В«Song Joon!В» Frightened, IВ ran towards him. В«Song Joon!В» IВ called, but he did not react at all and at the same time looked so pale that IВ doubted whether he was alive.
I called our agency’s duty doctor and tried my best to bring Sung Joon back to his senses. At the moment when the male doctor rushed into the office, I was sitting on the floor and begged Sung Joon to regain consciousness.
The doctor, using some liquid from aВ small bottle, brought Sung Joon back toВ consciousness, and IВ breathed aВ sigh ofВ relief, feeling tears flow down my cheeks.
В«The car is already waiting. Can you get there? Are you strong enough?В» The doctor addressedВ him.
«Uh-huh…» Sung Joon breathed out as he struggled to his feet.
IВ held him byВ the elbow and helped him finally get into aВ stable position, after which IВ led him toВ the elevator, which took us down toВ the underground parking.
В«Hold on toВ me,В» IВ suggested, still holding on toВ his elbow. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and IВ could feel how weak he was rightВ now.
Not without difficulty, we got toВ the car, where the door ofВ the minibus was already open for us. IВ helped Sung Joon into the seat and, despite his feeble attempts toВ protest, buckled him inВ with my seat belt, then took my usual seat, keeping my charge inВ sight.
В«Stop staring at me. Burn aВ hole inВ me.В» He spoke toВ me inВ aВ weak voice.
В«Do you want water?В» IВ asked and fussily began toВ search inВ my bag for aВ bottle ofВ water that had been started. IВ opened the bottle and handed it toВ Sung Joon. He accepted the bottle and inspected its contents warily, and IВ could tell from his expression that he was dissatisfied with the fact that they had already drunk from it. В«Seriously? Even inВ this situation, are you squeamish?В»
В«Only you drank it?В» He asked warily.
В«Yes, just me. IВ opened it inВ the evening and took aВ couple ofВ sips. IВ bought it from the machine. Jin-young, do you have any disposable cups?В» IВ turned toВ the driver, frantically trying toВ find aВ way out ofВ this situation.
«Yes, I’ll give it to you now,» the young man began to rustle and after a moment handed me several glasses, while we stopped at a traffic light.
IВ thanked him, then poured water into glasses, one ofВ which IВ handed toВ Sung Joon, and the other IВ kept for myself and hurried toВ drain it. Sung Joon waited until IВ had aВ drink, after which he himself began toВ drink water inВ careful sips.
В«How do you feel?В» After aВ long silence, IВ asked.
«It’s better. You have nothing to worry about. It’s normal.» He exhaled wearily.
В«We arrived.В» Jin-young announced as he braked smoothly inВ front ofВ the hospital building.
IВ got toВ my feet, after which IВ helped Sung Joon get out ofВ the car and realized that we had stopped not at the main entrance, but at the service one, where they were already waiting for us. The doctors acted so harmoniously, as if this was not the first time, inВ addition, Sung Joon was absolutely calm.
Me and Jin-young were left waiting inВ the room reserved for Sung Joon while he himself was being examined.
В«We need toВ tell the manager,В» IВ reasoned out loud, looking out the window at the city shining with various lights, after which IВ took my work phone and started typing aВ message toВ Min Hyuk, when suddenly someone snatched my smartphone fromВ me.
В«No need toВ tell anyone!В» Sung Joon told me, after which he went toВ the hospital bed and carefully lay down onВ it.
«I have to report that…»
В«Min Hee, just go home. Jin-young, take her home.В» Sung Joon spoke indistinctly as if he had no strength left atВ all.
«No. I’m not going. I’ll stay with you,» I protested and left the room to talk to the doctor, who was just on his way to Sung Joon’s. After greeting him, I asked him to give me a short conclusion regarding Sung Joon’s condition.
I listened attentively to the doctor and felt how with every word he said I was getting more and more angry, and when I received all the information, the doctor and I entered Sung Joon’s room, who was lying with his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
В«Mr. Sung Joon,В» the doctor addressed him and my ward carefully sat down, В«now you will be put on aВ drip.В» After these words, aВ nurse suddenly appeared, hiding her eyes from our superstar, as if on automatic mode, stuck aВ needle into aВ vein on his arm and hurried away. В«As soon as the solution is over, you can go home.В»
В«Thank you,В» Sung Joon thanked, after which he returned his head toВ the small pillow.
IВ saw the doctor off and went back toВ the room toВ sit inВ the leather chair from which IВ could look at Sung Joon.
He lifted his head slightly, obviously noticing my gaze.
В«Something you want toВ say?В» He exhaled wearily.
«I’m struggling to contain my anger and rage, realizing that now there will be no sense from the fact that I will tell you everything I think.» I answered, nervously tapping my foot on the floor surface.
В«And what do you think?В» He asked, looking at me point-blank with aВ look full ofВ sincere interest.
«I’m angry. You lied to me. Yesterday you had a busy day, and you didn’t eat anything at lunch, but only looked at me and said that you were fed on the set. Today you lied when you said that you had lunch. So you Haven’t eaten anything for two days? I summed it up in amazement.
He took aВ deep, slow breath and nodded his head, confirming my suspicions.
