Chapter 76
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 76
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the small head that had been nestled in my arms, fast asleep, until just a moment ago.
Her body rose and fell with the faint rhythm of her breathing.
As Dokyun stared at her for a long while, his mind still hazy, he saw Eun-ah’s eyes flutter open at the sound of his stirring.
Her eyes, still half-closed with sleep, gazed at him blankly.
Then, they curved into gentle crescents, and a smile bloomed across her face.
Pleased by the smile that appeared the moment she saw him, he smiled back and offered a greeting.
“Good morning.”
“Mmm…”
A sleepy murmur was her reply.
She buried her head in his chest again, and he could feel her rubbing her face against him.
Dokyun patted her back gently, accepting her sleepy affection, then remembered what he had to do today and spoke.
“You have to go out today, right?”
A flinch.
The movement of her burrowing into his embrace stopped. She lifted her head, a questioning look on her face.
“Th-That’s right… H-How did you know…?”
She asked the question as if she assumed he wouldn’t know, since she hadn’t told him.
“When it comes to you, I know everything.”
At his reply, he saw her cheeks flush slightly as she let out another smile.
“Hehe…”
Watching her, Dokyun moved the hand that was patting her back and gently stroked her hair. She snuggled back into his arms.
“Ugh… I… I don’t want to be apart…”
The whining words slipped from her lips.
It was what she always said whenever she had to go out alone.
But the answer Dokyun had prepared this time was different from usual.
“Then we don’t have to be.”
Her body stirred at his words. She lifted her head slightly, her eyes glancing at him as she asked in a small voice.
“Th-Then should I not go…?”
That wasn’t what he meant.
The way she was peeking at him, the corners of her lips twitching upwards, made it seem like she would nod eagerly if he told her not to go. Dokyun felt a laugh escape him. He composed his expression and spoke again.
“That’s not it. I meant we should go out together.”
It was a suggestion he wouldn’t have even dreamed of making before, but he didn’t feel any tension as he said it.
He knew now that what she wanted wasn’t to lock him up here forever. He knew that she simply wanted him. That knowledge gave him the courage to say it.
After Dokyun spoke, he saw her sink into thought.
He didn’t know exactly what was making her hesitate.
However, he knew her worries stemmed from her concern for him.
The bugs will torment you. You’ll be contaminated.
To her, the world outside that door was a horrifying place. She was likely worried that he would be hurt by that terrible world.
Finding her expression unbearably pitiful, Dokyun watched her for a moment before pulling her into a tight hug.
“You’ll protect me, so it’s okay, right?”
“Hnng…?”
“You’re my amazing bodyguard, after all. You can protect me even if the bugs try to bother me, can’t you?”
At his words, he felt her fidgeting with her fingers in his embrace, letting out a small, troubled sound.
Pat, pat.
He patted her back, waiting for her to finish her deliberation. A moment later, she nodded.
“Th-That’s right…! I’m… I’m Honeybee’s bodyguard…!”
Shifting his gaze to look at her, he saw her looking back at him with a fiercely determined expression.
“How cool.”
Dokyun chuckled at the sight, then placed a light kiss on Eun-ah’s forehead and continued.
“In that case… since we’re going out anyway, should we go for a walk?”
They had promised to go for a walk when the weather got warmer, but thinking about it now, he wondered why the weather mattered so much for a simple walk.
“O-Okay…!”
He saw her eyes sparkle as she agreed.
Under the blanket, he could feel her legs kicking excitedly, brushing against his shins.
Another laugh escaped Dokyun. His shoulders shook with soft laughter as he sat up, still holding her.
“Shall we get up now, then?”
“Yes…!”
For now, the outing was a success.
* * *
The hospital they arrived at, following the address Eun-ah had given him, was a place Dokyun knew well.
No, it would be more accurate to say it was a place impossible not to know.
‘Rich, as expected.’
It was the university hospital that anyone would name first if asked to pick the largest and most famous hospital in the country.
This was where Eun-ah received her treatment.
After arriving and parking in the garage, Dokyun walked on, feeling a sense of novelty.
‘This is amazing.’
The hospital grounds had a garden, a lounge, and even an arboretum.
Drawn by the sight, he glanced around the arboretum and saw people who appeared to be patients in white hospital gowns and their guardians, sitting on benches and talking.
Were all university hospitals like this?
Dokyun, whose only lifetime visits to a hospital had been for his circumcision and to the local clinic near his house, was captivated by a sight he had never seen before.
He was staring blankly around him when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Snapping out of it, Dokyun turned his head to see Eun-ah clinging to him, her face filled with anxiety.
Only then did he realize he had been standing there dumbfounded. He composed his expression and spoke to her.
“Ah, sorry.”
“Mmm…”
Her reply was a faint, trembling sound.
Dokyun checked on her and saw her head bowed low, her eyes darting around. He could feel the tremor in the hand gripping his sleeve.
He’d noticed it before, but she seemed to grow anxious when they were in crowded places.
She looked to be in a bad state, so Dokyun, feeling he had to do something, covered her hand on his sleeve with his own and squeezed it gently. He felt her hand tremble in his.
Then, as she slowly lifted her head, Dokyun smiled at her and added a few words.
“You have to hold my hand tight if you’re going to protect me.”
