#107
Yoo Seong-woo, who had slept for dozens of minutes in the bathtub and whose eyes had drooped even while being washed, continued to doze while being carried to bed, having his hair dried, and being dressed. However, when the blanket was pulled over him to properly put him to sleep, his eyes opened.
“What’s this? You’re awake?”
Looking at Yeon Tae-soo with sleepy eyes, Yoo Seong-woo yawned deeply. Seeing that composed expression, Tae-soo’s heart sank. Surely not…
“…How long did I sleep?”
At the question that followed, he secretly swallowed a sigh of relief.
“About an hour and a half? Go back to sleep.”
He averted his gaze, afraid of revealing the goosebumps that covered his body from the terrible fear—that slightly dazed look reminded him of his foster mother just before she stopped functioning.
“No, I’m fine. Just some water…”
Fortunately, Yoo Seong-woo didn’t appear to be in pain. He seemed to have shaken off his drowsiness somewhat. Yeon Tae-soo filled a glass from the table and brought it over.
After drinking the water, Seong-woo stared at Yeon Tae-soo for a moment before smiling slightly. Even without understanding the meaning behind that smile, Tae-soo felt happy. Just because he smiled.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because you’re staring at me with such a worried face.”
Embarrassed by the answer, he rubbed his neck.
“Well, you collapsed and fell asleep… that’s worth worrying about.”
“You’re not thinking about how you’re the one who exhausted me.”
“Ahem.”
He deliberately cleared his throat exaggeratedly and looked away. This made Seong-woo laugh again.
Yeon Tae-soo approached him, took the cup away, and burrowed into his embrace. As he folded his large frame to nestle against him, Seong-woo’s sitting body naturally shifted back.
Seong-woo surely knew well that what Tae-soo was actually worried about was something else. Still, the way he playfully responded was endearing. He was essentially telling Tae-soo not to worry.
“Does it hurt down there?”
He asked while gently massaging Seong-woo’s buttocks, to which Seong-woo shook his head.
“I think it’ll be fine as long as you don’t torment me further.”
“Mm-hmm, I wasn’t planning to do more anyway.”
At the suspicious glance he received, this time Yeon Tae-soo laughed out loud. He lay down with his head on Seong-woo’s lap. Heat still lingered in his body. It didn’t seem like ordinary warmth or residual heat from prolonged sex.
When he closed his eyes with his cheek against Seong-woo’s knee, Seong-woo gently stroked his hair with his fingertips. It was like touching something precious. When was the last time someone had touched him with such reverence?
The warm sensation, as if he might fall asleep first, suddenly frightened him. He hated himself. Especially today.
“Sing for me.”
He abruptly demanded, grabbing the hand that was stroking his hair. Seong-woo hesitated for a moment. Yeon Tae-soo opened his eyes and lay straight. Even looking up from just below his chin, Seong-woo’s face was still beautiful enough to inspire admiration.
Watching those moving lips, a thought suddenly crossed Tae-soo’s mind and he quickly added:
“Not Yoo-hyun’s songs.”
Sure enough, Seong-woo closed his parted lips and looked down at Yeon Tae-soo. His gaze mixed with confusion and reproach.
“…No, just sing whatever you want.”
In truth, he didn’t really care if it was Yoo-hyun’s song or not. He just didn’t want him singing as a “performance android.”
“Sing whatever you want to sing. Whatever you want to sing for me.”
“Hmm… then…”
Seong-woo seemed to contemplate a bit more, then lightly cleared his throat and began to sing.
In which universe did I meet you
Alone, I recall a promise I can’t remember, and seek the darkness
A slow tempo and low melody. This calmly developing song was one that Yeon Tae-soo had heard before. It was also Yoo-hyun’s final active release.
Looking up, that pouring light resembles melancholy
No, it resembles you
Pull closer these orbiting footsteps
He had first properly heard Yoo-hyun’s songs after Yoo Seong-woo had run away. The voice of Yoo-hyun he heard then and Seong-woo’s voice he was hearing now with his own ears were similar yet different.
A calm, deep tone. A voice that could be described as gentle. Appropriately restrained emotional expression carried the song forward.
Of course, Seong-woo sang extremely well. No, could this even be described as merely “singing well”? This vocal technique that conveyed emotions so purely that listeners might find it painful…
In that universe, did I meet you
Memories never exchanged show us
Unable to hide his surprise, he looked up. Seong-woo looked down at Yeon Tae-soo with a slight eye-smile but didn’t stop singing.
Even someone completely unfamiliar with music would know. This vocal style was definitely different from Yoo-hyun’s.
