Won froze. If this was one hundred percent his usual bullshit, she would push him away, but his forehead was like a fireball and his body was warm against hers.

“If you’re cold, why don’t you go to your room and get under the blankets? Or do you want to go to the nurses’ station and tell them your symptoms to get some medicine?”

“What do you think they’re going to give me?”

“You’re distrustful.”

“I have a reason for that. Your oppa doesn’t want to tell because he has a heavy mouth, but I’m sure you would understand if you knew.”

Not because she can’t keep a secret, but because of the CCTV, he was forced to keep his mouth shut.

“Okay, go to your bed and get under the covers.”

“Let’s stay like this for a while. It feels just right.”

“What does?”

“My pretty girl’s soft skin?”

Top Dog felt like a creepy middle-aged man, so Won pushed him away. Seeing her in disgust, Top Dog laughed.

“I thought you liked middle-aged and creepy, so even if I couldn’t match the face value, I tried to make up for it in other ways.”

“You’re making it sound like I like old men. Stop it.”

“Oh, already had enough of eating spoiled goods?”

‘He’s really good at hearing what he wants to hear.’

Won bickered with him, she felt relieved to know that he wasn’t much different from his usual self. It is said that people change when they are about to die, so seeing him as he is, she knows he’ll live. Still, it would be better to get to his room so he can rest than sit here and flirt with her.

Before turning away from him, Won threw a quick comment.

“… Take care of yourself.”

‘Don’t get yourself in trouble for not taking care of yourself.’

“Are you worried about me? It’s okay, I’m strong.”

His lips curled into a smirk.

‘You don’t have to be so tough.’

It’s not often that you get tortured in the twenty-first century, so this is probably his first time. Depending on the type of torture, he could be in pain for days.

‘This is why I don’t feel comfortable letting the public help me.’

Frowning, Won went to the second floor and found Ju-hee. She approached her, wondering what was wrong. Won greeted her with a wry smile, but Ju-hee was concerned as if she had never seen her like that before.

“Noona.”

It was Sol, not Ju-hee.

Won studied him for a moment. She wondered if there was something different about him, but they were the same. Being Sol didn’t change his body in a way that made his Adam’s apple prominent or his breasts flatten; there were no physical differences.

‘How does Ho tell them apart?’

As Won wrapped her head around the question, Sol spoke up.

“What’s going through your mind as I’m right in front of you?”

A subtle sense of otherness penetrated Won. It was like running your fingers across a smooth surface of porcelain and noticing a bump spot that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It was like it struck a nerve with Won, but she didn’t know what it exactly was.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Do you want to take a walk and talk?”

“Sure.”

Sol nodded in agreement. Won wasn’t sure what to say, so she just greeted him with formalities.

“It’s been a while, but I haven’t seen you around much lately. You haven’t been in the main hall much lately, either. Did something happen?”

Ju-hee was the first patient Won had a conversation with when she first came to the hospital. She used to be in the main hall a lot, so they would make small talk when they saw each other, but lately, their meetings were brief. Won didn’t know why, but lately, it seems Ju-hee has been confined to her room.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just need to organize a few things.”

“Organize? Did you clean your room?”

“Clean? Oh, yeah. I just finished pesky, deep clean.”

Won tilted her head at Sol’d answer. While there was definitely more personal space in a single room than in a shared room, it wasn’t big enough for a deep clean. Won knows because she also had a single room.

In the first place, washing the bedding is the hospital’s responsibility. The only cleaning a patient can do is organize their things, but there are only so many items allowed into the closed ward, so it would only take an hour at most.

“You must have been working hard.”

“Yeah, I formatted it neatly.”

Won felt that was rather a peculiar expression. Wasn’t formatting a word for a computer program?

“Did you wipe the slate clean and rearrange your belongings from scratch? If so, that doesn’t seem like a very good word to us-”

Sol interrupted her.

“It sounds like there has been a lot going on with you, noona. I heard you were confessed to by Rock, and then by Gyeom in the middle of karaoke night.”

Won shuddered at the nightmarish memory she forgot. Sol gave a knowing smirk.

“It’s said that it is girls’ least favorite confession.”

“Well, I suppose some like it.”

“But not you, noona?”

Sol added, catching onto her wording. Won smirked, thinking there was a foxy side to him, but then another question came.

