Yu-shin, who had entered the bedroom, immediately took his medicine first. While swallowing water, he looked at himself reflected in the mirror. Indeed, his complexion was beyond pale—it was haggard. Of course Jun-wan would have noticed, he understood belatedly.
He’d taken time to spend with him, but Yu-shin had ruined everything. He’d even refused the medicine Jun-wan bought, so it was natural he’d be upset. Complex feelings rushed in, but for now he wanted to turn off his thoughts.
He moved his exhausted body and jumped onto the bed. Without even changing clothes, he buried himself in the blanket. So bothersome… So tired… Yu-shin muttered against the blanket and closed his eyes.
After sleeping for several hours straight, Yu-shin threw off the blanket and got up. Looking at the clock, it was already 10 p.m.
He felt terrible hunger. It was natural since he hadn’t eaten properly except for a simple breakfast.
He showered first. Yu-shin, who had changed into comfortable home wear, went down the stairs to the first floor. The house with the lights off was dim. Seeing faint light leaking from afar, Jun-wan seemed to still be holed up in the study.
He turned on the kitchen light and slipped inside. He was hungry but didn’t have much appetite. Yu-shin held onto the refrigerator door and looked inside for a long time.
Only when his face became cold from the chill did he decide what to eat. One melon with large seeds was pulled out by Yu-shin’s hand.
First, he washed it squeakily under cold water. Yu-shin had never held a knife in his life. Can’t I just bite into it like an apple? He tried biting with his front teeth, but the melon’s skin was unexpectedly tough.
Just as he was about to take out a fruit knife, a potato peeler caught his eye. Yu-shin tried peeling the skin with the potato peeler. It was surprisingly easy to handle—just pushing made the yellow skin peel right off.
But because he was too excited, Yu-shin ended up shaving his knuckle instead of the skin.
“Ah! Tsss.”
Sharp pain immediately rushed in. Blood dripped from the flesh below his thumb that had been cut in a chunk. Yu-shin threw down the melon and potato peeler and pressed down hard on the injured area with his sticky hand.
Nothing’s going right today. The cut stung too much. He was hungry, and his hand hurt. Irritation and tears welled up in his pitiful heart.
Quite a lot of blood was coming out. He immediately tore off several sheets of kitchen towel and covered the wound, but the dark red blood instantly soaked the kitchen towel. That shocking sight ignited his fear.
I don’t know where the first aid kit is. Yu-shin left the kitchen and headed to the study. As a courtesy, he knocked, then opened the door before hearing an answer.
“Jun-wan.”
Then Jun-wan responded in his characteristically cold voice.
“What?”
“Do you happen to know where the band-aids are?”
The man who had been glaring at Yu-shin ruthlessly stood up abruptly as soon as he saw the blood on his hand. He set aside what he was doing and immediately approached, grabbing Yu-shin’s hand.
“What happened to your hand?”
“I cut it.”
Yu-shin answered obediently, then grimaced. Jun-wan was forcibly peeling off the stuck tissue. The stinging was indescribable.
He pressed the wound area harder than Yu-shin had been doing. He moved while maintaining the pressure to stop the bleeding.
He went to the nearby kitchen and first washed Yu-shin’s injured hand. Fortunately, compared to the bleeding, the wound wasn’t deep. Jun-wan pressed Yu-shin’s wound firmly once more with a new kitchen towel. His expression was contorted as much as the injured person’s.
“You’re not even a child.”
“Do you have to scold me like that?”
Jun-wan glared quietly. Yu-shin also stared right back at him without backing down. Today really must not be my day. Like people with bad compatibility, they clashed especially today.
“Keep pressing.”
Jun-wan left the bleeding to him and went to find the first aid kit. Yu-shin pulled out a dining chair and sat down. While pressing the wound as instructed, his eyes followed Jun-wan’s traces. Even though he spent less time at home than Yu-shin, he knew exactly where everything was.
Jun-wan returned and applied medicine to the wound and put on a band-aid. His large hands were unexpectedly delicate in some ways.
“Do you even think? If you can’t do something, ask for help.”
