After tidying up the bed covers, Haon stretched his arms wide. Maybe it was because he had finished an entire bowl of rice porridge right in front of Inho, but despite not sleeping a wink, he felt full of energy.
He stood in front of the mirror—something he rarely did—and repeatedly checked his reflection while gently spreading the ointment Inho had given him onto his cheek. It was a cream meant to quickly reduce bruising. Since they didn’t have any at home, Inho had gone out to buy some, only to find Haon missing when he got back.
Inho had said he thought Haon had run away, but Haon adamantly denied it. There was absolutely no way he would ever leave this house of his own accord—unless Inho personally kicked him out.
Maybe he’d overreacted to something that had been said lightly, but Inho had wrapped up the conversation with a soft chuckle.
Sometimes, Haon genuinely couldn’t tell whether Inho was joking or being serious.
“Am I just that oblivious…?”
He absentmindedly fiddled with the small ointment tube, going over the conversation they’d just had. Knock, knock. A soft knock echoed through the room, and Haon ran to the door as if he had been waiting for it.
“What were you doing?”
“Just straightening up the bedding.”
Inho looked over at the neatly arranged bed and let out a faint laugh.
Fresh from the shower, he was wearing a black crew-neck T-shirt instead of his usual workout clothes. Against the dark outfit, his pale, translucent skin stood out even more.
“How are you feeling? Nothing hurting?”
Inho stayed standing at the door, continuing the conversation. The awkward tension that had hovered between them earlier had completely vanished.
Haon opened the door wider, hesitating as he considered how to answer. There was still a dull ache in his muscles, but he felt much better than he had yesterday. Talking with Inho had somehow left him feeling strangely lighter.
“A little tired, but it’s not too bad.”
Instead of brushing it off with a generic “I’m fine,” he decided to be honest. Inho nodded, then gently placed a hand on Haon’s forehead.
“If you feel like you’re running a fever, you have to tell me. Even if it’s just a little pain, promise you’ll say something.”
“Yes.”
Haon had to press his lips together to stop himself from grinning too hard. When he saw the satisfied look on Inho’s face as he gazed at Haon’s cheek—now thoroughly covered with ointment—he felt like he’d made the right call by applying it.
“Haon-ssi, you’re not having trouble walking, are you?”
“I’m fine. No issues at all with moving around or working.”
He’d actually been planning to get started on the housework soon. Because of his heat, he hadn’t done any cleaning in over five days, so it was time to get back to it. The laundry was probably piling up, and dust must’ve settled around the house.
“Then… would you spend the day with me?”
Tilting his head slightly, Inho smiled as he asked. Haon blinked, instinctively tilting his head a little in the same direction.
“Let’s go pick out your phone together.”
“I thought you ordered it yesterday…”
Hadn’t he? Haon kept the rest of the thought to himself, his expression turning quietly puzzled.
“Since they said it would arrive late, I canceled the order. Figured it’d be faster to just go buy it myself.”
Before Haon could respond, Inho casually shrugged and added,
“Or, I could just go and get it alone, if you’d prefer.”
“I want to come too,” Haon said, stepping forward toward Inho without hesitation, clearly ready to follow him out the door right away.
“Let’s go. I’m all set.”
Seeing that, Inho’s smile brightened even more. He said he’d just run down quickly to grab a jacket. Apparently, what he was wearing already counted as going-out clothes.
“Ah, wait…”
Suddenly remembering something, Haon reached out toward Inho as he turned to leave.
“What is it?”
While what Haon had on wasn’t exactly sleepwear, it clearly didn’t match the higher-quality T-shirt and pants Inho wore. Haon wanted to wear something a bit more fitting—at least when they were going out together.
“The clothes I wore that day…”
He was referring to the outfit he wore to the movie theater. It was the only decent set of clothes he owned. At his words, Inho tilted his head for a moment in thought, then snapped his fingers in realization.
“Oh, the beige knit one? I threw that out.”
He hadn’t told Haon in detail, but the outfit had gotten covered in a mess of spilled cola and popcorn crumbs that day. Sure, it could’ve been cleaned, but Inho hadn’t hesitated to toss it straight into the trash.
He was used to buying things easily and throwing them away just as easily, so it hadn’t occurred to him that Haon might value that piece of clothing. Since he had been the one who gave it to Haon in the first place, he’d simply thrown it out without asking.
“Sorry. I should’ve asked first.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t buy it anyway,” Haon said, waving his hand and taking a step back. But his face had visibly stiffened, prompting him to scratch the corner of his mouth with a sheepish smile.
