ACTSV chapter 16

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The familiar sound of a piano alarm woke both Jinwoo and Jingyeom simultaneously.

Jinwoo expressed his reluctance to go to work strongly.

Though his test results were fine, the uncertainty of his condition made him want to stay by Jingyeom’s side, even if it meant taking a half or full day off.

But Jingyeom was adamant.

Their argument continued until they left the hospital room.

“You don’t know how to handle the discharge process.”

“I’ll ask the doctor.”

“You don’t know the way home.”

“Text it to me. I’ll take a taxi.”

“…You’re sick, hyung.”

“I’m not sick. You’ll be late for work! If I want to go home and change clothes, I need to leave now!”

Considering the time they returned home yesterday, they had to hurry.

Traffic would be worse during rush hour.

Jingyeom pushed Jinwoo’s reluctant arm firmly.

“We can talk later. Hurry and go, okay?”

“…Alright. Don’t go anywhere, go straight home. I’ll send the address, take a taxi. My wallet’s in my clothes. There’s a check card. Use it, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I’m an adult too!”

Despite claiming to be an adult, he didn’t seem like one at all.

Jinwoo, filled with concern, forced his heavy steps away.

After sending Jinwoo off, Jingyeom ate the hospital’s breakfast and, with Hoonil’s help, completed the discharge process smoothly.

Hoonil, escorting him to the front gate, wore a disapproving look. He didn’t hide it.

“I’ll be more careful next time…”

“Other than peaches, you’re not allergic to anything, so eat well. Avoid anything too spicy. No caffeine.”

“Yes. I’ll remember.”

“You should’ve stayed in the hospital longer. Mr. Tak is covering it anyway.”

Jinwoo also wanted him to stay longer, but Jingyeom, feeling stifled, shook his head.

He’d never felt uncomfortable in a hospital before, but staying continuously made him feel odd.

Plus, the good weather made him want to take a walk.

“My number is saved in your phone. If you feel sick, don’t hesitate, think, or search online! Call me immediately. If it’s serious, come straight to the hospital.”

“Okay….”

Thinking it was the end of it, Hoonil began listing out things Hoonil should be careful about.

Whenever colleagues greeted him as they passed by, he just waved and continued to spill out worried words.

Jingyeom tried to listen with one ear and let it go with the other, but now he focused on the thought of his own body.

Hoonil’s heartfelt lecture, full of concern, finally ended for Jinwoo after he received a call.

I had my phone on silent mode because I was getting a lot of calls and messages, but Jinwoo told me to switch it to sound mode and block the calls as they come.

“Hello?”

“Hyung, did you get discharged?”

“Yeah. I’m at the front entrance now. I’m with the doctor.”

Jingyeom glanced at Hoonil as he spoke.

“I sent you the address via message. Take a taxi. Should I call one to the hospital for you?”

“It’s okay. I checked the address, and I can find my way home. There are plenty of taxis in front of the hospital.”

“It’s more convenient to call a cab, though.”

Hoonil, who was listening beside him, chuckled.

In the morning, he had also left a message asking Hoonil to take good care of Jingyeom, and now he was confirming it over the phone.

It was different from before.

Of course, it was probably because Jingyeom had lost his memory, but he could feel that the atmosphere had changed.

“There are taxis lined up here, so I can get one right away.”

“…Alright. There should be taxi information inside. Take a picture of it and send it to me. If I don’t answer, at least leave a message. Call me when you get off and when you arrive home.”

Feeling like he was being treated like a child left at the water’s edge, Jingyeom scratched his chest and stomach in mild irritation.

“…Was it like this before?”

When he checked his phone, he had seen the messages exchanged with Jinwoo.

They were filled with one-sided commands from Baek Jingyeom.

“I want to eat this, buy it. I want this, get it for me. I’m out of money, send me more.”

He had never replied to Jinwoo’s worried messages.

It was easy to see that Jinwoo had always been the one fretting over their relationship.

This made Jingyeom want to treat Jinwoo better.

At Jingyeom’s question, there was a momentary silence on the other end of the phone.

“Jinwoo?”

“…No. But… you don’t remember anything right now, hyung. I’m worried.”

“Yeah, it’s not difficult or anything. You’re working, right? Go back to work. I’ll send messages instead of calling.”

“Alright. Take care.”

After ending the call, Jingyeom smiled at Hoonil, who was looking at him with an amused expression.

