ACTSV chapter 6

Wonbeom stared at the two with a displeased expression for a long time.

Jinwoo, feeling his gaze, pretended not to notice. He didn’t want to let go of Jingyeom’s hand.

However, he thought Jingyeom would be able to rest more comfortably if those two left, so he reluctantly released his hand.

“There’s a patient here. Let’s talk outside.”

“Alright.”

Wonbeom, rising from the sofa, followed Jinwoo. When Soohyuk stayed still, Jinwoo turned his head.

“Director Sun. Aren’t you coming?”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t I stay here?”

“No, you can’t.”

Soohyuk shrugged one shoulder at the firm answer. It was a playful gesture.

As Soohyuk left, he waved at Jingyeom, who waved back brightly, watching the three leave.

Jinwoo wasn’t the only one struggling to adapt to the rapidly changing personality. Wonbeom, waiting for Soohyuk to come out, felt the same.

Wonbeom watched Jingyeom, still waving, with just his eyes.

Looks like he’s trying to get some attention. If that was the goal, he half-succeeded. It did draw some interest due to the changed personality.

However, it wasn’t positive interest. He was curious about how long this act would last, just that much.

Jinwoo, who had come outside, walked ahead as if he had a clear destination. When they reached the hospital entrance, he stopped.

“Thank you for visiting. Goodbye.”

He said they should talk outside, but then he bowed, turned around, and left without hesitation.

The two left behind could only stare at Jinwoo’s retreating figure in bewilderment.

Soohyuk, the first to snap out of it, began to chuckle, his shoulders shaking.

“Haha!”

His laughter grew louder, drawing the attention of passersby.

“You found a really good secretary. Where had he been hiding all this time?”

“…”

“You really took a hit. Wow… Seeing your dumbfounded face was worth it. I’m glad I came along today.”

As Soohyuk continued to laugh, Wonbeom also let out a hollow laugh. This was why he couldn’t let Baek Jinwoo go.

Even on the way to the parking lot, Soohyuk’s smile remained. It stayed on his face even on the way home.

When they stopped at a red light, Soohyuk glanced sideways at Wonbeom, who was staring out the window.

“Do you really think he has amnesia?”

“No.”

“Huh? Why are you so confident? What if it’s true?”

Wonbeom, turning to face forward, answered.

“I didn’t think you’d fall for such a crappy act.”

“Well… It looks real to me. The malice in his eyes is gone.”

“It’s probably just a ploy to get attention.”

Even if it was true, Wonbeom wouldn’t believe it. Since he was already convinced it was a lie, there was no point in arguing further.

Soohyuk responded with a light nod.

He had never been interested in Baek Jingyeom before, but the one he saw today piqued his curiosity.

He thought something as interesting as today might happen again if he kept watching for a while.

And waving before leaving was kind of cute.

‘Baek Jingyeom… Interesting.’

Soohyuk’s smiling face looked somewhat dangerous.

Jingyeom, staring at the door the three had exited through, turned to look outside.

The high floor offered a wide view. Through the clear glass, the sky was dotted with clouds like watercolor paint.

As he blankly gazed outside, a loud rumbling from his stomach made him glance down. He had been so preoccupied he forgot he was hungry.

“…I’m hungry.”

Saying it out loud made him feel even hungrier. His stomach kept growling.

When he moved his hand to rub his belly, his hospital gown sagged in. He knew he was skinny, but he didn’t have any belly fat. It wasn’t soft; it was flat.

After rubbing in circles a few times, he looked around for something to eat. He remembered the fried rice he had put in the refrigerator earlier.

‘Can I eat it?’

Since it was bought for Baek Jingyeom, it should be okay to eat.

Glancing around, Jingyeom slowly got off the bed and took out the fried rice from the refrigerator. It had completely cooled.

There was no microwave in the room, so he returned to the bed.

He knew he should set up the table to eat, but he was too lazy. He could eat it straight from the container, so he grabbed the spoon he had set aside earlier.

The rice had hardened and the spoon barely went in. Just as he was about to scoop some into his mouth, the door opened, and Jinwoo entered.

“Hyung?”

“Ah…”

Jingyeom, blinking, slowly closed his wide-open mouth. Why did he have to come in right when his mouth was open? The timing was too perfect.

As he regretfully smacked his lips, Jinwoo approached, smiling, and took the fried rice and spoon from his hand.

Jingyeom looked up at Jinwoo with wide eyes, like a child who had a candy taken away. It felt like he should return it immediately.

Jinwoo hurriedly spoke.

