Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
I had tried to say it as lighthearted as possible, but Cha Yeowoon only frowned.
“If you don’t want to, I can sleep at your place.”
“Why, senior?”
“That’s…”
“Do you feel sorry for me?”
His question came out sharp. The tone made it clear he wanted to provoke and unsettle me.
“Is it so strange that I want to take care of you?”
When I touched his forehead, which was still moist with sweat, his eyes quivered. I reached out my hand and smoothed his damp and clumped hair.
“It could be that I just want to be nice to you.”
“Just, why?”
“What do you mean why? If there’s a reason, it would just be ‘because’? Giving and expecting nothing in return, that’s why.”
That was why.
My throat tightened and I stopped talking. I couldn’t continue even when I tried to straighten my vocal cords.
I felt somewhat embarrassed. In such situations, I, as the older one, should calmly handle the situation. But I was really getting emotional as if I was only 19 years old.
“That’s just the way it is. Cha Yeowoon. There may be someone who wants to take care of you for no particular reason, just as things can happen for no rhyme or reason.”
I could hardly complete my sentence when he quietly withdrew his head from my reach.
The hair that hadn’t yet been combed fell sloppily down his forehead. I had tried to fix it, but instead, it had become even more disheveled.
How was it possible to give without expecting anything in return? Cha Yeowoon was asking that question sincerely.
Zero favorability.
That meant, really, not even negative, but zero.
I wasn’t anything to Cha Yeowoon yet. That fact didn’t discourage me.
His eyes, looking at me through his disheveled hair, appeared uneasy.
The more I tried to be nice to him, and maybe the more he came to like it, the more afraid he seemed to become.
“Let’s go grab something to eat once the IV is out.”
“…It’s fine. I’ll just go home.”
“I’ll take you.”
“I can go by myself.”
“I’m afraid you might faint on the way.”
Cha Yeowoon remained silent, not offering a smile despite my jesting tone. He simply looked at the dripping IV bag, pursing his lips. Sometimes furrowing his brows or sighing, perhaps because he disliked the hospital’s unique disinfectant smell.
I, too, hadn’t wanted to go in and out of the shantytown after my grandmother passed away. I had preferred living in a location close to the main road, even though I was living in a small single room.
Cha Yeowoon paid his medical bill at the reception. I stayed quiet, afraid that if I said I could pay he would cry. I couldn’t readily offer assistance, either, as my financial situation wasn’t that comfortable.
I needed to be prepared to cover at least the hospital expenses if he got injured. Both my grandmother and him were a source of concern.
Money was needed. My resolution had been further strengthened after this ordeal.
“Do you want me to buy you ice cream?”
I could still afford ice cream, at least. Cha Yeowoon, who was trying to walk ahead, stopped.
“Senior really likes ice cream.”
“It’s not the ice cream I like; it’s you.”
Cha Yeowoon became silent.
Unlike before, his ears were red as he strode quickly with a strangely energetic gait. Anyway, there was a lot of shyness perhaps because he was a child.
“You’re not going to eat ice cream?”
“I won’t.”
Feeding something cold to someone whose stomach had been empty for a while wasn’t a good idea. Should I feed him porridge because he had stomach cramps?
“Let’s take a taxi.”
“It’s not far from here.”
“That’s not a reason not to take a taxi. You just collapsed.”
Cha Yeowoon bit his lips without agreeing or disagreeing. Perhaps due to being in pain, he was unusually quiet today.
I waved down a taxi and pushed him into the back seat. After being pushed inside without any warning, he gave me a resentful look.
Ignoring him, I gave the driver the address, and the taxi started moving. He remained silent until we arrived.
Just as I wondered if we could return home without any incidents, I saw a familiar motorcycle parked under Cha Yeowoon’s apartment building.
Cheon Sangwon’s motorcycle was still there.
“Wow. You’re finally here.”
A voice came from above.
Raising my head, Cheon Sangwon was sitting on the stair railing looking down at us with his back to the sun.
“Brother is late.”
As Cha Yeowoon climbed up the stairs ahead of me and we were right in front of his home, Cheon Sangwon greeted me.
This rude guy. How could I match Cha Yeowoon with him?
Cha Yeowoon slowly alternated between Cheon Sangwon and me. Somehow, I felt like we were being tied together, so I wanted to declare that I had nothing to do with him.
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
“I was waiting.”
What was this again? I didn’t even have to ask to know who he was waiting for. Cha Yeowoon also seemed to understand, shifting his gaze toward Cheon Sangwon.
However, that only lasted a moment. He soon looked back at me.
I was going to ask Cheon Sangwon to go home, but he spoke up first.
“If brother is going home, I’ll take you.”
“What do you mean take me home? You brat without a driver’s license.”
“Then, brother give me a ride.”
“Why would I?”
“I lent you my motorcycle earlier.”
His shamelessness was apparent. But he had a point. Anyway, thanks to him I arrived early.
“Senior.”
Cha Yeowoon called out to me.
“You said you were going to sleep at my place.”
His next words were quite unexpected.
“Huh?”