My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 49

“The hoodie jacket is in the drawer from earlier. It should be around the second compartment.”

 

“Ah, o-okay.”

 

She closed the closet door she had flung open and walked back to the drawer.

 

Inside, the clothes were neatly folded, giving a glimpse of his tidy nature. She took out a gray hoodie jacket and approached Joohoon.

 

“Your arm is hard to move, so I’ll put it on for you.”

 

“I can put it on myself.”

 

Joohoon answered awkwardly, but he did not particularly resist Yoohee’s touch.

 

First, she slipped the sleeve over his injured left arm, wrapped it around his back, then found the other sleeve and put it over his right arm. As she tried to zip it up, his well-built body unexpectedly caught her eye.

 

‘…….’

 

His white skin and meticulously sculpted muscles made him look almost like a statue, and before she knew it, the tips of her ears grew burning hot.

 

“……Yoohee, I already zipped it all the way up.”

 

Joohoon’s voice came down softly through her burning ears.

 

She had been staring at the wall on her right to avoid looking at him, so she hadn’t even realized that the zipper had already reached his neck.

 

“I-it’s done now. Sorry.”

 

Yoohee hurriedly withdrew her hand and took a small step back.

 

Seeing him with his body covered by the gray hoodie jacket made her feel much more at ease.

 

As Yoohee let out a long breath, Joohoon chuckled and tidied her hair.

 

For some reason, that smile bothered her, so Yoohee quietly asked,

 

“Why?”

 

“Your face is red.”

 

A smile that seemed to find her adorable lingered at the corners of Joohoon’s lips.

 

The heat that had just begun to subside in her face started burning up again from embarrassment.

 

‘……Y-you.’

 

Was he teasing her right now? With her face bright red, Yoohee hurriedly wrapped her arms around Joohoon’s waist, careful not to touch his injured left shoulder. His flustered voice immediately reached her ears.

 

“Yoohee…….”

 

“I-I’m going to guide you.”

 

She had guided him through a hug before, so there was no problem.

 

Closing her eyes, she focused her mind on the mana she could feel from Joohoon. Since his injuries were severe, the amount of guidance he needed was also much greater.

 

As the long guiding session continued, beads of sweat formed on Yoohee’s forehead and her breathing gradually became ragged.

 

“Wait, don’t push yourself, Yoohee.”

 

In the end, Joohoon was the one who pulled away first.

 

Looking at Yoohee’s slightly flushed face, Joohoon asked worriedly, unlike his earlier teasing.

 

“We can treat your shoulder little by little. This is enough for today.”

 

Joohoon’s eyes were clear. Unlike before, his energy had returned, so Yoohee nodded in relief.

 

Then she leaned against Joohoon’s chest once more.

 

Now that the tension had left her body, the exhaustion from the long day finally caught up with her, making her body feel languid. Noticing her condition, Joohoon quietly let her head rest beneath his shoulder.

 

“Thank you, Yoohee.”

 

Joohoon whispered as he stroked Yoohee’s hair. Feeling the pleasant touch of his hand, she murmured to herself.

 

What are you so thankful and sorry for?

 

The soft feeling of the fabric beneath her, along with the faint scent of fabric softener, felt warmer than ever.

 

***

 

“You finally went and did something, you wretched girl.”

 

A sharp voice struck her ears.

 

It had definitely been incredibly peaceful just moments ago.

 

“I told you. There won’t be a second time. I’ll let it slide once, but I won’t forgive you twice.”

 

Ppyak-i was threatening her right in front of her face. Still unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation, Yoohee shamelessly talked back.

 

“Can’t you let it slide just two times?”

 

“Shut up!”

 

Ppyak-i was so angry that he flapped his two wings, which were incapable of flying, and raised his voice.

 

“You’ve lost my trust. I can no longer associate with a despicable human like you!”

 

Why was he so angry? Her mind was still hazy.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“I cannot accept an apology that is all talk.”

 

Ppyak-i moved his slender little legs and turned his back on her.

 

“I should never have come under the command of such a worthless human in the first place.”

 

“I’ll do better.”

 

“As if.”

 

And then he began trudging off somewhere.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

“When are you coming back?”

 

“Don’t look for me.”

 

Don’t look for him?

 

Was he saying he was going to leave forever like this?

 

Yoohee tried to move her legs to stop Ppyak-i, but her body wouldn’t obey her. All she could do was watch the back of Ppyak-i as he grew farther away.

 

“Wait……!”

 

Her eyes flew open.

 

Warm, cozy bedding. A ceiling that was slightly different from the one in Yoohee’s dorm room. Seeing the familiar dresser and table, she realized where she was.

 

Again.

 

“Are you awake?”

 

Joohoon approached the bed with a fresh smile.

