Chapter 145
Suzy nodded.
The injury was on his left. Any movement of his arm would tug at the wound and risk tearing it open. In his current state, there was no way he could undress himself—especially not with a T-shirt clinging to him.
"Stand up," Suzy said, gesturing for him to rise as she reached to remove his raincoat.
The raincoat was easy enough—just a matter of undoing the buttons. The real trouble was the T-shirt underneath.
A closer look revealed that parts of it were already soaked, and worse, the fabric across his back had been eaten through by acid rain, riddled with small holes.
Suzy paused, considering how to get the tight white shirt off him smoothly.
In the end, she arrived at a simple conclusion: tear it. Rip it apart. That was the quickest way, and the least likely to aggravate his injury.
"Do you mind if I tear your shirt?" she asked.
"...Go ahead," he replied.
For a moment, something seemed to cross his mind. His back stiffened abruptly.
"Then I won’t hold back—" Suzy coughed lightly. "I’m starting."
As soon as she finished speaking, she pulled out the small dagger she always carried for self-defense and sliced through the thin fabric of his T-shirt. Once there was an opening, the rest came apart easily.
Rip.
The shirt split cleanly into two pieces.
Suzy tugged them off and tossed them aside.
Now bare-chested, Thomas stood rigidly in front of her.
She didn’t spare him a second glance, despite his well-built physique, and motioned for him to sit down.
He was too tall. Even standing on her toes, she wouldn’t be able to properly examine his back.
"Alright." He sat.
Suzy’s gaze settled on the injury. Just as she’d expected, the acid rain had reached it.
The damage there was far worse than the burns on his face. The skin had turned an unnatural red, dotted with clusters of raised blisters.
She frowned. "This is serious. And you didn’t feel anything?"
How tough did someone have to be not to notice this?
"Is it? How bad is it? Let me see."
Suzy took out her phone, snapped a photo of his back, and handed it to him.
Thomas glanced at it. "Yeah... Pretty bad. I’ll need your help to lance the blisters."
"I know," she said, already opening the medical kit.
Inside were disposable needles.
After carefully disinfecting the injured area, Suzy used one of the needles to gently puncture each blister. The skin looked as though it had been scorched.
When she was done, she took out what remained of the spirit spring water and carefully spread it over the damaged skin.
The moment her fingertips touched his back, his body trembled—just slightly, but enough for her to notice.
"Does it hurt? Was I too rough?" She pulled her hand back.
"I’m fine," he said. "Go on."
The pain was tolerable. He wasn’t that weak.
It was just... whenever she touched him, a strange current seemed to ripple through his body, sharp and inexplicable. That faint tremor had come from that sensation.
The injury was serious, and Suzy had no mind for anything else. She worked quickly, applying the treatment with practiced efficiency. The longer she delayed, the worse it might become—there was even a risk of infection or decay.
At last, she finished. The bottle of spirit spring water was empty.
"All done."
She gave his shoulder a light pat. It was solid beneath her palm.
She began cleaning up the mess on the floor—the shredded remains of his T-shirt, the empty bottle of spirit spring water, the used disposable disinfecting supplies.
As Thomas watched her move about, his gaze fell on the small bottle she had just tossed into the trash bag.
"You’ve used up all the medicine?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah. It’s all gone," Suzy replied.
She finished gathering everything and tied up the trash bag. When no response came, she looked up at him in confusion—only to find him staring at her with a complicated expression.
Feeling slightly uneasy, she touched her face. "What kind of look is that?"
"...Sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had to use something so valuable..."
Suzy cut him off before he could finish. "You don’t have to be so polite with me. Besides, you saved me too, didn’t you?"
Even so, he still looked troubled, as if he’d taken far more from her than he was comfortable with.
Suzy set the trash bag aside and looked him up and down.
Only now did she have the leisure to properly appreciate his physique.
And... it really was impressive.
Earlier, she’d been too focused on treating his injuries to notice. But now, the moment she looked, her gaze stuck to him and refused to move.
Bare-chested, he sat on the sofa, his strong, well-defined muscles strikingly easy on the eyes.
Broad shoulders—exceptionally broad.
She estimated that even both her hands together might not be enough to cover one of them.
Then, inevitably, her gaze drifted downward.
To his waist.
It looked powerful, lean and firm.
What a specimen—broad shoulders tapering into a narrow waist. Not an ounce of excess fat on his abdomen, and along his lower abs, two sharply defined lines carved deep into his skin.
Suzy swallowed.
"What are you looking at?" Thomas’s quiet voice broke in.
She snapped back to herself and met his dark eyes.
He was watching her, brows slightly furrowed, that troubled look still lingering on his face.
"You’ve got an amazing body," she said bluntly.
"...?"
Clearly, he hadn’t expected such an abrupt shift in topic. He froze, the surprise written plainly across his face.
His reaction only made her more mischievous. With a mock sigh, she said, "Ah, I’ve never even touched abs before. If you really want to thank me, how about letting me feel yours?"
It was complete nonsense.
If Derek ever heard her say something like that, he’d probably storm over and knock some sense into her.
What did she mean, never touched abs?
But he seemed to take her seriously.
He stared at her, the conflict on his face deepening.
"I’m not that kind of person," he said earnestly.
...Rejected.
Suzy waved it off. "Relax, I was just joking. Don’t take it seriously."
He fell silent.
"Anyway... you should rest here for a bit. I’ll go to the mall and find you some clothes."
Feeling a little awkward, she made up an excuse and turned to leave.
She’d known it—he wasn’t easy to joke with. Sometimes he could be so rigid, almost old-fashioned.
She had barely taken a step when he reached out and caught her wrist.
"Wait. I’m not finished," he said, his voice low.
She blinked, confused. "Huh?"
"If it’s you... I don’t... mind."
The last part came out haltingly, almost mumbled.
But she heard it—clearly.
Her eyes lit up as she stared at him. "Really?"
"...Mm."
She had used something so precious on him. Letting her touch him in return wouldn’t cost him anything.
So be it.