Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“I have to go to class. Contact me when you get to school. Make sure to inform the teacher about your condition, and if you’re not feeling well, go to the infirmary.”

– “Yes.”

“Pay attention and get off at the right stop.”

– “Yes.”

After receiving a diligent response, I hung up the phone. I turned on the cold water at the sink and checked my reflection in the mirror.

Was this the ‘face’ Cheon Sangwon had mentioned?

Using the back of my hand, dampened with water, I wiped the region around my reddened eyes. The fever slowly subsided as cold water slid down my face.

Walking back to class, the moisture that I couldn’t completely wipe off ran down my neck and soaked my school uniform. The clinging fabric of my shirt quickly became lukewarm and uncomfortable.

* * *

Cha Yeowoon’s fever was boiling hot. Despite wanting to scold him for not going to the hospital, I clicked my tongue three times to restrain the urge.

“Do you want to come to school like this?”

As soon as it was lunch time, I ran over to check on Cha Yeowoon, and he was a sight to behold. It was no worse than the last time I had found him collapsed at home.

Now that he was brought to the infirmary, at least his gaze had returned. I could only imagine how disoriented he must have been lying head down in the noisy classroom.

“The homeroom teacher and the school nurse said I can leave early.”

“Anyone with eyes would tell you that.”

A student, red-faced and sweating profusely would likely have made any teacher uneasy.

Cha Yeowoon, despite having taken two fever-reducing pills given by the school nurse, still appeared disoriented. His forehead was scorching hot when I put my palm to it.

“Go home now and get some rest.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Why? The teacher told you to go.”

“I’m going with senior.”

“Why insist on that.”

Although Cha Yeowoon looked deathly sick, he wanted to stay and endure. He was adamant on going home with me.

“Lay down until the fifth period, and if you still feel unwell, go home.”

“I don’t…”

Anticipating another refusal from Cha Yeowoon, I covered his mouth to silence him. He looked at me with aggrieved eyes, but didn’t take my hand away.

His breath touched the palm of my hand and I could feel his lips. It was warm, perhaps due to the fever.

The area below my chest was again unpleasantly itchy. If possible, I wanted to scratch my insides with my hand.

“I have to go.”

As I tried to get up from the bed, Cha Yeowoon grabbed my hand.

“The school bell hasn’t rung yet.”

“I need to talk to Sangwon.”

Really. I needed to hear from Cheon Sangwon when Seulgi would be discharged from the veterinarian. The previous time he persuaded me to accompany him, they had mentioned they would monitor him for a few additional days.

Cha Yeowoon, who knew nothing about the situation, was stubbornly gripping my hand. It hurt somewhat, but I didn’t pull it away.

“What do you need to talk to him about?”

“Just this and that.”

“What kind of talk?”

“Is that how you talk to me?”

“Senior.”

“Is it polite to use honorifics after you’ve already spoken?”

Suddenly, an arm reached out from behind and wrapped around my waist. Cha Yeowoon’s hot body pressed against my back.

“Don’t go.”

Cha Yeowoon’s voice permeated my ears. His ragged breathing sounded more tense than usual.

His chest pressed against my back throbbed. The arm squeezing me seemed like it would never let go. Every point of contact radiated heat.

The fever was spreading to me. It was hot.

“I’m here.”

“Senior, I…”

It seemed like Cha Yeowoon was going to say that he liked me at any moment.

“Cha Yeowoon, don’t.”

I should have shaken him off and stood up, but I couldn’t as I held his arm.

The infirmary, bathed in white, irritated my eyes. It became so hot that sticky sweat appeared on my neck.

“It’s hot. Let go, and talk.”

“Did you kiss?”

I was about to turn my body halfway and push Cha Yeowoon away when a question struck me. Until now, I hadn’t noticed because he was hugging me from behind, but his eyes were hotter than anywhere else.

“With that guy.”

The moment our eyes locked, they intertwined and clung without releasing. I gulped nervously.

I didn’t know what I had just heard, but it didn’t feel real.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you do it?”

“Do you think I did?”

“You did it with Tak Junho.”

“Hey, with him…Anyway, nothing like that happened. Lie down and rest.”

“If you kiss me.”

Cha Yeowoon took a deep breath as if he himself couldn’t believe what he had just said.

But the words were already out, and they couldn’t be taken back. I knew it, and he knew it too.

“If you do, I’ll rest quietly.”

Only Cha Yeowoon’s breath and mine could be heard. We hadn’t done anything, but we were both short of breath.

His upper body was still in contact, so his head was slightly tilted. If I decide, I could overlap his lips just by bending down slightly.

He stared at me as if he only wished for that. The inside of my mouth became warm and sticky. I forced myself to swallow the saliva that had accumulated under my tongue.

“Snap out of it. Don’t regret it later.”

“I know.”

Cha Yeowoon’s words abruptly cut off. His gaze continued.

“I know I might regret it, but it’s getting harder and harder to endure.”

“…”

“I couldn’t sleep last night because I was thinking about senior.”

“You’re too hot.”

So I was going to tell Cha Yeowoon to stay away.

“It’s because of senior.”

Cha Yeowoon, on the contrary, pulled me closer and hugged my waist. There was a firm grip. His lips circling my skin felt itchy.

“Thinking of senior…I have a fever.”

Cha Yeowoon must be completely delirious due to the heat, considering his daring actions.

