― Honestly, that bastard Leo is annoying but he has everything. He’s totally the ultimate insider among insiders, and there’s nothing he can’t do. No wonder the kids didn’t even make trivial bets with him. He’s good at studying, has a good personality, he’s handsome, and what can I even say about his family background. Someone jokingly submitted Leo’s student council president application for him, and boom, he became student council president.
“…Ri, right.”
― And how good is he at polo too, I’ll show you photos taken when Leo was playing polo later. He’s totally a teen star himself. I almost fell for him. It’s fortunate my type wasn’t Leo…
At the mention of a polo game, Hyedam had to ask back, “That thing where you ride horses and hit balls?” And the answer he heard was that he was also good at hunting.
Even while drinking hot chocolate and chatting with Luna, Hyedam’s gaze was fixed outside the window. The rain alternately intensified and subsided repeatedly, and the palm leaves were still wildly fluttering in all directions, as if they hadn’t escaped the storm’s influence yet.
And Leo.
His Ondal was still wandering the sandy beach.
It wasn’t something that could be found relying on the sporadically placed lights. How on earth was he supposed to find a ring dropped on a sandy beach on a stormy day, of all places?
Irritation toward Leo would pop up, but then when he thought that he was still the only human who had stayed by his side, the irritation would soften. But then when he thought about how he had appeared with amnesia and then left without a word, strength would clench into his fist.
― Oppa! Are you listening?
Hyedam, who had been lost in thought for a moment, gave a perfunctory answer of “Uh, yeah” to Luna’s clear voice.
― See, you were worrying about Leo again. You did. How have you lived with such a soft heart? Work him hard. He deserves to be worked. Even if your heart, what, permits it. Don’t immediately go “Oh! Okay!” like that. Pretend you don’t and say it’s really hard. Say you don’t want to see him and everything. You know, that kind of thing.
“What kind of thing is that?”
― Hah… what should I do with this oppa. Even if Leo gets on his knees and bows his head and everything, pretend you don’t know.
“How?”
― If you really feel sorry for him, tell him to go sleep in the separate cottage. Don’t let him come near you, don’t let him lift a finger, and make him do everything. Make him cook too. Make him get everything you want to eat and want to buy.
At Luna’s difficult suggestion, Hyedam scratched his head. Would that guy listen if he told him to go sleep in the separate cottage? He didn’t know about other things, but on a bleak day like today when there’s no electric blanket, it would probably be warm to sleep hugging him…
He still doesn’t know about the baby, but if he insisted the protruding belly was from gaining weight, would he believe it?
His thoughts having wandered off track again, Hyedam gently rubbed his lower belly. They say male omegas don’t get that big a belly, but clearly he wasn’t ordinary. It was also true that the situation wasn’t ordinary.
He saw in Jeju Island before that he could make brunch pretty well, so he could ask for that, but it would be difficult to ask him to buy things on an uninhabited island.
― Is he still looking for the ring?
“Seems like it. This time he went to the opposite side of the rest area so I can’t see well.”
― That stupid… son of a b… Ah. Oppa, I’m sorry. Baby, I’m sorry. Really that guy. Really how did he study well with that head? Just that what? There’s that thing for finding minerals, like a magnet. Couldn’t he find it if he swept the sandy beach with something like that? What’s he doing in the dark? If it doesn’t seem like he can find it, he should give up and come back and get on his knees and beg!
“That’s what I want to say. I should tell him to stop getting rained on and come inside.”
Hyedam let out a long sigh and got up from the rocking chair. Though it was light conversation, it was almost a situation where Luna was unilaterally chattering to lift the mood and relieve his feelings.
― Oppa will handle it well, but still, that bastard needs to be worked! Got it?
After ending the call with Luna’s encouragement to not easily forgive and accept but to do as he wanted until the end, Hyedam bit his lower lip firmly.
He seemed to clearly remember meeting when they were young, but seeing that there was no mention of the watch, he might not remember that incident. Just because she knew various little things didn’t mean Luna knew everything between the two of them. There were mountains of things that she didn’t know about, things that Leo and Hyedam had to resolve between just the two of them.
Just how much do you know? She said to work him hard, but it seemed like this would become a battle of wills between the two. Unable to carelessly say anything, Hyedam, who had become troubled, picked up the shawl he had taken off and put it back down.
