Bring It On! - Chapter 62

Chapter 62.

Every single word in response crushed my longing. Yet, “they” didn’t seem like it referred to Jay. I guessed it was probably Jay’s family preventing contact with me.

It made sense. Jay and I lived in completely different worlds. We were born in the same country as humans, but that didn’t mean we saw, felt, or experienced the same things. 

The world Jay observed was higher than my head, closer to the sun. A position from which he could look down at the ants beneath him, bathed in brilliant sunlight. 

From that wide, open view, he could see everything in the world, yet he bore no need or responsibility to examine the details.

Moreover, someone who had enjoyed a beautiful, carefully crafted life had to endure hardships on a deserted island that were completely alien to him.

Tragedy was inherently subjective. Even if someone fell onto the same island as I did, the island could be either hell or heaven depending on their previous life. Even if everyone called it tragic, the scale and depth varied. 

For Jay, having been plunged from a life of ultimate luxury into a bottomless pit of suffering, it had to have been horrifying.

I could understand, to some extent, why Jay’s family would prevent me from meeting him. They probably didn’t want me to stir up memories that would bring back nothing but pain. 

This concept is like homeostasis, something the human body does. Humans want to return to their original position or environment. When a perfect life is blemished, it’s natural to want to wipe away the stain.

“……”

I tried countless times to understand his position, but… I still wanted to see him. I couldn’t stop the longing spreading through me, regardless of reason.

At night, especially, my heart would surge uncontrollably. I stared out the window for a long time. The countless traces of falling stars were gone, replaced by city lights illuminating the streets in place of starlight. It felt as if I had fallen into a world turned upside down.

“Noona.”

The rustle of the blanket and a calling voice reached me. Turning around, I saw Suho dangling his legs over the bed.

“Why are you up? Can’t sleep?”

Suho nodded.

“Can I sleep next to you?”

I hesitated for a moment. Throughout the hospital stay, Suho insisted on sleeping beside me instead of his own bed. His reason was fear. 

He had cried, suffered, and been scared by the harsh experiences on the deserted island that no child should have to endure. Even as an adult, I often lost my composure and was swallowed by fear. 

How much more frightening must it have been for him? At first, I had given him my side of the bed, but I couldn’t allow the habit of needing me pressed against him to fall asleep to continue forever.

“…Just for today, Noona. Okay?”

But seeing his innocent, clear face tilted in earnest request, I couldn’t bring myself to say no firmly.

“Just for today.”

“Okay!”

Excited that my mind had softened, Suho jumped off the bed. He grabbed the IV pole with his tiny hands and quickly pulled it over.

“Be careful. What if the tubing gets tangled in the wheels?”

“Pfft. How many times have I been hospitalized? I won’t make such a rookie mistake.”

“Where did you learn to say that?”

I lay down on the bed, and Suho, as if waiting for this moment, snuggled into my embrace. The warmth of his small body and the scent unique to children began to heat my own.

“But Noona… when will we see Hyung?”

“…Well. It’s not easy to meet him.”

“Hyung’s mom and dad don’t want to see us? Because we don’t have money?”

For a child to say something so bleak and harsh… I lightly tapped Suho’s bottom and said:

“Money has nothing to do with it.”

“Then… why won’t he meet us?”

“He probably wants to focus on treatment.”

I didn’t need to explain to Suho that someone considered our existence a stain or blemish.

“…Even if Hyung is in so much pain he might die, I think he’d want to see us.”

“……”

“His mom and dad must be really scary.”

Suho whispered, almost secretly.

I partly agreed. It was fortunate if a child with incomplete memories could even recognize the person who gave birth to him. Among the three of us, the most confused must be Jay. 

He must be struggling in his own way. Even if someone tried to control our meetings, would his nature let him just stay put? Surely he would have caused a fuss, insisting on meeting us. 

Yet, with no word so far, it showed that those people were skillfully managing him.

Is Jay really okay?

Even after Suho fell asleep, my worries didn’t end. Suho and I had each other to lean on, but Jay was surrounded by strangers, thoroughly monitored.

