* * *
Jingyeom had planned to wait until Jinwoo came back.
He figured Jinwoo needed some time to sort through his emotions, so he expected it to take a while.
But even after an hour, then two, Jinwoo didn’t return.
Worried, Jingyeom went outside to look for him and found Jinwoo lying on a bench, fast asleep, curled up like a shrimp.
When had he fallen asleep?
Jinwoo had taken off his outerwear earlier, so he was only in a shirt—it must have been cold.
“…I should’ve checked sooner.”
Knowing he couldn’t carry Jinwoo on his own, Jingyeom hurried to grab a blanket and covered him.
He couldn’t leave Jinwoo out here, but moving him would take time.
At least the blanket would help him stay warm until then.
Touching Jinwoo’s cheek, he found it icy cold. He wondered how anyone could sleep out here in the cold but supposed the alcohol had knocked him out.
“Jinwoo, let’s go inside and sleep, okay?”
No matter how much he shook him, Jinwoo didn’t wake.
He must have been in a deep sleep.
Resigned, Jingyeom opened the door wide, intending to drag Jinwoo inside if he had to.
He slung Jinwoo’s arms over his shoulders and trudged forward with great difficulty.
Jinwoo’s feet dragged on the ground, his slippers scraping noisily, but it couldn’t be helped.
At least he had slippers on.
Once inside, Jingyeom laid Jinwoo on the bedding, removed his slippers, and noticed his socks were dirtied and slightly scuffed.
Alarmed, he peeled them off and saw…
“Ah, they’re scraped.”
It wasn’t severe, but they were red and irritated.
After a quick glance to ensure Jinwoo was still asleep, Jingyeom applied ointment and covered the scrapes with bandages.
Then, utterly exhausted, he collapsed onto the bed.
“…What a long, hard day.”
Pressing his temples to relieve the throbbing headache, Jingyeom sighed.
Though the storm had passed, it left a trail of destruction in its wake.
At least his lingering issues with Wonbeom had been resolved.
The sense of relief from finally dealing with it felt like a weight lifting off his chest.
Turning to his side, he looked at Jinwoo, who was snoring softly in his sleep.
“…I hope it doesn’t hurt too much.”
Jingyeom knew Jinwoo wouldn’t move on so easily from the love he had cherished for so long.
His presence would only make things harder for Jinwoo to let go.
“Maybe it’s better if I put some distance between us.”
He had tried to distance himself before, and while he couldn’t be certain if it worked, it had to have helped a little.
But there was nowhere to go.
The only person he could think of was Soohyuk, but staying with him might make things worse.
“…Maybe I should look into working overseas.”
Scoffing at the idea, Jingyeom buried his face in the pillow.
He knew he wasn’t in any shape to leave the country.
With a faint laugh, he closed his eyes. His mind was too cluttered to hope for sleep, but…
“…Feels like I only just closed my eyes.”
When he opened them, it was morning.
Sunlight streamed through the window, and Jingyeom squinted against the brightness as he sat up.
Jinwoo, still asleep, had pulled the blanket over his head to shield himself from the light.
Yawning widely, Jingyeom checked the time—it was already past 11.
“Oh, I need to make breakfast.”
Trying not to wake Jinwoo, he crept out of the room.
As he stepped outside to head to the store, he noticed a paper bag hanging on the doorknob.
Curious, he opened it to find a large plastic container, a glass jar of honey water, and a note.
“Heat it up before eating.”
The handwriting was unmistakably Soohyuk’s, even though they hadn’t seen each other much.
“When did he drop this off?”
There hadn’t been any calls or texts.
Back inside, Jingyeom opened the container to find hangover soup.
It was pre-cooked and only needed reheating.
After setting the table, he took a picture of the meal and sent it to Soohyuk.
Me: Thanks for the food! Really appreciate it♡(12:03 PM)
Soohyuk hyung: Don’t eat it all. Share it, and make sure he drinks the honey water too.
Me: Got it, haha. (12:04 PM)
Make sure you eat lunch too!
‘Why was there honey water?
Turns out, it’s probably because of what I said yesterday.
Honestly, it’s just so cute now how he gets jealous over even the smallest things.
Sometimes I wonder how a grown adult can be like this, but I’m learning that age doesn’t matter at all.
This is nice.
I used to think that without Jinwoo, I’d have no one in this world on my side.
But now, there’s one more.
And that feels incredibly reassuring.’
Jingyeom flung the door wide open and called out energetically.
“Jinwoo! Let’s eat something to cure your hangover!”
Clutching his aching stomach, Jinwoo ate the warm hangover soup.
He thought he drank a lot yesterday, and as the hangover hit him in full force, he regretted it.
