Chapter 38
Eric POV
After dressing-down up, I headed downstairs.
I was halfway down the staircase when I heard voices.
Low, controlled but not calm.
I slowed immediately, my hand resting against the railing as the cold morning air settled around me. The house was quiet everywhere else, but the tension downstairs felt alive enough to fill the entire space.
"…we spoke last night," Lee Joon was saying.
His voice carried exhaustion beneath it.
"I asked if she knew where my sister was, because Laurel always said Seo Hee turned her into a personal diary."
A humorless scoff escaped him before he continued.
"That's when I found out Laurel was already back in Korea."
Silence followed.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind that meant someone didn't know what to say.
Then Nicholas finally spoke, his tone steady as always.
"I thought she told you."
"She didn't."
Another pause.
Heavy this time.
"I haven't seen her since she came to visit my dad," Nicholas added.
"When was that?"
"…Three weeks ago."
That one landed hard.
Even from the stairs, I could feel it.
"You all knew," Lee Joon said quietly.
No one answered immediately.
I cleared my throat softly as I stepped into view.
Both of them turned toward me.
The tension didn't disappear.
It just shifted direction.
"You done?" Nicholas asked.
I nodded once. "Yeah."
I walked toward the table and picked up the car key, but halfway to the door, my feet stopped moving.
Something pulled me back upstairs.
Maybe guilt.
Maybe worry.
Or maybe the image of Laurel collapsing earlier still wouldn't leave my head.
I turned around and headed back toward her room.
The door was slightly open.
Inside, the curtains were half drawn, allowing pale morning light to spill softly across the room. Everything looked still.
Laurel was asleep exactly the way I left her.
But now, without the panic from earlier clouding my thoughts, I could really see her.
She looked exhausted.
Not just tired.
Drained.
Like life itself had been slowly pulling pieces out of her while she kept pretending nothing was wrong.
I walked closer and sat carefully at the edge of the bed.
For a moment, I just looked at her.
Then slowly, I placed my hand against her forehead.
Warm.
Too warm.
My chest tightened immediately.
"She's going to be fine."
I looked up sharply.
Nicholas stood quietly by the doorframe, hands tucked into the pockets of his coat.
I hadn't even heard him come in.
"I know," I said.
But even to me, my voice sounded unconvinced.
Nicholas stepped further into the room, stopping a short distance away.
The morning light caught against his face, making him look softer somehow.
"Okay," he said quietly. "When will you be back?"
"Early," I replied. "Immediately after class."
He nodded slowly.
Then he stayed there.
Just standing.
Like there was something sitting at the edge of his mouth that he couldn't force himself to say.
"…okay," he said finally.
A pause.
"Drive safe."
I nodded once and stood up.
As I walked past him, our shoulders almost brushed against each other.
For one brief second, our eyes met.
Something flickered there.
Something quiet.
Then I walked out before I could understand it.
The drive to school felt longer than usual.
The roads were crowded.
Traffic lights changed.
People crossed streets.
But none of it stayed in my mind.
My hands remained on the steering wheel while my thoughts stayed behind.
With Laurel.
Even as a child…
She never got sick.
Not like this.
I frowned slightly, tightening my grip on the wheel.
What was I even expecting?
She hadn't rested once since we got to Korea.
Not once.
it is always about meetings, work, calls, projects.
Even late at night, I would still see the light under her room door.
"I should've forced her to stay home for a few days," I muttered under my breath.
But Laurel didn't listen to things like that.
She endured.
That was who she was.
She would keep walking even while bleeding if it meant protecting the people she cared about.
And now her body had finally forced her to stop.
By the time I arrived at school, the first period had already ended.
I went straight to the homeroom teacher.
"You're Eric, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Your sister informed us already. She said you'd be late."
Of course she did.
Even sick…
She was still handling things.
I thanked her quietly before leaving.
The moment I entered the classroom, the noise dropped slightly.
Then chairs moved.
Nari stood up first.
Taemin followed immediately after.
"What happened?" Nari asked softly.
"There was an incident at home," I replied.
That was all I could manage.
Their expressions shifted instantly.
Concern.
But not curiosity.
And strangely enough… that helped.
Classes continued after that.
Teachers came and went.
Words filled the board.
Pens moved.
Students talked.
But I barely listened to anything.
Every few minutes, my mind drifted somewhere else.
Back home.
Back to Laurel lying pale against white sheets.
Back to the sound of panic in my own voice earlier that morning.
