Chapter 85: Password to the Heart

He applied a cold ice pack to my ankle, making me flinch and shiver. Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury, so the swelling subsided quickly. Do Yun wrapped my foot tightly with a compression bandage, as if pouring his emotions into the task. When I let out a small groan of pain, he murmured softly.

“…This reminds me of when we were younger.”

“Huh?”

“You came home hurt like this once. Back when I was in high school.”

Then, he suddenly chuckled and muttered to himself.

“Hyung, you really haven’t changed a bit from then to now. You really can’t get by without me, can you?”

At that moment, the subtle light from the streetlamp scattered in the fluttering spring breeze, and cherry blossom petals drifted down softly.

“……?”

I rubbed my eyes and looked at Do Yun again. Perhaps it was because I was drunk, but Do Yun looked even more handsome than usual. No, to be precise, he looked unfamiliar. Do Yun, who didn’t share a single resemblance with me, suddenly felt like the male lead of a story. I slapped my own cheeks.

“What’s wrong?”

I didn’t answer. After gulping down some bottled water, I thought to myself as if chanting a prayer.

‘It’s only natural we don’t look alike. We aren’t even blood-related.’

I tried to focus on thoughts of the original novel to shake off these useless sentiments. However, even that didn’t help much. Suddenly, I found myself thinking that this situation would be perfect if only a slow-tempo OST started playing.

‘What do you mean, perfect? Have you lost your mind?’

I screamed internally and tore at my hair. On the outside, however, I successfully maintained the face of someone dazed by alcohol. In my head, cliché keywords were busily being assembled and dismantled repeatedly.

‘Night, bus stop, streetlamp, flower petals, a male lead kneeling on the ground….’

I hated to admit it… but this was a scene straight out of a romance between lovers.

Furthermore, a similar situation had definitely appeared in the original novel. Choi Do Yun saves Bae Ji An from a near-miss car accident, carries her on his back after she sprains her ankle, walks her home while holding her high heels in one hand, Ji An falls asleep on Do Yun’s back, and then a kiss follows under a streetlamp in the alleyway….

Just then, Do Yun, who had finished wrapping the bandage, looked up at me and asked in a gentle voice.

“Can you walk?”

For a moment, I trembled all over as if I had been electrocuted. Do Yun’s slightly smiling face and his low voice mercilessly attacked my heart. My heart sank with a heavy thud.

‘Why… why am I acting like this?’

That warm gaze looking at me, that slightly tilted head expressing wonder, the careful touch of his hand on my ankle… every single action he took was melting away six years of resentment and even making my heart flutter. My Adam’s apple bobbed as I swallowed hard.

‘It’s because… because I’m scared.’

But deep down, I vaguely sensed that this wasn’t one hundred percent due to fear. Yet, looking into that feeling was even more terrifying. If this wasn’t fear, then what on earth was this emotion?

After a moment, I spoke with a stiffened face.

“…Do Yun, I think it’s better if we don’t act like we know each other so much at the company.”

“What? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

Do Yun looked bewildered. I lowered my head, trying hard not to show my agitation.

“It’s just, you’re not even in our team, but you keep coming by, so people are talking.”

At that, Do Yun’s expression turned serious for a moment.

“Hyung, you don’t usually care about things like that.”

“…I care a lot. It’s uncomfortable to hear. Even today…. In a way, it was our team’s dinner.”

Do Yun remained silent for a while. He asked me in a voice that was slightly lower than before.

“Is the reason you’re uncomfortable really because of other people’s gossip?”

“…….”

“It’s not because you’re uncomfortable with me?”

I should have said that wasn’t it, but the words wouldn’t come out. Do Yun remained silent for a long time before quietly putting my shoe back onto my bandaged foot. Then, he spoke in a heavily subdued voice.

“…I admit I was only thinking about myself. I apologize.”

A silence flowed between us for a while. It felt as if all surrounding noise had been muted, and only his voice could be heard. Do Yun spoke again.

“It might sound like an excuse… but I was in a rush. Even though we were apart for six years, I thought you’d be exactly the same as you were before once I returned.”

He gave a bitter smile. For some reason, he sounded like he was giving a confession.

“But that was my miscalculation and my arrogance.”

Suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to flash in my head, which had been a mess of extreme anxiety. Yes, that was it! Because of the six-year gap, I was definitely feeling a sense of unfamiliarity toward my brother, who had grown up so much. And it had to be that. I couldn’t accept any other reason.

Since he didn’t say anything more, I lifted my head slightly. I regretted it immediately. It was because Do Yun, who was kneeling on one knee before me, was staring at me intently. His jewel-like eyes reflected the streetlamp light, shining like gold.

“…I’m still not giving up, though.”

