Before returning home, Eunchan and Miro enjoyed a brief drive. With the clear sunny sky and the cooled weather, it was good for an outing. Looking out the window at the broadly spread Han River, Eunchan swept back his hair flying in the wind behind his forehead. Now that he thought about it, his hair had grown quite long.
“I need to go to the hair salon.”
Whether he heard what was said quietly as a mumble to himself, Miro immediately picked up and continued the conversation.
“Should I cut it for you?”
“You know how to cut hair too?”
“I want to cut Eunchan’s…”
Since he was just going to cut it anyway, it didn’t matter. When Eunchan nodded saying to do that, Miro also nodded. Eunchan looked at the luggage bag placed in the back seat and the doll sitting next to it with its seatbelt fastened.
After seeing him give the doll his own name and dress it in the same clothes, at first he regretted buying it for no reason, but recently he thought it was fortunate since Miro seemed to find stability through the doll.
“…Last time when we went to the hospital, I consulted with the doctor in charge of Miro-ssi’s psychiatry department.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Is it okay for me to know?”
Thinking he didn’t know, whether the hospital had contacted him, Miro answered in a calm tone. Since it was a mental issue, Eunchan carefully chose his words and asked his intentions, as Miro might dislike it.
“Yees. B-but I’m all better now. I don’t even take m-medicine, and I’m perfectly f-fine. Eunchan knows that t-too, right?”
Unlike his answer, he didn’t look okay at all. Blood vessels bulged on the back of Miro’s hands gripping the steering wheel. Stuttering more than usual, Miro smiled brightly at Eunchan.
“…Of course, I know.”
He wanted to tell him it was okay, but if he said that, Miro seemed like he’d be even more flustered. Eunchan just tucked Miro’s hair behind his ear and said let’s hurry home and organize the luggage.
“We should wash the clothes once, and I think we can just put the stuff in the boxes in the closet.”
It was a topic brought up to change the atmosphere, but there was a need to make plans in advance for what to do.
“I’ll k-keep it for you.”
Miro proposed that he keep the box, which was no different from Eunchan’s treasure box, inside his safe.
“The safe? There’s no need to go that far.”
“What if someone takes it…”
Among those someones, Miro, who would covet Eunchan’s box the most, worried and asked him to entrust it to him.
“Alright, then.”
It was better than losing it and crying. It wasn’t something he took out and looked at every day anyway. Inside the box were photos taken with his mom, his grandmother’s handkerchief, and a letter the pastor gave him. When he endured and endured and became really lonely, Eunchan would sometimes open the box and smell the scent of love that remained.
“In that box are my grandmother and mom’s belongings and the pastor’s letter. …When I was young, my dad and mom got divorced.”
Family history he’d never told anyone came flowing out of his mouth. Eunchan fixed his gaze on the car’s rearview mirror and slowly continued speaking.
“Dad, well, I don’t even want to talk about him and I cut ties a really long time ago. Even now I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. Mom passed away when I was young. After that, as I told you before, I lived in the countryside with just my grandmother and me, and right after grandmother passed away I came up to Seoul.”
The world left alone was terrible. His childhood, when he had to envy friends who had parents and always struggled for affection he couldn’t have, was a nightmare he still had whenever he was tired.
“I had a really hard time back then, but fortunately I met a good pastor so I barely graduated high school.”
The pastor also gave him the name Eunchan. It meant to praise the grace given by God, but actually Eunchan didn’t like that meaning. He hadn’t received any grace to begin with.
“Eunchan is really amazing.”
It was a life that was only lacking. However, Miro gave Eunchan pure admiration.
“What is?”
“You endured, you did well.”
With just one compliment from Miro, Eunchan felt like he might cry, so he looked at the car ceiling and frowned.
“I know.”
Even he thought he’d endured quite tenaciously. Somehow it seemed like Miro understood this. Having quickly calmed his emotions, Eunchan took in Miro, who was smiling gently.
Please let Miro be the grace bestowed upon me, Eunchan prayed earnestly in his heart. He liked the pouring affectionate gazes and the excessive care. If he hadn’t received it at all, he wouldn’t know, but having received it once, he didn’t want to have it taken away by someone else. I won’t let it be snatched away. Eunchan secretly smiled while imagining putting Miro inside his treasure box.
After Eunchan revealed his heart, the two rapidly grew closer. They spent more time inside the house than going out. They put puzzles together and also drew pictures. They also transplanted some of the plants in the garden into pots in preparation for the approaching winter. They planned to raise them indoors throughout winter.
As promised, Miro prettily cut Eunchan’s hair. There was an accident where Eunchan couldn’t help but laugh because he couldn’t endure the ticklishness from Miro’s breath touching the nape of his neck and his careful touch, but it was finished reasonably well.
