#83
The next day, I was bedridden. It was the day I realized that having intense sexual intercourse for the first time in my life could be painful.
When I couldn’t move due to body aches as if I had been beaten all over, the one who panicked was Saheon hyung, who had to fly that afternoon.
He was listing nonsensical excuses like needing to take me to the hospital, using his annual leave, saying his mother was ill, or taking sick leave due to an upset stomach. I was the one comforting him instead.
“It’s okay, just go.”
When I spoke with a voice hoarse from screaming too much, Saheon hyung, who had completely abandoned yesterday’s attitude, fidgeted anxiously.
“If I leave now, I’ll be back on Friday, but how can I go… Ah, but Atlanta…”
Even as he spoke, his attitude suggested he had to go somewhere urgently. I encouraged and comforted hyung like a man.
“I’ll be better after sleeping for a day, so go quickly. You’ll be late.”
However, with poor timing, a fit of coughing erupted. Saheon hyung’s large hand stroked my forehead, which still had a slight fever. As I kept telling him to go, Saheon hyung seemed to have decided to go on his flight.
“Just rest well and make sure to contact me. Contact your professor and take a day off from school.”
My mumbled response that this level of body ache would get better if I just slept it off faded away as I fell asleep to his kind and warm touch.
EPILOGUE
Sweet Sugar Candyman
Click, click-click, click.
The sound of a four-digit passcode being slowly entered was heard. I, hovering on the hazy boundary between sleep and reality, slowly opened my eyes. It seemed I had fallen asleep at some point.
The room was pitch black. I could barely make out objects from the moonlight and lights from buildings. After being in pain with a low fever all morning, the fever seemed to have gone down after sleeping even a little.
As I had just woken up and couldn’t grasp the situation, I heard the number pad closing and then the sound of the doorknob turning. My mind suddenly cleared.
In the pitch-black night with no one but me, I involuntarily swallowed dry saliva at the appearance of a strange intruder entering the passcode. It was almost frightening. I sat up as quietly as possible. My muscles screamed in protest.
But the midnight intruder seemed to be a bit clumsy. There was a sound of slightly bumping into the entrance threshold, followed by a short groan of “Ah.”
It was a familiar voice. I, who had been on edge until the end, could feel a sense of relief washing over me at the call that finally came.
“Cheongmyeong?”
A familiar voice was heard from the entrance. Although it was a whispered, quiet voice, I could instantly tell who it was.
“…Hyung?”
A very hoarse response came out. I was uncertain. I was bewildered how hyung could come at this hour.
Hearing my response, the sound of socks brushing against the floor became a bit bolder. The presence approaching quickly opened the half-open door.
“Can I turn on the light?”
I heard a kind inquiry. I nodded, then realizing it couldn’t be seen in the pitch darkness, I answered verbally.
“Yes. You can turn it on.”
As soon as I gave permission, I heard the sound of fumbling for the switch, and then the light came on with a click. I furrowed my brow for a moment, dazzled by the sudden light. Chaehun hyung, who had been using his phone’s weak light as a flashlight, turned it off and put it in his pocket.
“Mungmung!”
At the cheerful call, I pressed down my messy bed hair and smiled brightly. Chaehun hyung also smiled widely and strode over. I hugged Chaehun hyung tightly as he approached with open arms. Hyung smelled warm and cozy.
Kwon Chaehun. The eldest brother, three years older than Saheon hyung, works in translation and interpretation for a German company, and was the real boyfriend of the woman I had mistaken for Saheon hyung’s girlfriend last time.
“Chaehun hyung…”
Perhaps because of the tension that dissolved as soon as the always kind and caring hyung arrived, I kept whining like a child.
Chaehun hyung, who had hugged me tightly and swayed side to side a few times, fixed my messy hair with a very worried face.
“Our Mungmung was sick? I came after hearing from Saheon that you had body aches and needed some nursing. Are you still in pain?”
“No. I’m much better now.”
