Chapter 50………………………………………………
“Why are you just holding onto it?”
“Do-woon, are you hungry?”
Do-woon was caught off guard by Cho-hee’s sudden change of topic and couldn’t understand her intention. Well, he was a little hungry, so he nodded absentmindedly.
“Try cleaning the wound by yourself. I’ll bring breakfast.”
“Wait—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Cho-hee sprang up and left the room.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
But no matter how much he thought, Do-woon didn’t seem to have done anything wrong.
He had teased her a bit… but would she really react like this?
After pondering for a while, the door opened.
Cho-hee was carrying a tray piled high with porridge and side dishes.
“Sit down.”
“Thank you.”
Do-woon received the tray while sitting on the bed.
He reached for a spoonful of porridge, but at that moment, a stabbing pain shot through his lower back.
“Ugh.”
He gritted his teeth, trying to endure the pain without making a sound. Seeing this, Cho-hee’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“…It’s fine.”
“This won’t do. You just stay still.”
“I said it’s fine—”
His words stopped mid-sentence.
“Hoo—hoo—”
Cho-hee took the spoon from his hand and blew on the hot porridge to cool it.
“Ah.”
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she held the spoon with her hand and fed it to him.
…What?
She’s feeding me? I’m not so weak that I need this…
He wanted to refuse, but without realizing it, Do-woon opened his mouth and followed her lead.
“Ah.”
As he opened his mouth, Cho-hee put the spoonful of perfectly cooled, warm porridge into it, and a wave of warmth spread from his mouth to his toes.
Without noticing the flutter in his chest, Cho-hee scooped another spoonful, blew on it, and fed it to him again.
Thump, thump, thump.
What is this feeling?
It was natural to accept help when in pain—this was just a patient receiving care.
Then why is my heart racing like this?
He was nervous that the loud beating of his heart might be noticeable to Cho-hee.
It wasn’t a bullet in his back—it was a shot to the heart.
Something in him was clearly broken.
Otherwise, his heart wouldn’t be going this crazy.
Cho-hee frowned.
“You must have a fever. Your face is red.”
She put the spoon down and touched his forehead.
Oh no. His heart started pounding even harder. The veins in his neck throbbed loudly.
Cho-hee tilted her head, muttering to herself in confusion.
“…That’s strange. It’s not hot.”
Repeating that it was strange, she scooped another spoonful.
It was strange—her behavior, and the emotions it stirred in him.
It was unfamiliar to be cared for by someone. Even in pain, Do-woon had always been alone. He had always overcome hardships and tended to his wounds by himself.
So it was unfamiliar—that someone would worry about him, care for him, right by his side.
Unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.
No, it was actually nice. Very nice.
It seemed not just his heart, but his mind, had gone completely haywire.
If he could, he wished he could stay hurt like this forever.
After finishing his meal, Do-woon got up.
“I need to go to the office for a bit.”
“Where are you going?”
Cho-hee asked, incredulous.
“You remember being shot just yesterday, right?”
“I have work to do.”
“You could at least rest for a day.”
“No, I can’t.”
Cho-hee sighed at his firm tone. She hadn’t expected to stop him anyway.
“Alright. Be careful not to reopen the wounds you patched up so painstakingly.”
As she sighed and tried to step aside, Do-woon grabbed her wrist.
“Wait. Will you help me?”
“With what?”
“Well… it’s hard to move properly because of the pain.”
He pointed to his back as if it were a serious problem.
“Okay. What should I help you with first?”
“First, take off the clothes I’m wearing now.”
Hearing him ask that, Cho-hee couldn’t help but blush.
“P-please be more polite!”
“How should I put it then?”
“You could say it more gently, like asking for help changing clothes, or helping with undressing…”
Do-woon tilted one side of his mouth upward, looking unusually pleased.
“I don’t really enjoy indirect expressions like that.”
“I’m the one embarrassed here!”
“You handled my body pretty well, even while embarrassed.”
“Th-that’s a completely different story!”
Cho-hee flustered, and Do-woon laughed softly, like air escaping from a balloon.
“Just kidding. Now, really help me.”
What should she do? If she stayed this flustered, he’d surely notice her feelings.
‘This is just helping. I’m just helping an injured colleague. Absolutely no romantic feelings.’
