Chapter 101 – Confronting the Past (3)

“Huh!”

I opened my eyes in surprise, almost as if I was convulsing.

“Bwa…”

And as soon as I opened my eyes, I felt a severe headache and pain in my left arm.

“Ugh… Where am I…”

It wasn’t the abandoned construction site where I fell, it wasn’t the academy, and it wasn’t even my house.

White wall, window with a view of the dark outside.

There was a bandage wrapped around his head and an IV in his arm.

Of course, there is only one place where all these conditions are met.

‘Hospital…? How can I…’

I don’t know who called, but I remember the police came.

Now that I’ve left that mess behind, I thought I’d be in detention once I came to my senses…

It was clear that someone had been there when I saw some fruit and a convenience store lunch box placed on the table next to the bed in the hospital room.

As I was looking around in confusion, the door to the hospital room I was in opened and a person came in.

Her face was somewhat haggard, and her shiny, silky black hair seemed to have become a bit dull.

Her face became half-faced, and she froze on the spot when she opened her eyes and saw me.

“Stop, Seongjin!!!”

Then he called my name like a scream and ran over to me and grabbed my healthy right hand.

“Seongjin! Are you conscious? Do you recognize me?!”

“Yuri, what is this…”

When Yuri heard my voice, she burst into tears and cried and called a nurse and a doctor.

“Ugh… Go, nurse! Our Seongjin has woken up! The patient here has come to his senses!!”

Immediately after those words, two nurses rushed into the hospital room, checked everything, and then went to call the doctor.

Meanwhile, Yuri just cried next to me.

I opened her mouth to calm down the crying Yuri who couldn’t come to her senses.

“Yuri, how did I get to the hospital… It felt like the police were here…”

“Ugh… The injury was so severe that they had to be hospitalized first.”

“How long has it been since I came here?”

“Sniff… Sigh… 3, 3 days…”

It happened on Friday evening, so if 3 days have passed, today is…

“So Monday…? You stayed here until this hour without going home?”

“Ugh… How can I go home when you’re like this! I thought you wouldn’t wake up and that you were going crazy!”

Yuri hugged me and cried, and when she realized belatedly that I had just regained consciousness, she fell in shock.

Soon doctors and nurses came to the hospital room and checked my physical condition.

His head was hit hard, but fortunately there was no damage to his bones. His left arm and both wrists were also severely swollen, but the bones were only cracked and not broken.

After hearing that it wouldn’t take as long as expected for her to be discharged once she regained consciousness, Yuri sat down, held her face, and cried.

“Ugh… Thank you… Thank you… Heep…”

After the doctors and nurses left, it was just the two of us left in the room.

The only sound in the hospital room was the sound of Yuri whimpering in silence.

“Yuri, how am I here?”

“That’s…”

#####

3 days ago.

“I wondered how long it would last. Well, you don’t know how to treat women other than how you treat them, so it wouldn’t be strange if Yuri left at any time-“

“It’s not like that, so don’t worry about me. Don’t talk like shit.”

“Who cares about you? I don’t even care what you go through!”

Han Seong-jin didn’t even touch Jeong Eun-ji all week, and he didn’t even say anything like ‘education’ when she said something sassy.

Even as she was naked and changing her clothes right before her eyes, she closed her eyes and did not even turn her head towards him.

Even though she changed her clothes very slowly.

Jeong Eun-ji, who was grumpy for no reason, tried to provoke him as much as she could, but Han Seong-jin was almost unresponsive, like a person who was completely confused.

In the end, Jeong Eun-ji got angry for no reason and left the classroom.

When she took the track and field clothes from the track and field club cabinet to take home and wash, she saw Han Seong-jin running somewhere with all his might.

“What, where are we going?”

Just like Han Seong-jin, Jeong Eun-ji could have just paid no mind, but Han Seong-jin’s appearance all week caught my eye.

No matter how fast Han Seong-jin ran, he couldn’t even compare to Jeong Eun-ji’s footsteps, so she was able to easily catch up with her.

Seongjin Han joined a group of men.

‘Those… Are the Iljin guys from our academy, right? Hey, that kid was doing that behind my back too?! I really believed things have changed now! I believed it!’

Jeong Eun-ji’s body trembled at her sense of betrayal, but at the same time she hoped it was just a coincidence, and she continued to follow him.

Han Seong-jin seemed very urgent somewhere.

On the way, I also ran into Choi Su-yeon.

“Huh? Where is Eunji?”

