Chapter 34
I almost laughed out loud.
After having a hole pierced in my chest, what was a ruined hand compared to that?
“It’s better than almost being kidnapped and killed.”
“But that won’t happen again, right?”
“Did you think I would be kidnapped like that last time? You didn’t know.”
Boss.
As I added those words forcefully, Baek Ha-won narrowed his eyes.
His gaze, which had returned to my fingertips, intensified momentarily before he lifted his eyes to meet mine.
“Okay.”
Just as I was about to smirk at his unexpectedly easy permission, a languid voice interrupted me.
“But in return…”
With dark eyes as deep as an abyss, an unease poured out without restraint.
Baek Ha-won, who had repeatedly defied my expectations, had clearly lost the preset settings of a character in a novel.
Otherwise.
“If you call me ‘oppa’ instead of ‘boss.'”
I couldn’t bring myself to say such words to Yeon-byeol.
I couldn’t hide the shock in my widened eyes.
Did I mishear it? Was it a misunderstanding?
In my rigid mind, there was only the certainty that I had clearly misheard something.
Yeon-byeol hated being called ‘oppa.’
He was more than just reluctant; he detested it.
“I found it annoying to hear.”
The intense gaze that lingered on the tip of my fingers had now turned towards me.
Whenever I faced those pitch-black eyes, I couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling of being prey in front of a predator.
“I’m not your boss, am I?”
He wasn’t the type to make jokes. It was undoubtedly sincere.
But even knowing that, there was an intense desire in me to deny what I heard.
Oppa?
To uncomfortably call Baek Ha-won ‘oppa’?
“If it’s a get-well gift…”
Looking at Baek Ha-won incredulously, I scoffed at him as if he were absurd.
“So you’re giving me a chance now.”
His whispered words, as if joking, didn’t feel like a joke to me at all.
Suppressing the urge to strike that smiling face, I clenched my fist.
There was nothing I could do. Driving the muzzle into my skull once was enough. So, I absolutely had to learn how to shoot.
For that, obtaining Baek Ha-won’s permission was an undeniable reality.
“Oppa.”
Swallowing curses inwardly, I forced a patronizing smile.
“Now it doesn’t bother you anymore, oppa?”
Dragging it out further here would only bring enjoyment to that man, so I thought it better to finish quickly.
“Hah.”
Baek Ha-won let out a faint laugh with a strangely distorted face.
Releasing my hand that he had been holding onto all this time, his hand came unexpectedly closer in a different direction.
Lifting my chin as if tickling it, Baek Ha-won leaned in another inch closer.
I could feel my face burning from the hot touch of his hand, as if tickling the tip of my chin.
This bastard. My clenched fist trembled uncontrollably.
The weight of his inevitable gaze felt unfamiliar. It crushed me, leaving me unable to move.
In that brief moment when our gazes met, I chewed on countless curses, but not a single one escaped my lips.
Because if I did, Baek Ha-won might as well have chewed me up and spit me out right then and there.
“Oppa. Oppa.”
I said forcefully, with each syllable pronounced distinctly.
Baek Ha-won laughed again. It felt almost like a mocking sneer, directed at who knows where.
Only then was my chin freed, and I sat down on the bed, rubbing my sore jaw.
Baek Ha-won reached out and pressed the switch. In an instant, darkness engulfed the room.
“It seems like there’s been a change in attitude.”
My vision, still unfamiliar with the darkness, was shrouded in black.
Despite the half-mocking tone in the voice that stood out distinctly in the unfamiliar darkness, I pretended not to notice and smiled.
A change in attitude.
“That was enough of an experience for a person to change.”
That was the question I wanted to ask.
What kind of change in attitude made him want to hear me call him ‘oppa’?
“If the doctor says it’s okay to hold a gun, there will be someone willing to teach.”
Baek Ha-won buttoned up his shirt sleeves and turned away. Watching his retreating figure, I opened my mouth.
“I’m eager to learn quickly.”
Whether he heard my muttering or not, his steps halted. A slight surge of courage and defiance arose, perhaps because we weren’t making eye contact.
“I’ve just found another place where I want to use what I’ve learned.”
The laughter that followed seemed to urge me on, as if saying, “Well, if there’s something to try, go ahead and try it.”
—
“He called for you.”
The endlessly unfolding sea sparkled brightly.
