Knowing Brother-Chapter 53

I called over to the nurse who was passing by the hospital bed and asked her.

“Hey, doctor. My facial bone has sunk? Do I need surgery?”

“No. There is no orbital fracture, just swelling and abrasions. There are some bruises on my thigh, arm, and neck, but fortunately, there is no dislocated shoulder. Right now, since you have just had a seizure, you may feel numb, and there may be a sprain in your arm, so try not to move around as much as possible.”

“Whew.”

Could it be that people have become too numb to violence due to the influence of the media? Choi Seol-woo also did not know that he would feel so scared that he would get in big trouble with this level of punching. He was relieved that his injuries were not as severe as he had thought.

‘I thought I looked cool earlier. Don’t tell my hyung - didn’t I beat General Yi Sun-shin?’

Anyway, it was 3 p.m. It was about ten minutes after Won Dae-young’s match ended.

Won Dae-young participated in the finals without a video call with Choi Seol-woo right before the match. The result was a slightly disappointing first place. It was a result that fell short of his personal best, but his rival also showed a lackluster performance, so he won the gold medal.

“Ugh. Well then. I should get first place.”

I kept asking Won Dae-young for a voice call, but there was no response. I tried asking Mrs. Choi, but she was still fighting, so I couldn’t interrupt her. Just in case, I asked my coach for a voice call. After a while, the voice I received was quiet.

- Coach Na Bong-gyu is out, so I’ll take your place. My name is Eom Joo-bin from Gyeonggi Physical Education High School. Who are you?

Eom Joo-bin. He was a competitor who closely followed Won Dae-young in Korea. He belongs to Gyeonggi Province, which invests a lot in nurturing excellent track and field athletes, and his family, who are members of the Gyeonggi Athletics Federation, had great connections. I had thrown a lot of darts at that name, so I felt a little embarrassed, but hearing his voice in person was even more embarrassing.

“Won Dae-young, you didn’t answer your calls. I’m your close friend.”

- Oh, that guy named Routine? Is it Seol Woon-do?

“......Yes?”

Seol Woon-do... ... . If this is a joke, there’s really no answer, and even if it’s an attempt to criticize Choi Seol-woo, it’s strange... .

As Choi Seol-woo maintained his silence, Eom Joo-bin let out a short, barely audible laugh to himself.

- I found it funny... Sorry. Won Dae-young, you’re fighting with the coach. The team is returning home in 3 days, but you’re insisting that you’re returning first. You’re making a fuss about buying the fastest flight ticket and going right now.

“.......”

- You’re fighting with the coach, saying it makes no sense for you to just leave because your own event is over. Do you know why Dae-young is acting like that?

Of course, he had a good guess. Won Dae-young didn’t know who posted the screenshot that was spreading like wildfire on the internet, but now that he found out about the whole thing, his blood must have been boiling.

I was suddenly scared that I would be hated by the coach or that I would be labeled as a bad guy in the sports world.

“If you could tell my hyung, please tell him that I’m fine except for the scratch and a little swelling, so don’t act all crazy and just stay still.”

- ... Scratch? Swelling? Where did you get hurt? Something happened.

Choi Seol-woo felt sorry for the ill will he had toward his rival at the unexpectedly affectionate voice. But you never know. You can’t tell a person just by looking at their appearance. Who knows if they’re acting kind and innocent on the outside but actually hating Won Dae-young? If I’m Won Dae-young’s best friend, I shouldn’t let my guard down because of his outward kindness. I should be smart and deal with it.

The other end of the phone was noisy, but soon Won Dae-young’s voice pierced his ears. Won Dae-young let out a dry voice.

- Seol-woo. Ah... ... !

“.......”

Choi Seol-woo gripped the phone tightly at his scream-like lament. His words, which were not connected properly and were scattered in a jumble, made her earlobes turn red.

- What happened? That bastard, that bird... That bastard beat you up? At school. Beat you up? Because you exposed evidence. Beat you up, you? With what.

Was there ever a time when Won Dae-young couldn’t control his emotions like this... ... ?

Well, Choi Seol-woo doesn’t remember. When he drove away the monster from the two-story house, his physical strength was strong, but wasn’t his eyes cold and cold?

“First with his slippers, then with his fists.”

- ... ... .

“Hey, don’t be so excited. I’m not really hurt. I’m not pretending to be strong, I’m serious.”

The sound of his rapidly beating heart reached the throbbing wound. Judging from the sudden decrease in his speech, it seemed likely that Won Dae-young would be the first to set foot on Korean soil tomorrow.

It was said that it would be advantageous to stay hospitalized for as long as possible, but I was anxious because the final exam was just around the corner. If it were up to me, I would ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ have gone to school today.

The advanced class friends kindly told me the final exam scope and homework. Did Kang Jong-hyeok spread Choi Seol-woo’s real family circumstances to the school like he had threatened?

I thought they would send me a message or call me to ask if they had Ha Yeong-seo’s cell phone, but they were quiet. Are they really... people who only talk? They lose their sense of reason when they blink, but they’re not so sloppy that they forget their threats that were part of their plan.

