* * *
‘What trick should I use on him?’
No matter how much he racked his brain, Hyunsoo couldn’t come up with a suitable conversation topic. As he pondered while eating the tangerine Jiwon had peeled for him, Yoon reappeared after checking with the medical staff about going out.
“They said it’s okay for about two hours.”
“Then could you bring me some clothes from home?”
“What should I bring?”
“Anything warm.”
“Got it. Be right back!”
Yoon energetically answered and disappeared again. Minchan, who had been sitting with a scary expression until now, approached the bed and sat next to Jiwon.
“Are you really going to go out with just Yoon?”
“Yeah, it’d be weird if we all went just to buy a phone.”
“Hmm… Is that weird?”
Minchan crossed his arms and legs, mumbling to himself with an ominous tone.
“What’s bothering him now?”
Whenever Minchan got like this, he had to be handled delicately. Saying the wrong thing could set off his unpredictable temper.
“I just thought everyone might be tired, so I didn’t say anything. But if you want to go, let’s all go.”
“Kim Yoon’s probably all excited thinking it’s just the two of you, and now you want to go as a group. I’m curious to see his reaction.”
Jiwon smirked, imagining Yoon’s disappointment.
“What a personality….”
After silently clicking his tongue, Hyunsoo glanced at Minchan. Judging by his relaxed expression, he seemed satisfied with the answer. Thinking he could now relax, Hyunsoo was suddenly hit with an unexpected question.
“That aside… Why aren’t you telling us what happened to your neck?”
Minchan gently smiled as he lightly rubbed the visible bruise on Hyunsoo’s neck with his thumb.
“Don’t worry, I won’t get mad. Just tell me.”
“Well….”
Hyunsoo awkwardly shifted his gaze to Jiwon, who had also paused peeling the tangerine to listen. After all the effort to divert their attention, it was all for nothing.
“Man, it took me forever to choose. I’m back!”
Right then, Yoon returned with a bundle of clothes. He had thoughtfully packed a sweater, pants, a coat, and even a scarf.
“I’m going to go change.”
Hyunsoo saw his chance and quickly got up, but he was gently held back by the shoulder.
“Not so fast. You still haven’t explained your neck.”
Minchan was smiling softly, but it was clear he wouldn’t let him go without an answer.
“Maybe I should have told them before Yoon got here….”
It was a mess. He could feel the intense stares of the three waiting for his answer. With no other choice, Hyunsoo began to explain.
“That guy… the one who claimed to be the real Lee Jaehee, must have gone crazy. He strangled me, demanding I give up the body.”
“Ah, so his family just stood there watching while you were getting strangled, huh?”
“No, that’s not it….”
“Like hell it’s not. Even in the chaos, I could still see the faces of the people who pulled the man, who was drooling and rushing towards me, away.
It was the people who came with the shaman who stopped him. Jaehee’s family just stood there, dumbfounded, watching everything.
Even though the person inside might have been a stranger, the body was still that of the youngest they claimed to cherish. Yet, they just stood by and did nothing. Their indifference was on a whole other level.
‘Anyway, that’s how it went down. As long as my neck didn’t break, it’s fine. I’m going to change clothes now for real.’
Just as Hyunsoo lowered his legs to the side of the bed to stand up and receive his clothes, he suddenly felt dizzy, and his body swayed forward clumsily.
‘Are you okay?’
Minchan, who was nearby, quickly supported Hyunsoo and asked.
‘Yeah…’
Though unintentional, Hyunsoo’s face ended up buried in Minchan’s chest. The subtle scent of cologne from Minchan’s knitwear was soothing.
As he stayed there with his head resting quietly, he felt a sense of calm wash over him. He was closing his eyes, zoning out, when Minchan’s flustered voice reached his ears.
‘It’s fine with me if you stay like this, but are you sure you’re not seriously ill? Should I call a doctor?’
Minchan asked, his hand gently wrapping around Hyunsoo’s back, clearly being very cautious.
‘No, I’m fine.’
It was just a little dizziness, not actual pain. After quickly pulling away from Minchan’s embrace, Hyunsoo took the clothes that Yoon was holding and disappeared into the caretaker’s room.
‘Wow, Chan-hyung must be happy.’
Yoon grumbled, narrowing his eyes, but Minchan just clenched and unclenched his fists without responding.
‘You look like you’ve lost some weight.’
‘Jaehee?’
‘Yeah.’
The expressions on the three of them grew serious. They were discussing a plan to bring in some real food since the hospital meals served for dinner were lacking.
‘What are you all gathering for again?’
Hyunsoo, who came out wearing a cream-colored knit sweater and black slacks, adjusted his bangs as he asked.
‘Choose one: braised short ribs, samgyetang, or abalone porridge.’
‘All of a sudden?’
‘What do you feel like eating the most?’
There were three options, and it was clear that each of them had picked one. No matter what Hyunsoo chose, the other two would feel left out. So…
‘I kinda feel like having pizza since it’s been a while.’
‘Oh.’
Presenting a fourth option was the way to go. After all, the choice was his to make.
‘Where did I put my wallet…’
While looking around the bedside table, Hyunsoo picked up Jaehee’s wallet with his ID card inside. His phone had been taken away at Jaeyoon’s house, but they hadn’t taken his wallet.
If he had lost his ID too, he would have had to get a replacement, so it was a relief.
‘We only have two hours for the outing, right? Let’s hurry and go. We need to find a phone store near the hospital first.’
‘Hold on a sec.’
