Can You Stay… Just a Little Longer?

Since I had rejected Beomwoo, it was understandable that he might feel I could avoid him.

So maybe he thought I might even run away.

But I was a person with nowhere to go.

I had no parents, no place to stay, and was barely living in the house he had arranged for me.

Where could someone like me possibly run to?

As Haejin looked at Beomwoo with a confused expression, Beomwoo firmly pressed his lips together before speaking again.

“As you probably know… my family is desperate for this marriage.”

“They are trying to get you by any means necessary, without caring about methods, just like today.”

“……”

“You may not believe me, but I didn’t want you to get hurt or suffer any harm by being entangled with my brothers.”

“That’s why I had someone following you, as a bodyguard of sorts… But you ended up getting hurt anyway.”

Beomwoo spoke as if the reason he had someone following him was entirely for Haejin’s sake, with a demeanor that seemed to blame himself for not protecting him sooner.

So, ‘thought you might disappear’ didn’t mean he thought I would run away, but that he was worried his brothers might harm me, which is why he had someone follow me?

It could have been a flimsy excuse, or he might have had someone tail me with bad intentions.

But then I vaguely remembered his words when I was losing consciousness.

He had apologized.

Was that apology perhaps for this?

Having someone follow me was clearly wrong.

Every time I went out, his person was tracking me, and if Beomwoo knew my every move, it was essentially no different from stalking.

No matter how good his intentions were, he hadn’t gotten my permission.

However, considering he had saved me from nearly being violated by someone I barely knew, I couldn’t bring myself to question him.

Haejin wanted to ask why he had someone follow me, but it didn’t seem like the right time, so, still dazed from the shock, he expressed his gratitude again.

“Honestly, it’s shocking… but that doesn’t seem important right now. Whatever the method, thank you for saving me today.”

“Accepting the date proposal so lightly was my mistake from the start.”

“I should have known what kind of bastard he was… I knew he was a troublemaker, but I didn’t think he’d go that far.”

But even to Haejin’s thanks, Beomwoo blamed himself again for his oversight.

He should have prevented this situation where Haejin was on a date with a dangerous person in the first place, not just planned to save him by having someone follow.

In contrast, Haejin had been regretting, thinking it was his own fault for being led away and almost violated by Jeong-yeon, so Beomwoo’s self-blame seemed like an absurd situation.

Haejin shook his head and spoke to him.

“I was the one who accepted the date proposal. And if we’re going to go that far… if I hadn’t drunk the alcohol he offered, this wouldn’t have happened. So I think it was my fault too.”

“You did nothing wrong!”

Just as he was saying the fault, if any, lay more in his own misjudgment, Beomwoo suddenly raised his voice.

The moment his words ended, Haejin’s eyes widened like a startled hamster at the sound of Beomwoo’s raised voice.

He was usually a person with little emotional change, steady, someone who rarely got excited.

Even if someone else had suddenly raised their voice mid-conversation, he would have been surprised, but because it was Beomwoo, he was even more shocked.

As Haejin blinked in surprise, Beomwoo seemed to realize belatedly that he had spoken as if angry and gave an awkward cough before speaking.

“Sorry for raising my voice. But that’s just… nonsense.”

“Ah, okay…”

“I want you to never think that it happened because you handled things poorly. That person is at fault.”

Beomwoo calmed his voice as if questioning when he had raised it, then earnestly asked Haejin not to blame himself.

He understood why Beomwoo spoke so seriously—because thinking the victim is at fault for what the perpetrator did is wrong in itself.

But conversely, those were the words Haejin wanted to say to Beomwoo.

Why didn’t they apply to him…?

He had a lot to say, but even if he said it, Beomwoo likely wouldn’t accept it straightforwardly.

And more than anything, he now wanted to change the subject.

If this continued, they would only keep talking about these gloomy things, and memories of that time would resurface.

Haejin thought about another topic and, looking at Beomwoo’s hand, naturally shifted the conversation.

“B-By the way… what’s that in your hand? A towel? Why are you holding a towel so tightly…?”

