ACTSV chapter 72

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Jinwoo glanced at Secretary Yang, who nodded, signaling that he was fine with the four of them going ahead without him.

When Wonbeom appeared, Soohyuk raised his hand in greeting.

“It’s been a while, Director Tak.”

“You’re here early.”

“Guess I got the work done faster since I was so focused.”

Soohyuk said with a smile, and Wonbeom slightly lifted the corners of his lips.

“It’s been a while since we all ate together. How about Jeongigak?”

“Sounds good.”

Wonbeom didn’t care much about the place as long as the food was good. Besides, he remembered going there with Jingyeom once and seeing him eat heartily.

They hadn’t had lunch together lately due to being busy, so today seemed like a good day to relax and enjoy a meal.

With everyone’s agreement, Soohyuk turned to Secretary Yang one last time.

“Would you like to join us, Secretary Yang?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Secretary Yang smiled as he declined, not wanting to intrude on the group.

---

“Try this. It’s delicious.”

“I already have plenty. Stop giving me more and eat something yourself!”

Jingyeom hurriedly blocked with his hand, fearing that his already overflowing plate of side dishes would get even more piled up.

He could understand if they were giving him side dishes he couldn’t reach, but even those within his reach were being added to his plate, which was now almost overflowing.

“Jinwoo, you should eat too!”

Especially Jinwoo, who was sitting right next to him, was adding side dishes to his rice with a spoon every time he took a bite, as if they were in a competition to feed a child.

Thanks to Soohyuk and Jinwoo constantly giving him side dishes, Jingyeom hadn’t even had a chance to taste what he actually wanted to eat.

But Wonbeom wasn’t just sitting there idly either. While the other two were busy passing side dishes, Wonbeom was carefully deboning a fish.

“Here, eat.”

A plate of perfectly deboned fish was placed in front of Jingyeom.

“…Why are you all doing this?”

Jingyeom made a distressed face.

He appreciated the care they were showing, but this was a bit too much. It was even more overwhelming with Wonbeom joining in.

“Why? We’re just trying to make sure you eat.”

Soohyuk casually grabbed a piece of the fish Wonbeom had deboned and ate it as he spoke.

“There’s plenty here, so you guys eat too!”

Jingyeom knew they were doing it out of concern for him, so he didn’t say anything more.

Even while eating, the conversation wasn’t quiet. Jingyeom kept chatting away, especially with Soohyuk, asking him about places abroad since he’d never been overseas.

Though he’d heard about it on the way to Wolmido, it was still fascinating. He dreamed of taking a plane and traveling abroad someday.

If he had time, he wanted to travel domestically with Jinwoo as well, since he didn’t remember visiting any famous travel spots in Korea.

They could start traveling anytime they wanted now, but with his upcoming surgery, he was cautious about making plans just yet.

While chatting and eating, Jingyeom eventually finished the bowl of rice in front of him.

He rubbed his full belly with his hand. Whenever he ate more than usual, his hand habitually went to his stomach.

Soohyuk chuckled at the sight of Jingyeom’s slightly bulging belly. It wasn’t glaringly obvious, but it was enough to be noticeable.

He’d thought it was cute before, and this time was no different.

“When do you finish your secretary duties?”

“Until next week.”

“Why? You should keep going. Or you could work as my secretary.”

Soohyuk threw out a bait filled with ulterior motives.

But Jingyeom shook his head without even looking at him.

“I can’t work any longer even if I wanted to because of the surgery. I already promised Doctor Hoonil that I’d be hospitalized soon.”

“…Surgery? And hospitalization too?”

Soohyuk frowned as if hearing this for the first time. He looked at Jingyeom, Jinwoo, and finally, Wonbeom, then let out a bitter laugh.

“What the hell? Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

Of course, Jinwoo knew, but he hadn’t expected even Wonbeom to know.

Soohyuk let out another bitter laugh and roughly ran his fingers through his hair, which he’d carefully styled in the morning to look good for Jingyeom, now a mess.

“When exactly is the surgery?”

“…I don’t know the exact date yet… but roughly in three weeks.”

Jingyeom answered in a very small voice, realizing that he hadn’t told anyone else about the surgery before now.

He hadn’t felt the need to mention it and assumed that Wonbeom already knew since he’d suggested working as a secretary’s secretary for a short time.

But it turned out that Soohyuk was the only one who didn’t know.

It’s natural to feel a sense of isolation when you’re the only one left out of something everyone else knows.

Jingyeom felt awkward, realizing that Soohyuk might be feeling that way now.

“How did you find out?”

“I heard about it the other day.”

“From whom?”

Wonbeom looked at Soohyuk with a sharp gaze in response to his curt question.

“Is there any reason I need to tell you?”

“…No. No, there isn’t.”

