Led by Leo’s hand, he ate dinner and drank warm tea at a cafe with a nice night view.
He laughed at his nonsensical jokes finding them absurd, and sighed at his words asking when he would like him. He absolutely didn’t say that being like this with him right now was something he did because he liked him.
In front of other people, he wore an emotionless expression and only said exactly what was necessary, but only in front of him was he different. Even when Hyedam coldly swatted away his approaching hand saying it was annoying and that people were watching, he would smile cheekily and shamelessly demand to do something else instead.
Like now.
“Why! Why can’t we do that either?”
“It’s not like we don’t each have our own homes, so why should I sleep at your house? When you’re around, I’m more tired and can’t sleep.”
“Then marry me.”
Is that what you say while pushing a piece of waffle loaded with whipped cream into my mouth?
“……Shiro.”
Knowing that if he missed his chance to answer while eating the waffle, there was no telling what brilliant thing he’d say next, Hyedam mumbled.
“Am I ugly?”
“Nno.”
As if deliberately not giving him time to answer, as soon as he almost finished eating the waffle, Leo held out a drink. Hyedam smacked the hand holding the glass and took his own drink glass.
“You’re handsome. You’re capable. You can let me live in luxury even if I eat and play for life, and you’re good at service efforts too, and you’re young……”
“That’s why it won’t work.”
“Why! Our fool doesn’t know this, but I’m pretty popular!”
“That’s exactly why it won’t work.”
A large hand slipped over to wipe his mouth, so Hyedam picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth once more.
“Then why do you want to marry me? I’m not young, and if I don’t work, I have to worry about monthly rent right away, plus I’m not good-looking. My stamina is worse than yours so I can’t even satisfy you. Tsk…… Now that I’ve said it, I feel really bad. On top of that, I’m less popular than you think.”
He had only said the exact opposite of what Leo said, but since all those words were true, Hyedam became bitter instead and closed his mouth, turning his gaze to the window.
“……Because it was you from the beginning.”
It wasn’t the high-tension, bright voice like before. Though he heard the small voice that would be buried by the music, Hyedam showed no reaction.
“They say if they’re pairs, they recognize each other at first sight. Even without biting the neck to leave a mark, mental imprinting happens too, but they say the people themselves don’t really know. There are also cases where they pass by each other like the countless people they meet on the street without recognizing each other, yet get imprinted without knowing it. There’s even a movie about this story……”
Snow again? There’s a lot of snow this year.
It was sunny until late afternoon.
“I recognized you at first sight, isn’t that amazing?”
“You’re not an alpha, and I’m not an omega. You’re an alpha but not an alpha. Then am I an omega but not an omega?”
“Who knows about that.”
“Now, Mr. Leo Lewis. We’ve eaten and had tea, and it’ll soon be time to sleep, so let’s go home. Don’t say something stupid like we have to go to your house because it’s snowing.”
“I asked earlier too, but how do you feel after saying or doing things that hurt me like that?”
“You don’t get hurt, so what do I have to worry about?”
“That’s true.”
“Hmm…… Leo. I like you so much. I think I’ll go crazy without you. Stay attached to me 24 hours a day.”
“……Wow. That’s scary.”
“I think so too.”
Hyedam, who had tapped the table with his fingertips and gotten up from his seat, suddenly bit down hard on his teeth at the rushing dizziness and stopped moving, standing still. Afraid of the pitch-black darkness rushing in, he hurriedly covered his eyes. After a little time passed and light was born in the darkness, when he felt the single sparkle increase and his vision gradually brighten, he was already in Leo’s arms.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I got a bit dizzy.”
Hyedam covered his face with one hand in embarrassment and tapped Leo’s shoulder with his other hand.
“Are you not feeling well somewhere? The hospital……”
Since he immediately brought up the hospital, Hyedam urgently blocked his mouth with his hand.
“It’s because of you. I’m not a human who can live sleeping as little as you. What’s the point of giving me vacation time? I haven’t truly rested comfortably while sticking around with you…… So don’t be surprised if I take a vacation soon.”
Embarrassed by the situation of being half-embraced in a cafe full of many people when it wasn’t just the two of them, Hyedam subtly pushed Leo away.
