KTSR | Chapter 38

Mumbling about how warm it was while not even being fully conscious, he looked almost possessed, like a bizarre creature.

Kwon Hyeongdo frowned deeply and looked down at Ijin.

“Is he completely out of his mind now?”

“Just stay still. Please. Please…”

Sensing that he was about to be pushed away, Ijin shook his head frantically and burrowed deeper into Kwon Hyeongdo’s embrace. Kwon Hyeongdo had his right calf resting on his left thigh, crossing his legs, which pushed Ijin’s body backward, leaving only his upper body in the embrace.

Even that was enough. Ijin inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb the warmth emanating from Kwon Hyeongdo’s body.

“Do you like it?”

Kwon Hyeongdo asked with a chuckle. Ijin didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to answer; it was obvious.

“You only become cute and docile when you’re stripped naked and crying or in so much pain you think you’re dying, huh?”

If Ijin had been in his right mind, he would have told him to shut up with that nonsense. If he had been in his right mind, he wouldn’t have been clinging to Kwon Hyeongdo like this in the first place. The high fever had melted away Ijin’s rationality, teaching Kwon Hyeongdo something new.

Kwon Hyeongdo’s eyes gleamed. With Ijin’s head lowered, his thin neck was exposed. The padding and shirt parted slightly, revealing a glimpse of his pale back—a place that seemed to beg for touch. Kwon Hyeongdo blew warm breath into his hands, rubbed them together, then slipped them inside Ijin’s collar, roughly massaging his chest, sides, and back.

“Haah.”

Even though he was already in pain as if he’d been beaten with a club, the hot hands pressing down made Ijin gasp, his mouth agape. He groaned as if saliva might drip out, but fortunately, the waiting patients were all elderly.

In fact, he didn’t realize that even those elderly patients had already left.

“…Patient Ijin.”

Ijin couldn’t tell if it was pain or relief, warmth or heat, as he sank further into Kwon Hyeongdo’s embrace. He kept dozing off and waking up.

Before he knew it, Kwon Hyeongdo had uncrossed his legs, creating space for Ijin to fully lean into him.

“Seon Ijin, patient!”

Ijin groaned and opened his eyes wide.

“Come in.”

Lifting his head from Kwon Hyeongdo’s chest, he saw the face of the nurse calling him. It was the expression of someone who had just witnessed a couple groping each other’s thighs and groins in broad daylight at a terminal.

But it would have been better if they were a couple. Ijin was pretty, but anyone could see he was a man, and Kwon Hyeongdo was obviously a man too.

“Please come in quickly?”

The urging gaze was cold.

“Ah, open wide.”

The director of ‘Jeong Internal Medicine’ was so elderly that one might worry if opening his mouth wide would even reveal anything inside. Ijin rubbed his itchy, feverish palms on his thighs and rolled his eyes.

“Please stay still.”

The nurse who had witnessed his crazy behavior in the waiting room coldly scolded him.

He had nothing to say. Ijin could only think he must have been possessed at that time.

It was so cold, and the only warmth he could find was from Kwon Hyeongdo, that bastard. They say dogs have high body temperatures, and he even resembled that. What could he do to survive? Ijin decided to comfort himself with that thought. He had to.

“Your throat is very swollen. Get an IV drip.”

The elderly doctor adjusted his thick glasses and scribbled something down. Ijin stared blankly at the chart.

“Is it just a cold?”

Kwon Hyeongdo showed more interest. He didn’t forget to comment on whether it was writing or worms.

“It’s just a cold. Get an IV, take some medicine, and rest well, and you’ll be fine. You’re young, so you’ll recover in a day.”

Ijin thought about the race two days later. If he could recover in a day, he might be okay.

The nurse curtly told him to come over for the IV. Wrapped in a rough, sky-blue blanket, Kwon Hyeongdo followed him in.

“Guardians should wait outside.”

“Can’t I just stay here?”

Whatever the nurse thought of their relationship, she sighed and said, “Fine.”

Kwon Hyeongdo sat on the small hospital bed and looked around. It was a narrow space, barely fitting two beds.

“Do patients get admitted here?”

“They can’t be admitted. It’s just for getting nutrients or IVs.”

At those words, Kwon Hyeongdo asked Ijin.

“Get some nutrients too. Why is a young kid like you so weak? Yeah, let’s get the expensive one. So you can roll around on the weekend.”

“If you’re paying for the nutrients, I’ll take it. If you’re putting it on my tab, forget it.”

Ijin replied curtly. Kwon Hyeongdo, still feeling the lingering sensation of Ijin trembling, retorted while touching his side.

“Are you going to save up and become rich?”

“Am I going to save up and become rich? Should I escape this shabby place or not?”