“Take your time coming down. I’ll grab a jacket and be right out.”
“Wait, Haon-ssi, hold on a sec.”
Inho left those words behind and headed toward the dress room at the end of the hallway—a place where he kept out-of-season clothes.
Haon stood waiting with a hint of doubt, but his lips parted slowly in surprise the moment he saw what Inho came out holding: a soft beige knit sweater and matching pants. Before he could stop himself, the words slipped out.
“You don’t have to! I’ve got clothes!”
“Just wear this for today, and we can get you a new outfit while we’re out.”
Ignoring Haon’s polite refusal, Inho gently forced the clothes into his hands.
“Sorry for throwing that out without asking. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Before Haon could protest again, Inho gently pushed him into the room and closed the door behind him.
With nothing else appropriate to wear for going out, Haon eventually gave in. When he went out alone, he didn’t care what he wore, but since he was heading out with Inho, he couldn’t help but be self-conscious about his worn-out clothes.
“You really didn’t have to…”
Murmuring to himself with a guilty heart, he unfolded the clothes. As expected, the thick knit material was soft and smooth to the touch. The color was a pleasantly light shade—bright enough to lift his mood, but not so much that it felt too bold to wear.
“Oh, this…”
Seeing the color alone, Haon—who couldn’t quite tell the finer details of clothing—momentarily thought Inho had returned the exact same outfit he’d worn before. But once he put it on, he noticed a few subtle differences. He couldn’t recall exactly, but he was pretty sure the previous sweater didn’t have rolled cuffs like this one.
After changing into the pants as well, Haon stood in front of the mirror and spun around once in place. Despite the lingering guilt over receiving new clothes, he couldn’t help but feel pleased. For a brief moment, at least.
But the more he examined the clothes—perfectly fitted to his build—the more his smile slowly faded. It made him wonder just who these clothes originally belonged to. They were far too small for Inho. The previous owner must have been around Haon’s exact height.
Who could it have been? And what kind of relationship did they have, for them to leave behind not just one, but two full outfits? And such high-quality ones, at that.
A question he had nearly forgotten began creeping back into his thoughts. He brought the fabric to his nose, but only the soft scent of the dress room’s diffuser lingered—ironically, a scent that reminded him of Inho, one he liked.
He wanted to ask Inho about it, to find out who it had belonged to. But he forced the curiosity back down. It wasn’t because he lacked the courage—it was more that he simply didn’t want to know. Knowing would only hurt more.
What mattered most was that, in all the time Haon had been living in this house, the original owner of these clothes had never come back. Whatever their relationship had been, it was probably over—or perhaps it was never that deep to begin with.
He could only hope that was the case.
“What am I even thinking…”
Muttering to himself, Haon tried to shake off the spiraling thoughts. Greedy—that’s what he was being. Wasn’t it enough to have been given the clothes? And yet here he was, spiraling into these pointless musings.
He combed his hair one last time, then turned to leave the room—only to circle back to the mirror. Carefully, he opened a drawer and took out the perfume he’d stored inside. It was a gift from Tae-hwi.
Chi, chik—
He aimed a light spray onto his wrist, then gave a quick spritz to his clothes too. The subtle scent now lingered more strongly than it had the first time he’d used it.
Chik.
On a whim, before putting it away, he even gave his face a small spray—wondering if it might help the fragrance carry better.
***
Wearing a light jacket, Inho stood before the mirror, checking his reflection. His skin, already pale by nature, looked even more bloodless today—probably from the lack of sleep.
Staring blankly at his own face, he ran his fingers through his hair and brushed his bangs down over his forehead. Normally, he preferred to sweep all of it back or show a little forehead, but today, he styled it to cover his eyes just slightly.
“Grew out again…”
He let out a quiet sigh as he studied the reflection. He was looking at the roots of his light brown hair.
Dark strands were beginning to grow in, contrasting clearly with the dyed parts. His natural hair, untouched by color, matched the shade of his deep, dark eyes. Inho stared at it with visible dissatisfaction before turning his gaze away from the mirror.
Just as he was about to leave the bedroom, his eyes fell on the phone resting on the nightstand. It had been set to silent, but the screen lit up with impeccable timing. Inho stood still in front of it, staring down at the device.
He looked down at the screen.
[Son, let me hear your voice.]
It was a message from an unsaved number.
Without touching the phone, he read the message with just his eyes, then turned and left the room. He wasn’t planning to use his phone today anyway.
After going out with Haon, he intended to come straight back home.
