Mr. Badass ✔

26 My hand is like a pig's trotter?

Gemma's POV.

My emotions are instantly shrouded in fear. Meanwhile, Luke climbs up from the grass and reaches out to help me up.

"I... I'll drive you to the hospital now." I stammer, almost choking on my fear.

"It's okay, I feel alright for now. I'm not going to die just yet," Luke jokes as he sits in the passenger seat. "Or maybe it'd be better if I did?"

I'm driving the car I borrowed from the guesthouse owner, speeding up to almost 140 km/h. Only after I drop Luke off at the hospital do I dare to take a breath.

After hearing our description of the snake—light brown with a copper-colored head distinct from its body—the doctor confirms it's a copperhead pit viper.

"This snake's venom isn't very strong, so don't worry. The bite is just a bit deep," he says, then begins cleaning Luke's wound, bandaging it, and injecting antivenom serum.

As I watch the liquid being injected into Luke's arm, my heart finally starts to calm down.

"Alright, young man, now you need to stay here for two more hours," the doctor tells Luke, then turns to me. "You're his girlfriend, right? Stay here and keep an eye on him. If there's any allergic reaction or other complications, call me."

"I'm not—"

Before I can finish, the doctor closes the door to the room and moves on to his next patient.

During this time, Luke sits on the hospital bed with his hand bandaged, quietly watching me. I pretend not to notice his gaze and pick up a magazine to read.

His left hand is injured again.

While flipping through the magazine, my thoughts drift to the bandage on his hand, and my mind begins to wander far away.

At some point, Luke's voice softly reaches my ears: "Gemma, can we start over?"

As I turn the page, my hand trembles, and a large tear appears in the glossy paper.

Luke gets up from the bed and slowly walks toward me.

The light casts his shadow on my face, growing longer and heavier. My breath becomes shallow.

Just as I'm about to suffocate, Luke kneels one one knee in front of me, holding my knee with one hand, while his injured, bandaged hand grasps my wrist.

I keep my head down.

"A lot happened between me and Mary," Luke's voice becomes hoarse. "I'm a methodical person. Ever since I was young, I was raised with conventional values—study hard, work hard, find a wife, and build a happy family. So when I got into Columbia, I met my classmate, Mary."

"Mary was smart and beautiful. You may not believe this, but I was always top of my class growing up, and she was the first person who ever made me feel pressure academically. Sometimes I'd be number one, and sometimes she'd take the top spot. I couldn't help but be attracted to her. We started studying together at the library, and eventually, naturally, we ended up together."

"We had the same major, loved sports, and whenever we encountered problems, we always approached them with rationality. We never even quarreled. But slowly, I started to feel tired. There was nothing wrong with Mary—she was smart and calm—but we just weren't right for each other. We were too similar, from our thinking patterns to our living habits. When I looked at her, I felt like I was looking into a mirror. In other words... it got a little boring."

"Mary was really great. Even when I broke up with her, she understood me and said maybe we should stay friends."

"But I never imagined she would die. On my birthday, early in the morning, I got the news of her death. It was snowing heavily that day, and the snow couldn't even cover the bloodstains on the road. The undertaker could only piece together half of Mary's body."