The thought was terrifying. If that happened, Seunghyun would die like the original Jin Suhwan in the novel. Ironically, Suhwan still loved him. The thought of Seunghyun dying made his heart ache as if it were being squeezed.
No. That couldn’t happen. He couldn’t let Seunghyun die. It would have been better if he had just died in his role as the foreign entity from the beginning. Suhwan couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Seunghyun. A tear fell from his eye.
Click.
“…!”
At that moment, the door opened. Suhwan looked toward the doorway with a startled face. Seunghyun, who had entered the room, approached the bed.
“Hyung?”
And opened his eyes wide, as if surprised. Seunghyun asked in a low voice:
“Have you been crying all this time?”
“No, this is—”
Seunghyun’s face looking down at Suhwan had hardened. He seemed to think that Suhwan was crying out of the misery of being imprisoned. It was similar but somewhat different. He wasn’t crying out of despair or feeling miserable about his situation, but out of concern that something bad might happen to Seunghyun.
But he didn’t feel like correcting the misunderstanding. Rather, it seemed better that Seunghyun misunderstood. If he felt guilt, he might return to his former self. So Suhwan stopped mid-answer and just turned his head away. Seunghyun’s gaze persistently followed the tear that had fallen on his cheek.
“Hyung, look at me.”
“…I don’t want to.”
“Are you angry because I won’t let you go outside?”
“…”
Suhwan didn’t answer. Rather than being angry, he was sad, but he didn’t think Seunghyun would understand even if he said so. Besides, he knew instinctively that he shouldn’t hastily talk about his manifestation to a character. Of course, Seunghyun was more than just a character to him, but still, this was something he shouldn’t discuss.
“You haven’t eaten either.”
“…”
“Hyung, are you protesting now?”
What protest? As if you’d bat an eye even if I did. Suhwan swallowed those words and pouted. Hearing that made him feel a bit angry. At first, he had just been confused and scared, but after recognizing that Seunghyun’s role had changed, he seemed to be adapting.
And above all, unlike the original Jin Suhwan, he had faith that Seunghyun wouldn’t do anything too severe to him. If it had been the original Jin Suhwan, he would have flown into a rage at Seunghyun for not listening and not eating. He would have intimidated him and somehow forced him to eat, but Seunghyun didn’t show signs of doing that. So Suhwan could rebel against him a little.
“Eat your food.”
“I don’t want to.”
Though Suhwan couldn’t see it with his head turned away, Seunghyun’s face contorted at those words. Sharp pheromones that he hadn’t managed to control stabbed at Suhwan. This made Suhwan feel a bit anxious.
What would happen if he continued to refuse? Would Seunghyun do something frightening like the original Jin Suhwan? If so, could he endure it? He had said he trusted Seunghyun, but deep down, he was actually anxious. Suhwan gritted his teeth nervously.
“Hyung.”
Seunghyun reached out and caressed Suhwan’s cheek. If it had been the original Jin Suhwan, he would have forcibly twisted his chin to make him look at him. But Seunghyun didn’t do that. He just called him softly and gently wiped away his tears.
Why was he acting like this? After putting shackles on his ankle to prevent him from going outside. Yet his actions weren’t different from before. The discrepancy gave him chills.
“Alright. Don’t eat then.”
“…?”
It was unexpected. Suhwan turned his head in surprise. The face of Seunghyun, whom he had been avoiding, wore the same gentle smile as usual. And when he caught Suhwan’s gaze, he started to smile even more brightly. Seunghyun continued with a smiling face:
“If you don’t eat, I won’t eat either.”
“What?”
“If you don’t eat, I won’t eat, and if you don’t drink even a sip of water, I won’t drink either.”
“What are you saying…”
“It hurts my heart too much. Let’s just starve together, then.”
He couldn’t understand what Seunghyun was saying. Because he said he wouldn’t eat, Seunghyun would starve with him? Not even drink a sip of water?
Suhwan stared at Seunghyun, at a loss for words. It was hard to tell if he was joking or not.
