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Turns out, getting shot at the shoulder and engaging in a fight two days later isn’t a good combination. And then, he has to come down with a fever.
The moment he tries to sit up on the bed, the soreness of his entire body feels like he just got run over by a truck, his head is pounding resulting in a constant ringing in his ears, and his throat is scratchy like sandpaper. It has been a while since Jeong-hyuk felt this sick, and he doesn’t like it.
But, he doesn’t regret it. Because he’d do anything to protect Se-ri.
The previous night had mostly been a blur, where he had kept mum about running a temperature while freezing under his winter coat at the same time. Though, he remembers the sizzle of the flame, the sighing of the wind outside, but mostly, mostly he remembers the warmth of her embrace, as she let him rests against the crook of her neck. He wakes before her the next morning, groggily peeking open an eye, only to find her hand interlaced with his, and he can’t help the small smile that’s unfurling from the corner of his lips. When she stirs, he pretends to be asleep, and is disappointed when she leaves his side, taking away the warmth with her, already missing the homeliness of her body heat.
Despite still being uncomfortable, he drags himself out from bed, thoughts already occupied by Se-ri. These days, all he thinks is about her. He thinks he might be going crazy, or it must be the fever messing with his head, he doesn’t know.
Smelling like smoke, sweat and blood, he decides to change his clothes, but realises halfway it’s going to be a challenge because he can’t seem to move his left hand. With the rush of adrenaline gone, all he feels is the hot, searing pain at his left shoulder with every movement.
Just as he was about to get through the pain with gritted teeth, he sees her head popping through the slightly open door of his bedroom through the reflection of the mirror. He lets out a sigh. She always seems so oblivious to his personal space and matters, barging in whenever she likes.
Barging into his heart.
“Ri Jeong-hyuk -ssi, do you need help?” Se-ri asks, concern evident on her face.
He must look absolutely comical, his right hand pulling at the collar of his sweater as he stares at her through the mirror.
“No, I’m fine,” he answers stiffly, hoping she would leave, but she doesn’t. He supposed it’s fine by him if she wants to see him strip half naked in front of her, and maybe, just maybe, it would scare her away. But it doesn’t. Just as he proceeds to slip his sweater over his right shoulder, she’s already standing in front of him, and he feels her tugging the lower hem of his sweater and gently pulling it over his shoulder, and then his head, and in a blink of an eye, his sweater is off him.
Grateful that she’s a head shorter than him, he stares straight ahead, avoiding her gaze, the tip of his ears burning a bright pink.
“You’re bleeding,” is what he hears her say, feeling the light brush of her fingertips, cool and soothing, against his shoulder.
It’s hard to miss the bruises that’s formed on his body as her gaze wander downwards to his bare chest, and - it’s just muscles, Se-ri chastises herself, very well sculpted muscles.
Angling his head, he looks down, and sees the soaked dressing. “Oh, it’s fine. It’s nothing,” he shrugs it off.
Se-ri scoffs in annoyance, just like she always does when she’s annoyed at him. “For someone who says that he doesn’t lie, you seem to lie a lot.”
Just as he is struggling to come out with a reply, she walks away and disappears from his sight, and comes back later, juggling several items - a small basin of warm water, a small towel, a strip of dressing and a medicated topical gel. Just a few weeks of staying at his house, she seems to have familiarised herself with the placement of items in his residence.
Before he opens his mouth to say that he’s perfectly capable of handling it himself, she pushes him to sit on the edge of the bed, his eyes widening in surprise.
“What are you doing?”
“Changing your dressing,” she says like it’s the most natural thing to do, and sits next to him. “Can you relax? I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You really don’t need to do this, I’m…,” he argues but falls silent when she glowers at him. He’s fighting a losing battle from the start, he knows, and lets out a defeated sigh.
“Does it hurt?” she asks as she gently peels the dressing away, careful not to hurt him.
“No, it doesn’t,” he shakes his head.
But she doesn’t miss the slight furrowing of his thick brows.
“There’s no harm in telling me the truth sometimes Ri Jeong-hyuk -ssi.”
