Do You Still Want to Do This Yourself?

The problem was that Beomwoo never left his side unless something specific came up.

Still, he was human and would have moments when he had to step away briefly.

Haejin waited for that moment, pretending to be fine, and the opportunity came sooner than expected.

“I need to take a call. I’ll be right back.”

“Ah, yes! Take your time.”

A faint vibration sounded from somewhere, and Beomwoo checked his phone, clicked his tongue, and stood up.

Whether he was interrupted from work or the call was from an unwelcome party like before, his expression wasn’t great.

He apologized, saying he’d be back soon, but Haejin, who had only been waiting for him to leave, hoped he would take as long as possible.

When Haejin told him not to worry and to take his time answering the call, showing a hint of eagerness, Beomwoo looked at him somewhat suspiciously.

Even as Beomwoo walked toward the door with his phone, he kept glancing back, perhaps worried about leaving Haejin alone or because of Haejin’s reaction.

Still, it seemed to be an unavoidable call, as he eventually left.

After the door closed, Haejin waited about ten seconds, observing the situation, then moved as quickly as possible.

Of course, even moving as fast as he could, he wasn’t swift.

Though the cast had been partially loosened, it was his first time getting out of bed alone since being hospitalized.

It wasn’t that the situation was urgent, but because he thought Beomwoo would return quickly despite being told to take his time.

He had to resolve this as quickly and efficiently as possible while he had the chance.

Fortunately, since the bed had been half-raised since morning, turning his body and planting his feet on the floor wasn’t too difficult.

“Haa, I can do this much on my own…”

Haejin knew his condition wasn’t great, but he didn’t think he was in a state where he couldn’t lift a finger, needing to rely on Beomwoo for everything from A to Z.

He had received various kinds of help from Beomwoo earlier, but honestly… he thought it was excessive coddling.

Of course, he was grateful, knowing it wasn’t easy to do all that.

But precisely because he knew that, he couldn’t easily say he needed to use the restroom.

He had no idea how far Beomwoo’s help would extend.

Thinking he could manage alone, Haejin got out of bed, dragged his IV pole, and carefully headed toward the bathroom in the room.

But just as he reached the bathroom, his foot caught on the wheel of the pole he was dragging.

His unsteady body pitched forward.

Crash!

“Eeek…!”

It happened in an instant.

He knew he was falling, but his body wouldn’t obey.

His foot, caught on the wheel, couldn’t properly plant on the floor.

To avoid further injury, he needed to twist his body like in a breakfall, but he couldn’t.

His body already felt heavy as if soaked, and his hand holding the IV pole was connected to the drip, making movement difficult.

Haejin ended up sprawled face-down on the bathroom floor, letting out an undignified scream along with a loud, crashing sound.

Tears welled in his eyes instantly.

He had fallen so helplessly, and the bathroom tiles were even harder.

Hitting the already injured, casted areas sent a bone-rattling pain through him.

‘I can do it on my own. Beomwoo is just overprotective.’ Thinking this, he had tried to handle things himself, but his pathetic self couldn’t even make it to the bathroom properly, ending up sprawled on the floor.

The pain was one thing, but the renewed realization of how dire his physical state was made the bridge of his nose sting even more.

Sniffling, Haejin tried to push himself up from the cold bathroom tile floor when, at that moment, he heard the hospital room door slide open forcefully.

“Haejin!”

Turning his head, he saw Beomwoo, who had gone to take the call, looking down at him with a shocked expression.

Ah, damn it…

How did he know? It was bewildering.

It seemed he had been taking the call nearby and rushed in upon hearing the loud noise.

Now, more than the pain, the feeling of utter disgrace was overwhelming.

As Haejin bit his lower lip and swallowed a sigh, Beomwoo knelt on one knee, slung one of Haejin’s arms over his shoulder, and helped him up.

“Lean on me and get up.”

“Th-thank you.”