“Should I tell you that?”

“Hmm~ I heard Seongjin was heading this way earlier. Seeing that he’s going in the same direction, I guess he’s following Seongjin? Are you worried?”

“Well, who cares? Stop talking nonsense and go your own way!”

“It’s probably the same route my senior and I are taking?”

Choi Soo-yeon also seemed to feel uneasy when she saw Han Seong-jin pacing her steps with a pale complexion.

Jeong Eun-ji leisurely followed Han Seong-jin while Choi Soo-yeon let out a gasping sound, and soon the two reached the owner of an abandoned slum.

As soon as they saw that, the two froze.

“What… Um, they… Aren’t they carrying weapons now? Are they going to start a gang fight? Are they crazy people?”

“Seongjin, I said I wouldn’t do things like this anymore… Huh? I think there’s someone behind there…”

And through the conversations of the people present, including Han Seong-jin, the two realized that the person tied to the chair was Lee Yu-ri.

“Uh, what should I do? Who are those guys? Who is Yuri… Isn’t this kidnapping someone?!”

“Looking at your hair, it looks like Eunbong Gonggyo… Isn’t this going to be a big problem? Sungjin or Yuri?!”

And…

Whoops-!!!

“”Aaaaah!!!””

The moment the guy standing behind Han Seong-jin hit the betrayal and struck Han Seong-jin’s head with a wooden block, the two screamed at the same time.

The scene, which was thought to be a fight between many and many, turned into a scene where both sides worked together to destroy Han Seong-jin.

“Uh, uh, what should I do?! Senior Seongjin!!”

“Oh, police… Police… Hello!? You’re the police!? This is an abandoned construction site inside the slums of XX-dong, and now someone is using a square tree to… State, address? How do you know the address!

It’s just an abandoned construction site that you find if you go straight into the slum!! Come quickly! “Right now, dozens of people are trying to kill someone with wooden blocks and metal pipes!!!”

The two women, whose faces were paler than a corpse, trembled as they waited for the police for what seemed like eons.

I knew that even if the two of me, unarmed, went into that mess, it wouldn’t help anyone, so I had no choice but to cry and hide.

And as soon as the police arrived, the two men stormed into the scene of the fight, taking the police with them.

As the police whistled, all those who still had the strength to run away threw their weapons and ran away, and the two ran to the scene shedding tears of fear.

“Yuri, are you okay!? W-You even have Youngbae?!”

“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh, Eunji… Seongjin… Seongjin… Ugh… Seongjin…”

Yuri Lee was so shocked that she couldn’t even speak properly.

“Aaaaah! Seongjin senior! Uh, what should I do? My head is bleeding… Seo, senior!? Are you okay? Open your eyes!”

Choi Soo-yeon, who was screaming, saw her blood pouring from the fallen Han Seong-jin’s head and went into a state of panic, shaking her whole body.

Without even having time to think about it, she took off the shirt she was wearing, grabbed it with her teeth, and tore off the side hem.

I couldn’t say I was strong, but when I was pushed into an extreme situation, I developed superhuman strength without even realizing it.

Choi Soo-yeon clumsily bandaged Han Seong-jin’s head with torn pieces of clothing.

As she shivered without even thinking about putting her clothes back on, Eunji Jeong put them on for her.

“Seoul, Seongjin! Are you okay… Ahhh!!! Ah…”

Lee Yu-ri, who regained her freedom, ran to Han Seong-jin and fainted from shock when she saw that his condition was worse than expected.

An ambulance followed the police car, and the medical team was the first to leave for the hospital, putting Han Seong-jin on a stretcher in response to the crying calls of Choi Soo-yeon and Jeong Eun-ji.

#####

“I see.”

“Sniff… Slurp… I really thought you were going to die… Ugh…”

“It’s okay. I’m alive like this and can be discharged soon. Ah, but…”

As I regained my strength, I later became worried about realistic aspects.

“I don’t have money to pay hospital bills… Even if I have medical insurance…”

“That’s… I told this to the academy today. You saved me and that’s what happened. If we talk things over with the teachers, the school might provide support. Sigh…

And don’t say things like I don’t accept this! If you say yes, definitely take it! Even if it doesn’t work out, I, Eunji, and Choi Suyeon will try anyway, so accept it unconditionally!”

“… Yuri, why are you so…”

“What?”

I was choked with guilt and sadness when I saw Yuri, who had been through something big herself, come to the hospital in the evening to nurse me and try to help me with the hospital bills in any way she could.