“Haa.”

Eventually, seeing that sleep wasn’t coming, I carefully got out of bed. Suho didn’t even notice my movement, sleeping deeply with his nose twitching in slumber. I cautiously pushed the IV pole and stepped out of the room.

The usually bustling hospital corridor was now quiet. Only the sound of my footsteps echoed coldly.

Finding the room where Jay was admitted wasn’t difficult. Every day, crowds gathered, some carrying cameras, others fruit or flower baskets. But all of them lingered only at the long corridor leading to the single special room. No one could enter.

Today, like any other day, I peeked around Jay’s room. Big guards in black suits stood like sentries, vigilantly guarding the entrance. Our eyes met. I gave an awkward smile and a slight nod. But, like royal guards, they didn’t react at all.

It was only embarrassing the first time my greeting was ignored. After two, three, ten times, it evoked no feeling. Humans were truly creatures of adaptation.

Wandering the corridor, thinking of someone I couldn’t meet, I moved toward the lounge. Sleep seemed impossible tonight. Being awake alone in a quiet hospital room made my chest feel inexplicably tight. 

To get some fresh air, I opened the terrace door inside the lounge.

That was when it happened.

The cool night air brushed my nose, and a familiar back filled my vision. Against the backdrop of the sprawling nightscape, someone stood with their back to me. 

A man in a dark, thin knit that subtly revealed the contours of his body. I recognized him instantly.

In an instant, the emotions I had suppressed erupted uncontrollably. Before my mind could catch up, my body reacted instinctively, launching forward. I forgot about the IV pole and ran blindly.

“Jay!”

It was him. All the longing I had held back burst like a flame. The emotions I had forced down surged uncontrollably, turning into intense, aching longing.

Sensing me, he slowly turned around. Without a second thought, I wrapped my arms around him. Familiar, warm presence flooded my embrace. I couldn’t stop my eyes from filling with tears.

“You woke up… you could have at least said you woke up, you terrible bastard.”

My lips moved of their own accord. I thought I understood his position, but in truth, I didn’t. Whoever tried to stop him, he should have shaken it off and come to see me. 

He shouldn’t have just stood there. He should have knocked on my hospital room door. Relief washed over me at the sight of Jay intact. 

I felt joy, longing, and simultaneously a twinge of resentment. Gripping the hem of his clothes, I finally let out the sobs I had held back.

“Damn it, really…”

Then, a rough hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me away from him.

“…Jay?”

The warmth that had enveloped me vanished abruptly. I slowly lifted my head to see his face. Could I have been mistaken? I opened my lips to apologize, but froze upon seeing him.

…The man in the light was indeed J. There was no mistaking it. Only one person in the world could have that face.

He wasn’t looking at me. Coldly, he treated me as a complete stranger, as if I didn’t exist.

“Don’t want to work?” 

The words were polite, but his icy voice struck like a northern wind. Multiple pairs of footsteps approached urgently, and rough hands gripped my forearms as if restraining me.

“Ugh.”

Pain made me wince, but none of those around seemed concerned about me.

“Sorry. I definitely passed along instructions to control access…” (Bodyguards) 

“Who said you should make excuses?”

“Sorry.”

“This is why you’re paid to manage these people so they don’t cling to me. Wake up.”

The intimidating aura he exuded froze the men before him. A chilling tension settled on the nape of my neck. I couldn’t steady my confused heart.

‘These people.’

He called me “these people.” No one else, not anyone else, but Jay himself said it. I had heard it, yet the insult was almost unbelievable.

Long smoke drifted from the cigarette he held. The acrid smell of tobacco seeped into my scattered thoughts. Cigarettes didn’t suit Jay.

I must have been mistaken. I must have finally gone crazy, projecting everyone’s face as Jay’s.

Following the trail of white smoke, I lifted my gaze. The man drew long drags, his sharp eyes fixing on me. His displeasure was unmistakable, and his pupils radiated a chilling coldness.

Jay does not remember me.