After days of incessant rain, the sky was clear without a single cloud. The scenery spread beneath the deep blue sky was unrealistically beautiful to the point of being unpleasant.
Under the flag adorned with the pattern of Baekcheon, a ship was approaching.
The change of seasons due to the temperature of the blowing wind didn’t feel quite real.
“The weather is really nice today.”
I shifted my gaze, which had been focused out the window, slowly towards Angel, who was standing at a considerable distance away.
“Today seems like the perfect day for Angel to return to the sky. That’s why I called you.”
Leaning against the window frame, I smiled. It was just idle chatter depending on my mood, but Angel’s face looked pale.
“Why haven’t you been coming in the morning, afternoon, or evening lately?”
“You’re all better now.”
“No, I’m not. I’m still in pain.”
“Uh, where…”
Angel hesitated, took a step closer, then quickly retreated as I stood up from the chair.
I barely managed to suppress the laughter that wanted to burst out at his continuous glances towards the door, feeling like an anxious puppy.
With a sad expression drawn on my face, I approached Angel until we were face to face.
“Angel seems to be distancing yourself from me, so it hurts here.”
When I lightly tapped Angel’s chest with my fingertips, his expression wilted.
“I just got worse a moment ago.”
I raised my lips as I met Angel’s faintly trembling eyes.
“So you have to come check on my condition frequently from now on, Doctor?”
Remembering the embarrassment I felt when Baek Ha-won didn’t tell me that Angel would come, I still felt choked up.
I wanted to shove it back to Baek Ha-won and make him experience the same thing, but I gritted my teeth for now, thinking about my future ahead.
There wasn’t much difference between my situation in Utopia and now.
What’s the point if I can wander around? There’s no one to exchange even meaningless words with.
So, even just this one person felt urgent to me. I don’t ask for much.
Just situations I can’t see and a little information.
“And I have something to ask.”
“You said you wouldn’t ask anything if I told you what the medicine is…”
“When did I say that? I just said I wouldn’t ask about your real name.”
Angel’s already round eyes seemed like they could spill tears at any moment, grew even larger.
“Angel seems to keep forgetting.”
“…”
“I’m being very patient with Angel.”
As I brushed off Angel’s white robe, tears began to form in his jewel-like eyes.
Angel pursed his lips and shook his head vigorously.
Although not tall, he seemed infinitely small compared to me, even though he was just a hand’s breadth taller.
“So, whose side are you on?”
Angel’s eyes widened to their limits.
“I’m a little busy. Let’s just act cool about it, okay?”
“W-what are you talking about? I don’t…”
“Is it Yugyeom? That bastard Yichan sent you, right?”
Watching his trembling eyes, I felt uneasy myself.
It felt like tormenting a lost puppy, but finding my own way was a priority. Firmly determined, I was about to dig deeper into the matter when suddenly…
“No! First, let’s contact the boss…”
“Move!!”
The commotion beyond the door abruptly burst open without even a knock.
The face rushing towards me, with tousled blue-tinted hair, belonged to someone I had forgotten.
Before I could even recall his name, he had reached me in an instant, grabbing my hand and pulling me into an embrace.
“Yeon-byeol.”
His voice, accompanied by ragged breaths, trembled faintly. Not just his voice, but the trembling was palpable in the embrace as well.
In my blurry vision, a cute dolphin-shaped earring appeared.
“I was worried, you naughty girl.”
Worried. That unfamiliar word made me clench the hand that was pushing him away.
Just as I was about to push him away, he suddenly pulled back with a loud sound.
“Miss, without the boss’s permission, you can’t enter here.”
The voice blocking my path, belonging to Angel, sounded as stiff as someone else’s. I aimed the gun, which Angel had somehow produced, at him.
“What’s this, just a little mouse?”
But soon, Angel’s body trembled at the harsh voice that followed. Unable to hold back the laughter that bubbled up, I grabbed Angel’s gun barrel. Then, turning my head, I faced a face that was now vividly remembered.
His hair, dyed not sky blue but a deep blue, was bluer than anything outside the window.
A gentle breeze tousled his hair.
“It’s been a while.”
“…”
“Doc.”
As our eyes met, the stern expression on Doc’s face softened.
I smiled as I faced that expression. It was a genuine smile.
Doc ran his fingers over his cracked lips and twisted his handsome eyebrows.