‘N-next time let’s go to a salon…’
‘Why? I cut it well though?’
However, Miro confessed with a gloomy face that he probably wouldn’t be able to cut it for him from now on. The first reason was that his skills were far too lacking to be entrusted with Eunchan’s hair, and the second was that the sharp scissors touching Eunchan’s nape made him too anxious.
Even so, whenever he shrugged his shoulders trying to hold back laughter, Miro’s pale face visible in the mirror had been bothering him. Eunchan held Miro’s hand and told him let’s do that next time.
Instead, Miro had a new hobby that wasn’t dangerous. Whether he was deeply moved by the scene in the drama they were watching together where the male protagonist gave the female protagonist a scarf he knitted himself as a gift, from one day on Miro started knitting.
Like someone with a mission to complete it before winter came, Miro didn’t put down the needles even after Eunchan fell asleep. Eunchan sometimes sat beside him and watched Miro knit. It was fun to watch because his hands were straight and pretty. When Eunchan stared intently at his hands, Miro would sometimes make mistakes from the tension.
The first thing completed was a rather long scarf. The warm beige-colored scarf was wrapped around Eunchan’s neck as soon as it was made. Eunchan stroked the soft-feeling scarf and praised Miro, saying it was pretty.
‘Miro-ssi should wear it.’
Because of the length, it looked better for Miro, who was taller, to wear it rather than Eunchan. Eunchan unwound the scarf and held it out to Miro.
‘I made it to g-give to Eunchan.’
He knew Miro had even cut back on sleep to knit. At the heartfelt gift, Eunchan was embarrassed and his ears reddened. And it was from that time. Miro, excited by Eunchan’s cute reaction, began opening a knitting factory.
It was the day to go to the office to hand over Miro’s stalker work to Hyungsik and also finish up Choi Hanul’s work and report. When he said he’d take vacation again, the boss had gotten angry asking if this was a school, but when he mentioned the extra money received from Choi Hanul, he comforted Eunchan telling him to rest well.
However, since he’d only been playing with Miro every day, thinking about going back to work made him feel like he’d die from not wanting to work.
“Can’t I come with you too?”
Miro, holding a knitting bag with yarn, large needles, and the rabbit doll inside, asked Eunchan. His eyes said he’d just quietly knit there.
Since there were no recent requests that came in, naturally the boss wouldn’t come out, and at most only Hyungsik would be there. The relationship between Miro and Hyungsik wasn’t good… Of course, it was a relationship where Miro unilaterally disliked him.
“You can’t if Hyungsik dislikes it.”
At least don’t show it. Eunchan earnestly pleaded with Miro. Miro rolled his eyes then soon nodded. Anyway, since he had to talk about Miro while handing over work to Hyungsik, it seemed okay for the two to meet. It would be better if they became close. As Eunchan’s permission fell, Miro immediately grabbed the car keys.
Thanks to that, Eunchan was able to commute to work smoothly in Miro’s car. While climbing the office stairs with Miro, Eunchan got another promise that he wouldn’t treat Hyungsik badly.
“When we get there, I’ll tell Hyungsik I’m handing over the stalker request, and then go to my seat and knit. There’s no work today either, so we’ll be able to go home quickly.”
“Yees.”
He answers well. After smiling at Miro who answered obediently, Eunchan opened the door.
“Who, uh, hyung you’re here?”
Hyungsik, who had been sitting in his seat looking at his phone, jumped up and welcomed Eunchan. However, when Miro entered afterward, his welcoming expression quickly subsided.
“Hello.”
Miro first briefly greeted Hyungsik, who was frozen with a flustered face.
“Ah, hello.”
“I’ll be here for a bit. That’s okay, right?”
“Yes, well…”
Though Hyungsik’s face clearly showed signs of discomfort, there was nothing to be done. Eunchan smiled at Hyungsik as if to say you understand.
“Oh, and let’s talk for a moment. I have something to ask you too. Miro-ssi knows where my seat is, right? Sit there.”
Eunchan gestured with his chin toward the boss’s office to call Hyungsik and gestured to Miro to go to his seat. After finishing the guidance and stretching while heading to the boss’s office, two people followed behind Eunchan.
“Miro-ssi?”
“Me too…”
When he called his name in puzzlement, Miro shyly took Eunchan’s hand.
“Alright, then.”
He’d tried to separate the two thinking they might be uncomfortable, but if it was okay. Eunchan opened the boss’s office door and let the two inside. Thanks to the autumn weather that had become quite cool, just opening the window lowered the indoor temperature with a cool breeze.
“Sit down.”