“I thought you didn’t like me to tell you the truth.”
She tuts in disapproval even as the smile that’s blooming on her face betrays her and a ghost of a smile twitches on his face.
He’s never been this exposed, to a woman before. And as hard as he tries to ignore the close proximity between them, and the warmth of her fingers dancing against his skin that’s sending a zap of electric current through his body, he can’t resist sneaking in a few glances at her every now and then as she dabs dried, caked blood away from the wound with the small towel.
"You're lucky that the sutures are still intact," she mutters.
Allowing his gaze to linger on her face, his eyes catalogues her every feature - her immaculate eyebrows, the fluttering of her eyelashes, the brightness of her eyes, the curve of her cheekbones, and the fullness of her soft, pink lips. Even with barely any make up on her face, she looks beautiful, and his thoughts go astray, wondering if she looks even more beautiful when she’s in Seoul, which he will never get a chance to witness.
Stop. He can’t indulge in such thoughts, especially when she’s leaving.
Absent-mindedly, he exhales out loud and she looks up to him, eyebrows crumpled together.
“What’s wrong?” she enquires.
“Nothing,” he looks away. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Se-ri continues to stare at him suspiciously, but doesn’t press on further.
The more he tells himself to stop staring at her, the longer and harder he stares at her.
He’s been thinking. The night she never came back. As he fears for her safety, and with the thought of never seeing her again, it had only re-opened the wound in his heart, where he’d spent years stitching it up slowly, living in numbness. He had vowed to not let himself feel the pain of regret again. Without a doubt, he’ll protect her till the end of the world.
“Stop staring at me like that,” she tells him off while applying the medicated gel on his wound.
Her words snap him out of his thoughts. “Like what?”
“Like you’re in love with me.”
He can’t help it.
He glances at her lips again.
“It isn’t trivial, you know.”
“What?” she freezes. Meeting his eyes, she blinks slowly, trying to grasp the meaning behind his words.
“Our kiss.”
“Oh,” he hears her draw in a breath.
There’s a palpable shift in the tension in the room. It feels much quieter, much warmer.
“I want you to know that it wasn’t because of the anaesthesia, or the pain killers, and it wasn’t because of the rain, nor was it because you were crying…,” his eyes bore into hers, “…it was because I wanted to kiss you,” he tells her, speech slow, deliberate and tender, as if afraid she will mishear him.
Her heart flutters at his words and it steals her voice away. For a moment, she’s flustered, evident by the pink blush that’s tainting her cheeks, and she’s looking everywhere, except for his face. The medicated gel overflows from the tube to her fingers because she’s squeezing it too hard and she doesn’t realise it until he nudges her about it.
“Aish, look at the mess you’ve made me make,” she huffs in frustration, ignoring the drumming of her heart.
Jeong-hyuk bites back a smile. It’s his fault, as usual.
“Are you hungry? I bet you’re hungry,” she pushes the medication to his hands, changing the topic quickly like a breeze in the wind. “I’m going to make you something to eat,” she announces as she stands up and walks to the direction of the door.
“What?” It’s his turn to jump.
Se-ri is capable of doing anything, but he knows she can’t cook to save her life.
“Don’t worry, I can do it myself,” he tries to persuade her as he trails behind her.
“You can’t even move your shoulder Ri Jeong-hyuk -ssi!”
“I’m fine!”
“Relax, I’m not going to burn down the kitchen.”
“I’m afraid you will do exactly that.”
She turns around to glare at him, but smirks instead. “You forgot your sweater.”
He looks down and huffs. Saving him from further embarrassment, she turns on her heels towards the kitchen, while he has no choice but to trot back to his room, in search of a sweater, which she will later help him to put it on.
…
With Jeong-hyuk’s guidance, Se-ri turns out to be a pretty good student, right until she gives him a heart attack when she almost cuts her finger with the knife. And as she turns the handle of the noodle making machine, adorably squinting her eyes and biting her lips in concentration, he can’t help but to smile at the sight. Suddenly, the pain in his shoulder and the soreness of his body is gone, his body’s light as a feather, and all he feels are sunshine and butterflies and the sweet melody of a classical love song.