Chapter 34
I almost laughed out loud.
After having a hole pierced in my chest, what was a ruined hand compared to that?
“It’s better than almost being kidnapped and killed.”
“But that won’t happen again, right?”
“Did you think I would be kidnapped like that last time? You didn’t know.”
Boss.
As I added those words forcefully, Baek Ha-won narrowed his eyes.
His gaze, which had returned to my fingertips, intensified momentarily before he lifted his eyes to meet mine.
“Okay.”
Just as I was about to smirk at his unexpectedly easy permission, a languid voice interrupted me.
“But in return…”
With dark eyes as deep as an abyss, an unease poured out without restraint.
Baek Ha-won, who had repeatedly defied my expectations, had clearly lost the preset settings of a character in a novel.
Otherwise.
“If you call me ‘oppa’ instead of ‘boss.'”
I couldn’t bring myself to say such words to Yeon-byeol.
I couldn’t hide the shock in my widened eyes.
Did I mishear it? Was it a misunderstanding?
In my rigid mind, there was only the certainty that I had clearly misheard something.
Yeon-byeol hated being called ‘oppa.’
He was more than just reluctant; he detested it.
“I found it annoying to hear.”
The intense gaze that lingered on the tip of my fingers had now turned towards me.
Whenever I faced those pitch-black eyes, I couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling of being prey in front of a predator.
“I’m not your boss, am I?”
He wasn’t the type to make jokes. It was undoubtedly sincere.
But even knowing that, there was an intense desire in me to deny what I heard.
Oppa?
To uncomfortably call Baek Ha-won ‘oppa’?
“If it’s a get-well gift…”
Looking at Baek Ha-won incredulously, I scoffed at him as if he were absurd.
“So you’re giving me a chance now.”
His whispered words, as if joking, didn’t feel like a joke to me at all.
Suppressing the urge to strike that smiling face, I clenched my fist.
There was nothing I could do. Driving the muzzle into my skull once was enough. So, I absolutely had to learn how to shoot.
For that, obtaining Baek Ha-won’s permission was an undeniable reality.
“Oppa.”
Swallowing curses inwardly, I forced a patronizing smile.
“Now it doesn’t bother you anymore, oppa?”
Dragging it out further here would only bring enjoyment to that man, so I thought it better to finish quickly.
“Hah.”
Baek Ha-won let out a faint laugh with a strangely distorted face.
Releasing my hand that he had been holding onto all this time, his hand came unexpectedly closer in a different direction.
Lifting my chin as if tickling it, Baek Ha-won leaned in another inch closer.
I could feel my face burning from the hot touch of his hand, as if tickling the tip of my chin.
This bastard. My clenched fist trembled uncontrollably.
The weight of his inevitable gaze felt unfamiliar. It crushed me, leaving me unable to move.
In that brief moment when our gazes met, I chewed on countless curses, but not a single one escaped my lips.
Because if I did, Baek Ha-won might as well have chewed me up and spit me out right then and there.
“Oppa. Oppa.”
I said forcefully, with each syllable pronounced distinctly.
Baek Ha-won laughed again. It felt almost like a mocking sneer, directed at who knows where.
Only then was my chin freed, and I sat down on the bed, rubbing my sore jaw.
Baek Ha-won reached out and pressed the switch. In an instant, darkness engulfed the room.
“It seems like there’s been a change in attitude.”
My vision, still unfamiliar with the darkness, was shrouded in black.
Despite the half-mocking tone in the voice that stood out distinctly in the unfamiliar darkness, I pretended not to notice and smiled.
A change in attitude.
“That was enough of an experience for a person to change.”
That was the question I wanted to ask.
What kind of change in attitude made him want to hear me call him ‘oppa’?
“If the doctor says it’s okay to hold a gun, there will be someone willing to teach.”
Baek Ha-won buttoned up his shirt sleeves and turned away. Watching his retreating figure, I opened my mouth.
“I’m eager to learn quickly.”
Whether he heard my muttering or not, his steps halted. A slight surge of courage and defiance arose, perhaps because we weren’t making eye contact.
“I’ve just found another place where I want to use what I’ve learned.”
The laughter that followed seemed to urge me on, as if saying, “Well, if there’s something to try, go ahead and try it.”
—
“He called for you.”
The endlessly unfolding sea sparkled brightly.
