Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 25: I Don’t Want You to Get Hurt

“Did you take your medicine?”

“Huh? Oh... yeah.”

Ha Giyeon answered absentmindedly at Son Suhyeon’s sudden question. He had been so caught up working that he had forgotten the earlier incident at school—how Son Suhyeon had helped him when he threw up...

Held him...

The vivid memory flashed through his mind and the sandwich bread caught in his throat.

“Kuhk!”

“Hey—!”

As Giyeon covered his mouth and coughed repeatedly, Son Suhyeon hurriedly held out the tea.

“Ah—hot...!”

“Wait, wait!”

Realizing too late that it was hot, Son Suhyeon quickly stood and fetched cold water from the water cooler.

With his face flushed red, Ha Giyeon drank the water that was handed to him and finally calmed down.

“Th-thank you...”

Giyeon fanned his burning face with his hand. For some reason, Son Suhyeon’s expression as he looked at him was unusually serious.

“Do you have some kind of illness?”

“...What?”

“You might not even know yourself. You should go to the hospital—”

“No! I’m really fine! It was just caught in my throat, that’s all!”

Even as Giyeon frantically waved his hands, Son Suhyeon’s face didn’t relax.

Breathing issues, sudden violent coughing—those could be dismissed as coincidence. But his dry, thin body and pale complexion made it hard to let go of the suspicion.

As Giyeon quietly averted his gaze and chewed on the sandwich, Son Suhyeon let out a small sigh.

“Well, it could be stress too. Just take care of yourself.”

“...Okay.”

It had been a long time since anyone had shown him concern like that. Not even family—but from a senior at school, a complete outsider. The fluttering in his chest and the prickling at his fingertips were no doubt because of Son Suhyeon.

Everything about this moment felt peaceful to Giyeon. The softly playing pop song, the warm tea and sandwich, the person sitting across from him. Today had been especially hard, and for the first time all day, he finally felt like he could breathe.

Ha Dohoon suddenly acting friendly, his mother changing up his room, classmates closing in the moment they found out he was Dohoon’s younger brother—

Today had been the hardest day since the regression. That much was certain.

The only reason he’d made it through was thanks to Son Suhyeon. Amidst all the unwelcome changes in his life, the only good thing to come of it had been meeting Suhyeon. If not for him, Giyeon probably would have ended up sitting on the rooftop, staring at the sky with a sigh. It was only after the regression that he realized how precious it was to have even one person to talk to.

“Are you stressed about something?”

“Ah, it’s not a big deal...”

“If it’s not a big deal, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ then try talking about it.”

It’s fine if you don’t, too.

Son Suhyeon looked away as he muttered that, and Giyeon stared at him for a moment before opening his mouth. He had a sliver of trust. He was certain that Suhyeon wouldn’t laugh at him or treat what he said as a joke.

“What do you think about someone who never cared about you suddenly showing interest?”

“Well... maybe they got interested.”

The blunt and simple answer left Giyeon momentarily speechless. He had expected something like that, but still... so Suhyeon really didn’t take much interest in others.

As Giyeon blinked without replying, Son Suhyeon seemed to realize something and quickly added,

“Try explaining it a little more.”

“Uh... like, they used to ignore me but now suddenly act friendly, take interest in what I’m doing... or they replace my stuff... with new things.”

“...”

Son Suhyeon went silent as if thinking it over, then glanced at Giyeon. Was this about a crush? Or had he been scammed somehow? He looked soft enough to be an easy mark.

“...Maybe it’s just that the person likes you.”

“Really?”

Giyeon’s face lit up like he’d just heard something completely unexpected.

It was the happiest expression he’d worn all day, but for some reason, Son Suhyeon felt a strange tightness in his chest. He felt bad, but he knew he had to say something honest—for Giyeon’s sake.

“Or... that person might have some kind of motive.”

“Motive...”

“People change when there’s something they want.”

There was a weight behind Son Suhyeon’s words. He had worked with many people and suffered countless betrayals of trust. There had been bosses who suggested secret meetings, others who demanded outrageous returns for the smallest acts of kindness.

Because of that, Suhyeon had learned early on—no kindness comes free. So if someone showed interest or acted friendly, he started with suspicion. He hated that about himself, but that was how he’d lived, and that suspicion had never once been wrong.

Frankly, he didn’t really care whether Giyeon got swept up in someone’s affection or not. They were just acquaintances.

And yet—he couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t want to see Giyeon collapse again. He didn’t want to see that bright smile smeared with disappointment. He didn’t want Ha Giyeon to be hurt the way he had been.

Even if this truth hurt right now... it was better than a crueler hurt after misplaced hope. It was better to throw away affection that would never be returned before it festered.

“...I see.”

Giyeon let out a faint, embarrassed laugh as if he’d expected it all along.

“Sorry for the random talk. Thanks for listening, sunbae.”

“...Don’t mention it.”

Whoever it was that was giving Giyeon that attention—Suhyeon sincerely hoped they wouldn’t hurt him.

It was a ridiculous, out-of-character thought.

***

Ha Giyeon was quietly observing Ha Dohoon and their mother, trying not to make it obvious, while pondering what their true intentions might be.

