# Chapter 77.
Jaei tilted his head and, with a look of feigned ignorance, brazenly and shamelessly asked:
“Doha-ssi, I think all misunderstandings between us have been cleared up, so why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Jaei-ssi, what do I need to do to make you believe me? Are you really going to notify me of our breakup through a lawyer?”
Ryu Doha, who had been desperately pleading that he couldn’t separate from Lee Jaei with an innocent tone and eyes, finally collapsed in front of the door.
“If you must abandon me, then step over me as you leave!”
“Really? Alright.”
Jaei-ssi, wearing brand new sneakers with hard soles, strode forward and laid his body on top of Doha-ssi, who had become one with the floor. The baby hotteok, who gets pressed down easily, blinked his round eyes as he saw Jaei’s face approaching.
The corners of Jaei’s lips twitched excitedly. Jaei then puckered his lips and planted a kiss on Doha’s lips like stamping a seal, then said:
“You know I’m sensitive about bedding, so I’ve changed my beds incredibly often. Among all those countless beds, this one is the most comfortable. It’s comfortable to lie face down, to lie on my back, to sit. It fits my body perfectly. Like it was made specifically for me. It’s an ergonomically designed Lee Jaei exclusive bed.”
Doha’s eyes instantly filled with joy at being recognized for his value as a bed. He couldn’t hide his smile at the thought that he could remain by Jaei’s side, even if only as a bed.
Did Jaei know how much effort Doha had put into ensuring he could sleep stably and comfortably in his arms? He had built his muscles to fit Jaei’s body shape and constantly researched new positions. This is why people need to have skills.
“Jaei, Jaei. So you won’t throw me away?”
Jaei, smiling broadly, gave no answer but showered Doha’s face with kisses everywhere. He nuzzled his face, pressed their noses together, and bit Doha’s lower lip, then spontaneously exclaimed in delight:
“Ah, this is mine.”
After showering together and changing clothes, they began dinner. Jaei had prepared foods like a buffet, letting Doha choose what he wanted, then personally feeding it into Doha’s mouth. He even fed him rice, one spoonful at a time. Director Hong Duyoung’s film “Fruit Bat” was still playing on the TV.
“Doha, I didn’t know you hadn’t eaten lunch either.”
“I really had no appetite at all. I was too sad.”
They conversed in a comfortable atmosphere while eating. Doha, who had closed his mouth tightly and cutely munched and swallowed the mushroom side dish, stared at the TV and said:
“Seo Eunho never once mentioned Hong Duyoung to me. And I never had any reason to recall Seo Eunho from my memories. He was someone whose name I could barely remember. A relationship where only after you tell me the name, I think, ‘Ah, that was his name.'”
And so Doha began to explain in detail to Jaei for the first time about his relationship with Seo Eunho and his difficult past.
Seo Eunho. He was the first task given to the 14-year-old soul Ryu Doha, who had started erasing demerits to gain the chance for reincarnation. The soul of that 17-year-old boy, who had died falling from an apartment rooftop, was stuck tightly to his own body, unable to detach due to lingering attachments and obsessions with life.
Young Doha had burst into tears as he forcibly detached the soul from the shattered and broken body. The wretchedness he felt at that time was indescribable. He did such things more than a thousand times over half a year. He witnessed terrible deaths that couldn’t be seen in movies or dramas, and endured by listening to the heart-wrenching cries of people who couldn’t accept sudden death all day long.
“I went through those days to come back to you, Jaei.”
“…”
“No one can do that easily. Without a strong will to return, it’s impossible. So you’re the one who brought me back. Because you were the only reason I had to come back to life.”
Jaei, who had been staring intently at Doha’s eyes, bowed his head and kissed the back of his hand.
The pure and strong-willed man Ryu Doha successfully reincarnated after clearing all his demerits and accumulating merits in just half a year. Despite his young age of fourteen, he achieved an incredible record that no one else could match because he was crazy in love. Seo Eunho also hoped to regain life, but his progress was extremely slow.
Doha, who had played the role of a grim reaper guiding Seo Eunho’s soul, didn’t know what feelings Seo Eunho had for him after that first meeting. But Seo Eunho’s claim that they were in a mutual relationship wasn’t worth mentioning. He could proudly say that while he hadn’t been cold to him, he had never given him any opportunity.
As time passed, Seo Eunho, whom he met again in the afterlife, was facing reincarnation after 13 years. Doha, who had been three years younger than him but was now three years older, recognized his face and quite maturely congratulated him. And he gave him one tip: since a human is being born anew, they lose their original memories.
—If you want to remember everything, be reborn in a place where there are traces that can intensely pull out your memories.
When they had that conversation, Seo Eunho smiled shyly with joy. But his shyness wasn’t meant for Doha. After that, Doha returned to Jaei’s side in three days. That was the extent of his relationship with Seo Eunho.
Doha pointed to the steamed egg with his finger and continued:
“When I think about it, it’s not strange. Many people like me. He could like me too.”
“That’s right. The only person who didn’t love you was Hong Duyoung.”
“I should have tried to win that old man’s heart too.”
Jaei scooped up a spoonful of the pudding-like soft steamed egg and put it into Doha’s mouth, who was talking nonsense.