 

They had clearly slept in the same place and gone to sleep at the same time, yet unlike a certain someone who could barely open her eyes, he looked so perfect that he could put the morning sunlight to shame.

 

“Want some milk? Or juice?”

 

Joohoon asked kindly.

 

Yesterday, he had still been wearing the hoodie jacket, but now he was dressed in an unwrinkled white short-sleeved shirt, with dampness clinging to his hair.

 

“You showered?”

 

“I made sure to keep the water off my shoulder as much as possible.”

 

Before Yoohee could start lecturing him, Joohoon held out the white mug he had been carrying.

 

“Drink some water first.”

 

Her mouth was dry, so she quietly accepted the cup and wet her throat. After swallowing the water, her voice came out fairly clear.

 

“Don’t go to the first period today. Go to the hospital first.”

 

“The infirmary should be enough.”

 

“Even so……”

 

“For juice, there’s apples and oranges. Which one do you want? Unfortunately, there’s no grape.”

 

Joohoon naturally took Yoohee’s glass from her as he asked. He still remembered that she liked grape-flavored things.

 

But this didn’t feel like the time to be doing this……

 

“Hey, I think I need to go check on something quickly.”

 

Joohoon’s eyes widened as if asking why.

 

She couldn’t bring herself to say, Ppyak-i ran away from home. Instead, she made up an excuse about Jinhee surely worrying. Saying that her pet chick had run away after angrily declaring that it wouldn’t forgive a second overnight absence……

 

Even I wouldn’t believe that.

 

“Okay. Want to borrow a hat?”

 

At Joohoon’s question, Yoohee looked down at her half-curly hair, which was so disheveled that she didn’t even have the energy to fix it, and nodded.

 

Her coat was covered in too much blood, so Joohoon agreed to deal with it later. She only grabbed her phone and bag before heading toward the entrance.

 

As she put on her shoes, Joohoon followed after her and put on his sneakers.

 

“No, I’ll go alone.”

 

“I just want to go with you.”

 

“It’s not nighttime, and it’s broad daylight. What are you going to do if you keep moving around and your injuries get worse?”

 

“I’m not that weak. I’m fine, so let’s go.”

 

Good grief. I told you, patients are supposed to stay put.

 

While Yoohee was having a little argument with Joohoon by the shoe cabinet, her foot caught on a nearby slipper, making her stumble.

 

Her body tilted, and with a soft thump, the brim of her hat hit his chest.

 

“Ah, sorry.”

 

When she pulled her head back slightly and looked up, she saw Joohoon looking down at her from close by.

 

His arm was braced against the entrance door behind Yoohee. Even though it had only been an instant, he had done so to support Yoohee as she lost her balance.

 

“Y-you can let go now……”

 

Yoohee’s voice grew faint.

 

Joohoon did not move away from the narrow space between them. One hand supported the entrance door while the other remained wrapped around Yoohee’s waist.

 

Joohoon’s eyes trembled slightly.

 

His eyes looked unusually dark with the sunlight behind him, as if a deep tidal wave were lurking within them. Just as the breath she felt from so close began to feel strangely unfamiliar,

 

[Activating cooling fan for system safety.]

 

Suddenly?

 

With the whirring sound of a cooling fan spinning somewhere, a status window appeared.

 

[The favorability of male lead candidate, ‘Kim Joohoon,’ has increased.]

 

[Kim Joohoon (Favorability ??? -> ???)]

 

Joohoon’s favorability had increased. Though she still couldn’t see the actual number.

 

When Yoohee raised her head again after lowering it to check the status window, Joohoon released her with a somewhat reluctant, sluggish movement, as if he was a little disappointed.

 

“You need to be careful.”

 

“Mm-hm.”

 

“Then we’re going together, okay?”

 

And he opened the entrance door before Yoohee could. With no choice, Yoohee had to follow Joohoon outside.

 

***

 

“……He’s gone.”

 

After returning to the dormitory, Yoohee came face-to-face with Jinhee, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

 

“I woke up in the morning…… Why isn’t he there? He’s usually supposed to be standing in front of his bowl waiting for breakfast. I thought maybe he was sleeping, so I checked the house and searched everywhere. He can climb onto your bed just fine, so I looked everywhere, but he’s gone.”

 

Just in case, they searched every corner of the room once more, but only Ppyak-i’s pink feathers drifted down forlornly, while his actual body was nowhere to be seen.

 

“He really ran away from home……”

 

“What do we do? Should we put up flyers on the academy walls? Yeah, we should make them right away. He must still be somewhere inside the academy.”

 

Saying that, Jinhee busily got to work. She took a pink marker from the container holding the stationery and began diligently drawing something on a blank sheet of A4 paper.

 

Don’t tell me that’s Ppyak-i?