“Sniff.”
Wiping away the drool that had slipped out without him noticing, Eunho pushed himself up.
“Peach… I want a peach…”
An unbearable hunger came crashing over him. He’d definitely eaten, yet somehow it felt like he’d starved all day.
“Ah, if I don’t eat, I think I’m going to die.”
It honestly felt like if he didn’t eat one right now, he’d stop breathing on the spot. With dazed eyes, Eunho glanced around before shuffling outside.
The door was tightly shut, so he’d have to find another way. Trotting all the way to the front of the swimming pool, Eunho looked up at a small window. It was the window that led into Yi-beom’s room.
Can I climb up there?
It was high—he’d tried several times before and failed—but this time was different. Sniff. Swallowing, Eunho pawed the ground with his hind legs.
Once, twice. As if revving up, he pushed off and then stretched his legs out. In an instant, his small body sprang upward.
By a hair’s breadth, he grabbed onto the windowsill. Ugh! Letting out a groan as he put strength into his legs, he hoisted himself up.
“Phew!”
Exhaling, he peered inside the room. There sat Yi-beom at his desk, arms crossed. Judging by the messy stack of documents scattered in front of him, it seemed he’d fallen asleep while working.
Without giving himself time to hesitate, Eunho leapt onto the desk. Then he climbed onto Yi-beom’s crossed arms and stretched out both feet.
Pat, pat!
“Ahjussi! Ahjussi!”
With his tiny feet, he pat-patted Yi-beom’s cheek. When there was still no sign of him waking up, tears welled up.
It was miserable. Having to sneak in through the window was miserable, waiting in the living room until this hour was miserable… and most miserable of all was Yi-beom, who still wouldn’t wake up.
“Hic, h-huung…! Ahjussi! Hng!”
The sobbing rabbit shook Yi-beom.
***
A plump, luscious peach shimmered before his eyes. If he bit into it—crunch—the flesh would drip with juice. Just imagining the sweet flavor spreading through his mouth made it impossible to endure. Hic. Eunho’s crying grew louder.
“A-Ahjussi! Hic, wake up… huung!”
Pat, pat—when his small feet struck Yi-beom’s cheek again, Yi-beom finally opened his eyes. What the—. Frowning, he sat up and looked at the crying rabbit. A rabbit crying the moment he woke up. And slapping his cheek at that… Processing the sudden assault, Yi-beom quickly grasped the situation. He immediately rose and gathered Eunho in both hands.
“What is it?”
Yi-beom lifted Eunho up to eye level.
“Are you hurt? Does your stomach hurt?”
Seeing the rabbit crying silently, Yi-beom felt as though his blood was running backward. The image of Eunho lying weakly in a hospital room before coming here flashed quickly through his mind. Without realizing it, he tightened his grip.
“Jung Eunho. Answer me. Does your head hurt? Huh?”
“Hng, u-uh, Ahju—huuung!”
“Stop crying!”
At the raised voice, Eunho’s eyes went wide and round. Seeing his ears tremble faintly, Yi-beom steadied his tone.
“I’m not angry.”
Instead of answering, more tears burst out. For such a small body, did he even have this much water inside? Eunho was practically wailing. Growing anxious, Yi-beom slowly rotated his body in his hands, examining him.
“I’m asking if something hurts, hm?”
This time, he brought his hand to the rabbit’s face. He’d roughly placed it somewhere between the ears and eyes, but he couldn’t tell if that was the forehead or not. Is this where you check? Yi-beom lightly furrowed his brows.
“You don’t seem to have a fever.”
“……”
“Are you hurt somewhere? Or does something ache?”
Even after parting the fur to check, there were no visible injuries. Letting out a breath, Yi-beom set Eunho down on his lap, still not removing his hands.
Eunho was just as flustered. He needed to stop crying so he could say he wanted a peach, but once the tears had burst out, there was no sign of them stopping. The more Yi-beom asked him things, the more they flowed. Ah, this is bad. Eunho scrubbed his face fiercely with both feet.
He took a long breath. Though small hiccupping sounds still slipped out, he seemed to calm down a little. Yi-beom quietly waited through the entire process.
Lowering his feet slowly, Eunho looked up at Yi-beom.
“Ahjussi…”
“Where does it hurt?”
If he had to say, his heart hurt. Because he wanted a peach. How do I say that? Embarrassed, Eunho hesitated, and Yi-beom urged him on.
“Say it clearly. Where does it hurt?”
“…Pea.”
“What?”
At the barely audible voice, Yi-beom’s insides burned.
“What did you say?”
“P-peach…! Hic! I wanted a peach…”
For once, Yi-beom’s face flushed with confusion. A peach? As if he couldn’t believe it, he repeated the word Eunho had just said.
The moment he said “peach,” he wanted it even more. It felt like several peaches were floating before his eyes. Feeling wronged by it all, Eunho burst into tears again and crawled into Yi-beom’s arms. Naturally, Yi-beom supported the rabbit’s bottom as he held him.