He interlaced their fingers as he spoke and saw her cheeks flush slightly.
Tap. Tap.
He then felt her fingers, intertwined with his, move slightly, tapping the back of his hand.
After playing with their hands for a moment, Eun-ah slowly sidled up to him until their shoulders were aligned. Seeing this, Dokyun smiled and spoke to her.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yes…!”
She replied, her head bowed once more.
Her earlobes were flushed a bright red.
Dokyun chuckled at the sight. Seeing her start to walk, he matched her pace exactly.
When she stepped with her right foot, he stepped with his right. When she stepped with her left, he stepped with his left.
He followed her small steps, walking onward.
The season was the dead of winter.
A chilly wind whipped around them, and the cars parked here and there had frost on their windows.
He could feel the tip of his nose growing numb in the frigid air, and the wind seeping through the collar of his coat chilled his body.
He shivered slightly in the cold air. Noticing that their joined hands were growing cold, he tucked them into his coat pocket. He felt her hand fidgeting inside the pocket and couldn't help but laugh.
She smiled back, mirroring his own expression, and as they continued to walk, they soon left the parking garage and were on a large path.
As they walked along the wide path, both looking down at the ground, Dokyun realized that when they crossed a section of paving blocks with a diagonal pattern of gray and red, she was only stepping on the gray ones.
Realizing this, he lifted his gaze from the ground to her face. He saw her staring intently at the paving blocks, her eyes wide with concentration.
“Pfft…!”
He let out a suppressed laugh.
Her focused expression was so amusing that his body shook slightly. She finally lifted her head and looked at him.
“Ah, my nose was just itchy.”
“Hehe…”
He gave a rough excuse and smiled. She smiled back before lowering her head to the ground again, resuming her concentration.
One step, then another.
She moved forward, stepping only on the gray paving blocks.
Dokyun, who had never seen her concentrate so hard on anything other than her writing, watched her with fascination. After a while, he felt a mischievous impulse rise within him.
Perhaps it was a contrarian urge, but seeing her so focused made him want to do the opposite of whatever she was doing. He adjusted his stride slightly and stepped on the red block right next to the gray one she had just stepped on.
Flinch.
He felt her tremble through their joined hands. She hesitated for a moment, then glanced up at him. He played innocent and asked her a question.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing…”
She shook her head and started walking again.
Left foot again. Seeing her step on a gray block, Dokyun once again stepped on the red block right beside it.
Another flinch. Her body trembled.
She glared at him with narrowed eyes, but he feigned ignorance again. She pouted her lips and continued walking.
He did this a few more times—sometimes stepping on the gray blocks with her, then suddenly stepping on a red one. Soon, her face was on the verge of tears, and he could feel her squeezing their interlaced hands.
“It’s… it’s the gray one…!” she muttered under her breath.
At that, thinking she might actually start crying if he pushed it any further, Dokyun stopped teasing her and followed her onto a gray block. Only then did her expression brighten as she continued on her way.
After walking like that for a while, laughing, they finally arrived at the hospital wing where her clinic was.
The atmosphere was quiet.
The space was filled with the sound of human presence—the hurried footsteps of nurses and the hushed whispers of people sitting scattered about.
After checking in, Dokyun sat down to wait for their turn and watched Eun-ah, whose expression had soured the moment they entered the hospital.
She hated this air, this hospital atmosphere, in a way that was obvious to anyone.
Her tightly sealed lips and her scowling eyes, fixed on the floor, made Dokyun feel uneasy. He placed his hand over hers and spoke softly.
“Eun-ah.”
Flinch.
Her body trembled, and she lifted her head.
“Yes…?”
Her face was clouded with discomfort.
Dokyun felt another wave of pity for her as he continued.
“What should we eat in a little bit?”
He saw her brow furrow in thought.
“Umm…”
She was serious when it came to food. To be more precise, she was serious about what I ate.
He didn’t know why, but she always paid immense attention to his meals, so he asked the question, hoping it would distract her.
“M-Meat…!” she answered.
A faint sparkle appeared in her eyes.
A smile formed on Dokyun’s lips. He let out a few soft chuckles and spoke again.
“Sounds good. What kind of meat should we get? We could even eat out since we’re already here.”
“O-Okay…!”
She said, then immediately began to ponder again.
She fidgeted with their joined hands for a moment, then her face brightened as she whispered the answer in his ear.
“Y-Yukhoe…!” [Korean beef tartare]
Beef tartare.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since he’d had it.
He nodded at the thought, and her face brightened once more.
“Then should we go to a place I know? I know a pretty good one.”
He knew a few places from having to be Manager Han’s drinking buddy.
It was a place with private rooms, since it was where the manager went to complain after getting into huge fights with his wife. And since Manager Han had a rather refined palate, the food was quite good.
There was nothing about it she would dislike, so he thought it would be a good choice and asked her.
“S-Sounds good…!”
Came the reply.
A look of anticipation was now layered over the discomfort on her face.
Has she calmed down a bit? he wondered, smiling back at her for a moment.
“Go Eun-ah-ssi.”
A voice called her name.
Hearing the call, Dokyun stood up, still holding Eun-ah’s hand.
“Shall we get this over with quickly, then?”
“Okay…!”
Now, it was time to see the doctor.