Intentional Mistakes
I tensed at the sharp beep and pulled the thermometer away. 36.5 degrees. My chest swelled with joy at the perfect number. I didn’t hold back my encouragement as Cha Jun-jae stubbornly swallowed the last of his medicine.
I gave him a thumbs-up to show he’d done well, but Cha Jun-jae just stared at me with an indifferent expression. He was half-reclined against the pillow, blanket pulled up to his waist. He kept gazing blankly at the wall. Meanwhile, I—who had spent the past week coaxing medicine into him, feeding him, and nursing him back to health—felt like throwing a celebration party. I plopped down on the bed and faced him.
“You’re really all better now. You’re the best, Cha Jun-jae.”
“Guess we won’t be seeing each other every morning anymore.”
I was still excitedly flashing thumbs-up while he looked utterly gloomy. It had been over a week since I started coming up every morning and evening to give him his medicine, watching him like a hawk because he secretly hated taking it, and checking to see if his fever had gone down. The fact that it was finally over seemed to make him sad rather than relieved.
With a bittersweet smile, I swung my legs fully onto his bed. I leaned back just like he was, slouching lazily.
“Since you’re all better now, you should do whatever you want.”
At those words, Cha Jun-jae turned to look at me. Something flickered in his dark eyes. He claimed he hadn’t been expecting anything. Had he been doubting me the whole time he was taking his medicine? That once he recovered, I would escape Dalos Island. I had been thinking of pulling an all-nighter on the script as a celebration for his full recovery. It was about time to put together a concrete plan and contact Korea.
“I don’t have anything I want to do.”
But this ending was something I hadn’t anticipated. No—he was lying to me. He had definitely said that once he got better, he wanted to do something in the evening. Yet now he was acting like he’d forgotten all about it, only worrying his lower lip.
“Last time you said there was something you wanted to do with me. In the evening.”
“Ah… that…”
“Yes. That.”
“I forgot.”
The way he shyly averted his gaze and looked down told me he remembered perfectly. In fact, he seemed to be seizing the chance to add even more things to the list. Cha Jun-jae had no idea how clearly his emotions showed on his face as he dragged out the moment.
“I’ll think of it when it comes to me.”
The moment I said I would really do anything for him, his eyes sparkled like he’d just been handed a blank check. I might end up spoiling him rotten, but I didn’t want to be the kind of person who went back on her word.
“So what do you want to do today?”
“You’ll really do it?”
“I said I would.”
“No take-backs?”
“Have I only ever been fooled in my life? Fine. Really, truly—should we pinky swear or something?”
It was a pinky promise we had never even done back when we were actually elementary school kids. The second I finished speaking, Cha Jun-jae thrust out his little finger.
“Promise.”
“Hah.”
Feeling exceptionally generous now that he was fully recovered, I hooked my pinky around his. I really, really didn’t want him ending up in an emergency room in a foreign country. Cha Jun-jae was healthy again, the script was coming along smoothly, my parents had temporarily given up on me, and if I held on just a little longer, I could see the exit. That was why I could afford to be so kind to him.
After linking pinkies, I watched the color return to Cha Jun-jae’s face. His cheeks, which had been pale when I took his temperature that morning, were now a soft cherry-blossom pink. I feel a little bad saying this, but his eyes were like mirrors made of starlight—perfectly transparent, reflecting every emotion, and shining with a golden warmth all their own.
“Hurry up and tell me what you want to do.”
By now, I was genuinely curious. That was when the smile he had been biting back finally reached his eyes. The words that slipped out next sent a huge wave through me. Suddenly I felt like I was the one running a fever.
I had planned to wake up in the morning, tie up the hair I’d washed the night before, eat lunch, work until late afternoon, and then go swimming if it wasn’t raining. The landlord had sent workers a few days ago to replace all the pool water. It was so clean now it looked brand new.
In contrast, Cha Jun-jae—who never seemed to have any particular plans—took a full hour to shower, get dressed, and put on cologne the moment he recovered. While I waited for him, I managed to drip ketchup all over my chest while eating an omelette. So compared to Cha Jun-jae, who appeared perfectly put-together, I looked like an absolute mess.