“Hng, peach… hic, I said I wanted a peach. B-but Ahjussi just keeps sleeping…! Hic, y-you don’t even come to see me…”
Once he started pouring it out, the words inside his heart spilled freely.
“Hic, hng, it’s the first thing the baby—hic—said he wanted.”
“……”
“Ahjussi hates the baby, hic… and I only have you here, Ahjussi…!”
Wasn’t he the one who even suggested surgery out of dislike? If this weren’t an island, he would’ve called his hyung somehow and gotten a peach no matter what.
You brought me all the way to an island and then just left me here!
Once his thoughts reached that point, it felt like everything was Yi-beom’s fault. Eunho bared his rice-grain-sized teeth.
“Nom.”
Like he was chewing dried carrot strips, the rabbit bit down fiercely on the back of Yi-beom’s hand. Yi-beom quietly looked down at him. For all the wild biting, it didn’t hurt at all. If anything, it felt more like soft sucking, like lips caressing. Eunho, still inexperienced in bed, didn’t know how to do much beyond sucking.
Damn it. The moment he realized it didn’t hurt, his mind kept straying elsewhere. Fifteen days. Fifteen. Yi-beom muttered inwardly the time Professor Hwang had set. If he was going to make Eunho fall out of love within fifteen days, he was supposed to leave him alone. Whether he wanted peaches or not.
How am I supposed to do that?
A deep sigh escaped his lips. Even while biting with teeth that couldn’t possibly wound him, Eunho would pause to check if he’d actually left a mark and then lick at the spot. As if to make it easier for him to chew, Yi-beom brought his hand closer and muttered,
“How badly did you want it?”
Eunho wasn’t a child who whined for things or demanded what he wanted. Shockingly, he had no greed. To Yi-beom, who worked at the very center of greed and avarice, it was as astonishing as hitting the jackpot six times in a row.
When they first started dating and he’d handed Eunho a card, telling him to try whatever he wanted, Eunho had run back with just a single chocolate—for Yi-beom. Yi-beom had thought it was because he was young, but even as he got older, his personality didn’t change. In the meantime, Yi-beom had come to realize that Eunho’s lack of desire came from the careful, watchful life he’d lived, moving from one relative’s house to another.
Until now, the only thing Eunho had ever been greedy for was him. And now that child, carrying his baby, was sobbing that he wanted a peach—there was no part of him that wouldn’t be swept away.
“Stop crying.”
Eunho, who had buried his face in the back of Yi-beom’s hand, slowly lifted his head. Along the trail where tears had fallen, his pale pink fur was soaked. When their eyes met, tears pooled again in his round eyes. Hic, Eunho lifted both eyes wide.
“Hic, y-you’re only mean to me…!”
“You said I was your ex.”
At the word “ex,” Eunho’s eyes went round.
“I-I said ex?”
“You did. You said, as an ex, couldn’t you say something like that.”
“I-it was supposed to be ‘not’—hic—!”
“Not?”
“Yes!”
Nodding frantically, Eunho dove straight back into Yi-beom’s arms. Burying his face and rubbing it side to side as if—
Yi-beom carefully pulled him away.
“Don’t wipe your snot.”
How did he know? Eunho scratched his head.
“H-how did you know?”
“All exes know.”
“A-ah, hic, I said I’m not your ex…”
“It was a slip of the tongue,” Eunho added quietly.
“Seriously…”
With a sigh, Yi-beom shifted Eunho onto one arm. The way he clung there—pat—made him look like a nap cushion.
Pulling his phone from his pants pocket, Yi-beom tapped the screen. The time glowed on it.
“It’s past midnight…”
Since when were you crying? Yi-beom lightly ruffled Eunho’s fur.
“Next time, don’t cry—just tell me. I’ll buy you anything.”
“Y-you lock the door.”
“I’ll leave it open.”
Yi-beom answered, easily discarding the plan he’d set until now.
“If you say you want it again, I might die of shock.”
Dialing a familiar number, Yi-beom lifted the phone to his ear. After several rings, a familiar voice finally answered.
[Hello…?]
“Yeah.”
The sleep-heavy voice paused. He was clearly looking at the time and the name.
[Boss—no, President? Is something wrong?]
“There is.”
And it was something very big. Below, Eunho opened his eyes wide and tilted his head. Is it okay to call Secretary Ahjussi at this hour? he mouthed silently. Yi-beom simply stroked his head.
“Bring some peaches.”
[…W-what?]
Pulling the phone slightly away, Yi-beom asked Eunho,
“Soft ones?”
“F-firm…”
When he’d been sneaking into the room earlier, he’d wanted the soft, squishy kind—but not now. Just imagining it made saliva pool in his mouth. As Eunho’s lips twitched, Yi-beom nodded.
