Bring It On! - Chapter 65

Chapter 65. 

My voice rang out loudly in the wide, empty corridor, only to scatter into pitiful fragments. Still, I refused to give up and chased after him to the very end. Maybe Jay had been lost in thought and simply hadn’t heard me.

“Jay.”

“……”

“Hey!”

“……”

Rattle, rattle. The wheels of the IV pole rolled desperately across the floor, but his steps never faltered.

“Jay, just listen to me for a moment—”

Thud.

The door slammed shut right in front of me. Half a step closer and my forehead would’ve collided with it. I had to accept the truth. He wasn’t deaf to my voice. He was blatantly ignoring me.

“…Ha. Seriously.”

The fragile resolve I had pieced together crumpled miserably with just a single act of rejection. Resentment and hurt followed close behind, impossible to suppress.

Through the glass door, Jay pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Ssshhk. The way he dragged deeply on the filter was edged with irritation.

It was strange. Somehow, he looked thinner than he had on the deserted island. The lines of his face stood out more sharply, his jawline leaner, his eyes beneath thick brows fierce like a wild beast. The air around him was frozen stiff, dangerously still. 

Was he unwell? The instability in his gaze, in the twitch of his fingers, made the air tense, as if everything could shatter at any second.

Regardless of how unfamiliar he seemed, how changed by memory loss, worry for him still rose in me. Come to think of it, wasn’t he technically still hospitalized? Where had he tossed aside his IV? 

Then again, Jay was never the type to sit quietly with a drip hooked into his arm.

I stayed put in front of the glass door, waiting for him. The guards’ eyes pricked at the back of my head, but they didn’t intervene. They were only ready to leap the moment I did anything remotely suspicious.

After staring out at the blackened cityscape for a long while, Jay finally turned around.

“Jay!”

The moment he spotted me, his face twisted openly in disgust. That chilling look of displeasure in his eyes. I would never get used to it. Not wanting him to catch the tremble in my gaze, I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again. 

In that brief moment, Jay strode forward, the guards opening the door for him, and brushed past me with long strides.

“Wait, just talk to me for a second.”

I knew he would refuse, but my hand moved anyway. That was how desperate I was. Outside the island, Jay wasn’t someone I could just meet whenever I wanted. Only in the dead of night, when everyone else was asleep, could I cling to the hope of bumping into him by chance. Just to see his face. 

That was why I couldn’t let this miracle-like chance slip by.

Jay, who I thought would push me away, stopped.

“Are you just clueless? Or are you actually slow?”

His voice, half muttering, half directed at me, was raw with irritation. The insult spilled out so easily, it stung. I bit down hard on my lower lip in silence, but I refused to avert my gaze.

“…What did the doctor say?”

The words scraped out of my throat, low and tight. Jay raised an eyebrow, as if baffled that I’d even ask such a thing.

“Your memory. Did he say when it might come back? Or if it even will?”

“……”

He only stared down at me with an expression drained of all emotion.

This wasn’t him. Not the Jay I knew. If it had been the real Jay, he would’ve been frantic trying to reassure me, desperate to ease my worries. Whether he was heading out alone to scavenge supplies from the yacht, or braving the storm to find a flashlight, he always masked his own danger with tall tales and playful grins. All to keep me calm. 

Even with death breathing down our necks, I could breathe because of him.

But the man before me was not that Jay.

The longer the silence dragged, the more uneasy I grew. Uncomfortable… Unbelievably, I actually thought of that while standing right in front of Jay.

“Is there anything I can do to help—”

“There’s no hope.”

“……”

“My memory won’t come back.”

His words were clipped, merciless. A dull ache seized my chest, squeezing tight. Would I really be cut out of his life forever? Was he telling a cruel lie just to push me away, or was it the truth? 

I couldn’t tell. But one thing was certain. Jay had no attachment, no lingering desire for the memories that had vanished.

Even so, I couldn’t give him up.

“We’ll live together, the three of us, just like now, even outside the island.”

“That’s only something you can say because you have your memory.”

“Whether you remember or not, it doesn’t matter.”

Because I believe in the words of the Jay I know, not the man standing before me. I steadied my trembling breath and spoke quietly.

“Still… you could at least try.”

“Why would I?”

