war of love, jeno

chapter forty-three

Eunjin groaned quietly, bending backwards a bit as she tried relieving even just an ounce of her chronic back pain.

God, I hate working.

But she couldn't complain. She worked for money and money granted her the ability to buy things she wanted.

And I have the baby tomorrow... great!

The baby project wasn't as fun as it may have sounded before. After all the long nights of crying and having to change the screaming child, she was ready for it all to be over.

Luckily for her, it was finally coming to an end. They were halfway done with the project but it also meant she only had two weeks left with her Chrysanthemum project.

She shook her head slowly, pushing away the empty thoughts littering her already distressed mind.

A sudden noise from the alley to her right took her off guard, her feet lifting off of the dirty concrete for a second as her neck twisted.

She let out a relieved sigh noticing the familiar figure.

"What are you doing out here so late?"

Jeno tilted his head with a raised eyebrow, wincing slightly before he spoke. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question? Because I have a gun and knife to protect myself, you don't."

Eunjin scoffed, looking away for a second. When her eyes finally focused back on Jeno, her comeback vanished from her head. She took a step forward, now concerned.

"What happened to your face? You're all bloody."

Jeno laughed off the question, "our last mission didn't exactly go to plan since half of my unit members were busy with other stuff."

"These cuts are going to get infected if you don't get them cleaned like really soon. Why would you go on a mission or whatever you call it without everyone needed."

Jeno closed his eyes as Eunjin dabbed a tissue from her backpack on his forehead, getting rid of any blood residue before it could dry. "Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices."

"Sacrifices my ass," Eunjin laughed. "You're gonna be the next sacrifice if you aren't careful. You should go back to your home and get that cleaned up."

Jeno reluctantly opened his eyes, "yeah, I'm good. I'm gonna get flooded with more work as soon as I step back into my room. I think I'm gonna take my rest for now."

Eunjin sighed, "fine but you shouldn't rest in between random buildings."

"Well, it's not like I have many options."

"Okay, then you can come with me. My roommate is staying the night at another friend's house and probably wouldn't mind if you just stay in my room."

Jeno seemed to hesitate, making Eunjin frown slightly. "You really need to get cleaned up. I'm a medical student too, I promise I won't hurt you."

Eunjin had only known Jeno for two weeks yet put more trust in him than he ever would. She may not remember her past well but Jeno could tell that even after the accident, she still treated him with the same kindness from before.

It made him giddy inside but he didn't show it, too tired to even show much of how he was really feeling.

His shoulders finally slumped, "okay, let's go."

"Just stay right here."

Jeno nodded, his lips pulling into a thin line as he swayed back and forth while waiting.

Eunjin only took a minute to return to the room, taking a seat on her bed across from Jeno as she began cleaning up some of the blood.

She could sense how tired he was by the way his head fell into her hands while she worked. She didn't mind, keeping one hand on the side of his face to hold his head up.

"You should sleep," she finally said, slowly letting her left hand drop. Jeno's eyes pulled open, his eyebags still heavy.

"No, no, I should get home and," he paused, coughing slightly. Eunjin immediately put her right hand to his head.

She frowned slightly feeling the heat, "you have a fever. You're probably coming down with something. Just lay down before you pass out."

"But where will you sleep?" Jeno asked, now looking at her bed. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, her bed looked more comfortable than his own and at the moment, he would do anything to get just a little bit of shut-eye.

"We have a couch," she replied, picking up all of the trash and first aid kit.

Jeno's eyebrows furrowed slightly, his eyes immediately opening back up. "What? No, you take your bed, I'll sleep downstairs."

Eunjin shook her head, holding a hand against his chest before he could make it past the doorway. "You're so tired you could fall down the stairs. I'm used to sleeping downstairs. Now just go to sleep, please."

Jeno wanted to argue so Eunjin could return to her bed but he was so tired, emotionally, mentally, and physically that he couldn't bring himself to it.

As the two exchanged their good nights, he realized he was lucky Eunjin suggested sleeping in her bed. If Jihan got back early and saw him on their couch, he was practically dead.

If she saw Eunjin on the couch, she wouldn't bother looking in her room. It was the safest place for him to be in case she came home before woke up.

He was so tired it felt like his body was shutting down before he could even kick his shoes off and set his jacket down.

As soon as his head hit the fluffed pillow, he was out.

i feel like my author notes have been really long lately lmao

but we finally got that one scene that always happens in mafia/gang books where [main character] helps [x member] clean up their bruises and cuts 🤧

but today i just wanted to say thanks for 23k reads 🥳 i honestly didn't expect to get this many before we even finished the book but i'm grateful for it