Climax - Chapter 18.2 - Lunar Letters

Chapter 18.2

The loud doorbell, which hadn’t rung in months, jolted her awake. Even as she lay there in a daze, the bell kept ringing. Then, someone began pounding on the door with loud thuds.

What on earth? She scrambled to get up, but a sharp pain shot through her injured ankle. She winced and froze for a moment, but the relentless noise forced her to grab her crutches and make her way to the front door, her heart pounding with pure fear.

“Who is it?”

Her voice came out as a raspy, broken whisper. Still, the noise outside didn’t stop. After several painful coughs, Yeon-ha mustered the strength to shout louder. “Who’s there?!”

The pounding on the door abruptly ceased, followed by a calm, familiar voice that echoed in her ears.

“It’s me.”

Me? At the confident reply, Yeon-ha’s eyes widened, her gaze wavering. The voice outside called again, asking her to open the door. After a brief moment of hesitation, she cautiously unlocked it, relieved that the person was Kwon Min-gyu.

“…”

The cold air rushed in, causing Yeon-ha to instinctively furrow her brows. She cracked the door open just enough for him to see half of her face, keeping the chain latch secured. Kwon Min-gyu let out a scoff.

“Are you kidding me? Open the door all the way so I can see how you’re doing.”

“What do you mean, how I’m doing?”

At the sound of her hoarse voice, his expression faltered, then twisted into a harsh scowl.

“You’re not reading my messages, not eating, your phone’s off. Are you alright?”

Huh? Yeon-ha tilted her head slightly at his words, which were spoken with a tense, deliberate tone. Seeing Kwon Min-gyu for the first time in over a month, she found him just as unpredictable and overbearing as ever.

‘What is he talking about?’

As the thought crossed her mind, she was suddenly overtaken by a fit of coughing. She turned her head away, trying to suppress it, and noticed how his face darkened further as he watched her struggle.

“I went to the trouble of getting you food, and you didn’t even eat it. Look at you—your face is half its normal size. And the food’s gone completely cold.”

His face, half visible through the crack in the door, came in and out of view as he nodded toward something outside, grumbling in dissatisfaction. What was he going on about? The sudden, unbearable tightness in her chest made it hard to breathe. Leaning against her crutches,

Yeon-ha finally undid the latch and opened the door.

It wasn’t just the noise that pushed her to do it—there was also an unconscious trust that he wouldn’t harm her. He seized the opportunity to open the door himself, though only halfway, just enough for them to see each other. Yeon-ha’s lips twitched nervously as the tension in the air spiked.

“…What is this?”

Her voice slipped out as she noticed something unfamiliar by the door. There, perched on a small, round stool that she didn’t remember seeing before, was a shopping bag. Through the gap, she could make out a white plastic-wrapped package. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and his voice carried a note of irritation.

“I told you I made chicken soup. I left it for you to eat.”

“…What?”

“I texted you last night. I even rang the doorbell. Are you going to pretend you didn’t know while you were home?”

The doorbell? Yeon-ha furrowed her brow, trying to recall. She had been home all day yesterday—and the day before, too. She hadn’t been to school in a week. Her dry lips parted, and a dazed voice slipped out.

“I was asleep. I didn’t know.”

“Right.”

Kwon Min-gyu crossed his arms, his expression clearly displeased. Yeon-ha, still in a fog, glanced back and forth between the man and the shopping bag. A sharp gust of wind bit into her skin, making her shiver. Why did he bring this? Why did he show up unannounced and cause such a fuss? She didn’t have the energy to puzzle over those details. She was too exhausted to keep talking; all she wanted was for him to leave so she could crawl back into bed.

‘Will he leave if I ask him to?’

Yeon-ha avoided his gaze, the usual intensity of his stare feeling even more burdensome today. He stood there silently, taking in her flushed face, dry lips, and fragile form, which looked even more delicate despite all the layers she had on. Then, something shifted in his eyes.

“Hey.”

“…!”

Startled, Yeon-ha instinctively recoiled as he suddenly stepped closer, still holding the door. He bent down to meet her eyes, refusing to give her any space, his presence suffocatingly close. Before she could ask what he was doing, his voice, now much quieter and more serious than before, pierced through the tension.

“Are you trying to die?”

Her heart plummeted.

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