* * *

Jinwoo may still be at the top for now, but that was only because they were brothers.

With a little more effort, Soohyuk believed he could change that ranking.

Soohyuk’s hand, which had been gently patting Jingyeom’s head, slowly slid down and rested on his peach-colored cheek, covering nearly half of Jingyeom’s face with his large hand.

Back at the hospital, Jingyeom had been so dazed that he’d rub against his hand, but now he was subtly trying to avoid it.

Feeling a little mischievous, Soohyuk curled his fingers and gave Jingyeom’s cheek a playful squeeze before letting go.

“Even if it feels stuffy staying here, just hang in there a bit longer. I’ll ask about the construction when I go back.”

It was partly an excuse to keep Jingyeom here, but they really were renovating the house.

He had actually asked Jinwoo if they should move, only to be flatly refused. So, he persuaded him to at least renovate the house.

They added extra insulation to get through the harsh winter, built a small storage space in the back to move some of the clutter, and most importantly, the bathroom underwent major renovations.

They even installed a boiler so it wouldn’t be cold during the winter.

The rooftop studio was being transformed into a completely different room, and since the construction was being done for free, the landlord was overjoyed.

But no matter how much they renovated, a rooftop studio was still a rooftop studio.

Soohyuk was determined to keep pressuring Jinwoo to move for Jingyeom’s health.

Eventually, Jinwoo would have to agree.

Unaware of Soohyuk’s hidden agenda, Jingyeom smiled slightly in gratitude.

“Is there anything else? Something bothering you?”

“When will the phone be fixed?”

“I’m not sure. It might take a bit longer since we’re in the mountains, but I’ve told them to fix it as soon as possible.”

Jingyeom’s face brightened slightly, but it still wasn’t the radiant smile Soohyuk had hoped for—the kind that would make anyone around him smile too.

Even though Jingyeom hadn’t shown it, it seemed he’d been stressed out in his own way.

Soohyuk’s expression grew serious, feeling uneasy.

If only he had been honest with Jingyeom from the start and asked for his understanding, he wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

But he didn’t want to make him live in anxiety by talking about things that hadn’t even happened yet.

Jinwoo would be here soon, and once that happened, everything would naturally be okay again.

‘Should I come down too?’

Wonbeom had already been staying here for almost ten days, and when Jinwoo came down, he’d be staying for a while as well.

It didn’t seem fair that he was the only one who hadn’t seen Jingyeom for such a long time.

Even if dealing with those old snakes exhausted him, he knew seeing Jingyeom would recharge him…

‘Did I find a place too far away?’

He had chosen a place close to nature for Jingyeom’s health, but he hadn’t anticipated he wouldn’t be able to visit this often.

If only Mr. Kim’s people hadn’t overstepped, he would’ve snuck down here by now, but there were far too many eyes watching him.

On top of that, they’d been poking around the people around him, so he never knew when something dangerous might happen.

He had to be careful with every move.

Even this trip had felt like a spy mission.

He’d taken a long detour to shake off the tailing cars.

And after all that, the first thing he saw was Jingyeom in a room with a shirtless Wonbeom.

‘I still get angry just thinking about it.’

Even though he knew nothing had happened, his hand clenched unconsciously.

Soohyuk tried to erase that image from his mind by focusing on Jingyeom’s face.

“If there’s anything else you need, just tell me. Even something small. If there’s food you want to eat or something you want to do, let me know.”

“There’s nothing I need. But… Jinwoo isn’t hurt… right?”

That was what he had really been wondering.

If Wonbeom had been stabbed, then the people around him must have been in danger too.

Since Jinwoo was always by Wonbeom’s side as his secretary, Jingyeom couldn’t shake the worry that he might have gotten caught up in it.

He hadn’t been able to ask the injured Wonbeom, so he’d kept his concerns to himself.

Even though he knew Wonbeom would’ve said something if anything had happened to Jinwoo, there was always that lingering ‘what if.’

Jingyeom’s question was so cautious that it made Soohyuk examine his expression carefully.

The mark on his lower lip showed how much he’d been biting it.

Soohyuk felt a pang of sympathy for Jingyeom, who must have been worrying all this time without any news.

With a reassuring smile, Soohyuk said, “Not at all. In fact, he’s too healthy, if anything.”

There had been an attack, and Jinwoo had gotten a bit hurt, but by the time Soohyuk had arrived, it was nothing more than a few scratches.

Right now, Jinwoo was working even harder than usual, determined not to let the people who had targeted him get away.

His poor secretary Yang, was bearing the brunt of it. If Jingyeom had stayed in Seoul, the attackers’ target would’ve been all too obvious, which only fueled Jinwoo’s determination.

Soohyuk figured even if he had told Jinwoo to come down here, Jinwoo would’ve refused, saying he had to catch those people.

That’s how committed Jinwoo was at the moment.

“If the house is still under construction, where is Jinwoo staying?”

