Chapter 34. I’m Sorry

“…Why are you here, hyung?”

Taeseong’s expression twisted, as if facing something impure.

“Why are you coming out of Haeyoung’s roo—”

“She collapsed.”

Gijun cut him off firmly, his voice calm—but tinged with emotion.

“What? What’s wrong with her?”

As Taeseong tried to push past him into the room, Gijun blocked him with his body.

“She collapsed while waiting for you in the park. In the rain.”

“…What?”

“She kept practicing basketball, waiting for you. In that downpour.”

Gijun’s calm tone carried a subtle blade.

“I found her. I brought her home. No one else was here, so I called a female teacher I know. She changed Haeyoung’s clothes and hooked up an IV.”

“What the—why didn’t you call me?”

“You didn’t answer. Your phone was off.”

“Ah—”

Taeseong bit his lip, remembering he’d forgotten about his dead phone.

It annoyed him that he had to stand here explaining himself like a criminal.

Then Gijun added fuel to the fire.

“Taeseong, let me give you a piece of advice.”

“……”

“If you make a promise—keep it.”

“……”

“Don’t hurt people for no reason.”

The air around them tightened as Gijun’s words ended.

Taeseong shot him a sharp glare.

Gijun met it without flinching, but for a fleeting moment, he thought:

If Taeseong weren’t younger, he might have been intimidated.

Though he always came off laid-back, Taeseong in decisive moments resembled Chairman Joo—his grandfather.

He had that innate energy that could crush others’ spirits.

“…You’re right.”

Taeseong’s tone grew rough.

“You’re not wrong.”

He glanced at the room behind Gijun, then back at him.

“But I don’t think I need to hear that from you.”

He placed a hand on Gijun’s shoulder, smiling crookedly.

“Thanks for taking care of Haeyoung.”

Then, the final blow.

“But I’ll stay with her now.”

“……”

“I’m the one who should be by her side.”

With a twisted smile, Taeseong nodded for Gijun to move aside.

Gijun knew staying there any longer would be crossing a line. So he stepped aside—though not without one last jab.

“Oh, and I didn’t tell Madam Jincheon or the Chairman. I figured it would make things awkward for you both.”

“……”

“Good thing they weren’t home.”

Just like Taeseong, Gijun gave him a few shoulder taps.

“If the Chairman knew you stood Haeyoung up, he’d be furious.”

With that, Gijun walked down the hall.

Taeseong, not wanting to argue further, took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

Haeyoung lay on the bed with a towel on her forehead, her face pale.

Taeseong knelt by her side, lifted the towel, and touched her forehead.

“She still feels like a furnace…”

Frowning, he dipped his hand in the washbasin.

“The water’s lukewarm too.”

With a sigh, he carried the basin out.

—

A little later, Taeseong returned with a basin filled with ice water. He soaked a towel, wrung it out, and placed it on Haeyoung’s forehead.

Sitting on the floor, he studied her face carefully.

Her lashes trembled with chills, her brow occasionally furrowed, and her cheeks were flushed red.

All of it—his fault.

He pressed his lips together and gently fixed her blanket.

—

Time passed. The ice had mostly melted when Haeyoung mumbled in her sleep.

“Grandma… I’m thirsty…”

Taeseong, ready, picked up the water bottle and brought the straw to her lips.

She sipped quietly.

“Haa…”

With a warm exhale, she murmured:

“Grandma… I’m so hot… it hurts…”

Her fragile voice stabbed Taeseong in the chest.

What had he done to someone who only had this house and him to rely on in a strange city?

His heart sank.

“…I’m sorry.”

Staring at her face, his dry lips barely moved.

“I’m really sorry.”

There was no reply, but he kept apologizing sincerely.

“I won’t do it again.”

In a soft, pained voice, he kept repeating:

“I’m sorry, Haeyoung.”

His voice of regret filled the quiet room for a long time.

—

By dawn, Taeseong had fallen asleep at Haeyoung’s bedside.

When Chairman Joo and Madam Jincheon returned home that evening, they were alarmed at Haeyoung’s condition.

They demanded to know what happened, and Taeseong didn’t hide the truth.

He admitted he’d forgotten his promise, and that Haeyoung had waited in the rain and collapsed.

The Chairman scolded him harshly—and Taeseong accepted it all without protest.

Unlike Gijun, he didn’t feel grateful the Chairman wasn’t there earlier.

He wasn’t planning to dodge responsibility.

If he did something wrong, he would take the blame and fix it.

“You rascal! Do you know how much trust her family put in us?”

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I’ll never do it again.”

After the storm of scolding, the Chairman called in the family doctor to administer another IV and injection.

Madam Jincheon made porridge for sleeping Haeyoung.

Taeseong kept changing her towels and monitoring her condition.

Thanks to everyone’s care, her fever finally subsided by dawn.

“Ugh…”

Taeseong, who had dozed off in an awkward position, groaned as he opened his eyes.

By habit, he removed the damp towel and touched her forehead.

“Feels like the fever’s gone…”

He tilted his head to get a better feel.

The fever was clearly down—but not gone completely.

“Still feels a little warm.”

He blinked slowly and got up, steadying himself with one hand on the bed.

Leaning in close to Haeyoung, he brushed her bangs away.

Then, without hesitation, he pressed his forehead to hers.

As if he’d forgotten that where foreheads touch, lips might follow.

All he could think about was checking her temperature accurately.

Warmth transferred faintly between their skin.

“…Looks like it’s almost gone.”

Relieved, he began to pull back—when Haeyoung suddenly opened her eyes.

“…Uh—”

A small sound escaped Taeseong’s lips.

Still forehead-to-forehead, their gazes locked tightly.

For a moment, they froze.

Normally, they would’ve pushed each other away and screamed, “What are you doing?!”

But they didn’t.

No—couldn’t.

As if swept into another world, transformed into different people.

The silence grew thick. Each other’s breathing pounded in their ears.

Their hot, shallow breaths were filled with tension.

Their faces flushed deeper.

Finally, it was Haeyoung who broke the silence, gasping:

“…You.”

“……”

“What are you doing?”

At her question, Taeseong’s black eyes slipped downward, almost as if running away.

But at the end of that retreat… were her dry, cracked lips.