Yoo Seong-woo wasn’t singing according to learned data. This was a song just for him, not from “Yoo” but from Seong-woo.
It was simply Yoo Seong-woo singing to Yeon Tae-soo, without commands or functions operating.
We’ve known each other since before we shone
Met in the moment of pouring from the sky
Sad star, shower of sad light
The chorus continued. Despite the somewhat melancholic melody, Seong-woo was smiling.
Yeon Tae-soo captured that image as if engraving it in his eyes. If he had a database, this moment would be perfectly recorded.
You endlessly show me wonders. Yet before you, I am just such a worthless and helpless human.
Even though I can’t save you as you’re dying right now, you treat me with such preciousness.
It was when more than half the song had passed.
Without any warning, Yoo Seong-woo stopped singing.
A sudden silence descended. The deafening stillness caught his breath. In reality, Yeon Tae-soo wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t.
Seong-woo’s figure, frozen like a paused image, looked peaceful. His face, wearing a faint smile, even resembled that of a saint.
Yeon Tae-soo didn’t call out to him or hug him and cry. He simply laid him down on the bed from his sitting position. After quietly looking down at that still-smiling face, Yeon Tae-soo took a deep breath. Pain overwhelmed him.
After positioning him as comfortably as possible and covering him with a blanket, Yeon Tae-soo continued the song. But not knowing the latter verses, he could only repeat the beginning.
We’ve known each other since before we shone
Met in the moment of pouring from the sky
Sad star, shower of sad light
The song remained incomplete, circling and circling again. It resembled his own helplessness, yet he didn’t want to stop singing.
The song, continuing in a tone much lower and less beautiful than Seong-woo’s, stopped at some point.
It was because Yoo Seong-woo had closed his eyes.
Slowly, very slowly, he placed his ear against Seong-woo’s chest. In that position, he held his breath. He listened through the silence that returned.
Thump, thump. Hearing the heartbeat identical to his own, his breath was finally released. His attentive ears then caught the sound of steady breathing.
There was no need to continue singing. After all, some things are perfect when left to circle eternally in memory, incomplete.
***
As soon as the trial date was set, the two immediately left the country. Fortunately, the day before departure, Yoo Seong-woo’s condition seemed fine. Yeon Tae-soo, visiting Seong-woo’s room while he was packing, admired him for a moment while leaning against the doorframe. Seong-woo glanced at him once, then returned to organizing his luggage, but noticing the unwavering gaze, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Instead of just staring, why don’t you help?”
“Well, there’s not much to pack anyway. I should have bought more things for my baby.”
“No way. Even with what you’ve already bought me, the suitcase looks like it might burst.”
Though he wanted to take him to the department store right now and shower him with gifts, those words made him sad. Instead of reproaching him, Yeon Tae-soo went over and embraced him from behind.
The persistently elevated body temperature worried him, but he deliberately didn’t mention it.
After holding Seong-woo for quite some time, he reluctantly but necessarily raised himself from the embrace.
“The guys are waiting for you. Let’s go say hello.”
“The guys?”
When they went out, with Seong-woo half-embraced, big men were lined up waiting. The sight of these uniformly large men dressed in dark clothes standing in a row was quite a spectacle.
They looked like they might cry upon seeing Yoo Seong-woo.
“Teacher…”
“Teacher, please be careful on your trip!”
“You must come back!”
Seong-woo, who had been staring blankly at the men, finally realized why they had gathered. They had come to see him off.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be back soon.”
He wanted to bow respectfully, but being half-embraced made it look rather comical, so he looked back. However, upon meeting the shameless eyes of Yeon Tae-soo facing him, he gave up.
“All of you take care. Thank you for everything.”
“Teacher Yoo…”
“Sob…”
The big men began to swallow back tears one by one. It was both awkward and touching. They must have seen the news, so they knew he wasn’t human and that he was created to make Yoo-hyun, yet they still treated him simply as “Teacher Yoo,” which made him grateful.
Not wanting to part with such a downcast atmosphere, Seong-woo deliberately smiled brightly. He was glad that in the end, he could show his face without a mask to them.
“If work gets too much, tell me secretly.”
“Yes, Teacher!”
“Take care of your health, Teacher!”
Fortunately, the large men stopped crying and smiled back.
“Alright, that’s enough greetings from you.”
Though grumbling without hiding his jealousy, Yeon Tae-soo didn’t leave immediately. Yoo Seong-woo, in the ridiculous position of having his limbs firmly held from behind by Yeon Tae-soo, laughed along with them.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