The reason why Doha suddenly “disappeared” after Hong Duyoung’s confession was, surprisingly, due to an administrative error.
“Usually, people who die unjustly reincarnate because of grudges. But I didn’t. There was a mistake, they said.”
“It took three days to resolve that?”
“It’s common. Since I reincarnated because of love, I insisted they send me back to Jaei quickly.”
Jaei felt relieved at the thought that Doha wouldn’t disappear again.
Doha, who had finished his recovery meal, continued speaking as he fed salad into Jaei’s mouth, who was restraining his dinner intake to appear with a more handsome face in front of the camera.
“The man you said appeared in our home recently, that was Seo Eunho, right?”
“Yes. The face matches. It seemed like he came looking for you.”
Doha’s questions began here.
“I wonder why he was visible to your eyes when he came looking for me?”
“…”
“When I died, only you and Hong Duyoung could see me. Because that’s what I wanted. The reason you could only see me in that place was because Hong Duyoung lived in the same apartment as us at that time.”
“Huh? So while scaring Hong Duyoung, you also came to see me?”
“No. I wanted to see you, so I used the excuse of visiting someone with a grudge whenever I was busy.”
Today, Jaei was learning many new facts.
At that moment, the climax scene of the movie “Fruit Bat” was playing on TV. Hong Duyoung had enthusiastically stated in an interview at the time of release, “The screenplay was completed a very long time ago, but I wanted Lee Jaei to definitely act in this film. I, who had watched his acting since Lee Jaei was five years old, waited patiently until this film found its owner in Lee Jaei.”
In fact, from the moment he first entered the hospital room, Jaei had noticed why Doha, who didn’t like Hong Duyoung’s films, was watching “Fruit Bat” out of nowhere. Jaei was also thinking about watching it again when he had time.
Jaei remembered that the name of his character in “Fruit Bat” was Eunho. It was written as Eunho in the script, and he was called Eunho throughout the filming. He didn’t know the surname. However, fans often know information that even the actors themselves don’t. Ryu Doha, being Lee Jaei’s devoted fan, knew the surname of Eunho in the movie. Seo Eunho. So Doha’s Seo Eunho was Lee Jaei.
Jaei, whose cheeks were bulging thanks to the cherry tomato Doha had put in his mouth, chewed and swallowed it before speaking:
“Actually, I saw the diary of the person suspected to be a victim in this film.”
*Today the director told me he’s writing a screenplay based on my story.*
*He even showed me a bit of the script he’s working on. The main character’s model is me!*
*He promised that when I grow a little more as an actor, he’ll cast me as the lead in that film.*
*I’m so excited and nervous. Now I’m going to become Seo Eunho.*
*And I’m going to be the muse of the director I love and respect.*
At this moment on the TV, actor Lee Jaei, playing the seventeen-year-old “Seo Eunho,” was falling from the rooftop of a ruined apartment like a bat that could no longer flap its wings.
“He’s so pitiful. How much he must have hated me in the afterlife? Even I would want to come back to life.”
Jaei hung tears at the corners of his eyes and filled his large eyes with sympathy. Doha, who usually copied Jaei’s emotions quite well, this time stared at Jaei with dry eyes.
“You’re the most important to me, Jaei. No matter what circumstances there are, if someone bothers you, I don’t care about anything else.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. How much did he bother me? Just trying to drive a wedge between us.”
“What if this isn’t the end?”
“It’s not the first or second time I’ve been hated while doing this job. It’s always been there everywhere. If I count, it’s over 100 people. In a situation like this, Ryu Doha is the only person in this world who didn’t hate me but rather loved me more.”
Jaei answered firmly. Doha, who sighed lightly, continued:
“Anyway, it seems right that the person Seo Eunho came to find wasn’t me but you. So I’m going to start brain development training again. I think I need my brain to work well so that I can protect you no matter what situation arises.”
Doha was resolute, and Jaei tried to answer calmly and nonchalantly.
“Okay, let’s work hard with our limited time. How about we learn baduk?”
“Jaei, you’re already a genius, and you’re much busier than me, so I’ll try it this time. This seems like something I can solve better than you. Don’t you think so too?”
Jaei chuckled and said:
“Still, learning baduk together would be fun.”
“That’s true.”
After finishing the salad, Jaei cleared the table casually as if nothing was wrong. Doha, who was helping Jaei clean up the trash, noticed that Jaei’s hand holding the fork was trembling slightly. He got up from the bed, took the bag from Jaei’s hand, and embraced Jaei’s thin body that was trembling minutely.
And he whispered to him calmly and quietly, praying that his voice would sound reliable to Jaei’s large ears:
“Jaei. You’ll always be safe in my arms.”
Jaei didn’t doubt those words at all. For a very long time, he had thought that Doha’s broad embrace was the safest place in the world. He had lived a fearful life until now, but after receiving the “Brave Cat Award” from Doha, he had become much more confident.
Jaei stopped his trembling hands that stemmed from psychological anxiety and spoke to Doha in a bright voice:
“Did you see my bucket list changed in the recent pictorial interview?”
“Of course I saw it. ‘Living a long and healthy life with the person I love.'”
“Doha, I really want to live happily for a long time. With you.”
