Chapter 50: A Tumultuous Ride Home

Chapter 50: A Tumultuous Ride Home

I couldn’t fathom the reason behind Yoon Geon-woo’s anger. What could he possibly mean by ‘this isn’t a situation you should be in’? Surely, he shouldn’t be out and about, given his incomplete recovery?

“What do you mean?” I pressed, but Yoon Geon-woo merely furrowed his brows, offering no reply.

‘Could it be because I was trying to leave alone?’ ‘If that were the case, frankly, it seemed a rather hypocritical complaint coming from the very person who had smashed through a door and stormed out yesterday.’

I already knew, having been informed by the medical staff, that Yoon Geon-woo’s touch that day had been a mere happenstance, a side effect of the healer he had consumed.

Whatever the reason, I had intended to depart first, believing it would alleviate any mutual discomfort, and felt unjustly treated when my consideration went unrecognized. However, the resentment plastered across Yoon Geon-woo’s glaring eyes was so palpable that I simply clamped my mouth shut.

‘Should I have asked him to come along?’ ‘Only now did I notice the medical gown he was wearing, clearly from the recovery room. The sight of him filled me with a sense of unease.’

I wondered if he had been so averse to being left alone at the center that he had rushed out in such a hurry, barely dressed.

“Yoon Geon-woo, aren’t you cold?” I reached out, gently fastening the open collar of Yoon Geon-woo’s gown. He subtly recoiled then, as if to ward off my touch.

“Get your hands off me.”

“Hey, it’s March. Walking around like this, even you’ll catch a cold.” Ignoring Yoon Geon-woo’s disgruntled hiss, I proceeded to fasten his buttons, one by one. Though Yoon Geon-woo maintained his furrowed brow, he thankfully allowed me to continue without further resistance.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“I’ve received all the treatment I need.”

“Oh? That’s a relief. The medical team mentioned you still had some treatment left, which is why I came out ahead of you…”

Instead of lingering in his awkward stance, Yoon Geon-woo settled into the car, taking a seat, and to my surprise, offered a timely response. The rigid atmosphere seemed to soften, if only slightly.

However, the brief warmth that had settled in the car was abruptly shattered as Joo Yeo-rye, who had been half-crushed beneath me, began to let out pained groans.

“Ugh, if you insist on… rubbing your posterior against me like that, it proves rather inconvenient.”

“What? Rubbing… No, this is…”

“Perhaps, are you seizing this opportunity for intimate contact with someone you find appealing? Is that it?”

“What… more importantly, why would *you* be someone I find appealing?”

“Oh, it wasn’t? The epidermal contact we shared is, scientifically speaking, quite impossible without a certain degree of mutual affection.”

I had no desire to dignify Joo Yeo-rye’s drivel with a response. Yet, with Yoon Geon-woo’s face darkening into a grimace and a clear question mark hovering in his expression, I couldn’t simply remain silent.

“Are you insane…? Hey! It was just a handshake, you lunatic! Can’t you utter a single normal sentence? You write articles with such precision, so why are you acting like this?”

“Just ‘just’? To me, it was intimate contact, if you must know. Furthermore, when an area rich in adipose tissue and concentrated cells is repeatedly stimulated, biologically… *Ugh*.”

“Alright, alright, I apologize. I’ll get up immediately.”

I clapped a hand over Joo Yeo-rye’s mouth, stifling his incessant nonsense. It was true that, earlier, I had unconsciously leaned against Joo Yeo-rye, having been jostled by Yoon Geon-woo’s sudden presence. But that was truly the extent of it. I absolutely refused to allow any further unnecessary misunderstandings to accumulate, whether concerning my chest or my posterior.

‘What on earth am I supposed to do here?’ ‘If I remained seated between Joo Yeo-rye, bound by ropes, and Yoon Geon-woo, whose demeanor suggested he was ready to throttle someone, I felt I would surely lose my mind. While the car’s large chassis provided ample space in the back, the oppressive atmosphere made me think it would be better to simply ask the Tank Esper if I could ride in the passenger seat.’ ‘Good grief, to be stuck in a car with such a combination—a lunatic and a problem child…’

After a brief internal debate, I decided it would be better to simply climb over Yoon Geon-woo and exit the vehicle. However, given Yoon Geon-woo’s position blocking the exit, it seemed unlikely he would move aside willingly, leaving me in a difficult predicament.

“Yoon Geon-woo, I just need to get past you for a moment.”

It was precisely then, as I tentatively stepped over his knee, that a large hand suddenly snaked around my waist, pulling me in with a decisive grasp.

“Wha—why are you doing this?”

Before I could even register my surprise, Yoon Geon-woo swiftly pulled me towards him, settling me onto his lap. Having been in an awkward posture to begin with, attempting to exit, I lost my balance and inevitably swayed.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Where else? I was trying to sit in the passenger seat.”

“Why would *you* sit there?”

