Chapter 87
“Ajeossi……?”
The moment their lips touched was brief. Jeonghyeok held Yuwon’s face steady with his firm hands and pressed his lips against the slightly parted lips.
Clearly, even until yesterday he had been reluctant to kiss, but he didn’t know where this courage had come from. One thing was certain: Yuwon’s lips touching his mouth right now were excessively sweet.
Was it because of the snacks he had just eaten? Or had they always been this sweet? Whatever the reason, the unbearably sweet taste and scent were making Jeonghyeok’s mind hazy.
Jeonghyeok tilted his head and sucked on Yuwon’s lower lip. He put his tongue in and licked the moist interior as if sweeping through it. It was a kiss as if the desire he had been holding back was exploding.
“Ah, ajeossi. I……”
Yuwon, who had been receiving the breathless kiss, weakly shook his head.
It wasn’t that he was making a disgusted expression or fidgeting with his body. It was just a look that said anything more than this wasn’t okay yet.
Jeonghyeok spoke while wrapping his hands around Yuwon’s hands that were tightly gripping his collar.
“I won’t.”
No matter how much his lower body was boiling, he had no intention of going all the way. Especially not on this sofa.
“I won’t do it.”
Jeonghyeok pulled Yuwon tightly into his arms and rubbed his nose bridge against his earlobe. He briefly kissed the nape of Yuwon’s neck, who had hunched his shoulders as if tickled, then moved his lips to press them against his collarbone as well.
“Yuwon.”
A low, firm voice echoed in his ear. Though it was just his name being called, Yuwon felt like his heart had dropped all the way to his toes. It felt like his heartbeat was pounding down at his feet.
“I love you.”
I like you so much. I love you, Yuwon. I love you.
Listening to the confession that repeated endlessly even without any response in return, Yuwon realized.
That his feelings of loving ajeossi were greater than the wounds ajeossi had given him. And that’s why he couldn’t leave ajeossi.
It wasn’t a feeling that could be reduced or folded away. He couldn’t just deny it because he resented him. Thinking it was truly a terrible first love with self-mockery, Yuwon joyfully accepted Jeonghyeok’s lips.
***
Moving day was just one day away.
Jeonghyeok had been on the phone with the moving company since morning, and Yuwon took out his suitcase from the storage room to fill it. Since his belongings weren’t much, there seemed to be no need to entrust even his luggage to the company, so he planned to pack it separately.
But not long after he started organizing, a problem arose. When he actually tried to put the clothes he had taken out into the suitcase, there wasn’t enough space.
When he first came to this house, it had been sufficient, but this was all because of the clothes Jeonghyeok had gradually bought and filled it with.
While not letting him leave the house, Jeonghyeok often bought clothes for Yuwon. Usually t-shirts, and sometimes pants or outerwear, and when those accumulated, the volume became quite substantial.
He wondered why he did this when the only places to wear them were the orphanage or the mart, but he couldn’t ignore the sincerity of the person who bought them, so he always happily accepted them. As a result, there were three long padded jackets that had been bought in winter alone. Just putting those in the suitcase would probably fill it up.
“Hmm……”
While he was pondering while stroking his chin, the dressing room door opened. Jeonghyeok poked his face through the door gap and asked.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, I was wondering whether to put my clothes in the suitcase.”
“There’s no need for that. The company will pack everything properly. You just need to take the box you brought from your old place.”
The box Jeonghyeok was referring to contained miscellaneous items he hadn’t been able to throw away since childhood and the album the orphanage had made for him. He thought it would be better to move the items in there to the suitcase and throw away the box.
Yuwon nodded and left the dressing room. He was about to enter the storage room to get the box when he saw an unfamiliar file folder on the dining table.
Curious, he flipped through it slightly and found that the file folder contained about 10 A4 sheets. On the front page, the words “Forest Village” were written in large letters.