He had thought he’d only gotten a little drizzle on him, but the shawl had absorbed more moisture than expected. If he was like that after being outside for just a moment, thinking about Leo who would have been hit by the thick rain directly, what came out was, as expected, only a sigh.
As Luna said, he had no intention of readily accepting Leo’s proposal. Leo was five years old. He was eight years old. A promise between children who passed by each other by chance wasn’t important. If you put it that way, his first kiss partner wasn’t Leo but a girl whose name he didn’t even remember who attended the same kindergarten when he was six years old.
He should soothe him appropriately and send him back. Not with a vacation request but with a proper resignation letter.
Entering the dressing room and putting on a thick hooded jumper, Hyedam took an umbrella and went outside. He quickly zipped up to the end of his neck in the cold air of the beach at the late hour past midnight.
“Hey!”
Not feeling like calling his name properly, standing at the door, Hyedam called Leo loudly.
“Hey!”
When he didn’t see the black mass move, perhaps not hearing well because it was far, he called him once more. Then something black popped up from behind the rest area.
“Come here!”
Seeing that there was no returning answer or big movement, it seemed stupid Ondal had fallen into contemplation. It would be embarrassing to come running right away. He had apologized and done what was supposed to be a proposal of sorts, only to be abandoned. If he had known it was a ring, he wouldn’t have pushed his hand away like that either.
Clearly everything seemed to be Leo’s fault. Ah! Except for secretly running away. Anyway, it was a disaster that happened after he appeared on his own and said strange things.
“If you don’t come during the count of ten, know that you can never come in.”
Having brought up a condition that would only work on a kindergarten child, Hyedam slowly counted numbers.
“Ten… nine… eight…”
Oh my. Look at this, not moving?
“Seven…”
When he gauged the distance from where Leo was to here, he should have moved by now.
“Si…”
The corners of Hyedam’s mouth were slightly raised as he watched him move, leaving time precariously. Without Luna’s brief call in the confusing situation, it would have been difficult to find composure like this. Perhaps thanks to receiving Luna’s energetic energy, who had thoroughly dug into Leo’s sins together and given infinite support, the serious situation didn’t feel serious.
But if he was going to propose like this, why didn’t he look for me during that time? Did he really give me vacation until the ring was made or what?
With the umbrella hung on his shoulder, arms crossed, Hyedam wasn’t counting. He was just appreciating Leo walking over looking like a drowned rat. Ah… annoyingly, does this guy look cool even as a drowned rat?
Hyedam clicked his tongue at the sight of him sweeping back his hair that looked like it had awkwardly absorbed water, neither properly wet nor not wet. A few steps and you’re doing a solo fashion show while walking. Where did you throw your suit jacket? His skin could be seen through the soaking wet white shirt.
He must have worn it neatly at first, but the necktie loosened as if roughly pulled down by hand, the two undone shirt buttons, the roughly rolled-up sleeves—Hyedam’s hand, which had been examining each detail, unconsciously touched his lower belly.
‘I’ll take back what I said about not resembling your dad. Resemble your dad, not me, then when you commit a deadly sin, you might be able to get forgiveness with your looks at least once. That’s how I’m feeling right now.’
Leo, who had quite a bit of speed at first but gradually slowed down, stopped a few steps ahead, and Hyedam sharply turned his body.
“It’s cold and it’s raining. Let’s talk tomorrow. I’m sleepy so I need to sleep.”
Luna said to play hard to get, scold, and ignore. And Hyedam tried to follow her words.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what.”
“Everything… forgetting that we met when we were young, forgetting the second time we met too and leaving without even greeting properly, and lastly, leaving you alone now—everything.”
“Good thing you know.”
Suppressing the desire to immediately turn around and look carefully at Leo’s face, Hyedam opened the door first and entered the house.
“I’m using the first room on the right on the second floor. Wash up and come in.”
Without putting emotion into it as much as possible, coldly and simply stating the business. Finishing his words while recalling what Luna had said, Hyedam pretended not to know that Leo was hesitating and entered the room on the second floor.
“Wow. My heart almost burst…”
As soon as he closed the door to the second-floor room, Hyedam, with his hand placed on his jumping left chest, leaned against the door and stood there for a moment. He could have told him to go to the separate cottage. He could have told him to go to another room since he was using this room.
But the reason he told him to come to this room was…
His lingering attachment.
