#110
“Ahhh! Lee Jaeha! What the—! What is this? How long have you been here!”
Even though Eunhong was panicking in shock, Jaeha remained completely calm. Slowly straightening up from his relaxed position with his head against the headrest, he softly murmured, “Surprised?” He quickly got out of the back door and climbed into the passenger seat, while Eunhong still couldn’t collect himself. The car swayed, and instantly the alpha’s commanding presence filled the seat beside him.
Eunhong pressed down on his rapidly beating heart and complained.
“If you were here, you should have said something when I got in. At least greet me or something. Or call to let me know you’d be waiting in the car!”
“Your phone was turned off.”
“…Oh.”
“Hide your phone well. If I see it, I’ll smash it.”
His gaze was cold as he looked at Eunhong with downcast eyes. Left without anything to say, Eunhong bit his lip and just rolled his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
Eunhong quietly took Jaeha’s hand. I’m sorry. Really sorry. He apologized repeatedly while studying his expression, but uncharacteristically, Jaeha avoided his gaze. Alarmed, Eunhong tried to move closer, but Jaeha slightly backed away.
“Jaeha.”
“Your phone was off. Your location… your car was at the hospital.”
“…”
“I rushed over in surprise, but you weren’t there, only your car sitting alone in the parking lot. When I asked for a patient using your name, they said there was no such patient.”
“Were you worried?”
“What do you think?”
Jaeha raised his downcast eyes to look directly at Eunhong. Startled, Eunhong shrank his shoulders and awkwardly lifted the corners of his mouth. Recently, he’d been learning a different definition of “getting scolded,” so he was momentarily frightened, but his pride made him straighten his back again.
“I’m sorry. Let’s not be mad, okay?”
If there was a positive change, it was that Eunhong was gradually learning what buttons triggered Lee Jaeha. This one was probably about level 3 out of 5.
“Nothing happened. I’m sorry for not keeping track of my phone.”
“…”
Jaeha quietly watched Eunhong, who kept buzzing like a nodding ornament, then let out a long sigh. He turned his gaze outside and firmly set his lips, suggesting he needed a little time.
Taking Jaeha’s silence as a signal to depart, Eunhong entered the reserved restaurant into the navigation. As the car smoothly descended the slope and left the hospital, Jaeha began, “I…” His voice was disturbingly cracked, which surprised Eunhong slightly. While waiting for the signal to enter, he glanced at Jaeha and found his expression very dark.
Not level 3, but level 1? Or two plus? 1++?
Seeming to notice Eunhong checking his mood, Jaeha returned his gaze. He cleared his broken voice and continued.
“I thought your memories had returned… That’s why I thought you turned off your phone.”
“Ah.”
With Eunhong’s short exclamation, silence descended in the car.
So he’s still worried about that…
Not knowing how to respond, Eunhong silently turned the wheel. When he reached out his right hand to fumble for Jaeha’s, Jaeha intertwined their fingers like a gentle lamb. It didn’t seem like he was angry… Glancing sideways, Eunhong saw that Jaeha was also looking outside. His eyes flickered with complex emotions, his thoughts unreadable.
After driving quietly on the dark road for quite some time, Eunhong quietly spoke up.
“If it bothers you that much, should I get psychological treatment?”
He could feel Jaeha’s gaze acutely on his cheek. Along with an anxiously trembling gaze, he felt a firm squeeze on their joined hands. His expression was still unreadable. After staring at Eunhong intently for a long time, Jaeha answered with what sounded like a sigh.
“…No, just don’t.”
***
Woohyun faced a fine of several million won along with the revocation of his license. Given the state of the wrecked car and the extent of Woohyun’s injuries, it was an expected outcome. It was almost miraculous that the passenger wasn’t injured at all.
Kang Hanjae, who had been struggling with the complicated situation starting from medical expenses, exploded when he heard Jang Haesung say that the alpha might have been the actual driver. For days, Jang Haesung had been contacting him, saying he was barely managing to restrain Hanjae, who was raging that they needed to catch that alpha guy since they couldn’t beat up Woohyun in his hospital bed.
Eunhong was looking through the alpha’s social media that Jang Haesung had sent, but his eyes grew too tired, so he messaged him.
[Just tell the police. How can you find out where he is by searching through his SNS?]
[What if we’re wrong? Woohyun keeps his mouth shut.]
[Are you sure about what you heard?]
