I started talking incoherently.

“You know what. I’m going to say something now… You might not understand what I’m saying. But can you just listen to me?”

Seon Woo Jin looked at me for a moment and nodded.

“Thank you. Then I’ll say it.”

I was nervous, so I clasped my hands tightly.

“First of all… thank you. For saving me.”

It was the first thing I had to say. If it weren’t for Seon Woo Jin, I would have been hit by that truck then. If the situation was reversed, could I have rushed in without hesitation like he did? I couldn’t be sure.

“And I’m really sorry. You got hurt because of me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have to go through this.”

“This is…”

“No, don’t say it.”

Seon Woo Jin closed his mouth again. I muttered bitterly.

“It’s because of me.”

There was still a sense of guilt lingering in the corner of my heart. If it weren’t for me, the final battle that day wouldn’t have happened, and the truck wouldn’t have appeared.

“I’m really sorry and grateful to you. I really wanted to say this.”

I bit my lower lip slightly.

“But what I’m going to say next has nothing to do with that.”

Now it was time for the real topic. My heart was beating fast. It felt like the threads in my head were tangled. I was so nervous that I didn’t even know what I was saying as I rambled on.

“While you were in a coma, I thought a lot.”

What the right choice was. What choice I should make. Whether I was making a proper judgment without being swayed by emotions.

“Because I had… a choice to make.”

That choice had the risk of turning my life upside down.

“I had to choose very carefully.”

I paused for a moment to choose my words in my head.

“But at some point, everything started to feel meaningless.”

The moment I went to the infirmary came to mind. Even the emotions I felt when I saw Seon Woo Jin’s empty seat.

I didn’t calculate then. I just…

“I just wanted to see you.”

That day, as I got into the taxi, my thoughts were simple.

Regardless of all the other circumstances, I just really wanted to see him. That was it.

“So I came here without a plan. In the end, I didn’t get to see you that day.”

I spoke slowly.

“I told you earlier, right? That I’m sorry and grateful. But the reason I wanted to see you is not because I’m sorry or grateful…”

Meanwhile, Seon Woo Jin quietly listened to what I had to say.

I stammered on.

“So I… what I want to say is…”

At that moment, Seon Woo Jin interrupted.

“Can I say it from there?”

I nodded.

“I like you.”

Seon Woo Jin smiled playfully.

“Right?”

I couldn’t answer because my throat was blocked. Seon Woo Jin looked into my eyes and said,

“I like you, Lee Ju Eun. For real.”

It was the second confession.

The only difference from then was that this time, I didn’t cry.

I looked at Seon Woo Jin and smiled brightly.

“Yeah, me too.”

Not long after, Seon Woo Jin’s discharge date was set.

According to the doctor, it was a miraculous recovery speed.

“That monster-like bastard.”

Sung Ji Chan shook his head back and forth while looking at Seon Woo Jin lying comfortably in the hospital room. Seon Woo Jin raised his middle finger.

“If you’re going to curse, get out.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Sung Ji Chan bowed and sat back down on the chair. Ban Ha Min laughed at the sight.

“Is Chani-chani stupid?”

“Do you want to die?”

As always, it was a friendly conversation between friends. I shook my head while listening to their conversation.

It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon. The sky was clear and the weather was sunny. A day without any worries or concerns. It was the last weekend before discharge.

I sat in a corner of the hospital room, peeling and eating an apple that came as a gift for Seon Woo Jin.

At that moment, Yoo Hee Na entered the room.

“I’m here!”

The room became noisy again with Yoo Hee Na’s appearance.

“You’re here? Where’s the gift?”

“There isn’t one!”

“Good job.”

Sung Ji Chan, Ban Ha Min, and Yoo Hee Na chatted excitedly, and Seon Woo Jin frowned as if he was annoyed by it. I laughed at the sight.

“Ah, but Jin, can you come to the festival?”

Ban Ha Min answered instead of Seon Woo Jin at Yoo Hee Na’s question.

“Jjini is being discharged next week! He can go to the festival too!”

“Really?”

Yoo Hee Na laughed.

“Their class is doing something fun, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Something fun?”

“There is such a thing.”

What on earth are they doing that makes Yoo Hee Na say that… I’ll have to ask for more details later.

Seon Woo Jin, as if it had nothing to do with him, just stared out the window with a bored expression. It seemed like he just didn’t like this situation itself.

“Seon Woo Jin.”

When I tapped him, Seon Woo Jin turned his head to look at me.

“What are you doing?”

Seon Woo Jin gestured for me to come closer. When I leaned in, Seon Woo Jin whispered softly into my ear.

“Imagining kicking those bastards out.”

I burst out laughing.

“Just bear with it for a bit. They came to see you, after all.”