He had a general idea about Ha Dohoon’s motive, but when it came to his mother, he couldn’t even begin to guess. If he chalked Dohoon’s behavior up to a fleeting whim—the way a child reaches for a toy he suddenly remembers—then what about his mother? Why was she acting like this? And why now, after he had regressed, after he was seventeen?

Was she preparing to send me away sooner than expected?

Even if she hadn’t confirmed through a DNA test that he wasn’t her biological child, she probably still wanted him out of the house. They disliked him—that much was obvious. Just seeing him breathe and walk around in the house must have been irritating.

Maybe they thought, Let’s be nice while he’s still here.

Maybe it was just that—an idea to treat him decently while they still had to look at him.

But... Mother’s not the kind of person who’d be bothered to do even that.

What scared him more than his brothers’ sudden interest was his parents’ attention. If this had happened before the regression, he might have cried from happiness. But now, that attention only felt suffocating. Knowing she had stepped into his room made him feel like he couldn’t safely keep anything important there.

He didn’t know what might provoke her or cause something to get thrown out. So he moved most of his valuables to his locker at school. The bankbook was locked in with a padlock, and just in case the front door was locked again one day, he had a change of clothes stored there too.

What he had once thought was his only safe space—his room—now felt strange and unstable after the furniture had been replaced.

The only place that still felt comfortable, if any, was—

Son Suhyeon sunbae’s house...

Before the regression, it had been his home. Now, it belonged to Son Suhyeon.

And the comfort wasn’t just from the space—it included Son Suhyeon himself. Someone who listened seriously even to his most random questions, whose expressions—though rare—had been...

His smile was nice.

A faint smile unknowingly crept onto Giyeon’s lips.

“Giyeon! What are you thinking about?”

At that moment, someone suddenly slung an arm over his shoulder.

Ha Giyeon instinctively almost froze up, but managed to hold back the reaction with effort. There was only one person who would act like this in the middle of class, and he couldn’t afford to let it show.

“Ha! That surprised look!”

It was Nam Taekyung.

“You always do this crap, Nam Taekyung. It doesn’t match your face, but you act like a clown.”

“Seriously, the guy looks clean-cut but loves messing around.”

Before he realized it, Taekyung’s friends had gathered behind him, laughing loudly. Giyeon forced an awkward smile and naturally slipped out from under the arm resting on his shoulder.

Ever since that day, Nam Taekyung had been sticking even more blatantly to Ha Giyeon—during homeroom, lunch, and all the way until dismissal. Even after being brushed off by Ha Dohoon, he acted as if nothing had happened and became even more aggressive in getting close, like he wanted others to see.

“Giyeon, let’s eat lunch together today.”

“Ah... my stomach’s been off lately.”

“Aw, skipping again today?”

Giyeon smiled apologetically as he turned him down. Nam Taekyung had been inviting him to lunch every day without fail, but Giyeon kept dodging him with different excuses. He was already busy avoiding his brothers; if he started sitting with Taekyung during lunch, it would be as good as announcing that they were close.

With Taekyung being one of the most well-known students in the first-year class, that alone drew too much attention—and if he happened to run into Ha Dohoon during lunch?

Just imagining that made Giyeon tightly squeeze his eyes shut.

“If your stomach’s that bad, wanna go to the nurse?”

“N-no, it’s fine... I’ll just skip lunch.”

“Really? Then later—”

Just then, the bell rang to signal the start of class, cutting Taekyung off. Giyeon seized the opportunity and slipped away, pretending to go grab a textbook from his locker.

As he watched Taekyung return to his seat, Giyeon let out a silent sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to get closer to him. In his current situation, running from his brothers, getting involved with Nam Taekyung would only guarantee being dragged right into their circle.

I hope it doesn’t turn out like it did before the regression.

Back then, Taekyung had acted like he was just helping a poor kid who was getting ignored by his brothers. His so-called kindness had ended up being a curse. Not only was it a burden, but people started talking—accusing Giyeon of leeching off Taekyung right after the brothers had pushed him away.

He’s going to get close with my brothers anyway, even without me...

Even if he avoided him now, Nam Taekyung would eventually join the club Ha Dohoon and the others belonged to, and grow closer to them. And once that happened, he’d naturally forget about Giyeon.

“Around this time, we were choosing clubs, I think.”

He wished Taekyung would just hurry up and pick one already. Then maybe the brothers would turn their attention to him, and forget about Giyeon altogether.

As soon as the bell rang for fourth period to end, Ha Giyeon mixed into the crowd pouring out of the classroom. He had planned to stay in the classroom and rest with his head down, but he saw Nam Taekyung starting to approach.

Was he going to suggest going to the snack bar like yesterday?

Fearing that, he rushed out of the room and wandered the hallways.

He needed somewhere to hide for lunch—anywhere Taekyung and the others wouldn’t come looking. Even without Taekyung, others had started talking to him, and it was becoming a real problem.

Yesterday, he’d hidden in the restroom, but the smell had made it nearly unbearable. Not to mention, students from other classes had talked to him there too.

“Is there anywhere else I can go...?”

With the lunch crowd all gathered in the cafeteria, the hallways were nearly empty. As he wandered looking for an unused storeroom or a quiet corner—

“Ah.”

A place came to mind.

The supply room where he had swapped uniforms with Son Suhyeon.

Ha Giyeon turned and headed in that direction.