#15
He had run so much that his hair was soaked with sweat and completely flattened. But that wasn’t all. His coat and cotton pants were not only wet but the fabric around his knees was torn. Most noticeable was the wound covering one side of his fine face.
As soon as Tae-rim saw the scratched face, his jaw tensed. Just by looking at his current state, Tae-rim could piece together what had happened, and amid it all, he sighed deeply upon discovering the bouquet Ha-min had brought.
“…This is really unbelievable.”
What’s the big deal?
Going to such lengths just to prepare something special…
“I wanted to contact you earlier… but my battery suddenly died… I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly today.”
“…”
“Did you, did you order something to eat? You must be hungry… I’m really sorry…”
Ha-min bowed his head deeply like a criminal. Even in that state, he acted apologetically like he had committed a crime. Tae-rim felt a heaviness in his chest and let out a faint groan. Whenever he saw Ha-min like this, he felt a stinging in his lower abdomen and his insides churning like rough waves. His fingertips would tremble when Ha-min’s blind affection for him was so plainly evident.
“…Did you buy this for me?”
Tae-rim quietly asked as he took the disheveled bouquet that had been carried during Ha-min’s rush. The corners of his mouth hardened slightly, but he forced a smile.
“Yes… I was in such a hurry… the shape got a bit messy…”
Ha-min hurriedly straightened a few bent flowers and rearranged the disheveled bouquet. Tae-rim’s eyes wavered affectionately as he watched Ha-min’s flustered movements.
“It’s beautiful.”
“…”
“And it smells nice.”
Tae-rim took back the bouquet, buried his face in it, and smiled brightly.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“…It was prettier when I first received it…”
Ha-min fidgeted awkwardly, expressing his disappointment.
“…Because it’s your birthday today, I really… wanted to do something special for you…”
Ha-min’s voice trailed off, unable to hide his overwhelming emotions as he recalled the difficult day. Nothing had gone right. The restaurant he had reserved a month in advance was about to close, the expensive bouquet was a mess from running, and he had kept the birthday person waiting for over an hour and a half.
It was a complete failure. He had totally ruined it. Ha-min felt a surge of disappointment. Today had been so unfair that his lower lip trembled.
“…I’m sorry, hyung…”
“…”
“Today, I really… really wanted to make it… special for you…”
Ha-min bit his trembling lips hard and continued to ramble.
“Making you wait and all…”
“…”
“And your birthday is almost over…”
He had so much planned for tonight. Dining in a nice place, sharing wine, putting couple rings on each other’s fingers, then returning home to have a conversation in the cozy living room and cutting the cake before midnight.
But there was hardly any time left until midnight, and he hadn’t even picked up the cake he had ordered. He really wanted to cry. He had rarely cried in his life, but he felt like tears would burst out from frustration.
“Really…”
Tae-rim’s quiet voice resonated lowly toward Ha-min, who couldn’t control his emotions due to frustration, anger, and sadness. When a low laugh followed, as if in disbelief, Ha-min’s eyes trembled anxiously, wondering if he was angry.
“How can you.”
“…”
“Be exactly the same after all these years.”
Clear eyes with a hint of moisture stared blankly at Tae-rim.
“Apologizing for every little thing.”
“…”
“Dying of love for me like this.”
Ha-min’s pupils gradually dilated. It was true, but hearing it directly from his mouth made him feel like his inner feelings had been completely exposed.
“Wh-what…”
He muttered quietly and reached out his hand toward Ha-min, who was still fidgeting. Ha-min, startled by the sudden approach, looked down stupidly at the large, beautiful hand.
“Don’t you have something else?”
Tae-rim added a word at Ha-min’s hesitation. Ha-min looked up at him again with a startled face.
“Give it to me quickly.”
“…”
“I’m dying of anticipation.”
Tae-rim continued gently, wanting to acknowledge what he had been working so hard for all day. Ha-min swallowed dryly with a tense face. Then, he very carefully took out a case that had been carefully stored in his inner coat pocket.
“…You knew?”
When he asked timidly while holding the case, Tae-rim rested his chin on his hand and smiled crookedly.
“No? I didn’t know.”
Tae-rim answered like a sly fox, shaking his outstretched hand slightly as if urging him.
“…Liar.”
When Ha-min replied sulkily, Tae-rim shrugged with his usual relaxed face.
“I wanted to surprise you…”
“You definitely couldn’t have.”
At the firm answer, Ha-min’s head tilted momentarily in confusion. Tae-rim tapped Ha-min’s fingers with his outstretched hand, playing a secretive game.
“All my attention is on you.”
