love game; ℓ.н/ ρ.נ

chapter 24, the villain, the hero

Heeseung's pov

I stared at her as the heart rate monitor beeped slowly. 

What had gone wrong? I tried to protect her and keep her away from them. 

It turned out to be the opposite. She saved me. She took a bullet for me despite showing that she despises me so badly. At least that is what I had been thinking, until now. Maybe it was just her natural instincts, and she would've done the same for her brother or a friend. 

She wouldn't be waking up for another few days, and will not be able to go home for a month, the doctors had said. She would need someone close to her, as she might have nightmares and potential PTSD after she would awake. 

That is where we were right now. 

Jay and I were arguing about who would get to stay, as only one person was allowed to stay with the patient. I argued that he was a selfish jerk and walked away without seeing if Jia had reached home safely or not. Jay argued that I was at fault for her miserable life at the moment. 

As our argument got more heated, Jia's heart rate slowed down. 

"Stop!" Hwan's voice echoed. "Noona doesn't like it!"

There was silence for a long time as realization hit me. We were being childish with our possessiveness, and we'd forgotten what the real problem was; Jia needed help, and it was both our faults. What had she done so far, to cause us trouble? Absolutely nothing. It was always us getting her into trouble because of our selfish needs. 

"I'm sorry, Hwan," Jay said. I was surprised he even remembered how to apologize. "Your sister needs company. We were just discussing who should stay, and we've decided it is gonna be me"

"Excuse me?" I flew in defense. "We never agreed to that!"

"Why don't you just take turns in staying!?" Hwan yelled in frustration. Another bit of silence at the surprise of his anger. 

I looked at Jay. He was already looking at me, a little bit with the embarrassment of not thinking that before, and of course, jealousy. 

 "We can do that," I said, eyeing Jay. He didn't seem happy about it, but it was stupidity to deny the offer. 

"Good," Hwan said. 

"You sound like an old man," I remarked, at which Jay snickered, but went back to his stern face. 

"He's smarter than you, though," Jay threw at me. 

"Shut up"

"Typical defense statement of yours. Never gonna change, huh?" 

Hwan rolled his eyes so hard, and it looked like it hurt his head. It was so much drama for a six-year-old. He walked over to the washroom of the ward and banged the door hard behind him. I couldn't help but smile at his maturity, yet childishness. 

With Hwan gone, it was just me and Jay now, neglecting the passed-out Jia. There was so much tension between us that you would need an axe to cut it. And for what? We used to be the best of friends before he moved to America. When he returned, everything seemed to have fallen apart. And me being the smart person that I am (no sarcasm), everything seemed to point towards one person (guess who). 

Jay broke the silence and my train of thought. "So...who's gonna stay tonight?" 

I noticed he didn't look me in the eye. "Do you wanna stay?" I asked. He looked surprised at my offer. His expression changed before you could decipher what his expression was. 

"Why are you being like this?" He asked. 

"Being like what? It's okay if you don't wanna stay-"

"Why are you acting like we're strangers?" 

I genuinely had no answer to that. I just stared at my feet, hoping he would say something or the ground would swallow me or the hospital exploded. 

"Just say if you like her." I looked up at him. He was looking me in the eye this time, serious and not in the mood for another one of our arguments. "Just say it, because I wanna know who I'm competing with" 

That was something I didn't expect. I mean, I could figure it out he had a crush on her (as I said, I'm smart), but knowing the person that he was, he wasn't quick to confess. 

"Yes," I said. It took the courage of my life to say that. "Yes, I like her. What will you do about it? You can't stop me, and she doesn't like you."

Jay smirked. "I made her fall for me once. I can do it again" 

"You can't force her." There was a sort of panic in my voice, as if he was going to steal her right away, from the hospital, passed out or conscious. "I've kissed her. She didn't pull back" 

He shrugged. "Nothing big of an accomplishment. I kissed her and asked out right away, unlike your cowardly ass, who is taking weeks to even be sure of his feelings." 

As much as it was correct, my ego didn't want him to be right. It took me my entire strength to not punch him in the face. But something told me this wasn't going to pass with a fight. We had to talk it out, and I wasn't going to let him win. 

The flush sound was heard from the washroom, and I knew I had to get over with this conversation and make it clear quickly when the time was right and I wasn't punching his face. 

"You've had your time with her," I told. "And you failed to keep her. Don't try when she's into someone else, you could ruin everything, even potential lovers" 

Jay walked over to me until I couldn't look at anyone but him in front of me. "I don't care," he spoke with cruelty in his voice. "I've decided I want her. Again. What are you gonna do?" 

"Anything that will break you" 

__________________________

yoiii 

long time no see. how's everyone? 

how's the story so far btw?

also pleaassse vote if you're liking the story it makes me happy :)))