# Chapter 133
“What’s wrong?”
When I stared at the drink bottle for a long time, Moon Seoheon asked me. Then after looking at the bottle in my hand briefly, he soon reached out. While I was lost in thought and couldn’t avoid it in time, Moon Seoheon snatched the drink from me in an instant.
Surprised by the sudden event, I couldn’t maintain my composure and quickly reached out to Moon Seoheon.
“I’ll open it for you. Wait.”
Moon Seoheon easily avoided my movement and, perhaps mistakenly thinking I couldn’t drink because of my injured arm, opened the cap. The cap twisted off smoothly without a sound, and I was so horrified that I instinctively slapped his hand hard.
With the sound of the slap, the bottle fell, and the orange juice inside completely soaked Moon Seoheon. Startled gazes all turned to me at once.
“Taeho! What’s wrong with you!?”
It couldn’t even be dismissed as a mistake because my parents, who clearly saw me hitting his hand away, scolded me loudly. Even Yoon Taean looked puzzled at the awkward situation before slightly furrowing his eyebrows. But the most shocked one here was me, and while I couldn’t do anything, Yoon Taean took out some tissues and handed them to Moon Seoheon.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
After examining his clothes and pants that were now sticky with juice, Moon Seoheon shook his hands and took the tissues. As he slowly wiped his clothes, I quickly pulled out a handful of tissues and meticulously wiped the wet areas.
“I’m sorry.”
Moon Seoheon hesitated at my touch, and when I spoke with drooping eyebrows, he stared at me blankly for a moment before shaking his head.
My parents, who were about to say something more, calmed down seeing my actions and sat back down. They must think I made a mistake and were letting it go.
A brief silence fell, and Moon Seoheon quietly let me wipe his arm. But then he brought his damp hand to his nose and sniffed it. I could have let that pass, but when he suddenly stuck out his tongue and licked his hand, I yelled angrily.
“Don’t lick it!”
I hit his hand hard again, and Moon Seoheon, struck on the back of his hand, frowned. He tilted his head and stared at me with a quite serious expression. Whether he cared or not, my shoulders trembled with agitation as I glared at him.
It was just licking juice off his hand, so nothing serious would happen, but I was anxious about the possibility of some drug getting into Moon Seoheon’s mouth. After all, it hadn’t been that long since he lost consciousness after drinking drugged water.
Unlike Moon Seoheon, who quietly met my gaze, my parents called me with slightly trembling voices.
“T-Taeho. What on earth is wrong?”
Their tone now was worried, probably thinking my condition wasn’t good.
I couldn’t reply and instead took Moon Seoheon’s hand and rubbed it vigorously. It was clumsy to wipe with one hand, but sensing that my demeanor wasn’t normal, no one said anything and just silently watched what I was doing.
Only after I had wiped it to my satisfaction did a light sigh escape.
“That’s enough. Do you want to go to the bathroom if you’re uncomfortable?”
You’ll need to change your clothes too. Even though I had cleaned it thoroughly, the sticky feeling still clung to him. As I slowly released his hand and asked, Moon Seoheon didn’t respond and took a deep breath.
As his chest rose and fell, I looked up at him, and despite his restless appearance, his eyes remained coldly calm. His pointed jawline from clenching his teeth suggested he was trying to suppress emotions that were about to burst out.
For some reason, Moon Seoheon was angry.
* * *
After returning to the hospital, I lay down on the bed but could only rest comfortably after receiving a long lecture from my parents. Even so, my mind wasn’t at ease as I kept recalling what happened during the day.
I couldn’t even ask why Moon Seoheon was angry before we parted. He just got up saying he would go change clothes without even eating, leaving the atmosphere cold.
“What happened here?”
As I got up and opened the refrigerator, my lips parted in shock at what I saw inside.
“W-what is this…?”
The inside of the refrigerator was a mess. Just yesterday, it had been full of side dish containers and drinks, but now the contents were gone, and empty plastic containers were scattered everywhere. Moreover, something must have burst, as there was a sweet smell coming out.
Unless a thief had come in and messed things up, there was no one who would do this, making my heart pound rapidly.
I pulled out the empty containers, looking to see if there might be orange juice among them. But all it did was confirm that what I had spilled on Moon Seoheon was indeed the drink Yoo Wono had given me.
I clearly put a frozen water bottle in my bag last night. It was completely frozen, so I had intentionally left it out to thaw. I had put it in early so I wouldn’t forget to take it, but did I mistakenly put in juice instead?
Even if that were the case, the refrigerator was definitely strange. Perhaps due to the confusion, my head, which had been feeling better, started to throb again.
“Whew.”
I sat on the bed and calmly endured the pain. To figure out what had caused this, I needed to check who had come and gone, but I couldn’t think of a way to do that. Then a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I turned my head toward the coat rack.
