“Is embarrassment important right now? You should have spoken frankly; that would have made her decide to divorce. Because you’re being so vague, Kim Heeju can’t make a decision either! I was so frustrated today, not just because of Kim Heeju, but your actions made me so… ugh.”

Sobbing and unable to speak properly, Rona’s state made Jaemin lick his lips.

“Rona. It’s not like that. The only person I love is you, we have our little bean.”

Before parting, Jaemin had asked Chaewon.

‘Do you really have no intention of breaking up with me?’

‘I still love you. That’s why I don’t want to break up.’

He had felt his heart react to her words, like a heroine in a movie facing a breakup.

Honestly, he was swayed.

“Ah, my stomach hurts. It feels like it’s hurting.”

“Hurts? Should we go to the hospital?”

“No need. They say it’s because of stress.”

His stomach hurts, but he doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Jaemin, unable to understand what she wants, sighed in frustration and looked at Rona.

He was starting to find her frequent stomachaches and tantrums tiresome.

Chaewon, who had just exited the elevator, glanced carefully at Yugun’s hand.

“Do you have disinfectant at home?”

Only then did Yugun look at his wound indifferently and then looked forward again.

“It’s fine. It’s just a small cut.”

Earlier, when the detective agency employee tried to flee with the camera, Yugun had caught him, resulting in a wound on Yugun’s hand.

“People often underestimate small wounds, but a bacterial infection can be fatal. It’s not hard to disinfect, so make sure to do it before you go to bed.”

Was it doctorly nagging, or genuine concern?

Yugun, curious, turned his head towards Chaewon.

“I don’t have that.”

“You don’t have disinfectant at home?”

She shook her head in disbelief, as if scolding him for being too careless.

“You’re too negligent. Disinfectant is a must-have at home.”

“I did a good deed today, but I’m getting scolded too much. And I’m hurt.”

Yugun showed his scraped hand.

Chaewon, intently looking at the wound, hurried towards her apartment as the elevator door opened.

“Wait, I’ll give you some disinfectant.”

“You say I could die if I don’t disinfect it, but you’re just leaving? What kind of doctor are you?”

Chaewon stopped and turned towards him.
“Do it for me. I don’t want to die from such a minor thing.”

Yugun, insisting on having a doctor apply disinfectant to a wound even a child could manage, stood firmly with a resolute expression. Chaewon hesitated for a moment as she looked at the robustly built Yugun. She had been reluctant to invite him into her house again after sharing an awkward gaze with him the last time they were at her place and struggling to sleep afterwards.

“So much for your gratitude. Guess it wasn’t sincere.”

Noticing her hesitation, Yugun attacked her conscience.

After much contemplation, Chaewon, feeling responsible for the wound he got because of her, nodded.

“Come in.”

Chaewon turned and opened the door.

Yugun, slipping his feet into slippers, looked around her clean and sparse apartment.

“Sit there.”

Right after entering, Chaewon washed her hands and took out a dressing kit, placing it on the coffee table.

Sitting close to Yugun, she started preparing the disinfectant, oblivious to his intense gaze.

“Give me your hand.”

When Yugun held out his hand, Chaewon pulled it towards her and examined his wound with careful eyes.

“Does it hurt?”

She picked up a cotton swab soaked in alcohol with tweezers and applied it to the wound.

“It’s okay.”

“I have plenty, so I’ll give you some. Take it and disinfect daily.”

Listening to her lecturing about always having disinfectant at home, Yugun watched Chaewon intently as she focused on his wound.

Is this how she is when she’s working?

He imagined her speaking softly with slightly parted lips and then occasionally making eye contact like this.

While lost in thought, Chaewon suddenly widened her eyes.

“This is a burn scar?”

She had spotted an old scar on Yugun’s wrist.

“You didn’t treat it properly when it happened? It looks quite old.”

Looking down, Yugun thought of the past associated with the injury and said in a deeper voice.

“I had a younger sister.”

Chaewon paused and looked up upon hearing that.

“As a child, she spilled hot ramen on me while running towards me. She was crying so much that I pretended it was nothing to comfort her.”

The phrase ‘had a sister’ – a cruel word to use for family.

Chaewon’s expression turned somber, knowing his story.

“I didn’t know back then that it would be a painful reminder every time I saw it.”

Yugun, with his gaze half-lowered, heard Chaewon speak in a calm voice.

“I see a lot of people’s wounds while working. I’m someone who treats wounds, after all.”

Yugun slowly raised his eyes.

“As I treat them, I hear the stories behind how each wound came to be. Every wound has its own story.”

Chaewon took a bandage out of the box.

“But as I listen, I find that wounds are of two kinds: those inflicted by others and those we inflict on ourselves. Do you know which hurts more?”

Yugun tilted his head slightly.

“The ones we give ourselves. That’s why we should at least not harm ourselves.”

Chaewon smiled softly, peeled the backing off the bandage, and took Yugun’s hand.

“Long for it, but don’t hurt.”

Yugun, internalizing her words, looked down at his wound with a stoic gaze.

“But what about people who keep hurting? How do you treat them?”

Chaewon looked up, smiling faintly.

“You blow on it. Like this, beside them.”

Yugun chuckled briefly.

As their gaze lingered, Chaewon, sensing an unusual emotion, turned her head and began to tidy up.

“This bandage is waterproof, so it’s okay to wash it. But since it’s on your hand and you’ll move a lot, I’ll give you a few more. That’s all for now.”

Yugun, about to stand up, caught Chaewon’s wrist.

“Where are you going?”
Now seated closely again, Chaewon looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

“I’m still hurting.”

Their eyes conveyed a completely different story than their words.

“You said you’d blow on it, being beside me.”

Though his face, framed by the black shirt, was expressionless, the change in his eyes was palpable.

Still held by the wrist, unable to move, Chaewon spoke in a deliberately calm tone.

“You seem to be the type who exaggerates pain.”

“Is it only me who regrets parting now?”

Their eyes, filled solely with each other, deepened.

Caught by his hand and ensnared by his gaze, unable to think of anything else, Yugun leaned in and kissed her.