* * *
“I told you to wear your glasses properly.”
“I did! I took them off after leaving school, but I wore them all day in class. Seriously…”
Jungin hesitated, wondering if they would take back the card and cash they had given him.
His throat was feeling a bit scratchy, too.
Even though he’d had a nap, the day had felt so long that he was still exhausted.
His tired appearance must’ve been obvious to the others, because Jungjin gently patted his head and spoke softly.
“You look worn out today, so let’s talk tomorrow. Go wash up and get some sleep for now.”
“Yeah… But I already showered at the hotel.”
‘Crack.’
A snapping sound made him look up, and there were his brothers, smiling strangely.
Weird… He glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
“Oh, I see…”
“Yeah. So I’ll just go up and change, then sleep. Sorry for making you worry. Goodnight, everyone!”
“Sure, kid. Be careful on the stairs.”
“Jungin-ah, sleep well. See you tomorrow.”
“If you’re scared to sleep alone, come to my room, kiddo.”
Waving goodbye to his brothers, each giving him different goodnight wishes, Jungin slowly ascended the stairs.
He shut the door with a ‘click’ and, finally alone, flopped onto the bed.
“Today’s been so long… Just going to school wore me out.”
Jungin was already low on stamina, having been left to shiver in cold water that morning, and then his unexpected encounter with Ki Beomhyeon had left him tense all day.
He was physically and mentally drained.
“Sigh… But I still need to do what needs to be done…”
Jungin’s lips curled into a smirk as he recalled the kids who had locked him in the bathroom and badmouthed him behind his back.
Driven by the thought of revenge, he forced his heavy body out of bed and placed his feet on the floor.
Just in case his brothers decided to come in, he checked that the door was locked before taking out the items he had hidden in his bag.
“Embarrassment is temporary, happiness is forever.”
Muttering to himself like a chant, Jungin pulled out one item after another, mentally preparing for tomorrow.
‘Beep, beep.’
[38.2]
Seeing the number on the thermometer, Jungin smiled, satisfied, and set the hot pack aside.
His reflection in the mirror looked convincingly sick, as if he might collapse at any moment.
After finishing his preparations and tidying up, Jungin was startled by a buzzing vibration against his thigh.
He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, revealing a message from a contact labeled “Bastard.”
‘Who could it be, texting me at this hour?’
It couldn’t be any of his brothers, as they thought he was asleep, so it wasn’t one of the three.
[Did you get home safely?]
“Bastard? Who the hell is Bastard?”
It was definitely someone he knew, since the number was saved, but Jungin couldn’t figure out who it was.
“Maybe one of the kids from school…?”
Each class had an emergency contact list, so it could just be someone messing with him.
Or, wait… Beomhyeon hyung?
The only person who would check in on him at this time would be Beomhyeon hyung, right?
Thinking of him only briefly, Jungin shook his head to clear his mind.
“No way. Why would I save Beomhyeon hyung’s contact as ‘Bastard’?”
At first, he seemed pretty cold, but he definitely didn’t come off as a bad person.
In fact, he was surprisingly kind and gentle.
“It’s not like I’m saying this just because of his looks… Oh, right, he even treated me and bought me meals.”
Yeah. Yeah. Jungin nodded to himself as he sent a reply.
[Who is thisss?]
After pressing send, he felt a bit embarrassed by the message he’d already sent.
But what’s done is done.
A few minutes passed, and when no reply came, he assumed it was just a joke and was about to put his phone down when a message arrived.
[It’s Ki Beomhyeon.]
“Gasp.”
It’s really Beomhyeon hyung?
How did he know my number?
[How did you get my number? o.o??]
Barely after sending that reply, a call came from ‘Bastard.’
Should I answer this or not…?
Why did I even save Beomhyeon hyung as ‘Bastard’ and confuse myself like this…
With the phone vibrating on the verge of hanging up, Jungin took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello…?”
- Didn’t you have my number saved?
His voice on the other end was exactly like Beomhyeon hyung’s, as if he was calling just to confirm.
So, the ‘Bastard’ contact really was Mango hyung. But how do I answer this…?
“Oh, I just switched phones recently… Haha…”
Yeah, there’s such a thing as a white lie.
Some things are better left unknown.
If they had been face-to-face, he might have figured it out right away with his sharp intuition, but luckily Beomhyeon hyung on the other end of the line seemed to believe the lie easily enough.
“So, why did you call?”
- Are you sick with a cold?
Feeling a bit guilty toward Beomhyeon, Jungin scratched his throat to make his voice sound hoarse on purpose, and it seemed believable.
‘Cough’
“Yes, I caught… a cold… ‘cough’.”
Jungin, feeling proud of himself, coughed a few more times for good measure but soon started to worry that he was becoming a real liar.
He shook his head in dismay.
Once this is over, I need to live a good, honest life.
“I’m not really sick. I just choked on something. Haha…”
Trying to laugh awkwardly and change the mood, Jungin suddenly grew curious about the background noise coming from Beomhyeon’s end.
Is he outside right now?
It sounded like English in the background, and the surroundings were quite noisy.
“Hyung, aren’t you at home?”
- How did you know?
“I could hear it in the background…”
- I’ve got to take care of something abroad, so I’m at the airport right now.
“Oh, I see. Have a safe trip.”
As Jungin wished him a safe journey, a soft chuckle tickled his ear.
With a smile in his voice, Beomhyeon responded.
- I’ll contact you again when I’m back in Korea.
“Uh… Sure, okay. Then I’ll hang up now.”
I have no idea why he’d want to contact me after returning to Korea, but I do owe him a lot.
I guess I’ll treat him to a meal or something when he gets back.
“Ugh, but now my throat actually hurts a bit.”
The connection between his throat and nose was stinging.
Had he lied so much that he actually caught a cold?
Feeling uneasy, Jungin hurriedly lay down on his bed, wrapping himself in his warm blankets, trembling slightly.
“I wonder if my body is doing okay…”
He’d heard that he was still unconscious, which was starting to worry him.
It also seemed like his brothers were strangely against him visiting the hospital.
Plus, from what he overheard from the housekeepers, his father would soon be returning from a long business trip.
He was a bit concerned about what kind of person his father would be but also found himself hoping he would be as warm as his brothers.
“Father…”
Jungin had been abandoned at an orphanage as soon as he was born.
He had been adopted twice when he was younger, but after being returned both times, he’d long given up hope of having parents.
But now, here they were, talking about a father.
With mixed feelings of anticipation and fatigue from a long day, Jungin drifted into a deep sleep.
* * *
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