“…”
“It’s not easy to do something behind my back.”
He who had been touching Ha-min’s hand, gently scratched Ha-min’s soft palm with his smooth fingers and smiled seductively.
“…Hyung, you didn’t even know it was your birthday.”
“I figured you’d give it to me someday. I noticed you secretly fiddling with my fingers whenever I was asleep.”
“…So you knew.”
The trouble Ha-min went through to find out his ring finger size was truly indescribable. Since he was always the first to fall asleep, waiting for Tae-rim to fall asleep first was not at all easy. On days they had sex, he would pass out before him, and Tae-rim had a habit of watching him sleep.
One day, curious about what he did while he was sleeping, he pretended to sleep and waited. Tae-rim would carefully stroke the scar on his wrist while watching him from the side. He would gently stroke and caress it, then embrace him, or conversely, pull him into an embrace. It was an action that revealed deep affection.
Just waiting secretly for him to fall asleep made his nose tingle without even realizing it. Because of that, he had to squeeze his eyes shut tighter and concentrate more on pretending to sleep so as not to be caught awake.
Then once, when he suddenly woke up at dawn, thinking it was an opportunity, he tried to gently measure the size, but due to Tae-rim’s acute hearing and sensitive nature, even slightly touching his hand was never easy.
“I’m telling you, there’s nothing I don’t know about you.”
Tae-rim replied with a slick smile. It was a subtle feeling, disappointing yet not unpleasant.
“…Really, I wanted to surprise you.”
Ha-min pouted his lips briefly before gently opening the case he had been holding tightly. Inside the case was a pair of white gold couple rings placed side by side. Without a single fingerprint, they gleamed beautifully. They were the brand’s signature model rings, but wanting to add a bit more emphasis, he had added small diamonds to the quattro-shaped band. It was the biggest expenditure of his life, but he had never felt so proud.
Of course, saving money while balancing studies and work wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t extremely difficult either. From the beginning, he could take care of all his basic needs at Tae-rim’s home, and his tuition was fully covered by scholarships, so there weren’t really any expenses besides the small amount of living expenses he used. On top of that, Tae-rim had already given him three cards to use even for those living expenses.
“…What do you think?”
Ha-min asked carefully with a deliberately tense face. No matter how expensive they were, they were cheaper than one of his dress shirts. He had also thought that no matter what gift he gave, it might not excite him. Still, since it was from him, he was secretly hoping that Tae-rim would like it at least a little.
“What are you doing?”
He looked directly at Ha-min, not at the rings.
“Huh?”
“It’s an engagement ring. Aren’t you going to put it on me?”
At his casual remark, Ha-min’s eyes immediately widened.
“En-en-en… engagement… ring? No, it’s… just a couple ring…”
Ha-min stuttered with a face that quickly turned hot.
“Really?”
“…Yes. Just a couple ring…”
“I was planning to tell everyone it’s an engagement ring.”
“…”
“Is that not okay?”
Tae-rim asked persistently, staring intently at Ha-min with a smiling face. Under the gaze that felt like silent pressure, Ha-min couldn’t hide his embarrassed face and hesitantly opened his mouth slowly.
“…It’s not that it’s not okay…”
He couldn’t bring himself to say no, and it was awkward to say he didn’t mind. It was always difficult to keep up with his thoughts that were always one step ahead. He was still immature and naive, so everything was still embarrassing.
“Put it on quickly.”
Tae-rim took it as agreement in his own way and urged him.
Ha-min, still feeling tense, rubbed his sweaty palms and gently slipped the slightly larger ring onto his ring finger. As expected, it suited him perfectly. The most difficult part about choosing the ring was that any design seemed like it would suit him, making it hard to choose. His hands were large with moderately thick joints, but unlike typical male hands, they were fair and smooth. Every time he saw them, he thought they were truly beautiful hands.
“Beautiful…”
Ha-min admired the sight as if mesmerized. It was so beautiful that it made his heart tickle. He couldn’t help but smile shyly.
Tae-rim quietly looked down at Ha-min, who was smiling with satisfaction. The damp clothes, still wet hair, wounded face. Ha-min, who was looking so happily at his ringed hand despite being in such a battered state, appeared both poignant and pitiful, regrettable yet lovable. He had the happiest face in the world, as if putting a ring on Tae-rim’s hand was such a joy.
“…Do you like it?”
Ha-min asked once more, subtly. Tae-rim nodded, smiling back.
“Very much.”
“…”
“I like it very much.”
“…”
“My heart feels like it’s going to burst.”
Tae-rim spoke pleasant words casually with a gentle smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
