#125
Old Man Chang sent word that Yeseon no longer talked about wanting to attend art academy.
‘I was worried she might be depressed, but thankfully that’s not the case. She says drawing is still fun. But she says she doesn’t need to attend the academy anymore.’
Yoo Seong-woo told the relieved Old Man Chang that it was fortunate.
Yeseon said she wanted to study instead of drawing. She didn’t particularly explain why, and Old Man Chang said. Yoo Seong-woo wasn’t especially curious either. What mattered was whether she had something she wanted to do, and whether she knew clearly what that was.
“If she goes to school, she won’t be able to play with you as often. Won’t you miss her?”
Yeon Tae-soo asked playfully. In his hand was a paper crane he was in the middle of folding. Though his carving skills were terrible, it was amazing how skilled he was at origami.
Since morning, paper cranes folded by Yeon Tae-soo had piled up in the middle of the living room. Yoo Seong-woo gathered them into a large glass jar, shaking his head.
“It’s not like she’ll be at school all day. Besides, if I get bored, won’t you play with me?”
“Hmm… me?”
His expression, narrowing his eyes mischievously, was extremely playful. Yoo Seong-woo deliberately tilted his head to one side and leaned his body at an angle.
“Why? Won’t you play with me?”
“I will. But depending on what my Seong-woo wants to do.”
“That’s conditional?”
“It is. Feeling wronged?”
Yeon Tae-soo approached and wrapped his arms around his waist. Gazing into those two differently colored eyes that matched his affectionately, it was quite difficult to pretend to be cold and detached.
“Rather than wronged, I feel angry.”
“What do you think I’d ask for?”
His face came very close.
“I wonder. What would you ask for?”
“It would be more modest than you think.”
“I’ll have to hear it to know…”
“My Seong-woo, you lack a little faith in me.”
Just as their lips were about to touch, Yoo Seong-woo finally burst into laughter and turned his face away.
“W-wait, it tickles…”
Yeon Tae-soo made a playful sound, “Waah!” and pounced on him. Yoo Seong-woo, whose neck was bitten, let out a playful scream.
After knocking Yoo Seong-woo onto the living room sofa and teasing him for a while, Yeon Tae-soo finally got up.
“Yeseon asked for help with her studies, but I don’t know much, so it might be difficult for me. You should help her.”
“Should I? I should take this opportunity to milk Old Man Chang. Ow! Why are you hitting me?”
“Just help her. What do you mean ‘milk’?”
Yoo Seong-woo lightly hit Yeon Tae-soo’s shoulder again as he feigned an injured expression, then tied a ribbon around the neck of the glass jar filled with paper cranes.
“Yeseon will do well. She’s smart.”
“Rather than doing well, I just… hope she’s happy.”
It wasn’t because he felt a particular affinity with Yeseon. He simply hoped that even though she could feel sadness, she would have few opportunities to do so.
Advanced humanoid androids can become sad, cry, suffer, and be unhappy like humans. How nice it would be if that cruel function could be deleted.
If a being can feel unhappiness, don’t they have a right to happiness, whoever they are?
Yeon Tae-soo placed his hand on Yoo Seong-woo’s shoulder as if to comfort him. Yoo Seong-woo leaned his cheek against his hand.
***
Yoo Seong-woo decided to think more about how to release the unreleased music he had found in the creator’s house.
Releasing the music itself wasn’t difficult. However, he had to consider the impact that would come if Yoo-hyun’s posthumous work was released.
‘I’m a bit reluctant for it to become too much of a topic…’
It might be better to ensure it didn’t become a sensation and allow only fans to listen to it quietly.
‘After all, they’re the ones who should hear the songs.’
So Yoo Seong-woo contacted Yoo-hyun’s fan club, which was still active. The official fan club had long disappeared, but there were still many who loved Yoo-hyun’s music.
The fan club representative was delighted to receive the files from Yoo Seong-woo, saying it was a great honor. When they first saw Yoo Seong-woo’s face on a video call, they were momentarily speechless.
– But there was no title.
“Ah, yes. There was no filename when I first discovered it. Even looking through the work logs, there was no mention of a title.”
– Then you should name it, Mr. Yoo Seong-woo.
“…Pardon?”
In his extreme surprise, Yoo Seong-woo hesitated, unable to say anything.
“I… I can’t do that.”
– You revealed Yoo-hyun’s injustice and found this music, so you’re certainly qualified.
