No matter how much he examined her, to Seonwoo’s eyes there was no difference from yesterday or the day before. Still, the way he sat in the chair and looked at his mother whenever he had a chance seemed like he was monitoring to make sure she didn’t get worse.
Suddenly checking the phone he had left charging on the drawer, it was 1 AM. He didn’t feel like falling back asleep. Seonwoo took the phone and headed to the cot.
Lying on his side, he turned on the phone. Going online, he scrolled down the screen. His fingers were moving mechanically but there was no life in his eyes.
The changing light swept across his face every time he scrolled. Countless posts and images continuously appeared on the screen, but no information remained in Seonwoo’s head.
It was while he was repeating this meaningless act. A sports column passed by. Seonwoo moved his finger to go back up. It was an article about some athlete.
“……”
He stared at it blankly, then suddenly opened the search bar. Ju Seungho. When he searched those three characters, a profile immediately appeared. In the large profile photo was the face Seonwoo had seen.
Right below the name it said former swimmer. Olympics, Asian Games, World Aquatics Championships. Famous competitions that even Seonwoo would know were all listed in the awards history, and they were all gold medals.
Seungho was a sports star who had been a former national representative. There was even a broadcast he was currently appearing on as a regular panelist. Seeing him styled and appearing on broadcasts made him look like a real celebrity.
Reading various articles reminded him that in the past there had been a swimmer who kept winning gold medals at every competition. When Seungho was in his active days, Seonwoo was in elementary school.
It seemed he had only started appearing on broadcasts a few years ago. When he searched Seungho’s name on a video site, videos with high view counts appeared at the top. They were broadcast clips uploaded by the official channel of a childcare program.
Seonwoo played the video on mute. Even without sound, he could infer the content from the subtitles. It showed daily life caring for sisters two years apart in age, then showed the story from the couple’s first meeting to their marriage.
After his last competition, Seungho ended up with a ruptured knee ligament injury. It was too early an age to discuss retirement since he was maintaining skills no different from his prime. But even as time passed, there were no signs of recovery, and after spending several difficult years, it eventually led to retirement.
The person who was by his side to help him overcome that period was the spouse who appeared on the broadcast with him. The story briefly passed by introducing the spouse as having been Seungho’s physical therapist in charge at the time. They showed a few photos in uniform along with subtitles saying they were still currently working in the field.
The video ended there. The next video automatically played. Each video was a long length of over 20 minutes. Even though he couldn’t hear the sound, Seonwoo was watching all the continuing videos without skipping them.
This time it was showing Seungho caring for his two daughters with observation cameras. Seungho told his toddling daughter that she’d be able to go to the pool soon. The panelists watching that scene playfully chided him, asking if he was already thinking about teaching swimming. Then Seungho answered with a triumphant face, smiling.
『My nephew resembles me and is good at swimming too. Who knows? Maybe it runs in the family?』
A sticker subtitle reading “doting parent” was stuck to Seungho’s body.
[You know the tall, handsome guy who lives in this house? His name is Ju Taejeong and he’s my nephew……]
The way he bragged with an excited voice seemed like a different person from when Seonwoo had met him. He hadn’t been smiling happily like that then. He had been desperate to find out news of Taejeong.
“……”
Seonwoo watched silently, then turned off the video.
It was already 4 o’clock. He pushed his phone to the side and closed his eyes. His eyes were tired, perhaps from watching videos in the dark for so long. He curled up his body while pressing hard between his eyebrows. He had to force himself to sleep.
ლ
Suddenly, he felt something off. It seemed like his senses were being drawn to one particular place. It wasn’t painful or uncomfortable, but something bothered him.
After a while, Seonwoo realized it was a ticklish sensation. The place where he felt something off was his stomach. He couldn’t tell if it was inside or outside his stomach, so he fumbled around that area.
That’s when something brushed against the back of his hand. Seonwoo stretched out his fingers to not let it escape. Something like soft thread wrapped around his fingertips in an entangling way. He felt a faintly cold touch.
What is this? The image that came to mind was wet grass. But it was much softer than that and there was more to grasp in his hand. The touch felt good, so his hand moved on its own.
He dug his fingers in a bit more. As he repeatedly wrapped the unidentified thing around his fingers and let go, feeling the texture, his hazy mind gradually awakened. Seonwoo opened his eyes and looked down.
The blanket was bulging up. It was the upper part of his stomach where he could feel something. The volume was quite large. As soon as he confirmed that with his eyes, Seonwoo reached out and lifted the blanket.
He saw something like a pitch-black lump. Seonwoo squinted his eyes and examined it. Looking closely, it wasn’t a lump but a head.
Someone was lying face down on top of his body with their face buried in his stomach area. The identity that had been tickling his stomach all along was precisely that hair.
What the hell. Get off. Seonwoo tried to chase away the uninvited guest who had invaded under the blanket while he was asleep. But no matter how much he pushed the shoulder or shoved the head away, it didn’t budge.
The massive body clung to him and wouldn’t come off at all. Seonwoo’s movements gradually grew more violent. He grabbed and tore at the hair and kicked at the side.
Even then it didn’t budge, so he struck down at the head with his fist. He was gritting his teeth and hitting, but strangely it felt like his strength wasn’t going in properly. The movements also flowed slowly as if in slow motion.
It was when Seonwoo felt puzzled by the strange phenomenon. The uninvited guest lifted their head on their own. The moment they faced each other, strength drained from Seonwoo’s grip.
It was Taejeong. With his hair disheveled, he was looking down at Seonwoo with his usual blank face.
It might look like a scene from a horror movie, but Seonwoo was just dumbfounded. Why is he here? Thanks to Taejeong raising his body, he could see what state it was underneath.
His top was rolled up so high that his chest was completely visible. Hair was touching his bare skin, so that’s why it was so ticklish.
But then the movement slowed down again. While Seonwoo was moving sluggishly, Taejeong bent down again. He lay down in exactly the same position as before, then now rubbed his cheek.
It was an unbelievable sight even watching it. The back of Seonwoo’s neck went cold as he narrowed the distance. There was no smell of alcohol. Did he go crazy because I hit him too hard earlier? Seonwoo, who had retreated into escapism from reality, fumbled Taejeong’s head with both hands.
Whether he took it to mean something else, Taejeong rubbed his face even more actively. The hair was just ticklish, but skin-to-skin contact felt strange. Because lips occasionally brushed against him, he couldn’t let Taejeong do as he pleased.
Stop it. It tickles.
Seonwoo grabbed the ends of Taejeong’s hair. Unlike earlier when he had sincerely resisted, it was just a slight pull. Yet the movement stopped.
At that moment, goosebumps rose all over Seonwoo’s body.
Something damp and soft slowly passed over his stomach. A startled Seonwoo grabbed Taejeong’s face with whatever he could catch.
Taejeong, whose head was forcibly lifted, had his bangs held up, revealing his clean forehead. Compared to his thick body, his features had soft lines, making him an appearance where the word “pretty” came to mind first.
The eyebrows that were always furrowed because he was angry were also gently relaxed. Seonwoo’s gaze was captivated for a moment by the impression that looked completely different from usual.
He stared at Taejeong, who didn’t get angry even when their eyes met, finding it fascinating, then his gaze naturally went down. Taejeong’s lips were slightly parted, and he was sticking out his long, thick tongue.
