After holding his father’s funeral, Eunchan holed up in Miro’s house and didn’t come out. He didn’t tell the truth to his boss and just made the excuse that he wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t want to talk about his family situation in detail. He had neither the energy nor the motivation to work.
Eunchan kept sleeping the whole time, ate the food Miro prepared, and sometimes when he felt like it, he would take a walk in the garden. He spent several days in a daze without doing anything. From Miro’s perspective, having to take care of Eunchan’s father’s affairs and look after the dazed Eunchan, all of this could have been bothersome, but instead Miro seemed delighted and was anxious that he couldn’t take care of even more things.
When Eunchan didn’t go outside at all, Miro also holed up at home and spent his time. He flipped through cookbooks to make food that would suit Eunchan’s taste, knitted sweaters to wear in the approaching winter, and occasionally played the piano for the depressed Eunchan.
Eunchan gradually recovered while receiving all of Miro’s time and attention like this.
On the day they said the first snow would come. Early in the morning, Eunchan suddenly woke up and greeted the quiet morning sun. When he looked to the side, there was Miro, who seemed to have fallen asleep while knitting overnight, with yarn by his pillow and breathing small, steady breaths.
It was a father he had considered as good as nonexistent anyway. Even if he passed away, it didn’t have a big impact on his current life, and he just had to do well as he had been living until now. Eunchan reached out his hand and cupped Miro’s warm cheek. The precious things were still within his grasp.
“Miro-ya.”
He shouldn’t speak informally since Miro was older than him, but Miro was still asleep and it was quiet all around, so Eunchan mustered the courage to whisper his name. As if responding to the small call, Miro’s eyelashes trembled and vibrated. Eunchan held back his laughter and tapped Miro’s sharp nose bridge with his fingertips.
“Jang Miro.”
“……Why,”
Did he go a bit too far with his teasing? In the end, he woke Miro up. At Miro’s response, Eunchan panicked and hurriedly patted Miro’s back.
“I’m sorry, sleep more.”
“Did Eunchan sleep well?”
“Yes.”
Miro, who closed and opened his eyes once, quickly got rid of his drowsiness and immediately asked about Eunchan’s well-being. Grateful and fond of Miro who had spent morning, afternoon, and night with him, Eunchan lay close and buried his head in Miro’s nape. The rose scent that always came from Miro was faintly detected.
Miro naturally slid his arm under Eunchan’s head. It was an arm pillow he had never experienced even in his childhood.
“What should we do today?”
Eunchan whispered softly in Miro’s ear.
“Let’s do everything Eunchan wants to do.”
“Mm……. Shall we try on some clothes?”
Knowing that Miro liked to dress and style him according to his own taste, Eunchan deliberately mentioned clothes. Because Miro had to give up his hobbies to take care of Eunchan during this time, the rabbit doll’s clothes hadn’t been changed for several days.
“Together?”
“Yes. But didn’t you make doll clothes?”
Recently, Miro had been crazily making only large clothes that would fit Eunchan’s body. Every time he finished Eunchan’s clothes, he would make doll clothes in the same design and color. When Eunchan asked in puzzlement, Miro smiled brightly.
“Because winter is coming.”
“What?”
“I have to dress Eunchan warmly……”
No wonder he only bought thick yarn. He thought only the plants placed in the garden were preparing for winter, but Miro was also preparing for Eunchan’s winter.
“Teach me how to do it too.”
Time was abundant. Eunchan imagined a pretty scarf wrapped around Miro’s neck. Although he didn’t have crafty hands, he felt like he could at least make a scarf. Instead of answering, Miro pulled Eunchan into his arms and kissed his ear lightly. Miro didn’t stop until Eunchan, unable to bear the ticklishness, struggled and escaped from the bed.
Sitting on the living room sofa with the doll in his arms, Eunchan started knitting. Miro taught him meticulously one by one, but since Eunchan was originally the type to learn by just diving in, he sat far away from Miro and held the knitting needles.
“Eunchan, after doing this for a bit, shall we go to the hos, hospital?”
“I’m not going.”
“It really won’t take long……”
Did he put the needle in from above or below? As Eunchan pondered and pulled the yarn, Miro proposed going to the hospital in a gentle voice.
Since Eunchan’s father had passed away from myocardial infarction, Miro, who was afraid Eunchan might also be genetically affected, had been constantly emphasizing a checkup for several days. However, Eunchan’s position was that since he was still young and healthy, there was no need to do so.
“Don’t come near me, I need to concentrate.”
It was the same beige color as what Miro had made for Eunchan. Miro had added cables and complex patterns, but since Eunchan could only do the knit stitch right now, he decided not to be extravagant. Because he put in too much force, the spacing between the stitches became narrow and it became tight to insert the needle.
What went wrong? He hadn’t even knitted a few rows but it was tangled messily with holes between each space.
No matter what, I can’t give him something like this. Above all, for Miro who had such pretty looks, he wanted to dress him only in perfect and wonderful things. As he was calming his mind and unraveling the yarn again, he suddenly realized that Miro wasn’t making any noise and was quiet.
Eunchan quietly raised his head and checked on Miro who was sitting in the dining chair. Miro was sitting still and looking at his phone. With his rarely calm and expressionless face, he looked extremely cold, making it difficult to talk to him.
