* * *
“Are you thirsty? The convenience store is still a bit further ahead.”
Jingyeom shook his head, indicating he was fine.
At the moment, his embarrassment far outweighed his thirst.
Though he felt sorrowful, he also realized how much he’d cried earlier and felt mortified about it.
He wanted to pull his coat up over his head and hide his entire body.
Especially that tissue!
He desperately wanted to get rid of the wad of tissues currently sitting in the storage compartment near Soohyuk’s door handle.
‘What was I thinking?!’
No matter how caught up in the moment he’d been, crying his eyes out at his age and blowing his nose into Soohyuk’s hand was beyond humiliating.
Feeling heat rise to his face, he leaned closer to the car window.
It didn’t matter that doing so wouldn’t take him out of Soohyuk’s line of sight—it was more about finding some shred of psychological comfort.
Soohyuk, who had been observing Jingyeom’s every move, let out a small chuckle and buckled his seatbelt.
Not long now.”
He had thought it might take longer, but today’s events seemed to have triggered something.
To be fair, it wasn’t just Jingyeom; he felt the same.
For the first time in a while, Soohyuk had been genuinely angry with Wonbeom and even lashed out at Jingyeom.
In that moment, composure had been entirely out of reach.
Had there been no one else around, he might have punched Wonbeom square in the face.
Not that Wonbeom would have just stood there and taken it, but that was how furious he’d been.
‘Next time we meet, I might not punch him, but I’ll definitely flip his world upside down.’
Soohyuk was sure Wonbeom had deliberately sought him out despite knowing how crowded the area was.
The way those hidden figures immediately emerged to block passersby—it was clearly premeditated.
“…Damn it.”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
What could he do to completely unnerve Wonbeom and ease this boiling anger?
For now, getting Jingyeom home was the priority.
After being out all day and going through so much, Jingyeom had to be physically and emotionally exhausted.
As they drove, Soohyuk tried to push thoughts of Wonbeom aside and instead focused on the test results.
‘They said there was nothing unusual.’
Aside from the tests they’d needed to adjust for Jingyeom’s medication, they had checked everything possible.
He’d heard that CT scans of people with mental health issues often looked different from those of healthy individuals.
Soohyuk had wondered if Jingyeom’s would show abnormalities, but it had come back perfectly normal.
The lack of any internal bleeding had been a tremendous relief.
Last night, Soohyuk had stayed by Jingyeom’s side just in case.
He’d been ready to rush him to the hospital at the first sign of discomfort, like a soldier on standby.
‘Grandma would be shocked if she saw me like this.’
Even Soohyuk hadn’t known he could be this way. Imagine how stunned others would be.
Even Madam Jeong, typically so composed, had looked at him with a mix of surprise and approval.
When they stopped at a red light, Soohyuk glanced at Jingyeom.
Unlike usual, Jingyeom wasn’t asleep but gazing out the window.
His face seemed slightly flushed, making Soohyuk wonder if he might have a fever.
Concerned, he reached out and pressed the back of his hand to Jingyeom’s cheek.
Startled, Jingyeom’s eyes went wide like a frightened rabbit.
“You’re acting like I did something bad. I was just checking if you had a fever. Your face is really red.”
“Oh, uh… Is it? Is my face really red?”
Jingyeom rubbed his cheeks with both hands.
His fingers squished his skin upwards, which Soohyuk found so endearing he wanted to keep watching.
But the light turned green, and he had to focus on driving again.
‘Two items left on the list. Maybe I can use one to get him to quit that job.’
More than anything, he was worried about Jingyeom’s health, especially his blood condition.
Even a small cut on his lips took ages to stop bleeding.
What if he got injured at work?
While he didn’t want to outright forbid Jingyeom from working, since it seemed important to him, he resolved to find something safer for him to do.
As they neared home, Soohyuk pondered options that wouldn’t pose a risk to Jingyeom’s well-being but would still give him a sense of purpose.
Jingyeom, meanwhile, watched Soohyuk through the window reflection the entire time.
When they finally arrived home, Jingyeom felt completely drained and wanted nothing more than to collapse on the couch.
But as soon as he stepped inside and bent to take off his shoes, Soohyuk’s hand grabbed the back of his coat, stopping him in his tracks.
“Take this off first.”
Even though he told Jingyeom to take it off, Soohyuk ended up removing the coat himself.
He had let Jingyeom wear Wonbeom’s coat to keep warm, but it had been bothering him the entire time.
He’d wanted to insist Jingyeom wear his instead but held back, figuring the coat was already warm.
Soohyuk tossed the coat carelessly next to the front door.
