Bring It On! - Chapter 6

Chapter 6. 

It felt like being trampled by the elephant I once saw during a vacation in Thailand. The heavy pressure weighing down on my chest and stomach made it hard to breathe. My deeply sleeping consciousness slowly began to stir. With a dazed mind, I struggled to open my eyes.

“Ugh… what the—”

A man’s face was right next to mine. His soft, steady breathing brushed against my cheek, leaving behind a damp warmth before fading away. It was already sweltering, but his breath made the discomfort even worse. To top it off, his long arms and legs wrapped tightly around me as if to trap me, adding to my irritation.

What kind of sleeping habit was this? As if he’d die if he let go, the man clung to me with all his might.

“This is just ridiculous.”

Whatever his limbs were made of, they were incredibly hard to move with the little strength I had just after waking. As I squirmed, trying to free myself from his embrace, he let out a soft groan and pulled me even closer.

As I was being forcibly cuddled like a prisoner tied in ropes, Suho woke up.

“Noona, what are you doing?”

Rubbing his eyes, Suho stared blankly at us, tangled together like one being.

“Don’t just stand there staring—help me…”

“I want a hug too.”

“Ugh!”

As expected of an aspiring delinquent son, Suho latched onto my other side like a leech. Soon enough, he was asleep again, his breathing slow and steady. Sweat trickled down my temple. Even the man, feeling the heat, twisted his handsome features in discomfort. Still, he didn’t wake easily, probably because the past few days had exhausted him. And he didn’t let go of me, either.

In the end, I had to endure a torturous group hug from the two of them for over an hour.

***

Rain had poured overnight like the sky had been torn open, but by morning, it had stopped.

“When was he all picky and uptight…”

It was past noon, and yet the man still lay sprawled in the middle of the shelter, wandering in dreamland. The same guy who had fussed about how disgusting the water tasted. He must be dead or something. He looked so pitifully deep in sleep that I hadn’t had the heart to wake him, but still. Wasn’t this a bit much?

Even when I accidentally bumped into him or stepped on his hand, he slept soundly like he was in his own home. I used a long stick to tap the roof and drain the rainwater that had collected overnight. Outside, the sound of water spilling echoed loudly.

“Suho, wake him up.”

“Hyung! Hyung!”

Suho grabbed the man’s shoulder and shook him like mad. Using all the boundless energy of a nine-year-old, he kept shaking until the man finally opened his eyes halfway and grumbled, “Ugh, damn…”

“Get up! Put on ointment, eat something.”

“Food…”

Just as he was about to lie back down, his body instinctively rose at the mention of food. He must have slept so deeply. His hair was sticking out in all directions.

As I sat down in front of him, his eyes, which had been wandering aimlessly, slowly focused. His dazed mind seemed to be clearing. The relaxed muscles in his face began to tighten with tension and twist.

He was probably remembering last night. How he came in soaked, buried his face into my back, and sobbed.

“Your eyes are swollen. Said you didn’t want to sleep, but looks like you slept well.”

The man’s right cheek twitched. With thick brows and upturned eyes, he had the perfect face of someone prideful and hard-headed. I sat close and scrutinized his face in detail. He looked uncomfortable under my obvious stare but couldn’t bring himself to push me away. The one in need always loses. That’s just how it works.

“…Fine. I’ll admit it.”

He gave a small cough and spoke like he was doing me a favor. Instead of lowering himself, he looked completely unashamed. This guy clearly had no sense of embarrassment.

“Trying to escape with no preparation was reckless.”

“So?”

“So, I’ve decided it wouldn’t be too bad to stay here and cooperate with you guys for a while.”

The way he talked…. He clearly had no intention of humbling himself. His shamelessness left me unable to keep a straight face. Maybe I really should’ve just let him die.

“What if we don’t want you here?”

“That’s not an option.”

“What the hell…?”

“You need manpower. Looks like all you do is cut wood all day. Weren’t you trying to expand this place? That little kid’s probably not much help, and you’ve got limits too. Now tell me. Out of the three of us, who do you think can offer the most valuable labor?”

The man smirked arrogantly as he said, “Me.”

His hair was a wild mess, his skin was covered in bug bites, and his body reeked from being soaked in the rain and left unwashed. He looked like a total mess, yet he had the nerve to grin like he was proud of it. It was oddly infuriating. But I couldn’t deny what he said. It wasn’t completely wrong.

The shelter we’d hastily built was flimsy enough to collapse any day now. All we had were some wooden poles for support, with palm leaves and a tarp loosely wrapped around them. On windy days, the whole thing would shake like it was ready to fall apart. I was already scrambling to put together a more solid and reliable shelter before things got worse.

The guy really did seem like he could be a useful worker. From what I’d seen these past few days, he moved endlessly like a battery that never ran out, wasting his energy on nonsense. I couldn’t deny it. I had thought to myself, If he’s going to burn energy like that, why not use it for something useful?

“Judging by your face, I’d say we’ve reached an agreement.” 

He said with a smug grin, propping himself up on his hands. The way he relaxed so comfortably was infuriating.

“Fine. But don’t even think about slacking off.”

“You just make sure you don’t zone out staring at me in admiration.”

As soon as I gave him the go-ahead, he looked genuinely at ease, even humming a little tune. Just last night, he was sobbing into my back like a pitiful mess. His way of thinking was unbelievably simple. Then, he pointed at Suho with a cocky jerk of his chin.

“Hey kid, come here.”

Suho looked confused but walked over. As soon as he was close enough, the man snatched the cup from his hand and chugged the water. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down shamelessly as he tilted his head all the way back to drink it in one go.

“Disgusting.”

That’s what he said after all that. Suho stared down at his now-empty hand, then looked at the man, then turned to me.

“Noona…”

His eyes said it all. That guy’s definitely not right in the head. I snatched the empty cup from the man and shoved it back into his chest. 

Thud. He winced as it hit him in the stomach, but before he could say anything ridiculous, I spoke first.

“If you’re gonna act like a king just because you’ve got good stamina, then get out. We don’t need you.”

“…”

I pointed at the door behind him, and the man sat up straighter, abandoning his lazy posture.

“Who said I was trying to be king?”

“Boil your own water. Wash your own dishes. No one’s here to wait on you.”

“I didn’t ask for anyone to do anything!”

He didn’t reflect on his actions at all. Not even a little. I almost hurled the piece of wood I’d been using as a makeshift pillow at him. He flinched, but I held back. I kept thinking about the abrasion on the inside of his thigh. The raw wound was oozing.

“Whatever. Let’s just treat your wound.”

“What about food?”

“Did you not hear me? I said we will treat your wound first.”

“Where’s the medicine? You’re not gonna crush up some weird herbs and slap them on, are you? Is this stuff even reliable?”

“Just shut your mouth.”

The guy shrank for all of ten seconds before returning to his usual self. Acting like he wasn’t interested, he casually scooted closer and started rambling again. I took out some ointment from the first aid kit.

“Wash the dirt off first and sit down. Show me your thigh.”