Chapter 6

Bo Bae, who had been listening to the conversation between Professor Kwak and Ho Rang, was barely suppressing the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.

It was already a "Believe It or Not" miracle to meet a man who didn't get electrocuted when touching her, but to hear that she was the one making his heart beat? Wasn't this a total "Extreme Mystery Surprise" story?

Just a moment ago, he was a man with a freezing expression shouting "Stay 10m away" at her. On top of that, he had treated her like a perverted stalker and even called her a "kissing psycho"!

And yet, I’m the one making his heart beat!

Who knew the electrical ability she once thought useless would shine like this!

While she was inwardly shouting "Hooray," Professor Kwak finished his conversation with Ho Rang and approached her.

"Patient Na Bo Bae. I apologize for bringing you to this room without consulting you first. The situation was extremely urgent."

When Professor Kwak bowed his head in apology, Bo Bae waved her hands frantically.

"Oh, no. It’s alright. It was an unavoidable decision to save a life, wasn't it?"

As Bo Bae spoke with a smile, Ho Rang snorted as if he found it absurd.

"Thank you for understanding. As you may have heard, Patient Na Bo Bae's help is very much needed."

"Yes, it seems so. My help is very, very, truly desperate."

"He has a violent personality, but he doesn't bite."

"Right. He does look exactly like a toothless tiger right now."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry and please go ahead."

"Then, I'll leave him in your hands."

Professor Kwak gave Bo Bae a final earnest request regarding Ho Rang before leaving the room.

Left alone, a heavy silence settled in the hospital room.

Bo Bae stared intently at Ho Rang, while Ho Rang ignored her completely, treating her like a transparent human being.

Eventually, Bo Bae spoke first. After all, it was up to the one with the broader mind to show generosity.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"I don't."

"Aw, come on. I think you might have something to say?"

Bo Bae smiled slightly as she watched the man sitting stiffly, clinging to his pride.

Thinking back on his words about her 'throwing her body at him because she lacked writing talent' still made her blood boil, but it was true that she had been disrespectful to a man she had just met. So, if he asked for help, she was willing to provide it.

"Something to say, huh..."

When Ho Rang nodded as if something had occurred to him, Bo Bae looked at him with expectant eyes, waiting for an apology to spill from that arrogant man's lips.

"10m."

"10m"

"Have you forgotten already? I told you not to approach within a 10-meter radius."

"Ha! Is that all you have to say to me? That damn 10m!"

"That's it. Nothing else!"

When Ho Rang replied fiercely, Bo Bae glared at him.

It seemed this man didn't believe the doctor's words at all. Well, a woman who recharges your battery? Who would believe such a thing? However...

"If you don't believe it, it's your loss."

Whether he believed it or not, Bo Bae had nothing to lose.

"I'll get lost and stay outside your 10m range just like you wanted, so get some rest. And make sure you keep an eye on that."

Bo Bae pointed to the smartwatch and walked out. Left alone, Ho Rang glared at the door with sharp eyes.

"Does she think I'll be scared or something just because she leaves?"

Snickering at the absurdity, Ho Rang unfolded the newspaper lying on the table.

The economy section, the social section, and even the editorials. Ho Rang’s eyes moved along the print of the newspaper, but the content didn't register in his mind. The paper was full of news he ought to know, but his head was filled with nothing but worries about his heart and the battery.

Ho Rang threw the newspaper down irritably and took a sly glance at his smartwatch. A mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"I knew it. How could a 'kissing psycho' possibly affect my heart?"

11%. The battery level was exactly the same as before, even though quite some time had passed since she left the room.

Only then did he find peace of mind. It seemed Professor Kwak had been bored enough to play an excessive practical joke on him.

Ho Rang got up from the sofa and stood in front of the window. The rain that had fallen all night had stopped. Dark clouds had cleared, and a bright, clear blue sky stretched out beyond the glass. The sunlight streaming through the window felt incredibly cozy.

It was just as he was basking in the warm sunlight.

Beep, beep...bee-bee-beep....

An annoying warning sound rang out from somewhere. Ho Rang looked around, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from very close by.

In an instant, Ho Rang checked his wrist, and his expression froze hard.

"What is this?"

The smartwatch, which had been fine until a moment ago, was now flashing a red light. What's more, the battery level had dropped to 9%!

"Is it broken?"

The thought lasted only a fleeting second.

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, his chest throbbed. Along with a stabbing pain, breathing began to feel a bit strained.

At that moment, Professor Kwak’s words flashed through his mind.

["If that patient isn't there... your heart won't beat!"]

Why did those words have to come back to him now!

He didn't want to believe it. he wanted to dismiss it as a joke and move on, but he couldn't.

The smartwatch beeped even louder, and the pain in his heart began to intensify bit by bit.

Ho Rang rushed out of the hospital room. A nurse on duty outside approached and asked.

"Are you feeling uncomfortable? Shall I call the professor?"

Shaking his head and breaking into a cold sweat, Ho Rang asked.

"The woman who just left this room...where did she go?"

