Doyoung let out a deep sigh, "Haa," and leaned his body back.
'What should I do?' Doyoung sat slumped against the wall, pondering.
He had already experienced it with Kang Hyun.
'It's going to hurt. A lot.'
But...
In Doyoung's mind, the first meeting between Lee Jinha and Cha Dohee from the original work surfaced.
Lee Jinha, who attended a different school and thus had no point of contact within it, first got entangled with Cha Dohee outside of school, just like now. Yes. Just like now.
Except, their roles were reversed. Back then, it was Cha Dohee who was being bullied by a nasty group. The person who couldn't stand by and watch, who saved her, was Lee Jinha. There was a line about how she overlapped with his own past self, but he hadn't realized this was what it meant.
Recalling that, Doyoung couldn't help but bite his lower lip. It was because he had judged that he shouldn't run away.
He didn't know what effect his actions just now might have had on Lee Jinha. If things went wrong, Dohee must not fail to receive help because of what happened today. She must not be ignored.
Furthermore, he felt that he was the only one who could best help the current Lee Jinha. Recalling his all-purpose bag, which was stocked to the level that it would put any pharmacy to shame thanks to him getting beaten up so much lately, Doyoung clenched his fist.
Jinha, who had his eyes closed and was submerged in the quiet darkness, irritably opened them again at the sound of light, quick footsteps.
In front of him stood the same small, squirrel-like guy who had frozen up and fled, tail between his legs, at the simple threat he'd given just moments ago. His face, pale with fear, was the same.
He was about to ask what the hell he wanted, but the guy suddenly muttered, "I'm crazy. I must be," and knelt down in front of him. He didn't seem to notice Jinha's distorted expression. The guy quickly swung his bag to his front and opened the zipper.
His hands were visibly trembling, seemingly without him realizing it.
Dumbfounded, Jinha watched silently to see what he was doing, and the guy kept pulling things out of his bag.
Band-Aids, Band-Aids, Band-Aids...
It seemed he had them in every possible size.
Adhesive bandages, cotton balls, gauze, rolls of bandages...
Following that were brand-name ointments like MadecaXX and FusiXX, then hydrogen peroxide, red medicine...
"Ah," he said, rummaging some more to pull out what looked like anti-inflammatory painkillers and a bottle of water from a convenience store bag he'd set aside.
It didn't stop there. Cotton swabs, tweezers... when even a pair of scissors popped out, Jinha was so taken aback that he reflexively grabbed his hand.
'No, this is too much. Seriously, too much.'
'I will protect you.'
It was the representative line that defined Lee Jinha's character in the webtoon 'I Won't Forgive You.'
Starting from their first meeting when he saved Dohee, he played the role of a knight, appearing whenever Dohee was in danger to coolly defeat the villain-like guys. If Kang Hyun was the one who helped Dohee with her revenge and granted her wishes, Lee Jinha was the one who sought to protect Dohee, who was like a moth to a flame, unaware her own body was burning up as she focused only on revenge.
That was his role, and moreover, his large build and long, clean lines made him look even more solid and mature in the comic. But seeing him in person, was this what it meant to still be a kid?
He was just trying to treat his wounds, but he'd grabbed his hand in a panic, so Doyoung patted him comfortingly.
'You seem to be a bit of a coward, too, unlike how you look.'
He even felt a bit of kinship. Doyoung, who had been terrified of when a warning window might pop up, actually calmed down upon seeing Jinha's reaction. Right, I have to be the one to get a grip. Who else is going to help?
'It's okay. I'm not a bad person.'
As Jinha looked at the gentle gaze Doyoung sent him with that meaning, his pupils trembled from side to side.
Doyoung, having finished his thorough preparations, looked down at the items he'd laid out, unable to hide his pride. Yubimuhwan. (Be prepared, and you'll have no worries.) Keu, what wonderful words. He hadn't known this would happen, but he felt rewarded for having lugged all these things around for the past few days.
The word 'item buff' (tempal) didn't exist for nothing. Doyoung, who had lacked a bit of confidence because he'd never really had the chance to treat someone else's wounds, now felt he could handle any injury that came his way.
First, he opened a small water bottle and wet his handkerchief. He had cuts all over his face, so it seemed he needed to wipe away the blood first. Worried that water might get into the wounds, he squeezed it out firmly with his small hands and brought it to Jinha's face.