Yoon searched for a phone store on his phone. Fortunately, there was one nearby. After examining the map, Yoon nodded.
‘Let’s go.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Wait, why are those two… Are we all going together?’
Suddenly, Hyunsoo felt playful. He wanted to see Yoon squirm.
‘I asked them to come along… Is that not okay?’
Hyunsoo deliberately lowered his gaze, acting like someone who had done something wrong, which made Yoon scratch his cheek in embarrassment.
‘No, there’s nothing wrong with it. You can do whatever you want. Sure, let’s all go together.’
Yoon, trying to hide his disappointment, was rather amusing.
‘Then let’s go.’
Hyunsoo quickly grabbed Yoon’s hand. Yoon, who had been sulking, immediately brightened up and smiled widely.
‘You guys just hold on tight.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Having suddenly become the taxi driver, Yoon glanced at Minchan’s hand, which was holding onto his shirt.
Jiwon, on the other hand, was gripping Minchan’s shirt instead of Yoon’s, making it clear that he didn’t want any contact with Yoon.
As soon as they moved to the alley near the phone store, Minchan and Jiwon quickly distanced themselves.
Yoon, worried that Hyunsoo might let go, tightened his grip on Hyunsoo’s hand and asked,
‘Since we’re at it, why don’t you switch to the same model as mine? Let’s have matching phones.’
‘Matching phones, my ass.’
Hyunsoo ignored Yoon’s nonsense and entered the store.
‘Why aren’t you answering?’
‘I’m sticking with what I had. I’m used to it.’
Inside the store, cheerful music played, but it was a bit overwhelming. When he mentioned that he had lost his phone, the staff first asked about his carrier.
After answering their questions, the staff subtly suggested applying for a new partnership card, saying it would lower his monthly bills based on his spending.
‘What’s with all these partnership cards?’
He hadn’t willingly given up his body, yet here he was, treated like an evil spirit. Getting a discount by applying for a card would have been a disaster.
He could already imagine Jaehee’s family tearing him apart if they found out.
Hyunsoo declined the offer and bought the phone outright before heading back to the hospital room.
Thankfully, his contacts were synced with his account, making it easy to restore them.
After installing the center’s application and verifying his identity as Jaehee, he began to check the accumulated notifications one by one. But something seemed off about the schedule.
‘Did our schedule upload get messed up?’
‘No, what you’re seeing is correct.’
‘This… is correct? This has never happened before.’
Hyunsoo looked at his phone again, puzzled.
[Central Center Special D Team > Main: Jaehee (S, 22 years old)]
[December 21st – December 31st: (Rest Day ○)]
The circle next to ‘No Schedule’ indicated that the approval had already been granted.
‘They gave us 11 days off? This crazy center?’
There was only one person who could have pulled this off. Hyunsoo stared at Minchan.
‘How did you do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘The schedule. How did you pull this off?’
‘You want the truth?’
Minchan asked with a mischievous smile. Hyunsoo nodded.
‘I just threw a fit at my uncle, telling him to figure out how to give us time off, and when he wouldn’t, I slightly threatened to quit. So he agreed.’
‘Crazy…’
Hyunsoo could vividly imagine Minchan storming in and causing a ruckus. He could almost see the center director clutching his neck in frustration and collapsing from high blood pressure.
‘If I’m the only one taking time off, what will others think…’
‘You’re not the only one.’
‘What?’
‘The entire D Team is on break.’
Hyunsoo blinked, speechless. It seemed Minchan had really caused quite the stir with the center director.
‘So you threatened to have the entire D Team, main and sub alike, quit unless they approved the end-of-year break?’
‘It wouldn’t look good if we were the only ones resting, so I figured while I was at it… Yeah, you got it.’
Minchan was sitting quietly with both hands resting on his knees, as Hyunsoo tilted his head, arms crossed. That posture was his usual habit before he started getting angry.
‘And the center director agreed to that?’
‘Yep. You saw the check marks on my schedule.’
The team leader’s account had the authority to view the entire team’s schedule. Just as Minchan had said, all the main and sub-teams were on vacation until the end of the year.
Even after logging in multiple times, thinking it was a mistake, nothing changed.
“That leave is a paid vacation given by the Center Director, so it doesn’t get deducted from your annual leave, and you’ll receive your full salary. I even recorded it to make sure.”
Like a guilty person, Minchan timidly added that there were no disadvantages, responding meekly to the interrogation. At that, Hyunsoo, who had been silent for a moment, nodded.
“…Okay. Got it. Well done.”
Minchan had expected anger but instead received praise. He looked up at Hyunsoo, who had already uncrossed his arms and was fiddling with his phone.
“Did I do well?”
Thinking he might have misheard, Minchan asked again, and Hyunsoo nodded.
“Yeah. Honestly, after working like that for years, you should’ve been given this kind of leave a long time ago. You did well. Let’s take it easy until the end of the year.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad? I wanted a break too, so this works out.”
“You’re not going to get mad later when you think about it, right?”
“Do you think I’m that petty? I’m not mad. Should I write it down for you? Want me to record it?”
Hyunsoo grumbled, but his expression was genuinely calm. It seemed he was just genuinely curious about how they managed to secure the 11-day leave when he asked earlier.
While Minchan was enduring what felt like an interrogation, Jiwon and Yoon, who had been holding their breaths, let out a sigh of relief.
As Minchan relaxed and smiled, Hyunsoo, who had been quietly staring at his phone, mumbled.
“Oh, and by the way, Lee Jaeyoon is coming later.”
The room instantly froze.
* * *
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