My Ex-Girlfriend Regrets Dumping Me

32 – Explanation (4)

Hayeon had a nightmare.

It was a dream of the day she left.

On a snowy day, she knelt on the ground and cried her heart out as she watched Hayeon leave.

But when she woke up from the dream, she saw her right in front of her.

“…Seo Hayeon?”

They were almost nose-to-nose in distance.

He was still out of it and couldn’t understand why she was there right in front of him.

But then everything came flooding back to him: falling down the stairs at school, hurting himself, getting to his house while it had been raining, he even remembered lying down in his foyer.

When Hayeon met his gaze, she jumped back onto her bed as if she had been caught stealing something, “Are you awake? Yuk, I was going to change your towel on your forehead.” Hayeon started mumbling excuses unprompted.

Maybe it would be an excuse for why she had been so close to me.

Her eyes were rolling in all directions, wondering what was so surprising.

My forehead still felt hot, but it was slightly cool and damp.

It seemed like Hayeon had placed a wet towel on my forehead.

Since the reason somewhat made sense, I glanced around.

I was already lying on the bed in the room.

My top had been removed at some point, and my pants were still damp.

The room was quite warm, as if the heater had been turned on.

Maybe Hayeon had done it all.

It couldn’t have been something I did after collapsing on my own.

It was only reasonable to think that Hayeon did it.

“…Was it you?”

When I asked her, Hayeon nodded her head repeatedly.

Like a puppy wanting to be praised for doing well.

“Yeah, umm, I did it. But I didn’t take off your pants because it felt a bit uncomfortable. I’ll bring new ones later. I’ll leave the room.”

“…”

Certainly, it would have been a little awkward for her to take off my pants too.

“But anyway, how’s your body…? Are you feeling a bit better now?”

“…A little better than before.”

There wasn’t much improvement yet.

His head still throbbed, and he still felt chills in his body, indicating he had a fever.

But still, he didn’t feel like he would collapse like earlier.

“That’s a relief. I was really surprised. You collapsed suddenly at the entrance.”

From Hayeon’s perspective, it must have been quite shocking.

Someone suddenly fainting right in front of her.

It seemed that being in poor health and getting caught in the rain played their part.

“Now that you’re up, let’s take some medicine first. I brought some fever reducers and cold medicine.”

Hayeon took out the medicine from a white envelope, making a rustling sound.

It seemed like she had gone to the neighborhood convenience store while I was sleeping.

She handed me the medicine so that it would be easier to take and also gave me a cup of water.

I obediently followed her words, putting the medicine in my mouth.

Looking at the things she had done and knowing that I would only delay the treatment if I resisted, there was no point in rebelling.

That way, she would have to stay longer at home.

“Today must be that day. You used to have a really bad day once a year.”

“…”

“Back then, it was chaos when that day arrived. Right? I worried about you while running around, feeling feverish. But every year, I couldn’t get used to it.”

It probably wasn’t a pleasant memory for her.

As if it were a happy memory, Ha-yeon brought up those days with a small smile on her lips.

Upon hearing her words, memories from back then resurfaced clearly in my mind.

The memory of the time when she pretended to cook porridge for me, but in reality, it was Mi-eum’s porridge that I reluctantly ate.

Her holding my hand by the bedside until I woke up.

… Back then, Ha-yeon was always by my side whenever I struggled.

It must have been difficult for her, but her heartfelt care became a great source of strength for me.

Of course, now everything has become like this.

I felt a bitter taste lingering on my lips.

Could it be the taste of the fever medicine Ha-yeon bought?

“Here, give me the cup.”

As I handed her the cup, Ha-yeon’s clothes caught my attention.

They were still damp.

Perhaps it was because she had fairly long hair.

Her hair was still slightly moist as well.

I raised a question that came to mind to Ha-yeon.

“…You haven’t showered yet?”

“No. That’s how things turned out. I was so busy looking after you, I didn’t have time.”

Was she embarrassed?

Ha-yeon answered while covering her damp clothes with her hand.

Seeing her like that, a strange emotion stirred inside me.

Was it gratitude or frustration?

No matter what, hearing that she took care of me to the extent of neglecting herself made my heart weak.

Even though more than an hour had passed by now.

You’re still not showering, what are you doing? Even though it’s someone else’s house.

What if you catch a cold like that?

