# Chapter 75
On the last day of May, Song Yeonhwa, preparing for work at her vanity, looked perplexed at the early morning phone call. Her eldest son’s name appeared on the screen—someone who never contacted her first unless his fingers were broken. Her heart sank with worry that something might have happened, and she quickly answered.
“Igyeol, it’s Mom. Is something wrong?”
“Eunje is sick.”
True to his character of only conveying essentials, Tae Igyeol skipped the greeting and went straight to the point. Since childhood, Mo Eunje had occasionally suffered from digestive disorders and colds, so unless it was quite serious, there was no need to contact her. But considering that he had been fine yesterday while house-hunting, and now there was a call saying he was sick, her heart pounded violently at the thought that he might be seriously injured.
“How badly is he sick? Is he seriously hurt? I’ll come right now. Which hospital are you at?”
“Ah… I think he has a cold, but he says he can bear it, so we haven’t gone to the hospital yet.”
“What? Really! You should have said that from the beginning—do you know how shocked I was?”
Song Yeonhwa exhaled with relief while calming her startled heart. Since Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola had gone to Busan, and it would take time for them to come back even if they left immediately, she thought he had contacted her first for that reason.
On the other hand, she realized that even if such a situation had actually occurred, unless Mo Eunje was on the verge of death, he wasn’t the type to call—he would handle it himself. Anyway, it was fortunate that although he had caught a cold, it wasn’t serious enough to require a hospital visit.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about how surprised you’d be.”
“Of course I’d be surprised. Since when do you call Mom to say Eunje is sick? Ah, is this about the house viewing scheduled for today?”
“Yes. He says he can go out, but from what I see, he looks like he might collapse on the street. Please cancel today’s schedule.”
“Right, health comes first. Tell him to rest well today.”
Just as she was about to hang up, thinking the conversation was over, her eldest son’s voice came through again.
“Mom. About Eunje’s house…”
“Yes?”
“What do you think about not looking for a house for Eunje for a while?”
“For a while? Why? Is something really wrong?”
“It’s not that.”
It had been two months since Mo Eunje started staying at Tae Igyeol’s house. As much as she secretly wished they would continue living together and taking care of each other like now, she had refrained from contacting them while focusing on work. Then last week, Mo Eunje contacted her saying he wanted to look for a house again. Recently, Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola had also been urging her to find any place, saying they couldn’t inconvenience Tae Igyeol indefinitely. But her eldest son was saying something different.
“Whatever the reason, then tell Eunje to contact me when he’s comfortable.”
“No. Please tell him you’re busy and won’t have time to look at houses for a month or two.”
“Hmm? Me?”
“You know his personality. Even if he was dying from sickness, he’d hate to inconvenience others and would try to match your schedule. Today I barely managed to talk him out of going out because he had an appointment with you.”
Mo Eunje was exactly that kind of person. From childhood, he had been inexplicably kind-hearted, always choosing to take the loss himself rather than inconvenience others. Sensing the call might be longer than expected, Song Yeonhwa put in her Bluetooth earphones and continued with her makeup as she spoke.
“You did well. Eunje has had consideration ingrained in his daily life since he was young. What’s a little inconvenience among family?”
“Mom. Eunje’s family and ours are not the same family. We can be as close as family, but we’re not related by a single drop of blood, so don’t call us family.”
“Why are you saying such cold things? It’s not like Eunje’s family and ours just met yesterday.”
“That’s right. It’s true we haven’t just met, but we’re still not family.”
Tae Igyeol drew a cold line. Judging by his actions, he was indifferent and inconsiderate to family but relatively affectionate and kind to Mo Eunje, which occasionally made her feel hurt as a mother. Now, his sudden insistence on this distinction was absurd—especially while he was calling on Mo Eunje’s behalf to cancel appointments because he was sick.
“Anyway, Eunje seems to be pushing himself too hard, so I think he needs to take care of his health for a month or two.”
“Then why don’t you ask Eunje to stay with you for another month or two? You two could even live together permanently.”
“He’s someone who, after just two months of staying here, checked the utility bills and management fees and transferred money to me without saying a word.”
Whether he was smoking or sighing, a sound of exhaling deeply came through with a bitter voice. As it was, she had barely dissuaded Mo Yeongwoo and Han Seola, practical as they were, from giving money to Tae Igyeol, insisting that since they were entrusting their son to a close friend, such matters should be handled clearly. Instead, Mo Eunje had treated them to a full five-day course when they visited Busan during Children’s Day and Parents’ Day.