The problem was that it was me who couldn’t push him away.

I swallowed my saliva as I listened to his muddy voice.

“You don’t want to be friends?”

I barely opened my mouth. It was both a refusal and a threat.

Gingerly touching Cha Yeowoon’s wrist, which had beautifully exposed bones, I finally managed to remove him from my waist.

I barely turned away from him. Even when I stood up, my legs felt stiff.

As I left the infirmary, my steps gradually quickened.

Ignoring the increasing numbers, I climbed two steps at a time as if I wanted to escape quickly.

[ 1m to Love Supremacy Zone. ]

[ Calculating Cha Yeowoon’s favorability. ]

But even as I distanced myself, Cha Yeowoon was thinking of me.

[ Favorability: 33 ]

“Don’t do this, Cha Yeowoon.”

Despite no one to hear it, I found myself murmuring to the message window. I leaned my head against the railing without climbing the rest of the stairs.

“Don’t.”

I questioned if this was a message to Cha Yeowoon or to myself.

It was me who needed to come to their senses.

The railing against my forehead heated. I still couldn’t snap out of it.

* * *

[ Favorability: 33 ]

Cha Yeowoon was troubled.

[Cha Yeowoon] : Senior

[Cha Yeowoon] : I apologize for yesterday

[Cha Yeowoon] : Did you get home safely?

[Cha Yeowoon] : Senior

[Cha Yeowoon] : Why aren’t you answering today?

[Cha Yeowoon] : Senior

[Cha Yeowoon] : Please answer the phone

“So, have you been ignored since then?”

Ahn Sia sighed as she scrolled through the silent message window, before putting down Cha Yeowoon’s phone.

“This is…a disaster.”

“Disaster?”

“A total disaster. Did you suddenly ask big brother for a kiss?”

“I didn’t say it like that.”

“Anyway. I don’t mean to be rude, but instead of confessing properly, you went straight for a kiss.”

“…”

“I told you big brother is tricky. You should have approached it delicately.”

“It just suddenly came out of nowhere.”

“You should have held back even if it meant covering your mouth.”

There was nothing to refute. Cha Yeowoon lowered his head gloomily.

At first, there were times when Tae Myeongha avoided him, but this was the first time that communication was so blatantly ignored.

Was what he did really that bad? After much deliberation and consultation, Ahn Sia had come to a straightforward conclusion. It was seriously that bad.

“There’s nothing you can do now that you’ve messed up.”

“What should I do?”

“Give up.”

“S-Sia.”

Gyeonghun, who was handling a photo next to Ahn Sia, cautiously interrupted her.

Due to the hours at the newly opened shopping mall, it was impossible for them to meet outside, so Cha Yeowoon had come to Ahn Sia’s workspace. It was called a workspace, but it was actually the home where the siblings lived.

“Big brother is in the same class. How does it look from your side?”

“Myeongha? Just quiet, s-studies hard. He seems a bit dazed lately. Ah, he also seems to be staring into space often.”

“Big brother has been like that? That’s normal for high schoolers.”

“Is that so…”

“Ehm. In our class, there are four children who mutter to themselves while staring into space. It seems children go crazy studying after entering high school.”

Cha Yeowoon turned on his phone as he listened to the siblings’ conversation. His phone, which only had an alarm clock function at first, became an item that had to be checked frequently after Tae Myeongha’s contact information was saved.

[Tae Myeongha] : (Picture)

A pop-up appeared on the main screen. He immediately clicked on it.

The photo sent to the chat room showed Tae Myeongha sleeping with his arms crossed.

It seemed like it was taken in selfie mode, as a hand holding the phone and half of a face were visible in the slightly tilted corner of the screen.

Seeing Cheon Sangwon in the same photo, Cha Yeowoon sprang up.

“Hey! Cha Yeowoon, where are you going?”

Ahn Sia shouted from behind, but Cha Yeowoon was already running out of the door.

While waiting for the elevator, he anxiously stared at the phone screen. Why was Tae Myeongha with that guy again today, why was he sleeping, and what mischief would that guy do to the sleeping senior? Even as he tried to stay still, his mind was a mess.

[Tae Myeongha] : (Picture)

Another photo arrived. This time, it was a close-up of Tae Myeongha. Unlike the first photo where his knees were visible, this one was taken to fill the screen with his face.

Probably Cheon Sangwon’s finger was poking Tae Myeongha’s cheek. Too cute…No, that wasn’t it.

“This fucking bastard.”

Foul language bubbled up. Cha Yeowoon, who had been looking at the elevator indicator coming up from the underground, rushed down the stairs.

When he called, only the signal tone persisted. After a long pause, the call finally connected. However, instead of Tae Myeongha’s voice, it was the voice he hated the most right now.

– “Hello. This is Taemyung’s phone, and I’m Sangwon.”

“Where are you?”

– “On a date.”

“Switch with senior.”

– “Brother is sleeping next to me?”

“Switch.”

– “I can’t do that. We’re heading to my house, so come find us.”

“Where is your house, you son of a…!”

The call was abruptly cut off.

It was a deliberate provocation. Despite knowing that, Cha Yeowoon’s anger rose to the top of his head.

“Where is Cheon Sangwon’s house?”

Fortunately, there was someone to ask.

– “Cheon Sangwon’s house? Why all of a sudden?”

“Where is it?”