JD 137

Once they were in the ambulance, everything was taken care of quickly. The club released a statement saying they would immediately investigate the cause of the unfortunate incident during the game, and it was decided that the match in progress would be suspended.

Even if the club tried to look into the incident, they probably wouldn’t find the culprit. During the time Muheon had used his ability, nothing would have been recorded on any of the CCTVs.

It was a serious enough matter for the police to get involved, but it was the kind of case that would quietly fade away.

Right now, though, Muheon was more worried about Hakyung, who looked like he could collapse at any moment. No matter how many times he told him that he was fine, that it didn’t hurt, Hakyung just kept trembling as if he couldn’t process the words.

Watching Hakyung suffer as though he himself had been stabbed made Muheon wonder if he had acted too rashly.

The bleeding had already stopped, and the pain wasn’t that bad. With a human’s feeble strength, especially someone who had never stabbed anyone before, how deep could it really have gone? As long as he got to the hospital soon, it was a wound that could be fixed with just a few stitches.

Of course, with Muheon’s healing ability, he didn’t really need to go to the hospital at all. But too many humans were involved for him to just ignore it.

More than anything, he needed to reassure Hakyung that he was truly okay. In fact, the biggest reason Muheon was going to the hospital was to calm his husband down.

“It must hurt… Just hold on a little longer. We’ll be there soon. I’m sorry.”

Hakyung clutched Muheon’s hand tightly and repeated the same words over and over. That they’d be at the hospital soon, that it must hurt, that he was sorry this happened because of him. He kept bowing his head as he spoke.

Tears dripped from Hakyung’s eyes onto the back of Muheon’s hand.

Muheon gently patted his hand in return. Telling him “it’s okay” didn’t help at all.

“Yeah. But you’ll stay by my side when we get to the hospital, right?”

“Of course! Absolutely!”

“You’ll keep holding my hand too?”

The teasing, childlike question made Hakyung nod enthusiastically. Enjoying his adorable response, Muheon didn’t even realize they’d already arrived at the hospital.

It seemed the hospital had been notified in advance, because as soon as they entered the emergency room, the medical staff surrounded him. Before performing any surgical procedures, they checked for muscle or ligament damage and possible fractures.

Since it had been a stabbing, the wound needed sutures due to the severity of the cut, but thankfully, there was no damage to major ligaments or joints. It was a huge relief.

Hearing that the injury wasn’t serious, Hakyung let out a sigh of relief and quietly sniffled. The stress from all the terrible scenarios that had been spinning in his head finally lifted, and it all spilled out as tears.

The medical staff, trying to reassure the guardian who looked more hurt than the patient, gave even more detailed explanations.

“Mr. Hakyung, we need to treat Sir Muheonnow, so come this way.”

“O-okay…”

Ki Sang-oh had to practically peel Hakyung away, as he’d only let go of Muheon’s hand during the scans. He led him toward the restroom.

When they reached the spot—one that had already become a trauma site for Hakyung—he hesitated, stepping back. Sang-oh gently patted his back.

“Hakyung, your hands are covered in blood too. Let’s wash them, yeah?”

“I-I know… but… haah…”

Hakyung tapped his chest, gasping like he couldn’t breathe. His small, blood-soaked hands hit his chest in a way that looked heartbreaking from the outside.

“Then how about this? Want me to cover your eyes while we go in? Just take a deep breath and relax. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Thank you…”

“No need to thank me! Alright, close your eyes, relax. That’s it. Just a few more steps.”

“Hhh…”

With Sang-oh’s gentle encouragement, Hakyung slowly came back to himself. Sang-oh’s rough palms carefully wiped his small hands clean. The dark red stains gradually faded, and Hakyung’s ragged breaths began to steady.

Even so, Sang-oh still didn’t know exactly why Muheon had gotten hurt. It wasn’t like he was alone—Beom Urim had been there too. Sang-oh regretted not checking the situation properly in his panic over the injury.

“The test results were fine, and you know Muheon’s healing isn’t even comparable to a human’s. If you keep crying like this, you’re going to pass out before he does.”

“I won’t faint. It’s just… I feel so guilty…”

“Guilty? What do you have to feel guilty about!”

“You might not know, but… the attacker was someone I know. He meant to stab me instead…”

Ah, damn. There go the waterworks again.

Sang-oh, who definitely did know Kim Taeyoung, quickly led Hakyung out of the restroom. It felt like if he didn’t, the man might literally dig a hole in the ground and bury himself. He awkwardly tried to change the subject.

“Uh, right. So… did the anthem performance and the first pitch go well?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah. It went well.”

“Knew you’d do great! Gotta watch the rerun when I get home.”

