Whatever the case, the more he squirmed, the harder it would be for Jinha, who was holding him. Dohee just shook her head and left Doyoung's room to get a blanket.
In that time, Jinha quietly looked down at Doyoung's face, still asleep in his arms.
He didn't even know he was pretty, so he'd absurdly taken his words as an insult.
Doyoung's long eyelashes, his round nose, his rosy cheeks, and the cute pout of his upper lip were imprinted in Jinha's eyes like photographs every time he blinked.
Looking down at him, he felt an endless sense of warmth and affection, but at the same time, a sense of confusion seemed to well up from somewhere deep in his chest. Now that he was sleeping peacefully in his arms, that unknown feeling seemed to grow even stronger.
Around that time, Dohee returned, carrying a large blanket.
As she did, she scanned him with the eyes one might use for a ruffian, as if to check if he'd done anything to her oppa. It felt so unfair that Jinha put on a sorrowful expression.
He had just. He had just looked.
Of course, he had felt an unknown emotion...
But that, somehow, made him feel just a little bit guilty, so even though the unfairness was greater, he decided to let it go.
Dohee temporarily set aside the blanket she'd brought and busily stripped off the dirty one.
While waiting, Jinha decided to ask something he'd been curious about.
"Is Cha Doyoung really frail?"
It was a thought that had occurred to him seeing Doyoung sleeping so soundly, as if he'd fainted rather than just dozed off. On top of that, Dohee's attitude of treating Doyoung like a glass bead that could break at any moment, and Doyoung's quiet acceptance of it, also played a part. Furthermore, it was Jinha's own deduction, compiling everything, including the fact that Dohee seemed to believe the "dizzy" excuse.
As if he'd hit the mark, Dohee smiled bitterly and replied, "Yeah."
"You can just assume he was hospitalized until recently."
At that, Jinha's face hardened. Hospitalized. That was beyond Jinha's speculation.
'But in that state, why?'
Jinha's gaze shifted to the bruise on Doyoung's face.
The Doyoung he met today was incredibly honest, smiled a lot, was affectionate... and was so lovable that he would blush bright red in embarrassment at any compliments. He looked like he wouldn't lack for anything, even if he'd spent his whole life being coddled and loved by those around him.
Truthfully, that was why Jinha had been a bit confused.
'Getting hit and getting hurt... it really hurts.'
At their first meeting, Doyoung had clearly known 'pain.' It was a side of him that didn't match the Doyoung he had experienced since. What could be the reason?
'Was being weak the problem?'
No. What was the point of finding a reason for bad guys doing bad things? It would just be making excuses for them. Even if Doyoung had another fault besides his weakness, it could never be a justifiable reason for their fists.
Jinha, his eyes having grown heavy, continued to ask.
"Then does he usually just go between school and home?"
To that, Dohee obediently replied, "Pretty much."
It wasn't a difficult question. In reality, Doyoung did. The only time he'd been late recently was the first day he'd gone to school after being discharged. He had scared her to death by coming home injured, but he'd said he was late because he had to stop by the faculty office since it was his first day back. Given Doyoung's introverted personality, he wouldn't go out of his way to go anywhere else. So it was true that he mostly just commuted between school and home.
At that, Jinha nodded.
"Then it must be school."
"What is?"
"Nothing, just."
'What do you mean, just?'
Dohee was staring at him with an expression that said she had no idea what he was talking about, but Jinha had no intention of explaining. It was obvious that Cha Dohee didn't know anything, likely because of Cha Doyoung's personality, for reasons like 'not wanting to make her worry.'
'I just... don't want you to get hurt.'
Doyoung had said that to him, someone he'd just met. How much more would that apply to his own sister?
'I'll figure out my own stuff.' 'I'm just worried I'd be upset if you got dragged into it and got hurt more.'
He couldn't just go blabbing about it when Doyoung himself wasn't talking, all for that reason.
Since Jinha just fixed his gaze on Doyoung again, as if he had nothing more to say, Dohee stared at him, baffled, for a moment. But she soon gave up, and as she finished making the bed with rough hands, Jinha finally, carefully, laid Doyoung down on it.
Doyoung, looking comfortable now that he was on the bed, instinctively snuggled, burying his face in the pillow.