[You can tell by Woohyun’s reaction. That idiot, really, what is he trying to do? Poor guy…]
Eunhong frowned at Jang Haesung’s cursing. Doesn’t he practice prenatal education? As he looked down at the screen with a frown, Jaeha’s hand reached in and smoothed out his furrowed brow.
[Anyway, my stomach hurts and I’m so tired… Come help me.]
[Why should I go there? I’ll just get cursed at…]
[T_T That crazy bastard An Woohyun… Ah, what should I do with him, really. Can’t you, being the nice one, put up with him??]
Absolutely not going, he messaged back, but Eunhong was still concerned. The fact that he couldn’t put down his phone was proof of that. He was such a softie. Jaeha, who had been quietly observing the situation, clicked his tongue discreetly.
Just then, Eunhong gasped with an “Eh?” and opened his mouth. The cherry tomato that Jaeha had just put in his mouth rolled out and fell.
“Now you’re spitting things out.”
“Lee Jaeha. Look at this.”
The screen Eunhong showed was the alpha’s social media. A guy who looked like a big-headed octopus was swaggering around in ugly clothes that suited his appearance. Jaeha frowned intensely, not hiding his disgust. He smooths out others’ furrowed brows while tripling his own.
“Ah, my eyes. Why are you attacking them?”
“Don’t joke around. Look carefully. The watch this bastard is wearing. It’s that one, right? The one we couldn’t find. The first watch you ever gave me.”
“Hmm…”
“Right? It’s that one.”
Jaeha picked out a blueberry from among the round things on the plate and put it in Eunhong’s mouth. The fruit pulp melted in his munching mouth, and a sweet-sour scent mixed with Eunhong’s own fragrance wafted out. While watching that scene as if entranced, the person in question was unaware. He just waved his palm, urging Jaeha.
Jaeha reluctantly narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze to the screen. That’s right, he muttered halfheartedly, and Eunhong’s eyes lit up.
“Right? That watch with the different dial color—you said you custom ordered it, remember?”
He could tell at a glance. Someone might say they were wrongly accusing someone, but even before seeking Jaeha’s agreement, Eunhong was already certain that it was his watch—it was that rare a model.
Among the watches of that brand, it was a limited designer edition with a custom-ordered dial color. It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. There weren’t even common counterfeits of that design. On the back, there would definitely be an engraving—his initials and commemoration date in intaglio.
Jaeha stared at Eunhong for a moment, then firmly grabbed his nose and shook it. Eunhong struggled, saying it hurt.
“Send me this page address.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“When my baby looks at me with those eyes, I have to find it for you.”
Eunhong lost his words at the embarrassing endearment and bit his lip, causing his white cheeks to flush as quickly as his reddened nose. His skin easily showed when he was excited. Jaeha thought, I absolutely must get this back for him.
“…Because it was the first gift from you, the date I received it is meaningful to me.”
“That’s right. I remember too.”
It was in the spring when Eunhong was twenty, not long after they had reunited. An invitation from a watch brand that he would normally have ignored caught his eye. Specifically, one phrase on the invitation—to share unique time with someone precious—captured Jaeha.
After changing the dial color and engraving the date and initials, it became non-refundable. Using that excuse along with that phrase, Eunhong reluctantly accepted the extremely expensive gift. After that, he continued to use the same tactic whenever he wanted to give a gift.
Jaeha got up from his seat and firmly closed the laptop he had been looking at. The silver aluminum body of the laptop snapped shut with a click. Eunhong reacted dramatically with an “Eek!” and shouted, “You’ll break it, man!” Jaeha laughed out loud. He had done it on purpose because that reaction was quite amusing.
Jaeha vigorously rubbed Eunhong’s round head.
“I’ll get it back for you soon, so stop looking at those dirty pictures. It’ll ruin your eyesight.”
As expected of a wealthy person, he made it sound so easy.
“It was originally mine, so you’re thinking of buying it back with money?”
“Probably? That’s the easiest way.”
“You can say it’s easy because it’s you. Everything becomes easy when you touch it.”
Not wrong, so Jaeha chuckled. But he was definitely not someone who carelessly threw money around for everything.
“I want to make it easy because it’s something you care about.”
Eunhong followed Jaeha as he entered the dressing room. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was already past 10 AM. Eunhong watched Jaeha selecting and tying his tie, then spoke with a voice tinged with regret.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
