“Didn’t you sleep?”
Eunchan asked Miro, who gave no response, as he touched the area near his heart. However, all that came back was Miro’s blank stare.
“Jang Miro-ssi?”
“I couldn’t… fall asleep.”
He’d clearly seen him asleep when he moved to the sofa, but there was no sign of drowsiness as if he’d woken up in the meantime. Eunchan removed the blanket he’d been covered with and sat up. He increased the brightness of the stand lamp and checked the remaining IV fluid. The IV line had been removed, as if a nurse had stopped by in the middle of the night.
“Should I call the nurse?”
“No.”
Judging by his response, he seemed fine, but strangely, his gaze was so vacant that he did look like someone who was unwell. Eunchan stood there with his arms crossed for a moment, pondering what to do, then soon lifted one side of the blanket covering Miro.
“Move over.”
Miro immediately shifted his body and made room. Eunchan arranged the fluffy pillow and then lay down. Wow, this is even better than the sofa. He was the type who normally fell asleep within 5 minutes of laying his head down, but here it seemed like 1 minute would be enough. As Eunchan let out a comfortable breath and relaxed his body, Miro, who had been sitting beside him, also slowly lay back down.
“Just count two hundred sheep.”
Eunchan offered advice while gently patting the Miro lying beside him. How many people could sleep after being attacked by an assailant? Eunchan could understand Miro’s anxiety.
Working at the errand company, he’d honestly seen a lot of ugly things. Other errand companies—he didn’t know for sure, but at least they would be doing legal work and running their business safely. However, Eunchan’s boss, perhaps because he started the company after losing his job, was someone who took on any work that made money, whatever came his way.
Illegally finding people was basic, and he’d gone out with tools like a gangster to threaten people, and he’d been beaten half to death by thugs after getting involved with an illegal business. And he’d seen someone die right before his eyes.
Because he was born an only child, he had no siblings, but having spent some years with Hyungsik, Eunchan knew how to play the older brother role. Hyungsik. The kid had grown up lacking because of a bad family environment, but his nature itself was kind and gentle… Anyway, he was a cute younger brother. Especially when he came back from difficult work, Hyungsik would often act spoiled toward Eunchan, saying he didn’t want to be alone. Each time, Eunchan would pretend to be reluctant while sometimes bringing Hyungsik to his place, or they would sleep together at the company.
So right now, Miro’s behavior felt exactly like Hyungsik unable to sleep from fear, which is why Eunchan lay down in the bed with him without much hesitation. Though he really didn’t expect him to give up space so easily. If he’d refused once, he was thinking of just going back to the sofa and closing his eyes.
“…Don’t look at me, I said count sheep.”
Even after several minutes passed, when he couldn’t hear any words or even small breathing sounds from beside him, Eunchan slightly opened his eyes. Then he met eyes with the other person who was staring intently at him.
“……”
Life was returning to Miro’s eyes that had been blankly unfocused. Eunchan let out an empty laugh while looking at Miro who was brightly awake, then soon turned around and rolled over to face the other direction.
“I gave you my contact information. You should contact me directly, so why did you call the boss?”
I don’t know why you specifically requested me for the job but then contacted someone else.
“It felt wasteful…”
“What’s wasteful?”
“I wondered if it was okay to call you for something like this.”
“This isn’t exactly ‘something like this’ though…”
Eunchan gradually woke up as he became dumbfounded.
“Just call me anytime. We’re always on 5-minute standby. Other people call us for completely trivial things.”
There was even someone who requested other work but then called because it felt wasteful to call a designated driver after drinking, and someone who asked them to pick up laundry instead.
“Will you come?”
“Yes.”
Of course, I have to do what I’m paid for. Eunchan answered Miro’s question. Then he turned around to check on Miro. The man was covering his mouth with his bandaged right hand and laughing. Pretty good signs.
“I’m going to sleep. Sleep well.”
The day has been way too long. Eunchan pulled the blanket up further to cover up to the tip of his nose. Even the bedding was so luxurious and cozy that he never wanted to get up. As Eunchan exhaled deeply and gradually fell into sleep, he could hear the man beside him humming a lullaby beneath his sinking consciousness.
Sleep, sleep. Along with rhythmic patting. Are you raising a child? Eunchan thought, intoxicated by drowsiness between dream and consciousness.
* * *
Eunchan opened his eyes at a rustling sound. Thinking the room light had been turned on because it was so bright, the sunlight coming into the hospital room was strong—when had day broken?
“Are you awake? I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Around the bed stood one doctor and two nurses. Eunchan hastily threw off the blanket and stood up, embarrassed. How mortifying.
“You must be hungry, right? We’ll bring you breakfast soon.”
The man in a suit who was with them asked Eunchan. Looking at the uniform, he wasn’t medical staff but looked like a hospital room manager. Eunchan looked at Miro, who was sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed. This comparison is a bit much, but Snow White… No, he was like Sleeping Beauty.