“That’s why I’m staying still.”

Seon Woo Jin spoke with a face that seemed to be holding back his annoyance. Even after coming back from the dead, his temper was still the same.

When I sat on the bed, Seon Woo Jin rested his head on my shoulder.

“Ah, but isn’t there anything to drink?”

Yoo Hee Na’s clear voice was heard. I got up.

“There’s no drinks there?”

“No?”

“Really? Then let’s go and buy some together.”

I said “I’ll be back” to Seon Woo Jin and left the hospital room with Yoo Hee Na.

On the way to the convenience store on the first floor, Yoo Hee Na glanced at me and began to speak.

“So what’s going on with you and Seon Woo Jin?”

“Huh?”

Yoo Hee Na looked at me with bright eyes. Judging by her gaze, she seemed to have been dying to ask. I chuckled.

“Well, what do you think is going on?”

“I’m asking because I don’t know!”

When I didn’t give a definite answer, Yoo Hee Na raised her voice as if she was frustrated.

“You two are dating, right?”

Instead of answering, I just laughed.

“What, why aren’t you answering? Huh? I’m really curious!”

During the time we went to the convenience store and back, I never gave Yoo Hee Na a proper answer. Yoo Hee Na seemed to think I was teasing her, so she made a very sulky face.

Sung Ji Chan saw that and asked as if he was puzzled.

“Why does her face look like that again?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“No way. That’s definitely the face she makes when you did something.”

Sharp as a ghost.

I nonchalantly shook my head.

Time passed quickly as we laughed and chatted.

“Ah, I should get going now.”

As Sung Ji Chan got up from his seat, Ban Ha Min and Yoo Hee Na followed suit.

“I want to go too. Ji Chan, let’s go together!”

“Yeah, me too. Bye, Jjini!”

The farewell was as noisy as when they arrived. Seon Woo Jin said with an unwilling expression as he saw them off,

“Go well and don’t come back.”

“No way! I’ll come again! Bleh!”

Ban Ha Min stuck out his tongue and disappeared, slamming the door.

After a round of farewells, only Seon Woo Jin and I were left in the hospital room.

“They’re all gone.”

I muttered, looking at the empty hospital room. Seon Woo Jin stretched, looking much more at ease now.

“I feel alive now.”

I giggled.

“Aren’t you showing your dislike too much?”

“They should be grateful that I didn’t kick them out.”

Seon Woo Jin grumbled for a long time, as if he was really unhappy. I quietly listened to his story next to him.

It was a peaceful time. It was comfortable even when we weren’t doing anything.

How much time had passed like that?

“Lee Ju Eun.”

Suddenly, Seon Woo Jin called my name.

“Why?”

When I asked back, Seon Woo Jin said playfully,

“I just wanted to see you.”

I felt my face getting hot.

“Ah, I told you not to say that!”

Seon Woo Jin burst out laughing. After I confessed last time, Seon Woo Jin kept saying he wanted to see me. It was clearly half-joking, so every time I heard it, I remembered that moment and felt embarrassed.

I put on a pretend angry face and warned Seon Woo Jin.

“If you say that one more time, I’m really going home!”

“Then what should I say when I want to see you?”

“Just look at my face!”

Seon Woo Jin spoke with a smile on his face.

“Show me.”

I turned my face away completely. Seon Woo Jin laughed loudly at the sight.

After a long time, when I finally calmed down my face, I said what I originally intended to say to Seon Woo Jin.

“Seon Woo Jin.”

“What?”

“Earlier, Yoo Hee Na asked me.”

“About what?”

“If you and I are dating.”

Seon Woo Jin was lost in thought for a moment, then grabbed my hand and said,

“What did you say?”

I smiled playfully.

“What do you think I said?”

At my words, Seon Woo Jin raised one eyebrow.

“You didn’t say no, did you?”

That serious expression was so funny that this time I burst out laughing. Only after laughing as much as I wanted did I answer.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

I sat next to Seon Woo Jin.

“I felt like they would know even if I didn’t say it.”

Seon Woo Jin crossed his arms with a ‘hmm’. I asked, pretending to be surprised.

“Don’t tell me you’re upset?”

“Why would I be?”

But his expression seemed quite displeased. Seeing that face made me giggle. I rested my head on Seon Woo Jin’s shoulder.

“It’s funny.”

“What is.”

“Just everything.”

Seon Woo Jin kept a sullen expression for a while, and when I whispered, “Stop frowning,” he chuckled.

“Lee Ju Eun.”

“Yes?”

“From now on, make sure to say it.”

“Say what?”

“That I’m your boyfriend.”

Saying that, Seon Woo Jin held my hand. I held his hand back and interlocked our fingers.

And I replied,

“Okay, I will.”