«It’s not the first time, so don’t worry about it. And don’t think that you’re in any way to blame.» He answered in a muffled and still weak voice.
В«At aВ moment like this, you still think about me,В» IВ chuckled sadly, feeling tired and regretting that Sung Joon had toВ go through this.
Our eyes met again, and I suddenly realized that I felt sympathy for this amazing young man who is trying his best to hide his good heart behind a wounded soul. The sadness in his eyes made my heart clench painfully. And it seems that right now I’m starting to get to know the real Sung Joon. And I was afraid that he was hiding his wounds, the depth of which, it seemed, could not be measured.
I knew I should look away, but I couldn’t control myself until I got a text from Alex on my phone. I blinked in confusion and took out my personal smartphone from the pocket of my denim jacket. A friend wrote that he was preparing a surprise for me, and very soon I will hear from him about this. I couldn’t help but smile and quickly typed out a reply saying that I was looking forward to hearing from him about it.
В«Did something good happen?В» Sung Joon suggested inВ aВ suspicious tone.
В«Nothing special. Best friend made himself known,В» IВ replied, returning the phone toВ its place.
В«Are you close toВ him?В» He asked, covering his eyes.
«We have been friends for almost twenty years. My mother and I lived in his parents’ house in America when I was three.»
В«And the father?В» Sung Joon continued his interrogation, lying with his eyes closed.
«I don’t remember him. And I know absolutely nothing about him,» I replied, looking at my fingernails, which were about to be repainted and shaped. Due to work, I abandoned myself a little and did not care about my appearance.
В«There was no desire toВ find him?В» Sung Joon asked with sincere interest.
«There was a desire. And there is. But I can’t do it. My mother told me as a child that this topic is forbidden. There are no photographs or records about him. I don’t even know his name. Only my Russian name is Alina,» I shared my thoughts with him, and when I came to my senses, I noticed that Sung Joon was looking at me sympathetically. «I’ll call Jin-young. I’ll ask him to come back,» I said to hide my awkwardness, and then got to my feet and went to the table that was located next to Sung Joon to take my work phone from it. But Sung Joon gently grabbed my hand halfway to the smartphone.
«Don’t call him. I’m not going home today.» Sung Joon smiled weakly.
В«Do you want toВ stay inВ the hospital?В» IВ asked inВ surprise, stepping back aВ step, carefully disengaging myself from his soft grip.
В«No. IВ just want toВ be somewhere, but not at home, at work or here.В»
«I can’t leave you. You understand?» I asked, continuing to stare at him.
«So you’ll have to spend the night with me,» he replied in a tone that brought a blush to my cheeks.
«These are the inconveniences caused by fair skin,» Sung Joon laughed, «your embarrassment showed on your face right away. I’ll help you with the move. Let’s not disrupt plans because of a small misunderstanding,» he explained his words about this we will spend the night together.
В«Because ofВ aВ little misunderstanding?В» IВ asked indignantly, В«You passed out from exhaustion!В»
В«Just forget it. The drip is over. We can go,В» he stated as he removed the needle from his vein, then got toВ his feet, bending his arm at the elbow.
IВ got my things and followed him toВ the reception desk.
В«Do you have your bank card with you?В» Sung Joon turned toВ me, and IВ blinked inВ confusion, after which IВ began toВ look for aВ wallet inВ my bag. And after finding aВ map inВ it, IВ handed it toВ Sung Joon. AВ moment later, IВ received aВ notification about the withdrawal ofВ funds.
В«What? Two and aВ half million won?В» IВ asked shocked.
«I’ll get everything back. I don’t want the company card to glow here. Because Min Hyuk will get a notification right away.»
«We must inform him of what happened…»
«We don’t owe anything to anyone,» Sung Joon interrupted me irritably in the middle of a sentence, adjusting the medical mask on his face. «Let’s go. We need to get to your new house,» he announced and handed me the map, put on the hood of his sweatshirt and led us towards the service exit, where, surprisingly, Jin-young was waiting for us.
«Song Joon!» He yelled out happily as he left the driver’s seat to open the door for us. «I didn’t leave because I found out they were going to let you go home.»
«Good. You did well,» Sung Joon praised him and, on the way to his seat, patted his assistant on the shoulder, «Let’s go home,» Sung Joon announced to Jin-young, but at the same time he was staring at me point-blank.
This never-ending day will not soon come toВ an end, but concern for Sung Joon overcame my fatigue and anger.
CHAPTERВ 6
«Thought you’d have more stuff,» Sung Joon chuckled as he placed one of the two boxes of my stuff on the small coffee table in the living room of my bright and airy two-room studio.
«Didn’t think you were thinking stereotyped,» I replied as I walked out of the bedroom, where I had finished hanging my things in the dressing room a minute earlier.
В«None ofВ these templates work exactly for you,В» he grinned, leaning his shoulder against the wall and looking at me point-blank with an exhausted look.
В«You should go home. And please eat something,В» IВ pleaded with Sung Joon.
В«Only if you keep me company,В» he replied inВ aВ playful tone, and pushing off the wall took aВ few steps inВ my direction. Now we were separated byВ only aВ few steps.