The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

Jingyeom glanced nervously at Jinwoo and edged closer to him. He whispered quietly.

“…Should we just leave them alone?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, hyung.”

Even though Jingyeom had whispered quietly, Jinwoo’s nonchalant reply drew the attention of both Soohyuk and Wonbeom.

“Ha, ha…”

Jingyeom let out an awkward laugh, twisting his body uncomfortably as he looked at Jinwoo with a distressed expression.

“Does it really matter who knew? The surgery is in three weeks. So, I’ll finish work next week and then be hospitalized.”

Jinwoo calmly explained the schedule, and Soohyuk let out a short sigh. Then he frowned and asked,

“What kind of surgery? You said you had heart surgery as a child. Are you getting a transplant or something?”

“No, it’s not that. Think of it as changing a part.”

Soohyuk wanted to hear more, but a sudden urgent call forced him to leave. In the end, the meal ended without him getting the details.

Even in the car on the way back to the company, Soohyuk stared out the window, still in a foul mood.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Jingyeom kept glancing at Soohyuk, but not once did their eyes meet during the drive.

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The weekend was spent catching up on household chores.

With the sun shining brightly, Jingyeom pulled out the red rubber tub, thinking the laundry would dry well.

He filled it with water, added detergent, and began stomping on the blankets. Being summer blankets, they weren’t too thick.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“…I am.”

Unlike the energetic Jinwoo, Jingyeom’s legs quickly tired, and his pace slowed.

Eventually, he clung to Jinwoo’s arms, just swinging his legs lazily, but still doing his best.

They stood at either end of the blanket, spinning it to wring out the water. After shaking it out, they hung it on the clothesline, creating a wide patch of shade.

After some thought, Jingyeom spread out a mat under the shade and lay down. He was quite tired after moving around since morning.

‘…Should I call him?’

He couldn’t stop thinking about Soohyuk’s face from yesterday. It didn’t seem like he was hurt, but he had looked a bit upset about not knowing.

On the other hand, Wonbeom had acted as if nothing had changed.

‘This is bothering me.’

Jingyeom hadn’t intentionally kept it from him, but it still weighed on his mind.

As he debated, he yawned widely and blinked slowly, his face heavy with sleepiness.

‘I should help Jinwoo…’

He knew he should get up and move, but his body felt as heavy as a blanket soaked in water.

‘I’m so sleepy.’

He tried to keep his eyes open, but they soon started to droop.

“Hyung, aren’t you hot?”

“…No.”

The cool air from the blanket, still damp from the wash, kept the heat at bay.

Jingyeom looked up at the clear sky without a cloud in sight, then turned onto his side.

The front door, wide open, was covered with a blue mosquito net to keep the bugs out.

Beyond it, Jinwoo’s face peeked through.

“Come inside instead. We can turn on the air conditioner and close the door.”

“…That’s a waste.”

They had opened all the windows to let the air circulate, so the house was warm inside.

Plus, they were cooking side dishes for the coming week, which added to the heat.

Jinwoo, who had been quietly observing, suddenly took out a fan and sat down next to Jingyeom, fanning him.

Even though the wind was warm, it brought some relief from the heat.

“You’re going to get heatstroke like this. Your face is all red.”

Jingyeom flinched when Jinwoo’s cold hand touched him.

“It’s hot.”

“……”

“You’re just too lazy to move, aren’t you?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

Jingyeom denied it, but in truth, he was a bit lazy, and his body was also drained from stomping too energetically on the blanket.

“Wait a second. I’ll turn on the air conditioner.”

Knowing that Jingyeom wouldn’t fan himself, Jinwoo handed him the fan and went back inside the house.

Jinwoo turned on the air conditioner and the fan. Then, he took off the short-sleeved shirt he was wearing.

He had planned to change clothes after cooking, but the sweat was too uncomfortable. Still, he didn’t want to go out bare-chested, so he put on a black tank top and went back outside.

“I told you to go to the laundromat, but you insisted on doing it yourself…”

In the short time Jinwoo was inside, Jingyeom had fallen asleep, clutching the fan tightly. His white t-shirt and sky-blue shorts made the red flush from the heat stand out even more.

“Hey, don’t sleep out here. Let’s go inside.”

Jingyeom didn’t wake up, as he was in a deep sleep. Jinwoo couldn’t just leave him there, so he carefully picked him up.

“…You’re light.”

It had been a while since Jinwoo had carried Jingyeom like this. He felt the same lightness as the last time he piggybacked him.

Jinwoo thought he had been feeding him well, but it seemed there was still a long way to go. At least Jingyeom’s face had gained a little weight.

Jinwoo carefully carried him to the bed, making sure not to wake him, then turned up the air conditioner temperature. He also made sure to cover Jingyeom with a blanket.

“Sleep well, Gyeom-ah.”

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