The Probability of Becoming a Couple with Your Beloved

Wonhyeok’s eyes widened. In an instant, the enraged drunk’s hand touched Kang Hangeom’s face, who had suddenly jumped forward.

“Ah…”

Hangeom, clutching his chin, fell backward. His glasses fell to the ground again, and this time they were even crushed, breaking in half. Not only Hangeom fell. The drunk man, who had swung with all his might, also lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.

“Hey!”

Wonhyeok shouted, frowning deeply. It looked more like anger because all his plans had gone to waste due to someone’s interference, rather than concern for Hangeom.

“Are you okay?”

Nevertheless, thanks to long social adaptation, these words came out first.

“Y-yes…”

Hangeom replied in a detached voice and nodded. He clearly looked stunned, so Wonhyeok squatted in front of him. When he took the hand of Hangeom, who was holding his chin, he felt his fragile shoulders tremble.

The right cheek was slightly swollen. Although it was hard to see in the darkness, it seemed the blow wasn’t as strong as one might think. Nevertheless, Wonhyeok asked very detailed questions just in case, starting with whether Hangeom knew where he was to check his consciousness, and ending with whether anything was torn in his mouth.

After all, the one who knows well about injuries is the one who has hit a lot.

“Ah… but how are you, senior? Are you okay? What happened anyway…”

Wonhyeok’s eyebrow twitched. I wonder from what moment Kang Hangeom had been observing this scene? From the very beginning? Or from the moment he was talking to the drunk? Or when he started beating him? In any case, it wasn’t good.

Everything Wonhyeok had built to smoothly fit into this society was now dangerously shaken.

“Did this person start picking on you first, senior? Maybe he threatened you?!”

At this moment, Hangeom grabbed Wonhyeok’s hand and asked. Wonhyeok lowered his gaze to the hand full of concern. Plus, the smell of alcohol felt from close range. Now that he thought about it, Hangeom had also drunk quite a lot at the chicken restaurant. He looked quite drunk.

“Not that he threatened, but he approached me asking if I had any cigarettes. And when I said I’m a non-smoker and don’t have any…”

Wonhyeok smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. He looked like a person confused after an unpleasant incident.

It was a kind of gamble. Regardless of what Kang Hangeom saw, or didn’t see, or saw but couldn’t reason soundly due to alcohol, the “Do Wonhyeok” who had just beaten someone needed to be erased from his memory.

“I thought so… Does anything hurt?”

“…No. Fortunately.”

Wonhyeok smirked.

“Good… Ugh.”

Hangeom suddenly let out a quiet groan. Seeing him grab his ear on the side where the blow landed and lower his head, Wonhyeok quickly examined his condition. Upon checking, a wound was visible on the right ear lobe. Judging by how heavily it was bleeding, the cut was quite deep.

Wonhyeok reflexively looked at the fallen drunk’s hand. And indeed, there was a ring on the left hand. Apparently, when the blow landed at an angle, it cut the ear.

Tsk, Wonhyeok mentally clicked his tongue. He always finished everything cleanly, without consequences, and this time it should have been the same. But suddenly this clumsy stumbling block appeared.

“Hangeom, get up. Let’s go to the hospital first.”

“What? Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll just disinfect it at home.”

“You got hurt because of me, how can I leave it like this? Quickly get up.”

When Wonhyeok grabbed Hangeom’s hand and pulled, he, as if hypnotized, slowly stood up.

∞ ∞ ∞

Kang Hangeom’s life was incredibly monotonous. He graduated from elementary, middle, and high school in the same district, was an ordinary quiet student, one of those whose presence in the class was barely noticeable. The only thing that kept his presence from completely disappearing was that he was always first in academic performance at school.

People say that unexpected events often happen in life, but for Hangeom, this wasn’t the case at all. He just lived quietly, without complaints, following the flow as predetermined. If his life was turned into a novel, Hangeom wouldn’t be able to become the main character. He himself thought he would just be an extra mentioned in one line.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“What? Ah, no…”

And now, finally, that very “unexpected” event happened to Hangeom.

“They say there are many patients in the emergency department, we’ll have to wait a bit.”

Hangeom was sitting next to Wonhyeok in the waiting room of the emergency department at the nearest university hospital. With his beloved senior, with whom he always dreamed of being together, even if from afar.

In fact, as time passed, the pain continued to intensify. His face, which had taken the blow, hurt, and more importantly, his right ear was burning and causing severe pain. However, despite this, all of Hangeom’s attention was focused on one person – Wonhyeok.

“Because of me… I’m really sorry. I should have just left, not reacted.”

Wonhyeok turned and continued to look at the wound with a very worried expression.

“He looked so drunk, I was afraid he might fall on the street, so I kept watching him…”

Hangeom nodded as if hypnotized. Wonhyeok was really kind. To think he cared so much about a person who had approached him.

“Senior, I’m really okay.”

From Wonhyeok’s voice and his concerned gaze, it seemed that all the pain disappeared in an instant. As if Do Wonhyeok’s very being was anesthesia.

