The hands that had been typing out messages without hesitation suddenly stopped with a flinch.
Until now, the two had only communicated through text messages. But now, out of the blue, a phone call? His mind went blank with bewilderment.
‘What should I do…?’
After hesitating for a while, Hyowoo finally seemed to make up his mind and sent a short reply saying “Yes.” Immediately, a call came through the messenger app.
His mouth went completely dry. He took a couple of deep breaths to compose himself and pressed the green call button.
“…Hello?”
—It’s been a while since I’ve heard your voice. Have you been well?
From the other end of the line came that affectionate and wonderful voice, just as he remembered it. As the warm voice brushed past his ear, his cheeks heated up and the nape of his neck tickled.
—Just hearing Hyowoo-ssi’s voice is a satisfying enough gift for me, so how about we consider this your gift to me?
Perhaps it was because of that characteristically gentle audacity, but his heart began to pound lightly as well.
‘It’s just hearing his voice, so why am I trembling like this?’
An unfamiliar emotion he was experiencing for the first time in his life. However, Hyowoo simply thought it was due to nervousness and didn’t realize at all that it was actually fluttering excitement.
Deliberately clearing his throat in case his voice might tremble, Hyowoo spoke calmly.
“…I-I’m not satisfied with that. I’ll ask again. What do you want to receive as a gift?”
—Do you have time tomorrow evening?
He’d asked him to tell him what he wanted to receive, but instead, he suddenly asked if he had time tomorrow.
“Stop beating around the bush. If you keep avoiding answering, I’ll ask Taeseo…”
—I’m not avoiding it—that’s what I want to receive. Hyowoo-ssi’s time.
What is he talking about now? Is he playing word games to avoid answering? As Hyowoo blinked silently for a while, he eventually continued.
—If you insist on giving me a birthday gift, will you meet me tomorrow? After arriving in Incheon and getting to Seoul, it’ll probably be around 8 or 9 PM.
“Wait. I don’t understand what you’re saying at all.”
—I’m going to come see you, Hyowoo-ssi. I’m searching for flights right now.
“What?”
Hyowoo’s eyes widened at this unexpected statement he’d never imagined.
‘…Don’t tell me, he’s saying he’ll come from London to Seoul just to see me?’
He was speechless at the absurd idea.
—You said you wanted to give me what I want as a gift. Out of Hyowoo-ssi’s 24 hours tomorrow, just give me exactly 2 hours.
“Y-You’re coming to Korea? That’s ridiculous…”
—What’s ridiculous about it? It’s not that difficult to go to Korea.
Hyowoo couldn’t hide his flustered expression at the attitude of speaking as if he were taking the subway to visit the next neighborhood over.
“O-Of course it’s difficult, the flight time alone is over ten hours…”
—I can just sleep soundly on the plane.
“A-And you’re in the middle of the season right now. A sudden long-distance trip will affect your condition…”
—I’ll manage that myself. The match is on the weekend, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.
“Um, what about team training?”
—I’ll do today’s training properly before I go. I just need to ask for understanding for tomorrow.
“But…”
Before Hyowoo could desperately come up with excuses as they occurred to him, he made the first move.
—You’re the one who said you’d definitely give me a gift, Hyowoo-ssi.
“What?”
—You said you had to give me one.
“Ah… w-well, that’s true, but…”
—Then I’ll accept it gratefully without declining. Meet me tomorrow.
It was an affectionate but decisively firm tone. Since he’d said with his own mouth that he’d give him a gift, he couldn’t say anything more. Hyowoo finally seemed to resign himself and said quietly while tucking back the hair that had fallen to the side.
“…When you book the flight, let me know…”
***
How many years has it been since he showered in the morning?
His body felt like it weighed a ton because he’d tossed and turned all night, and now he had to shower in this cold weather. It was truly torturous.
Actually, he’d already finished showering before going to bed last night, but today was the first day of the semester. He had classes until late afternoon, and in the evening he had an appointment with Lee Seohee. He wouldn’t have time to stop by home before meeting him, so he had no choice but to wash now.
He forcibly pushed away the drowsiness that was pouring over him and got up. As always, he took his temperature, popped a suppressant into his mouth, and headed to the bathroom.
Even after entering the bathroom, Hyowoo couldn’t quite shake his attachment to the bed. He desperately wanted to sleep just a bit more.
‘Don’t I have a little time to spare? Just 10 minutes, no, should I lie down again for just 5 minutes?’
Only after repeating a meaningless battle with himself several times did he reluctantly and slowly take off his pajamas.
