Bring It On! - Chapter 63

Chapter 63.

Finally, overwhelmed by the relentless waves of emotion, I couldn’t contain myself and tears began to fall.

“Take her for questioning, and have Director Park come here.”

He had changed completely. Reunited about two weeks after the rescue, he was like a different person. His words cut like a knife, making my heart feel as though it were being shredded. Standing there, it felt like I was trapped in a waking nightmare. 

The floor beneath me seemed to ripple and writhe.

The reality, incomprehensible as it was, tightened around my throat. The way he addressed me felt strange. His voice, like he was speaking to a stranger, and his sharp, sensitive gaze… everything about him felt unfamiliar.

Jay didn’t forget anyone else, but me?

A lie. That couldn’t be true. He must be putting on a bad, unfunny act to tease me. I wanted to believe that.

“…Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

A small, trembling voice escaped my lips. Compared to my fragile words, his gaze pierced me relentlessly. The indifference in his eyes was cold and painful.

“What’s this joke?”

The harshness in his voice scratched at my heart more fiercely than the acrid smoke in the air. Tears rolled quietly down my cheeks from under my wide-open eyes. I didn’t particularly feel like crying. I just couldn’t accept this situation.

Seeing my tears, he clicked his tongue in apparent annoyance. As Jay openly expressed his displeasure, the guards moved in perfect coordination. One made an urgent call, another yanked me sharply backward.

One guard paused, having noticed my face. He recognized me.

“What’s this?”

“Sorry, it’s just…”

“Someone you know?”

The guard looked back and forth between J and me, flustered.

“It’s not me, sir… it’s the one…”

Standing beside Jay, the guard whispered something in his ear. At that moment, Jay’s gaze changed. 

A flicker of emotion passed through his previously cold eyes. His eyebrows twitched upward.

“Ah.”

“…”

“Is that you?”

Finally realizing, he curled one corner of his mouth into a bitter smile. “I thought, ‘What kind of stalker is this?’” 

He muttered under his breath and stubbed out his cigarette on the railing. The crushed butt fell pitifully to the floor. His lack of morality and ethics was unnervingly natural. I frowned at his utterly delinquent demeanor.

“…”

“They said you kept whining about wanting to meet me…”

“…..”

“…Whining.”

Jay repeated the word as if to show he had no intention of holding back. He would never apologize, even if showing disgust. I quietly stared at him, and he let out a hollow laugh as he stepped closer. In just one step, he closed the distance. 

The presence he projected now was heavy and oppressive, unlike before. A subtle mixture of perfume and cigarette smoke drifted on the air.

“Enough.”

He leaned toward me, his chillingly low voice brushing my ear.

“What should I ‘enough’ about?”

“Whatever trials you went through, whatever memories you built there, leave them as memories. That’s all.”

“…”

“I’m saying don’t expect to involve me in that under any pretext.”

His speech, without any regard for the listener, wasn’t something one could develop overnight. He had likely spent his entire life disregarding others and giving orders in exactly this way.

When I continued to stare silently, Jay tapped my cheek with the back of his hand. It was a careless gesture, as if dealing with something trivial. He straightened, misaligning our eye levels, and then passed by me, leaving no trace of lingering sentiment.

I was too shocked to move. The footsteps that had been following me stopped.

“There’s blood on your arm.”

The dry, calm voice was directed at me. Only then did I notice the long streak of blood running down my wrist. But I couldn’t think of wiping it off or collecting myself as the footsteps were moving away from me.

Not long after, a rush of noise approached. Someone ran urgently to stand in front of me.

“Phew… hello.”

It was a man I didn’t know. His hair was tousled, as if he’d rushed out of bed, and deep wrinkles marred the fabric of his suit. Noticing my gaze, he hurriedly smoothed down his jacket with his palm. 

His first impression was unassuming, but he seemed like someone who could expertly wield a charming smile when needed and even use people’s trust shrewdly to his advantage.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Park Jong-hoo.”

“…….”

“Sun Woori.”

Before I could even process my confusion, the man approaching me already seemed to know who I was. He skillfully extended a business card from his pocket. I don’t even know how I took it. My stomach churned, and I could feel my heart racing unnaturally fast.

“If it’s alright, could we have a brief conversation tomorrow? I’ll come by in the evening. I know which hospital room you’re in.”

