#127
Though he couldn’t help but frown at the broken watch, there was no one to blame… It was clearly Jaeha who had done this. With the man wearing the watch getting beaten and stomped like that, there was no way the watch could have survived unscathed.
[I found this for you, so give me a kiss.]
Eunhong’s mouth gaped open when he read the card. Without realizing it, his defenses dropped and he smiled. His heart tickled with emotion. Eunhong unconsciously turned the card over and burst out laughing.
[I knew you’d turn it over. I left the watch as is because I want us to get it repaired together.]
The handwriting was neat and tidy, just like its owner. Imagining Jaeha sitting beside him as he slept, carefully writing each character, made his heart vibrate with warmth.
I’ll definitely give him a hug when I find him.
The hurt feelings from their fight over misunderstandings and lies had vanished like they’d been washed away by their shared emotions, and now only pure sincerity remained visible. Eunhong shrugged his shoulders, feeling tickled by the consistent affection Jaeha had shown him. The same was true of the fluffy slippers neatly placed at the foot of the bed for him to wear. The warm softness enveloping his toes represented the quiet affection Jaeha showed him.
However, when Eunhong opened the door and stepped out with this warm feeling in his heart, he was greeted by someone completely unexpected.
Lee Jaeseong was comfortably seated in the prime spot of the large D-shaped sofa arrangement in the middle of the living room. She had been reading something on a tablet, but when she heard the door open and close, she looked up. Seeing Eunhong’s surprised face, she smiled mischievously, her face a perfect copy of Jaeha’s.
“Hello, Eunhong.”
Question: After having passionate sex with your lover, the next morning, as soon as you leave the bed, choose the person you absolutely don’t want to meet, someone you shouldn’t meet.
Mom
Lover’s sister.
Answer: 2. Lover’s sister. Eunhong immediately turned around and went back into the room.
After pacing in the room for a few minutes, he considered contacting Jaeha, but there was no phone, tablet, or laptop in the room. Restless, Eunhong eventually squeezed his eyes shut and left the room again. He knew that resisting would only aggravate Jaeseong.
“…Hello, noona.”
At his long-delayed greeting, Jaeseong raised her eyebrows sharply. As Eunhong was about to move, thinking of preparing coffee, Jaeseong beat him to it.
“How are you feeling? Are you okay? Come sit here.”
“Uh… yes…”
Jaeseong turned off the tablet she’d been looking at, placed it on her lap, and stared at Eunhong. Though her gaze was full of kindness, Eunhong awkwardly avoided eye contact. As he hesitantly approached and sat down, she immediately spoke with concern.
“You look fine, but everyone struggles at first. If anything feels strange, you need to be honest about it.”
“Yes… yesss…”
Sometimes… no, almost every time since his manifestation, he found it hard to keep up with the direct communication style of Type 2 individuals. Knowing what she meant by asking about his physical condition made his insides burn. Eunhong scratched his quickly warming cheeks.
“I sent Jaeha to Jeju Island for a business trip. There was an important meeting.”
“Without telling me? When… this morning?”
As if forgetting his earlier awkwardness, Eunhong raised his eyebrows with wide eyes, and Jaeseong let out a heavy sigh.
“You slept for four days straight, only in bed. Check the date.”
“……”
Eunhong looked in the direction Jaeseong pointed and his mouth fell open. The day displayed on the digital clock on the living room wall was far beyond what he remembered. The doctor’s prediction that he would suffer for about a week was roughly accurate.
What he thought was “last night’s” heat cycle had actually been several nights ago. The hazy memories of being held by Jaeha and being fed something weren’t dreams but reality. Watching Eunhong, Jaeseong smiled gently and continued.
“Jaeha watched over you the whole time and left reluctantly. Instead, he posted me as a guard here. I was quite exasperated.”
“A guard?”
“He told me to take you to the hospital when you came to your senses. Professor Choi came to administer medication every day, but Jaeha stubbornly insisted, and who can win against that temper.”
Jaeseong stood up abruptly and urged Eunhong.
“Now that you’re awake, let’s go quickly. Change your clothes and get ready.”
After hearing he’d been lying down for four days, Eunhong realized he felt hungry. As he stood up with a dazed expression, rubbing his stomach, Jaeseong suddenly clapped her hands as if just remembering something.
“Ah, what’s wrong with me? He told me to feed you porridge when you woke up. Understand? Noona has never taken care of anyone before.”
Lee Jaeseong was as bustling as her hasty personality. When Eunhong tried to step in to heat the food since she didn’t even know where the microwave was, she barked at him to sit still, just like her brother would have done. Jaeseong nearly dropped the heated porridge bowl when she tried to pick it up with her bare hands, and only then did she allow Eunhong’s intervention.
