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“Jaekyung, are you okay? How are you feeling? Can you really stay alone?”
Jang Yeonhu asked with a worried expression as he kept watch at Jaekyung’s bedside. At this question that seemed to have been asked hundreds of times since the day before yesterday, Jaekyung frowned irritably and nodded vigorously. Even the most pleasant flower song gets tiresome when it’s repeated endlessly.
“Yeah. I’m really fine, so please just go. Please.”
“I still think I should stay—”
His cloudy face lingered hesitantly, showing no signs of leaving. He looked like he couldn’t bear the worry. At this rate, there was no point in exaggerating his illness and lying in bed. Afraid that Jang Yeonhu might insist on staying, Jaekyung firmly cut him off.
“Are you evacuating to somewhere? You’ll be back by this evening at the latest, right? Please just go. I’m really fine. Stop overreacting. It’s not like I have some terminal illness.”
“I’m sorry. This is all because I couldn’t control myself…”
If we were to find the root cause of his officially declared flu-like condition, Jang Yeonhu was right, so his reaction was understandable. Ever since their first time together, when Yeonhu had practically snapped wide awake, he’d been acting differently. From the day after they had hurriedly left the hotel late at night, whenever Yeonhu thought no one was looking, he would push his lips forward and slip his hand under Jaekyung’s top. There were even a few times when they sensed Choi Eunseong coming to visit Yeonhu.
No matter how much Yeonhu was a patient who hadn’t fully recovered from the accident, he was no match for Jaekyung in terms of build or stamina, so keeping up with his pace was simply too much for Jaekyung. Yet Han Jaekyung followed Yeonhu’s lead recklessly, knowing full well it was too much.
It was because he was truly sick of trying to avoid Choi Eunseong who was under the same roof, and the adults’ behavior of trying to create subtle connections between Eunseong and Yeonhu in hopes that Yeonhu’s memory would return. He always wanted to look good to Yeonhu’s family, and still did, but… strangely, seeing them alongside Yeonhu made him uncomfortable and hard to bear. Only when he was hugging and rolling around with Yeonhu could he be happy without any thoughts.
In the midst of all this, Han Jaekyung finally fell ill with body aches four days ago. He could no longer handle the emotional stress and physical fatigue.
Yeonhu, who had been cheerfully giggling about sneaking into the bedroom in the early morning to avoid his parents’ eyes, saying this must be why he bought Jaekyung’s officetel in the first place, and how he wished they could be alone all day, turned pale with shock and fell into self-blame. He insisted on skipping his rehabilitation therapy to stay by Jaekyung’s side, and it took so much coaxing to get him to leave. In truth, his condition had improved significantly since yesterday afternoon, and he was starting to feel guilty about receiving such excessive concern.
“How could our Jaekyung be sick? I’m sorry, really sorry.”
“Ah, enough with the apologies already. It’s getting on my nerves.”
Fortunately, he seemed aware that he had pushed someone to the point of physical exhaustion. Throughout Jaekyung’s illness, his shoulders had been uncharacteristically slumped. Jaekyung didn’t mind that familiar worry. After all, since childhood, it was only Jang Yeonhu who had stayed by his side whenever he was sick, filling in for his busy uncle.
Instead of reassuring Yeonhu with words like “don’t be sorry,” “I’m really okay,” or “thank you for worrying about me,” Jaekyung briefly kissed the large palm that was busy stroking his forehead and cheeks. Yeonhu smiled affectionately, lifting just the corners of his lips, and returned the kiss on Jaekyung’s prominent nose bridge. His faint laughter seemed to dust over his face like powder. Even if it was a false peace, it was a familiar comfort.
“Now really go.”
“…Alright.”
When the Vice Chairman’s voice calling for his son was heard from outside the door, Han Jaekyung began pushing Yeonhu’s back. Even as he reluctantly got up, Yeonhu couldn’t let go of his worry until the end.
“If you feel any worse, call me right away.”
“This is ridiculous, really. You know how many doctors are currently stationed in the house because of you? What would I need to call you for when there are perfectly good doctors here?”
“Still… I don’t want to leave you alone when you’re sick. Our Jaekyung becomes more spoiled when he’s unwell.”
“Spoiled”… Jaekyung had often heard that he lacked manners or that his personality became dog-like when sick, but “spoiled”? Jaekyung snorted. No one but the great Jang Yeonhu would ever make such an assessment about Han Jaekyung. Even his coworkers would click their tongues, saying that when Attorney Han didn’t seem to be feeling well, one should know better than to push him.
