Chapter 2.5

The calm ballad spreading inside the cafe was like a lullaby.

Although the sound of people's voices was louder than the music, it wasn't too bothersome.

He slowly blinked his eyes.

He strengthened his eyelids, which were slowly closing, with occasional stable breaths.

With his eyes closed, Won pushed the fading music a little harder.

He couldn't estimate how long he had been in that position until then.

The moment Won opened his eyes, he felt a tickling touch on the top of his head.

He was half-awake and in a daze.

He forced his eyelids open.

His gradually widening field of vision captured the glass window that clearly showed the outside.

The touch on his head remained the same.

Won shook off the unfamiliar touch nervously and stood up.

And the moment he realized the identity of that touch, his eyes twitched helplessly.

Sitting in front of him was Woo-jae.

Woo-jae was looking down at Won with innocent eyes.

Among them, what caught his attention was that his hair was disheveled.

Won's gaze turned to the electronic clock on the cafe wall.

It had only been 40 minutes since class ended.

Unexpectedly, Woo-jae's hand reached out to touch Won's forehead.

Won reflexively slapped away the hand that touched his forehead.

"Don't touch me."

"Medicine."

Woo-jae seemed to have no intention of matching Won's annoyance.

Did he come after eating?

How did he know I was here?

The weight of a thousand grams was added to his already tired eyelids.

"What medicine?"

When Won responded vaguely that he was annoyed, Woo-jae's eyes narrowed. It seemed like he knew it would happen, and he let out a short breath.

Woo-jae threw a black plastic bag onto the table.

"What is it?"

Without saying anything, Woo-jae took a sip of the coffee.

It was the coffee that Won had been drinking until he fell asleep.

I felt a warmth lingering on my forehead as if by chance.

I brushed away the discomfort and rubbed my forehead with my hand.

I rubbed my forehead until it became sore, and then belatedly opened the plastic bag.

It was medicine.

Not just any medicine that humans commonly take, but medicine with the logo of the center engraved on it.

From cold medicine to digestive medicine, painkillers.

The bag contained all sorts of medicine.

And even a water bottle that made the plastic bag feel heavy.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because you're sick."

"...."

That was a lie because I didn't want to eat with you.

This time, Won's numb eyes met mine.

Even though I clenched my jaw, I didn't avoid Won's gaze.

"Did you put a GPS on me?"

Woo-jae blinked his eyes leisurely.

A smile crept onto his face, which had not shown any emotional expression.

"Can you tell?"

Although I had a slight doubt, I blurted out the words without thinking.

But can he tell?

His face, which had been sulking, hardened.

The drowsiness that had overwhelmed my whole body quickly disappeared.

As soon as Suma quickly escaped, my mind became busy.

Where could there be a place to attach a GPS?

A cell phone?

Shoes?

Clothes?

Did I attach it to my clothes when I grabbed his wrist earlier?

My stiff eyes carefully examined Woo-jae's expression.

I thought I was maintaining a calm state, but suddenly Kwon Woo-jae started laughing heartily.

"You believe that. If the school is big, how can you find just one senior?"

How big is big?

The range of Won's actions may be small, but the campus was by no means narrow.

Even if I skipped meals, I had to go all the way to a pharmacy that was quite far from here to get medicine.

Human medicine was of little use to Suin, and the only designated pharmacies where they could get medicine were few and far between.

Even if I calculated the shortest travel time, it was tight.

Unless I knew a place where I usually set foot.

I was still skeptical. It wasn't important that I made Woo-jae laugh.

What mattered was that he was someone who would betray others.

"You brought it with sincerity, but you're not eating it?"

I couldn't figure out what kind of trick he was playing.

"I wasn't running a fever."

"....".

Because it's a lie.

There wasn't a single place that hurt.

Suin's stamina was stronger compared to ordinary people.

Unless it was a case of exhaustion, he didn't easily get sick even if he ate less, slept less, and pushed himself harder.

Did you buy the medicine knowing it was obvious?

At first, I thought he was joking.

I thought he came to make me realize firsthand that he was just a flea.

But why is he so serious?