In front of Chaehun hyung, I unconsciously spoke in a whining tone. Unlike Saheon hyung who always looked for ways to tease, Chaehun hyung always received me kindly, which might be why.
“How did you end up with body aches? I bought some porridge. Can you eat?”
“Yes. I can. I can.”
I twisted my body, but let out a small groan at the dull pain from behind and the muscle pain dominating my whole body. The muscle pain was severe. I pressed hard on the pain patch that had lost its effect. Chaehun hyung, noticing that I was groaning from muscle pain, started pressing hard on the pain patch along with me.
“Should hyung feed you?”
If Saheon hyung had said it, it would have been highly likely to tease me, but if it was Chaehun hyung speaking, it was 100% sincere concern. I shook my head.
“No. I’ll eat by myself. But what about your work, hyung?”
“I arranged to work on Saturday and take a break until tomorrow.”
Although the foreign company hyung works for has a clause that you just need to work a certain number of hours per week regardless of the day off, I couldn’t help feeling sorry that he had to work on the weekend because of me. I apologized in a small voice.
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. How could I not come when our Mungmung is sick? I wanted to do this. Are you not hungry? Should I heat up the porridge?”
Chaehun hyung asked worriedly. Now that he mentioned it, I did feel hungry. I had been so focused on the throbbing sensation all day that I hadn’t noticed.
“I’m hungry.”
“Then I’ll heat it up and bring it. Wait just a bit. I’ll need to borrow some of Saheon’s clothes.”
Chaehun hyung, muttering to himself, got up with a rustling plastic bag. I hadn’t realized it, but it seemed he had bought porridge. I obediently leaned against the bed headboard and started waiting for hyung.
The bed, although mine, felt a bit hard from lack of use. It was also a bit awkward. That’s because I had been sleeping in Saheon hyung’s bed almost every day.
But there was something a bit puzzling. I think I was in hyung’s bed when I fell asleep like I had fainted last night, but when did I return to my bed? The question was soon answered.
Chaehun hyung, who returned wearing Saheon’s clothes and carrying the heated porridge on a tray, sat down next to me with a more relaxed face.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t buy anything else. But does Saheon live without doing laundry? The bed cover was all stripped off.”
“Re…ally? Ah, yesterday something, something, something must have spilled.”
I, lacking talent in lying, wracked my brain to make an excuse. My face heated up. It was obvious that hyung’s bed cover being stripped was because of me. Fortunately, hyung didn’t seem suspicious, but his next words were like a bomb.
“Is that so? Should hyung start the washing machine?”
“No. I’ll do it. Please let me do it…”
I urgently stopped hyung. However, Chaehun hyung smiled kindly and gently pinched my nose.
“What can a sick person do? Just eat your porridge.”
Chaehun hyung, who could be firm when needed despite his kindness, got up. Suddenly, the porridge in front of me looked like a thorny meal. I had to watch Chaehun hyung’s back as he went to the laundry room with an awkward smile.
My face turned bright red. I was embarrassed by the fact that Chaehun hyung might see that I, at this age, had made such a mess.
I nervously clinked the spoon, and eventually followed after Chaehun hyung. It was certain that Saheon hyung, who lacked talent in tidying up, would have left something behind.
But I soon ran into Chaehun hyung. Chaehun hyung put on a deliberately stern expression. Although he naturally had a neat appearance, and the round glasses Chaehun hyung was wearing made his impression seem even softer compared to Saheon hyung, when he made such an expression, it showed that they were brothers.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“I, I was trying to do the laundry…”
“It was already done? I didn’t see it in the living room because it was dark.”
Suddenly, it felt like something that had been choking me went down. I had to try not to smile too broadly in relief.
“Re, really? I see…”
“Now, sick people should go and eat first.”
Chaehun hyung pushed my back. A sharp pain shot up from where his hand touched my back. I closed my eyes tightly, letting out a small groan of “Ugh.”
