* * *

Jingyeom blinked his eyes so subtly that his eyelashes and eyelids almost obstructed his vision.

Nothing was visible. All he could discern was that it wasn’t completely dark because light was filtering through his eyelids.

He wasn’t sure if he was fully conscious. He was just instinctively seeking the light.

He moved his fingertips slightly, but then quickly felt it was too bothersome.

The last time he woke up, he had some will to move, but now everything felt bothersome.

He only blinked a few times before even that became too bothersome, and he remained still with his eyes closed.

‘It must be a hospital.’

The pain that had been so intense vanished as if it had been a lie. Except for the inability to move due to lack of strength, he felt the same as usual.

No, it seemed all his senses were numbed. He felt nothing.

His body was too heavy. This was the first time he had experienced this.

Would it be okay to just fall asleep like this…?

He thought of letting go of his precarious consciousness.

“Jingyeom…”

If it weren’t for the voice he heard next to him, he would have surely done so.

Who was calling his name so desperately with a voice mixed with sobs?

No one came to mind. But he was curious about that person, so he couldn’t fall asleep just yet.

“Jingyeom?”

Gathering strength from the voice that sounded clearer than before, he half-opened his eyelids.

Half of his vision was still dark. He still couldn’t see properly.

Everything was so blurry, like looking through a bumpy glass on a rainy day with all the lights blending together.

“…Ji.”

It was just one word, but it sounded like a harsh metal noise.

Jingyeom didn’t even realize he was speaking as he struggled to keep his closing eyes open.

“Yes, yes. I’m here, Jingyeom. I’m here…”

He felt something pressing his hand. But it was too faint. He couldn’t even properly recognize what was touching his hand. But the voice echoed clearly in his ears.

“Thank you… Thank you…”

He didn’t know who was being thanked, but the words of gratitude kept being repeated endlessly. Then another voice, different in tone, was heard. But he couldn’t make out what it was saying.

He tried to focus his mind on the voices while holding onto his waning consciousness, but eventually gave up. It just buzzed in his ears.

He stayed still, not knowing how much time had passed while listening to that sound.

While Jingyeom was fighting his own battle, the hospital room became bustling.

A nurse came in when the call button was pressed, and Hoonil, who heard the news, rushed in.

He asked Jingyeom various questions but couldn’t elicit a proper response. However, Jingyeom seemed to react slightly to the sounds, indicating he had somewhat regained his senses.

Although opening his eyes was a good sign, it wasn’t enough to be completely reassured. He needed more observation.

Wonbeom and Soohyuk, who arrived just in time, couldn’t approach the bed due to the busy hospital room and stood back, just watching.

Wonbeom gazed at Jinwoo, who was standing a step back.

‘Is he scared?’

Jinwoo didn’t take his eyes off the bed, hugging his trembling arms. Occasionally, his lips would twitch, and he would bite them hard.

His tightly clenched fingers were holding his arms so tightly that it was noticeable even from a distance.

All his actions showed how tense he was.

‘Is he afraid Jingyeom won’t wake up?’

He hadn’t spent a long time with Baek Jinwoo. Jinwoo didn’t hide his emotions. He didn’t lie. He was quite an honest person. That’s why he kept him close.

Another person had recently appeared who expressed their emotions as freely as Baek Jinwoo.

Baek Jingyeom.

‘…I should have made them the same.’

A week ago, he didn’t let the men at the clam bake restaurant go easily, but he thought he had been quite lenient.

Wonbeom slowly opened and closed his eyes at the sound next to him.

“Is he really awake?”

Soohyuk wanted to check closer but knew now wasn’t the time, so he stayed put. However, the never-ending examinations were making him anxious.

He didn’t seem to expect an answer from Wonbeom as he closed his mouth again and watched how things unfolded.

Hoonil examined various parts of Jingyeom’s body and then smiled reassuringly at Jinwoo.

Jinwoo, who had been watching with trembling eyes, finally felt relieved and collapsed to the floor. His trembling didn’t stop, so he buried his face in his tightly clenched hands and rounded his back.

Knowing how Jinwoo had been living for the past week, Hoonil let out a low breath and approached him.

“Jinwoo.”

He gently patted and stroked Jinwoo’s trembling back. The shoulders carrying a heavy burden felt particularly small.

“He’s just exhausted and fell back asleep. He’ll wake up after a bit more rest. …You’ve done well.”

There were no other words of comfort. What Jinwoo needed right now wasn’t empty words of consolation but the truth about Jingyeom’s current condition.

