ACTSV chapter 157

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When Jingyeom woke up, he couldn’t communicate properly and had to blink in response.

Wonbeom, who had come to visit after hearing the news, showed his concern by gently patting Jingyeom’s head.

Soohyuk, who was usually quick to say something, stayed silent this time.

He merely looked at Jingyeom with an unreadable expression for a long while before leaving him with just a quiet, “Get well soon.”

After two months of lying in bed, Jingyeom’s body was no longer the same.

His muscles had weakened, and he couldn’t muster any strength, leaving him bedridden for a week.

There was a high risk of complications after waking from a coma, but thankfully, the tests came back fine.

However, he was told that it would take time for his body to recover after being immobile for so long.

When they removed the feeding tube from his nose and allowed him to eat porridge, he still didn’t have the strength to lift a spoon, so Jinwoo fed him patiently.

Despite how exhausting and difficult the situation must have been, Jinwoo didn’t show a hint of it.

He devoted himself entirely to Jingyeom’s recovery.

About a week later, Jingyeom’s diet changed from porridge to more solid food, and although he could feed himself now, Jinwoo insisted on feeding him.

No matter how much Jingyeom protested, Jinwoo refused to hand over the spoon and chopsticks.

There was one time when Jinwoo gave in to Jingyeom’s stubbornness, allowing him to eat on his own, but when Jingyeom dropped the spoon, Jinwoo never gave him the chance again.

By now, Jingyeom had grown accustomed to it, obediently opening his mouth to be fed.

The food was still bland and tasteless, but at least he could chew again.

“I don’t want to eat anymore.”

“Just a little more. You haven’t even eaten half.”

Jinwoo coaxed Jingyeom, bringing the spoon to his lips.

He had no intention of putting the spoon down until the bowl was empty.

Sensing this, Jingyeom chewed the porridge slowly.

It might have been a ridiculous thought, but it almost seemed like Jinwoo enjoyed feeding him.

In the beginning, Jinwoo had been upset, feeding him with a sorrowful expression, but lately, as Jingyeom entered the recovery stage, Jinwoo’s mood seemed brighter, as though he was satisfied with taking care of him personally.

“I’ll do it myself now. I can hold a spoon.”

“I know. It’s just… I want to do it.”

Ever since Jingyeom woke up, Jinwoo’s obsession had reached new heights.

He refused to leave Jingyeom’s side, not even for a moment.

He had been clingy before, but now it was even more extreme.

Whenever Jingyeom tried to move, even just a little, Jinwoo would come right over, no matter what else he was doing.

Even going to the bathroom was difficult without Jinwoo’s help, so naturally, Jingyeom started depending on him.

At least Jinwoo didn’t come inside the bathroom with him.

There was a support device set up next to the toilet, and Jinwoo would help him get that far.

For now, washing was still done with a damp towel.

Jingyeom worried that showering with water might start to feel strange at this rate.

While his thoughts drifted elsewhere for a moment, Jingyeom pointed at Jinwoo’s uneaten meal on the table.

“You need to eat too.”

“I’ll eat after you finish all of this.”

As expected, Jinwoo had no intention of giving in.

Jingyeom rubbed his full stomach and leaned back slightly.

“I really can’t eat anymore.”

“……”

“If you keep doing this, I’ll tell Hyung Hoonil on you! You’re supposed to keep moving, but you keep doing everything for me and won’t let me do anything!”

In the end, Jingyeom resorted to his last card.

Even if he said this, Jinwoo would only back off for a moment before fussing over him again obsessively.

Jingyeom understood his feelings, but wished he’d tone it down a little.

“…Alright. I’ll clean up. Let me know if you get hungry later.”

Jinwoo’s eyes, full of lingering regret, slowly lowered as he tidied up Jingyeom’s meal and adjusted him so he could rest comfortably.

Only after that did Jinwoo go to the sofa and start eating his lunch.

Jingyeom flexed his hand, opening and closing it to see how much strength he had.

He wasn’t the type to gain muscle easily, so his recovery was slow.