When he turned the front page, a bird’s eye view of a three-story building appeared. Living room, rooms, bathroom, and kitchen. It seemed to be a building designed for residential use.
Why is this here? He was tilting his head when Jeonghyeok, who had approached beside him at some point, said.
“That’s the house we’re moving to.”
Yuwon was a little surprised and quickly turned his head to look at Jeonghyeok.
“The house we’re moving to? This place?”
Wondering if he had seen something wrong, Yuwon looked through the file folder again. But just as he had seen before, the building was three stories, and there were many rooms and bathrooms.
“It’s a detached house, and it’s in a place with good air. If you see it in person, you’ll definitely like it too.”
It was this spacious, and even a detached house in a place with good air. From what he heard, it didn’t seem to be in the city center.
Surely they weren’t going to an incredibly distant place.
Worry suddenly rushed in. Would he have to live like he was now, in a prison without bars, in a small village where no one knew him? His imagination flowed in an increasingly negative direction. It was inevitable given what Jeonghyeok had done.
But when Yuwon checked the house address written on the last page of the file, he soon let out a sigh of relief. Because the address started with “Gyeonggi-do.”
If it was Gyeonggi-do, there was no need to worry much. Public transportation ran well everywhere, and if he took a taxi, he could quickly return to Seoul.
Even if there was ever a need to run away, it would be sufficient……
Yuwon stopped the thought that had been continuing unconsciously. What am I thinking right now? How long has it been since I decided to stay with ajeossi?
Just as he was quietly biting his lower lip, Jeonghyeok’s voice was heard.
“There’s quite a large yard there too. You said you wanted to raise animals before. Let’s try raising some when we move.”
It was a tone as if he had thought of even this aspect for him. His upright gaze was sparkling with expectation for Yuwon’s reaction.
Unable to abandon that expectation, Yuwon quietly nodded. He tried hard to erase the thoughts that had filled his mind and gave a bright smile.
Dinner was white bean noodle soup with boiled eggs on top and cucumber kimchi that Yuwon had made himself.
After leisurely finishing their meal, the two finished organizing the remaining luggage. In fact, rather than organizing, it was a process of deciding what to throw away. The luggage organizing was finished only after filling two large garbage bags.
When they lay down on the bed, it was well past 11 PM. Yuwon, lying down looking at the ceiling, blinked his heavy eyes and said quietly.
“This is our last night in this house.”
“……That’s right.”
“Now that we’re actually leaving, I feel a bit regretful. We had many memories here.”
Looking back, his connection with Jeonghyeok had started in this place.
He had stayed the night drunk, then shamelessly came back again with the excuse of wanting to cook.
They had their first kiss, embraced, and started dating. When Cheolpan-jip disappeared, they had unexpectedly started living together.
“We can just make more memories in the next house.”
“……”
“I’ll only make good memories for you there. So……”
Jeonghyeok paused for a moment. The worry that had been circling in his head all day was still tormenting him.
Should I tell you honestly even now? That actually your biological parents came looking for you. That they want to meet you.
When did he go to the orphanage and shamelessly tell lies, Jeonghyeok was now regretting his actions.
Maybe he was taking away the opportunity to meet his parents forever. Even if he could hide this secret now, how long could he really hide it?
His head felt like it would burst. The guilt of having wronged Yuwon and the greed of not wanting to lose Yuwon clashed dozens of times a day.
“So, what?”
To Jeonghyeok, who had suddenly stopped speaking, Yuwon asked.
Looking at the clear eyes filled with puzzlement, Jeonghyeok pulled the blanket covering them a little higher and said.
“It’s nothing. Let’s sleep quickly. You’ll be tired tomorrow.”
He couldn’t bring himself to speak. Only the desperation of not wanting to lose Yuwon’s gaze toward him ever again filled his mind.
The conscience that remained even a speck had disappeared long ago. In the end, what won was the greed to monopolize Yuwon.
Jeonghyeok closed his eyes. He thought even the darkness where nothing could be seen was better.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