So Hoonil only said what Jinwoo wanted to hear.

Jinwoo let out a suppressed sob. In the room filled with mechanical sounds, it was the only human sound.

“When Jingyeom wakes up, I’m going to scold him a bit. Tell him to stop making you worry so much. How does he end up in the hospital every other day? He said he didn’t want to come, but he’s in and out like it’s his own home.”

Hoonil was also very surprised at the time. He thought Jingyeom was doing well, but when he heard that he had collapsed, he thought another problem had arisen.

Collapsing while clutching his chest could mean a heart problem. He wondered if postponing the surgery had been a mistake. All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was due to the stress and shocks he had received in a short period of time.

“Let’s just have him hospitalized this time. Then you and I can be at ease. At this rate, we’ll end up with nervous breakdowns first.”

“…Jingyeom won’t like it.”

“Even now you’re thinking about Jingyeom? Please think about yourself a little. Is your body a machine? Are you invincible? If something happens to you, he’ll cry.”

“…Nothing will happen to me. I need to be by Jingyeom’s side.”

Though his voice had a hint of tears, his answer was firm.

Hoonil chuckled and then patted Jinwoo’s back hard. The thin T-shirt made a loud smack sound in the hospital room.

Soohyuk frowned.

“Take it easy. You’ll wake him up.”

“Why are you guys here again? You didn’t even take care of Jinwoo when you were here before. How did you sneak in?”

“We walked in. Proudly on two feet.”

With long strides, Soohyuk approached the bed and looked down at Jingyeom, who was no different from yesterday.

“Is he really awake? He looks the same.”

“He was conscious for a moment. His breathing and pulse are normal, and the test results are fine. He just needs enough rest, and he’ll be fine.”

Hoonil, who had been rubbing Jinwoo’s back like giving both a disease and its remedy, straightened up.

He had rushed over as soon as he heard Jingyeom woke up, and his body felt stiff from the tension. He twisted his waist and moved his arms, then suddenly furrowed his brows deeply.

“Didn’t I tell you not to approach our angels? You don’t listen at all.”

“We heard you. Did working part-time make it worse?”

“No, if working for a short time was enough to worsen his condition, it would have happened long ago.”

Hoonil regularly talked with Jinwoo and heard about Jingyeom through him. Jinwoo’s only communication channel was Hoonil.

When he first heard that Jinwoo had bought toothpaste from a multi-level marketing scheme, he thought he had misheard.

He knew Jingyeom was doing a flyer distribution part-time job, but multi-level marketing was too unexpected. He also heard that Soohyuk and Wonbeom seemed interested, which worried him.

“Then why did this happen? Was it from shock?”

“That’s the most likely cause. Jingyeom’s heart rate is lower than average. His organs aren’t functioning at full capacity either.”

Soohyuk, who knew his body was weak, was still surprised by the extent of it and let out a dry laugh. There was a reason why Baek Jinwoo was so protective.

“Isn’t there any way to treat it? Medicine, surgery, or even an organ transplant? Anything like that?”

“With a body that’s weak from birth, no matter how much you try to treat it artificially, there’s nothing that can be done. It’s just the way they were born.”

“Isn’t the doctor being a bit irresponsible?”

But the truth was that there was nothing Hoonil could do. There were limits to how much one could improve their health.

“So don’t add to the stress unnecessarily. It must already be confusing enough, so don’t go looking for problems or digging up the past on your own.”

It seemed like a casual remark, but it had a sharp edge.

Jinwoo, who had been sitting on the floor, got up and staggered to a chair.

With his still trembling hands, he carefully brushed Jingyeom’s face. He held Jingyeom’s hand firmly, wanting him to get up as if asking him to.

Jinwoo slowly bent over and rested his forehead on Jingyeom’s arm. As the tension eased, his eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

The drowsiness he had been trying to ignore hit him all at once like a tidal wave.

It was clear he would fall asleep if he closed his eyes, but he had no way to resist.

He clung tightly to Jingyeom’s hand, not wanting to be separated.

Not even 30 seconds after closing his eyes, Jinwoo drifted into sleep. He seemed unaware of anyone else in the hospital room.

Hoonil, who had been scratching his head for a moment, picked up the blanket from the guardian’s bed.

“What are you doing? Move him.”

“Why would I move Secretary Baek? Tak, move him.”

It was only then that Wonbeom, who had been standing in place, finally began to move.

* * *