My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

31 – Explanation (3)

The rain continued to pour down.

We were standing beneath a dripping wet building sign, waiting for a taxi.

I leaned one hand against the wall and gave my shoulder to Ha-yeon, barely managing to stand.

“Yul… Maybe we shouldn’t go to the hospital after stopping by home to wash up? I’ll go with you.”

“…”

Ha-yeon worried about me, shaking off the water droplets from her hair.

Given the circumstances, I honestly regretted asking Ha-yeon for this favor.

Because of her burn injury from yesterday, Ha-yeon still couldn’t walk properly.

It would probably be too much for her to support me while walking.

But she tried her best not to show any signs of pain and supported me.

Although she couldn’t hide her furrowed eyebrows.

“Haah… Seo Ha-yeon, don’t bother with unnecessary formalities. My head is already pounding.”

I didn’t really want to take Ha-yeon to the hospital.

If I rested a bit at home, my sprained ankle would hurt less.

Whether I went to the hospital alone or not could wait until then.

I didn’t have the confidence to kindly accept Ha-yeon’s words.

Maybe it was because I got soaked in the rain, lowering my body temperature.

My head hurt even more than before.

It felt like I was getting a slight chill and my body temperature was rising.

“Is your head hurting? Did you catch a cold or something? Your breathing seemed a bit rough earlier…”

“…”

I had no strength left to speak now.

But as soon as I shot her a glance, Ha-yeon immediately closed her mouth.

She seemed to know that I would get angry if she spoke further.

Suddenly, a taxi came running through the rain from a distance.

…

…

…

When we got out of the taxi, the familiar scenery of our house greeted us.

Only now did a sense of relief wash over me that we had arrived.

As tension subsided, his head throbbed even more.

His fever kept rising and he was now breathing heavily enough to feel it himself.

“Haah…haah…I’ll pay for the taxi later…”

“No need to say. Yura, let’s just go inside. You seem to be getting worse.”

Instead of me, she paid for the taxi and supported me as my strength left me completely.

At the moment, I didn’t think of anything like apologies or gratitude.

I just wanted to hurry home and lie down.

“You moved to a new place too. What number is it? Just tell me that.”

Looking at the building where I lived alone after discharge from the army, Ha-yeon asked me.

It was usually an elevator on the 2nd floor that I didn’t use.

We arrived in front of our house by taking it and Ha-yeon asked while smiling.

“Can you enter the password, or can I know what it is?”

Leaning against the door, I barely pressed the password.

As soon as the door lock opened, Ha-yeon pulled me into the room while leaning her shoulder on mine.

As tension left my body, the strength in my legs disappeared as well.

I felt hazy, as if my mind was elsewhere.

Plopping onto the ground, I leaned against the wall, taking hot breaths.

“Yura! Are you okay?”

Ha-yeon came closer as I startled, seeing her blurry face.

Nothing was okay.

I wanted to tell her to leave, but I couldn’t voice it out.

My eyes slowly closed…

“I’m sorry. I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

That was the last thing I heard from Ha-yeon.

When Geon-yul hesitated and sat down in front of the entrance, Ha-yeon felt her heart sink.

Since a while ago, his physical condition seemed not so good.

Apart from the leg pain, his face was slightly flushed, and the body temperature that came into contact with hers was high.

“…It’s too similar to back then.”

A wheezing breath.

And a rising fever in his head.

Even symptoms of a headache.

Ha-yeon had seen Geon-yul like this many times before.

Geon-yul usually suffered from severe flu or illness once a year.

Whenever his regular physical condition deteriorated or he overexerted himself, he would feel this way.

As if the hidden germs of the illness were waiting for his immunity to drop before emerging.

“Let’s think about it later for now.”

But it wasn’t important right now.

Ha-yeon slowly closed her eyes and barely managed to lift Geon-yul, who was breathing softly, and carried him to the room.

Then she took off his damp socks and top and covered him with a blanket.

In fact, she contemplated whether to take off his pants as well, but she refrained for Geon-yul’s pride.

His lips were already pale.

His body temperature couldn’t be allowed to drop any further.

“Where is the boiler?”

Since it was her first time at Geon-yul’s house, she didn’t know where the boiler was.

She searched every nook and cranny of the house to turn on the heating and prepared a cold towel.

She needed to cool down his boiling forehead.

After covering Geon-yul’s forehead with the wet towel, Ha-yeon finally let out a sigh.

