* * *
‘Is it really okay to let him sleep in the living room?’
It wasn’t even a bed, not even a mattress—just the bare floor.
Sure, they laid down some blankets, but… since Taehwan was tall and broad-shouldered, none of the bedding at home fit his size.
It couldn’t wrap around him completely.
“It’s fine. It’s not even cold.”
“But still…”
“I said it’s fine. I’m turning the lights off now.”
“Okay.”
It’s just for one night anyway.
I took a deep breath, calming the fluttering feeling in my chest, and lay down.
Once the lights were off and I was lying down, the worries vanished.
The moon was unusually bright tonight, and there was something cozy about sleeping in the living room.
Yesterday, I had passed out the moment my head hit the floor, so I hadn’t noticed—but now that I was back in my childhood home, lying not in a bed or a bedroom, but on the floor of the living room, there was something nostalgic about it.
Like a small taste of the extraordinary.
And with Taehwan here, it almost felt like we were camping. It was special.
It felt like such a waste to just fall asleep and let the moment pass, so I rolled over to face Taehwan.
“Can I come over there?”
“No.”
“What? Why not?”
“What do you mean why… do you need a reason?”
“I-I guess not…”
I had assumed he’d say yes.
He always did.
But that’s right.
I wasn’t sick anymore.
My eyes could see again.
There was no reason for me to cling to him the way I used to.
I guess today’s just one of those days where Taehwan keeps turning me down.
Feeling a little sheepish, I pulled the blanket up over my mouth.
Still, Taehwan did turn his body to face me.
He reached out and lightly tapped between my brows.
“Did you have fun today?”
Before I could even answer, my mouth stretched into a wide grin.
Embarrassment?
It didn’t stand a chance against the joy I felt today.
“Yeah. I had an amazing time—every single minute, not even one second left out.”
“You little punk. You look like you’re about to explode from happiness. You’re making me jealous.”
Even as he pinched my cheek, I just giggled like a fool.
When I was younger and busy taking care of my younger siblings, Taehwan used to say things like, “What’s the big deal about some siblings?”
But he must understand now—just how much joy “those siblings” can bring.
How precious they are.
I want to brag to him about how well our twins have grown up.
‘Hold it in. He’ll feel left out.’
But Taehwan was an only child.
If anyone held the “sibling” spot in his life, it was probably me.
We weren’t related by blood, but we were as close as family.
If I started going on and on about my siblings, he might feel left out or even a little hurt.
If he had a lover, then he could talk about his partner and I could talk about my siblings—it’d balance out.
But this guy, who could easily be popular, still hadn’t started dating anyone.
Instead of bragging, I thought of something else to bring up.
“Wanna see the four-cut photo we took?”
“Oh? Jeong Jaehee’s keeping up with trends now? That’s unexpected.”
“It’s all thanks to my siblings.”
This was one of my adorable siblings’ great achievements.
Even if Taehwan didn’t ask to see it, I really wanted to show him.
I sat up quickly and fetched my phone from where it sat on top of my bag.
When I opened the gallery, a flood of photos and videos I took with my siblings filled the screen.
Even looking at them again, they were artistic.
Both Eunseo and Eunyul were practically pros at those photo booths.
I even seriously asked if they were planning to become idols.
With all the tips they gave me, and some hands-on experience, I managed to blend in with them surprisingly well in the photos—despite it being my first time taking those kinds of shots.
It was a little embarrassing though, posing like that among much younger high schoolers… showing this to Taehwan felt kind of cringe.
“Whoa. So that’s why you were so eager to show me. You actually did well—better than I expected.”
“Right?”
The tone of voice made me want to tease him—What exactly were you expecting?—but knowing Taehwan, this was about as close to genuine admiration as he got.
Feeling proud, I leaned in close while he scrolled through the photos, explaining each one—the concept, how it came about, the behind-the-scenes stuff.
After going through all of them, Taehwan suddenly said:
“You’ve got physical prints too, right? Can I have one?”
“Huh? I do, but… why?”
“I just realized—I don’t have any photos of you.”
“I can give you one, but they’re all group shots with my siblings… oh! I do have one of just me. I’ll give you that.”
There was one I had set aside.
I dug it out of my bag and handed it to him.
Taehwan took the photo and let out a soft laugh.
“Why do you look so stiff? Is this a passport photo? And all four frames have the same exact expression and pose.”
“It was my first time using one of those machines, okay?!”
That’s right. This was my very first four-cut photo.
My siblings had practically shoved me into the booth, saying it’d be faster to just do it rather than explain.
I was half-dazed while taking it!
And they wouldn’t let me retake it either since it was a ‘first time’ keepsake.