Hoonil reached out and pressed down on Jingyeom’s still-damp hair.

“Since Jinwoo is worried, just take a taxi.”

Jingyeom nodded and replied, “Yes.”

After saying goodbye to Hoonil, Jingyeom stepped outside and checked the message he had received earlier.

The house was quite far from the hospital.

According to the navigation app, he needed to transfer buses twice.

Since he could take a local bus without climbing any hills, he decided to go that way.

Since he knew the general direction and wasn’t feeling unwell, he didn’t want to waste money on a taxi.

As he stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus, a car stopped in a no-parking zone.

People at the stop looked at the car, but Jingyeom, uninterested, checked the electronic sign to see that the bus would arrive in 7 minutes.

“Baek Jingyeom!”

Hearing someone call his name, he looked around but saw no familiar faces.

Thinking he might have misheard, he was about to ignore it when he heard it again.

“Hey, Baek Jingyeom!”

He turned his head quickly, noticing everyone was looking at the car.

He moved his gaze to the car, where the passenger window was completely down, and saw a familiar silhouette.

‘No way…’

As Jingyeom bent down slightly to get a better look, he saw Soohyuk, who gestured for him to get in.

“If we stay here, we’ll get fined.”

“…?”

“Get in already.”

“Uh… okay.”

Not knowing why Soohyuk was there but unable to leave the car parked there, Jingyeom quickly got in. As soon as he did, the car started moving.

“Buckle up.”

After fastening his seatbelt, Jingyeom turned to stare at Soohyuk.

“When I got to the hospital, they said you had already been discharged. I thought I’d wasted my time.”

“Why did you come today?”

“Why? Am I not allowed to come? I took you to the hospital yesterday, and now you’re being so cold.”

“If it seemed that way, I’m sorry. I was just curious.”

“When you apologize right away, it makes me look like the bad guy. I was just curious too.”

At a red light, Soohyuk turned to look at Jingyeom, who was staring back at him.

“After I went home yesterday, I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Why would he think about me? Didn’t he usually not care about others? Maybe it’s because I collapsed…

For a moment, Jingyeom’s thoughts were jumbled. It was better to ask directly than to speculate.

“…Me?”

Jingyeom didn’t hide his confusion. While watching the road, Soohyuk glanced at him.

“Yeah. Recently, nothing has been interesting, but with you suddenly involved, things got interesting. I came to check on that.”

“What do you need to check?”

“Do you realize you’ve been asking questions since a while ago?”

“Oh…”

“I don’t mind. Keep talking. I didn’t notice it before, but you have a nice voice.”

Not knowing what to say, Jingyeom clamped his mouth shut.

After some time, the car resumed moving, and Jingyeom spoke up again.

The navigation was on, showing the route, but the final destination was different.

“Um… where are we going?”

“The department store.”

“Why?”

“Why would anyone go to a department store?”

“To buy something?”

“Exactly.”

He understood that much but didn’t get why he had to go to the department store with him.

Jingyeom’s face was filled with confusion. Deep in thought, he pursed his lips and furrowed his brow.

Seeing this, Soohyuk chuckled.

The sight was quite different from the struggling, breathless Jingyeom from yesterday.

This suited him better.

He seemed to eat very little, which explained why he hadn’t gained weight.

Wearing the same clothes from yesterday, the allergic reactions on his exposed arms were still visible.

The red marks stood out against his pale skin.

Suheok wanted to let him think more, but the way his head was drooping made it seem like he might hit the window.

Chuckling, Soohyuk explained, “I don’t like shopping alone, so I wanted you to come with me.”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“Wow. You sure know how to hit someone with words.”

“…You don’t? I’m sorry! I thought you’d have a lot of friends…”

“Hit me twice.”

“Ah….”

Flustered Jingyeom wondered how he could salvage this situation, feeling at a loss.

If he said anything more here, it seemed like he might be hit a third time.

He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone….

Soohyuk smirked.

“If you’re sorry, let’s go shopping together. You dress well, you know. Even if you don’t remember, let’s see if that sense still remains.”

At those words, Jingyeom couldn’t offer any reply.

He silently followed Soohyuk into the department store after parking, murmuring to himself that even though people change, maybe that sense hadn’t disappeared.

But surprisingly, his eye for choosing wasn’t bad.

As they wandered through several stores, the clothes he picked out separately actually looked quite good together.

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