Sitting across from the person eating and quietly watching also seemed to be a sibling trait. Used to such gazes, Eunhong didn’t mind and shoveled the porridge in. As if to prove his condition wasn’t bad, he took large mouthfuls and diligently ate the side dishes.
“By the way, congratulations.”
Eunhong looked up at the sudden congratulations offered while she watched him.
“For what?”
“You cutely entered that competition?”
Jaeseong jumped up and brought over the tablet from the sofa table.
“If you needed pocket money, you should have just said so. What were you planning to do with 100 million won that you pulled such a cute stunt? Anyway, with Jaeha always going on about ‘Bunhong this, Bunhong that’ and patting your butt, you really act just like Bunhong would.”
Eunhong’s eyes rounded. He had almost completely forgotten about the competition. The tablet Jaeseong handed him displayed a list of winners, and right at the top was his name, or rather, his pen name, proudly displayed. Jaeseong smirked at Eunhong, who couldn’t hide his joy, his cheeks twitching.
“I’ll pay the taxes for you. I’ll make sure you get exactly 100 million won in your account.”
“Noona…”
Though he’d only eaten porridge, his throat felt choked, and Eunhong spoke with a muffled voice.
“They haven’t made a public announcement yet, so it’s a secret.”
Recalling his days as a beta, Eunhong remembered why he had been so fixated on this competition. Looking back, Jaeha had never once distanced himself, yet Eunhong had struggled to close a gap that didn’t exist, fearing something formless. He had extended his fist in sorrow, accusing Jaeha of not trusting him, but perhaps he hadn’t trusted himself either.
They had both been equally anxious about losing each other. Such feelings would probably surge up from time to time in the future, but he shouldn’t repeat the same foolish mistakes. Perhaps someday, he would finally believe that Jaeha loved him completely exposed, with all his flaws.
Jaeha’s condition for going on the business trip was that Lee Jaeseong would personally take Eunhong to the hospital for a complete examination, from head to toe. The specialized medical center for manifestation types, where Professor Choi was partially involved, was quite far from home, so Jaeseong hurried Eunhong as soon as he put down his spoon, nagging about how valuable her time was.
It was almost embarrassing to think that she had quietly waited until he woke up after sufficient rest. Eunhong quickly changed into comfortable clothes and, as he was leaving the dressing room, turned back to grab the black smartwatch that was placed on one side.
“Shall I buy you a nice watch?”
Watching him put the black watch on his wrist in the passenger seat, Jaeseong clicked her tongue. Her deeply furrowed brow suggested it was quite below her taste. Eunhong smiled broadly, raising his round cheeks.
“No thanks. I need to wear this so Jaeha can feel at ease.”
“…Huh.”
Jaeseong turned the steering wheel with an expression of someone who had been hit hard. Birds of a feather… She shook her head disapprovingly.
The hospital was quite far from home, and Eunhong ended up dozing off again in the passenger seat. When they arrived and he hurriedly woke up, apologizing, she simply handed him a handkerchief, telling him to wipe his drool.
Dragged in by Jaeseong’s hand, Eunhong spent the entire day undergoing examinations on every part of his body. Exaggerating slightly, it felt like they even examined the tips of his hair. While he was being led on a tour of examination rooms by nurses and an attending secretary, Lee Jaeseong disappeared somewhere. By the time he had obediently completed all the examinations, time had passed, and it was getting dark outside the window.
“Thank you.”
“Ice vanilla latte with extra caramel syrup, right?”
The attending secretary volunteered to deliver a drink to Eunhong, who was sitting alone in the empty hospital room. She had double-checked the order when taking it and confirmed it again when handing it over. Eunhong sucked a mouthful through the straw and nodded, confirming it was correct.
“You must like sweet things.”
“I used to not be able to eat them well… but lately I’ve become desensitized to sweetness.”
Maybe it’s because of Jaeha’s pheromones, but there’s often a sweet taste in his mouth. He wondered if his taste buds were becoming strange… He should ask the doctor about this too when they arrived. As Eunhong was mentally organizing questions to ask, the hospital room door opened, and an unexpected figure appeared.
“Please, sit comfortably.”
When Eunhong jumped up to bow in greeting, Chairman Lee waved his hand to stop him. Noticing that he looked more tired than before, Eunhong faced him with a concerned expression. Chairman Lee asked Jaeseong, who had followed beside him, if she had fed Eunhong lunch, and when she replied that he had eaten porridge, he scolded her, saying that wasn’t enough.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
