# Chapter 95
It’s very rare for a human’s complexion to resemble the color of a Seoul trunk bus. Having been informed that he had less than 20 years left to live, Jaei rubbed Doha’s back with his palm and mindlessly spouted nonsense.
“I should quit drinking. I’ve been drinking alcohol instead of water. The water purifier at our house dispenses alcohol, you know.”
Doha, who had died at the young age of 14 due to a madman but was reborn and expected to live past 100 as a prepared long-life senior, looked at Jaei unable to hide his sadness. Right now, Jaei was laughing it off blaming alcohol, but in reality, he wasn’t someone who drank frequently. He only drank moderately when business drinking occasions arose or when setting the mood before going to bed with him.
It was true that Jaei had always been a concern because of his weak constitution and frequent minor illnesses. But precisely because of this, Doha had believed that Jaei wouldn’t contract any serious diseases. He had never once thought that Jaei could have a short life for any reason other than taking his own life.
Despite knowing well that Jaei was receiving regular health checkups and currently had no diseases, Doha couldn’t recover from the great shock. He simply couldn’t restore his complexion to a peach color. Beneath his blue face, he tried hard to conceal his grief.
Seeing Doha like this, Jaei started to enjoy the situation. He boldly shouted toward the camera:
“Love me more when I’m past forty! I’ll only be active until I’m forty-five!”
Through endless mind control, Doha barely managed to pull blood back to his face. His complexion, which was becoming somewhat similar to a peach, turned blue again at Jaei’s statement.
After finishing his schedule and returning home, servant Ryu Doha began personally removing Jaei’s makeup thoroughly. With a face sunk in deep contemplation, he rubbed foam in circles on Jaei’s cheeks. With foam covering his entire face, Jaei blinked his eyes diligently.
Right now, Jaei was teaching Doha about the importance of life. Ryu Doha seemed to think that if he returned to life, Lee Jaei would naturally still be alive and well in this world. But he wanted him to know that wasn’t necessarily the case. He wanted them to properly recognize how precious each other’s lives were.
“It’s okay, Doha. If I take good care of myself, worry less, stress less, and reduce my workload, I could live until 50. Of course, I don’t have the confidence to be reborn. I’ll wait for you when you come to the afterlife. Let’s live happily with the short time we have left. My personality that can’t live long was predetermined when I was born.”
“…Jaei. I’ll do well. I’ll definitely make you live past ninety with a balanced healthy diet and a stress-free life.”
Finally, Doha began to shed tears. Jaei, who had closed his mouth tightly and held his breath, even tensed his two cute nostrils. Doha, who started crying endlessly, was seriously imagining a life in this world without Jaei, with only himself remaining.
He had consistently thought about living a few days longer than Jaei so he could hold a grand funeral for him and then depart from the world afterward. Since Jaei had experienced his funeral, it was only natural that he should also personally conduct Jaei’s funeral. Sharing fair sadness.
After that, he planned to follow Jaei and embrace him as he trembled in loneliness waiting for him, and then enter eternal rest. That way, they could be together forever even in death. If lucky, he thought they might even become lovers again in the next life.
But all these plans were premised on Jaei living a long life. He had never thought that he might have less than 20 years left to live with Jaei. It was so sad that he felt like all his hair would turn white.
Kneeling naked in the bathtub, Doha began his confession.
“I gave Jaei stress. Because of me, Jaei has gray hair. It must have definitely had a bad effect on his esophagus and stomach too.”
“Doha. Wash my face quickly. So I can kiss you.”
Jaei’s lips quivered before breaking into a smile. Doha washed off the foam on Jaei’s face thoroughly. Afterward, they kissed for a very long time. So long that their feet became swollen from the water pooled in the bathtub.
For Jaei, who had a relatively high probability of getting stress-related diseases, Doha searched for healthy food recipes. Playing recipe videos on the TV, he started to make a magic soup.
After drying his hair completely, Jaei silently tiptoed out and turned on his phone camera. Doha was cutting carrots while crying, wearing a t-shirt with Jaei’s elementary school graduation photo printed on it and an apron over it. There was no hygiene problem whatsoever. Partly because Doha’s tears were quite sacred, but also because his tears strictly flowed down his beautiful peach-colored cheeks, the two streams merging into one before falling onto his firm chest.
Jaei filmed him while wiping away the tears pooled on his chin with the back of his hand.
“Doha, Doha. This is my first time trying tear-flavored vegetable soup.”
“Master, I was foolish. I’ve done something that could hasten our separation.”