Actually, it had been on his mind since he regained consciousness.

Beomwoo was holding a towel in his hand.

It looked damp, as if soaked in water.

He hadn’t let go of it for a moment since Haejin woke up, holding it as if it were precious.

The combination of him and a towel didn’t match, so he asked curiously.

Beomwoo seemed to have forgotten he was holding the towel, making a small ‘ah’ sound before trying to hide it behind his back.

“It’s nothing.”

“That’s why I’m curious; it doesn’t look like much.”

If the towel had some great, obvious significance, he wouldn’t have asked so lightly.

As Haejin pressed for an answer, Beomwoo made a difficult face before answering belatedly.

“You were sweating a lot… I was wiping it off.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

Since only he and Beomwoo were in the house, he could only be referring to him, but Haejin couldn’t help but confirm, finding it hard to believe.

No wonder—it was unbelievable that such an impassive person had personally nursed him while he was unconscious.

Even if one felt pity and concern, he could have had someone else do it.

Suddenly, he wondered how much time had passed.

Since he had fainted, Beomwoo might have been nursing him for quite a while.

It was past seven when he arrived at the club-like place for dinner with Jeong-yeon, and he didn’t know exactly when the incident happened, but the clock on the wall now showed one o’clock.

Judging by the darkness outside, it seemed to be one in the morning.

He hadn’t been eating with Jeong-yeon for over two hours, so he must have been unconscious for several hours.

But seeing that Beomwoo had brought a damp towel just now, had he been constantly wiping off sweat and staying by his side?

Given his past life, it seemed impossible, making him think ‘no way,’ but there seemed no other reason.

As Haejin checked the time and couldn’t hide his surprise, Beomwoo seemed to notice and stood up with a somewhat awkward demeanor.

“Now that you’re awake, I should go.”

“Ah.”

Beomwoo acted as if he had only intended to stay until Haejin woke up, with no other purpose, and was about to leave immediately.

At this hour, there was nothing to do even if he stayed, and it was very late, so leaving was the right thing.

He must have things to do tomorrow, so it was time to wrap up the day.

So it was the right thing to do, but Haejin unconsciously reached out to him.

“J-Just a moment… Huhk, aah…!”

Haejin reached out as if possessed, but his body, still drained of energy, was too slow and couldn’t catch him.

Haejin flailed in the air, then his weight shifted, causing him to sway.

He lost his balance as if about to fall headfirst to the floor, squeezing his eyes shut, but just before falling, his body collided with something solid like a wall.

Wasn’t he falling to the floor?

Carefully opening his tightly shut eyes, Haejin found his head resting against Beomwoo’s chest.

“Are you okay? No, I mean, you’re not well, why did you suddenly move…?”

Beomwoo looked down at him with a serious face.

His voice clearly revealed urgency.

Somehow, his head was resting against Beomwoo’s chest, almost in an embrace.

Startled, Haejin tried to pull away, but at that moment, he heard the sound of Beomwoo’s heartbeat through the contact.

Whether from surprise or another reason, his heart was racing at a frantic pace.

Why is it beating so fast?

It was beating faster than Haejin’s own heart, which was startled from almost falling…

While thinking it strange, Haejin unconsciously listened to the sound of his heartbeat.

Beomwoo, who had been about to say something, grabbed Haejin’s shoulders and pulled him away.

“What’s wrong? Trying to grab me all of a sudden…”

“Ah, I… it’s…”

Between almost falling and then listening to his heartbeat, Haejin had momentarily forgotten why he had tried to grab him.

Even if it was impulsive, there had been a reason, and he needed to answer, but no answer came out.

It had been such an impulsive action, without any time to think.

As Haejin bit his lower lip as if finding it hard to speak, Beomwoo waited seriously for an answer.

He couldn’t just say ‘it’s nothing’ now and retract it.

Even though he tried to push the thought away, he had grabbed him, so Haejin hesitated before cautiously opening his mouth.

“Can’t you… not go?”