He was taller than me and that gave him an advantage. IВ looked at him from the bottom up and for the umpteenth time this evening felt awkward. Sung Joon took aВ cautious step towards me and reached out toВ touch my eyelashes with his fingers. From such an unexpected gesture, IВ froze inВ place and could not take my eyes off his exhausted, but still beautiful face, which radiated sincere interest.
He ran his fingers down my cheeks and took another cautious step towards me, closing the distance between us toВ aВ minimum. IВ knew that our closeness was dangerous, but IВ wished that he would not stop, but instead gave me aВ forbidden kiss.
В«Song Joon, you have toВ stop,В» IВ barely audibly called toВ him inВ aВ broken voice and took aВ step back, hiding my eyes fromВ him.
«I don’t want to stop. For the first time in my life, I don’t want to do this,» he said in a languid voice, stepping on me until I was back against the wall. He continued to hover over me, «but… I’ll only do this because I can’t take responsibility right now,» he stated regretfully, and after a heavy pause, he turned around to head to the living room.
«Nothing like this should ever happen again!» I screamed after him, feeling the tension caused by Sung Joon’s closeness slowly leave my body, leaving weakness and disappointment in its wake.
В«IВ will be back inВ ten minutes!В» He shouted toВ me from the hallway, after which the door closed behindВ him.
IВ was so angry at myself for not being able toВ resist his pressure. And with horror IВ realized that my sympathy for Sung Joon was growing into something more.
Realizing that my strength was not enough toВ sort out the remains ofВ things, IВ lay down on aВ small double sofa, looking ahead ofВ me with an unseeing look. InВ just aВ couple ofВ hours, all my thoughts got confused, the landmarks went astray, and my peace ofВ mind collapsed.
The door squeaked toВ announce that Sung Joon had returned, and IВ got up toВ find two paper bags inВ his hands.
«I’ve brought groceries. Now let’s cook dinner together,» he announced as he made his way to the kitchen.
«Why don’t you go home? Cho Hee is waiting for you.»
«He has a meeting with friends,» Sung Joon replied as he explored one kitchen cabinet after another, «hmm, your father even prepared dishes for you. But that’s not enough,» remarked my guest who didn’t seem to be leaving.
«Min Hee, would you like to help me? This will go faster,» Sung Joon called from the kitchen, after which I leisurely walked over to the countertop, where one of the two bar stools was located to sit on it. Sung Joon washed the vegetables and then handed them to me along with a cutting board and a knife, «Let’s make fried rice with vegetables, do you mind?» He turned to me, looking at me over his shoulder.
«I’ll eat whatever you cook,» I shrugged nonchalantly and started slicing carrots, «should have just ordered delivery.»
«I don’t eat food that I don’t know the origin of,» he repeated what he had once told me.
В«Why?В» IВ asked, but he left my question unanswered, and IВ decided not toВ focus on this, surrendering toВ the simple process ofВ cutting vegetables.
«My obsession… because of my mother,» he replied after a long silence, «I don’t trust food that I don’t know anything about, for fear that it might be poisoned,» he said without looking at me, while continuing to fill rice cooker with raw rice, and then filled it with water.
«Are you saying that…?» With horror, I began to put forward my assumption.
В«Yes, my mother fed me poisoned food,В» he said quickly, hiding his grim expression fromВ me.
«Song Joon, this is…» I couldn’t finish the sentence as there were no words that could ease his suffering.
«You don’t need to say anything. I just explained my strange actions to you.»
В«IВ never thought that your actions were strange. Well, okay, at first, maybe IВ thought, but then IВ realized that you must have some good reason for this.В» IВ reasoned as if IВ was alone inВ the apartment, which made Sung Joon smile weakly.
В«IВ know that food is not dangerous for me, but IВ can not overcome my fear. Especially if IВ get this food from people IВ do not trust,В» he continued toВ decipher the code, the key toВ which IВ had been trying toВ figure out for so long.
«Wait a minute!» I blinked in confusion and swallowed nervously, frantically searching for words, «The fact that I’m tasting food for you. Should I take that as…?»
«I trust you,» he finished the sentence for me and turned so that he could look into my eyes, «consider this my official admission that I like you. And if you think it’s impossible, then it’s bad. First of all, for you,» he confidently stated, to which I raised my eyebrows in surprise, «because I will try my best to fix it.»
«Then you’ll get yourself in a lot of trouble and break millions of hearts,» I stated with a heavy sigh.
В«For the first time inВ my life, IВ care about my own heart and feelings. And IВ want toВ be selfish. IВ want toВ be with you because you make me better.В»
В«Perhaps you actually feel my attention that IВ give you as part ofВ the work, so you feel that we are close?В» IВ suggested, trying toВ contain the excitement and palpitations caused byВ his words.
«Do you think I can’t sort out my own feelings?» He smiled sadly, frying vegetables in a frying pan, which I successfully finished chopping, «before you, I had thirty-five assistants, each of whom entertained the hope of getting my attention, but… this whole illusion dissipated on the very first day. None of them succeeded and still can’t fill my thoughts and feelings the way you did, didn’t make any effort.»
