Chapter 75: Chapter 75.
It took a long time for Shin to ask Woojin, but eventually, he did.
“You were the one who came to see me, weren’t you?”
Woojin’s feet were red from the warm water and Shin was kneeling in front of him folding the bottom of his pants. He touched Woojin’s warm feet. His heart began to beat very fast nervously, but Woojin seemed nonchalant as he answered, “Yes.”
Shin didn’t have to specify when he was referring to, but Woojin knew what he was talking about. Woojin nodded and continued, “Yeah. I did go to see you that time at the hospital.”
Woojin answered it so easily that Shin regretted not asking this question sooner.
“How did you know that I got hurt? That I was in an accident?”
“Jihoon Kang told me.”
Suddenly, Woojin’s face turned dark. When Shin held his face, Woojin pulled on his hands and dunked them in the warm water. He whispered, “Your hands are cold… you should keep them warm.”
Woojin looked so adorable that Shin couldn’t help but hug him. Woojin smiled shyly.
Shin asked, “You think that woman was the one who tried to kill me?”
“I can’t be certain that she didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because my aunt is a very scary woman.”
Woojin’s eyes reddened. He caressed Shin’s chest, where the scars were, and asked if they still hurt.
“Woojin, these are very old scars. Of course, they don’t hurt.”
“But they… they hurt me, Shin.”
Tears rolled down from Woojin’s eyes and Shin wiped them away gently. Woojin looked at the swimming pool, noticing how blue the tiles were at the bottom.
“Shin… Every time I saw you swim, my heart would beat so fast with joy.”
“…”
“And if it made me that way just watching you swim, I can’t imagine how happy swimming made you feel.”
“…”
“And you might have lost it because of me. That’s why… there were times I wanted to give you up.”
Slowly, Shin went into the water. Woojin looked surprised, especially because Shin was still wearing his clothes, but Shin didn’t seem to care. He began to swim and although he couldn’t breathe very well, it wasn’t impossible. He laughed and gestured for Woojin to join him. To his surprise, because he didn’t expect Woojin to actually do it, Woojin did jump into the pool. Woojin slowly waded towards Shin and hugged him as he whispered, “Thank you for saving me.”
“… thank you for being alive.”
***
Siwoo asked Shin quietly, “What are you thinking about?” Shin covered his forehead and looked away. He feared that his cheeks were turning red and that Siwoo might notice it. To his embarrassment, Siwoo narrowed his eyes and grinned. He said to Shin, “You were having a dirty thought, weren’t you?”
“I thought you came here to take care of me, but it looks like you are here to eat my food.”
“I like to think I came here for both.”
“You are such a jerk.”
“Haha. Now that I think about it, this is the second time I am seeing you in a hospital gown.”
Siwoo peeled an apple and cut it into rabbit-shaped pieces. He placed them on a plate and handed it to Shin.
Shin replied, “I guess.”
“The last time, you were wrapped in so many bandages that you looked like a mummy.”
“Hmm… did I look that bad?”
“I remember you crying all the time like a baby. You were just as big then, but you cried so much. You said that you were going to die.”
“It was probably because I was going through puberty.”
Shin blushed and patted Siwoo’s light brown hair. Suddenly, Siwoo pushed away Shin’s hand and pouted. He asked, “Doesn’t Woojin get upset when you flirt like this?”
“What are you talking about? I’m not flirting.”
“Shin, you are the flirtiest person I know. You are so touchy with your friends and you are too friendly. It can be too much sometimes.”
“What?!”
“If my partner acted like you, I would handcuff your hand to me all the time.”
Siwoo frowned in disgust as he continued, “Gosh, I would hate it if my boyfriend acted like you. Like a total playboy.”
“You do know that I am a patient, right? You should be nicer to me.”
“Poor Woojin… stuck with someone like you.”
Siwoo grinned and looked at the clock on the wall. Siwoo expected the room to be nice since Shin was placed in a private hospital room, but he didn’t realize it was going to be this luxurious. The room was the size of a small apartment. Siwoo looked at Shin and asked, “By the way, where is Mr. Woojin?”
“Went to work, of course. Where else?”
Woojin had stayed with Shin the entire processing time. He took care of everything, including the paperwork and Shin fell asleep while watching him. He was told he would get some relaxants, and it must’ve worked because he didn’t wake up once during the night. When he opened his eyes the next morning, Woojin was gone.
Siwoo called and offered to drop by at lunch. He ended up taking the afternoon off from work and stayed with Shin.
Siwoo asked Shin, “I am only your friend, but I am here to spend time with you. Woojin is your BOYFRIEND, yet he went to work and left you all alone? Isn’t that heartless?”
“If he misses two days of work, people are going to think it’s strange since I am also off work.”
“… Oh? I see that you guys are becoming expert secret lovers.”
Siwoo laughed and added, “Please stop getting injured. You are making everyone worry.”
“Alright.”
“I’m really glad you didn’t get seriously hurt, Shin.”
Siwoo smiled, and Shin did as well, but his smile was bitter. Seeing Woojin shivering in fear for him at the hospital was not a fun experience. Shin also felt anxious every time he thought about what could have happened. A difference of a second could’ve meant his death.
The feeling of your body in the air after a car hits you… Shin knew it very well because he experienced it before. Luckily this time, he spotted the car and was able to move quickly. He ended up falling and got a few scratches, but overall, he was fine. If he had gotten hit by that car… he wouldn’t have made it. The black sedan was going at full speed. There weren’t any CCTVs around the area, so there was no footage of the incident. This happened in broad daylight, so to call it an accident… it didn’t make sense.
Shin was sure this was a planned incident, and he suspected that Woojin felt the same way.
Siwoo asked, “So you remember the license number?”
“Yeah. You know I have a strange obsession with these things.”
“Then all we have to do is wait for the police to catch the culprit!”
Siwoo seemed almost excited, but Shin sighed. What he worried wasn’t ‘who’ was behind it. He was concerned about ‘why’ he was being targeted instead of Woojin. This happened 10 years ago, and it happened again recently. Until they found the answer, Woojin was going to live in fear.
Woojin left Shin because of this fear, and Shin couldn’t let it happen again.
He murmured, “I wonder why it was me…”
“… what?”
“Why me? And not Woojin?”
That woman’s target always seemed to be Shin, not Woojin.