By the time the final class ended, my head already felt exhausted.
Taemin stretched dramatically from his seat.
"Finally," he groaned. "Now we can go to that restaurant."
Nari laughed quietly beside him before both of them looked at me.
I shook my head immediately.
"I'm sorry. I can't come."
"Oh…" Nari's expression softened. "Hope it's nothing serious?"
I hesitated for a second before nodding slightly.
"I'll make it up to you guys next time."
"You better," Taemin replied dramatically, though his voice carried concern beneath the teasing.
I gave them a small nod before leaving immediately.
The drive home was faster this time.
Too fast.
By the time I arrived, I barely remembered the route I took.
I stepped inside and stopped.
The house was full.
Voices echoed from the living room.
Movement.
Laughter.
The smell of food.
and Presence.
Seo Hee.
Kang Dae.
Nicholas.
Lee Joon.
Even Eun Woo.
Everyone was there.
Because of her.
My eyes searched the room immediately until they found Laurel.
She was awake now.
Sitting on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
But she still looked pale.
Still weak.
Like someone trying too hard to appear okay.
"Laurel," I called softly as I walked toward her.
She looked up at me before tilting her head slightly.
"Why are you looking like someone who lost something?" she asked weakly.
I didn't answer.
I just stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
Tight.
For a second, she stiffened slightly from surprise.
Then she sighed softly against me.
"Why are you tearing up again?" she asked quietly.
"I thought I almost lost you."
The words left me before I could stop them.
"You need rest."
She scoffed lightly.
"I'll be fine in a day or two."
"This isn't funny."
"I'm not laughing."
"You fainted."
"So?" she muttered weakly. "Everyone faints. It's normal."
I pulled back immediately and looked directly at her.
"You are not everyone."
That made her pause.
Just for a second.
But I saw it.
"You don't get sick," I continued quietly, frustration creeping into my voice. "You don't stop. You don't rest. And now you faint and call it normal?"
"That's why I said I'll rest for a day or two."
"The doctor said two weeks."
"I have work."
That sentence snapped something inside me.
"If you're not worried about your life," I said, my voice tightening, "then at least worry about them."
I pointed around the room.
"They all have lives. Work. Things to do. Yet they're all here because of you."
The room fell silent.
Then I looked back at her.
"Worry about me too," I whispered.
My throat tightened painfully.
"What do you think will happen to me if something happens to you?"
No one interrupted.
No one moved.
Even Laurel looked stunned for once.
I stepped back slowly before turning around.
Then I walked upstairs.
The moment I entered my room, I shut the door and sat heavily on the edge of the bed.
I tried calming myself down.
But the frustration stayed.
The fear too.
Then a soft knock.
"Come in," I muttered.
The door opened carefully.
Nicholas walked in.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Are you busy?" he asked quietly.
"No."
He nodded before sitting beside me.
And for a while
There was silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Just unfamiliar.
The kind where two people were trying to understand each other without saying much.
"Laurel," he said eventually. "She probably didn't mean it like that."
I stayed quiet.
"She's just too straightforward sometimes," he continued softly. "And she cares about you a lot too."
"I know," I replied eventually.
I leaned back slightly, rubbing my face tiredly.
"I just… let my emotions take over."
Nicholas nodded slowly.
"I know everything she's doing is for me," I admitted quietly.
The words felt heavier saying them out loud.
"But I want her to live too."
My voice dropped lower.
"Not just for me."
I swallowed slowly.
"For herself too."
Nicholas looked at me carefully.
And for the first time, I saw understanding in his eyes instead of distance.
"I get that," he said quietly. "But I think you two need to talk properly."
I nodded slightly.
He stood up after a moment.
"I'll be downstairs," he said.
Then he paused halfway to the door.
Like earlier.
Like there was always something left unsaid between us.
"About last time…" he said quietly.
I looked up at him.
"I honestly don't know what I did," he admitted with a small laugh. "But I realized I never apologized."
I blinked slightly.
"…you didn't do anything wrong."
He studied me for a second before nodding.
"Okay."
A small silence followed.
"You know you can talk to me, right?"
That one stayed.
"I mean… if you want to," he added quieter this time.
I didn't answer immediately.
But I didn't look away either.
Something about the way he said it felt real.
Not forced.
Not polite.
Real.
"…yeah," I said finally. "Thank you."
A small smile almost appeared on his face.
Almost.
Then he nodded once before leaving the room.
The door closed softly behind him.
And somehow
The room didn't feel as heavy anymore.