#83
Eunsol smiled faintly at Kang Ye-ryeong’s reassuring words. When listening to her, his inability to speak properly seemed like such a trivial matter.
“If seeing Hyun-oh is difficult for you, I won’t let him anywhere near your hospital room. You just focus on your body and the baby, alright?”
Eunsol’s eyelashes fluttered nervously, reflecting his unsettled state of mind. It was because Hyun-oh, who had been hovering around him until just moments ago, suddenly came to mind.
He must be busy with company matters, so why was he here? A small question sprouted in his heart like a seedling.
To Hyun-oh, Eunsol had probably been nothing more than someone who kept the house. Yet he had been presumptuous enough to commit the bold act of leaving him.
…And while carrying his child, no less.
Perhaps Hyun-oh was angry about that fact. The cold voice saying he didn’t want children still rang clearly in Eunsol’s ears, but it was possible his thoughts had changed once Eunsol became pregnant with his child.
Eunsol couldn’t even entertain the notion that Hyun-oh might be staying by his side out of concern.
As Eunsol’s pheromones began to fluctuate unstably, Ye-ryeong forcibly suppressed a sigh that had risen to the tip of her throat.
He had seemed to stabilize for a moment, but as soon as Hyun-oh’s name came up, Eunsol struggled.
After seeing Hyun-oh’s behavior while Eunsol was hovering between life and death, Ye-ryeong had secretly been hoping that things would work out between them.
Eunsol had harbored feelings for Hyun-oh for a long time, and that deficient son of hers seemed to have only just properly realized his own feelings. She thought if they could just confirm each other’s feelings, the darkness hanging over their faces would lift.
‘Still a long way to go.’
But judging by how much fear Eunsol was displaying, it would take quite some time.
However, she intended to proceed according to Eunsol’s wishes.
If Eunsol ultimately couldn’t accept Hyun-oh, Ye-ryeong had resolved to protect Eunsol and his child even if it meant becoming estranged from Hyun-oh.
She wanted to repay Eunsol at least this much for all the emotional suffering he had endured by Hyun-oh’s side.
“How’s your stomach? If you were shocked, your muscles might be tense.”
Ye-ryeong gently patted Eunsol’s thin stomach through the blanket. Another sigh threatened to escape at his still thin frame, which made it hard to believe he was pregnant.
Having gone through difficulties herself when pregnant with Hyun-oh, she could vaguely imagine how hard this must be for Eunsol.
“Ah…”
At Ye-ryeong’s words, Eunsol opened his lips as if wanting to answer, but only a rough syllable came out. The space between his eyebrows narrowed slightly.
Ye-ryeong then realized her mistake. She had been continuously asking questions to someone who couldn’t speak properly due to shock.
After saying she would scold anyone who mistreated Eunsol, she herself wasn’t being considerate enough.
“What am I thinking? Wait just a moment.”
Ye-ryeong looked around.
After overcoming his brush with death, Eunsol had been moved from the intensive care unit to a hotel-like private room. Various convenience tools were placed around the room to ensure Eunsol wouldn’t be uncomfortable whenever he woke up.
Among them, Ye-ryeong quickly brought over a tablet PC that had been sitting neatly on the table.
“From now on, write down anything you want to say on here. Is it very difficult to move your hands too?”
Ye-ryeong’s manner of speaking, like Hyun-oh’s originally, wasn’t particularly affectionate. But now she was even careful about her tone of voice, as if Eunsol were a glass figurine that might break with the slightest misstep.
Eunsol shook his head lightly. Although his limbs still felt heavy, like cotton soaked in water, he could move them.
[I’m okay, how are you, mother?]
After some time had passed, Eunsol wrote what he wanted to say on the screen and looked at Ye-ryeong.
“…I’m fine, of course.”
Suddenly, Ye-ryeong felt a lump in her throat. For a moment, her vision became blurry. She never dreamed that what Eunsol had wanted to say was to ask about her well-being.
What a child he was.
A child so breathtakingly kind that he noticed and looked into other people’s feelings and hearts before his own well-being.
Ye-ryeong reflexively felt a spike of irritation toward Hyun-oh, who was probably whining outside the hospital room like a puppy that needed to pee.