She tried to convince herself and focused, avoiding his face while holding a clean shirt from the wardrobe.
“Stand up.”
Do-woon obeyed. The shirt he had worn yesterday was crumpled from the night before.
Click.
Cho-hee unbuttoned it, one by one.
Her mind had gone blank long ago.
Yesterday, she had only seen his chest and part of his abs to tend to his wound.
But now…
He was completely undressed.
Before she realized it, her eyes flicked to his upper body.
Thick, well-defined muscles, perfectly symmetrical abs, a chest rising and falling steadily with his breath, and shoulders broader than she expected.
Gulp.
What would it feel like to touch his muscles? Hard, or soft like skin?
All kinds of thoughts flashed through her mind, but she quickly pulled herself together.
She wasn’t a pervert!
Swallowing hard, she calmly helped him into the new shirt.
Right arm, left arm, buttoning from the bottom up.
Oddly, Do-woon remained silent. He exhaled softly as she fastened each button.
“…Thank you.”
“Are you really leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Take care.”
Cho-hee felt relieved that his leaving would give her a moment to calm her racing heart.
Do-woon went to work, holding his sore back, only to show that he was okay.
Even though he wore a mask, Yoshihara had been relentlessly tracking him.
Do-woon knew that Yoshihara was suspicious, and he didn’t want to give him more reason to doubt him by showing his face.
He was also curious what had happened after Yoshihara was knocked out.
“No news about him.”
The shoe-shine boy delivered the information to Do-woon.
As usual, Do-woon pretended to leave his shoes and gathered rumors circulating the streets.
“Did anyone say he went to the hospital?”
“No. He’s been staying home, not coming out for the past few days.”
Strange.
Do-woon knew Yoshihara had received a one-month suspension.
That’s why he was surprised when he ran into him outside the opera house.
He didn’t leave the police station, so where had he gotten the information?
And if he had fainted, it was suspicious that no one noticed him on the street.
As if someone had been assisting him…
‘An accomplice?’
Do-woon’s expression darkened.
Yoshihara’s reputation had plummeted. So where did he find an accomplice?
Another headache.
“Alright. Good work.”
“Yes, my lord, thank you.”
After giving money to the shoe-shine boy, Do-woon headed home.
That same evening.
“So, you’re really going out?”
Do-woon raised his eyebrow in displeasure.
“Of course. Just like yesterday. You sleep in the bed, I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
Cho-hee repeated the obvious for the third time.
Do-woon was injured, so he should sleep in the bed while she stayed in the guest room.
Why did he keep asking?
“If we suddenly use separate rooms without a fight, the staff might think it’s strange.”
“Do we have to consider the staff? We can just say we had a quarrel.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Some of the staff report to my mother. If we’re careless, she could find out we lied.”
“What?!”
This was completely unexpected.
The staff reported Do-woon’s affairs to his mother? So even at home, she had to watch her step?
“Change the staff immediately, Do-woon. This is your mother’s fault.”
“You can’t change them overnight. We can just endure it.”
Cho-hee frowned at his unusual answer.
Somehow their roles seemed reversed. Normally, Do-woon would have fired the staff without hesitation.
Did she misjudge him?
Do-woon cleared his throat and continued.
“And you know… I have nightmares if I sleep alone…”
He trailed off.
“Since I started sharing a room with you, I haven’t had any. But if I sleep alone again… I’ll have nightmares.”
Hearing this, Cho-hee reluctantly nodded. She knew how exhausting nightmares could be, and couldn’t refuse him for that reason.
“Alright. Then I’ll stay in the same room.”
Do-woon brightened immediately.
“Good idea. Then I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“The sofa? No, that’s not okay. If you sleep on the sofa while injured, you won’t recover properly.”
Cho-hee opposed. She wasn’t so selfish as to let the injured man sleep on the sofa while she took the bed.
“Then I’ll sleep on the sofa. You take the bed.”
“Is there such an inconsiderate husband who lets his wife sleep on the sofa?”
This time, Do-woon strongly opposed.
“Then what? You dislike this, and you dislike that?”
“Why are there only two options? Isn’t there a third?”
“If neither of us sleeps on the bed….”
Do-woon’s mouth curved upward as if it were obvious.
“Then we both sleep on the bed.”