‘I need to wash quickly before I get too lazy…’
As the water pouring from the showerhead warmly soaked his entire body, the drowsiness gradually faded.
He washed his hair first, then was soaping up his face, neck, arms, and body in that order when it happened. His fingertips brushed against something on his lower abdomen.
In that instant, Hyowoo flinched and pulled his hand away as if he’d touched a piece of red-hot metal.
It was a surgical scar that remained long below his navel. Though only his fingertips had lightly touched it, his entire body trembled.
This was a cursed mark. It was a horrifying trace that reminded him of the fact that Hyowoo could neither live normally nor be happy in the future.
His trembling hand approached the scar again of its own accord. The pain of that day, when it felt like his stomach was being torn apart, vividly came back to him.
Though the scar had gradually faded over time, the nightmare had not been erased.
Just before the terrible memory could engulf his entire body, Hyowoo forcefully turned the shower valve to the right. The warm stream of water instantly turned ice-cold, and a sharp chill penetrated deep into his bones.
Only in the dizzying coldness that seemed to stop his breath did he barely regain his senses. After washing off the suds with trembling hands, without even drying his body, he roughly threw clothes over his soaking wet body.
He quickly entered his room, lest his mother in the kitchen catch him. The moment he hastily closed the door, Hyowoo collapsed to the floor and curled up his body, gasping painfully for breath.
‘…It hurts… I can’t breathe… I feel like I’m dying…’
Saewoo approached Hyowoo, who showed no signs of calming down.
As if comforting his hyung, he rubbed his small head against the body trembling like an aspen leaf and meowed.
He barely managed to reach out and hold the small ball of fluff in his arms. Even as cold water droplets dripped from his hair, Saewoo showed no sign of dislike and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
Only after quite some time had passed was Hyowoo finally able to pull himself together.
“Thanks, Saewoo-ya. Hyung is okay now, so don’t worry…”
After putting Saewoo on the bed, he dried his wet hair with a towel. Thanks to that, he’d safely gotten through the panic attack, but the darkness in his heart didn’t easily lift.
His energy drained away and his mood plummeted to rock bottom. At this rate, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to go to class at school, let alone keep his evening appointment.
‘…Would it help if I listened to some music…?’
Thinking he should play something, anything—a song or a video—he picked up his cell phone. Then Lee Seohee’s message notification appeared on the screen. He must have sent it while he was showering.
‘He said he was taking a night flight and would sleep as soon as he boarded, so why is he suddenly messaging…?’
Opening the message without much thought, Hyowoo’s eyes widened.
Lee Seohee
It looks like I won’t be able to meet you today after all
Had the flight been canceled? When he sent a reply asking what happened, a response came right away.
Lee Seohee
I departed late from London
And the plane made an emergency landing in Frankfurt, Germany due to a mechanical defect
I waited three hours and am just now departing
I’m scheduled to arrive in Korea after 11 PM
It’s unfortunate, but it would be better to plan for next time
If he was arriving in Incheon at 11 o’clock, it would be well past midnight by the time he came out to downtown Seoul.
He was clearly trying to quietly cancel the appointment because he felt bad about asking to meet at such a late hour.
Lee Seohee
Don’t worry about me
I can just pass the time appropriately and return on the morning flight
He appreciated the consideration. However, even if he said not to worry, it was impossible not to.
How are you going to pass the time by yourself arriving that late?
Lee Seohee
I was planning to meet you in Seoul, just have a meal, and then go back to the airport anyway
Time passes quickly if I watch a few movies or dramas I’ve been behind on at a capsule hotel
What time is your departure?
Lee Seohee
Tomorrow at 10 AM
So he’s saying he’ll spend 10 hours alone at the airport?
When Hyowoo asked if it wouldn’t be better to go to his family home and rest since he had plenty of time, he replied that he didn’t want to make the family elders or company people worry about him.
Lee Seohee
Actually, that’s an excuse
My father will definitely say something
I don’t want to get scolded, so I’m not going home
Even at the joke about his father being strict and scary, Hyowoo couldn’t laugh. His heart grew heavy imagining Lee Seohee spending time alone in a cramped capsule hotel room.
Mixed with feelings of guilt, worry, and sympathy, he couldn’t hide his disappointment at not being able to meet either. His attention was still burdensome, but Hyowoo had also been secretly looking forward to this evening.
Biting his nails and hesitating for a moment, Hyowoo finally seemed to make up his mind and typed out a message.
