Haon ended up showing tears. Because only soundless, transparent teardrops fell, it momentarily looked as if water from the bathtub had splashed. But it was tears. Inho immediately recognized that fact. He embraced Haon’s subtly trembling shoulders and patted them before getting out of the bathtub. Haon had suggested they get out first, thinking that staying in the tub for too long wouldn’t be good for Inho, even though the water had cooled down.
They went to the shower booth and simply shampooed their hair. Inho washed Haon, and Haon washed Inho. Because of that, a lot of time passed. After drying their hair and lying down in bed, the time was nearing ten o’clock at night. Inho, who had lifted the blanket for Haon to lie down, brushed his lips against Haon’s lotion-moistened cheek and asked, “Don’t you want to watch a movie?”
Haon blinked his reddened eyes and shook his head. Then, as if he didn’t have the energy to speak, he gently tapped Inho’s pillow. Following Haon’s gesture, Inho lay down first. Haon used Inho’s arm as a pillow and snuggled deeply into his embrace.
“Tomorrow… let’s wake up and eat breakfast.”
Leaning against Inho’s shoulder and inhaling his familiar scent, Haon murmured softly. He also suggested they take a walk together in the park near their house after eating.
“They say the weather will be nice.”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“And let’s watch a movie at home.”
Inho repeated the same answer, rubbing his lips against the top of Haon’s head. He continuously kissed each strand of Haon’s hair, which smelled of the same shampoo as his own.
Had about an hour passed?
Inho, who had placed his ear near Haon’s nose after Haon had fallen asleep first, carefully stroked his soft cheek.
“Thank you, Haon-ssi.”
He replayed Haon’s confession to him countless times as he waited for the approaching sleep.
***
The next day, thanks to Haon waking him up, Inho was able to get up in the morning. They ate a simple breakfast and cleaned the house together. They decided to go for a walk after lunch.
Haon, who prepared the meal instead of Inho, cooked porridge for breakfast. While vacuuming, he pondered what to make for lunch and, having a good idea, ran to Inho. After taking a good nap, Haon had recovered much of his energy.
“I’ll boil some chicken for you for lunch.”
Inho was sitting on the sofa, folding laundry.
“Pardon?”
Inho, who had been folding a towel with slow movements, lifted his head at Haon’s approach. It seemed he hadn’t heard what Haon said as he came closer. A heavy drowsiness lingered in his eyes.
It was due to the medication prescribed by the psychiatrist. At first, he had been warned in advance that it could cause drowsiness like this.
“Inho-ssi, do you want to sleep for a bit?”
Haon approached Inho and cupped his face. Inho wrapped his arms around Haon’s waist and rested his cheek on his flat stomach. He didn’t really want to sleep.
“Take a nap on the sofa. I’ll be folding laundry here.”
Haon sat down next to Inho and finished folding the towel he had been working on. Actually, it looked like he would have to refold all of them since Inho had done it so haphazardly. Seeing the messily folded towels, he could guess how sleepy Inho was.
“You couldn’t sleep well last night, could you?”
When he deliberately widened his eyes and asked as if he were interrogating him, Inho chuckled. Judging by his inability to answer, it seemed he had gone to bed late. It appeared the medication wasn’t the only reason for his drowsiness.
“Then you should take a nap. Hurry up and lie down.”
Haon patted the sofa loudly. Since the sofa was wide, there was plenty of room for both of them to lie down.
“Then Haon-ssi can watch TV.”
Inho refused the cushion Haon offered and rested his head on Haon’s lap. He even handed him the remote control and said he would only sleep for an hour.
“Sleep comfortably.”
Haon chuckled and unfolded a towel to cover him like a blanket. Inho, wearing a pleasant smile, pulled the towel to his mouth and smelled it.
“It smells like Haon-ssi on the towel.”
Haon, leaning down, brought his nose to the towel as well and sniffed. It was the scent of the fabric softener he used. A similar scent lingered on Inho, but perhaps because it was mixed with his natural scent, it had a slightly deeper fragrance on him, different from Haon’s.
“Good.”
Inho murmured, taking a deep breath in and out. Whenever he smelled Haon, his heart felt at ease. Although the peace didn’t last long, he felt great happiness in those moments.
“Really?”
Haon asked casually then. The smile on his lips looked a little different than usual. It wasn’t a forced smile or a fake one. He wasn’t listless or gloomy either.
“You like being with me, don’t you?”
His tone was strangely calm. His expression was the same.
Inho tried to raise his upper body, feeling an inexplicable anxiety rush over him again. Haon, gently stopping him, placed his hand on his chest.
“I’m happy. Being with Inho-ssi is when I’m the happiest.”