“L-like this?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and grinned, showing all my teeth like a kid model. It was unbearably embarrassing. And the person holding the camera was Cha Jun-jae, of all people.
He clicked the shutter again and again, as if trying to preserve my smile at the absolute peak of awkwardness. I finally gave up and slumped against the wall.
“That’s enough, right?”
“One more.”
I had made a terrible mistake. I never should have told Cha Jun-jae I would do anything for him. He had already taken more than a dozen shots, yet he glared at the camera like he was deeply dissatisfied.
“Again? Why?”
“It doesn’t capture the real thing.”
“That’s how cameras are, you know.”
When my voice rose from embarrassment, Cha Jun-jae glanced up at me.
“Are you mad?”
“…No.”
“You said you’d do anything for me… you definitely did.”
The photo shoot was taking place right in front of our accommodation. Locals kept walking by and staring, the wall was scorching hot from the sun, and it was hard to strike any special poses. Besides, I hadn’t dressed up like he had. I had no idea why he wanted to capture me looking like the perfect example of a jobless bum.
“Give it here.”
I walked over and snatched Cha Jun-jae’s phone out of his hand with sheer force. The compositions and timing were all wrong—there were truckloads of terrible photos. Even the great Cha Jun-jae had his weaknesses.
“No wonder it doesn’t capture the real thing. Do I really have nostrils this big? And why are my eyes half-closed?”
“Yeah. It looks weird.”
“Come here.”
If what Cha Jun-jae wanted was a photo, I could solve it quickly. I could just send him a few of the best shots I’d taken on Dalos Island. But I knew that simple solution wouldn’t satisfy Cha Jun-jae’s particular brand of madness. I stepped close in a friendly pose and leaned my face against his arm. He immediately took a step back, looking flustered.
“Where are you going? Come closer.”
He couldn’t resist my command and returned to his original spot. I pressed the back of my head firmly against his chest. Smiling, I told him,
“Cheek to cheek. Stick them together.”
My pronunciation came out sloppy because I was speaking through a smile. Cha Jun-jae moved his face closer with the stiff posture of a robot obeying orders. His warm cheek touched mine. I fumbled with shaky fingers to flip the camera to front-facing mode, then threw up a peace sign in front of our faces on the screen.
“Smile. Smile.”
But Cha Jun-jae refused to meet my eyes in the camera lens, looking off somewhere else. It happened right as I pressed the shutter. When I checked the photo, it wasn’t the image I wanted at all. Frustrated, I stomped my foot and ordered him again.
“One more time.”
This time I watched him even more closely, adding an exaggerated wink. Once again, just as Cha Jun-jae was looking at the camera, he deliberately glanced away the exact moment I hit the shutter. The intentional sabotage slowly started to piss me off.
“Do you act like this during your actual shoots? Huh?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then you’re doing it because it’s me?”
He answered smoothly, almost annoyingly so. When I raised my fist like I was going to threaten him, Cha Jun-jae smiled and swore,
“I’ll do it right this time. Probably.”
“This is your last chance.”
With one hand still clenched in a fist, I stared at the front-facing camera. Cha Jun-jae, having successfully received the mental command to get closer, pressed his cheek against mine. I was so desperate for a successful selfie that I ignored the contact for a brief second.
“Okay, one, two—”
Three. I swallowed the word and pressed the shutter with my thumb. At that exact moment, Cha Jun-jae’s eyes changed. He shifted the angle slightly and moved his lips. His soft mouth brushed against my cheek like a playful prank. In the photo, it looked exactly like he was kissing my cheek.
I lowered the phone with a betrayed glare. He straightened his back the instant he achieved his goal.
“This seems satisfying enough.”
“……”
“Thank you, Eun-dam.”
He snatched the phone away before I could hit delete. Cha Jun-jae walked off by himself, staring at the screen. As I watched the faint smile on his face, I pressed the back of my hand to my cheek. It seemed I had caught his fever. My own cheek was burning hot.