Page 34 of The Romance Rivalry

“You didn’t even examine it,” Aiden argues.

“Still, that’s my assessment.” Taejin grabs both my hands and jerks me forward onto my feet as he shifts his body to put his back right in front of me. With the forward momentum, I’m suddenly draped over his back as he stands and starts walking away from the crowd. I wrap my legs around his waist andhold on for dear life. “Gotta get you to the med center to get this checked out.” He grabs my legs, and with me piggyback, he starts jogging toward one of the buildings.

Straight out of a K-drama. And let me tell you, this is way more uncomfortable than they make it seem on those shows.

I want to tell him to put me down, explain to him that I can walk myself. But he’s got a tight grip on me.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Aiden says, running up beside us.

“Get out of the way, Jeon. I’m getting her to safety.”

“You are such a moron. Just let her down.”

But Taejin is on a mission. He’s pre-med, after all. You’d think this is what he’s been training for his whole life. So he continues to run, with me awkwardly bouncing around his back, each movement making my already sore face feel like it’s going to explode.

I feel Aiden looking my way as he keeps up running beside us. “I’m gonna kick the shit out of him,” Aiden says under his breath. I might have been hit harder than I thought because I feel a sense of relief, safety with Aiden here.

“Then that’ll leave me as the only wise man,” I say, eyes getting heavy despite being bounced around on Taejin’s back.

“I’ll play the three wise men with you any day,” Aiden says.

I must really be hurt, because my only thought is how that’s possibly the most romantic thing anyone has said to me ever.

And even with a possibly broken nose, and at the very least a seriously damaged zit, I know me and this heart of mine are in some big trouble.

“I told you it wasn’t broken,” Aiden says, clearly annoyed at this whole thing. I want to tell him to go back to the game, if they’re all still playing. But he’s standing in the corner of the examination room, arms crossed over his chest, brooding.

Cute.

That’s the pain meds talking.

“I didn’t get a chance to make a thorough examination. It was a best-guess assessment based on limited information. And without the proper equipment for triage,” Taejin tries to explain.

“Whatever,” Aiden grumbles. “Let’s check out and I’ll walk you back to the dorm, Irene. Jeannette and Charles are waiting for us outside.” He holds me by the back of the head and looks into my eyes as if searching for a sign he might have missed that I’m not okay to leave.

“Why are you being nice to me?” I whisper.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” he asks, still holding my gaze.

“Because you want to distract me, keep me off-balance.” It’s the only reason I can think of.

“Is it working?” His eyes sparkle with mischief, and a small part of me deflates.

Maybe this is just all about the game to him. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure I want to play anymore. My head hurts too much to think about it right now.

“Let’s just go home,” I say.

I stand up to follow Aiden. Guess we’re done here. I have a Band-Aid over the new bruise over the old zit over my nose and over my pride. I sway a little when I get off the bed and Aiden’s arm is quickly around my waist, steadying me. I may have let out a sigh.

“Hey, Irene, wait up,” Taejin says, following us.

He stands in the doorway, blocking our way out. The unnecessary stethoscope still hangs around his neck.

“I can’t believe it’s you. It’s really good to see you,” he says.

“Yeah, you too. Thanks for helping me out back there. I appreciate you using all your pre-med know-how to patch me up.”

I hear Aiden clear his throat to cover up his laugh.

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