Page 28 of Scarbound

The doctor studied him. His breakfast sat untouched on the tray despite the nurse’s attempts to feed him.

Clearing his throat, the doctor continued, “As part of your recovery, we’ll be monitoring not only your physical health, but your mental state as well, your mood, your thoughts. We want to provide comprehensive care.”

“Okay,” Noeul answered flatly.

“How are you feeling? Are you comfortable?”

Noeul didn’t respond. He turned toward the window as tears slid silently down his cheeks.

He had failed.

“I understand if you’re not ready to talk,” the doctor said gently. “I’m here when you are.”

Noeul’s thoughts drifted far from the hospital room. His hands throbbed, but the pain barely reached him.

How would he face his family? Had the hospital contacted them?

They hadn’t… at least not before he woke up. When he saw his father’s number on the screen yesterday, he’d assumed it was to scold him. But it wasn’t.

And above all—

Who was the man who had saved him? Why had he done it? How had he known?

“Good morning, Noeul.”

The male voice cut through his thoughts. Noeul looked up to see the cause of his unease standing beside the bed, setting down a bouquet and a bag of food.

“I brought flowers and breakfast. How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?”

Noeul studied the stranger. He had the look of a New Yorker, someone you might easily label a neighborhood mobster. When Noeul had asked who he was, the man claimed he’d been visiting a friend nearby, heard his cries, and found the door ajar. He said he’d stopped the bleeding and brought him to the hospital.

Noeul remembered little after losing consciousness. But he remembered one thing clearly.

He had locked the door.

When Chung-Hee reached the room, he heard Noeul speaking with Jake. Unnoticed, he lingered at the doorway, observing his brother’s friend.

Despite the weight loss and distant eyes, Noeul was still strikingly beautiful.

“Tell me who you really are,” Noeul snapped at the man beside him.

Jake smiled, unbothered, as he unwrapped the breakfast burrito. “Why do you doubt me? I told you. I heard you crying.”

“No.” Noeul’s voice hardened. “Tell me the truth. I’m not an idiot.”

“I am telling you the truth.” Jake moved closer to help him sit up.

“Don’t touch me.” Noeul flinched away. He stared at him. “I locked the bathroom door. So you expect me to believe you heard me through two closed doors?”

Jake shrugged. “What can I say? I did.”

“I never cried for help. Why would you enter a stranger’s apartment and risk legal action?”

“I’m a good person.”

Noeul stared at him in disbelief. “No. You’re insulting my intelligence. Tell me the truth.”

“I can tell you the truth,” a deep voice said from the doorway.