Could I find out by checking the camera?
As I was considering whether to call Kwak Junhee, the phone rang. Contrary to my expectation, it was Oh Seulbi. Remembering that I had only seen her perform at the presentation without properly greeting her, I pressed the call button.
“Hello? You did great at the presentation…”
“Kyaaaah!”
Before I could compliment her on the presentation, I flinched at the sudden scream. I looked at the screen for a moment after pulling the phone away from my ear, then put it back and asked.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Yoon Taeho! We did it!”
“What?”
“We got selected! We won, Sunbae!”
Kim Yuna’s excited voice was clearly audible as if she was right beside Oh Seulbi. I could also faintly hear Kim Junwoo’s voice, so they must all be together.
As my surprise faded and I recalled what they were saying, a short exclamation escaped me. Come to think of it, today was the day the contest results were announced.
“You won?”
“Yeah! Not the grand prize, but we got the excellence award, but who cares? It’s amazing. Totally awesome.”
The continuing cheers naturally made me smile. Seeing them so happy made me feel good too.
“Congratulations. But with an excellence award, doesn’t that mean it can’t be published?”
“No, it will still be released, but as a limited edition.”
“That’s really great news.”
“Yeah. So we’re all going out for a celebration meal now. Can you join us?”
I thought about it briefly, then gave up. If I wanted to go out, I’d need permission again, which probably wouldn’t be easy to get. I had already moved around quite a bit today, so I planned to rest without pushing myself.
“I don’t think I can make it. Enjoy yourselves extra for me too.”
“Really? That can’t be helped then. Alright. Get plenty of rest, and I’ll call you later.”
I was about to hang up but quickly grabbed the phone properly and hastily asked.
“Is Teacher Jaewon there with you?”
“Huh? Of course. The teacher is treating us. Oh, and Jinyoung sunbae is here too.”
I had wanted to ask the teacher if anything had happened to Moon Seoheon, but I wouldn’t get an answer now. They might not know about what happened today, and as I nodded and ended the call, the quiet hospital room left me feeling drained.
I had been around so many people today, but I felt hollow, like even my bangs were drooping with the mood.
Wanting to break the silence with anything, I turned on the TV. A drama I had seen before was being rerun, and coincidentally, it was about a police officer and a criminal switching bodies.
“Ha, at least they’re in the same world. What about me?”
The drink that might have been my only way back to my original world was now gone, making me wonder what I should realistically do going forward.
“Now that I can’t drink it, I regret it. Is there really no other way?”
“…Was that method just about trying to die again?”
My body jolted in surprise at the sudden voice. Moon Seoheon, who had opened the door silently and entered, was looking at me with sharp eyes.
Though it had only been a few hours since I’d last seen him, he looked a bit gaunt, as if something had happened in the meantime. His once porcelain-white skin was now blue-tinged, evoking sympathy.
“You, why are you… no, what did you just say?”
Though I was aware that Moon Seoheon wasn’t in good condition, what he had just said was so shocking that I had to ask again. In response, he wiped his face with both hands, walked over like a ghost, and gently pushed me.
He lay down on the bed, grabbing my shoulder and bringing his face very close to mine. As I swallowed hard at the intimate proximity, he bent his upper body as if collapsing and embraced me.
“I thought you were going to die.”
“…”
“In the video… when you threw something again.”
“What?”
“I thought you were trying to die again.”
His voice trembled, and I lost my words, quietly closing my eyes. From the few words he uttered, I could guess that our bodies had probably switched. It must have been very brief, without me even knowing.
My fingertips trembled at the feeling of my shoulder becoming damp. I opened my eyes and gently grasped Moon Seoheon’s arm.
“Hey, are you… crying?”
When I stammered in bewilderment, Moon Seoheon quietly closed his mouth and slowly continued.
“I told you I had something I wanted to say.”
“Huh? …Yeah.”
As I patted his back comfortingly, he raised his upper body. His disheveled bangs clung to his forehead, and beneath them, his soft brown eyes were glistening with tears.
“Don’t die.”
“…”
“If you want to go back, you can go briefly and come back. No matter who you are or where you came from or what nonsensical things you say, I’ll believe it all, so just don’t die. I… you…”
Everything Moon Seoheon was saying felt precarious. At his voice, which was almost like crying, I called his name and brushed his bangs aside.
“Moon Seoheon.”
“…”
“I understand, so stop talking now.”
No matter how intense the emotion inside was, I realized I wouldn’t be able to handle it once it came out in words. So I unconsciously interrupted Moon Seoheon.
Though the body touching mine was clearly cold, it felt as if hot water had been poured over me, with heat rising intensely.