“Aren’t you hungry? You must be starving after only receiving IV fluids.”
Ye-ryeong tightly clenched her fist where Eunsol couldn’t see, but quickly released it when the sharp tips of her nails pierced her palm.
This time, instead of typing on the tablet PC, Eunsol shook his head. His anxiously beating heart began to stabilize as he saw Ye-ryeong looking at him with unchanging affection.
Then the distant dream-like memories began to stealthily take over his entire body.
The feeling of the refreshing breeze and the presence of the soft creature that had filled his hands.
“You’re sleepy. I’ll stay by your side, so get some more rest. Nothing to worry about will happen.”
The touch on his forehead connected exactly with the breeze he had encountered in his dream.
Instead of fighting against the weight of his heavy eyelids, Eunsol obediently surrendered his body.
Just as Ye-ryeong said, it was a peacefulness that made him feel like nothing would trouble him anymore.
* * *
“Ugh…”
His throat was dry. Eunsol groaned with furrowed brows at the burning thirst. But it was difficult to open his eyes or move his hands.
His entire body felt as if it were tightly bound by invisible strings, completely devoid of energy.
But the thirst attacking as if it would tear his throat was so overwhelming that tears flowed down his closed eyes.
His labored breathing made his face feel completely suffocated. It was then that a shadow fell across his face.
Eunsol’s Adam’s apple bobbed with tension as he simultaneously sensed a familiar scent.
“It’s okay. Holding this will make you feel better.”
The voice seeping into his ears still sounded distant, as if Eunsol were in a dream world. It was strange, like speaking with a wall between them.
Despite his complicated feelings, Eunsol reflexively strained his throat at the cool sensation on his lips.
Light drops of water seeped into his mouth, moistening his parched throat.
It wasn’t a water cup. It felt as if a slightly rough cloth had absorbed moisture to its limit and was dropping dewdrops into Eunsol’s mouth.
They were oasis-like water drops that relieved his painful thirst. Eunsol clung to the joy of quenching his thirst, setting aside even his rapidly beating heart due to the person beside him.
“Haah…”
As the thirst that had captured all his attention subsided, his awakening consciousness was pulled back into darkness.
As if aware of Eunsol’s condition, the refreshing yet cozy pheromones settled over his entire body like sweet rain.
The pine scent spreading to his lungs through his breath made him feel like a lost child—familiar yet unfamiliar.
“Sleep well, Eunsol.”
The touch that caressed his hair continued, and soon a soft sensation briefly touched his forehead before withdrawing.
It was truly such a strange feeling that Eunsol clenched his empty fist in puzzlement even as his consciousness sank.
* * *
“Is this supposed to be a meal? I think I’d better tell my secretary to bring some more edible food.”
Kang Ye-ryeong, not hiding her displeasure, crossed her arms and looked down at the tray on her lap.
On the tray was only a pale rice porridge sitting there desolately.
“This must be some kind of mistake. There’s no way they’d give only this to eat to someone who’s nothing but bones.”
Eunsol made wheezing sounds as he watched Ye-ryeong, who kept alternating her gaze between her thin wrist and the desolate tray with an upset face.
He wanted to say it was fine, but it seemed his mouth wasn’t planning to open today either.
“Ah, ugh…”
The tablet PC was unfortunately placed on the bedside table, making it difficult to retrieve. Eunsol still had so little strength in his body that he could barely move a finger without help.
“…I’m not a doctor, so I guess we should follow the medical staff’s instructions.”
Realizing that Eunsol was now looking at her apprehensively, Ye-ryeong pressed the button beside the bed to adjust the angle of Eunsol’s bed.
Then she unfolded a table over the bed.
“At least it’s good that they removed the oxygen respirator. Every time I saw it, I thought your face was being devoured by it.”
Ye-ryeong deliberately made a joke-like remark as she picked up a spoon and gently stirred the pale porridge.
“No matter how I look at it, they could at least give you something like radish kimchi broth. What taste is this supposed to have?”
But her dissatisfaction naturally spilled from her lips at the porridge that seemed to have no seasoning at all.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was then that a knocking sound came from the door, as if it had been waiting.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