‘It stings, it really stings.’

Even as he ate, Jinwoo kept watching Jingyeom.

He was so obvious about it that there was no way Jingyeom wouldn’t notice.

Jingyeom let out a long sigh.

He wanted to escape this awkward, tense atmosphere where they kept tiptoeing around each other.

But not knowing what to say first, they ended up in this awkwardness for two weeks now.

‘What does Jinwoo want to do with me?’

No one was talking about what had happened, but they both knew it couldn’t just be forgotten.

At some point, they needed to address it, but Jingyeom was too scared to bring it up.

He was afraid that the moment they talked about it, their current relationship would shatter.

Still, they couldn’t go on like this forever, so a conversation was inevitable.

Jingyeom had a good idea why Jinwoo was acting this way. He was being overly cautious, worried that bringing up the past might cause Jingyeom to collapse again.

‘They said my heart stopped, right?’

Hoonil had filled him in on everything that happened during the two months he had been unconscious.

It seemed like his heart had been slowing down steadily, and it had stopped right after they arrived at the hospital, but thankfully, they were able to respond quickly.

If Jingyeom ever got sick or collapsed, the person who suffered the most was Jinwoo.

And now, his heart had stopped.

‘No wonder he’s being overprotective…’

In truth, this incident wasn’t just traumatic for Jingyeom but for Jinwoo too.

They had both come face-to-face with death.

It took Jingyeom two months to wake up from the coma.

During that time, Jinwoo had lived through hell every day, agonizing over the things he had said and done to the point where his soul was shredded to pieces.

Jinwoo had prayed every day.

‘I’ll never be greedy for him again. Just please let him stay by my side…’

And when Jingyeom woke up and then closed his eyes again, Jinwoo had collapsed right alongside him, overwhelmed by exhaustion.

Jingyeom glanced over at Jinwoo, catching his eye.

“……”

It was obvious that Jinwoo was watching him nervously, taking too much care and making it impossible for Jingyeom to relax around him.

‘He doesn’t seem to be sleeping properly either…’

Jingyeom noticed how pale Jinwoo looked and couldn’t help but worry.

“Make sure you finish your food too.”

“I’m eating.”

“I saw you about to put your chopsticks down just now. You’re always telling me to eat everything!”

Jinwoo’s lunchbox was still half full, with only a few bites taken.

Seeing this, Jingyeom clicked his tongue.

At this rate, he might have to give up his own bed to Jinwoo.

“That’s what you call eating? Even if you don’t have an appetite, eat more. I’ll tell Hoonil to give you an IV. You’re going to collapse at this rate.”

“…I’ll be careful.”

Jinwoo mumbled his response, and Jingyeom frowned. He wasn’t scolding him, just worried.

But seeing Jinwoo shrink back even at this, Jingyeom felt frustrated, like something was blocking his chest.

Though still picking at his food, Jinwoo slowly finished his lunch.

Jingyeom felt bad for nagging him about it in the first place.

After cleaning up, Jinwoo approached Jingyeom and handed him his medicine and water.

Jingyeom still hated taking pills, but it was better than the bitter taste of powdered medicine, so he grimaced and swallowed them.

“…I only said it because I want you to eat well and sleep well.”

“I won’t make you worry. Gyeom, just focus on yourself.”

“There are plenty of people looking after me, so I’m fine. You need to take care of yourself! Have you even had time to take care of yourself? You’ve got dark circles under your eyes!”

Jinwoo instinctively touched his face, as if to check.

There wasn’t a mirror, so he couldn’t see for himself, but feeling the roughness of his skin, he smiled awkwardly.

“I’m worried you’ll end up getting sick…”

“That won’t happen. You know I’m healthy.”

“I thought so too, but now I’m not so sure. What if you really get sick? I…”

Jingyeom clenched his weak fists tightly before releasing them.

“Even if I do get sick, I’ll hire a certified caregiver. There are bodyguards outside, and they’re keeping a close watch too.”

“…Huh?”

“Hoonil is also checking all your medication, so you’re not in any danger.”

