PM CHAPTER 3.4

Do-won stared at the empty seat beside him.

Draped over the chair was Han I-rok’s uniform jacket, which Do-won had taken care of. He had carefully shaken off the glass shards from the broken lighting fixture and carried it back, making sure it wouldn’t wrinkle. But without its rightful owner, the once-impressive uniform now felt like an ordinary suit.

He felt sorry, yet grateful. He wanted to scold I-rok for what he did, but at the same time… he couldn’t help but think it was a little admirable.

It wasn’t just because I-rok had saved him.

Do-won had always thought I-rok was rigid and inflexible, the type who stuck to the rules to an exhausting degree. But now, he realized just how deeply ingrained Irok’s sense of responsibility was. As the leader of their organization, prioritizing the safety of its members must have been second nature to him. He hadn’t hesitated to throw himself forward—not even for someone he disliked, but simply because it was his duty.

To be able to make that kind of decision in just a split second… It made Do-won see him in a slightly different light.

But why isn’t he answering?

The unread message indicator still lingered next to all the texts Do-won had sent. He had even called several times, but I-rok hadn’t picked up.

Just as he was debating whether to try calling again, their senior member, Seong-min, walked into the clubroom, stretching his arms.

“That’s a wrap for today! Good job, everyone. If you’re up for dinner, stick around!”

Seong-min loosened his tie roughly, clearly exhausted from the day’s work. Watching him, Do-won absentmindedly fiddled with his own tie, realizing he was still fully dressed in his uniform while everyone else had already changed.

“Oh, I just talked to I-rok hyung. He said he got treated and is fine. No major injuries. He just told everyone to go home safely.”

“Really?”

Do-won immediately perked up at the news.

“Yeah, nothing too serious, thankfully. By the way, are you sure you’re okay, Do-won hyung? No injuries at all?”

“Yeah. I’m totally fine.”

Do-won finally let himself relax, leaning back into his chair. The soft cushion absorbed the tension that had been holding his body stiff.

It was a huge relief that I-rok wasn’t badly hurt. The scene earlier had been terrifying—shattered glass and broken equipment scattered everywhere. Even while cleaning up, Do-won had been on edge.

But along with the relief, a strange sense of unease crept up on him.

So he ignored all my messages… but answered Seongmin’s call just fine.

He glanced down at his phone again, the unread message count still stubbornly there. I-rok hadn’t answered a single one of his texts or calls, yet he had smoothly talked to Seong-min.

“Hyung, wanna join us for dinner?”

“I’ve got plans. I’ll stick around for a bit, then head out later. You guys go ahead.”

Do-won smoothly declined with a half-truth, sending the others off first. A few rounds of “Good job today” echoed through the room as people filed out, and then, finally, the door shut.

Left alone at last, Do-won let out a groan, burying his face in his hands.

He’s mad.

Han I-rok wasn’t the type to ignore messages. No matter how trivial the conversation, he had never left a text unanswered. Even when scrolling up through their past exchanges, the last message was always from him.

He must be seriously pissed this time.

Do-won recalled the cold expression I-rok had worn the last time he saw him. Unlike his usual way of raising an eyebrow and lowering his eyelids as if he were begrudgingly letting something slide, his sharpened gaze had seemed to blame Do-won entirely for what had happened.

No matter how many times Do-won had deliberately tried to get on his nerves, he had never seen I-rok this furious—this utterly frigid.

…It wasn’t even my fault.

All he had done was focus on the task at hand. But since I-rok wasn’t answering, there was no way to explain himself and ease his frustration.

Maybe I should’ve just followed him to the hospital, Do-won thought. Even if I-rok glared at him. …But no. Clinging to an injured person and trying to justify himself would’ve been even more pathetic.

“Ugh, whatever.”

What a difficult person.

Outside the window, the sun had already begun to set. The sky was painted in soft orange hues, with clouds tinged in shades of pink and gold drifting lazily by. It was only then that Do-won realized just how much time had passed.

After hesitating for a long moment, he finally sent one more message—a simple apology. Then, gathering his resolve, he slipped his phone into his pocket and decided to head home as well.

But just as he made up his mind, the clubroom door suddenly clicked open.

Startled, Do-won, who had been resting his forehead in his hand, immediately lifted his head.

To his surprise, the person who entered was none other than Han I-rok.

“W-what the—?”

“What?”

Do-won, flustered, straightened his posture as he questioned him. I-rok, for his part, gave him a brief glance, seemingly just as puzzled as to why Do-won was still here.

Without saying much else, I-rok walked over to his locker and began retrieving his belongings.

Oh, he must’ve left something behind.

That made sense. Do-won grabbed Irok’s uniform jacket, which he had been holding onto, and approached him.

“Hey, uh… Are you okay? I tried messaging you, but you didn’t—”

Before he could finish, I-rok pulled his phone out of the locker.

Do-won froze.

…So he left his phone here.

All that time spent wondering why I-rok wasn’t responding—getting frustrated, feeling awkward and guilty—was completely pointless. The embarrassment hit him all at once, and his back burned with heat.

“…You called me. And left messages, too.”

I-rok glanced down at his screen and muttered in a low voice. The phone looked tiny in his large hand.

“As you can see, I left it here, so I’m only seeing them now.”

“Oh… right.”

Do-won scratched the back of his neck.

Han I-rok muttered, “How were you even planning to get to my place?” but didn’t seem to expect an answer. With a sigh, he set his phone down with a small thud.

Then, he held out his hand toward Do-won.

Not understanding at first, Do-won just stared at his open palm until I-rok gave a slight impatient motion.

“Oh.”

Finally realizing what he meant, Do-won handed over Irok’s jacket. As I-rok examined it, Do-won quickly added that he had dusted it off and made sure it was clean.