After much thought, Yoo Seong-woo eventually nodded vaguely. He couldn’t remember in what state of mind he ended the call.
***
The paper cranes folded by Yeon Tae-soo became gifts for the guardians and patients who came to Byeolbyeol Animal Hospital.
For dogs, he deliberately folded rounded paper cranes and threw them like balls, and for cats, he attached strings to the paper cranes to make toys.
For small or other animal patients who didn’t need paper cranes, the guardians received them instead.
“These are really pretty! Thank you.”
“Cookie, look. This is your toy.”
The paper cranes, given as gifts wishing for the recovery of small lives, would give patients or guardians a small happiness no bigger than their palm. It wasn’t extraordinary, but wouldn’t it make their misfortunes a bit easier to overcome?
Getting stuck in traffic, sudden rain when you don’t have an umbrella, having to wait because a restaurant is crowded—if they could give enough joy to make such small daily inconveniences seem trivial, that would be sufficient.
Yoo Seong-woo liked his job. So much that he wanted to do it for a long time.
***
Spring had deepened before they knew it. Though the polluted land rarely bloomed flowers, the streets exuded spring energy. Some days were so hot and brilliant that they seemed like early summer.
Popo had become very close with Meongdoli. All of Meongdoli’s wounds from abuse had been healed. His prosthetic leg had been replaced with a splendid one that gleamed gold.
Surprisingly, Yeon Tae-soo took good care of Meongdoli. When asked, he said he had cared for military dogs during his mercenary days.
Yeon Tae-soo insisted his body was now perfectly fine, but Yoo Seong-woo still called a doctor for an examination. Not trusting the doctor Yeon Tae-soo called, he went so far as to recruit a skilled doctor through President Min.
After making him undergo all sorts of tests, fortunately, no abnormalities were found in Yeon Tae-soo’s body. Rather, he was said to be on the rarely healthy side.
“Goodness, I’ve told you many times I’m fine.”
“I need to be able to trust that. You have a history, don’t you?”
“Hmm…”
When Yoo Seong-woo stared directly at him and retorted, Yeon Tae-soo couldn’t refute and averted his gaze.
Though he pretended to be angry, in truth, Yoo Seong-woo was feeling good now. He didn’t realize how happy it would make him to know that Yeon Tae-soo’s body was healthy without any abnormalities.
“It would be good to have a checkup every year from now on.”
“What? No.”
“In exchange, on the day of the checkup…”
To appease Yeon Tae-soo, who was about to get angry, Yoo Seong-woo quickly mentioned “in exchange” but then hesitated. After the doctor left, he unnecessarily glanced around the empty room, lowered his voice, and continued.
“You can [do it] on my face.”
Sure enough, Yeon Tae-soo’s face slightly flushed as he smiled. He had been sulkily keeping his distance, but now he approached.
This bedroom, said to be the largest in Eden, felt especially narrow today. Hesitating and stepping back, the bed touched the back of his legs.
“Won’t you regret those words?”
“F-from the next checkup…”
“I don’t like that. If we’re doing it, we should start now.”
Though he’s acting like a child throwing a tantrum, why does it only seem cute rather than annoying? How strange.
Yoo Seong-woo found himself lying on the bed before he knew it. When with Yeon Tae-soo, he often ended up on the bed in moments of carelessness.
Yeon Tae-soo mounted him and undid his belt. Although he no longer worked, he still wore formal suits. Simply because Yoo Seong-woo liked him in formal attire.
He bent down and bit Yoo Seong-woo’s neck. His chewing motions had become more persistent lately. It seemed like his obsession was growing by the day…
“Mmh…”
Finally, a small moan escaped from the sensation of his flesh being bitten. Yeon Tae-soo’s hands were undressing Yoo Seong-woo. His skill at undressing had improved daily, and now he could strip Yoo Seong-woo naked with just a few gestures.
Feeling that their agreement might be forgotten in the moment, Yoo Seong-woo quickly blocked the lips approaching his face with his hand and asked:
“Will you get your checkups without postponing the dates from now on?”
“Yes, yes.”
Though the answer seemed somewhat insincere, Yoo Seong-woo was satisfied with having received a response and relaxed his arms, closing his eyes.
Yeon Tae-soo’s caresses were unbearably sweet. But Yeon Tae-soo said it was Yoo Seong-woo’s body that was sweet. You’re sweet, Seong-woo, you’re so sweet it’s driving me crazy.
Listening to his repeating voice, Yoo Seong-woo smiled.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
