ACTSV chapter 12

As the food was brought in and placed before them, Jingyeom eagerly speared it with his fork and put it into his mouth. Although the meat hadn’t come out yet, the dishes already on the table seemed enough to fill him up.

Watching Jingyeom eat so heartily, Jinwoo’s lips twitched. He shouldn’t eat so recklessly.

Jinwoo preferred to prepare meals himself to control the diet. After the hospital visit, Jingyeom seemed stressed, and with the amnesia, Jinwoo wanted to cheer him up with good food.

More than anything, Jingyeom’s eyes had sparkled at the mention of meat, and Jinwoo couldn’t help but give in. Given the upcoming reoperation, Jinwoo wouldn’t have allowed him to eat like this otherwise.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! You should eat too.”

Jingyeom’s cheeks puffed out adorably as he smiled, making him look cute.

It was a new expression for Jinwoo. Seeing Jingyeom so happy, he couldn’t bring himself to tell him to stop eating.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you full? There’s more coming, so eat slowly.”

“…Oh.”

Jingyeom made a small sound, realizing his stomach was small. Though some food was left, he decided to save room for the steak.

He wondered if he had always had such an appetite. He liked meat but didn’t recall enjoying eating this much. Now, everything tasted so good.

Clearly, hunger is the best seasoning.

Similar dishes were placed before the other three, but they hadn’t eaten much.

Especially Jinwoo’s plate looked almost untouched. His gaze remained fixed on Jingyeom.

Just out of the hospital, everything was a cautious matter.

Wonbeom picked at his food, and Soohyuk was eating, but it didn’t look enjoyable. He seemed to be chewing mechanically.

Unaware of this, Jingyeom continued eating enthusiastically. His cheeks had thinned, so his chewing was clearly visible.

Despite being warned about getting full, he couldn’t stop because the food was delicious. The portions were small.

Feeling a prickly sensation at the top of his head, Jingyeom looked up slightly. His eyes met Soohyuk’s, who was sitting across from him. Their gazes locked briefly.

Jingyeom quickly shifted his eyes sideways.

“Hiccup!”

Startled by meeting Wonbeom’s eyes, Jingyeom hiccuped. He covered his mouth with his hand in surprise.

Wonbeom’s right eye twitched. Just making eye contact caused a hiccup.

Jinwoo quickly handed Jingyeom a glass of water.

“Are you okay?”

Jingyeom hiccuped a few more times, his body jolting. He nodded to show he was fine.

He patted his chest and drank the water. The delicious food suddenly felt heavy in his stomach. He wiped his mouth with the napkin Jinwoo gave him.

Jinwoo gently patted Jingyeom’s back. The hiccups soon stopped, and his body stopped jerking. That was a relief, but Jinwoo worried about any strain on his body.

“Where’s your watch?”

“Huh? …Oh.”

Jingyeom looked at his empty left wrist, then checked his right wrist. Both were bare. He remembered taking it off while tidying up earlier because it was in the way.

Before leaving the hospital in the morning, Jinwoo had put the watch on Jingyeom’s left wrist, insisting he keep it on to monitor his heart rate.

“I must have taken it off and forgot to put it back on.”

“Hyung… you need to wear the watch. If your heart starts racing or you feel dizzy… no, if you feel even a little off, you need to tell me immediately. Got it?”

“I’m fine now. I just got startled.”

“…Are you sure? No racing heart or dizziness at all?”

“Yeah, there really isn’t.”

Jinwoo squinted his eyes suspiciously, unable to erase the worried expression from his face.

If he hadn’t lost his memory, Jingyeom would have taken care of himself without anyone having to worry.

But now, he had forgotten even that he was sick, so he had to be careful about even the smallest things.

Soohyuk, who had been watching quietly, propped his chin on his elbow on the table and spoke nonchalantly.

“Isn’t it originally supposed to be that he’s the older brother and you’re the younger one?”

He sounded like he was suggesting that a mix-up at the hospital had swapped the two.

Even on the surface, Jinwoo seemed like the older brother. His actions reflected that too.

“It’s fascinating. Even without his memories, his body remembers. He seems really used to being taken care of.”

There was indeed some truth to that. Jinwoo had always been like that, naturally acting that way.

But even for someone who had lost his memory, Jingyeom seemed quite accustomed to being cared for by Jinwoo. Soohyuk pointed out that detail.

However, it wasn’t like Jingyeom had regained his memories overnight. He was still the somewhat dazed person he had been yesterday.

