That afternoon, Miro began packing. Taking out a large suitcase, Miro busily went back and forth between rooms, filling it with clothes. Eunchan sat on the sofa holding a rabbit doll in his arms, silently watching Miro’s eccentric behavior.
“Looks like he’s planning to have a fashion show even on the trip.”
Most of the luggage Miro was packing consisted of Eunchan’s clothes. Watching Miro dress and groom both himself and the rabbit doll simultaneously, Eunchan was secretly impressed. He’s surprisingly diligent and meticulous. Even now, he was wearing a thin knit that Miro had knitted, matching with the doll.
“E-Eunchan needs a s-swimsuit.”
Miro, who had been absorbed in organizing luggage for a while, suddenly raised his head and exclaimed as if he’d had a great revelation.
“It’s almost winter.”
Even if they went to the beach, it was the season where they wouldn’t even dip their feet in. Eunchan answered with puzzlement while stroking the rabbit ears with both hands.
“We m-might go abroad. Sh-should I prepare one for you?”
Miro’s sparkling eyes felt a bit burdensome, so Eunchan met that gaze with an unfocused look. Somehow, it also made him feel like covering between his legs.
“Well…”
Watching Miro casually mention overseas travel, Eunchan trailed off. He didn’t even have a passport and had never been to Jeju Island either. Plus, he couldn’t speak English. It would cost a lot of money to go, right? Eunchan pondered for a moment, counting the money saved in his bank account.
“Yeah, I’ll buy it for you. Eunchan’s swimsuit.”
He could see Miro’s eyes reddening as he imagined something. Unable to bear the strange atmosphere, Eunchan tossed the doll aside and got up from his seat.
“Never mind. Let’s go out to the garden.”
The news had been making a fuss about a meteor shower event happening tonight. Since settling in Seoul, there had been few days to look at stars, so Eunchan waited for the night with pleasant anticipation. He wasn’t sure if they’d see it well in the middle of the city, but it seemed nice to watch together anyway. Eunchan reached out his hand to help Miro stand up, then went to look for a thick blanket.
“Miro-ssi, please get some warm water.”
Eunchan gave Miro, who was about to naturally follow him, a task.
“O-okay. I-I’ll pick out a coat for Eunchan.”
“It’s fine. I’ll bring Miro-ssi’s clothes too, so go find the thermos.”
If he left it to Miro, he might end up wrapped in a scarf despite the autumn weather. Eunchan grabbed Miro’s shoulders and turned him toward the kitchen. Though Miro pursed his lips with worried eyes, when Eunchan gestured for him to hurry, he soon moved along obediently.
Entering the room, Eunchan gathered a large blanket that two adult men could share together along with Miro’s thick coat. Since he disliked feeling stuffy, after putting on a thin jumper, Eunchan put his phone in his pocket and left the room.
“Miro-ssi, do you happen to have something like a lantern?”
Once night fell, the garden would easily be dyed in darkness. This was both because the house was in a corner and because there weren’t many streetlights around. When he approached Miro, who was filling a thermos with warm tea, and asked, Miro made a serious face looking at Eunchan’s thin clothes instead of answering.
“Eunchan, it’s t-too cold.”
“We have a blanket. Don’t you have a lantern?”
“Mm, there should be one… Let’s go change your clothes.”
“I’ll close the thermos lid. Let’s go out quickly.”
To avoid a longer lecture, Eunchan hurriedly gathered the thermos and Miro. Eunchan pulled Miro’s arm and led him toward the entrance. Miro, who was easily pulled along despite his size, took the luggage from Eunchan’s hands and carried it instead.
The two, sitting side by side on the rocking chair in the garden, immediately began taking care of each other. Eunchan handed Miro the coat he’d brought, and Miro carefully wrapped the blanket around Eunchan so cold wind wouldn’t get in behind his back.
“I don’t think we’ll need the lantern.”
Though it was a dark night, the half-moon was shining brightly and the light from inside the house was gently illuminating the garden, so no more light was needed. Eunchan pulled Miro inside the blanket.
“Eunchan, aren’t you cold?”
“No, I’m fine. Look at the sky.”
The sky was dark without a single star, enough to make him doubt whether shooting stars would really fall. When he was young in Muan, there were so many stars in the sky that they seemed to pour down to earth. Eunchan looked at Miro, soothing his longing and disappointment. Miro was looking up at the night sky with calm eyes.
“Make a wish when you see one.”
“Yeah, it reminds me of when I was young.”
“You must have seen a lot of stars when you were young.”
What was Miro’s childhood like? Eunchan asked with a smile, suddenly feeling curious.
“There was the Milky Way, I drew the stars like this…”
Miro raised his hand and traced a diagonal line across the night sky. His face was hazy as if dreaming. Eunchan, mesmerized by Miro’s profile illuminated by moonlight, swallowed hard. Even in the darkness, only Miro seemed to glow softly.
“Who did you see it with?”
He must have been popular. Everyone who knew Miro would have been desperate to become close with him. It couldn’t be an old lover, could it? Eunchan asked casually, pretending it was no big deal.
“With you.”
But what came back was a strange answer. At the sudden designation, Eunchan’s eyes widened, but Miro smiled brightly and came closer to Eunchan. A cool night, bright moonlight, and quiet surroundings. It was an atmosphere for kissing. Eunchan embraced Miro’s neck and tilted his head. Soon after, a soft kiss followed.