“Why are you still here?”

“Oh, I was just staying for a bit.”

“…Were you waiting for me?”

“Well… yeah, I guess. Wanted to give you this.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue, so he went with that response. But I-rok simply stared at him in silence.

What now?

One of Irok’s eyebrows twitched slightly, as if something about that answer bothered him.

“How’s your injury? Is it okay?”

“It’s nothing.”

When Do-won finally asked what he really wanted to know, I-rok brushed it off with a short answer.

“Hey, ‘nothing’ my ass!”

No matter how tough he was, there was no way getting hit by that heavy metal chunk hadn’t hurt. But I-rok just unbuttoned his shirt slowly, as if exhausted by Do-won’s fussing.

“How much was the treatment? Huh? We should make the school pay for it!”

“I already filed the claim.”

“If you had to file a claim, that means it was serious! Take off your shirt right now.”

Who does he think he’s acting tough for?

Without waiting for permission, Do-won moved behind I-rok and yanked down his already half-unbuttoned shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Let me see! I need to check how bad it is.”

“Are you a doctor? I told you, it’s nothing.”

“I feel guilty, okay?!”

I-rok, uncharacteristically irritated, raised his voice, but Do-won wasn’t backing down. Dodging I-rok’s attempts to block him, he finally grabbed the hem of the undershirt and lifted it up.

“Holy—! You’ve got a huge bruise!”

I-rok let out a slow sigh.

“Oh my god. What do we do, what do we do…”

Damn it… Damn it…! That beautiful back!

Do-won was caught between feeling bad about the large, deep-red bruise and being unable to look away from Irok’s perfectly sculpted back muscles. If a scar ended up forming, he’d feel twice the guilt anyone else would.

But… wouldn’t a scar actually look kinda sexy?

No! I’m trash!

Caught up in his thoughts, Do-won shook his head furiously, trying to snap himself out of it.

Sensing the momentary lapse, I-rok swatted Do-won’s hands away and immediately pulled his shirt back down. He even gave the hem a few irritated shakes, as if brushing off any lingering annoyance.

After shooting Do-won a brief glare, he simply continued getting dressed.

“The bones are fine. The hospital bill was just for the X-ray.”

“Hey, but still… This handsome back…”

Do-won, unaware that he had spoken his thoughts aloud, glanced worriedly at Irok’s back. Meanwhile, I-rok, who had taken off his shirt and folded it roughly, paused for a moment while pulling a new one from his locker.

“…You. By any chance—”

“Hm?”

“…Never mind.”

He let out a sigh and dropped the thought, slipping his head through the shirt.

Now that Do-won thought about it, he still hadn’t thanked I-rok properly. Even though it hadn’t been a major accident, I-rok had saved him. It was only right to express his gratitude. Choosing not to dwell on I-rok’s unfinished sentence, Do-won spoke up.

“Thanks for saving me today.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt. I was really worried.”

“…Yeah. It’s just a minor bruise, nothing worth worrying about.”

This rude bastard…

The way I-rok spoke—so curt and dismissive—made Do-won clench his fists in his mind. I’ll let it slide because I’m grateful.

By then, I-rok had finished changing. As Dowon waited for him to switch from dress shoes to sneakers, I-rok was the one to break the silence first.

“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

“Then stop being so careless.”

“Hey. I wasn’t being careless.”

I-rok didn’t seem to like that response. He shot Do-won a glare and slammed his locker shut. Bang. The sharp look made Do-won flinch slightly, but he wasn’t going to back down on this.

“Don’t make excuses.”

“It’s not an excuse. Someone knocked over the lighting—”

“I’m not just talking about the lighting. When you’re carrying heavy equipment, you need to focus. You almost tripped.”

“……”

“When you’re in uniform and performing ceremonial duties, maintaining proper posture is basic. You know that. If you’re going to lean against something or stand on one leg, what was the point of all that training?”

…Shit. He’s not wrong.

But still, Do-won hadn’t actually fallen, and it was just a quick moment of leaning against the back corner of the hall. Did he really have to go full drill sergeant over something so minor? Do-won pursed his lips in frustration.

He understood where I-rok was coming from, though. From his perspective, it probably looked like Do-won had been slacking off and ended up causing an accident. And since I-rok was the one keeping an eye on him, it made sense that he’d be annoyed.

“…Are you really mad?”

“No. It’s not even worth getting mad about.”

Yeah, you’re pissed as hell.

The coldness in I-rok’s tone had been obvious from the start. Without another word or even a goodbye, he turned around and headed for the door.

Wait, he’s just leaving like that?

Panicking, Do-won quickly grabbed his bag and rushed after him.

“Should I at least buy you a meal? Huh?”

“It’s fine.”

“Ah. Maybe I should just go home and get some rest today. Hey, let me carry your bag for you.”

“Don’t follow me.”

“Hey. Han I-rok!”

As I-rok strode ahead with his long legs, Do-won hurried to catch up. But Han I-rok never yielded, not even a little. He dodged Do-won’s hand as he tried to take his bag and even quickened his pace as if to completely shake him off.

“Ugh, that bastard!”

In the end, Dowyon lost him at a street corner. He let out a frustrated breath as he watched I-rok’s retreating figure in the distance.

“What’s his problem!”

If he was angry, he should just say so! Then Do-won could at least apologize properly! And besides, it hadn’t even been that big of an accident in the end!

Who the hell ever called that guy a robot? Judging by how emotional he got when dealing with Do-won, he was practically a hothead! Do-won huffed and stomped his foot on the ground.

Why did Han I-rok always treat him differently from everyone else?

‘Seriously, what a weird guy.’

No matter how much he thought about it, he just couldn’t figure him out.