“Why is he worrying about such things? He should just consider it his home and stay comfortably. So are you splitting the utility and management fees?”
“No. Eunje is paying them in full.”
“What? And you’re accepting that? Is that how I raised you? Why are you taking money from Eunje, who’s practically family? Did you pressure him?”
“Why would I pressure him? If he says he can only stay comfortably by paying at least that much, what can I say? Call him and scold him yourself if you want—he’s sick in bed.”
Tae Igyeol’s voice turned aggressive, clearly displeased. Since the two had grown up like biological brothers, she wished they wouldn’t worry about such things. Seeing them handle matters that adults should resolve made her feel both proud and wistful about how grown-up they’d become.
“Why did Eunje catch a cold? Is it the flu?”
“He hasn’t been sleeping properly while preparing his new work, and it seems his body couldn’t handle the additional strain of house hunting.”
“Yes, with all that stress, it must be hard to look for houses when physically weakened. Moving is no small matter—it takes at least a month just to move and organize everything. That would also interfere with Eunje’s new work.”
“Even though he doesn’t say it, I can see the stress from his new work is no small matter.”
“Of course. Creation isn’t an easy task. I’m always amazed and proud every time Eunje’s books come out.”
People always praise most highly what they themselves don’t possess. As a heavyweight in the real estate industry dealing with unusual amounts of money, Song Yeonhwa simply thought her son would make a living when she saw Tae Igyeol making profits from stocks. But whenever Mo Eunje published a new work, she couldn’t help but wonder how he could create such stories and express them in writing—she couldn’t be more proud.
“So I’d like to ask you to help keep Eunje from worrying about housing issues for a while.”
“How could I refuse that? It’s about Eunje’s work, and it’s a rare request from my eldest son. I’ll tell him I’m busy so he won’t worry—don’t you worry either.”
“Yes. I’ll hang up now.”
There we go. Although she hadn’t expected gratitude, she hadn’t anticipated he would abruptly hang up without saying goodbye after getting the answer he wanted. Though he was her own flesh and blood, she sometimes wondered who he took after, being so blunt and rough, occasionally feeling more distant than someone else’s child. Still, it was fascinating to see someone with such an innately brusque temperament taking such meticulous care of Mo Eunje.
“Let me check today’s schedule…”
After removing her earphones and finishing her makeup by applying lipstick, Song Yeonhwa checked today’s schedule on her phone. The past few days, she had delegated other matters to her employees while accompanying Mo Eunje to view houses. Having already handled the major issues that needed her direct attention, she had some physical time available.
She wondered if her eldest son, who had never properly cared for anyone, could adequately look after someone who was sick. No matter how attentively he cared for someone normally, nursing a sick person was different. Unlike her younger son, who somehow managed to visit her once a day during his busy filming schedule when she was hospitalized from overwork, Tae Igyeol had only shown his face when Mo Eunje dragged him along. Remembering this, Song Yeonhwa clicked her tongue disapprovingly and left the house with her car’s smart key while calling a porridge shop in the apartment complex.
&&
“I bought porridge. Eat a little before going back to sleep.”
A comfortable voice reached him as he lay in a state neither fully asleep nor awake, suffering from illness. Mo Eunje weakly opened his eyes and blinked dully. Having been curled up on his side, he slightly turned his head to meet eyes filled with concern.
“If you’re in too much pain, stay as you are. I’ll help you up.”
An affectionate, gentle tone touched his ear, and a cool body temperature pressed against his neck and shoulders. Tae Igyeol slipped his arm behind Mo Eunje’s neck, almost embracing him, and carefully helped him sit up. Perhaps from rising after lying down, a moment of dizziness made him furrow his brow.
“What’s wrong? Feeling dizzy?”
“A little…”
With Tae Igyeol’s help, Mo Eunje leaned his back against the headboard. His face felt hot, whether from fever, and he could feel the warmth in his own breath. Last night he had suffered from muscle aches as if his entire body had been beaten, and had barely managed to fall asleep, suspecting he might be coming down with a cold. And now it had indeed happened. As he breathed with difficulty, Tae Igyeol’s hand came forward and touched his forehead.
“You have a fever too. Let’s check your temperature first.”
“No, wait, just like this for a moment… Your hand is cool.”
Tae Igyeol, with his naturally low body temperature, placed his hand on Mo Eunje’s forehead, and it felt so refreshingly cool that he didn’t want him to remove it. It seemed as if his hand was drawing out the heat. Mo Eunje raised his own hand and placed it over Tae Igyeol’s, covering the back of his hand, and closed his eyes.