Honestly, he wished Beomwoo had pretended not to see, but that wasn’t possible.

Embarrassed, Haejin accepted the help and stood up.

Beomwoo, still startled, helped him up immediately but, belatedly realizing the situation, furrowed one eyebrow and asked Haejin:

“But why are you here like this?”

“Uh, just…”

“……”

Haejin wanted to evade, finding it hard to be honest.

But the moment “just” left his mouth, Beomwoo’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

His gaze seemed to ask, “What ‘just’ reason could there be?” even before Haejin finished speaking.

As expected, it didn’t look like this would be easily dismissed.

After briefly gauging Beomwoo’s reaction, Haejin resigned himself, tightly shut his eyes, and confessed honestly.

“I… I needed to use the restroom…”

“……The restroom?”

When Haejin answered in a near-whisper, Beomwoo muttered in disbelief.

He had stepped out briefly, heard a loud noise from the room, returned, and found Haejin sprawled in the bathroom.

Thinking something serious had happened, it turned out he just needed to use the restroom.

He looked utterly dumbfounded.

It was embarrassing enough to state the truth, but seeing his dumbfounded reaction made it even more mortifying.

If only he had confidently asked for help to use the restroom, or if he had managed to go alone successfully… But failing even at that and getting caught like this…

It was embarrassing.

The thought that his actions might seem like he was trying to manage his image because he didn’t want to show this primal side to Beomwoo made him feel strangely wronged.

Of course, it was true he didn’t want to show that side, but that wasn’t the reason.

Ironically, Beomwoo hadn’t said anything, but Haejin felt guilty and started overthinking.

As Haejin hung his head even lower in shame, Beomwoo looked at him incredulously for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

“Ha… Didn’t I tell you to say if there’s anything uncomfortable?”

“……”

“Seeing this happen right after I left, it seems you’ve been holding back since earlier. Right?”

“……”

Beomwoo spoke as if admonishing him, saying that since this happened right after he left, it seemed Haejin had been hiding it, and this was exactly why he had repeatedly urged him.

Haejin understood Beomwoo was genuinely concerned and was grateful for that concern.

Grateful, but… Even the embarrassment of his stomach growling was enough, so how could he possibly say he needed to use the restroom?

He knew Beomwoo was telling him not to do this again, but Haejin couldn’t promise not to secretly go to the restroom without saying anything again.

Feeling unnecessarily guilty, Haejin chewed his lip and remained silent.

Seeing this, Beomwoo seemed to think he didn’t know what Haejin was thinking and that he might have been too harsh, so he softened his tone and spoke again.

“So, you haven’t taken care of it yet?”

“……No. Since… you helped me up, I’ll manage from here.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Wh-what? What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to stand on your own, isn’t it? I’ll support you.”

Support…?

Haejin blinked, not understanding what he meant.

Beomwoo grabbed his shoulders and positioned him in front of the toilet.

Haejin didn’t realize until he was placed in front of the toilet, but when Beomwoo moved to undo his center front, Haejin’s face finally flushed with shock.

Don’t tell me… he intends to help him even with standing to relieve himself? There are many options, like sitting down… Why choose that method?

He had a lot to say, but it was too embarrassing to verbally suggest that method.

Instead of saying it, Haejin tried to push away Beomwoo’s hand heading toward his center front and indirectly refused his offer.

“Ah, no! I’ll do it myself!”

“You clearly couldn’t. You almost had a serious accident. Do you know how dangerous falling in the bathroom is? You could get a concussion or worse. What were you thinking?”

“Th-that wasn’t because I was relieving myself! I tripped on the pole trying to get into the bathroom. I’m really fine…”

“I’m the one who’s fine. Here, let’s do it.”

“N-no! What are you trying to do?!”

Haejin was already flustered from the moment Beomwoo’s hand neared his center front, and the more he tried to refuse, the more determined Beomwoo became in trying to undo his front, making Haejin so flustered he even dropped formal speech.