“Kang Hangeom, please come in.”

At this moment, a nurse from the treatment room called Hangeom by name. Wonhyeok wanted to go with him, but at that moment he received a call, so Hangeom went in alone.

Sitting in front of the doctor, he briefly explained how he got injured, and the doctor carefully examined the wound. There was no damage inside the mouth, and visually no abnormalities were observed, but the doctor said that if Hangeom wanted, he could do a CT scan in case there was a blow to the head, and proceeded to treat the wound on the ear.

“The tear is quite deep, so we’ll have to put in one stitch. Could you lie on the couch and tilt your head back completely?”

“Yes.”

They need to put in a stitch. Only then did fear overcome Hangeom. When he lay on the hard couch and put on the bandage the nurse gave him, his thick hair, usually covering his face, was completely pushed back. At this moment, the eyes of the nurse preparing the instruments nearby widened, but Hangeom didn’t notice this.

“Then let’s begin.”

Putting in the stitch turned out to be more painful than he expected. They say that everyone has their own pain threshold, and the sensation of pain is different for everyone, but even with anesthesia, it was quite torturous for Hangeom. In the end, the procedure was completed only after he shed several involuntary tears.

As he was removing the bandage, the nurse with a friendly smile handed him a tissue. Apparently, she was taking care of him, noticing the tears from pain. In this short time, he had tensed up so much that sweat even appeared on his forehead.

“That’s all for today. For stitch removal, make an appointment at the reception desk before leaving.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Hangeom bowed and went out to the waiting room where he had been sitting earlier. Then he remembered that he didn’t have his glasses now. Looking around with slightly blurred vision, Hangeom didn’t see anyone who looked like Wonhyeok.

He naturally headed towards the exit, and among the figures leaning against the wall, he noticed a man with a special aura. Approaching closer, he saw that it was indeed Wonhyeok. Hangeom, without realizing it himself, with a beaming smile slowly approached him as he was talking on the phone.

“I will inform you of all the location information…”

Wonhyeok, who seemed a bit irritated and was speaking on the phone with an unusually tense expression, accidentally looked up.

“Senior.”

Seeing Hangeom approaching him, he slowly ended the call and moved away from the wall with a detached expression.

“I… I’m done. T-they put in one stitch, but they said it’s nothing serious.”

“…”

“They said there won’t even be a scar, and also…”

When Wonhyeok continued to look at him silently, Hangeom, apparently feeling awkward, scratched his head and averted his gaze.

“…Yes? Okay. Wait a minute. I’ll just pay the bill and come back.”

Wonhyeok, rummaging in his back pocket for his wallet, headed towards the emergency department reception desk. Hangeom anxiously watched him walk away.

“Done. Now let’s go.”

“Um, senior.”

“Yes?”

“About the payment… I think I should pay myself.”

Come to think of it, it wasn’t Wonhyeok’s fault that he got injured. The fact that he intervened there was his own decision and choice.

“But if it weren’t for you, Hangeom, I would have been hurt. So of course, I should pay.”

“But… the emergency department is expensive, isn’t it?”

Don’t people avoid emergency departments unless they’re severely injured or dying because it’s unknown how much it will cost? When Hangeom lowered his eyes in embarrassment, Wonhyeok’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Really, it’s okay. Hangeom, can I ask you for one thing?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Hangeom nodded energetically, like a dog responding to its owner’s call. Wonhyeok’s phone appeared in front of him.

“Give me your number.”

“What?”

“You should come with me when you get the stitches removed and have the dressing changed.”

“But I…”

Hangeom wanted to say that it was really okay, but desire outweighed conscience, emotions took over reason. The opportunity to exchange numbers with Wonhyeok and meet him alone again was enough motivation for Hangeom.

“Then I’ll contact you.”

“Yes!”

After that, Hangeom didn’t remember how he got home after parting with Wonhyeok. It seems his classmates from the club tried to contact him several times, but he didn’t care about that.

Returning to his modest studio apartment, Hangeom stopped confusedly in the entryway. The door closed, and there was a cheerful sound of the door lock. The lighting sensor in the entryway, welcoming the owner, lit up briefly but soon went out, detecting no movement.

“…I’ve gone crazy.”

And at the moment when Hangeom, covering his mouth with his hand, uttered these words, the light brightly lit up again. He could hear his heart beating loudly. It’s not clear whether it was because the anesthesia was gradually wearing off and the wound was starting to hurt again, or because of Wonhyeok’s number carefully saved in his phone.

Hangeom wanted to lie on the bed and think about the events of today, but remembered that he needed to wash his hands and feet first, and headed to the bathroom.

Seeing his reflection in the mirror, Hangeom almost fell backward.

Due to sweat and the bandage that pressed down his hair, his bangs were unusually disheveled and brushed back, revealing his entire forehead, and around his eyes was reddish due to tears during the procedure. Moreover, there was a slight blush on his cheeks from alcohol.

“And I was with this face in front of the senior all this time?”

Hangeom took a deep breath and looked reproachfully at his reflection in the mirror.