* * *
Waking from sleep, Eunchan let out a satisfied sigh looking at Miro sleeping soundly pressed close beside him. Miro’s breath blew near the tip of his nose. After unnecessarily touching Miro’s hair and stroking his cheek, Eunchan soon withdrew his hand and moved his gaze to the window where morning sunlight was streaming in.
In the end, they didn’t see the meteor shower yesterday. The black night sky remained calm without fluctuation, but it was a sufficiently satisfying night since he’d seen stars shining in Miro’s eyes.
The beautiful and delicate man easily crossed the line and settled close to Eunchan’s heart. The fact that Eunchan himself was the only close person Miro had also pleased him.
‘He won’t be able to easily abandon me.’
It was a rather selfish thought, but it was better than being hurt.
‘With you.’
However, Miro’s answer kept bothering him. Had he ever looked at stars with me? No matter how much he thought about it, there was no such memory. Could he be mistaking me for someone else? Somehow his insides felt complicated. Various speculations filled his head, but Eunchan deliberately ignored them.
When the time came, he should go see Jang Heewoo. It would be nice if Miro would step away like last time, but since there were no signs of that, it was right to give up on the pamphlet. Should I make an excuse about work and go? Eunchan carefully removed Miro’s arm wrapped around his waist and sat up.
“Wh-where are you going?”
As if noticing Eunchan slipping out of his arms, Miro repeatedly opened and closed his eyes filled with drowsiness.
“I have work.”
“You said you’d have plenty of time…”
Miro dragged out his words as if complaining. Miro, who grabbed Eunchan’s hand and intertwined his fingers, smiled faintly. Miro’s hair scattered on the white pillow shone brightly in the sunlight.
“I’ll just go out for a moment in the morning and come back. Let’s eat lunch together.”
“L-let’s go out together.”
“I’ll go by myself and come back quickly.”
He really was thinking of going out for just a brief moment. He didn’t have much to talk about with Jang Heewoo either. Eunchan laughed while turning his neck to stretch. Miro’s sullen expression was cute.
“Miro-ssi should look at the garden. The seedlings are being delivered again today, aren’t they?”
There was a lot to do before winter came. They had to cover the seedlings weak to cold with vinyl and non-woven fabric, and they also had to prune the branches that had grown wild. Eunchan gave Miro homework to think about how to manage the garden while resting, then got up from the bed.
“I can w-wait outside…”
“For what? You, Miro-ssi?”
Miro answered that he could wait outside the office until Eunchan finished his work.
“Yeah.”
Is he the type who dislikes being alone? Eunchan spoke again while unbuttoning his pajama top to wash up.
“I’ll really be back soon. Really.”
Besides, it wasn’t the office but Jang Heewoo’s hospital room he was heading to.
“T-take my car.”
“Okay.”
Only when he’d almost finished unbuttoning did Eunchan notice that Miro was staring intently at his upper body.
“…What are you looking at?”
His body condition was a mess since he’d been living lazily without exercising lately. Moreover, no matter how often Miro cooked delicious food, it was impossible not to gain weight.
“Is there anyone else who says Eunchan’s body is pretty?”
At Miro’s words, rapidly uttered without pause, Eunchan frowned.
“No. I’ve gained weight now.”
“You should sh-show it only to me, right? You understand, don’t you?”
“I don’t want to. Only I will look.”
“Can’t you i-include me too?”
When Eunchan covered his body and walked toward the shower room, Miro followed behind with quick steps. Thinking he might follow all the way inside, when Eunchan turned around in front of the bathroom, Miro also stopped one step behind Eunchan.
“I’ll come out after washing up, bye.”
Eunchan waved his hand with a smile. Though Miro bit his lip, he seemed to have no intention of interfering with washing up and easily stepped back. Through the slowly closing bathroom door, he could see Miro heading toward the wardrobe to prepare Eunchan’s clothes.
“Wait a moment!”
Suddenly he remembered the bag hidden inside the wardrobe. Eunchan burst out of the bathroom and grabbed Miro’s wrist.
“I was going to p-pick out Eunchan’s clothes.”
“That, I’ll wear what I want myself. It’s okay today.”
“Why?”
Since Eunchan, who always wore whatever was given to him without complaint, reacted differently, perhaps finding that behavior strange, Miro asked back.
“Just, I want to wear the clothes I want to wear. But I want to eat rolled omelet today. Can you make it for me?”
To avoid arguing with Miro, the best method was to turn his attention elsewhere. Eunchan, an expert in that field, skillfully made a request that Miro would like.
“You want rolled omelet?”
“Yes, the one Miro-ssi made.”
“Yeah, I’ll make it for you now.”
As expected, Miro nodded with a bright smile. Eunchan pushed Miro’s shoulders as if telling him to hurry to the kitchen, and Miro also easily took his feet away from the wardrobe.
“Then E-Eunchan, come out after washing.”
“Okay.”
After seeing Miro leave the room, Eunchan went back inside the bathroom. It seems difficult to hide anything in this house. He wanted to quickly deliver the painting and get rid of it. Eunchan let out a long sigh inside the shower booth.