“What about that—”
“I’ll deal with it. Don’t worry about it. Go wash your hands and rest.”
Jingyeom started to say more but stopped. Judging by Soohyuk’s expression, it was a miracle the coat wasn’t already in the trash.
While he enjoyed seeing Soohyuk’s range of emotions, he still preferred his smile.
After washing his hands, Jingyeom found Soohyuk standing near the bathroom, startling him again.
“Why are you here?” he asked, clutching his chest.
Soohyuk handed him a glass of water. “Hydration.”
Jingyeom blinked at him before accepting the glass and drinking it all in one go.
He handed the empty cup back to Soohyuk and quickly retreated to his room.
Earlier, he hadn’t had time to check his face while stealing glances at Soohyuk in the car.
Now, looking in the mirror, his reflection was a disaster.
Swollen lips, a dried scab, tear-streaked cheeks, and traces of snot.
He had been walking around with this face?
Mortified, Jingyeom flopped face-down on the bed, kicking his legs in frustration.
That wasn’t even the worst part—he suddenly remembered the kiss.
‘…He avoided my lips.’
Soohyuk had kissed him everywhere but his lips.
Of course, it made sense since his lips were injured.
Yet, for some reason, that realization left him feeling slightly disappointed.
‘…What’s wrong with me? Why does that bother me?’
Jingyeom tugged at his hair in frustration before giving up and lying limp.
The day had been exhausting in every possible way—physically, emotionally, and mentally.
If he stayed on the bed like this, he would probably fall asleep, so he forced himself to sit up.
Yesterday’s nap had made him stay up late, and he didn’t want a repeat.
Yawning carefully to avoid reopening his lip, Jingyeom sighed deeply.
His thoughts drifted to Jinwoo, prompting him to grab his phone.
There were no new messages since he’d promised to reach out.
Jinwoo must have been worried all day.
Guilt weighed on Jingyeom’s chest.
― Hey, Gyeom.
As expected, Jinwoo’s voice was calm but carried an undertone of sadness.
“Sorry. I know I said I’d call, but it’s so late now.”
― …I waited.
That single sentence pierced Jingyeom’s heart.
He felt like an unforgivable sinner for making Jinwoo worry all day without so much as a message.
He could have at least sent a text, but he had been too preoccupied with confronting Wonbeom and his own swirling thoughts.
“…I’m sorry. The test results came back fine.”
― Then why did you go to the hospital?
“Yesterday, I bumped my head against the desk. Got a bit of a bump, and yeah, it hurt a little, but really, really, I was fine! But Soohyuk hyung was worried, so…”
― Good for the director.
The conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Neither of them spoke for a moment, and a short silence hung between them.
― You’ve gotten good at going to the hospital on your own now. Even getting your checkups without me…
Since childhood, Baek Jingyeom had always hated going to the hospital alone.
Jinwoo would accompany him every time, even if it meant interrupting his work.
Over time, it became a given that Jinwoo would be there whenever Jingyeom needed to visit the hospital.
― Jingyeom, I miss you.
“…What? Oh, yeah. Me too.”
― I really miss you.
The desperate tremble in the voice on the other end of the line was palpable.
It had only been two days since they were apart.
Yesterday, while Jingyeom was staying with Soohyuk, he’d been too distracted by the throbbing pain in his head to think of Jinwoo, and today had been no different.
But it seemed Jinwoo hadn’t been the same.
Jingyeom stared blankly at the pattern on his blanket before slowly speaking.
“Have you been eating well?”
― Yeah. I miss you.
“Are you sleeping okay?”
― Yeah. I miss you, Jingyeom.
Jingyeom tightly shut his eyes.
He was answering properly, but why did he have to add that at the end of every sentence?
“I should eat dinner now. You make sure to eat too. I’ll hang up.”
Afraid he’d hear “I miss you” again, he quickly ended the call.
As his heart thudded wildly, he took deep breaths, gently patting his chest to calm it down.
On the other end of the line, Jinwoo let out a deep sigh and dropped his arm.
The unlit, empty living room felt even lonelier in the silence.
Nothing had gone right for the past two days.
While staying at Secretary Yang’s house, he thought about helping out with the chores, but Secretary Yang’s meticulous nature left him with nothing to do.
Hoping that exhausting himself physically might help him think less about Jingyeom, he had cleaned the bathroom, window sills, and balcony—places that usually got overlooked.
But it was no use.
Even while cleaning, Jingyeom filled his thoughts.
“…Ha.”
The weather was heartbreakingly clear, a stark contrast to Jinwoo’s feelings.
* * *
good
Nice
Just forget it