“Like a kid who insists on walking alone, waddling off and bumping into things only to fall down, you know?”
“Huh? Oh. I don’t think that’s quite right.”
“What do you mean, not right? That’s exactly it.”
Natalie’s blunt assessment continued. She slurped the last of her coffee, then stared directly at Yeon Yiseo’s face as she spoke again.
“Are you eating properly?”
“Yes, of course.”
It wasn’t a lie. Yeon Yiseo was doing his best to eat well and keep himself nourished. He didn’t have much money to work with, sure, but that wasn’t something he needed to bring up. Natalie narrowed her eyes.
“Alright then.”
She answered like someone saying, ‘I know you’re lying, but I’ll let it slide this time.’ Yeon Yiseo let out a soft laugh, covering his mouth, and finished the rest of his coffee.
Maybe it was from overworking to make up for the time he’d missed at the office, but his body felt heavy. It wasn’t the same kind of soreness as after sex—it was different. He felt feverish and sluggish, like his limbs were dragging. He brushed it off, thinking it was just lingering fatigue from days of being pushed around by Alexander.
But having a fever was a different matter entirely.
Yiseo pressed his hand to his forehead. His body hadn’t fully recovered, and now he was running himself into the ground again. Maybe he’d caught a cold on top of everything else. Once again, he reminded himself how crucial health was—no matter what anyone says, if your body gives out, you can’t do anything.
It’s not like he could rest until he was fully healed, either. It was going to take quite some time to get back to normal, and he couldn’t help but worry if he’d be alright until then. In the end, no matter what, everything fell on his shoulders to deal with.
Hoping the rough patch would pass quickly, he pressed his fingers firmly against the fringe brushing his eyes.
“You’re not feeling well.”
“Oh—CEO.”
Yiseo shot up from his seat at the sound of someone’s low voice. Ethan had emerged from the executive office and was now standing in front of his desk.
He’d only taken a short break, but if it looked like he was slacking off during work hours, that would be bad. Just his luck, Natalie had just been called away to another floor.
“No, I’m fine. I’m not sick or anything.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Ethan didn’t seem in the mood to let things slide today. Yiseo decided to go with an answer that would sound plausible no matter who you asked.
“I’m a little tired, but really, I’m okay.”
His reply came without hesitation, but Yiseo kept glancing at Ethan’s face. There was definitely a resemblance to Alexander. Ethan seemed to think Yiseo was looking at what he was holding. He spoke.
“Mm, it’s nothing special.”
After a short pause, Ethan held out a shopping bag to Yiseo. The bag was about 90 centimeters long, pale lemon yellow with deep mint-colored lettering. Yiseo took it, glancing between the bag and Ethan.
“Eat it.”
“Oh, thank you. …Ah, this is the one Natalie likes.”
“Natalie only?”
“Oh—no, I like it too, of course. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Alright then.”
Even after finishing what he wanted to say, Ethan stood there quietly, watching Yiseo. Did he have more instructions? Yiseo straightened his posture and looked at him, but Ethan made no move to speak.
“CEO…?”
When Yiseo called out to him, Ethan seemed to snap out of it.
“Was there something you wanted to say?”
“Ah. No. It’s just—…”
Ethan looked like he was about to speak again when his personal phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then raised one finger, as if asking Yiseo to wait a moment. But when it looked like the call might drag on, he simply gestured with his hand—eat well—and walked back into his office.
What was that about? From what Yiseo had seen so far, Ethan wasn’t the type to hold back when he had something to say. He was usually the kind to speak his mind right away. That made this even more unusual.
Yiseo thought maybe Ethan would come back out and finish what he hadn’t said, but that didn’t happen.
Natalie returned from her errand and immediately noticed the shopping bag on Yiseo’s desk. Curiosity lit up her face the moment she saw it.
When Yiseo explained that it was from Ethan and handed it to her, she lit up.
“Oh my god. What is this? It’s from Dozen!”
