ACTSV chapter 37

Jinwoo used the fan to circulate the air and took out the pot from the sink, drying it before putting it in a black trash bag.

It could have been cleaned using various methods, but since Jingyeom scrubbed it hard with a steel wool pad instead of a regular one, it was pointless.

“Jinwoo, do you want anything to eat? Should I buy something from the market?”

Peeking through the front door, Jingyeom looked very apologetic.

Jinwoo placed the bag with the pot next to the trash can and stood in front of Jingyeom.

He reached out and gently patted Jingyeom’s small head, as if handling a piece of glass that could shatter with a little more force.

He felt sorry, thinking how much Jingyeom must have wanted to eat tteokbokki to cook it himself, even cutting his finger in the process.

Usually, he tried not to make anything too spicy. He hadn’t always been this restrictive, but with an upcoming surgery, he was being more thorough.

‘These days, he’s been eating well without being picky.’

Previously, he didn’t show much interest in food, but lately, he seemed to want to eat more, which made Jinwoo more concerned.

“I’ll make tteokbokki after I finish cleaning. But instead of the spicy kind, I’ll make soy sauce tteokbokki.”

“Tteokbokki needs to be made with gochujang (red chili paste)!”

“No spicy food.”

At Jinwoo’s firm words, Jingyeom’s lower lip pouted. He was following a diet for his health, but every time he couldn’t eat something, he felt disappointed.

Moreover, he had been eagerly making tteokbokki to eat with Jinwoo, so it was even more disappointing that it turned out to be a mess.

“What can I eat if I can’t have this or that?”

The hand patting his head paused. Although Jingyeom mumbled like a baby babbling, Jinwoo couldn’t help but hear him.

Since his heart surgery, Baek Jingyeom had to live a different life from others.

That didn’t mean he was a greenhouse plant.

While Jinwoo now doted on him to the point where he couldn’t do anything, Jingyeom had to do everything himself when he was alone at home as a child.

He had to manage his diet and exercise himself, making great efforts to maintain his immunity. Jinwoo was also familiar with this side of him.

Jinwoo suddenly thought that Jingyeom’s obsession with food might be because he lost his memory.

He wondered if Jingyeom was trying to eat all the things he couldn’t before. Perhaps this was an opportunity for him to express all his suppressed desires.

Jinwoo felt a sudden wave of pity for Jingyeom.

“……”

“I was just saying……”

Jingyeom, sensing Jinwoo’s continued silence, quickly retracted his complaint.

He felt bad for making Jinwoo worry about something he couldn’t change.

“I’m fine with soy sauce tteokbokki. Just put a lot of fish cakes in it.”

“……If you want gochujang tteokbokki, I can make it for you. But it will be lightly seasoned.”

Jingyeom’s mouth slowly opened in surprise. Lightly seasoned gochujang tteokbokki? It felt almost like an insult.

But he couldn’t complain. He knew Jinwoo was doing this not for himself, but for Jingyeom.

After cleaning up, they went to the market to buy ingredients for soy sauce tteokbokki.

The recipe Jinwoo found online was for royal court tteokbokki. Unlike what Jingyeom had in mind, it was a traditional tteokbokki.

It wasn’t just replacing gochujang with soy sauce; the ingredients were different too. Well-marinated mushrooms and even a small amount of meat were included.

Watching Jingyeom eat happily, Jinwoo smiled contentedly.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! It’s really good. Aren’t you eating?”

“You eat a lot. Chew thoroughly.”

“You must be hungry. Eat some.”

Jingyeom brought a fork with rice cake to Jinwoo’s lips.

When Jinwoo didn’t open his mouth, Jingyeom nudged his lips with it.

“Ah.”

At the urging sound, Jinwoo slowly opened his mouth. Unintentionally, he took a bite of the rice cake.

While he had eaten with Jingyeom or fed him before, this was the first time he had accepted food from him.

Even before Jingyeom lost his memory, this hadn’t happened.

“Why? Don’t you want to eat? Then don’t force yourself and spit it out.”

When Jingyeom held out his palm, Jinwoo shook his head with a faint smile.

Even if it didn’t taste good, he could eat anything Jingyeom gave him.

Jinwoo took Jingyeom’s pale hand, which was near his chin, and pulled it down. The loosely attached bandages were noticeable.

He would have to replace them after the meal to prevent them from coming off.

“It’s your cooking, so it’s delicious, right?”

“Yeah. It is.”

The soy sauce tteokbokki was delicious. At first, it seemed like a lot, but it disappeared quickly.

After eating his fill, Jingyeom helped clean up and then lay down on the living room floor.

Jinwoo had said not to lie down immediately after eating, but he was too tired to move.

He was exhausted after walking around outside for a long time without proper rest.

“Digest a bit before lying down.”