Then, once again, the content of the original novel came to mind. It was the scene where the original Seunghyun had just been imprisoned by Jin Suhwan. At that time, Seunghyun, imprisoned and in despair, had also refused to eat. He wouldn’t even look at Jin Suhwan, whom he hated. What did Jin Suhwan do then…?
“…!”
He had threatened him. He threatened to harm Seunghyun’s friends and family if he didn’t eat. Seunghyun had no choice but to force himself to eat.
The current situation was somewhat similar but different. The threat for not eating wasn’t about harming people around him. It was a strange threat to harm Seunghyun himself. And ironically, when Suhwan thought that the threat might be genuine, his resolve began to waver.
“What… what nonsense is that.”
“If you can’t believe me, should I stay here with you all day? Not doing anything, not eating, just staying together. How about that?”
“Stop… saying such absurd things.”
Suhwan’s face turned pale. He wished it was a joke, but he could tell it wasn’t. The room was always kept warm with the heating on, but he felt cold and got goosebumps as if he were outside.
Although the focus was a bit off, Seunghyun’s actions were becoming increasingly similar to the original Jin Suhwan’s. After all, Jin Suhwan had been so obsessed with tormenting Seunghyun that he didn’t go to school for about a month. Frightened, Suhwan quickly spoke:
“I’ll eat. I’ll eat, so don’t starve yourself or anything.”
At that, Seunghyun’s face brightened even more.
“Yes, good thinking.”
Then he caressed the frightened Suhwan’s cheek and stood up. Suhwan gave him an anxious look.
“This has gotten cold, so I’ll bring fresh food.”
Seunghyun took the tray and left the room. Watching him leave, Suhwan lowered his head and heaved a deep sigh. Then he gripped the bed sheet tightly with one hand.
He knew this couldn’t continue, but he couldn’t do anything about it. The current Seunghyun seemed like he wouldn’t listen no matter what Suhwan said. Still, wouldn’t he return to his former self someday? But what if he never came back? What would happen then?
The imprisonment in the original novel ended in catastrophe. From the perspective of Seunghyun, the main character, it was salvation, while the original Jin Suhwan, who was the foreign entity, paid for his sins with death.
If he continued to be imprisoned like this, eventually someone would notice. The first to figure out something was wrong would be Hwalyeon, or perhaps Jaehyun, Seunghyun’s brother who was closer to him than anyone. One way or another, this matter would likely reach Hwalyeon’s ears.
Would he then be rescued by Hwalyeon, and would Seunghyun be quietly dealt with without anyone knowing? Cold sweat formed on Suhwan’s hand gripping the sheet. Even in this situation, Suhwan still worried about and loved Seunghyun. While he resented him, he also wished that not even a hair on his head would be harmed. Contradictory feelings collided within Suhwan.
“Did you wait long?”
Seunghyun entered the room holding a tray. He must have really cooked again as the side dishes on the tray were slightly different. Suhwan looked at the thoughtfully prepared meal with mixed feelings and reached out his hand.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
What is he going to say now? Suhwan stopped his hand at the quiet restraint and looked at Seunghyun with trembling eyes. Seunghyun smiled and spoke:
“I’ll feed you.”
“What?”
“I’ve always wanted to do this.”
Feed me? Suhwan stared at Seunghyun in confusion. Although there were shackles on his feet, his hands were fine, so he couldn’t understand why he needed to be fed by someone else when his hands were perfectly functional. And he couldn’t understand Seunghyun who said he wanted to do this either.
“I’ll just eat by myself.”
“No.”
“Why are you doing this?”
Suhwan became anxious again at Seunghyun’s increasingly incomprehensible behavior.
“I’ve decided not to hold back anymore. I want to do everything I’ve wanted to do with you.”
“Everything you wanted to do?”
“Yes.”
Seunghyun, holding a spoon, smiled brightly. Seeing this, Suhwan was once again at a loss for words.
Then was confining him in the room also something Seunghyun had wanted to do for a long time? He couldn’t gauge how much had gone wrong since he had manifested.
Suhwan looked at Seunghyun, who was scooping rice with a spoon and offering it to him, with complicated eyes, and then opened his lips.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Aish. Poor MC 😔.