“……”

“Why should I bother? Even if I remember, it’ll just be shitty memories anyway. Oh, wait. Did I promise you something back on that island? Cash? A building? Stocks?”

“Is that really the only way you can think?”

At my retort, Jay’s brow twitched. Then, as if something occurred to him, he twisted one corner of his mouth into a mean-spirited grin.

“Oh… don’t tell me…. You liked me?”

It was a question in form, but his tone brimmed with certainty.

“Yeah.”

It was a simple question to answer. Jay didn’t even look surprised. His face was only filled with the dull weariness of someone who had heard such confessions countless times before.

“But you liked me first.”

“……”

“You confessed first. You’re the one who seduced me.”

I’d never given him an official answer to his “I like you.” Still, I’m sure Jay must have sensed it deep down that my feelings weren’t all that different from his.

The man before me stayed silent. What was he thinking? I wanted to read into him, but his face gave away nothing. Then, at last, his lips parted. After drawing in a breath, he said flatly,

“Is that so.”

And that was it. Words drained of all emotion, empty of any warmth. Not even a denial, just cold indifference, a sharp line cutting me off as though even acknowledging me was a bother. My throat felt parched, scraped dry.

“You’re free to sort out your feelings however you like, but don’t cause trouble for someone who’s already done with you. You said you liked me, right? If that’s true, then you should know when to let go for the other person’s sake. Don’t you agree?”

Tap. He patted my shoulder, then walked past me. All I could do was stand frozen, staring after his retreating back.

“Hah.”

A laugh burst out of me, sharp and bitter. What a rotten bastard. Rather than flinching at my half-confession, Jay seized it instantly, twisting my feelings into a weakness he could use against me. Without the slightest hesitation.

“Son of a bitch.”

Only after he was completely gone did the heat sting my eyes. Before the tears could fall, I rubbed them away roughly with my sleeve.

***

When his memory comes back, I’ll beat the hell out of him. I’ll spit in his face, ask him how he could ever treat me like this. And then… I’ll tell him I missed him. That I was terrified I’d never see him again. I’ll hold him tight.

That one thought alone was what drove me to seek him out every night.

At the same late hour each dawn, Jay came to the terrace, chain-smoking. With each passing day, the shadows deepened beneath his eyes, his face grew sharper. 

Just standing still, he radiated a menacing tension. A volatile aura that seemed ready to explode if provoked in the slightest.

Even so, I kept running into him.

“Do you drink water selectively? When we first met, you spat water right in my face. Remember that?”

You said it tasted off. Nearly running, I pushed my IV pole, struggling to match his stride. Jay never slowed down, not even slightly.

Again, the door slammed shut in front of me. But this time, I carefully pushed it open and stepped inside.

As Jay let out a frustrated sigh, I quickly spoke up.

“This is a shared space. It’s not like you paid for it. Why shouldn’t I come in?”

“If I pay, will you leave?”

“If you’ll talk to me, I’ll leave. Not much, either. Just three times a day. Just answer my questions, that’s all.”

Jay ran a rough hand through his hair, glaring down at me as if I were unbearably irritating. Clearly, my persistence, my refusal to tire out despite his coldness, was getting on his nerves.

“Fine. Let’s do it. But only until I’m discharged.”

“……”

His easy agreement startled me. Never would I have expected this bastard to accept such a demand.

“When that time comes, stop acting like you know me. And quit following me around.”

Even though I had been the one to propose it, I felt thrown off balance. To him, it was just a step back in order to cut me off completely. 

But still, after all his indifference, this was the first time he had given me anything resembling a real answer. To me, that alone felt like a chance. Within this time, I would bring his memories back.

“Really…? You mean it?”

“Yeah, really. That’s your second question. One left.”

“W–wait, hold on. Give me a moment to think—”

“Nope. You only get three. That’s it.”

He jerked his chin toward the door. My chance had vanished in an instant, leaving me stunned. Fooled again by that bastard… a heavy wave of defeat washed over me. While I stood dumbly in place, Jay frowned at me, as if to ask why I wasn’t leaving.

Dragging my feet, I moved toward the door, then stopped.

“Jay.”

“……”

“That formal tone you use is cringey. You don’t have to answer me. Sleep well.”

With only those words left behind, I hurried off the terrace.

When I glanced back, Jay was still standing there, facing me. The cigarette that had never once left his lips was quietly burning away between his long fingers.