Despite his worried expression, the message was almost like a directive. I didn’t answer, turning and leaving the terrace. A few people in suits were scattered around, but Jay’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

***

The sun rose over the horizon, pushing aside the chill of the early morning.

The waves were rougher than usual. The tall blue curtains of the sea crashed against the rocks, producing small, white foamy bursts.

I walked barefoot across the damp sand, crossing my arms to pull off my T-shirt when…

“Sun Woori.”

The voice called out, and someone grabbed my shoulder to turn me around.

“Don’t go.”

It was Jay. His hair was messy, and his breathing uneven, as if he had been running. I looked up at him, then glanced back at the sea behind me. The waves were rough, but not impassable. 

At that moment, his large hand swept down my arm and gripped my hand, hiding it in his own palm with force.

“I said don’t go.”

“These waves are fine.”

“The most common last words of those who die by accident are ‘It’s fine.’”

“We have to get it out of the trap. It’d be a waste otherwise.”

“Be careful. Don’t you know that if something happens to you, I die too?”

Unlike my childish nervous laughter, Jay spoke with no hint of humor.

“Without you, I can’t even eat.”

“Is that all? You can’t sleep, breathe… nothing works. The only outcome is death. Don’t do dangerous things.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

Jay rambled seriously from the morning. I dismissed his words as a child’s unrealistic jokes and eventually walked toward the sea.

Jay remained behind, standing stiffly as he watched me. Not once did he take his eyes off me, as if I were not allowed to leave his line of sight.

***

Maybe it was because of the dream I’d had last night. Even after sleeping, my fatigue hadn’t lifted. I wished the events of last night had been a dream. The business card from the stranger was still in my pocket.

After lunch, Suho chattered endlessly, but I couldn’t hear a word. Instinctively, I reached into my pocket. 

Prick. A sharp edge pricked my fingertips painfully.

“…They say it’s on the 6th floor. Can I go?”

Startled by the sudden question, I looked up. Suho, cheeks flushed, anxiously waited for my answer, biting his lower lip.

“Uh… um.”

I pretended to think, buying time. What was on the 6th floor? I instinctively agreed with Suho but couldn’t remember the context.

“Please! I won’t get hurt, I’ll be careful. There are other kids in the playroom too!”

Ah, he meant the playroom. I checked the clock on the bedside table. It was a little past 1 p.m.

“Noona, noona, noona, noona…”

Fearful I might say no, Suho kept begging. There was actually no reason to refuse. As long as he played safely, he could spend as much time as he liked in the playroom. Adults get restless staying in a hospital room, so imagine how hard it would be for a child.

“Okay, let’s go together.”

“Really?! Yay!”

Ecstatic at finally being allowed, Suho bounced around and immediately started pulling my hand.

“Let’s go quickly! Hurry!”

“Alright, let’s put on your shoes first.”

I led him to the 6th floor. Unlike the excited Suho, my expression remained stiff. Jay’s figure from yesterday lingered in my mind.

“Wow…”

The hospital’s playroom, as Suho described, was decorated like a small theme park, colorful and bright. Hearing the other kids’ delighted screams, Suho stiffened.

“Why? You wanted to come.”

“Yeah… I like it.”

Though he said he liked it, his face somehow seemed on the verge of tears. Being around other kids was overwhelming. Between hospital life, frequent moves, and being stranded on a deserted island, this must have all felt like a distant, foreign world to Su-ho. 

He didn’t know how to make friends, and his awkwardness showed clearly. But discomfort is something to confront. If he ran away from it, he would only grow timid and isolated.

Intimidated, Su-ho lingered nervously near the entrance. I took his hand, and only then did he follow me inside. There were slides and climbing structures, but some required using both hands, impossible with his IV pole. 

Some kids were reading in a small library corner or doing puzzles and building blocks.

But Su-ho’s gaze kept returning to the arcade machines where other boys crowded.

“Shall we go there?”

“Yeah.”

The children patiently queued. We picked one arcade machine and waited our turn. Soon, it was ours.

Suho sat with a thrilled expression. But the problem was…

“How do you play this?”

“No.”

Neither of us knew. Having never been to an arcade, neither Su-ho nor I had any idea how to operate the machines. As we pressed buttons experimentally, a deep male voice suddenly interrupted.

“You move it with this, press this button to shoot fire. This one makes it jump.”

Startled, I turned to look.