Bring It On! - Chapter 74

Chapter 74.

I took the phone from my ear and checked the caller ID. It was Jay. He said he was coming to pick me up. The Jay who had lost all memories from the island didn’t strike me as the kind of person who would say something so kind.

—Sunwoo-ri.

“Are you hurt? Drunk? Did you take some weird drug or something…?”

—Just tell me your location.

“I just passed XX Station…”

His tone was so firm that I blurted out my location without thinking. Whether I went home or Jay came here, it would take the same amount of time. In fact, considering he had to take me back home afterward, it was more disadvantageous for him to come pick me up. 

But Jay seemed to have made his decision already, without any concern for practicality. I could hear the background noise change through the phone.

“Are you really coming? I told you I’m in a taxi.”

—Get out and wait.

Ding. With that, the call ended abruptly, and I exhaled in disbelief. Even as I got out of the taxi, I questioned whether this was the right thing to do. I sat at a large café near the subway station, waiting for Jay. 

It closed at 10, so maybe he’d arrive before then. If I had known, I would’ve stayed at the hospital longer and spent more time with Suho, which made me regret leaving.

At that moment, clatter. I instinctively turned toward the noise as the door slammed open like it owed him a grudge. The culprit was none other than Jay. 

My eyes nearly popped out of my head in shock. What time was it now? Only an hour had passed since I got out of the taxi. Jay, in his black suit, looked slightly disheveled and sharp-edged, standing there like a predator.

The moment he appeared, the surrounding air seemed to still. Everyone paused what they were doing, staring at him as if hypnotized. Not just his striking face or physique, but his sheer presence was overwhelming.

His sharp eyes moved as if searching for something. When our gazes met, he extended his long legs without hesitation and strode toward me. Each step revealed and concealed the muscular lines of his thighs beneath the suit trousers.

The sound of his shoes hitting the floor reverberated throughout the café, and the air seemed to surge in with him. I felt the stares of everyone around us drilling into both of us. Someone whispered, “Isn’t that Cha Yoon?” in surprise.

“…How did you get here so fast?”

Before I could respond, his strong, sinewy arm reached out, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. The half-finished coffee I had been sipping sat lonely on the table.

“W-wait! I need to return the cup…!”

Even as I shouted, Jay didn’t hesitate. He led me outside. I flinched, momentarily speechless at the sight. A black sedan was haphazardly parked in the café lot.

I hoped the careless parking wasn’t Jay’s doing. Unfortunately, he dragged me straight to the car. The eyes trailing behind us burned into my back as he opened the passenger door and practically shoved me inside.

Damn him and his temper… and the way he got here, cutting a two-hour trip down to one hour. Now I understood.

Thud. Once inside, he stared at me intently. I met his gaze and opened my mouth.

“Hey, those parking lines exist for a reason.”

“Start with yourself.”

“Huh?”

“Seatbelt.”

As he said this, he leaned toward me. Once I buckled the seatbelt, he straightened up and pressed the accelerator.

“Where are we going?”

“……”

“Are we going home?”

“……”

“You crazy bastard. Not gonna answer, huh.”

He’d seemed in a decent mood the past few days, but today he was terrifyingly low-energy again. 

Why was he so willful? He barged in without warning, didn’t tell me where we were going, and just shoved me into the car. Still, even knowing it was Jay beside me, I had wanted to see him. 

I rested my head against the window, gazing outside in resigned silence.

The car stopped in front of a hotel.

As soon as it parked at the main entrance, a staff member approached and handed Jay a key card. He grabbed my hand and strode roughly across the lobby toward the elevator. 

Wait a second… wasn’t this a little… embarrassing?

I glanced up at Jay. Outwardly calm, yet he looked like he might explode if I so much as touched him by accident. I rubbed the bridge of my nose with the back of my hand and looked around. 

Maybe because of the tense atmosphere, or perhaps mere curiosity, people were staring.

A young man and woman rushed from the car straight to the hotel room. It was the perfect recipe for misunderstanding. 

If Jay’s presence weren’t so overwhelming, I might have taken the elevator casually. But right now, too many eyes were on us.

These days, news spreads on social media so fast… Are there going to be articles about me being Cha Yoon’s secret girlfriend? He might be embarrassed, but I definitely didn’t want to be dragged into unnecessary gossip either.

My relationship with Cha Yoon wasn’t that kind, and even if we went into the hotel room, nothing people typically imagine would happen. We were going to sleep. Purely sleep.

I fidgeted, trying to move my hand that he was holding so tightly. With my fingertips, I pushed against Jay’s fingers and finally freed my hand.

A low breath sounded beside me. I turned to see Jay brushing his hair back and giving a sly, almost predatory smile.

“Holding hands all the way here… it’s a bit… uncomfortable.”

“Even if you don’t like it, you should do it. Are you crazy or what?”

His words, delivered coolly, were infuriating. The way he acted as if I had no choice at all was unbearably arrogant. Just as I was about to retort, the elevator arrived. Jay snatched my hand before I could react and stepped inside.

From that point, everything went exactly as I expected. We bathed separately in different bathrooms, and in nothing but our robes, we headed straight to the bed. Jay pulled me into his embrace so tightly I couldn’t escape, and soon he was asleep. I glared irritably into the dark void.

The time I had checked before lying down was 10 p.m. If I told Suho to go to bed at 10, he’d protest as if he were a seven-year-old, whining about it. 

When Jay fell asleep alone, that wasn’t the same. I secretly bit his heavy arm draped across my stomach.

***

…So noisy.

The repeated vibrations stirred my drowsy consciousness. When had I fallen asleep? Contrary to my earlier complaints about going to bed at 10 p.m., I had collapsed into sleep without realizing it. 

I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and groped for my pillow.

My phone was quiet. Of course, it was just the phone of the man next to me.

“Jay.”

“…….”

“There’s a call.”

I pushed against his large frame, pinched his arm, tried to call him, but he didn’t stir, just like when he had fallen asleep on the island shelter. Trying to reach my phone while trapped in his embrace was impossible. I squirmed around for a long while before the vibrations stopped. I had given up first.

“…….”

I turned to face him, lying there awake, and for the first time in a while, I took in Jay’s sleeping face. It was as I remembered, and an unexpected fondness swelled in my chest. 

I imagined him laughing playfully as before, calling out, “Sun Woori,” but reality was far from that. I wasn’t a toy for him to summon when he wanted. Every word of his radiated aggravation. 

Would his memory really never return? If so… what would happen to me? Fear rose sharply.

Simply staying next to him and looking at his face wasn’t enough. I had to do more. I needed to keep calling to the Jay sleeping in Cha Yoon’s unconscious mind, lighting a path so that he could navigate the darkness and distance to reach me.

Just as I steadied my mind, his eyelids fluttered open. His eyes, blurred and unfocused, found my face.

“Pay me.”

His thick, furrowed brows twitched.

“You’re making me dizzy first thing in the morning.”

A drowsy voice dripped lazily from his throat. He pulled me against his back, drawing me into his embrace. I braced myself by pressing my chin against his chest, and felt him gently pressing the crown of my head with his chin.

“Are you trying to provoke me?”

“Pay me.”

“I already gave you the card. Use that.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Do you even know your limit?”

I lifted my head, grabbed his cheeks with both hands, and pulled him closer.

“I’m taking your time.”