Jun-wan organized the first aid kit while also looking around the messy kitchen. The melon sprawled on the floor, the potato peeler, and the blood drops dripping everywhere clearly showed what Yu-shin had been doing when he got hurt.
“Don’t you know you can get hurt worse if you mishandle a potato peeler?”
“I can make mistakes. Would it be easy to ask you to peel fruit?”
Yu-shin shot back. On top of already being in pain, Jun-wan’s scolding wasn’t welcome. Just like at lunch, his tone took a crooked turn.
“Why are you angry?”
“You’re also angry at me right now.”
Jun-wan, who had been firmly pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, blew air so his bangs fluttered. He didn’t like the spectacle of fighting with someone several years younger in the middle of the night.
“I’m not angry. Kim Yu-shin is the one being especially unusual today.”
He roughly threw the melon and potato peeler rolling on the floor into the sink, then opened the refrigerator door.
“Are you hungry?”
Jun-wan’s tone as he asked gently was still cold, but his actions showed he was trying to take care of Yu-shin.
“……”
Yu-shin kept his mouth shut. His plump lips stuck out like a bird’s beak. Because Jun-wan was acting maturely, only his own state became more ridiculous.
“Well, it is time to be hungry.”
“…It wasn’t even really painful. My stomach was just a bit off today, that’s all.”
“Rice porridge can be made quickly.”
“I’m not a patient!”
Yu-shin shouted. It was a strangely sensitive reaction.
Jun-wan shot him a long look. It was a gaze that said he couldn’t understand Yu-shin, who was getting angry and being so on edge today.
“……”
Yu-shin also knew he was acting unnecessarily prickly. But what could he do when words popped out on their own?
This was a kind of defense mechanism. To avoid being caught as a patient, he had no choice but to raise his thorns even more.
Yu-shin rested his forehead on his hand placed on the table. The sigh pouring out of his mouth was heavy as if weighed down by rocks.
“I just wanted to eat melon. That’s why I tried to peel it in the middle of the night.”
“Melon isn’t good for patients. It has cold properties and is food that burdens the stomach.”
“……”
Is he picking a fight? Otherwise, there was no reason to specifically use the word “patient.” Yu-shin glared fiercely with his big eyes.
Jun-wan, standing in front of the refrigerator, shot an equally sharp gaze. A battle of wills with no concessions continued.
“Are you a doctor or something?”
“It’s common knowledge.”
“Must be nice. Knowing so much.”
“Yes, I at least live more comfortably than ignorant people.”
He’s someone I absolutely can’t win against with words. Yu-shin was extremely irritated. He felt pathetic, but since the opponent’s fighting power was superior, he had no choice but to act childish.
“I said I don’t want porridge.”
“……”
“If not melon, I’ll just starve.”
“…You’re fucking stubborn.”
Jun-wan openly sighed and took out a melon from the refrigerator. He, who had seemed like he would never bend his will, stood in front of the sink, washed the melon, and peeled the skin with a fruit knife.
“Whether you eat it and get sick or not, do as you please.”
A small plate was placed in front of Yu-shin. The melon was cut into bite-sized pieces. However, he’d removed all the sweet seeds that were hard to digest and left only the crisp flesh.
“……”
I should say thank you, but I missed the timing. Yu-shin hid his awkward expression and stabbed the melon with a dessert fork to eat it.
Jun-wan turned around and devoted himself only to cleaning the messy kitchen. In the quiet space, the sound of chewing melon crunched. I know he’s quick with his hands, but Jun-wan stayed in front of the sink for quite a long time. As if he would wait until Yu-shin finished eating.
3 You don’t notice your clothes getting wet in a light rain
The weekend passed in the blink of an eye.
Jun-wan received an emergency call from the research lab early Sunday morning and left. Although he didn’t know exactly what it was, it was clearly a serious matter. There was no contact all day, and he only came in at dawn, and even then he gathered a few changes of clothes and left again.
It would have been a bit awkward if we’d been together, so for Yu-shin it was fortunate. Thanks to that, he could enjoy a comfortable Sunday.