He’s never let himself feel this way before, not since his brother’s death. And now, now it seems strangely good to let the weight of the world slide off his shoulders for a while and bask in the warm, soft love that she’s giving him.
Jeong-hyuk is not falling in love with Se-ri.
He really, truly isn’t.
Se-ri is kind, witty, smart and fearless but she’s also unreasonable at times, and she can’t seem to stop talking. She doesn’t listen to what he says most of the time. And he can never seem to win in an argument against her when she’s being overly dramatic.
She’s a bother, but he likes it.
Likes the brightness of her expressive eyes, changing with her every emotion. Likes the way her smile reaches her eyes, crinkling at the sides. Likes her silly antics and how she’s so full of herself, amusing him to no end. Likes the way she argues with him with her witty comebacks and how she’s quick on her feet. Likes how she looks out for him even if he doesn’t care. Likes how she gets along with the boys. Likes the way she calls his name.
Who is he kidding. He was enraptured by her the moment he had set his eyes on her. The moment he had kissed her in the hospital, he had crossed the line, finally accepting his feelings for her.
Jeong-hyuk is in love with Se-ri.
With a huge, proud smile on her face, Se-ri places the bowl of hot noodles in front of Jeong-hyuk, and keeps a watchful eye on him, with elbows on the table, propping her face with her hands. She had wanted to feed him just to tease him, but stops when he shoots daggers at her. The noodles taste exceptionally good, despite the blandness of his tastebuds.
“How is it?” she’s eager for a feedback. Judging by the way he can’t seem to stop eating, it must be good. It’s her first time cooking for someone she loves, and there’s a certain kind of inexplicable happiness that blooms from within when she watches him enjoying the dish.
He clears his throat, pretends to be nonchalant. “It’s better than I had expected,” he showers her a compliment with a small smile. Her entire face lights up and he wishes he could see that smile of hers everyday till the end of his life.
Later, while Se-ri cleans up, Jeong-hyuk wanders into the living room, and spots a small, pine tree decorated with a garland of handmade paper ornaments. He can’t stop the dimpled smile that’s threatening to break from his face as his thumb brushes over the words ‘Merry Christmas’, written by Se-ri on a small paper.
“Do you like it?” he hears her voice from behind.
“It’s pretty,” he turns around to face her, smile still remaining. The last time he had celebrated Christmas, was when he was at Switzerland.
“This is for you,” she holds out a small box wrapped with a ribbon. It’s a small token, and it’s all she can do, considering the things he has done for her. He takes it, unsure if he should unwrap it now but she gestures him to.
He opens it, and his breath catches in his throat.
It’s his brother’s watch. It can’t be.
Drawing in a shuddering breath, with trembling hands, he takes it out, the metal strap cool against his fingers. Feeling the weight of it, his thumb skims over the crystal of the watch. He never thought he’d see it again, and now, now it’s back in his hands. Memories of his brother flashes by, and a wet sheen of tears dulls over the surprise in his eyes.
Se-ri is taken aback by his reaction. She reaches out, hand gently cupping his face. “Are you okay?” she asks, suddenly feeling miserable becomes he seems to be more upset than happy.
Jeong-hyuk doesn’t respond, instead wordlessly pulls her into his embrace, closing his eyes and hugs her tight. “Thank you,” he whispers into her hair, and he feels her arms wrapping around his back. He’ll tell her the story of his brother some time later, when he’s ready.
It’s not a coincidence, that his brother’s watch comes back to him through Se-ri.
It’s destiny.
The moment she had crash landed into his life, she was destined to bring light and joy and colours and rainbows into his dull, black and white life.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything,” he pulls away, eyes gleaming with nothing but gratitude.
“Meeting you is my gift,” she replies, uncharacteristically shy.
Something tugs in his chest, warm, and fuzzy and soft. Offering her a warm dimpled smile, he allows himself to cross the line again, pulling her close and presses a kiss on her forehead.
Just this time.