Yoonho spoke to Junghyun, who sat motionless in the empty office, but Junghyun just kept staring at his phone, pretending not to hear.
From this attitude, Yoonho instinctively understood the situation.
“You still haven’t talked to him?”
“Forget talking—I haven’t even seen his face.”
“Looks like he’s making you anxious on purpose before finishing you off all at once.”
“That’s not his style.”
“I wonder about that…”
Muttering “is that really so,” Yoonho tilted his head, noting Junghyun’s surprisingly calm expression given the seriousness of the situation.
“You’re more composed than I expected?”
“What’s the point of panicking now? Everything that could blow up already has.”
“No, not that. Honestly, you’re usually quite impatient, aren’t you? You can’t stand it when problems aren’t solved quickly, but you seem so relaxed now. I’m wondering if you actually want to drag this out.”
At Yoonho’s shrewd observation, Junghyun clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn’t bother to refute it.
This sparked intense curiosity in Yoonho.
The Lee Junghyun he knew was a Chihuahua from hell, nothing more and nothing less, but right now he seemed almost human.
It was somewhat refreshing.
“Actually, I’ve been wondering whether to tell you this… I’ve had this feeling for a while now?”
Yoonho started cautiously, afraid Junghyun would immediately get angry if he brought it up directly, but Junghyun predictably cut him off.
“Didn’t you learn in kindergarten? If you’re wondering whether to say something or not, you shouldn’t say it.”
“What kindergarten teaches that? Anyway, I’ve noticed some strange things lately…”
Yoonho paused there, and as he was about to continue, Junghyun stood up as if tired of waiting.
“Why are you dragging this out? Let’s just go get lunch instead.”
The office was already empty.
Since Yoonho’s business was mostly just for show, half the employees didn’t come in during slow periods, and the other half who did come in weren’t in the office.
Especially during lunch time, this building emptied out faster than anywhere else. As Junghyun got up saying they should go down, Yoonho checked the time and exclaimed.
“Oh, it’s already this late. Let’s go. We should eat.”
“I’m already sleepy, and it’s also annoying having to eat constantly because I lack energy.”
Junghyun irritably scratched his hair, complaining how bothersome and cumbersome it was.
He was constantly sleepy and hungry, but when he actually ate, he couldn’t eat as much as before. Fortunately, he didn’t have morning sickness or other issues yet, but at this rate, someone would notice soon.
Some people say their pregnancy symptoms were so mild they didn’t realize for over half a year, but his body was reacting too quickly.
“This is so damn annoying.”
“What did you expect? After causing such a huge accident?”
At Yoonho’s words striking his most painful spot, Junghyun pretended not to hear and walked toward the coat rack. Then he put on the large military jacket he had worn today.
Seeing this, Yoonho genuinely admired him.
“Humans really are creatures of habit. You were dressing like a proper person for a while, but you’ve returned to your training clothes and military jacket.”
Yoonho welcomed Junghyun’s return to his style, though the price tags had probably gone up by about two decimal places.
Honestly, while that tracksuit style could be irritating at times, Junghyun’s recent styling had been even more uncomfortable to look at, so Yoonho felt relieved to see him back to normal.
“This is the real Lee Junghyun,” he thought with relief as he left the office first, shivering from the cold. As Junghyun zipped up his thick jacket, he retorted:
“Who are you, a crow, to judge others?”
“Who are you calling a crow?”
“What else would you call a fashion disaster who either buys outfits straight off the runway or dresses in all black when he forgets how to coordinate?”
“Who was it that told me if I can’t dress well, I should just wear all black?”
“That’s because you were walking around in fluorescent pants and a gold paisley shirt.”
Not to mention the dirty bleached hair and solid gold accessories.
During school, Junghyun had definitely been the one who told Yoonho to just wear all black, fearing his own mental state would be affected if he had to keep looking at such an eyesore.
With his good face, good body, and good build, Junghyun had told him to just wear all black and dye that rainbow delinquent hair black too, and Yoonho really started dressing like a grim reaper.
Fortunately, black suited him so well that Junghyun no longer felt like gouging his eyes out, but enough was enough—wearing the same style for six years gets old.
“Just get married or find a partner. Then they could at least help you choose clothes.”
