#86
“Just blink your eyes. Don’t strain yourself by moving too much.”
Although Eunsol could easily manage small head movements, Kang Ye-ryeong reacted as if any significant movement might cause something to go wrong.
Kang Ye-ryeong moved to a table on one side and leaned against a chair to allow Eunsol to comfortably talk with Ryu Jeong-woo.
As she took out her phone to contact someone else, Eunsol also opened his messenger app.
[Are you okay, Hyung?]
He sent the message with concern, writing each character as if composing a letter.
Not long after, the number 1 next to the message Eunsol had sent disappeared.
Realizing that Ryu Jeong-woo had truly regained consciousness, Eunsol blinked rapidly. This was someone who had nearly died because of him.
Even now, Eunsol regretted the moment he had asked for his help. If only he hadn’t made that request, Ryu Jeong-woo wouldn’t have been seriously injured.
[I’m fcine, what about you?]
Only after quite some time did a reply arrive from Ryu Jeong-woo. It felt as if his affectionate voice resonated in Eunsol’s ears through the text.
Then he wondered who was looking after him. Sadly, Ryu Jeong-woo’s family wasn’t the kind to rush to his side even when he was between life and death.
Knowing that Ryu Jeong-woo didn’t have any friends he could truly share his heart with, Eunsol was worried.
Though he always pretended to be composed, Ryu Jeong-woo also had a tender heart. He was compassionate and took good care of those around him, but he was equally afraid of revealing his innermost feelings to anyone.
Eunsol had heard that after his marriage ended in tragedy, this tendency became even stronger, and he grew distant even from his few friends.
After hesitating briefly, Eunsol bit his lip as if resolving something and typed what he wanted to ask.
[Don’t you feel lonely?]
Currently, Eunsol had Kang Ye-ryeong and Hyun-oh constantly by his side, so he had no time to feel lonely.
That’s why he felt even more sorry toward Ryu Jeong-woo. He questioned whether he deserved such excessive care while others didn’t.
For a moment, his thoughts drifted to Ryu Jeong-woo’s ex-husband, but he was already a bad person who had ended his relationship with Ryu Jeong-woo on his own.
[Yes]
While Eunsol was recalling the numerous misdeeds of the ex-husband he had heard about from Ryu Jeong-woo, the awaited response arrived.
Eunsol’s head tilted slightly. It was a simple answer, but strangely, the text conveyed the impression that Ryu Jeong-woo had hesitated for a long time.
It was an unusual sensation.
[Oh and Hyun-oh came to visit my hospital room too]
Ryu Jeong-woo noticeably changed the subject to something else. However, since it was about none other than Hyun-oh, Eunsol had to focus on the topic he brought up, pushing aside his uneasy feelings.
[He apologized and said he was sorry]
Eunsol’s pupils trembled slightly. The Hyun-oh he knew wasn’t someone who easily apologized to others. Even if that person was Ryu Jeong-woo, who had been seriously injured while helping Eunsol.
He had been worried that Ryu Jeong-woo might face awkward situations for helping him, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
[And he thanked me for taking care of you instead of him, he even bowed]
Perhaps because the message was long, the rest of it arrived after a while. The speed at which his dark eyelashes moved increased.
Suddenly, the words Hyun-oh had whispered in a low voice while watching over him, thinking Eunsol was asleep, seeped into his mind.
He was sincerely asking Eunsol for forgiveness.
If it had been just his own perception, it might have been confusing. After all, Eunsol’s rational judgment tended to become quite clouded when it came to matters related to Hyun-oh.
But now, not only Kang Ye-ryeong but also Ryu Jeong-woo were telling him that Hyun-oh had changed.
He couldn’t know exactly what emotions Hyun-oh harbored. It was impossible to look into someone else’s heart.
Even so, it was difficult to believe that all the words pouring out in a heartfelt voice near his ear while his eyes were closed were all lies.
Eunsol moved his trembling hand to cover his flat stomach. Thinking not only of himself but also of his lucky one, he wanted to keep Hyun-oh by his side, even if he wasn’t completely certain yet.
Perhaps Hyun-oh… had wanted the child all along.
Even in dramas and novels, isn’t it common that someone who didn’t want a child initially feels a strange emotion the moment they see a child connected by their own blood?
Hyun-oh was by no means a bad person.
