By Zephyria 
‘Wow, he’s huge…….’
Standing up, Cha Jeong-won looked even more overwhelming. The emergency room bed had seemed short, but now it was clear—he looked at least 190 centimeters tall.
In contrast, Haon was of average height, just right for the hospital bed’s height. It was a cruel comparison.
“Anything else to say?”
“No. Nothing comes to mind right now.”
At Haon’s reply—seemingly confident yet not quite—Cha Jeong-won seemed to ponder for a moment before responding lightly.
“Alright. Good thinking.”
Then he stood up first and walked past Haon.
Watching Cha Jeong-won’s retreating back, Haon tilted his head.
It’s a relief he’s leaving on his own. A relief, but……
“What’s this uneasy feeling?”
It was as if Cha Jeong-won had expected Haon to cling to him because of the accident, and now that he was leaving on his own, it felt like a good outcome. Was this perhaps Haon’s own insecurity?
Going their separate ways was exactly what he had hoped for, yet somehow it felt a bit unsettling.
“Let’s think positively. No need to be overly sensitive.”
If they parted ways safely like this, Haon planned to return to his original daily life as if they had never met.
Haon waved his arm toward the nurse.
“I’ve finished the IV.”
“Just a moment. I’ll remove it right away.”
Just as the nodding nurse approached Haon, the IV stand next to the bed suddenly toppled over.
Startled, Haon turned his head. He stared at the stand that had crashed right onto the bed he had been lying on, while the nurse hurried over, muttering.
“It’s strange today. Why did this fall over too?”
Exactly. I’d like to ask the same thing.
It was odd, but Haon brushed it off as unimportant and began patting his pockets. At first, it was just a light check, but gradually, he started searching his body more blatantly.
“My wallet……, it’s gone.”
Moreover, his phone was missing too. Thinking about it, he had been brought here unconscious, so he had no belongings with him. Suddenly, he remembered the bag flying far away as he tumbled down the stairs.
“Excuse me, by any chance, when I was brought here, was there a phone or a bag that came with me?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure about that either……”
In his urgency, he asked the nurse nearby, but she naturally shook her head.
Haon’s gaze instinctively fixed on Cha Jeong-won’s back.
＊ ＊ ＊
“It’s a wrist sprain. Fortunately, the rest are just bruises, so there’s no serious injury elsewhere.”
The doctor examined Cha Jeong-won’s wrist while speaking.
“Avoid straining it for a while. Don’t lift heavy objects.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Cha Jeong-won cut him off coldly.
The doctor made an awkward expression.
“But if you overexert yourself……”
“I said it’s fine.”
“……Understood.”
The doctor said no more.
Haon clicked his tongue inwardly. Cha Jeong-won seemed intent on ignoring the doctor’s advice.
Given his major, he’d probably need to use his wrist a lot. Seriously.
‘He’s a lone wolf.’
That’s exactly why he’s even harder to be around.
Haon shook his head vigorously, but when Cha Jeong-won glanced back, he quickly forced a smile.
Cha Jeong-won furrowed his brow. His annoyed expression was unmistakable. It seemed he wasn’t pleased that Haon, whom he thought wouldn’t cling to him, had come over pretending to be his guardian.
But Haon had no choice either.
‘What can I do? I have nothing.’
Honestly, contacting someone from his own circle would be better than relying on this man he just met. But no matter how much he racked his brain, nothing came to mind.
‘Even in a world so dependent on phones, how can I not remember a single number? Did I hit my head when I fell down the stairs?’
He couldn’t even recall the number of the friend he was always with. It felt like a lie—his mind had gone completely blank.
‘And contacting family……. I don’t want to.’
Haon had his own reasons. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his head, which had no injuries.
In this situation, the fact that no family had come for Cha Jeong-won either gave Haon a strange sense of kinship.
“Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
Since Cha Jeong-won was staring intently, the doctor also turned to Haon and spoke.
“Ah. I was just wondering if I hit my head earlier.”
“It’s a mild concussion, but if you feel any discomfort later, please visit again.”
Under the doctor’s gaze, which seemed to ask if he hadn’t already been thoroughly examined, Haon coughed awkwardly and looked away.
The doctor gripped Cha Jeong-won’s wrist once more and changed his conclusion.
“It would be better to immobilize it. Not a cast, but a splint or protective bandage. Usually, one to two weeks is enough.”
“Not necessary.”
Cha Jeong-won cut him off immediately.
The doctor, still holding the wrist, added.
“When you fall, if you reflexively grab something tightly, your wrist bends first. The gripping force is strong, but when your body rolls, the wrist can’t withstand it. It often happens when trying to catch someone, but saying it’s unnecessary won’t make the wrist heal on its own.”