“It takes less than two hours to get home from the villa if we leave right away. Make sure to call, okay? Don’t suffer alone.”
“Yes, yes. I got it. Now please go.”
Thinking they might not even be able to depart before sunset at this rate, Jaekyung waved his hands dismissively, ordering him to leave.
Today, the family was supposed to go down to a villa in Gyeonggi Province to visit Madam Kang, who had gone there to recuperate. They had been keeping Yeonhu’s memory loss a secret, worried that the news might worsen the old woman’s condition, as she had already received a significant shock from the news of Yeonhu’s running away and accident. But now that her condition had improved considerably, they seemed to have concluded it was time to reveal the truth.
The reason Han Jaekyung was pretending to be sick, despite having almost fully recovered from his flu, was precisely because of this. Choi Eunseong was also going with them today, under the pretext of being Yeonhu’s dedicated caregiver, with the reasoning that it would be better to get acquainted earlier if they were going to become family anyway. Jaekyung didn’t have the confidence to witness that scene. More precisely, he didn’t have the confidence to not lash out at Yeonhu if he saw it.
As he was about to lie down a bit longer, he heard the rumbling sound of two cars starting one after another from the half-open window. The Chairman and Vice Chairman’s family would be in one car, so Yeonhu and Choi Eunseong would be in the same car… Having thought that far, Jaekyung tightly closed his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to put aside these unsettling thoughts for a while.
Ding.
[Moon Yeonu: Are you up? Anything you want to eat?]
It was a welcome message at just the right time. He didn’t want to be alone, but he didn’t want to force himself to go with Yeonhu either. Even without knowing Jaekyung’s circumstances, Moon Yeonu had contacted him at the perfect timing last evening, saying that since his own busy matters had been mostly sorted out, how about they catch up on their postponed conversation.
Jaekyung typed a half-hearted reply saying “anything” and immediately got up from bed. His body felt stiff after lying in bed for days. He needed to start getting ready to make it to their appointment on time.
“Hmm… should I mention that I have an appointment…”
If Yeonhu found out that he had made separate plans while using illness as an excuse not to go to the villa, he would probably be properly upset. Besides, Yeonhu and his group wouldn’t return until late after having dinner at the villa, and since he was meeting Moon Yeonu for lunch, if he just asked the household staff properly, he could get away with it completely unnoticed.
Yes, I’ll just come back early. Jaekyung nodded as he finished buttoning his shirt.
The meeting place was a fine dining restaurant in the heart of Gangnam that Moon Yeonu said he had made a reservation for. Moon Yeonu, who usually only focused on filling his stomach with cheap street food, and a fancy fine dining restaurant—it felt like an awkward and clumsy combination, but Jaekyung decided not to dampen Moon Yeonu’s seemingly good mood.
“You got here quickly. I guess the traffic wasn’t bad.”
“That’s how weekday afternoons are. But why did you want to meet here?”
“Ah, I came here once for a dinner with other professors from school, and the atmosphere was nice.”
“Hmm…”
“What’s with that look, Han Jaekyung? Your eyes are quite disrespectful.”
“So what? Let’s just order.”
Where had the Han Jaekyung gone who, when they bumped into each other on campus, had shown such a docile attitude, begging him to please stop coming? His usual prickly tone, no different from normal, was actually a welcome sound.
The two finished their meal first without getting to the main topic. It was a rare peaceful meal, so Jaekyung ate well without complaints.
“So, what exactly happened?”
As if he had been waiting for Jaekyung to finish eating, the questions poured out as soon as he swallowed the last bite of his steak. Jaekyung wiped his mouth with a napkin and reorganized his thoughts. How should he explain this? Moon Yeonu probably already knew about the accident.
“So you’re getting back together with Jang Yeonhu? Did his family… approve of you?”
“How did you manage to hold back your curiosity until now?”
“I didn’t. But you ignored all my messages.”
“Ah.”
“Answer quickly. I can’t stand the suspense anymore. If you’re really back together, did he cleanly break up with that girlfriend of his?”
He must have done well to hold back until they finished their meal. Facing the barrage of questions, Jaekyung swallowed a bitter smile.
“It’s not what you think.”
“If it’s not that, then what?”
“It’s not a lie, so don’t be shocked when you hear it.”
…Jang Yeonhu lost his memory in the accident. He only remembers up until he was eighteen. At Han Jaekyung’s intermittent confession, even Moon Yeonu was left speechless in bewilderment.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