“I’m sure you had time while I was sleeping.”

“…I forgot…hehehe.”

It hasn’t been long since you recovered from the illness.

The pictures she showed me in the hospital room kept coming back to my mind.

Even though she was discharged, I knew that immune system management is much more important for cancer patients than for others.

If you get another disease or your immune system weakens, the chances of recurrence are much higher.

So Hayeon had to take care of her body before me.

“……Hurry up and shower. I won’t take responsibility if you get a cold because of me.”

“…Huh?”

But the words still came out bluntly.

Hayeon listened to my words and looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

“Y-Yura. Say it again. What did you say?”

I didn’t want to say it again.

I lay on the bed and turned my head the other way.

And mumbled the words to her again.

“…I said it’s okay, so go shower. Stupid.”

*

– Shhhhh

Steam rose from the shower as the water poured onto the floor.

Hayeon, with the landlord’s permission, began to shower in the bathroom.

She put her hand on her pounding chest and looked blankly at herself in the mirror.

The reflection of Hayeon’s mouth in the mirror was trembling and looking towards the sky.

“…Yura was worried about me.”

She pretended not to hear, but she actually did.

The words urging her to shower because she might catch a cold were Yura’s expression of concern for her.

She just wanted to hear it again.

“…hehehe.”

Yura was worried about her.

I felt the desire to record that statement and play it over and over again.

My heart was pounding, and my mood was suddenly improving.

It was a feeling of complete relief from the fatigue that came from taking care of my health today.

“Compared to back then…”

Just a few days ago, I couldn’t have even imagined this happening.

It meant that Geon-yul’s psychological resistance to himself had decreased, and the biggest reason was probably that misunderstandings between him and herself had been cleared up.

I thought that I had been very brave.

If not, would Geon-yul have relied on her support?

Perhaps even if he couldn’t walk on his own, or even if it was pouring rain, he might have shaken off her help.

It was good news and a great opportunity for her.

Geon-yul’s heart, which she thought had closed completely, was opening up to her.

Ha-yeon looked around inside the bathroom, humming a tune.

And suddenly her gaze froze on one particular item.

It was the blue toothbrush cup placed next to Geon-yul’s toothbrush.

“…Is that…what is it? The couple item we bought?”

It was the couple item that Geon-yul and Ha-yeon had shared for the first time.

It was the couple item they had matched when they were students and didn’t have much money.

She had a pink one, and Geon-yul had matched his with blue.

As she looked at it, her growing emotions became overwhelming.

She became more and more convinced.

From their previous conversation, she thought that Geon-yul still had some reluctance towards her.

That blue toothbrush cup seemed to prove that thought.

“…It may seem like wishful thinking.”

Maybe it was a Freudian slip.

Honestly, Geon-yul might just be too lazy to throw anything away and use whatever is there.

It might have had nothing to do with her lingering feelings or memories.

After all, she hadn’t found anything else in Geon-yul’s house besides that cup.

Regardless of the truth, the fact remained that it gave her courage.

…If she did well, she might be able to restore her relationship with Ge

Such audacious imagination continued to come to mind.

“Of course. It wouldn’t be right now.”

Ha-yeon was not a fool. She was not that clueless.

The confession of liking him was said under the influence of alcohol.

It was also to clear up any misunderstandings.

But it was a foolish act to suggest immediately reuniting to repair their relationship.

Gyeon-yool had not completely overcome his aversion to her.

But the fact that there was hope was positive news for her.

If she continued to stay around him and gradually closed the distance, there was a chance.

Of course, there were likely to be obstacles as well.

“That conniving girl.”

Ha-yeon hadn’t really done anything wrong, but thinking of her didn’t make her feel good.

For Ha-yeon to restore her relationship with Gyeon-yool, that girl had to be out of the picture.

It seemed like their relationship had progressed quite a bit.

She didn’t know how she could pry that girl away from Gyeon-yool, but…

…Let’s think about that later.

Right now, it was important to continue lingering around Gyeon-yool.

It wouldn’t be easy to close the distance in their relationship if they kept growing apart like this.

It wasn’t her intention, but today turned out to be a good opportunity for her.

It wasn’t easy to find time alone with Gyeon-yool.

“…Let’s just start with being friends for now.”

Ha-yeon prepared herself to take a step towards Gyeon-yool as she showered.