Jingyeom meant his words to reassure Jinwoo, but the overly drastic reply left him feeling unsettled.

He wondered if he’d said something that could be misunderstood, but there wasn’t anything wrong with what he’d said.

It was just that Jinwoo seemed to have no end to his worries.

Seeing Jingyeom fall silent, Jinwoo quickly added, “I’m sorry for not letting you go out. But you understand it’s because of the situation, right?”

“I know. I’ve never complained about that.”

“Oh… right.”

Jingyeom patted the space next to him, and Jinwoo hesitantly sat down.

“Our conversation just now reminded me of when we first met.”

“Huh?”

“Back then, I thought you were a really strange person. At first, I just thought you’d gotten the wrong hospital room, but then you kept saying weird things… I was so freaked out, I ran into the bathroom.”

Jingyeom chuckled, remembering how absurd it had been back then.

“When Hoonil Hyung came to talk, I was glued to the bathroom door, eavesdropping. Then Soohyuk and Wonbeom Hyung came… I was so scared of them.”

Jinwoo stared at Jingyeom, who was smiling brightly as he reminisced.

It had been a long time since he’d seen that smile.

‘…He’s finally smiling.’

Jinwoo realized that while he had been carefully watching Jingyeom, Jingyeom had been doing the same.

Both of them had been doing their best not to hurt each other.

Jinwoo refrained from mentioning the events that took place at the mansion, making a concerted effort to hide his feelings.

Jingyeom, too, avoided bringing it up.

Normally, Jingyeom would chatter about whatever was on his mind, and Jinwoo would often respond with words of concern.

But in the hospital room, their conversations didn’t last long.

Now that all of Jingyeom’s memories had returned, the awkwardness made them both hesitant to speak.

Jinwoo, taking cues from this silence, kept his mouth shut, only speaking when necessary.

So when Jingyeom smiled and spoke, Jinwoo couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just like seeing you smile so brightly. It’s been a while.”

“…Is that so?”

Though it had only been two weeks for him, Jingyeom realized it wasn’t the same for Jinwoo.

Even though he could feel his weakened body, having been in a coma for two months, his sense of time hadn’t yet caught up.

Carefully, Jingyeom reached out and grasped Jinwoo’s fingers.

“…You waited a long time, didn’t you?”

“…”

“I just slept and woke up, and two months had passed. I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just glad you woke up. That’s enough for me.”

Under normal circumstances, they would have embraced or comforted each other with gentle touches, but now it felt as if a wall had been built between them, preventing them from getting closer.

Jinwoo lowered his head with a bitter smile. Whenever Jingyeom was hospitalized, Jinwoo always seemed to shrink.

Jingyeom, observing this, smiled bitterly too.

The more he realized that he meant everything to Jinwoo, the more his earlier thoughts solidified.

‘Jinwoo really needs a world beyond just me.’

Jingyeom knew that from now on, he had to live this life as himself, not as “Baek Jingyeom,” and Jinwoo had to live his own life too.

Only then could Jingyeom move forward.

“Thank you too. For waiting all this time… for not giving up on me. I’m really grateful.”

Jingyeom conveyed his sincerity by gently brushing his hand over the back of Jinwoo’s.

“I’ll make it up to you. For everything you’ve done, I’ll repay it all, Jinwoo.”

Jinwoo’s face began to crumple, and tears started to fall.

He quickly covered his eyes with his hands, but he couldn’t hide his trembling shoulders.

Seeing Jinwoo’s trembling lips, Jingyeom’s own eyes began to fill with tears.

‘Even though I now have a secret I’ll carry to the grave, this is the best decision for both of us…’

Jingyeom gently moved closer, resting his face against Jinwoo’s shoulder and closing his eyes.

The tears streaming down his cheeks soaked into Jinwoo’s clothes.

No more words were exchanged.

Jinwoo let his pent-up anxiety and guilt flow out through his tears, while Jingyeom quietly comforted him by rubbing his back.

Thus, there was an unspoken agreement to bury what had happened at the mansion.

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