Did something happen? Eunchan cleared his throat with a cough to get Miro’s attention.
“Ahem, ahem,”
“Should I bring Eunchan some water?”
“Who is it?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
When Eunchan showed interest, Miro hid his phone behind his back. It doesn’t seem like nothing. Did something happen at the company? Eunchan put down what he was knitting and patted the seat next to him with his hand. Understanding the signal, Miro immediately dug into the seat next to Eunchan.
“I told Miro-ssi everything……. It’s not a big deal, right?”
Weren’t they now in a relationship where they could share everything with each other? Eunchan smiled and held Miro’s hand. Miro hesitated but instead of pulling his hand away, he intertwined their fingers like a snake.
“Just, company work……”
“It’s not serious, right?”
“Yeah. Eunchan’s hospital matter is more serious.”
“I told you I’m fine.”
At Eunchan’s question, Miro worried with a stiff face. He had never received a proper health checkup, but he had never been seriously ill in his life and he recovered quickly from colds. It seemed like it wouldn’t be too late to take care of it when he got older.
And when it came to health, Miro was more worrying than Eunchan himself. Especially since his blood was rare, looking at Jang Heewoo, it seemed like it would be difficult to handle if he developed a serious illness.
“Miro-ssi should take good care of your health. Don’t go somewhere and get hurt.”
“Eunchan too.”
At the sight of him persistently holding on to the end, Eunchan eventually promised to make time later to receive a health checkup together with Miro. At the satisfactory result, Miro leaned on Eunchan’s shoulder and smiled with his eyes. He also stroked Eunchan’s knee like a cat acting cute.
In Miro’s embrace, which was now so comfortable it seemed like it was prepared just for him, Eunchan let out a slow breath. I wish we could stay like this forever. Without any worries, happily in a space just for the two of us.
Eunchan tucked Miro’s hair behind his ear and made eye contact. Just like on the day they first met, Miro met Eunchan’s gaze directly. Miro’s eyes, which seemed like they would suck him in, looked like an abyss of unknowable depth.
But it wasn’t just a distant sea. Eunchan tilted his head and carefully overlapped his lips with Miro’s pretty lips. Miro gently bit and pulled Eunchan’s lips. He could feel the somewhat hot temperature of his tongue filling his mouth.
Eunchan hugged the back of Miro’s neck and lay down on the sofa with his back against it. For a moment, his breath caught at the heavy pressure of the large body he was facing for the first time. Bewitched by his pretty looks, he had forgotten about Miro’s large build. Eunchan separated his lips and looked up at the man who occupied his space above. He always wore loose, baggy clothes so he hadn’t noticed, but looking at it like this, it was as if he was trapped within Miro’s shadow.
“……You have a good body.”
The skin texture itself was soft, but his body was solid as a rock. Where did someone who only cooks and knits build muscles? Eunchan continued his inner admiration as he felt Miro’s broad shoulders and back over his knit sweater.
“Eunchan is good too.”
I don’t think I can even present my business card. Eunchan blushed shyly and smiled softly while looking at the complimenting Miro. Since Miro was supporting his own weight with his knees and arms, Eunchan freely hugged Miro and even smelled the scent of his nape.
Just when Miro’s hair was tickling his face and he was getting intoxicated by his rose scent, Miro’s phone rang.
“You have a call.”
“Yeah,”
As if it was quite urgent, the ringtone rang fiercely. Eunchan pointed to the phone placed on the dining table and pushed Miro away. Since he had rarely seen Miro’s phone ring while living together, Eunchan’s heart was anxious. He said it was nothing……
“It’s really nothing. Do, don’t worry.”
When Eunchan’s face stiffened as he remembered when he heard the news of his father’s death, Miro stroked Eunchan’s head.
“Go answer it quickly.”
“Yees.”
Stretching out his steps as long as his pronunciation, Miro picked up his phone. Eunchan bit his nails with his teeth and watched Miro’s complexion. From the quick and quiet phone call, Eunchan could only overhear the words ‘organize’ and ‘notarization’. Even after hanging up the phone, Miro stood in place for a while and didn’t say anything, as if organizing his thoughts.
“Miro-ssi,”
When Eunchan called Miro’s name to ask about the situation, Miro immediately turned his head.
“Eunchan, I, I think I need to go out for a bit. Will you be okay alone? Really ju, just for a moment……”
“What? Yes.”
He’s not a child, how could he be scared of being alone? Eunchan answered absurdly at Miro’s excessive concern.
“I’ll be right back.”
“It’s not a big deal, right?”
“Yeah, Eunchan doesn’t need to worry.”
Then that’s fine. Eunchan got up from his seat and approached Miro closely. Not even an hour had passed since he wished for happiness, but heaven wouldn’t grant it even for a moment.
“Be careful.”
As if responding to the affectionate concern, Miro kissed Eunchan’s cheek.
“I’ll really be ba, back quickly.”
“It’s okay to come slowly. Don’t drive in a hurry.”
“Yeah……”
Looking at Miro who answered well but was hugging him with no intention of moving at all, Eunchan let out a sigh.
“Let’s go put on your coat.”
In the end, only after Eunchan shouldered Miro’s arm and led him to the dressing room did Miro prepare to leave the house.
