* * *

As if he knew I wouldn’t stop crying, Eunsoo didn’t wipe my tears anymore.

Instead, he pressed his lips gently to my damp cheek, then wrapped me tightly in his arms.

The familiar scent of Eunsoo surrounds me.

His warmth and the gentle strokes of his hand are comforting.

I shakily hug his waist and bury my face in his chest, which seems so much broader than before.

“I know, Hyung. I know it hurts because I’m so precious to you. But to me, you’re just as precious.”

“…”

“Don’t just love me one-sidedly. Accept my love too. You deserve it. I want to give it to you.”

What am I supposed to do?

Eunsoo has grown up.

Without me realizing, he’s become an adult.

More of an adult than I am, it seems.

“Now that you know how important you are to me, don’t do anything reckless. Stay by my side. I’ll protect you.”

“…Okay.”

“Good boy.”

The rhythmic pats on my back gradually calmed my sobs.

Eunsoo adjusted his position while keeping me in his arms, so I could lean against him comfortably.

Once I was settled, sleep overtook me.

Crying so much had worn me out.

I felt like I could drift off at any moment, but I didn’t want to leave Eunsoo’s embrace.

I reached out, clutching at his hand.

Thankfully, it seemed Eunsoo had no intention of letting me go either.

“Sleep well.”

In the end, I fell asleep like a child, cradled in Eunsoo’s arms.

Even as my consciousness faded, I smiled.

In Eunsoo’s arms, I felt like the most valuable person in the world.

---

When I woke, the first thing I saw was a pair of blue eyes shining clear and transparent in the sunlight.

They were so beautiful, like a pristine lake, that I smiled hazily.

The eyes watching me softened into crescents.

“Did you sleep well?”

His voice, warm like sunshine, lazily flowed out.

The arms that had been holding my waist loosened, and Eunsoo’s hand cupped my cheek.

His large hand covered not just my cheek but my temple and ear too, radiating warmth.

Like a cat, I nuzzled against his hand, slowly coming to my senses.

As memories of last night flashed through my mind, I felt my face heat up.

Eunsoo’s revelation that he had spent five years searching for me at the cost of his own life had crushed me, but he had comforted me with a maturity far beyond my own.

In the end, I had fallen asleep in his arms like a child…

Fully awake, my face flushed to the roots of my hair.

“Ah, yeah.”

“Were you uncomfortable?”

“No…”

What’s going on? Just looking at him makes me feel strange.

My chest churns, as though it’s become some kind of wobbly slime.

‘He’s too lethal when seen up close.’

My boy has grown up far too well.

Not just his height and looks—his demeanor toward me is so different from the Eunsoo I knew that it’s a little… overwhelming.

Lying in bed face-to-face like this was too much for my heart.

As I tried to sit up, Eunsoo’s arm encircled my waist, pulling me back against his chest.

His scent enveloped me, and for a moment, I felt dizzy.

“Ah…”

“Just stay like this for a bit. Your eyes are swollen. I’ll massage them for you.”

Before I could process his words, his large hand gently covered my eyes, rubbing softly a few times before placing a cool cloth over them.

“Oh, it’s because I cried…”

“How do you feel now? Still upset?”

“…I’m fine.”

That’s a lie. I’m not fine. I feel embarrassed, like I’ve become a child compared to him.

Even so, if I could go back to yesterday, I doubt I’d react any differently.

Thinking about how Eunsoo had spent five years searching for me, my heart ached.

How could I ever repay him for the years of his life he sacrificed for me?

“Just so you know, I don’t want anything from you.”

Behind me, Eunsoo whispered softly as he held me with one arm and massaged my eyes with the other.

“Don’t try to repay me. I don’t want you to feel like you owe me. All I was looking for was your body. The fact that you’re alive is already a miracle and a gift for me.”

His words were so mature, so overwhelming, that the Eunsoo holding me felt enormous.

I couldn’t find the words to respond as a lump rose in my throat.

Then a question struck me. I understood that Eunsoo had searched for me for years after leaving my body in the gate.

But how was I still alive?