Global Dance Goddess Ha Young-seo: [Seol-woo, how are you feeling?ㅠㅠ I'm so worried] 4:17 PM

Global Dance Goddess Ha Young-seo: [I'll go visit you in my car later. Do you want to eat anything?ㅠㅠ] 4:18 PM

Ha Young-seo is also having a headache because her company is involved. She said that her parents and company officials are discussing how to respond as her boyfriend keeps getting involved in unpleasant incidents. It seems that she has been asked to end her relationship with Won Dae-young in order to debut.

Ha Young-seo also had many worries. However, she seemed to have made a firm decision to some extent because it was clear that dating would only be a negative factor in the long run. The answer was actually set in stone. It's just sad and painful to have to do that.

Still, I was grateful that Ha Young-seo tried not to show her struggles to Choi Seol-woo.

[Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to come. I’ll be discharged soon. Thank you for worrying about me.] 4:25 PM

After sending the reply, I heard a fist-pounding on the hospital room door.

- Knock knock. Android C8.

He finally returned home alone. Choi Seol-woo quickly covered his face with his baseball cap.

Won Dae-young came in limping. Judging from the way he was pushing his carrier against the wall, he must have come straight from the airport. Won Dae-young, carrying a large sports bag on his shoulder and wearing a baseball cap, approached the hospital bed.

“Look.”

Choi Seol-woo was also afraid of his reaction, so she stubbornly acted like a child. She covered her face with her hat and peeked out her right eye to look at Won Dae-young.

Thanks to the uproar she caused by telling Mrs. Choi not to send the photos, Won Dae-young didn’t know what Seol-woo’s condition was when he arrived at the emergency room. First of all, perhaps because his right face, slightly exposed outside his hat, was fine, he wasn’t too shaken.

“If you don’t get off soon, I’ll cover you.”

The content sounded like a joke, but his voice was heavy with sternness. Choi Seol-woo was buying time with grumbling and jokes that he hadn’t told Ha Yeong-seo.

“It’s so hot. It’s so cold. I thought my bones were cracked.”

“Let’s see.”

“Please get my academy’s final exam materials for me later. Sam said he’d grade them if I took a picture of the answers and sent it to him.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have a laptop at home? Bring that one too. I’m sick of reading texts on my phone all the time.”

“I’ll get it on my way here.”

“Buy me a taro bubble tea with a sugar content of 30. If you have a mini cream puff, that’s it too.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. And fill the tumbler with water. Mix hot and cold water.”

The pleasure of ordering and eating was indescribable. When I glanced to my right, Won Dae-young was smiling faintly. It seemed like he would grab Seol-woo’s arm if he let his guard down. Choi Seol-woo snatched his phone from him and scolded him.

“No, those guys. They tried to send you to the goal on a motorcycle, and they tried to send you and Ha-young-seo at the same time.”

“Send me? How?”

“There must be bed selfies. Look, they insulted you and Yeong-seo. Are they human? How could I just sit still?”

He showed me a captured group chat conversation that he had not shared with anyone. Won Dae-young pretended to be very surprised, but his face quickly returned to a tired expression.

“That bastard figured me out well. But he didn’t even take a selfie, let alone a naked selfie during our one-night stay at the pension. It was a waste of time.”

“You didn’t take a single selfie?”

“We’ve only been together for a week. I’m preparing for a competition, and he’s been under pressure from work, so we haven’t even met properly. Now put your arms down and look at me, Seol-woo.”

Choi Seol-woo stubbornly kept his hat up and kept talking.

“Those bastards were quiet. Yeong-seo didn’t even call to bring her phone.”

“Of course. I talked to him yesterday.”

“With Kang Jong-hyuk? What conversation?”

“You don’t need to know the details....”

Choi Seol-woo lowered his hat in surprise. It was the moment when he turned his head with his eyes wide open.

Won Dae-young’s words suddenly stopped. His expression, which met Choi Seol-woo’s face, instantly became lifeless.

His eyes, which had mechanically scanned the faint handprints on his neck in the cast, hardened like lead.

Choi Seol-woo watched in real time as consciousness slipped from Won Dae-young’s eyes, cheeks, and mouth. Sitting on the low guardian’s bed, he seemed to have lost all thoughts for a moment. His pupils seemed to drift away to some distant place and then emptied.

“.......”

At the end, the corners of his mouth twitched briefly. The moment Won Dae-young’s fingertips on his knees trembled, Seol-woo realized that he had completely stopped breathing.

Won Dae-young cupped his chin with his trembling hand. His gaze remained fixed on Choi Seol-woo’s wounded face. His chest began to rise and fall sharply.

“...I should have learned how to fight. Didn’t you do a good job of sending them all to hell?”

He barely avoided eye contact and made a joke. However, Won Dae-young didn’t seem to hear him.

Won Dae-young clenched his teeth and shook his head loudly, then suddenly lowered his head. Then he swept his head hard with his large hands. After washing his face dry, he let out a long breath and slowly raised his head with a sigh. His two eyes that had reappeared were glaring ahead, bloodshot.