So yeah, it was raw and unpolished.
Nobody’s perfect on their first try. It wasn’t fair!
“If you don’t want it, give it back.”
“I never said I didn’t want it. I meant it’s very you. I like it.”
He removed his phone case and slid the photo inside carefully, making sure the edges didn’t get bent.
Seriously, this guy… he acts all gruff, even when he likes something.
‘This is why you don’t have a girlfriend.’
With his looks, height, body, and everything else—why hasn’t he dated anyone?
I’ve always wondered, but moments like this make it pretty clear.
I know he doesn’t mean the things he says.
But for someone meeting him for the first time, someone who gets dazzled by his appearance and sets high expectations—his twisted way of expressing himself could be a deal-breaker.
They might misunderstand his sarcasm or feel intimidated.
He is pretty big, after all.
I couldn’t help clicking my tongue.
What could I say to get him to fix this bad habit?
While I was brooding, Taehwan suddenly reached toward my face.
His big hands, the size of pot lids, messed up my hair, then moved to rub my cheeks, ears, and the back of my neck.
“What the—hey, what are you doing all of a sudden?”
It tickled. I started squirming and giggling without meaning to.
But I didn’t pull away. I was used to being touched like this—and the way he was looking down at me, there was something different in his eyes.
Like something serious.
I ducked away from the ticklish parts but held his gaze.
“What’s up?”
“I was just thinking… I should’ve taken more photos while you were in the hospital.”
“Yeah… there’s only a few from those hospital events.”
Back when I used to go on trips with our dads, I took enough photos to fill several albums a year.
But after they passed away and I saw Taehwan less often, the photos stopped.
During my hospital stay, I took almost none.
Part of it was because I had to avoid contact with machines.
And honestly, life in the hospital was so repetitive that there was nothing I wanted to record.
So over ten years passed with barely a handful of pictures.
It felt like a big, empty gap in my life—but… I was okay.
Because through all those years, there was someone who stayed by my side.
“You’ve got a good memory, so I’m sure you remember everything. That’s enough.”
It must have caught him off guard—his eyes went wide.
When I gave a crooked grin, he seemed to finally let go of that lingering regret.
He smiled gently.
“…Yeah. You’re right.”
Of course, Taehwan was always a formidable opponent who never let his guard down.
He immediately followed up with a teasing remark.
“I’m basically a living museum of Jung Jaehee’s most embarrassing moments.”
“Hey, what the hell! Why do you remember all the embarrassing stuff?”
“Elementary school Jung Jaehee. Got a 40 on a math test, cried the whole way home. Then pulled himself together and aimed for a perfect score—only to mess up the final substitution on the last problem, missed it, and cried all the way home again.”
“You’re smart in the most useless ways!”
“And on top of that, on your first day of elementary school—you wet the bed the night before…”
“Enough!”
How many years ago was that even? I don’t remember any of it!
This guy. I half-jokingly reached out to smack his head, thinking maybe if I hit him, he’d forget.
But just as I extended my arm, Taehwan suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
So tight it knocked the air out of my lungs.
“Let’s take a lot of pictures together from now on.”
His voice by my ear was heavy—completely devoid of any of his usual lightness.
I hadn’t thought much about it, but it seemed Taehwan still held onto something.
Maybe he felt guilty, like he hadn’t been there enough for me.
But that wasn’t true at all.
“…Yeah. Let’s do that.”
I held him back just as tightly, patting his back as if to say: take as many pictures as you want—just don’t look so down.
That seemed to ease him a little. His breathing grew lighter, and the tension in his arms slowly faded.
“Take some four-cut photos with me too.”
“Of course. If I go with you, I’ll share all the pro tips I learned today.”
“Oh, look at you. Planning to teach me, huh?”
“You saw it yourself—I’m better at posing than you.”
“…Alright, fine. Teach me, then.”
“What’s that tone?”
“You said you’d teach me, so I said go ahead. Why are you getting prickly?”
“It just sounds like you think I can’t do it.”
“Well, you have always been the one learning from me.”
“That was ages ago! If we go take those four-cut photos, I’ll be the one calling the shots.”
“Oh yeah? Is that so?”
It was the usual pointless bickering.
Just the way we always were.
But even though everything seemed normal, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was… off.
Taehwan didn’t seem like himself.
I couldn’t explain exactly what was different, but his breathing—it wasn’t in sync with our conversation.
It felt deliberate, like he was trying hard to control it.
Once I noticed that, the air around us felt strange.
A subtle tension settled in.
More than anything, the way his hands were brushing along my back and waist felt… strange.
* * *