What made it worse was that he remembered everything from last night far too vividly, making it impossible to look Jingyeom in the eye.
He kept his head down, focusing on his food, and stretched his stiff body afterward.
“I’ll do the dishes.”
“No need. Just drink the honey water and plenty of regular water. They say it’s good for hangovers.”
That morning, Jingyeom had looked up remedies again, discovering that drinking lots of water to flush out the alcohol was a good method.
So, he’d stocked the fridge full of water for Jinwoo.
Since Jingyeom was used to drinking lukewarm water and rarely touched cold drinks, the fridge was entirely Jinwoo’s territory now.
As Jinwoo scratched his head, watching Jingyeom’s back while he washed the dishes, he noticed a takeout container off to the side.
Ah, that explains it. Jingyeom couldn’t possibly have cooked something like this.
He must’ve bought it.
While tidying up the container, Jinwoo found a note left beside it.
“…I guess I’ll give him a single point for this.”
Though honestly, he was still in the negatives. It’d probably take a lifetime to break even.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Knowing the hangover soup was store-bought for some reason made his stomach churn.
No matter how much he disapproved, they were already in a relationship, and besides, he’d said himself yesterday that he’d remain a brother.
Why couldn’t his memory just disappear at times like this?
Then, he remembered lying outside on the bench last night.
After that, his memory went blank—he only recalled lying there and looking up at the night sky.
Jinwoo glanced at the bandage on his foot.
When he was holding onto Jingyeom to talk last night, he was pretty sure his foot wasn’t like this.
“…”
While he stared blankly, Jingyeom finished the dishes and approached him.
“Does it hurt? After you shower, let’s reapply some ointment. It’s not a big scrape, but it’ll sting because of the friction.”
“Why is this even here?”
“Well, uh… actually…”
After hearing the story, Jinwoo crouched down and rubbed his face with both hands.
Just thinking about how Jingyeom had struggled to drag him along made him sigh.
“I really did my best! I mean, yeah, you got a little scraped, but how was I supposed to know those slippers would come off so easily?”
As Jingyeom rambled defensively, his voice gradually softened, as if he felt guilty for injuring him.
“…Does it hurt a lot?”
“No. …It’s just embarrassing. I made such a fool of myself yesterday.”
Jinwoo exhaled deeply.
He remembered every single detail too clearly, without a single gap.
From leaving the bar to getting into the car, even the conversation between Soohyuk and Jingyeom, who thought he was asleep—everything was painfully vivid.
“I must’ve been so heavy. You could’ve just left me outside.”
“How could I do that? Besides, it wasn’t too hard. It’s just… you got a bit hurt, that’s all.”
If he were just a little taller, Jinwoo’s feet wouldn’t have dragged like that.
Or, if he were stronger, he could’ve carried Jinwoo effortlessly, like Jinwoo had done for him once.
As he briefly imagined lifting Jinwoo like that, Jingyeom’s lips trembled into a stifled laugh.
“What’s so funny? Weren’t you just upset about me getting hurt?”
“Of course I’m upset.”
Continuing the thought of his imagination, Jingyeom chuckled, and Jinwoo followed suit.
“If you carried me like that, your arms would’ve dislocated.”
“Which is why I said I only imagined it in my head!”
Jingyeom grumbled, brushing past Jinwoo to collapse onto the bed, burying his face in a pillow with a wide yawn.
Even though he’d slept briefly at dawn, the interrupted rest left him exhausted.
“I’m going to sleep a little more. It’s too bright.”
“Just one hour. I’ll wake you up. If you sleep too long, you won’t be able to rest tonight.”
“…Two hours.”
Less than five minutes after lying down, Jingyeom’s voice faded, and soon, he was sound asleep.
Jinwoo straightened Jingyeom’s position, covered him with a blanket, and stood there for a moment.
“…”
That morning, he had been too hungover to think properly.
But now, as memories of last night became clearer, he found it harder to face Jingyeom.
He thought that Jingyeom might feel awkward or uncomfortable around him now, but he didn’t.
Jingyeom acted the same as always.
That was both a relief and a heartache.
Could his whole life really return to normal so easily?
He knew things couldn’t go back to the way they were before, given all that had happened.
But maybe, if they tried, they could become even closer as brothers.
‘Guess I should stop calling him Gyeom.’
‘Gyeom’ had been a nickname to express Jinwoo’s feelings.
He’d thought he’d keep it to himself forever, but at least he’d had the chance to call it often, even if briefly.
“…Sleep well, Gyeom.”
With that, Jinwoo gave his final farewell.
* * *
😢😢😢
مؤلم للغايه