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Hyeori immediately turned toward the voice. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Sieun standing there, his expression serious—more than that, angry.
Seungje let out a low chuckle, catching her attention. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Sieun’s shirt, pulling him close. Their faces were now uncomfortably near.
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on him.”
“What did I tell you? Stop pretending you’re tough with me.”
“I’m not pretending, you idiot,” she muttered, watching how his eyes lingered on her lips. “If I say I’ll rip your eyes out if you hurt him, I’m not threatening you—I’m warning you.”
“You look hotter when you threaten me like that… Should I test it out?”
“Seungje—Yah!” Hyeori tried to stand, clearly upset and scared. Seeing Sieun just standing there so calmly, as if he were waiting to be attacked, was terrifying.
She tried to stand again, but the guys around her made sure she couldn’t move at all—they weren’t going to let her interrupt.
Sieun and Seungje began fighting, and she was more scared than before. Not because she didn’t believe in Sieun’s ability to defend himself, but because she had seen that look in Seungje’s eyes before.
That cruel, dangerous look.
A scream suddenly rang out, drawing everyone’s attention. Hyeori turned quickly and saw the taller boy fall to the ground, clutching his leg in pain. She didn’t understand what had happened—only that a moment later, they were trading punches again.
More accurately, Seungje was beating Sieun down.
Get up, Kang Hyeori.
She glanced at the four guys around them. They were distracted—two of them far enough not to worry about, and the other two with their guard down.
Her eyes spotted Juntae’s backpack near Gotak’s feet… and one of the guys’. She took a deep breath and lunged at the guy holding her by the shoulders.
The guy let out a yelp as he hit the ground, making the others turn around just in time to see her slam the backpack into another guy’s face. He groaned in pain and dropped too.
Hyeori stood, her right leg planted firmly, her injured one only barely touching the ground. She stared down the remaining two. One of them smirked, like this was no big deal.
He rushed her, grabbing her jacket, ready to toss her aside—but she moved first. She forced her injured foot to brace against the floor and spun quickly. Her elbow struck the inside of his arm, weakening his grip, and she followed with a solid elbow to his gut that knocked the air out of him.
She returned to a defensive stance, wincing and hopping slightly on her sore ankle, but still focused. Her eyes locked onto his.
“They’ll always aim for your weakness. Watch their eyes…” Sooho’s voice echoed in her mind.
She did. She saw it—the guy was staring straight at her injured leg.
“If your arm’s hurt, he’ll strike with his arm. If your leg’s hurt…”
As soon as the boy launched himself at her, his left leg leading the charge, she was ready. She lifted her own leg to block just in time. “If you don’t want to seriously hurt him, aim for the stomach. It won’t break anything, but it’ll be enough…”
Her fist snapped forward, hitting him right in the gut—just like the other guy.
And then, to finish it, a sharp punch to the face sent him stumbling and crashing to the ground.
Hyeori didn’t wait to watch them fall. She immediately turned and stormed toward Seungje, who was still clearly enjoying punching Sieun in the face.
That made her even angrier.
She looked to the side and grabbed one of the small potted plants sitting near the rooftop ledge. Without hesitation, she hurled it at Seungje’s back.
He let out a cry of pain and finally released Sieun, letting him fall to the ground with a harsh thud.
“Yah!”
“That’s enough,” she said, her eyes wide and glowing with rage.
Seungje just laughed, watching her step closer.
“Watch his shoulder, not his hand… his shoulder…”
She remembered Sooho’s words.
Hyeori managed to block the punch aimed at her face. Her injured foot lifted off the ground in one sharp motion, slamming into Seungje’s chest, making him double over. Without even thinking, she swung her leg again, this time landing a solid hit to the side of his head.
She didn’t want to seriously hurt him—but she needed him to stop.
The boy fell back, letting out a breathy laugh as he collapsed, eyes shut and head spinning.
“Ah… at least you’re not a cheating bastard like that piece of shit…”
Hyeori gave him one last look, then glanced at her injured foot before rushing over to Sieun, who was lying on the ground, barely conscious. The moment she saw him like that, tears started streaming down her face.
Sooho had looked the same that night.
“Sieun-ah, come on, don’t fall asleep, please…” she whispered, tapping his face lightly. Then harder. And harder. But he wasn’t responding.
“Yah!” she cried. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back slightly, but she refused to let go, crawling toward him again. “Yah, Yeon Sieun!”
Baku had just arrived on the scene and was the one trying to calm her down. But it didn’t seem to work. She was sobbing, shaking him, begging Sieun to wake up.
“Sieun-ah, you can’t fall asleep too…”
Baku looked confused, but when he saw Sieun move slightly—his hand weakly reaching out to touch Hyeori’s arm—and how she gently cupped his face in response, his confusion deepened.
“Sooho-yah… I’m sorry…” Sieun mumbled, barely conscious. “I… I couldn’t protect Hyeori this time…”
* * *
Sieun woke up suddenly.
His eyes scanned the room with slight confusion, but the moment he spotted the photo on the wall—him, Hyeori, Sooho, and Youngi at Sooho’s birthday—he relaxed.
There was only one person who’d keep something like that nearby.
He heard a soft noise coming from the kitchen and slowly sat up, wincing as pain spread through his body. Moving carefully, he peeked toward the kitchen area and saw her—Hyeori—trying to get Gotak to stop complaining.