Haon, who had been silently cheering for the doctor inside, vividly recalled the sensation he felt on the stairs.
There had been a hand cradling the back of his head.
At the time, it felt like something had hit his head, but Haon’s examination results showed no issues.
‘Because of me…….’
It wasn’t that my head was tough—I sacrificed someone else’s wrist?
“Still, it’s not nece……”
“Please do it.”
The atmosphere was disrupted by a loud voice cutting through Cha Jeong-won’s consistent refusal.
Even the doctor saw not a difficult patient but an enthusiastic guardian, and Cha Jeong-won also stared at Haon.
Haon met his gaze without backing down.
“If it hurts, it should be treated. Doctor, please.”
The doctor, as if he had been waiting, asked.
“Then I’ll use a splint bandage.”
Cha Jeong-won looked at Haon with an expression that seemed to wonder what to do with this nuisance.
“You. Leave.”
“If you don’t get the bandage, I won’t leave. This wrist got injured while protecting the back of my head—I can’t just let it go.”
Haon even resorted to threats, so Cha Jeong-won stayed still, as if watching to see how far this would go. Thanks to his step back, Haon urged the doctor to proceed quickly.
Once the treatment was over, Cha Jeong-won walked straight into the hospital hallway. Haon thanked the doctor on his behalf and followed him.
It was the moment at the payment desk when Cha Jeong-won was about to pull out his card from his wallet.
“Wait a moment!”
Haon quickly grabbed his arm. Unfortunately, it was near the immobilized wrist, so he carefully shifted his grip to the elbow. Cha Jeong-won’s gaze slowly moved to the arm being held.
Deep and dark……, eyes that disliked hasty judgments.
“I’m not trying to show off, but I wanted to say it’s fine that you missed class today. Since it’s the first day, it’ll mostly be orientation……”
Haon put on his most apologetic expression and pretended to pat his pockets. Then, looking up at Cha Jeong-won, he lowered his eyebrows as much as possible.
“I’ll definitely pay you back later, so could you please cover mine too?”
“You……”
His voice grew even lower. It sounded like he was scolding Haon for being shameless.
“I’m sorry.”
Haon muttered, pretending to be utterly dejected. Even if he tried to explain that he wasn’t deliberately asking for it, it probably wouldn’t work, so he decided to just bow down for now.
“Your card, please?”
The employee, who had been watching, urged the payment. Cha Jeong-won turned his back to Haon and handed the card to the employee.
“Senior, I don’t have my wallet or phone right now. Or could you lend me your phone for a moment? There’s someone named Kim Hyun-gyu—he’s a classmate in my major. Do you have his contact?”
“Here’s your receipt.”
Cha Jeong-won handed Haon one of the two papers the employee gave him. Haon took it absentmindedly and quickly checked what it was.
“Huh?”
The receipt had his name written on it.
“Think whatever you want of me, but I’m not so heartless as to ignore someone who got hurt because of me.”
At Cha Jeong-won’s words, Haon felt an indescribable emotion welling up.
“I must have misjudged you, Senior.”
In the original work, he was someone who kept his distance from others, so Haon naturally assumed he’d do the same to him.
Cha Jeong-won turned away with a cold expression, as if there was no need to continue the conversation.
Haon watched him and cautiously broached the subject.
“I’ll pay you back soon. But, by any chance, which direction is your home? I……”
Cha Jeong-won stopped abruptly, his jaw tightening. Not only that, but his eyebrows arched high. He turned to face Haon.
He was truly someone with intimidating eyes. Haon unconsciously swallowed hard and continued.
“……is in the opposite direction.”
As he finished the broken sentence, Cha Jeong-won’s eyebrows returned to their original position.
“Good. Let’s not get entangled any further.”
After leaving a warning not to follow, Cha Jeong-won walked away from Haon.
“Who are you to say that.”
Haon grumbled at Cha Jeong-won’s retreating back in the distance. The gratitude he felt for the payment had cooled off.
Trudging along, he let out a long sigh.
“Anyway, it’s ambiguous. I can’t recall all the details of the original work.”
He knew he had transmigrated into a novel and that this world revolved around Cha Jeong-won. But he couldn’t clearly remember who the other protagonist was.
It was as if a spark had fallen on the book, burning away parts of it.
Just as Haon was feeling regretful and unconsciously looked up— A deafening roar echoed from the center of the hospital lobby. Everyone in the lobby stopped and looked around.
Haon noticed the anomaly before anyone else. The three-meter-tall iron sculpture standing in the middle of the lobby suddenly began to sway, then started tilting to one side.
Right toward where Cha Jeong-won was.