“Ah, that’s right. I’m sorry. You had body aches. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
I quickly blinked away the moisture that had almost formed in my eyes. I resolved to extract a promise from Saheon hyung not to have sex for a year when he returns from Atlanta.
After eating the porridge Chaehun hyung had bought, drowsiness came over me again. It was strange that I felt sleepy again after sleeping so much.
Chaehun hyung, sitting on the edge of the bed, stroked my hair. It felt like I had returned to my childhood. The familiar touch of hyung made the drowsiness come even faster.
“Should I change your pain patches? I bought some.”
As I groaned and couldn’t get up, the edges of the patches Saheon hyung had hurriedly applied were fraying. Their effectiveness was also wearing off, and I had no strength to move, so I quietly nodded. Chaehun hyung darkened the room by turning on only the mood light, then rustled in the bag again to take out the pain patches.
“Take off your top clothes. Where does it hurt?”
“My back… waist. Arms.”
Not daring to say my buttocks and thighs hurt, I reduced the areas I mentioned. Chaehun hyung’s hands touched my top. After lightly pulling off my clothes, Chaehun hyung seemed to send a momentarily confused look.
But I wasn’t certain. When I opened my drowsy eyes to look at Chaehun hyung, he was smiling kindly and peeling off the attached patches one by one.
“Did it hurt a lot? Does it hurt here?”
“Yes. There… Ah!”
When Chaehun hyung pressed hard on the painful area, a stinging sensation rose. Chaehun hyung quickly removed his hand and apologized.
“I’m sorry. So I should put them on your arms here, and where the patches were before, right?”
“Yes.”
Chaehun hyung started applying the patches with even more careful hands than before. The cool sensation on the areas where the effectiveness had worn off seemed to alleviate the muscle pain a bit. Maybe I could go back to school tomorrow. Thinking like a teacher’s son, I closed my eyes for a moment.
Drowsiness came over me. It seemed to be due to the kind touch and the cool sensation of pain being relieved. My consciousness gradually blurred.
Chaehun hyung used up a whole pack of patches he had brought, applying them to my body. I could feel the sensation of them stuck thickly, mainly on my back and waist. Thanks to the kind and familiar touch, I was already half asleep. Hyung, who had finished applying the patches, shook me lightly.
“Mungmung. You should put on clothes before sleeping.”
“Okay…”
I answered that I understood, but my eyes, which had already crossed far into the boundary of sleep, showed no signs of opening. Chaehun hyung laughed softly, then, seeming to give up on dressing me, wrapped my body tightly in a blanket.
Eventually, the mood light was turned off, and I felt Chaehun hyung settling down next to me. Hyung stretched out his arm like a pillow and lightly hugged me. It was as cozy as being in my parents’ arms. I snuggled even closer to Chaehun hyung.
“Our Mungmung. Sleep well.”
Chaehun hyung’s hand lightly patted my cheek. At the pleasant feeling different from Saheon hyung, I mumbled a response. Chaehun hyung laughed softly again. Kneading my cheek like a mother bird caring for a baby bird, hyung asked,
“Mungmung, do you have a girlfriend?”
“…Yes…”
I answered roughly. Chaehun hyung asked, sounding a bit worried,
“What type is she? What kind of person?”
“…Saheon… hyung…”
Perhaps because of the sleepiness and the comfort of being in Chaehun hyung’s arms, the truth slipped out easily. Even after saying it, I felt it was a mistake, but in my sleep-dominated mind, it didn’t seem that important. There was also a part of me that thought it would be okay if it was Chaehun hyung.
“You mean someone like Saheon? Are you saying there’s another person like that in this world…?”
Chaehun hyung muttered as if he couldn’t imagine it. Since it was close to the correct answer, I mumbled something and roughly finished my answer. Chaehun hyung talked to himself,
“Seems like a very intense type…”
Hyung’s palm gently caressed the areas where the patches were applied. With the caring touch, falling into sleep was instantaneous. I fell asleep so quickly that I didn’t even realize when I had dozed off.