Uncharacteristically, Yoon Geon-woo continued to hold onto me. With his already formidable strength, he kept pulling me closer, until I was fully seated upon his lap.

Involuntarily, I found myself in an utterly awkward position, causing a pang of discomfort. And sure enough, Joo Yeo-rye was intently observing us.

“Oh, dear, dear… such indecency. I find myself utterly unable to witness this with open eyes.”

Joo Yeo-rye mumbled something akin to a monologue, his voice rather conspicuously loud. Naturally, he didn’t forget to push up his thick horn-rimmed glasses with his middle finger, a gesture of feigned modesty.

‘Ah… this is overwhelming.’ ‘Does chaos only exist when there’s an actual riot? My energy was steadily draining in this situation, which felt as if my very soul was being siphoned away.’

“What on earth is all this commotion?” While I was in this predicament, the car door abruptly swung open. It was the Tank Esper.

The Tank Esper surveyed our crumpled heap with a bewildered expression.

“My, my… you all seem to be getting along quite… intimately.”

At his words, Yoon Geon-woo immediately twisted his face into a grimace of disgust, while I shook my head with desperate fervor. As for Joo Yeo-rye, I had no particular desire to know what he was doing.

However, seemingly unconcerned by our various reactions, the Tank Esper swiftly moved on to the main point.

“I’ve concluded my call with the Director. Esper Yoon Geon-woo is permitted to depart with his pair. However, he will need to receive additional treatment at the SAA infirmary.”

The Tank Esper closed the car door, instructing us to sit properly as they were about to depart. No sooner had the Tank Esper finished speaking than I began to badger Yoon Geon-woo.

“Additional treatment? Yoon Geon-woo, did you really just leave without completing your treatment?”

Of course, Yoon Geon-woo had no intention of answering my question. Instead, he abruptly lifted me, practically tossing me into the window seat. He then squeezed himself into the space between Joo Yeo-rye and me, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes, effectively shutting us out.

It was a silent, unmistakable command not to bother him further, but I paid it no mind, shaking him awake.

“Hey, what exactly do you plan to do?”

“I’ll finish it at the infirmary, they said. Just mind your own business.”

“Why do you always tell me to ‘mind my own business’? Don’t give me reasons to worry in the first place.”

I continued to speak to Yoon Geon-woo, but he remained stubbornly silent. By all rights, he should have snapped at me out of annoyance, yet seeing him with his eyes closed, unmoving as a log, I began to wonder if he truly was just exhausted.

‘He mentioned he still had more treatment to receive, didn’t he?’ ‘Since all my knowledge was gleaned from scattered bits and pieces, I had no way of knowing his exact physical condition. However, I could at least check his contamination level.’

I lightly grasped the tip of Yoon Geon-woo’s fingers, which were still interlocked in his crossed arms. With only his fingertips slightly protruding, it was an incredibly fleeting touch.

Yet, sensing the brush of skin, a faint tremor ran through him.

[Contamination Level: 38%]

Yoon Geon-woo’s contamination level remained in the 30% range. There was something strangely poignant about the fact that it was still a stable figure.

Meanwhile, I thought Yoon Geon-woo’s crossed arms seemed to have loosened. I wondered if he had finally fallen asleep. I considered looking out the window, but unfortunately, the heavily tinted interior offered no view.

‘…I’m tired.’

Even though I had just come out of the recovery room after sleeping, with Yoon Geon-woo and Joo Yeo-rye finally quiet, my own eyelids began to droop.

****

By the time I regained consciousness, we had already reached our destination. Stepping out of the car, I saw the sky beyond the SAA landscape was utterly black. It seemed to be the middle of the night, yet somehow my roommate, Han Seon-ho, had come out to greet me.

“Sogum!”

“Uh… Han… Seon-ho?”

Before I could even offer a greeting, a firm embrace enveloped me. Everyone, including myself, seemed slightly startled by it.

However, knowing better than anyone how worried he had been, I couldn’t push away Han Seon-ho, who had rushed out in the late night to welcome me.

“What’s wrong with your face? And why the bandage on your neck…? Surely, your voice isn’t still gone? What about food? You haven’t skipped meals just because you were in the hospital, have you? How are you feeling?”

Han Seon-ho barraged me with questions. He even brought up the time Ophedian’s poison had temporarily stolen my voice, suggesting he had been imagining all sorts of things.

Of course, I couldn’t very well tell him that Yoon Geon-woo had sucked on my neck, leaving a mark that necessitated the bandage.

“First, it’s late… let’s go inside and talk more there.”

“Are you very tired?”

“Yeah, yeah, I think I need more sleep.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

I thanked the Tank Esper who had brought us here, told Yoon Geon-woo and Joo Yeo-rye that I’d see them again later, and hurried back to the dormitory. Or, rather, I tried to.

“Hey.”

For some reason, Yoon Geon-woo called out to me as Han Seon-ho was leading me away.

“Sogum.”

Excluding the shouts I’d heard only when I was on the brink of death, it was the first time he had uttered my full name.

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