The two of them, Dohee and Jinha, stood side-by-side, looking down at Doyoung's form with fond expressions.
Dohee, who was perched on the edge of the bed, reached out and gently stroked Doyoung's head. At some point, her hand paused, as if she had remembered something. But even so, she hesitated for a bit—no, for more than a bit—before she finally spoke, like a small sigh.
"...It's been a really long time since I've seen Oppa laugh so much."
It was something Jinha could never have imagined.
'Cha Doyoung?'
His somewhat surprised gaze turned to Dohee. Dohee smiled bitterly.
He would be even more surprised if he knew that Doyoung and Dohee, who now acted like they couldn't live without each other, had barely spent any time face-to-face until just a short while ago.
"Oppa doesn't easily give his heart to people."
Although, the Oppa of today... has changed a lot.
"He's actually very timid."
Jinha, who had been staring at Dohee in disbelief, seemed to agree with that, at least.
That was why Dohee had never dreamed that Doyoung would bring someone home, calling them a friend. She never knew he would get so excited that his cheeks would flush, or laugh like that. She felt like a parent seeing an unknown side of their growing child. Though she thought she was being foolish, Dohee's hand, stroking Doyoung, became a little more tender.
"So, I don't know about anything else, but I guess it's true that you're a good person."
At Dohee's words, Jinha couldn't say anything and could only look down at the sleeping Doyoung.
Dohee, who had been silently watching Jinha, seemed to want to lighten the heavy mood and spoke in a bright voice, "Ah, so what I mean is."
"Be good friends with my oppa... no. That's a bit much. That gave me goosebumps. So! The point is! I can bring you more blankets, so it's fine if you want to sleep over for a night! I think Oppa will be sad if you leave while he's asleep!"
The conversation had suddenly jumped to him sleeping over.
Dohee, feeling awkward, rambled on, saying that if he was going to sleep over, she would go buy him some clothes so he could take off those dinosaur pajamas. At that, Jinha's eyes, which had been fixed on Doyoung, suddenly gleamed.
"You really hated them, too, huh."
That was so funny that Dohee burst out laughing.
It was the dead of night, an hour when everyone, including Doyoung and Dohee, was likely asleep.
Jinha sat on the blanket that had been laid out for him on the floor. And then, he just stared at Doyoung, who was lying on the bed.
So many things had happened today, and at the center of it all, was him.
"Cha Doyoung."
Jinha quietly rolled the name in his mouth again. Just saying his name gave him an unidentifiable feeling, and Jinha questioningly touched his own chest.
Doyoung was on a completely different wavelength from the countless people Jinha had met so far.
'It looked like it hurt.' 'I just wanted to. Is that not allowed?' 'I just... don't want you to get hurt.' 'I'm not going. If I go, you'll be alone. Lonely.'
Recalling the words Doyoung had said to him, Jinha felt like he was about to cry, and he buried his face in his knees.
No one around him had ever cared whether he was in pain or lonely. But how could this person, whom he'd just met today, be like that? At first, Jinha had just found Doyoung fascinating.
Was he just that affectionate of a person?
Did he just say those things to everyone?
If it was such an easy thing to do, then why were his own family members the way they were?
His mother only thought of using him to fulfill her greed, and his father only ever tried to size him up and evaluate if he was useful. His siblings just watched for a chance to crush him, and when out of others' sight, they were desperate to hit him, torment him, and kick him out.
Family, no, human affection. He had believed it was something he could never have.
He had been about to let go of everything, to give up.
'Oppa doesn't easily give his heart to people.'
When he heard those words, Jinha was more surprised at himself for feeling inwardly happy than he was at that unexpected side of Doyoung.
Am I special to Cha Doyoung?
That thought made him unbearably giddy.
'So, I don't know about anything else, but I guess it's true that you're a good person.'
If I stay by Cha Doyoung's side, can I... can I become a good person, too?
His eyes, filling with an undeniable hope, turned back to Doyoung.
Even after staring and staring at him all day, Jinha somehow still felt a sense of thirst.
It didn't seem like sleep would come easily. If possible, he felt it would be nice to just watch him like this all night. Cha Doyoung wouldn't know, and because Cha Doyoung didn't know, it was all the more possible.
It was then.
Doyoung, who had been sleeping peacefully, squirmed and turned over.
read more on brightnovels.com