As expected, Natalie was thrilled. She quickly opened the luxuriously packaged paper box from inside. The pale pink box was tied with glossy satin ribbons in blue and red stripes—it was so cute, it drew your eye again and again.
With hands as delicate as if she were handling a treasure chest, Natalie untied the ribbon and opened the box. A sweet aroma wafted out instantly. Even Yiseo, who didn’t particularly care for sweets, couldn’t help but be impressed.
Inside were several fruit-topped pies, extravagantly decorated. Just one looked like it’d be enough to fill you up—and there were four of them. If this was a set from Dozen, there had to be at least three more like it.
“These look amazing. I don’t think we can finish all of them here. Which one do you want to take home, Yiseo?”
“Whichever one’s left after you pick.”
“Really? That’s okay with you?”
“Of course.”
“You’re so not greedy.”
She said it with a light scolding tone, but there was no displeasure in it. Natalie said she loved surprise boxes like this where you never knew what was inside and picked one of the unopened ones.
Then she insisted Yiseo take the other two. When he asked why, she said one box was plenty for her. She didn’t have time to eat at the office anyway—better to take it home and enjoy it.
Yiseo said it was alright, but she waved him off like she was ending the conversation and went back to her desk.
To be honest, his budget barely allowed for proper meals, so saving on food expenses was a huge help. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay to accept something this nice.
After finishing his overtime, Yiseo returned home with the shopping bag in hand and opened the front door. Compared to the hotel he’d stayed in before, this place was tiny and worn out—but to him, it was a haven.
At least he had this. If not, he might’ve been sleeping on the street or in a park.
After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, he took out one of the pies Ethan had given him and took a bite. The fresh fruit and crisp crust were incredibly delicious.
It’d be nice if he could split the pie and eat only half at a time, but with something this fresh, it would probably go bad before he could finish it. A bit of a waste, but he had to eat one whole at a time.
In the past few days without the pie, Yiseo had been surviving on a few biscuits. Not ideal for dinner, but he couldn’t afford unnecessary spending. Still, he was thankful to have even that.
When eating biscuits, he’d just pop them in his mouth and chew as much as possible. At first, they tasted like nothing, but if you chewed long enough, a subtle nuttiness would emerge. Then, right when his throat would get dry, he’d take a sip of milk—and that would feel like heaven.
Just for today, having eaten a whole pie instead of biscuits, Yiseo leaned back into the couch slowly. Then he lifted up his T-shirt and took a look.
It was better than before, but the marks were still there. His nipples had been so sore before that even brushing against the shirt hurt, so he’d put on bandages—but they’d healed enough that he didn’t need them now.
He knew nipple patches existed, but they were surprisingly expensive.
“Why am I still so tired…”
He rested his head on the back of the couch and looked up at the ceiling. He couldn’t figure out why he still felt like a waterlogged rag, constantly weighed down. Was it really just fatigue?
Well, it wasn’t like he’d had a chance to sleep properly after that. Even so, sleep had become his top priority after meals, yet the exhaustion still hadn’t faded. Could it really last this long?
…
Moving sluggishly, Yiseo returned to bed and lay down. Just sleep. Rest more, and if it still doesn’t get better, then deal with it.
Right before he drifted off, Alexander’s kiss came to mind, and he opened his eyes again.
Why him? Why now?
Stop thinking useless thoughts. Just sleep already.
He forcefully cut off the thought and pulled the thin blanket up to his nose.
***
Yiseo’s condition didn’t improve as quickly as he’d hoped.
He’d been holding out with cold medicine from the drugstore, but eventually, he ended up at a hospital.
The doctor, who had seemed indifferent during the brief initial questioning, suddenly turned serious.
“Let’s start with a blood test.”
“Is something wrong?”
“We’ll discuss that after the test results are in.”
The doctor didn’t answer Yiseo’s question directly.
A nurse came in and guided him to the lab.
He’d come in thinking it was just a mild case of the flu, but now, the doctor’s reaction left him rattled.
After having his blood drawn, Yiseo sat in the waiting area, shifting in his seat over and over, too anxious to sit still.
What if it was something serious?