Hakyung gave a small nod. That reminded him, what happened to the baseball game?

In all the chaos of rushing to the hospital, he hadn’t sorted out anything. Startled, he checked his phone and found several missed calls from his manager.

He quickly called Kim Hyunsoo. The line hadn’t even finished connecting when the other end picked up.

— “Hakyung!”

“Yes, Manager. I’m at the hospital right now.”

— “Are you the one who’s hurt? It’s not serious, is it?”

“No, no, I’m not hurt. I almost got hurt, but my husband stepped in instead…”

— “Your husband? Ah… you must be so worried. But you’re okay, right?”

At Kim Hyunsoo’s question, Hakyung nodded. After checking which hospital they were at, he said he’d head over right away. He told Hakyung he must’ve been terribly shaken and asked him to hang in there until he arrived. That simple kindness made Hakyung’s nose sting.

Ki Sang-oh also looked visibly relieved at the news that another dependable ally was on the way.

After ending the brief call with Kim Hyunsoo, Hakyung headed straight back to the emergency room. He couldn’t just sit and wait, he wanted to know if Muheon’s treatment was finished.

Since the injury didn’t require emergency surgery, the decision had been made to suture the wound in the ER’s procedure room.

“You’re Mr. Lee Muheon’s guardian, right? The treatment’s finished. The doctor recommends we admit him for a day to administer antibiotics and monitor for inflammation, just in case. We’ll go ahead with the hospital admission.”

“Yes, of course. He’ll be admitted.”

Catching a glimpse of Muheon’s black hair through a gap, Hakyung followed the nurse. In moments like this, he felt deeply grateful and relieved to have the official status of “guardian.”

With the mindset that he was acting on Muheon’s behalf, Hakyung carefully filled out the forms and took notes on all the precautions.

“The inpatient room is on the 8th floor. Just go up and give his name.”

“Thank you very much.”

After bowing politely, Hakyung hurried back into the ER. He saw Muheon waving at him, now dressed in a hospital gown.

“Hey!”

But, of course, it was the injured arm he was waving with. Hakyung quickly rushed over and swatted it down.

Muheon chuckled softly at the lightning-fast reflex Hakyung had never shown before.

“D-Don’t laugh! Why would you lift your injured arm like that!”

“It’s numb. Doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Numb…!”

Unable to bring himself to touch Muheon’s shoulder, Hakyung instead hovered his hand awkwardly in the air. Through the collar of the hospital gown, he could see the bandages wrapped tightly around the wound.

He couldn’t help thinking, if only he had pushed Kim Taeyoung away and run sooner… those thoughts were unavoidable.

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry again?”

“I’m not crying.”

“Kang Hakyung’s a crybaby.”

“I’m not a crybaby.”

Hakyung pouted, shaking his head in denial at every word Muheon said.

Seeing him finally acting like the Hakyung he knew made Muheon quietly let out a breath of relief.

The moment he realized Hakyung might get stabbed, his mind had gone completely blank. His body reacted before he could even form a thought.

He’d barely had a moment to feel relief that Hakyung was safe before the sight of his lover panicking and hurting over his injury brought on regret. He should’ve anticipated that.

Muheon wrapped his arms around Hakyung’s still-distressed body. The way he collapsed into him without resistance was painful to witness.

“You said you’d keep holding my hand…”

Feigning sulkiness, Muheon let his voice drop into a subtle whine. He felt Hakyung’s waist tense beneath his palm.

‘Hmm? Why weren’t you by my side?’ he thought, lifting his gaze. Hakyung’s tear-reddened eyes were heartbreaking.

Then came Hakyung’s small, guilty whisper: “I’m sorry…”

Muheon suddenly wanted to slap himself for blurting out something that could sound like blame. Nothing was going right today.

He clicked his tongue internally and rubbed his forehead against Hakyung’s stomach.

“Does it hurt? Is the anesthesia wearing off? Should I ask for a painkiller?”

“No… I was just thinking… I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt.”

“What is that supposed to mean? It would’ve been better if I got hurt instead.”

He meant it. He truly believed it would’ve been better if he’d taken the injury. Muheon let out a long sigh at the sincerity of Hakyung’s response. Since when had his husband become this delicate and gentle?

No matter what he said, Hakyung kept sidestepping with the exact wrong answers. Muheon had no idea how to soothe this stubborn dolphin of his.

“Mr. Lee Muheon, oh my, you really shouldn’t be doing that here.”

The nurse, who had come back to explain the inpatient process again, looked startled at the sight of the two of them clinging to each other.

“We didn’t mean to… We were just having a serious conversation,” Hakyung tried to explain, flustered. But under the nurse’s silent scolding gaze, all he could do was bow his head.