Perhaps misunderstanding his affectionate reference to his hometown as a shabby place, the nurse’s gaze turned even more hostile.

He didn’t have the energy to correct it. Kwon Hyeongdo added nutrients on his own, saying, “It’s a debt.”

He hoped that getting the IV would give him enough energy to argue. Ijin closed his eyes tightly.

A needle was inserted into his arm, and a yellow IV pack and a clear liquid pack were hung. Hearing it would take an hour, he thought Kwon Hyeongdo would leave, but the guy sprawled out on the bed next to him.

“Guardians should wait outside.”

“Ah. Then give me a nutrient shot too.”

Annoyed by his stubbornness, Ijin pulled the blanket over his head. It smelled like freshly dried laundry.

You know this isn’t covered by insurance, right? Do you have an insurance card?

He heard them chatting, but he soon fell asleep and didn’t hear the rest.

***

After a deep sleep, the IV pack was almost empty. Ijin looked at the IV stand with a dazed expression and then turned his head to the side.

Next to him, Kwon Hyeongdo, who seemed like he would have an excess rather than a deficiency of nutrients, was lying down and fiddling with his phone.

“Damn it. The battery’s dead.”

Not realizing that Ijin had woken up, he rummaged through his pocket, took out a battery, and replaced it. Surprisingly, his movements and the sound were not noisy but quiet.

As soon as Kwon Hyeongdo replaced the battery, he immediately made another call somewhere. Ijin blinked and then fell back asleep.

“Wake up.”

When he opened his eyes again, the IV pack had been completely removed. Kwon Hyeongdo, seemingly craving a cigarette, was holding a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

“Hurry up and get out.”

His body still felt sluggish. However, his fever seemed to have gone down to a mild level. As Ijin moved slowly like a slug, the impatient Kwon Hyeongdo went out and took care of the bill in advance.

Ijin was surprised to see his insurance card coming out of Kwon Hyeongdo’s pocket.

“Why do you have that?”

“You think that’s all I have? I also have your ID card.”

Kwon Hyeongdo proudly showed Ijin’s ID card from his wallet.

After thinking about it for a moment, it seemed obvious. All the things that could prove his identity had been taken by the gangsters.

“I should follow Seon Ijin’s example and gather dust to become a conglomerate. Are you going to put the hospital bill on my tab?”

“…”

He couldn’t tell if it was a joke or serious.

Ijin glanced at Kwon Hyeongdo’s side profile, catching the sly smile on his lips, then turned and left the hospital first.

Outside, a few students loitered nearby.

Elementary school kids giggled as they held fat, mouse-like pork cutlets and cups of steaming tteokbokki.

Ijin watched them as if he were watching a foreign drama—something detached from his own reality.

There was a time when he had envied such ordinary lives.

But now, he didn’t even have the luxury to feel envy, much less reminisce.

He had become numb from being beaten so often, his common sense dulled to the point where he wondered if he had ever known what a normal life was.

Kwon Hyeongdo, who had followed him out, casually slung an arm around Ijin’s shoulder and asked.

“Want some more bungeoppang?”

Ijin shook his head, still feeling like the fish-shaped bread was sitting in his stomach.

“No, thanks… You’re just going to put that on my tab too, right?”

“You’re pretty quick-witted.”

Kwon Hyeongdo chuckled and dragged Ijin along, insisting on buying more bungeoppang for him.

As he was being dragged along, hugging the warm bread bag, Ijin looked back. The town was getting farther away. The laughing students and the merchants all seemed like they were from another world.

The bag filled with just bungeoppang felt heavier with each step.

***

“This isn’t the way back to the Colosseum.”

Kwon Hyeongdo scratched his nose indifferently as he replied.

“Let’s stop by somewhere first.”

“Where? If you’re going to complain later about how slow I am, just drop me off and go.”

“Even if I drop you off and you go right away, your work speed is slower than a snail. Look at your condition. You might make mistakes, but you don’t look like you can finish things thoroughly. For your information, I can tolerate slowness, but I can’t tolerate mistakes. Unless you want to get beaten up while you’re already in pain, just stay put.”

Ijin kept his mouth shut. His head was still ringing, and his body felt extremely tired. He wasn’t confident he wouldn’t make mistakes with numbers, just as Kwon Hyeongdo said. It was annoying that the guy was right sometimes, but Ijin decided to be a bit cunning. Resting would be the best thing to do before the upcoming race.

Kwon Hyeongdo’s car turned right at the fork where the road split between the Colosseum and Trevi C.C. They were heading towards Trevi. Trevi was much further inside, and along the way, motels and inns were brightly lit on the side, with big signs saying “Vacancy.”