After days of incessant rain, the sky was clear without a single cloud. The scenery spread beneath the deep blue sky was unrealistically beautiful to the point of being unpleasant.
Under the flag adorned with the pattern of Baekcheon, a ship was approaching.
The change of seasons due to the temperature of the blowing wind didn’t feel quite real.
“The weather is really nice today.”
I shifted my gaze, which had been focused out the window, slowly towards Angel, who was standing at a considerable distance away.
“Today seems like the perfect day for Angel to return to the sky. That’s why I called you.”
Leaning against the window frame, I smiled. It was just idle chatter depending on my mood, but Angel’s face looked pale.
“Why haven’t you been coming in the morning, afternoon, or evening lately?”
“You’re all better now.”
“No, I’m not. I’m still in pain.”
“Uh, where…”
Angel hesitated, took a step closer, then quickly retreated as I stood up from the chair.
I barely managed to suppress the laughter that wanted to burst out at his continuous glances towards the door, feeling like an anxious puppy.
With a sad expression drawn on my face, I approached Angel until we were face to face.
“Angel seems to be distancing yourself from me, so it hurts here.”
When I lightly tapped Angel’s chest with my fingertips, his expression wilted.
“I just got worse a moment ago.”
I raised my lips as I met Angel’s faintly trembling eyes.
“So you have to come check on my condition frequently from now on, Doctor?”
Remembering the embarrassment I felt when Baek Ha-won didn’t tell me that Angel would come, I still felt choked up.
I wanted to shove it back to Baek Ha-won and make him experience the same thing, but I gritted my teeth for now, thinking about my future ahead.
There wasn’t much difference between my situation in Utopia and now.
What’s the point if I can wander around? There’s no one to exchange even meaningless words with.
So, even just this one person felt urgent to me. I don’t ask for much.
Just situations I can’t see and a little information.
“And I have something to ask.”
“You said you wouldn’t ask anything if I told you what the medicine is…”
“When did I say that? I just said I wouldn’t ask about your real name.”
Angel’s already round eyes seemed like they could spill tears at any moment, grew even larger.
“Angel seems to keep forgetting.”
“…”
“I’m being very patient with Angel.”
As I brushed off Angel’s white robe, tears began to form in his jewel-like eyes.
Angel pursed his lips and shook his head vigorously.
Although not tall, he seemed infinitely small compared to me, even though he was just a hand’s breadth taller.
“So, whose side are you on?”
Angel’s eyes widened to their limits.
“I’m a little busy. Let’s just act cool about it, okay?”
“W-what are you talking about? I don’t…”
“Is it Yugyeom? That bastard Yichan sent you, right?”
Watching his trembling eyes, I felt uneasy myself.
It felt like tormenting a lost puppy, but finding my own way was a priority. Firmly determined, I was about to dig deeper into the matter when suddenly…
“No! First, let’s contact the boss…”
“Move!!”
The commotion beyond the door abruptly burst open without even a knock.
The face rushing towards me, with tousled blue-tinted hair, belonged to someone I had forgotten.
Before I could even recall his name, he had reached me in an instant, grabbing my hand and pulling me into an embrace.
“Yeon-byeol.”
His voice, accompanied by ragged breaths, trembled faintly. Not just his voice, but the trembling was palpable in the embrace as well.
In my blurry vision, a cute dolphin-shaped earring appeared.
“I was worried, you naughty girl.”
Worried. That unfamiliar word made me clench the hand that was pushing him away.
Just as I was about to push him away, he suddenly pulled back with a loud sound.
“Miss, without the boss’s permission, you can’t enter here.”
The voice blocking my path, belonging to Angel, sounded as stiff as someone else’s. I aimed the gun, which Angel had somehow produced, at him.
“What’s this, just a little mouse?”
But soon, Angel’s body trembled at the harsh voice that followed. Unable to hold back the laughter that bubbled up, I grabbed Angel’s gun barrel. Then, turning my head, I faced a face that was now vividly remembered.
His hair, dyed not sky blue but a deep blue, was bluer than anything outside the window.
A gentle breeze tousled his hair.
“It’s been a while.”
“…”
“Doc.”
As our eyes met, the stern expression on Doc’s face softened.
I smiled as I faced that expression. It was a genuine smile.
Doc ran his fingers over his cracked lips and twisted his handsome eyebrows.