While trying to understand his intentions, Woo-jae took the plastic bag that Won was holding.

The sound of the bag being crumpled loudly echoed.

Woo-jae soon took out a painkiller.

"Hand."

"..."

"When I say it, reach out your hand."

Suddenly, there was a white pill placed in Woo-jae's hand.

"Senior."

Unable to resist the urging, he reached out his hand.

The pill rolling on his palm looked too small and pitiful.

Won's lips trembled at last.

"I'm not in pain."

Woo-jae opened the bottle of water without saying a word.

He looked down at the bottle in front of him and then stared at Woo-jae again.

"I lied because I didn't want to eat with you."

"I know."

Even with those harsh words, Woo-jae casually retorted.

Why did he know even though he knew?

The question towards him rose again, but he sealed his lips.

It was annoying.

He drank the medicine with a stubborn face.

He immediately swallowed it, but a bitter taste remained faintly in his mouth.

"Now that you've taken it, let's go."

"If you're tired, sleep. I'll wake you up at the right time."

"Kwon Woo-jae."

As irritation built up, it felt like a mouse was running around in his head.

Won gave Woo-jae an unkind look.

Woo-jae stared at Won with his usual eyes without any hostility.

As if he had something he wanted.

"Woo-jae."

"What?"

"I'll call you Woo-jae. Like earlier."

A hollow laughter burst out for a moment. Ah, earlier, was it because I called him 'Kwon Woo-jae' instead of just 'Woo-jae' that he let me go so easily?

Even though I laughed at him in front of him, there was no change in Woo-jae's expression.

He just stared at my face intently.

The laughter that burst out unexpectedly quickly disappeared.

In the end, I gave up on trying to say it in a roundabout way.

With a weary face, I put down the bottle of water in my hand.

"...Woo-jae."

"Tell me."

"Can you leave me alone because I want to be alone?"

His intense gaze met without any deviation.

He immediately stood up.

As Kwon Woo-jae grew up, he raised his chin.

It was an unexpected income as he didn't expect to easily respond to the demand just because he called him a name.

It was quite satisfying, so a smile appeared on his lips.

The depth of the smile wasn't great, but it was a smiling face that anyone could see.

At least until he spat out a word.

"If you want, you can smoke a cigarette and come."

"..."

Woo-jae laughed boldly without hiding his grumbling expression.

Then, wouldn't he just leave the cafe before he could refute anything?

"...I'm so annoyed."

It wasn't even a momentary desire to be alone.

He lost his previous composure with a clumsy and clumsy appearance.

Won had an expression of disbelief as he watched Woo-jae leave the door.

He stared at the glass for a long time, not too long or too short.

Won leisurely watched Woo-jae and shook his head. It hadn't been 10 minutes yet.

Dim lighting caught his eye.

It was supposed to spread more cleanly, but it only scattered in Won's eyes.

He blinked slowly.

Among the many signs hitting the ground, he found the calmest footsteps.

Woo-jae's footsteps were strangely quiet.

It was calm and peaceful, so he only noticed it when he approached.

It was eerie in some unknown way.

Although his senses were always on alert, he couldn't know when or where he would appear, so it was perhaps inevitable.

It was no different from now, knowing that Woo-jae was approaching.

If he took his gaze off for a moment, he couldn't feel Woo-jae's presence.

With footsteps, vibrations, and not making a sound, Woo-jae came up to Won.

His tilted head looked down at Won.

He smelled the strong scent of cigarettes from Woo-jae.

With his head tilted, Won stared at Woo-jae with only his eyes rolling.

He chuckled softly.

It sounded like the howl of a beast that pierced the ears.

Woo-jae's hand slowly reached towards Won's eyes.

His thumb blew over his eyes as if to cover them.

He quietly watched without trying to avoid it.

The thumb that rushed into his eyes stopped right in front of him.

Won's eyelashes vibrated slightly even though he didn't blink.

Won maintained his calm expression even though he felt that his rough fingers were threatening his eyes.

The focus shifted from the fingertips to Woo-jae's eyes.

Woo-jae slowly moved his hand, which did not waver even an inch.