Sometimes, Eunsol felt resentful when Hyun-oh wouldn’t open his heart to him, but he had never raised a hand against Eunsol and had fulfilled his duties as a spouse.
He was already brilliant on his own, and the background he was surrounded by was also tremendous. Those who had affection for Hyun-oh overflowed around him.
Particularly Min Sehyun, who even in Eunsol’s eyes, seemed like someone who suited Hyun-oh much better than himself, making him feel unworthy jealousy.
When Eunsol was trembling with anxiety alone, Hyun-oh took his side instead of Min Sehyun’s at his birthday party.
When Eunsol was almost harmed by Hyun-oh’s half-brother, he saved him, and later, when Eunsol was writhing in agony when his heat cycle came, Hyun-oh embraced him.
Even when there was friction with family members, he protected Eunsol. Since then, Eunsol had never experienced any unpleasant incidents with the family.
Even if the feelings weren’t the same, Eunsol was happy to be by his side. Although his heart broke day by day facing Hyun-oh’s back every day.
[Eunsol, you shouldn’t forgive him too easily though, Hyun-oh needs to reflect more]
As if to wake Eunsol from his reverie, the tablet PC, which had gone dark, brightened and displayed a message from Ryu Jeong-woo.
Eunsol still couldn’t believe it. That the situation had come where he would forgive Hyun-oh.
When he ran away, he had anticipated that he couldn’t live without seeing Hyun-oh forever. After all, hiding from Hyun-oh’s attention for years in South Korea was nearly impossible.
It had been like repaying kindness with enmity, so he thought that if he was caught, he would truly see an angry Hyun-oh.
The moment of reunion was unusual, to say the least. He must have been hovering between life and death after a traffic accident.
‘…Could it be out of pity?’
Though he appeared cold and aloof, Hyun-oh was full of compassion. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken in Eunsol, who had almost married his father, nor would he have treated Eunsol with respect in his own way.
Eunsol quietly looked at his own face reflected in the now-darkened tablet PC screen.
His face, which had already been too thin and unpleasant to look at, now had even more prominent cheekbones than before.
His gaze naturally fell downward. It was difficult to keep facing his own face.
‘…Lucky one, should daddy try to be a bit brave?’
Unlike himself, he wanted to show only the happy parts of the world to his child. Family was essentially the primary world a child encounters upon being born.
He questioned whether someone like him had the right to push away the approaching Hyun-oh, but right now, he felt that if he showed even the slightest sign of dislike, Hyun-oh would quickly retreat.
It also felt somewhat resentful that the shadow approached only after he had fallen asleep.
In the crucible of emotions that were difficult to express clearly, Eunsol made a difficult decision.
He wanted to face Hyun-oh with a fully conscious mind, not in a dreamy state that felt like standing on the boundary between reality and dreams. That way, perhaps his complicated feelings would steer in one direction.
He also felt a desire to properly introduce the existence of another father to his lucky one.
Though it might not be a long time for some, for Eunsol, it was a decision made after much deliberation over an extended period.
Afterward, Eunsol watched for an opportunity to gather courage and speak to Hyun-oh. The problem was that Hyun-oh impeccably targeted only the moments when Eunsol was asleep.
Occasionally, he would stay when Eunsol was in a half-conscious state, but due to the strong drowsiness, it was difficult to wake up.
By the time he barely managed to regain consciousness, all that remained in the empty hospital room was Hyun-oh’s pheromones faintly circling around him.
He couldn’t muster the courage to ask Kang Ye-ryeong to call Hyun-oh. It felt like he could only scrape together his scattered courage when left alone with Hyun-oh.
The opportunity came only after several days had passed since he had made up his mind.
As always, Hyun-oh tried to hurriedly leave as soon as Eunsol woke up. He wanted to call out his name.
However, what escaped through his lips was only an unintelligible groan, causing his eyes to contort.
The hand that had covered his face was trying to move away.
Wanting to hold onto him, but seeing Hyun-oh trying once again to leave Eunsol alone, tears burst forth before he could stop them.
“Huu…”
Though he tried to cry as quietly as possible, once again his unworthy body wouldn’t listen. When he wanted to make a sound, his throat choked up, and now, even though he wanted to hide his crying, sorrowful sounds flowed over his dry lips regardless of his will.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
