#52
His mind felt so entangled that if possible, he wished this moment would continue forever.
All this time, Hyun-oh had consciously made an effort not to touch Eunsol. Perhaps he had foreseen a moment like this.
Since the day Eunsol had experienced his unexpected heat cycle, Hyun-oh had been troubled multiple times by memories that intruded into his daily life.
From the face that had been so pale it turned rosy red, to his especially reddened eyes and the black eyes filled with tears. Even the skin that was softer than he had expected.
When he recalled the clumsy responses that seemed to tell him he was Eunsol’s first, he had to feel a childish sense of conquest.
None of it was familiar.
With others, once he relieved the desire built up during their physical union, that was it. Never before had he dwelled on what had happened after the act was over.
Hyun-oh was annoyed at his own unfamiliar behavior. That’s why he chose to avoid Eunsol, who made him feel these confusing emotions.
“Hyun-oh…”
But even that came to an end today, due to Eunsol’s clumsy seduction.
Though it was just his ordinary name, when called in Eunsol’s voice, it gave him a strange feeling. Especially in situations like this.
Unable to resist the impulse, Hyun-oh gently caressed Eunsol’s cheek. Eunsol, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut and desperately receiving the sensations being inflicted on him, slowly opened them.
Under the eyelashes soaked with tears, his eyes were as clear and black as a night sky without stars.
After blinking slowly a couple of times, Eunsol obediently closed his eyes. As if he would silently endure whatever Hyun-oh might do to him.
Hyun-oh’s jaw muscles tensed. Every time he saw Eunsol like this, ambivalent feelings boiled inside his chest.
At times he wanted to protect this pure image, but at other times he wanted to leave his marks all over Eunsol for everyone to see.
Hyun-oh buried the tip of his nose in the slender neck and inhaled deeply. The floral scent that tickled his nose and penetrated deep into his lungs made him feel as if his vision was sinking into a distant darkness, even with his eyes closed.
Hyun-oh finally decided to forget all complicated thoughts, at least for now.
* * *
Eunsol pulled up the shawl around his shoulders as he blankly stared at the drizzling rain outside. He couldn’t tell whether the summer rain was a sudden shower or a signal of the beginning of the rainy season.
The rain, which poured down heavily as if the sky had been torn open, continuously pounded on the large glass window.
Even though it was daytime, his gaze, which had been wandering among the cars driving with their headlights on, moved to the phone screen in his right hand.
The phone was still immersed in quiet darkness. As usual, it seemed there would be no reply today either. It had been nearly an hour since he had sent the message, and he felt a small pity for himself for not giving up and continuing to harbor faint hope.
His black eyes briefly scanned his faint reflection in the glass window before dropping downward.
“…He must be busy with work.”
As always, Eunsol defended Hyun-oh to himself in place of the reply that never came, and only then did he move his feet.
He sat on the living room sofa and hugged his knees.
“Ah…”
Then he bit his lip at the dull pain he felt from below. He recalled the dreamlike time from the previous night.
The night he had waited for Hyun-oh wearing sexy underwear, as Kang Ye-ryeong had advised was essential for newlyweds. Since that day, the relationship between Hyun-oh and Eunsol had changed to look like that of a normal married couple at a glance.
Hyun-oh, who had been going straight to bed when he came home due to his busy work, now reached out to Eunsol, and Eunsol accepted his touch as if he had been waiting for it.
By now, the days when Hyun-oh slept at home had become days when the two shared warmth together.
Last night was like that too. More than other nights, Hyun-oh had failed to control his strength and had gripped various parts of Eunsol’s body with strong force.
“…Should I apply some ointment?”
Looking at the distinct bruise marks on his thin wrist, Eunsol searched for the first aid kit. While he wanted these traces left by Hyun-oh to remain for a long time, he worried that Hyun-oh might frown upon seeing such an unsightly appearance.
He applied ointment good for bruises and clumsily wrapped bandages to cover the wounds.
This appearance wasn’t particularly pleasing either, but it seemed better than revealing the handprints left as bruises.
Zzzing- Zzzing-.