“It’s cold. I’ll get you a new one.”

“It’s fine…”

“It’s not tasty. Just wait a bit…”

Grrrr. The sound was loud enough to echo in the room.

Jingyeom, holding his belly with his arms, brought his knees together. His white toes wiggled. He looked at Jinwoo and gave an awkward smile.

Seeing Jingyeom with his mouth wide open was already embarrassing, but the loud growling of his stomach made him even more self-conscious.

Jinwoo bit his lower lip hard to suppress his laughter. He turned his head in the opposite direction to avoid eye contact, which would surely make him burst out laughing.

However, the continuous growling finally made him laugh out loud.

As Jinwoo’s shoulders shook with laughter, Jingyeom pouted.

“…It’s not that funny. It was just a sound.”

“Hmph… Yeah.”

Once laughter starts, it’s hard to stop. It wasn’t the growling from someone else’s stomach that was funny—it was because it came from Jingyeom.

Jinwoo finally managed to suppress his laughter, but his voice still carried hints of amusement.

“…I’ll go heat this up.”

Barely holding back his laughter, Jinwoo hurried out of the hospital room, fearing he might burst out laughing again at any moment.

As he watched the door close, Jingyeom slowly reached out and clutched the blanket, burying his face into it.

‘So embarrassing!’

At first, he tried to play it off when his stomach growled, but after several more times, his ears turned red from the heat of embarrassment. His face and neck also flushed.

Lying face down, Jingyeom stomped his feet, making thumping sounds as they hit the bed.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Jinwoo leaned against it, stifling his laughter so hard his chest heaved. His expression slowly sobered.

The person inside was definitely Baek Jingyeom…

Jinwoo’s eyelids trembled and slowly closed. He felt his courage crumple in his hand.

Laughing in front of Jingyeom, he felt like a child again.

Back to when they knew nothing and took care of each other.

Jinwoo exhaled shortly and opened his eyes. Seeing the fried rice in his hand, he remembered Jingyeom’s embarrassed face and smiled again.

He moved quickly, knowing Jingyeom must be hungry.

* * *

While eating the warmed-up fried rice, Jingyeom rolled his eyes. Jinwoo’s gaze, which had been fixed on him for a while, was too gentle.

Even though he knew he was being watched, he kept eating because he was hungry… but it still made him self-conscious.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

He should have asked before he started, but the delicious smell of the fried rice made him lose his mind for a moment.

“Yeah. I’ll eat later. Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I not? I’m the only one eating…”

“Really, don’t worry about it. I’ll eat when I’m hungry.”

Even as he answered, Jinwoo struggled with the corners of his mouth that kept curling up.

Normally, if he laughed, Jingyeom would tell him to stop, but instead, Jingyeom’s smile made it even harder for Jinwoo to keep a straight face.

Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions. When Jingyeom didn’t recognize him, Jinwoo felt like his world was falling apart. But now, he couldn’t stop smiling.

It had been so long since he laughed like this. It had also been ages since Jingyeom cared about his meal.

Jinwoo cautiously spoke, eyes on the floor.

“…Do you know my name?”

“Yes. Baek Jinwoo, right?”

“…That’s right.”

He looked at Jingyeom, who was smiling brightly. Since losing his memory, Jingyeom had been smiling constantly.

What made him so happy?

How could he smile so brightly now when he hadn’t before?

Jinwoo reached out and held Jingyeom’s hand, which was still on the table. He spread Jingyeom’s palm open and slowly wrote his name with his index finger.

Jingyeom squirmed at the ticklish sensation but didn’t pull his hand away.

“Baek Jinwoo.”

Jinwoo pronounced each syllable clearly, as if to ensure it was never forgotten.

“Call me Jinwoo.”

“…Okay, Jinwoo.”

Jingyeom scratched his cheek, feeling shy about saying the name. He tried to return to his meal, but Jinwoo still held his hand.

“Don’t use formal speech. We’re the same age. I call you hyung because we’re twins. You were born three minutes before me.”

Though Jingyeom already knew this, he nodded as if learning it for the first time.

Only then did Jinwoo release his hand, and Jingyeom resumed eating the fried rice. He hadn’t eaten much, but strangely, he felt full. He had thought he could finish the whole plate.

Noticing the slowing pace, Jinwoo smiled and asked.

“Full?”

“…Yeah.”

“You’ve never eaten much. Even less of spicy food…”

Understanding that it was normal, Jingyeom slowly put his spoon down. Jinwoo closed the lid and meticulously cleaned the table with a wet tissue.