Because right now, what he needed wasn't a doctor, but that woman, Na Bo Bae.

~~~~

"To think my electrical ability would actually be useful to me. Oh, I'm so proud of myself. Mwah, mwah, mwah."

Bo Bae gave herself a little self-praise, kissing her own arm to reward the ability she had done nothing but despise until now.

She had cursed it, blaming it for the fact that she’d never even held a man’s hand even though she's thirty, claiming it was a useless power that blocked both her love life and her future as a writer. Who knew it would provide help in such a dramatic way?

Regardless, that man desperately needed her ability, and she needed him to write her story. In short, this electrical ability was going to help her writing. It was time to document this.

"He should be coming out right about now..."

Bo Bae muttered, glancing toward the rooftop door.

She didn’t know how robust the battery in his artificial heart was, but if it was at 11%, it wouldn't take long to drop below 10%. And human psychology dictates that once a battery hits the single digits, anxiety is bound to set in.

After all, modern people can survive without food, but they can't survive without a battery.

"Speak of the devil."

Bo Bae beamed as she saw Ho Rang finally make an appearance.

He scanned his surroundings before heading straight for her. He had a frantic look in his eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead, and a smartwatch emitting a loud, persistent warning chime.

the moment she saw him, Bo Bae was certain. This man had finally grasped the situation.

"Oh my, and who might this be? Isn't this the gentleman who told me to stay 10m away?"

Ho Rang found Bo Bae’s twisted tone grating, but he was more preoccupied with the fact that the warning sound on his watch had stopped the moment he got close to her.

Doubting his own eyes, he checked the watch. The battery, which had been at 9% just moments ago, was back at 10%! And it had only been a few seconds since he reached her.

It was chaotic. He saw it with his own eyes, yet he couldn't believe it.

If the professor was right...if it was true that this woman made his heart beat...!

'What do I do now?'

"What if I stayed this close and got cursed. I’ve already been cursed at so much between yesterday and today that I was worried I might live too long out of sheer spite."

Bo Bae said sarcastically, making a move to leave.

Ho Rang blocked her path.

It was the reaction she expected. However, she had no intention of following his lead quietly. She was the type to return exactly what she received.

"We shouldn't be this close. I'll get in trouble. By you."

"I'll be in the hospital room anyway, won't I?"

"That’s why I’m going to change rooms. To one about 10m away from yours."

As Bo Bae smiled and tried to step around him, Ho Rang blocked her again.

"My goodness. Was 10m always this close? This isn't 10m it feels more like 10cm."

The man had drawn close enough for her to feel his breath.

It was proof of how desperate he was for her. Very, very desperate.

Ho Rang looked down at the woman who was staring up at him mockingly and suppressed his rising fury. He hated this situation, but he needed her to survive.

She was the only thing he could lean on right now.

With his fists clenched so tight that the veins stood out, he forced out the words that were stuck in his throat...painfully, bit by bit, as if he were dragging them through gravel.

"Please. Help. Me."

"Pardon? What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

He had used every ounce of strength to squeeze out words he never wanted to say again in his life, and she was playing dumb. She even blinked with a look of pure innocence, as if she truly had no idea.

Ho Rang gritted his teeth and opened his mouth again.

"I said... help me."

"Help you? Oh my god! Baek Ho Rang, the president of Tae Seong Group, is asking a 'kissing psycho' with a 'rotten mind' like me for help? I'm simply overwhelmed."

Despite saying she was overwhelmed, Bo Bae crossed her arms defiantly and looked up at him with clear, sharp eyes.

The sight of her, this situation, this reality...it was all infuriatingly absurd, but Ho Rang had to endure. To live!

"Are you... going to help?"

When he forced the question out again, the hypocritical smirk vanished from her face. She blinked and shot back a question of her own.

"For free?"

Ho Rang’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.

"What?"

"Don't you know 'give and take'?"

"..."

"Expecting something to go out when nothing is coming in... isn't that just the mindset of a thief?"

"..."

His own words from yesterday were being thrown right back at him.

He knew she wasn't ordinary, but she really was a psycho. A psycho with a very good memory.

"I mean, of course, I could help you out of a sense of duty, or for humanitarian reasons, or out of love for mankind. But! You hate that kind of thing, don't you, Mr. Baek Ho Rang? You like clear calculations and you absolutely loathe getting a free ride. Don't you?"

On top of throwing his own words back at him, this woman was... giving him the middle finger. A very big one.

However, there were two things this bold woman didn't know.

The first was that, unlike her, he had a great deal to 'give.' The second was that he also remembered every word of their conversation yesterday.

The sunlight breaking through the dark clouds made Bo Bae’s face look exceptionally pale and radiant.

Her face had looked just like this yesterday, too.

[“Please kiss me just once!”]

Even when she had said those words, held in his arms.

"Then I suppose it would be settled if something is 'given'?"

"Pardon?"

Ho Rang cupped Bo Bae’s face with his large hands.

Then, with his rough lips, he swallowed her soft ones.

It was his first kiss.