To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 62

Alone, Anita was afraid that if she left him to himself, he might wander off in a different direction. She grabbed Charles Bennett’s sleeve and pulled him along.

“Charles Bennett’s situation shouldn’t worry you too much. It will be resolved soon.”

Rutger, who had been following Anita closely, abruptly stopped in his tracks. Anita, who had been leading the way, also turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s not Charles Bennett I’m worried about, it’s you.”

“I’m fine, not a hair out of place.”

“I’m not talking about that.”

Anita let go of his sleeve. It signaled that she didn’t want to talk about this topic, but he seemed not to have noticed or maybe didn’t care.

He grasped the hand that had let go of his sleeve. A warmth spread through his hand. When Anita’s hand touched the bandage wrapped around his hand, she flinched. However, she couldn’t push his hand away, fearing that the injury might worsen.

“Don’t. Let go quickly.”

“I’m asking if you’re okay.”

“If you don’t let go soon, you won’t be okay. Your palm is torn!”

He’s like a cunning Rutger Baylan, using her wounds to entangle her. Anita couldn’t push him away or shake him as she wished.

“Yes. That’s why I want you to answer me quickly.”

In an attempt to pull her hand out of his grip, Anita moved her hand slightly. However, as soon as the damp bandage touched the back of her hand, she stiffened.

“Okay. It was really scary. I thought I was going to die. Are you satisfied now?”

Anita spoke sarcastically.

She didn’t want to admit that she was scared. She didn’t want to show any weakness after acting like she could handle everything but failing to solve even one problem. She felt embarrassed about freezing like a fool when Charles Bennett attacked with a glass, and she felt pathetic for not handling herself quickly when Rutger, who came to help, got hurt.

She wished to be seen as a perfect person in his eyes. So, she hoped that he would think of her as someone worth not letting go of at least once.

It would be too miserable if he considered her a helpless girl who couldn’t do anything without him.

“I answered, so can you let go now?”

As the grip on her hand loosened, Anita withdrew her hand. After a while of struggling, when Anita finally escaped from his grip, Rutger embraced her. Although her hand was free, Anita, now trapped in his arms, laughed awkwardly in embarrassment.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry. I should have been there sooner.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about….”

As Anita’s voice faded away, she couldn’t continue speaking and closed her mouth.

“Go on. I was listening.”

A low laughter was heard near her temples. Not liking the teasing tone, Anita raised her arms to get away from him and pushed Rutger away.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

Anita asked in a questioning tone as she looked up and saw Rutger. The corners of his mouth twitched as if he were holding back a smile.

Anita was surprised when she looked where he was looking. She realized that the hand she had extended to push him away was now resting on his stomach.

Anita slowly lowered her hand and hid it behind her back as if nothing had happened.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

Although she tried to act boldly, her trembling voice revealed that she couldn’t control her intentions.

“If you wanted to touch, you could have just said so, right?”

Rutger seemed pleased to catch onto something to tease, and he even stooped down to Anita’s eye level. When his face was inches away from hers, Anita took a step back.

“Why would I touch that anyway?”

He paused as he approached her.

“It seems like you’re reacting as if I touched something really dirty?”

“Not much different.”

A hint of seriousness appeared on his previously smiling face. Anita didn’t actually dislike Rutger’s teasing, and she had used a stronger expression on purpose. However, seeing his wounded face, her conscience pricked.

“Sorry. That’s not what I meant. It wasn’t bad.”

“Not bad? So, can I interpret that as it was good then?”

Anita felt the urge to bite her tongue. Sensing that the conversation might lead to trouble if it continued on this topic, Anita decided to steer it in a different direction.

“The welcome party must be over by now, right?”

“Probably. But…”

Failing to change the subject, Anita rolled her eyes. As she averted her gaze, Anita suddenly noticed his hand, causing her to turn pale.

“Your, your hand!”

Hearing Anita urgently shouting, Rutger looked down at his hand. Blood was seeping through the bandages. The blood ran down his fingers and collected at the tips.

“Oh no.”

Anita screamed as if she might faint, her face turning pale.

“To the hospital now! Right away!”

Anita dragged Rutger in that direction and pushed him into the hospital. Although she wanted to follow him into the treatment room, she was shooed away at the entrance.

Restlessly pacing outside the treatment room, Anita eventually left the hospital. After walking down the street for a while, she finally found what she was looking for—a public telephone booth. After nibbling on her lip for a while, her fingers dialed the numbers.

After a moment of beeping, a familiar voice answered the phone.

“Dad.”

For a while, there was no sound on the other end of the line. She patiently waited for the other person to respond.

Finally, the typically reserved voice on the other end spoke.

– The matter has been resolved. The Bennett family won’t press charges.

Being a man of business, he skipped the greeting and got right to the point. Knowing his tendencies, Anita didn’t bother to say hello, either.