When I asked, he fell silent for a moment before answering.

“I didn’t think you’d still be alive either. But once I found you, I understood why.”

The towel covering my eyes slipped away.

The world suddenly grew bright, and there, standing in the center of it, was Eunsoo.

He took my hand, lowered himself to my level, and pressed his lips to my fingers, just as he had when I first awoke.

“Your parents protected you,” he said softly.

It was then I realized that the kiss Eunsoo had placed wasn’t just on my hand but specifically on the ring I was wearing.

And that ring… the blue gem embedded at its center was now gone.

I recalled the final sound I heard before I lost consciousness, a sharp crack.

At the time, I had naturally assumed it was the sound of my body breaking apart.

But here I was, completely intact, not a single part of me hurt.

That sound—could it have been…

‘Since I can’t protect you yet, I hope this ring can at least protect you in my place.’

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

My chest grew heavy again, and my lips quivered so much I could hardly steady my jaw.

Eunsoo’s parents saved me, and Eunsoo… he was the one who truly rescued me.

That day we moved, starting from the garden, he clung to the life I had already given up on—even when I myself had abandoned it.

He held on and on, refusing to let go, as if urging me to live, to stay by his side, to see my worth, to understand that I was needed.

Because of that, I was alive now, standing here next to him.

I tried to tell myself to hold it in, to keep control, but the emotions surged too powerfully to suppress.

In the end, I burst into tears so fiercely that the swelling in my eyes, which Eunsoo had worked to reduce, returned worse than before.

Instead of scolding me or telling me to stop crying, Eunsoo simply embraced me in quiet comfort.

---

Five years is an unbearably long time.

And in a world where disasters like the Gate could strike at any moment, it felt even longer.

The streets leading home were lined with unfamiliar buildings, making everything feel alien.

Yet, the moment I arrived at the house, it was as if no time had passed at all.

“The house hasn’t changed one bit…”

“I worked hard to keep it just the way it was. It wouldn’t feel like home to you if it looked like someone else’s house, would it?”

When I voiced my amazement, Eunsoo puffed up his chest with pride.

His antics, so similar to how he’d been before, were endearing and overwhelming all at once.

‘You didn’t have to go this far…’

It was just a house, after all, not something of extraordinary value.

Why did he go to such lengths to preserve it?

Still, it was undeniably comforting. It felt like I had truly returned to where I belonged.

I didn’t have a specific place I could call my hometown, but this—this warm feeling soaking into my chest—must be what it means to come home.

Eunsoo seemed to be fishing for praise, so I gave him a beaming smile and told him he’d done well.

His face lit up with childlike joy, and he smiled back just as brightly.

“Hurry and go inside. I left your room just as it was too. I mean, I did use it a bit while you were gone…”

“You used it even when I was here.”

“Well, yeah. That’s true…”

Even on the day I left, Eunsoo had been sleeping in my room.

As I looked at him now—the Eunsoo of then, the twenty-year-old Eunsoo I briefly saw back then, and the Eunsoo standing before me now—I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

My chest ached with emotion.

‘How did he grow up to be this mature…?’

Right. Eunsoo’s an adult now.

He’s twenty-five, no longer the boy he was.

And if we disregard those five distorted years, he’s technically older than me, ‘Yang Heewon.’

I opened the door to my room. Just as Eunsoo had said, it was astonishingly well-preserved, exactly as I remembered it.

The only difference was the scent—my room was filled with Eunsoo’s presence.

I took a deep breath.

The world and Eunsoo’s appearance may have changed drastically, but his scent remained the same.

Summoning courage, I gently held Eunsoo’s hand.

It was larger, rougher, and unfamiliar with its thickened veins, but it felt reliable.

“Hey, Eunsoo…”

“Yes?”

“If you still want to kiss me… Do you want to?”

Now that I truly felt like I was home, I couldn’t help but recall the sensation of that tongue brushing my lips.

Back then, I had been so startled that I had brushed it off with something like, “Not now, let’s do it when we’re back home.”

I’d planned to deflect and deal with it later.

But now… now I thought it might be okay.

* * *