“Do you like Rock better?”

Won wondered where the story was going.

After a short silence, she spoke up.

“His confession is… not even close.”

“Phhh-haha. What could possibly be the equivalent of a public confession while singing a song? Was there some sort of parade”

Won thought of Top Dog confessing like it was some sort of parade.

‘I hate it.’

Parades and celebrations are an irreplaceable part of humanity’s cultural heritage, but if he confessed like it was some sort of one, she would kill him.

“Just refuse them both.”

“Should I?”

“Yes. It’s not like they are the only men in the world.”

“I know.”

“Then promise me you’ll reject them both.”

Sol stuck out her pinky. As much as she wanted to, Won knew she had to pretend to be in a relationship with Top Dog.

‘But hey, it’s not like this is a serious contract with a stamp…’

Sol was waiting with his pinky out. Just as Won was about to lightheartedly intertwine her fingers with his when someone grabbed her hand. Startled, Won stared at the person who had interrupted them.

His face was pale and his eyes were creepy. Won remembered seeing him somewhere before. There was no way she could forget such a memorable man.

“I can’t believe someone I know would take advantage of a young, innocent friend to get what they want.”

Won stiffened at the accusation. How rude of him to jump in and lecture when they didn’t even know her? She heard that Seonmudang was a manipulative shaman, but this cultist seemed like their perfect match.

Won pried her hand away.

“Look, you must have misunderstood something. I’m not really-”

“Promises are not to be made lightly.”

Park’s warm grip on her hand cut her off. She started to pull her hand away in annoyance but was stopped.

“Be careful what you promise, okay?”

His hand on the back of hers was slightly trembling.

‘Hydrocephalus?’

Won thought of the names of medical conditions that were accompanied by hand tremors.

‘Parkinson’s, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, hypoglycemia, drug addiction, alcoholism… Could it be alcoholism? Is he talking nonsense as a symptom of withdrawal?’

He was skinny for a man, his lips were purple, and he looked far from healthy. He also doesn’t look like a patient because of his eyes; they seemed too alive to be sick.

As she thought about it, he withdrew his hand. In that short time, Park seemed to become even more withdrawn, like he expended an enormous amount of energy. Won was about to say something when she realized she hadn’t touched him.

The man shuffled off and walked away. It was like he was doing heavy labor.

“What the hell…”

Grumbling, Won looked back at Sol. Sol was staring at the back of the man’s head, and the look in his eyes made Won feel uncomfortable. It was like Sol was looking at some lowly prey that was no more than a bite away. It’s not a look that a twenty-year-old gives someone much older than them.

“Well, there’s the weirdo. Now that the interrupter is gone, we’ll promise again, right?”

Tearing his gaze away from Park, Sol smiled and held out his hand. Only the first and last fingers were extended, the rest folding, in the Pinky Promise gesture.

Won stared at the outstretched pinky. It was smooth and white, and it felt cooler than it looked at their touch…

An unknown chill crept down her spine.

It wouldn’t take much to entwine her fingers with his. She has been warned to not make promises, but it wasn’t like all people keep their promises. She wasn’t the type to make an inviolable pact with a friendly face and then stab the other person in the back, but this was a child’s play promise.

But for some reason, Won didn’t want to.

She didn’t know if it was because of Park, but she wanted to avoid this promise, even if she didn’t believe in shamans or superstitions.

Overcome by an unknown impulse, Won clasped her right hand behind her back.

“I don’t want to. I’m still thinking.”

“Oh, there’s no such need.”

“Forget it, I don’t want to.”

“Tsk.”

When Won refused again, Sol withdrew his hand. His face was gaunt and grim.

“Are you pouting because I didn’t promise you?”

“Yeah, I’m pouting.”

His pouty face was cute, yet condescending. Won grabbed his lip and lightly pulled it.

“Ouch!”

Sol whined. Smirking, Won pulled her hand away.

“It doesn’t hurt, but you’ll be a duck if you keep pouting like that.”

“Awww. Do you think I’m your lover? Do you expect me to believe that?”

Sol laughed like nothing was out of the ordinary. It was like the alienation Won felt earlier was a lie.

Won was about to breathe a sigh of relief, finally free from the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Noona, do you like Rock? I thought you and Jin had a thing.”

Kofi