He continued, patting Inho’s chest gently as if to soothe him.
“But I’m curious how Inho-ssi feels.”
Inho, who had been gazing intently at Haon’s face, relaxed and opened his mouth.
“I’m only happy when I’m with Haon-ssi.”
It was a concise but, more than anything, clear answer. Hearing this, Haon’s smile deepened. Haon stroked the top of Inho’s anxiously beating heart and closed his eyes.
Inho soon fell asleep.
Haon, who had put down the TV remote, spread the towel widely over Inho’s body. He continued to pat his chest and slowly looked around the spacious living room.
A large TV that wouldn’t even fit in his countryside home, floor-to-ceiling windows that displayed a wonderful night view every night, and even stylish furniture. Everything, resembling the homeowner, was sophisticated and gleaming.
He had been so surprised when he first came to this house. Haon had only thought of Inho’s guest room as a hotel back then. He hadn’t even slightly expected to live here. It was something unimaginable for Haon.
While blankly looking around the house, his gaze finally settled on a huge display cabinet. Inside, frames containing pictures of cute children were displayed. Haon had already memorized all the children’s faces. Every time he cleaned, he would greet the children in the frames.
“Inho-ssi.”
Haon whispered in a very small voice, looking down at Inho. With the hand that had been patting his chest, he caressed his light brown hair and then gently cupped his sleeping face.
Soon after, Haon also closed his eyes.
Inho woke up around dinnertime. Because Haon had also fallen asleep, he ended up sleeping for a long time. If this kept up, he wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night.
“It’s okay. We can just go to bed a little later.”
Inho stretched as he got up from the sofa with a dejected-looking Haon. They had opened their eyes almost simultaneously. It was surprisingly good timing.
“I’ll hurry and prepare dinner. Could Inho-ssi please finish organizing the laundry?”
Watching Haon rush to the kitchen, Inho replied that he would. Even though he told him to take his time, Haon moved quickly. Although, in reality, it was just the average speed of other people.
Inho folded the towels again. After sleeping, his body felt a little lighter. He had felt sluggish since morning because of the medication, but he felt much better now.
It was all thanks to Haon-ssi. Picking up the towels, Inho chuckled as he looked at the kitchen. Haon was bent over with his face practically inside the refrigerator. It was a sight that would make anyone laugh.
“I’ll help you, so take your time.”
Haon, busy looking at the ingredients in the refrigerator, didn’t hear Inho’s words. Instead of repeating himself, Inho decided to quickly put the towels in the bathroom and come out.
He opened the sliding cabinet in Haon’s bathroom and filled it with towels. It seemed the ones already displayed were different from the ones he just put in, so he took them out again, folded them neatly, and put them in one by one. Having had someone to take care of household chores his whole life, no matter how he folded them, they only looked clumsy. Cooking was the only thing he was good at.
Still, he somehow managed to organize all the towels and closed the sliding cabinet.
Inho, tilting his head to the side, suddenly opened the sliding cabinet again and looked inside. The inside of the wide storage space was empty. The only things there were the towels he had just put in.
He knew Haon didn’t have many belongings, but seeing it like this was surprisingly striking. The storage cabinet in Inho’s bathroom was always full. He tended to replace things he used easily, so products he had barely used were piled up.
Seeing the empty bathroom cabinet made him wonder about the state of Haon’s closet.
Inho left the bathroom and opened the closet door. He had opened it to fill it with things that were lacking. He didn’t think there would be any clothes suitable for the middle of winter. Since the cold winter wasn’t far off, he needed to prepare little by little.
Inho, looking inside the closet, wore a blank expression. There wasn’t a single piece of clothing.
Flustered, he blinked his eyes, then let out a hollow laugh as realization dawned on him. He himself had carried all of Haon’s luggage upstairs and had simply forgotten. How foolish.
He chuckled lightly and was about to close the closet door again.
In a secluded corner inside the closet, he spotted Haon’s bag. It was the bag Haon had carried when he came to this house. He was sure he had taken it upstairs with the clothes.
Wondering why it was tucked away in the corner, he picked up the bag. He lifted it without much effort, assuming it would be empty.
However, contrary to his expectation, it was heavy.
At that moment, Haon’s sounds from outside felt distant. As he opened the worn-out zipper of the bag, which seemed like it would break at any moment, the surrounding noises grew even fainter.
Inho quietly peered inside the bag before zipping it back up without a word. Then, he placed it back in its original spot.
Inho closed the closet door silently, his Adam’s apple bobbing slowly.
He swallowed hard and took a step towards the door, but only for a moment. Inho, who had suddenly stopped, slightly furrowed one eyebrow.
He seemed to press down on his stomach, then composed his expression and left the room.