“Me too together……”
“Shh. You have a lot of work. I just said it. I can’t rest more when I’m with you.”
Hyedam firmly cut off Leo’s words and first took hold of his hand that still showed no sign of letting go. Had he ever taken his hand first until now? Had he ever hugged him first? Unlike the active Leo, he was always passive.
It was always Leo who approached first, Leo who brought up conversation, and it was him who smiled harmlessly and broke down those walls whenever they were built. Blunt, snapping at him, telling him not to do anything and nagging. He had never once thought about it until Leo directly asked.
How he had been treating him.
Really the worst. Lee Hyedam.
What good does being three years older than him do? When my mental age is worse than a kid’s.
Having lost face to look at Leo’s face, Hyedam lowered his head and intertwined his fingers between the fingers of his hand that he had grasped first.
“If you say you’ll allow my vacation, I’ll sleep at your house today.”
“……I told you. I’ll do anything our fool wants.”
At Leo’s action of playfully squeezing his hand tightly, Hyedam said it hurt for no reason and lightly shook their clasped hands.
* * *
How could there be such a case?
When he was with Leo, he slept well, ate well, and lived well without discomfort. But the longer the time apart from him became, the more numerous uncomfortable symptoms dominated Hyedam. Though he thought he should go to the hospital, he couldn’t go, and he couldn’t even start preparing to move.
Now that Leo, who had whined about not wanting to go, had gone on a 2-night 3-day overseas business trip, was the most suitable moment for him to leave. After work, as soon as he came home, he started preparing to leave, but because of his heavy stomach, he kept going in and out of the bathroom, so almost nothing had progressed.
All he had done was throw a few pieces of clothing into the largest suitcase he owned. Since he couldn’t move into the newly contracted house, he had no choice but to lose the deposit, and he lacked the stamina to handle this house with four months left until the contract ended.
He wanted to clean up without a trace, but he didn’t have that luxury either. With the intention of packing only urgent luggage and leaving, Hyedam stood alone in the middle of the room and slowly looked around. He had some money saved up, and after four months he could receive the semi-jeonse deposit placed on this house, so if he lived frugally, he could endure for about two years.
“Really. I lived an uninteresting life.”
A sigh flowed from Hyedam’s mouth as he tried to pack only what was absolutely necessary. He wanted to pack things, but there was nothing to pack. He had no attachment to objects, nor did he have a collecting hobby. He tossed his laptop and chargers into the suitcase that only contained the clothes he originally had, excluding the clothes Leo had given him as gifts.
The vacation period officially submitted to Robert was one week. The destination he told him, pressured by Leo, was his grandmother’s house in the countryside. With the Lunar New Year holiday included, it became a really plausible excuse.
Memorial services and holidays he had never observed even once since Grandmother passed away…… He didn’t even know how to make memorial food.
After standing and looking around the room for a while, Hyedam crouched down in front of the nightstand beside his bed.
When he opened the bottom drawer, a small box appeared, and after stroking only the outside of the box with his hand for a long time, as his hand moved, the box lid slowly opened.
The corners of Hyedam’s mouth curved crookedly as he looked at the watch lying alone inside.
He didn’t know why he still had this—it was the only trace Ondal had left behind. The watch he had worn on the way to town, then taken off saying it was uncomfortable, had stopped.
“Huh. Fate is really funny.”
Having seen the back of the watch, Hyedam took a deep breath. The secret about the initials engraved on the watch was solved. He had always been curious about what those initials were, and though he thought it would be a name, since it was an abbreviation, he could never figure it out.
“Fool Ondal…… was not a fool. And Princess Pyeonggang…… was not as wise as the story.”
His story and the story of Princess Pyeonggang and Fool Ondal could never be the same. When Leo realized he had disappeared, he would definitely come to this house. He would leave this watch as a gift for him.
Why I pushed you away so much at first, why I treated you coldly. You should understand a little too.
But in the end, I chose you. And I will take responsibility until the end for the fate that arose from our meeting.
So I hope you hurt a little too.
Having closed the lid, Hyedam put the box back in the drawer, locked the wide-open suitcase, and slowly left the house.
A subtle smile hung on Hyedam’s lips as he left the house, putting down everything.
