* * *
Just as I resigned myself to this, the rooftop door slammed open.
Park Jungsoo turned in shock towards the door.
“What are you doing?”
I stopped crying messily.
A familiar voice, it was Hyunoh.
“Kim Hyunoh, what are you doing here?”
Park Jungsoo tried to act casual as he stood up.
There was no one else with Hyunoh.
I curled up on the ground, hiding my face.
I was too hurt and ashamed to lift my head.
I stayed still like a coward.
Hyunoh spoke.
“Park Jungsoo, what are you doing here?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Soon, I heard loud thuds above my head.
I covered my face with my hands and just breathed.
Earlier, the person I saw at the playground was Hyunoh.
Hyunoh saw me and came to rescue me.
I felt both joyful and terrified.
After a while, Park Jungsoo screamed.
“Stop, stop!”
His previously confident demeanor was nowhere to be found.
Soon, I heard three people running away from the rooftop, and I opened my tightly shut eyes.
I was shivering so hard that my lips and shoulders were trembling from the cold.
Thud.
Hyunoh’s coat fell over my body.
I barely turned my head to look up.
“Are you okay?”
“Hyunoh…”
Hyunoh quickly looked around and picked up my scattered clothes.
He crouched next to my head and handed me my clothes.
Hyunoh didn’t ask any questions.
“You must be cold.”
Hyunoh stared at me intently.
For a moment, I felt breathless.
An unfamiliar sensation washed over my entire body.
My vision had been blurry from tears, but Hyunoh appeared crystal clear.
His breathing sounded grand, like the strings of an orchestra.
His eyes shone like comets.
It felt like my frequent imaginings had become reality.
A small, quiet space where time stood still, with only Hyunoh and me.
No one could interrupt us.
The world was Hyunoh, and Hyunoh was the world.
My heart pounded fiercely.
I wanted to live forever, only looking at Hyunoh and talking to Hyunoh.
I wanted to love Hyunoh.
“Put these on quickly. I won’t look.”
Hyunoh turned his back to me.
With trembling hands, I managed to grab my clothes.
It felt like my lungs were tearing every time I moved my arms.
But I couldn’t ask him to help me dress. I gritted my teeth and clumsily put on my clothes.
“Are you dressed?”
“Yes…”
Only then did Hyunoh look at me again.
“Can you walk?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s call an ambulance.”
“But…”
“Why?”
“Everyone will find out.”
I didn’t want to cry in front of Hyunoh.
But tears flowed when I looked at him.
“I hate that. There’s a video of me…”
Hyunoh was silent for a moment, then took something out of his pocket.
“This is Park Jungsoo’s phone, right?”
“Yes…”
“He dropped it while running away. I’ll throw it into a sewer or something. Don’t worry about the video. Let’s go to the hospital first.”
Hyunoh straightened my collar as he continued.
“I can’t take you myself. Something’s come up. I need to go quickly. Honestly, I’m a bit flustered.”
“…”
“Let’s call an ambulance and get you to the hospital. We’ll think about the rest later.”
“Okay…”
Hyunoh called 119 on his phone.
After calmly giving the address and finishing the call, he looked at me again.
To me, Hyunoh seemed like a different species.
Someone like me couldn’t be this cool.
“Kim Chanyi. I think I need to go now.”
Hyunoh seemed anxious, as if being chased by something.
I nodded while still lying on the rooftop.
“It’s cold here, so let’s go inside and wait.”
Hyunoh helped me inside the rooftop door and sat me down.
I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Hyunoh turned to go down the stairs.
I called out urgently to stop him.
“Hyunoh, wait.”
Hyunoh paused and looked back at me.
“…Thank you.”
“Sure.”
“Why did you come to save me?”
“Well…”
Hyunoh thought for a moment before speaking plainly, as if it were no big deal.
“There’s no special reason. I saw you on the rooftop. You looked in danger.”
“Okay…”
“It would’ve been strange not to help in that situation.”
In this world, violence is often wielded without reason.
But on the other hand, there are also acts of rescue without reason.
I learned this for the first time through Hyunoh.
I wanted to tell him that his baseless kindness saved me.
That I’d never seen anyone as wonderful as him.
That I wanted to love him.
But I couldn’t say it. I felt too pathetic to utter grand words.
“…Thank you. I was scared.”
“Of course you were scared.”
“Yes. I hope no one else finds out.”
“I won’t tell. If you don’t want to talk, don’t. Do as you wish.”
Hyunoh took a step down and spoke one last time.
“Anyway, you need to live.”
* * *
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