In this way, Doha suffered from piercing pain, vicariously experiencing Lee Jaei’s feelings when he faced the crisis of losing Ryu Doha. The actor master Jaei looked at him with pitying eyes, comforting him before suddenly pretending to collapse weakly. Doha quickly lifted Jaei in his arms and hurriedly moved his body to the sofa. With his eyes half-open, Jaei grabbed Doha’s hand tightly and spoke.
“Doha, you should cherish your precious life, right? Do you think it will be refilled infinitely? You shouldn’t do anything that makes your body sick again, right?”
“Yes, master. But…”
Doha put his ear to Jaei’s chest. After appreciating the sound of his heart beating firmly, Doha suddenly wiped away his tears completely. Then he lifted his head and spoke in an incredibly shameless voice.
“Since it’s come to this, if you depart early, let’s work hard for you to be reborn.”
“…What…?”
“I thought it would be too hard for you to endure. But if it’s like this, there’s no choice. Let’s try it once. You can do it, right? Lee Jaei, fighting!”
The mad instructor who had always educated Lee Jaei in a Spartan way at the edge of a cliff smiled faintly.
* * *
Even after becoming independent, Jaei and Doha spent holidays with their relatives every year. However, this Chuseok, Jaei had left Korea to film a movie in the United States, so he couldn’t spend time with his family.
Doha, whose family had broken up after his rebirth, only exchanged greetings with his biological parents over the phone this Chuseok. Since his mother had formed a new family in the countryside, it was difficult to meet as often as they would like. To be fair to everyone, he didn’t meet his father either. They promised to definitely make time for a meal and enjoy time together when the opportunity arose.
Jaei never told both sets of parents about what had happened to Doha and kept it hidden until the end. Unless it was reported in the news, there was no reason to report every single thing that happened to him and Doha to their parents. It was right for him to handle all legal issues that could be resolved at his level. Lee Jaei was now an adult with enough social experience.
Jaei’s parents, who had postponed their family event due to Jaei’s schedule, arrived in the country when both Doha and Jaei had some free time. Relatives flocked to the family home for this long-awaited family event. Surprisingly, today’s topic was ‘Doha’s first lover.’
The relatives, who once had a great interest in whether Jaei had a lover, had lost interest in Lee Jaei, who was now an 8-year veteran entertainer. However, they had a considerable interest in the scandal of the fresh-from-the-oven baby bear who had rolled into the family and just become an entertainer.
“Lee Doha, is this true?”
A cousin asked, holding out a phone. Jaei, who was sitting on the sofa putting money into cute character envelopes for his young cousin’s nephews, tilted his head with interest. At that moment, Doha’s thick arm wrapped around Jaei’s small head, covering his eyes and ears at once.
Recently, a compilation post claiming that Ryu Doha and a girl group member were hinting at their relationship on social media became a hot topic online. The reason the rumor surfaced was because, quite coincidentally, what they each posted on their social media overlapped in a strange way.
“I’m sorry I can’t meet the expectations of my hyungs and noonas, but I’ve never even held a girl’s hand since I was born. Except when filming dramas. And except my mom and noonas. Really. If this is a lie, my height will be 138cm tomorrow. You know I make a living with my height alone.”
Although it wasn’t worth explaining, Doha had sealed Jaei’s eyes and ears to manage his stress levels. In reality, Doha was so immature that he was freely hinting at his relationship with Jaei on social media. However, the world’s prejudices were extremely protective of Doha and Jaei’s relationship, viewing it as brotherly affection.
Jaei, who was nestled in Doha’s arms, peeked out his eyes. Struggling out of Doha’s embrace, Jaei verified the evidence presented by his cousins with his own eyes. Then, with the maturity of an 8-year veteran entertainer, he said:
“They’re dating, they’re dating. This is definitely dating. Look, they’ve tagged the same place on the same day. Lee Doha, you insolent baby.”
“Right? I thought they were dating.”
Jaei had often experienced this pattern of rumor where things posted without any meaning accidentally overlapped with an unexpected counterpart. Therefore, Jaei knew well that this was not something to misunderstand Doha about at all. Jaei had been present for most of the things that became the source of the rumors. It was even Jaei who was with him at the place Doha had tagged.
However, since it was the first time in Jaei’s life to have an entertainer as a lover, he needed some time to adapt to the minor incidents that occurred due to the nature of the profession. Quietly slipping away to his room, Jaei tapped his heated crown with his palm to cool it down.
Soon, Doha followed Jaei into the room. Servant Ryu Doha politely bowed to his master without saying a word. After that, he firmly grabbed Jaei’s two cheeks and deeply pressed their lips together. Jaei wrapped his arms around his neck and accepted the kiss. He had only planned to kiss for a very brief moment.
That’s when the door opened.