It was then that the phone he had placed on the living room table lit up and vibrated.
Eunsol’s face, which had been as gloomy as the overcast sky until just a moment ago, brightened like the sky after the dark clouds had cleared.
But the moment he saw the name that appeared on the screen, deep disappointment flashed across his eyes. Eunsol tapped his cheeks lightly to relax his rigid expression, though no one was watching, and picked up the phone.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Why didn’t you tell me today is your birthday?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Eunsol’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. It was then that his gaze went to the electronic calendar on the living room table. The number that appeared was familiar.
October 11th. Today was Eunsol’s birthday. Out of the 365 days of the past years that no one had celebrated, just a day that was a little more depressing than the others.
Eunsol let out a surprised breath at Kang Ye-ryeong’s unexpected question. He fidgeted with the phone in both hands as if Kang Ye-ryeong were sitting in front of him.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have come to Paris.”
Eunsol’s eyebrows drooped at the upset voice coming through the phone.
It had never occurred to him that he should inform anyone of his birthday. Every time there was an event in the household celebrating his half-brother’s birthday as if it were the most important day of the year, Eunsol had also harbored a small question.
‘Why doesn’t anyone congratulate me on my birthday?’
But even in his young mind, he instinctively knew that any answer to that question would only hurt him.
Because of this, Eunsol had consciously tried to forget his own birthday, treating it like any other ordinary day.
“It’s the first birthday of my daughter-in-law after marriage, and as your mother-in-law, I can’t even celebrate it. I’m so upset.”
Feeling as if he had committed a grave mistake, Eunsol hurriedly stood up from the sofa, only to sit back down with a suppressed groan.
“Are you sick somewhere? Your voice doesn’t sound good at all.”
“Ah, no. I just bumped my knee when I got up too quickly.”
It wasn’t something he could honestly discuss. Even if Kang Ye-ryeong had guessed that Eunsol and Hyun-oh had quite frequent marital relations, it was too embarrassing a topic to speak about openly.
“You should be more careful. Anyway, I sent a cake to your home. Light some candles with Hyun-oh.”
Eunsol’s eyes, which had widened in surprise, softened. It was such a beautiful smile that anyone who saw it would curve their lips along with it.
“Yes, I will. Thank you, Mother.”
It was attention and affection he had never felt even from his birth parents.
The end of Eunsol’s voice trembled, wet with emotion. Sometimes he wondered what great deed he had done in his past life to meet such a mother-in-law.
“Alright. I’ll be back in Korea around Hyun-oh’s birthday, so let’s see each other then.”
“Yes.”
Even after the call ended, Eunsol blinked at the phone without putting it down. Come to think of it, Hyun-oh’s birthday was just around the corner.
The reason Eunsol hadn’t thought more about his own birthday was because all his attention had been focused on Hyun-oh’s upcoming birthday.
Every year, Hyun-oh held a birthday party and invited his close acquaintances. This was a schedule that Song Do-ye had informed him of as this month’s main event, and Eunsol had been continuously pondering what gift to give to Hyun-oh.
“Our birthdays are in the same month.”
It was a fact he hadn’t realized until now.
October 21st. Hyun-oh’s birthday. Even though it was just learning that their birthdays were in the same month, a faint smile spread across Eunsol’s lips.
* * *
“It’s really big.”
Eunsol looked with curious eyes at the cake box placed in the middle of the table. It had been delivered to Eunsol’s home thirty minutes earlier by one of Kang Ye-ryeong’s assistants.
To exaggerate a little, the cake was as big as Eunsol’s upper body.
The magnificent three-tier cake visible through the transparent packaging was impressive. On a base of pure white cream, pale lilies of the valley bloomed here and there, crafted with light blue cream.
When he brought his face close to the box, a sweet scent tickled his nose.
“Happy birthday, my daughter-in-law.”
Eunsol’s voice echoed higher than usual, like a child who had received a longed-for gift, as he read the message written on the card placed beneath the box.
“…I hope he comes home early today.”
After receiving the call from Kang Ye-ryeong, his round eyes, which occasionally glanced at the blackened phone screen, rippled with a small excitement.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