Strangely, Do Yun looked like he was about to cry. I didn’t know what he wasn’t giving up on, but out of old habit, I almost reflexively reached out to brush the corners of his eyes. But perhaps it was my imagination, as he quickly put on a pretty smile and spoke.

“Actually, I thought about carrying you home on my back, but you’d hate that, wouldn’t you? I even stayed sober on purpose just for that.”

Are you serious? As I regained my senses and made a slightly appalled face, Do Yun quickly changed his tune.

“I’ll call a taxi, so please take it home comfortably. Don’t use your leg too much and call your doctor immediately. No, actually, just take a day off tomorrow.”

“I’ll… take care of it myself.”

“…Fine, then.”

We parted ways in an extremely awkward atmosphere. After arriving home by taxi, I immediately took a day off the next day. It wasn’t just because of my ankle. My face felt hot all night, and I barely slept.

After that day, Do Yun was indeed quiet. Since I had said all that, he seemed to be minding his own business in his own way. But paradoxically, now that it was actually happening, I didn’t feel very good about it.

‘…Since when did he listen to me so well?’

I know I’m acting like a hysterical old bachelor supervisor. But it was quite distracting not to see something that was usually always there. Moreover, Do Yun didn’t even text me. I found myself frequenting the company café and the rooftop even more often for no reason. However, there was still no sign of that large shadow.

If it wasn’t me, he’d at least be chasing Bae Ji An around, but when I asked Ji An and she said she hadn’t seen him either, my nerves gradually began to fray.

‘…Is he pulling another disappearing act?’

It had only been two days, but my heart was filled with a familiar sense of anxiety.

‘I just said we should run into each other less, I didn’t say we should ignore each other entirely.’

All sorts of thoughts entered my head. Even so, I was reluctant to ask others about Do Yun’s business. It would be the perfect setup for people to say things like, –They acted so close during the workshop, but I guess they don’t even stay in touch.– And that was a bit damaging to my pride.

However, the answer came from elsewhere. Team Leader Kim Ju Hyeon struck up a conversation via the company messenger.

[The Director isn’t sick or anything, is he?]

[Pardon?]

[He looked in really bad shape yesterday, and then he suddenly took a day off today. I have something that needs urgent approval, do you know anything, Seung Hyeon?]

The hair on my head stood on end. I hadn’t even thought of that. No, I’m the one who hurt my ankle, so why is he the one who’s sick? Becoming anxious, I bit my lip nervously and sent Do Yun a text.

[Are you sick somewhere?]

But even after ten minutes, there was no reply. I truly started to feel a surge of panic. I took a deep breath and pressed the call button. However, the phone just kept ringing; Do Yun didn’t pick up. I asked Team Leader Kim Ju Hyeon again.

[Have you tried calling him?]

[He wasn’t picking up.]

In an instant, my mind went blank. He isn’t just ignoring my calls? Did he break a bone or something when we rolled together back then? No, if he were hurt, he would have gone to the hospital on his own. Even if he didn’t go to the hospital, his grandfather would have sent someone. Or is he hospitalized? I took a deep breath to suppress my runaway thoughts.

‘Calm down, Choi Seung Hyeon. It might be nothing. He might just be in a meeting.’

But contrary to my mind telling me to calm down, my hands were already applying for a half-day leave. Even as I applied, the thought that I was overreacting didn’t stop, but it didn’t feel like I could focus on work by sitting here any longer anyway.

Having done that, it suddenly occurred to me that I had forgotten something important.

…I don’t know where the punk lives.

In fact, I had consciously tried not to find out where Do Yun lived until now, but in this situation, I had no choice but to find out. Having already taken the leave and made up my mind, I toyed with my phone for a while before pressing the call button. This time, the other party picked up immediately.

–What’s up?–

I spoke in a somewhat solemn tone.

“…Noona, give me Choi Do Yun’s home address.”

The place where Do Yun lived was an apartment with a view of the Han River, and the security was quite strict. If I hadn’t contacted Seung Hee beforehand, it might have been difficult to get in. This was because, for the time being, I didn’t have the homeowner’s consent. To my troubled self, Seung Hee had said:

–When I saw him back then, his password was something really easy. Was it 0123 or 1230? Try those.–

As soon as I heard Seung Hee’s words, my heart began to beat at an insane speed. It was because a certain set of numbers had flashed through my mind. Surely not. However, when I pressed the numbers 0321 with trembling fingers, the giant iron door that boasted of its thorough security opened far too easily. As the door truly opened with a cheerful mechanical beep, I felt dizzy.

I should tell Do Yun to change his house password to something more difficult when I see him. But separate from that, my heart became as complicated as tangled thread.

‘What on earth are you thinking?’

Why would you set someone else’s birthday as your password?