“Who dates just to have someone pick out clothes? If that’s what you want, hire a stylist.”
“Then hire one.”
“Why bother when the grim reaper look is comfortable?”
“Planning to dress like that forever?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
“What if you can’t get married because of it?”
“Shut up. You have no right to talk, coming to work in sweatpants, you morally bankrupt person.”
“Look who’s talking about moral bankruptcy, you eye exam chart fashion fetishist.”
“Who wears eye exam chart fashion?”
“You must not be able to see properly if you dress like that.”
“Hey, watch what you say. You wore sweatpants throughout college and even commuted to work in them after getting a job. You’re lecturing me about style? Your taste is the worst.”
“At least I wear going-out sweats.”
“Sweats are sweats, no matter what.”
Just as Yoonho was about to argue about what “going-out sweats” meant, Junghyun’s body swayed.
Surprised by the sudden situation, Yoonho quickly grabbed Junghyun’s shoulders to support him and looked down at him with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. Just felt dizzy suddenly.”
“…Really, you’ve got it all…”
As Yoonho complained that this was another pregnancy symptom, Junghyun snapped:
“Shut up. I’m going to rest in the on-call room for a bit.”
Since it wasn’t a busy period, the on-call room was practically Junghyun’s private lounge.
After thinking for a moment, Yoonho nodded as if something else had occurred to him.
“Yeah, that might be better. What about lunch?”
“After I wake up from a short nap.”
“Alright, then.”
After quickly answering, Yoonho escorted Junghyun to the on-call room, then stepped back into the hallway and took out his phone.
He let out a long sigh as he searched for a number he had hoped never to contact again.
This was truly the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice.
If left like this, nothing would be resolved.
To sort things out before the situation became even more serious, Yoonho boldly pressed the call button, even though he was already involved.
***
Unlike usual, Junghyun was having trouble falling asleep despite lying in bed, and kept tossing and turning.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t sleepy. It was that he couldn’t fall asleep.
Even lying down, his head kept spinning and he felt nauseous.
With his dizziness refusing to subside, he deliberately lay on his side and squeezed his eyes shut.
After waiting a moment, he slipped into a very light sleep.
***
“…cancel the appointment. I’ll go straight home. Yes, alright then.”
The very quiet whispering voice in the silent room woke Junghyun from his light sleep.
But he couldn’t quite tell whose voice it was. Since he was in the on-call room, he vaguely thought it must be Yoonho hyung.
So, without opening his eyes, he mumbled:
“Shut up. If you want to talk on the phone, go outside.”
“…”
“I’m going to sleep more, so get out. And wake me up when you leave work.”
Not wanting to move at all, he pulled the blanket over himself and rolled onto his side. But still, there was no response.
That seemed strange.
That noisy, talkative person wouldn’t be so tight-lipped.
“Since you seem to be awake, why don’t you just get up if you’re feeling okay?”
At that low voice, which felt almost chilling to his ears, Junghyun thought, “No way.”
He wondered if he was deeply asleep and dreaming, but this wasn’t a dream.
There was definitely someone there.
Startled, he bolted upright, and the person standing right beside the bed gave him a concerned look.
“Are you able to get up?”
“Ah… why…”
“Yoonho called me. Said you had indigestion?”
Hearing this story for the first time in his life, Junghyun blinked in confusion, as if asking what that meant. Then he suddenly understood the general flow.
Seo Yoonho seemed to have caused some trouble.
“…It’s not indigestion… I was about to have lunch but my digestion wasn’t good. I think I might be coming down with a cold, so I was resting for a bit.”
“A cold? Medicine?”
“It’s not serious enough for medicine. I think I just need a short rest.”
“Then get up. Go home and rest.”
It felt surreal to face him so easily after days of no contact, but Junghyun thought it was actually for the best.
Judging by his physical condition, he couldn’t delay any longer.
“Let’s do that.”
“Your car?”
“I brought it. What about yours, hyung?”
“Then take your car. I can move mine separately.”
“Okay.”
Moving his body that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, Junghyun got off the bed and put on the military jacket he had casually thrown on the sofa.
Though the clothes he was wearing underneath were already quite large so nothing would show, he still worried that the other might notice something. He fastened his clothes and left the on-call room.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