At first, he turned his head as if he disliked it and slapped it away, but when Doyoung put on a stern expression and sucked in a breath, "Sseup," it seemed to have an effect, as he backed down a little. Instead, his confused eyes darted back and forth between the items Doyoung had laid out and Doyoung himself.
'How's that for professionalism?' Doyoung wore a proud expression. It seemed his choice to lay everything out from the start was an excellent one. Jinha seemed so overwhelmed by the sheer preparedness that he couldn't bring himself to say no.
Doyoung, who was steadily meeting Jinha's gaze, opened his mouth to reassure him.
"It's nothing else."
"..."
"I'll just treat your wounds."
A moment later, he let go of his tension with a deep breath and obediently offered his face.
Seeing him like a wild cat that had opened its heart just a little, Doyoung let out a soft laugh. Then, with a careful touch, he began to wipe Jinha's face. He flinched and frowned when the cloth touched a wound, as if it stung, but he didn't pull away anymore.
While Doyoung was meticulously cleaning his ruined face and hands, Jinha was staring intently at Doyoung's face, as if observing him. It was a little burdensome, so Doyoung needlessly darted his eyes back and forth.
After wiping him mostly clean, he picked up a cotton swab and ointment. He applied it gently, using an advanced level of concentration, worried it might hurt.
...I think I'm doing a pretty good job.
'Is he planning to hit me if I hurt him?'
He was staring so intensely that his thoughts began to stray. Because of that, by the time he was applying ointment to the cut on his lip, he found himself swallowing nervously.
He peeked up, made eye contact, and quickly lowered his head. He felt strangely... itchy all over.
This, this is such a classic scene, it's practically the bible of romance comics. But doing it in person feels really weird... No, no! Cha Doyoung, what's wrong with you! You can't be the one to feel weird!
Jinha, who had been watching Doyoung strangely as he suddenly grew confused in the middle of applying ointment, finally opened his closed mouth.
"Do you know me?"
Doyoung, startled by the sudden question, flinched.
His flustered eyes quickly scanned the empty air. Unlike simply treating a wound, if he and Lee Jinha started talking and building a story, he felt the probability of stepping on a 'System' landmine would be much higher.
It was quiet for now... He was anxious, but he couldn't just ignore the guy waiting for an answer. After hesitating, Doyoung glanced at Jinha's uniform jacket and replied.
"...Lee Jinha?"
Jinha, who had been watching where Doyoung's gaze moved, followed it down to his own name tag and let out a baffled huff of laughter.
"No, I wasn't asking for my name," Jinha started, but then shook his head as if to say, "forget it."
He then seemed to be deep in thought, staring off into the distance. 'What is it?' Doyoung, who now had a Band-Aid in hand, was wondering awkwardly if he should continue, when Jinha finished his thought and asked him again.
"Then why are you helping me? A coward like you? Helping a stranger, just like that?"
You're not a complete stranger, though.
'Hah, I can't exactly say I know you from a webtoon.'
Wait a minute. How does he know enough to suddenly call me a coward...?
Of course! It's not that I'm NOT a coward!
'When did he find out?' Doyoung thought sullenly, and with a touch completely different from the gentle one he'd been using, as if handling glass, he roughly pressed the Band-Aid onto Jinha's face. When a baffled Jinha looked at him, Doyoung felt a bit of satisfaction and snapped at him.
"Do you need a reason?"
"...I do. For someone like me."
He looked like someone who clearly had a backstory, as if saying there's no such thing as kindness without a reason.
Doyoung was a bit flustered by his self-deprecating look.
He couldn't help it. The Lee Jinha who was supposed to embrace a hurt Cha Dohee with his broad shoulders, the one who was so full of confidence he was even a bit slick, was now filled with only a sharp, precarious feeling, as if standing alone at the edge of a thousand-foot cliff. Doyoung didn't know this Lee Jinha.
Doyoung's eyes softened slightly.
For this current, sharp-edged Lee Jinha to become that smooth, well-rounded Lee Jinha.
What on earth could have happened in such a short time for him to become like that?
It would be nice if he had changed so brightly due to good things, but seeing the current situation, it felt more like his rough edges were being beaten down and shaved off. Was he all festering inside, even in those clean-cut drawings? And even after that, he tried to soothe Dohee's heart?
Doyoung, who had thought the Author-nim was making only him suffer and struggle out of spite, realized that wasn't the case.
'Being a protagonist must be tough, too.'
Doyoung let out a deep sigh, "Ehyu."
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