“It’s going to get infected, Tak-ah,” she murmured, gently holding his jaw. Sieun noticed the way Gotak looked at her, eyes full of admiration. His fists clenched slightly when he saw her carefully wiping the cuts on his face and softly brushing her fingers along his cheek, maybe to keep him still.
“You were awesome back there. Did Sooho hyung teach you that?”
Sieun frowned. The irritation spiked when Hyeori smiled and nodded, then tapped Gotak’s nose like she thought he was cute.
“He taught me a lot,” she said. “I guess I just never had to use it before.”
Gotak looked around, then noticed Sieun standing there, dead serious.
“Oh—Sieun.”
Hyeori turned right away, a small, warm smile lighting up her face.
“You’re okay?” she asked, getting up and heading toward him. Sieun watched her walk, his brow furrowing when he noticed she was limping slightly.
“What happened to your leg?”
“Nothing… just a little sprain,” she replied, brushing it off. “But you—do you feel okay? Any headache?”
Gotak quietly watched the exchange, seeing how Hyeori gently ran her fingers through Sieun’s hair with a kind of tenderness he hadn’t expected. He’d once heard that Sieun hated when people touched his head.
But here he was—frozen in place, letting her do it, his wide eyes locked on hers, as if she were the only thing in the world. He didn’t flinch or complain. He looked like a little kid being taken care of by his mom.
Gotak hadn’t really believed her when she said they were close—not because they didn’t act like friends, but because Sieun never showed clear signs of liking or disliking anyone. It was hard to read him.
But now, watching from just a few feet away, he realized:
Sieun didn’t need to show an expression.
His eyes said everything.
The way he looked at Hyeori—like she was something precious, like a kid staring at their favorite toy—was more than enough.
They really cared about each other.
“You must be tired. You can sleep in my bed tonight,” Hyeori offered softly. “I don’t want you going home like this.”
“Hey, I can leave now…” Gotak murmured, standing up with some effort, his back still sore.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. You know I live a few blocks away,” he said with a small smile, stepping closer to her. He placed a hand on her head, gently ruffling her hair. “I’ll head home and sleep. Promise I won’t go anywhere else.”
“You better not,” she warned, stretching her arms to give him a quick hug. “Don’t forget to take your painkillers.”
Gotak nodded, stepping away from her with a light grin. He glanced one last time at Sieun, whose serious expression hadn’t changed.
“Later,” he called out a bit louder, waving as he walked toward the door. He grabbed a small white bag on his way out and placed a hand on his lower back. “Bye!” And with that, he closed the door behind him.
Hyeori smiled a little, then looked back at Sieun.
“Why do you look so grumpy?”
“I don’t.”
“You do,” she said, nodding. “But if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. I’m sure you have your reasons.”
She stepped back slightly, trying not to put weight on her foot.
“You’re hurt. You should sit.”
“I will, just let me clean this up first.”
“Hyeori,” he called gently. She paused and looked at him, smiling before going back to tidying up.
“I’m sorry.”
“Huh?” She stopped, eyebrows raised. “Why?”
Sieun shook his head, shoulders lifting slightly as he stared at the floor, eyes glossy. Seeing her hurt—knowing he could’ve prevented it—was eating him alive.
“Ah, Sieun-ah…” she whispered, rushing over as fast as her sprained foot allowed. “Come here, you don’t need to apologize for anything.” She wrapped her arms around him as his trembling body leaned into her, resting his forehead on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry…”
“Uhm, stop that. Everything’s fine,” she whispered, her hands now gently running through his chestnut-colored hair. “I’m okay… you’re okay… and that’s all that matters to me.”
Sieun didn’t seem to want to let go of her. His body kept shaking under her touch—he didn’t cry, but the tears were there, burning his throat, stinging his eyes, choking him with everything he wanted to say but couldn’t.
“Come on, go to bed,” she said softly, making a little pout. “If you want to talk, we can do it in the morning. But for now… I’d really like you to get some rest.”
Sieun looked at her, stepping back a little. His eyes were red but no longer teary. They locked onto hers, which were glowing under the white kitchen light.
“You and Hyuntak…” he started, voice a little lower. “You seem really close.”
Hyeori blinked, confused for a second. His tone had changed—deeper, heavier.
“Uhm… he’s a good guy…”
“He doesn’t… you know…”
She tilted her head, confused—until she saw the look on his face. Her eyes widened.
“No, no, no—of course not!” she said quickly, waving her hands in the air. “We’re just friends. He’s nice, we get along, that’s all!”
Sieun nodded, but that sour feeling in his chest didn’t go away. Something still didn’t sit right.
“You don’t have to worry, baby,” she teased with a wink. “Sooho-yah… He’ll wake up soon and maybe—who knows—we’ll give you a little brother.”
“Yah…”
“What? Juntae’s a solid candidate.”
Sieun groaned and turned away, heading back to the couch like he wanted to disappear. “Ugh, I don’t care.”
“Oh wow, two kids in one room,” she giggled, hopping over to him. “Although Sooho said he wanted a daughter. But I don’t think girls like me very much.”
Sieun covered his face with a pillow, hoping she’d shut up. But she just yanked the pillow away and plopped down beside him.
“I guess I’ll need a bigger couch. I’m sure he’ll want a sleepover with his future brother.”
She gave him a little side-hug as he pulled a face of pure disgust at the idea of Juntae joining their weird little circle.
“Get a cat instead,” he mumbled.
“I thought about it… but cats don’t really like human company.”
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