Soohyuk didn’t miss the small pause in Jinwoo’s movements at his remark. He watched Jinwoo closely before smirking, as if something suspicious had dawned on him.

“You were aware of it, huh.”

He voiced what he could have kept to himself.

Jinwoo turned his head towards Soohyuk.

“……”

He didn’t respond because Soohyuk’s statement was true.

Even Jinwoo had to admit that Jingyeom’s personality had changed, not just his memory loss. He was no longer the perpetually dissatisfied person he used to be.

He had become brighter and, at least around Wonbeom, much more timid.

A lively voice broke the silence that had settled in the room.

“Jinwoo really does take good care of me.”

Jingyeom nodded proudly.

It wasn’t exactly a compliment, but Jingyeom’s bright smile prevented anyone from saying otherwise.

“But… aren’t you all going to eat?”

Unlike his own plate, which had traces of food, the three others’ plates were mostly untouched.

“I never understood the saying ‘I’m full just from watching others eat’… but now I get it. This must be it.”

“How can you be full without eating? That’s just an empty stomach. An empty stomach!”

“An empty stomach?”

“It means your stomach isn’t really full. You have to eat something to feel full.”

Soohyuk chuckled at the way Jingyeom shook his head, saying it wasn’t a good thing. His words bounced around energetically, and Soohyuk found it very amusing.

Wonbeom, who had been quietly listening to Soohyuk and Jingyeom’s conversation, poked a well-cooked mushroom on his plate and ate it. The sound of chewing quietly filled the room.

A while later, the steak arrived. While Jingyeom was busy cutting his steak, Jinwoo cut his into bite-sized pieces and swapped their plates, scraping the sauce to the side with a knife.

“Don’t put too much sauce. You’ve had too much spicy food today.”

Jingyeom blinked slowly, embarrassed by the neat slices compared to his randomly cut ones. He thought he had done a decent job cutting it, but the difference was too stark.

Knowing he needed to control his diet, he nodded without a word and shifted his gaze.

Soohyuk and Wonbeom’s steaks remained untouched. They seemed to have no intention of eating.

They hadn’t eaten the earlier dishes either, so why did they come? Nevertheless, Jingyeom was satisfied as his stomach was getting full.

“Don’t force yourself to eat if you’re full.”

“Okay.”

Despite being full, Jingyeom felt a pang of guilt at the thought of eating more steak.

Having asked for it to be cooked medium-rare, it was incredibly tender. He couldn’t help but smile happily.

As he chewed slowly, the steak melted in his mouth. He picked up another piece and put it in his mouth.

It was perfectly seasoned even without the sauce. The steak was so well-cooked that the juices flowed as he bit into it.

He could still feel their gazes on him, but he didn’t care. He had to eat the steak before it got cold.

Maybe he should have eaten less, just as Jinwoo had suggested. He hadn’t even eaten half of it, yet his stomach was already protesting.

As his pace slowed, Jinwoo chuckled. Jingyeom’s eyes were full of regret as he looked at the steak.

“Hyung.”

“…Yeah.”

Realizing what Jinwoo was about to say, Jingyeom put down his fork with a reluctant look. Soohyuk’s face showed curiosity.

“Why? Aren’t you going to eat more?”

Jingyeom replied in a sullen voice as he looked at the half-eaten steak on his plate.

“I’m full…”

“…From that?”

Even though it was a course meal, it wasn’t enough to be considered filling for an adult male.

Furthermore, the food on Jingyeom’s plate wasn’t significantly reduced.

“I can’t eat much to begin with.”

Having only been in this body for two days, he hadn’t yet figured out his limits.

But thinking back to how he’d get full after eating only half at the hospital, he realized his food intake capacity was indeed small.

“Let’s ask for dessert before you get even fuller.”

Despite not having finished their meals, they ordered dessert.

Soohyuk tilted his head. It’s normal for siblings with a good relationship to take care of each other.

Considering Jingyeom’s frail body, it was natural for the relatively healthy Jinwoo to take care of him.

Many families are less close than strangers. But having observed these two, their relationship was ambiguous.

Based on Jingyeom’s attitude alone, it didn’t seem like they were close. But when looking at Jinwoo, that wasn’t the case.

It was a one-sided relationship.

Though such dynamics are not uncommon, it was certainly interesting to observe from the sidelines.

Additionally, the presence of Wonbeom, whose thoughts were hard to read, added to the intrigue, making it an ideal scenario for capturing Soohyuk’s attention.

As Jingyeom’s mood brightened at the thought of dessert, Jinwoo’s phone rang.

Seeing the caller, Jinwoo’s face immediately hardened.