there on the spot. Surim was overtly relieved. As if he truly believed Song Hanyeong’s fatigue would now really fly away completely.
But unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
The next day Song Hanyeong looked more tired, and the day after that was worse. His meal portions decreased to the point where he couldn’t even eat half the lunchbox, and he also canceled the promise to take him to a restaurant until the weekend. To be precise, he said he’d make a reservation so Surim could go alone, but Surim refused. Surim’s conscience wasn’t strong enough to go eat something delicious alone, leaving behind someone who wasn’t feeling well.
It was Friday when Surim, whose heart was becoming increasingly anxious, felt the situation was really serious.
“Manager Lee-nim, what about Manager Song-nim…?”
When he hadn’t come to work by around 9 o’clock, he thought he must have taken half a day off. It was plausible since he’d been tired lately.
But when he briefly left his seat due to a General Affairs Team call and returned at lunch, Lee Myeongho handed him a lunchbox. Lee Myeongho, not Song Hanyeong.
“Manager Song-nim is on annual leave today. He seems to be feeling a bit unwell.”
“…Could there be something wrong? He’s looked unwell since Monday….”
“Mmm, I wouldn’t really know….”
“How can you be so indifferent, Manager-nim? Last time too, you just passed it off as a personal matter…!”
Surim, who had reflexively reproached him at the response that showed not a speck of interest, saw Lee Myeongho’s blank expression and realized his mistake, bowing his head.
“I’m sorry. This isn’t something I should be taking out on Manager Lee-nim….”
“…No. It seems Surim-ssi is very worried about Manager Song-nim.”
Lee Myeongho answered while awkwardly scratching his cheek.
“But I still shouldn’t have done that…. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine as long as you understand. Manager Song-nim asked me to make sure Surim-ssi eats well, so just make sure to eat everything. That’s enough for me.”
“Yes, I’m sorry….”
Lee Myeongho’s kind response rather seemed to rebuke Surim. Surim apologized repeatedly. What kind of ridiculous attitude was this at the company? It was only because Lee Myeongho had no sense of authority and looked favorably on him, but if he’d done this at the General Affairs Department, he would have been severely scolded.
“Well then, enjoy your meal.”
“Yes…. Manager-nim, please enjoy your meal too. Thank you for bringing it to me on purpose.”
Surim, who greeted Lee Myeongho going to the cafeteria with team members, trudged to the break room with his lunchbox. Once he spread out the lunchbox on a corner table, a sigh came out naturally.
He felt so stupid himself, and in the midst of all that, only worries about Song Hanyeong kept repeating in his head, making him feel even more pathetic.
But when someone who had seemed so healthy suddenly deteriorated in condition and suddenly took annual leave, he couldn’t help but worry. Surim forcibly suppressed his troubled heart and devoured the lunchbox.
Today’s menu was hamburger steak. Was this soy meat too? It tasted so convincing that it was really amazing yet a bit suspicious. Perhaps Lee Myeongho had brought the wrong lunchbox. Ordinary people didn’t respect vegetarianism well, and Lee Myeongho didn’t know well the reason why he had to stick to vegetarianism. So maybe….
“Mmph….”
Surim, who had been continuing his meal slowly with no appetite, at some point felt nauseous and covered his mouth. He felt like he might vomit, but didn’t move right away. Because there was no reason to vomit.
Wasn’t that right? The lunchbox was food that Song Hanyeong had asked Lee Myeongho to prepare, and if so, it would naturally be food he could eat.
“…Is this really food from hyung’s restaurant favorites…?”
Surim hastily examined the lunchbox lid and shopping bag. But even after turning everything upside down to the bottom, the store name wasn’t visible. Perhaps it wasn’t ordered by Song Hanyeong but was just any food from any store ordered by Lee Myeongho?
The moment he became aware of that fact, his stomach turned.
“Urgh…!”
Surim frantically ran to the bathroom and vomited everything he’d just eaten. Only after spitting out even the hamburger steak sauce without leaving anything did his stomach settle somewhat. When he came out to the sink and looked in the mirror, his throat was sore and blood vessels had burst in his eyes.
“……”
When Surim, who had rinsed his mouth, returned to the break room, Lee Myeongho, who had finished eating at the company cafeteria and returned, was standing in front of his lunchbox.
“Surim-ssi! Where did you go… What’s wrong?”
“Ah…. My stomach, wasn’t feeling well….”
“Your stomach? Oh my, then the hamburger steak must have upset your stomach, and you just ate it? Why didn’t you say you couldn’t eat it earlier? As for the lunchbox, I could just ask Manager Song-nim to order again.”
“The lunchbox, was it ordered by Manager Song-nim? Not ordered by Manager Lee-nim?”
“Yes. I just picked up the delivery that came.”
“I see….”
Surim, who laughed helplessly, sat down at the table again. If Song Hanyeong had ordered it, it was definitely food he could eat.
“You’re going to eat again? You said your stomach wasn’t good.”
“It’s fine now.”
“Fine already, in that time?”
Surim cut a piece of hamburger steak and put it in his mouth. It was delicious.
“Yes, it was just bad for a moment.”
When he chewed thoroughly, swallowed, and answered, Lee Myeongho made a worried expression but didn’t disturb his meal and moved away, telling him to enjoy his food.
Surim, who safely ate lunch, felt grateful to Song Hanyeong for preparing food for him even while sick, but at the same time worried whether he was eating well.
He was so lost in worry that he almost tripped several times. Lee Myeongho ran over in surprise and teased him, asking if it was dead butt syndrome. While protesting that it absolutely wasn’t that, Surim still couldn’t stop thinking about Song Hanyeong.
“I wonder where he’s sick….”
Could a person who had been fine until last week suddenly deteriorate in complexion and become haggard that quickly? He was a healthy person with such wonderful muscles.