While Eunchan was admiring Miro’s beautiful face, the doctor skillfully checked the stitched wound and proceeded with disinfection.
“Is the wound severe?”
“It is severe. There was a lot of bleeding. It’s fortunate that it at least missed the artery.”
Whoa. Eunchan swallowed his surprised breath and looked at Miro sleeping again. It was that bad? No wonder he couldn’t sleep.
“There’s someone here protecting him, right? A bodyguard or…”
“Yes. It’s safe.”
When he asked the manager, an immediate answer came back. Eunchan couldn’t bear to look at the wound, so he turned around and headed to the sofa. The mess from yesterday had been cleanly cleared away at some point.
“I’ll prepare breakfast for you.”
“Thank you.”
Watching the nurse hang the IV fluid on the IV stand again, Eunchan expressed his thanks to the manager leaving the room. If circumstances were somewhat better, it would be nice to stay here for a long time. Above all, it was good that there were many CCTVs and it was safe. Would it be okay to go wash up? He wanted to shower too. Eunchan watched the medical staff’s reactions and stealthily walked toward the bathroom.
He lowered the handle without making a sound and closed the door. The bathroom interior was also spacious and clean. It was the size of his studio apartment. In the bathroom where everything except the toilet was made of marble, Eunchan first felt around in his pockets. However, he soon remembered that he’d left his phone on the sofa. He needed to check if there was a text from the boss. He also had things to say.
Eunchan checked the mirror at the sink. At least he didn’t have an ugly face, so even looking like a beggar, he didn’t look dirty. Eunchan washed his face, grateful to his mother. The cold water hitting him made him wide awake. He looked for soap but couldn’t find any, so he roughly made foam with what was next to it and rubbed his face. The sweet vanilla scent was nice.
After finishing washing his face, he squeezed the new toothbrush and toothpaste placed on the sink and put them in his mouth. After roughly wiping the running water with a towel, he realized what he’d rubbed on his face wasn’t soap but hand wash. Anyway, whether it’s hands or face, it’s all the same skin so it should be fine. When in a rush, he’d even applied hand cream on his face, so it didn’t matter. As he was diligently brushing his teeth like that, he heard a voice calling him from outside.
“Guardian?”
“Yes, yes.”
Since someone was knocking on the bathroom door, Eunchan took the toothbrush out of his mouth and opened the door.
“He’s awake.”
Ah, I see. Can’t I say hello later? However, unable to say that, Eunchan had to come out of the bathroom with toothpaste foam at the corners of his mouth. The doctor had left, as if the dressing was finished, and the nurse was also preparing to leave. Miro was sitting leaning against the bed head, looking up at Eunchan who had come out while washing up.
“Are you okay?”
“Did you sleep well?”
They opened their mouths at the same time. Eunchan, holding a toothbrush in one hand, swept back his wet bangs.
“Yes. I slept soundly.”
“That’s a relief.”
It feels like the positions have switched. Eunchan lowered his gaze to look at the hand wrapped well in bandages.
“They said it’s severe. I wish you’d stay in the hospital longer.”
He casually mentioned the thought he’d had in the morning. Since you have money, how about staying here instead of at that dangerous house?
“That’s, that’s good. Eunchan-ssi will stay too, right?”
“…Thank you for your hard work.”
Leaving Miro’s question behind, Eunchan said goodbye to the departing nurse. Soon after, the door closed and they were left alone again. Eunchan sat at the foot of the bed and bowed his head.
“Yesterday, you said there was someone who could stay with you.”
“Yees.”
“Can that person come?”
“……”
Probably not. Not looking at his phone once at night, no news of visiting the hospital. Reading the signs, it seemed he had no family and no close friends either.
Should I? Or shouldn’t I? Should I take this job myself instead of Hyungsik? If it weren’t for the matter with Han Inju, he would have said he’d do it without a second thought. The problem was not knowing when the lawyer would contact him.
But Eunchan knew his personality’s shortcomings well. Having nothing to brag about, yet easily sympathizing when there was someone more pitiful than himself. Was it because of the church he followed his grandmother to when he was young? Eunchan cursed his useless altruism.
“I have work I’m doing.”
“Yees.”
“I’m busy with it right now… I don’t know how it’ll turn out. I might not be there when you need me.”
“……”
“Will you still give me the job?”
Eunchan raised his head and met eyes with Miro sitting obediently. Transparent eyes. Like a fragile deer. A beam of light pouring through the wide-open curtains crossed Miro’s white face diagonally. Eunchan swallowed and watched that purity.
“Yeah.”
It was informal speech, but it didn’t bother him. Rather, Eunchan ended up smiling while holding his toothbrush at the sight of him answering cheerfully like a young child. Miro also smiled back and nodded his head.
“Please eat.”
And soon, the manager who came carrying a food tray announced breakfast.
