love game; ℓ.н/ ρ.נ

chapter 25, why i like you

Jia's pov

Let's be honest: we need to give myself a gold medal for taking a bullet for the person I hate the most. (or do I?)

I could hear their voices booming inside the room when I first woke up. For some reason, they were always fighting. I tried sitting up but found myself bound to wires on my hands.

"Heeseung," I managed to call. I don't even know why I called him first instead of Jay. They both let go of each other's collars and turned toward me. They both rushed to me, which looked like a race to reach first.

"Jia, are you okay?!" Heeseung examined my face with both his palms pressing my cheeks into my face.

"Let her breathe!" Jay pushed Heeseung aside and pulled me into a tight hug.

The doctors came rushing in and Jay had to pull back, though he didn't look too happy letting go. "How are you feeling, Ms. Kang?" the doctor asked. "I don't know," I genuinely answered. "I don't feel anything. I don't know if I want to feel anything." I might have been talking about boys more than my health.

"Perfectly normal," the doctor said, checking things off his clipboard. "Three weeks and your shoulder has been healed about seventy-five percent"

"I was knocked out for three weeks?!"

"Uh-huh. Nothing big. You're alive and talking so you will be fine.. You can go home in two days. You'll still need someone to stay with you overnight."

"I can." Two voices were heard simultaneously.

"Only one," the doctor said. "It was agreed you boys would take alternate turns. Stick with that." He said that with a stern, fatherly tone and banged the door close behind him.

The two boys stared at each other as if sending electric sparks with each eye contact.

"Nice seeing you both," I broke the tension.

"How are you feeling?" Jay asked awkwardly, sitting next to me on the bed.

"Fine"

"Need anything to eat?"

"Sure"

Jay got up and headed towards the door, but stopped before Heeseung and said, "Don't do anything"

"I will"

Jay hit Heeseung's shoulder with his, making the latter lose his balance.

"What was that about?" I asked once Jay left.

"Nothing," he blandly said.

There was silence for a few minutes and the only thing not making it awkward was the heart rate monitor's constant beeping, telling us I was alive.

"Where is Hwan?" I asked, not knowing what to say.

"Living with me," he replied. "We- I couldn't leave him alone in your apartment."

"You said we," I noticed.

Heeseung sighed. "Me and Jay."

"Why are you both always fighting? I thought you were best friends"

"I don't know," he said after a pause. "That's what I thought too"

"So it's Jay's fault?" I asked, curious. 

"I wouldn't say that," he answered, looking at Jay through the window, who was vending a cold drink for me. "But he needs to back off"

"From what? Why?" 

"Because he is competing with me"

"What are you competing for?" At this point, I was tired of all the tea I had missed. 

"A girl," he said, turning to me. 

"Oh," I said, falling back to my pillow and staring at the ceiling. "Good for you" 

I had no idea Jay had finally moved on from me and already found another person, who, even Heeseung liked. 

"Yeah," I heard  Heeseung say, snapping me back from my thoughts, which, I don't know why, told me I should mourn. 

"Jia," he called, and I didn't even realize he had sat in front of me on the bed. 

"Hmm?" 

"Thank you for taking that bullet" 

"As you should," I said. "I almost died, you asshole" 

Heeseung laughed. Gosh, how I loved when he laughed. Then I had to mentally slap myself to come back to reality because he already liked someone else. 

"But like, seriously," he said, scooting closer to flick my forehead. "Thank you, kiddo" 

"Who are you calling a kiddo, you grandpa?!" I yelled, pulling his hair. 

"You-!" he pushed me down, choking my neck with his hands. And before you knew it, we were wrestling, pulling each other's hair, and hitting each other while laughing our lungs out. 

We finally calmed down, panting. Heeseung, who was on top of me, looked at me with his bambi eyes, dangerously close to my face. 

"This is why I like you," he said. 

"What do you mean?" I asked, barely able to get words out of my mouth. Heeseung looked up at the heart rate monitor, which started beeping louder. He started laughing, with his face buried in my neck, which left me even more confused and nervous. 

"One cold drink for Ms. Jia-"

I started panicking at the sight of Jay and tried moving Heeseung away from me. 

"What are you doing?" Jay asked Heeseung, his voice angry. 

I caught a glimpse of Heeseung smirking at Jay. He then turned to me with the same look and came closer until his lips touched mine. His cold lips got warmer as he kissed the baffled me. It was a good two minutes when I came back to my senses and pushed his face away. 

"What are you doing?!" I whisper-yelled at him, trying to glimpse at Jay at the same time to catch his expression. 

"Forget about him," Heeseung said. "For now. And forever"  

I remained quiet and stupefied. He looked down at my lips and came closer again, but I pushed him away before another mistake could be made. The heart rate monitor was going havoc now, but I knew I had to control myself. I breathed properly as Heeseung got up and straightened his shirt. 

Jay had left. 

"Why did he leave?" I asked Heeseung, who didn't make any eye contact with me. 

He put his hands in his pocket and smirked at the void space where Jay had been standing, stunned. 

"Because I won" 

___________________

henlo bbgs 

pls tell me its not getting cringeTOT 

k bye ily <3