Now his breathing seemed to have found some stability.

He was still rough, but at least he seemed a little better than earlier.

“There probably isn’t a pharmacy nearby, should I go to a convenience store?”

It seemed difficult to find a pharmacy as it was a bit far from the shopping district and hospital.

Ha-yeon bought antipyretics and cold medicine and quickly returned home.

Then she watched over Geon-yul’s condition by his side for a while.

“Yul… What should I do…? You’re in so much pain…”

Pale, wrinkled forehead of Geon-yul often visited by ill health. Hayeon looked at his face for a long time. Perhaps to Hayeon, this was an event that occurred once a year, but even then she worried about Geon-yul sitting like this. She was not at all accustomed to the idea of her beloved being sick. She was terrified that he might leave her side like his parents. “You’re cold.” And only after shivering like that did she realize her own physical condition. She hadn’t paid much attention to herself due to being completely focused on Geon-yul. Supporting Geon-yul made her legs ache. Her lips, so cold that even her body was becoming cold. “…Even some warm things.” She regretted not getting a drink from the convenience store for her shivering body. Should she take a shower with warm water? She wanted to do it inwardly, but she was worried that without Geon-yul’s permission, she would be hated if she did as she pleased. She also did not have any clothes to change into. As she hesitated on what to do, Geon-yul started to talk in his sleep. “Hae-yeon… Don’t go…” Geon-yul muttered his name with a wrinkled face, with sweat dripping down his face, it was a pathetic sight. What kind of nightmare was he having? At once, it was both heartbreaking and ambiguous that her name came out in his nightmare. Still, it felt special that he called her name rather than anyone else. “Yul, it’s okay. I’m here.” Hayeon approached the distressed Geon-yul, and gently brushed her hair. As she stroked her hair, Geon-yul’s forehead seemed to relax little by little. How long was that? “Still looks blue. His lips.” For some reason, her gaze kept turning to Geon-yul’s pale lips. She tried to turn her head, but her gaze returned to him. His moist, blue lips felt slightly decadent.

What would it feel like to kiss those lips?

She swallowed hard.

Fortunately, Geonyul was asleep, and it seemed like he wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.

For two years, Haeyeon hadn’t had any proper physical contact with Geonyul.

She remembered every kiss they had shared and the thrill of their embraces.

Those memories were so precious and had helped her endure during her illness.

“Are you crazy? Seriously, Seo Haeyeon, what are you thinking, doing this in front of a sick person?”

She brushed Geonyul’s hair back and lost herself in thought.

Like a carnivore that couldn’t resist the sight of meat in front of it.

Haeyeon knew that kissing those lips would send shivers down her spine with pleasure.

That’s why she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

“No matter how you look at it, this is wrong.”

But no matter what she thought, it felt like robbery.

And doing this to a sick person was simply an awful thing to do.

She shook her head and tried to dismiss her impure thoughts.

Lately, it seemed like she was constantly questioning if she had become such a wretched person.

…There had never been such a thing when she was dating Geonyul.

When she wanted to kiss his lips, she did.

When she wanted to hold his hand, she did it anytime.

When she wanted to pull him close, he embraced her in return.

Those were such cherished memories.

Now, it was happiness she wasn’t allowed to have.

“Ugh…”

And then, at that moment, Geonyul’s hand brushed against hers.

Their positions had changed slightly as she shifted in her bed.

As the warmth of his hand touched hers, Haeyeon began to rationalize.

…Maybe reaching out for someone’s hand is not such a bad thing.

When you’re in pain, you want to rely on someone’s warmth.

So, it wouldn’t be too wrong for me to hold his hand.

“I’ve held back so much, can’t I at least do this?”

Hayeon softly raised her hand to Gunyul’s wrist.

Then, like before, she gently grasped his hand.

A dizzy sensation brushed past her fingertips.

She was so happy when their hands touched.

It felt like the first time she experienced how much pleasure physical contact with someone else’s skin could give.

Desire began to rise inside of her.

“Just by holding hands, how good would it feel if we kissed?”

Gunyul’s lips caught her attention once again.

Once she thought about it, there was no stopping herself.

Hayeon moved closer to Gunyul, her face inching toward his.

…I shouldn’t do this. Really.

Her throat was parched from nervousness.

And just as she got her face close to Gunyul’s…

“…!”

Suddenly, Gunyul’s eyes flickered open.