“I’ll get up after lying down for a bit.”

“Hyung……”

Previously, he wouldn’t lie down immediately because it would make him uncomfortable. So, seeing him like this was still something Jinwoo couldn’t get used to.

When Jingyeom kept lying down, Jinwoo, having finished the dishes, approached and pulled Jingyeom’s limp arms up.

His actions showed a strong determination to get him up, even if by force.

Even though Jingyeom had been eating well recently, his thin build hadn’t changed. His arms were still too skinny.

Despite Jingyeom trying to resist by tensing his body, he was quickly pulled up to a sitting position. With a blank face, he blinked his eyes. The importance of size difference became evident.

“I’m full, so I’m sleepy.”

“Stay up a bit longer before sleeping. Or do you want to go for a walk with me? You’ll have indigestion if you sleep right away. Remember the last time?”

Jinwoo was referring to the day they had eaten beef with Soohyuk.

Even though he had taken digestive medicine, he hadn’t gotten sick.

Yet, every time Jingyeom tried to lie down right after eating, Jinwoo brought up that day. He had a subtle grudge.

“…No. Wait! I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What’s your bank account number?”

“Huh?”

Jinwoo was momentarily flustered. Why was Jingyeom asking for his account number all of a sudden?

Was he asking for the number, or the meaning behind it?

Even though he knew the former was unlikely, Jingyeom’s innocent expression made Jinwoo consider it.

“Uh?”

“I mean, the bank account number…”

“No! Do you think I’m stupid? I mean your account number.”

Jingyeom said, grabbing his phone from the room and sitting back in front of Jinwoo, opening his banking app.

“You can tell me right away, right?”

“Huh? Uh… why do you need it all of a sudden?”

Jinwoo asked, exhaling with relief, and Jingyeom’s smile widened.

“Come on, tell me.”

Jingyeom’s thumbs were poised over the phone keypad.

When Jinwoo tried to see the screen, Jingyeom twisted his body to block it.

“Why won’t you show me?”

“Just give me your account number quickly.”

Jinwoo, still doubtful, recited his main account number.

As he did, he tried to see what Jingyeom was doing, but Jingyeom blocked the screen with his body.

“What’s going on?”

“Just wait a moment.”

Jingyeom double-checked to make sure he hadn’t made any mistakes. He didn’t look away from the phone until he was done and then looked up.

Jinwoo was still trying to see the screen.

Ding.

The notification sound from the phone on the sink didn’t shift Jinwoo’s focus from Jingyeom. He didn’t seem interested at all.

Watching Jinwoo, who showed no intention of checking his phone, Jingyeom couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“Aren’t you going to check?”

“It’s not urgent.”

The only messages Jinwoo received were advertisements or contacts from people he never wanted to see again. If there was a problem at work, they would have called, not sent a message.

Jingyeom alternated his gaze between Jinwoo and the phone.

“Are you really not going to check it?”

“I don’t need to. Why do you need my account number anyway? You’re not going to tell me?”

“You should at least check what it is!”

Jingyeom went over on his knees, picked up Jinwoo’s phone, and handed it to him.

Only then did Jinwoo look at his phone, his eyes narrowing momentarily before widening in surprise.

Jingyeom watched Jinwoo with eyes full of anticipation, eager to see how he would react.

“…Where did you get this money?”

“I sold all the stuff I don’t use. Plus, I saved up some money from part-time jobs.”

“That’s a lot of money.”

“Of course. Actually… I didn’t earn much from the part-time jobs; most of it came from selling clothes and shoes. I could have made more if I had sold them properly, but I used Carrot Market instead of other sites…”

Jinwoo wasn’t really listening to Jingyeom’s explanation. He couldn’t. He was too stunned to process anything.

It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but the fact that Jingyeom had transferred it to him, and seeing ‘Baek Jingyeom’ as the sender on his bank statement, was what shocked him.

Moreover, it was surprising that Jingyeom had sold the things he had never thought to organize or dispose of.

He had heard Jingyeom say he would sell unused items, and he had even seen things placed at the entrance, ready for a transaction the next day.

He had also noticed the gradually decreasing number of clothes and shoes, but he never expected that money would come to him.

‘I thought he’d spend it on himself…’

He had always been the one giving money, never receiving it, which left him dazed. Then a thought crossed his mind, and he lifted his head.

“What will you do if your memory returns and you regret selling everything? Those were all your favorite things.”

“Well, that’s something I’ll have to deal with. I sold them myself, so who could I blame?”

Honestly, he wasn’t sure.

If Baek Jingyeom regained his memory, he might not accept this situation easily.

But since he sold the items himself, what could he do?

Still, the anxiety lingered, so he diligently recorded everything in his journal app, noting every detail, including the sale amounts.