“I… Am not qualified.”

“…”

“I always said that I wanted to have more women besides you, and in fact, I dated Soo-yeon… And even though it was before we met, I even had your sister as my sex partner… And I even hurt her badly…

Just in this case, the Eunbong guys were targeting you because you were my girlfriend. You were hurt because you were with me, your sister was hurt too, the two of you fought, and you almost got into real trouble this time.

But why… You don’t say anything that you blame me for?”

“…”

“I… Make things difficult for you when I’m next to you-“

“You idiot!”

Puck!

Yuri, who was whimpering and crying, got angry and tried to hit my uninjured leg, but when she realized that I was the patient, she withdrew her hand.

However, she still looked angry and raised her voice.

“I just have a hard time when you’re next to me? Who says that!”

“But…”

“So… Were you planning on saying you should break up with me? You bastard! Just say something shameless like you always do!”

“Yuri, I-“

“I am!!!”

Tears flowed from Yuri’s eyes.

“Ugh… I… It was the first time someone loved me like this. He didn’t take it for granted that I packed him a lunch, and no matter what I cooked for him, he said it was delicious and ate it! Even though I pushed him away like that, he continued to be kind to me! 〈 Br〉
I thought the body was definitely the goal, but instead, when the opportunity comes, they think of me and cherish me! I liked all those aspects of you!”

Yuri’s body trembled as she clutched the blanket in my hospital room.

“Arcades! Coin karaoke rooms! It was you who taught me such entertainment! It was you who made me into a woman! After getting to know you, I realized that there are many things to do besides studying!

Because of you, I came to like going to the arcade more than studying. Because of you, I came to like going to a coin karaoke room and singing more than going to the library to buy workbooks! It was so nice when I gave up student council work and participated in sports day with you!

However! For making me like this! I became like this because of you, but is that why you were thinking of breaking up with me? That’s all I’ve done for you!? He said he loved me!! Why did I nurse the sick here for three whole days?”

Yuri buried her face in her hospital bed and cried bitterly.

“Huh… I… Saw you trying to save me until the end even though things were going like that… Huh… Sigh… I thought you really cared for me and loved me… But in reality, I couldn’t do anything. For helping me…”

“… Yuri, I’m sorry. I don’t want to break up with you either. I’m just afraid that you won’t consider me happy anymore-“

“Sniff… Then don’t ever say something like that again!!! Ugh… If you say something like that one more time, I won’t forgive you ever again!!!”

“… Okay. I’m sorry, Yuri.”

“Well… You don’t know what to say other than say you’re sorry.”

“Thank you, Yuri. I love you.”

“Well… I love you too.”

Since my head was still bandaged, and I had an IV inserted, we only hugged very lightly instead of kissing.

After feeling a suffocating distance for a week, our relationship became back to normal… No, it became closer than before.

However, the fact that my relationship with Yuri worked out was resolved, and there were still many things I had to take responsibility for.

“Yuri, when I’m fully healed, can I meet your sister and talk to you?”

“Sister?”

“Yeah. I told her… No.”

For a moment, I realized that she was naturally calling me informally because of her previous habits, so I corrected her.

“I did something terrible to your sister. I want to meet her, have a proper conversation, and apologize. She probably won’t want to see me, but…”

“Probably not.”

Yuri answered as he peeled the apple next to her.

“You don’t know how much she was shocked and cried when she found out what happened to you. She probably won’t say no if you ask her to meet you to talk.”

“Really? Then I’m glad… Oh, and I have to say thank you to Suyeon and Jeong Eunji too.”

“I’ll go to the academy tomorrow and talk about it.”

After peeling her apple, Yuri took a piece with his fork and put it in her mouth.

Then she made an ‘ah’ sound as if she remembered something.

“Oh, that’s right. Now that I think about it, there’s something I wanted to tell you…”

“What is it?”

“But it’s a bit too much to say now… It might be dangerous if I get angry and my head starts bleeding.”

“It’s okay. Look here. Your heart rate and blood pressure are both normal.”

“No, it’s still a bit…”

“Oh, what is it? It makes people wonder whether to bring it up.”

“Um… I’m not sure yet, so can’t I just listen and get excited?”

“Okay, okay.”

I answered, but Yuri still looked at me with an uneasy expression and opened her mouth very slowly.

I keep squinting at the numbers on the device to see if my condition is going to get weird.

“That incident on Friday… I think Gong Young-bae did something.”