“He’s staying with Secretary Yang for now.”

“Oh, with Secretary Yang… That’s a relief.”

Even though he hadn’t seen it himself, Soohyuk’s words strangely put him at ease.

Jingyeom finally exhaled a breath he had been holding for a while, and at last, he gave Soohyuk the attention he had been waiting for.

“Have you been eating properly? Wonbeom looked a bit thinner, but you seem to have… puffed up a bit.”

Soohyuk had heard he looked tired before, but it was the first time someone had said his face looked puffy.

He rubbed his cheek, but it didn’t feel any different than usual.

“Am I swollen?”

He had checked himself in the mirror before coming, making sure his hair was perfectly styled, and that his handsome features were as sharp as ever.

But swollen?

“You look a little like it.”

“Maybe I’m just tired. But I’m still handsome, aren’t I?”

“If you’re tired, you should rest. When are you heading back? I’ll wake you up.”

“…Do you want to send me away that quickly?”

Jingyeom completely ignored his remark about being handsome.

When Soohyuk looked at him with a sulky expression, Jingyeom smiled awkwardly, his lips barely curling upward.

Then, as if even he found his own expression strange, he turned his head slightly to avoid Soohyuk’s gaze.

“It’s not that…”

“I came all the way here because I missed you, and the first thing you say is to ask about Jinwoo. You didn’t even answer my question, just kept asking about Secretary Baek…”

“I did ask about you too!”

Jingyeom protested, but Soohyuk just shrugged, acting as if he hadn’t heard it.

“You didn’t say anything, but you were obviously thinking about Wonbeom. You were alone in a room with a shirtless man. What’s up with that?”

“…He was only shirtless.”

“That still counts. And you even touched another man’s body.”

Jingyeom couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief at Soohyuk’s grumbling.

“Wonbeom was having trouble moving, so I just helped clean him up!”

“What I’m saying is, why did you have to help him?”

“Because he couldn’t move properly!”

Soohyuk tilted his head slightly. He wanted to say what he was really thinking:

‘If I had been the one hurt, would you have done that for me?’

But he didn’t want to ruin the mood after not seeing Jingyeom for so long, so he kept it to himself.

“He seems to be better now. So while you’re staying here, keep away from Director Tak and play by yourself, alright?”

At the absurdity of the demand, Jingyeom’s mouth opened and closed like a fish before he finally shouted, “What am I, a child?!”

“Yes, you’re my child.”

Soohyuk smiled mischievously, reaching out to rub Jingyeom’s cheek.

He had to head back by dawn, so every second with Jingyeom was precious.

“You’re 32 years old, hardly a child.”

“You asked if I could be cute. Fine, I’ll act cute. So just treat me a little nicer, okay?”

Hearing Soohyuk’s sincere words, Jingyeom clamped his mouth shut.

The gaze staring right at him felt different from usual.

Being face-to-face, an unfamiliar sense of embarrassment wrapped around him.

He unknowingly shrugged his shoulders.

Then, realizing he shouldn’t let himself get swept up by the atmosphere again, he straightened his posture.

“If you behave in a way that makes it easy to be fond of you, then I’ll treat you that way.”

“What?”

Soohyuk burst into laughter at Jingyeom’s bold response, even though he was the one who asked to be treated affectionately first.

As expected, Jingyeom never failed to keep him entertained.

---

Soohyuk, who had to leave at dawn, seemed determined not to waste a single second, sticking close to Jingyeom’s side.

Even when Jingyeom went to get a drink of water, Soohyuk followed right behind him.

“There are only three hours left!”

“…”

“Jingyeom, we only have three more hours to be together!”

“Hyung… I’m sleepy.”

“I can see that.”

Because they had to wake up at a set time to have breakfast at the hospital, their sleeping schedules were similar.

They went to bed as early as 10 or, at the latest, 11.

Right now, it was 11 o’clock, and Soohyuk was supposed to leave at 2 a.m.

In truth, he should’ve left earlier, but he used the excuse that Wonbeom’s business wasn’t finished yet just to spend more time with Jingyeom.

“Just try to bear with it for today. Once I leave, we won’t see each other for a while again.”

The only flaw in Soohyuk’s plan was that Jingyeom couldn’t fight off his drowsiness.

Well, it would be fine if he ended up just watching Jingyeom sleep before leaving, but Soohyuk would rather spend their time chatting.

“Jingyeom, are you really going to sleep? Are you really going to just sleep?”

In the end, Jingyeom slumped down on the sofa.

Seeing his slightly open mouth and eyes slowly closing, Soohyuk’s disappointment was evident.

“You should at least see me off when I leave.”

“…I will.”

“Promise? I’m going to check on Director Tak. Get a little sleep.”

Soohyuk pressed a brief kiss to Jingyeom’s forehead as he drifted halfway into sleep.

In his hazy state, Jingyeom didn’t even realize what had just touched his forehead.

* * *