*Patter, patter.*
At the sound of thick raindrops tapping against the window, Hyowoo slowly opened his eyes.
Dark clouds had covered the sky without a single gap since the day before, and it seemed rain had finally started to fall.
‘When did it start raining? No, more than that… when did I fall asleep?’
He clearly remembered barely managing to confess everything to Lee Seohee while enduring his anguish. But his memories after being embraced by him and sharing kisses were hazy.
He decided he should get up first, but Hyowoo couldn’t move a muscle, as if his body were tied with rope.
‘What’s wrong with me? Don’t tell me… something’s wrong with my body again?’
His condition had already been at its worst even when he was in Korea. On top of that, he had fainted as soon as he arrived in London and even ended up in the hospital. It would be stranger if his body were fine.
The anxiety that he might end up heading straight to the hospital again briefly crossed his mind, but in that moment, he noticed the warmth enveloping his skin.
Carefully lifting his head, he saw Lee Seohee’s face.
Only after confirming that his arms were wrapped around his shoulders and waist did Hyowoo realize he was still in his embrace.
‘I fell asleep while being held by Seohee-ssi…’
Though he couldn’t move his body, he didn’t feel stifled or restricted in the slightest.
Rather, his body temperature added a surprising sense of stability.
‘Why did I cry so much in front of this person again…’
A small sigh escaped him naturally.
His eyes and eye area stung from how much he must have cried. Even without a mirror, he could tell his eyelids were swollen red.
‘I show up after months, faint, say something shocking, then cry myself to sleep… Why do I only show such ridiculous sides of myself to Seohee-ssi?’
It would have been enough to be more than troubled—enough to be fed up—yet he instead wrapped him even more warmly and comforted Hyowoo.
Perhaps thanks to that, the headache that felt like his head would split had disappeared, and his physical condition was much more comfortable than before he fell asleep.
Hyowoo stared blankly at his face for a while. This was the first time seeing his sleeping face.
Without realizing it, he reached out his hand and carefully touched Lee Seohee’s face. Skin as smooth as porcelain slipped under his fingertips.
He stroked his cheek so as not to wake him, then gently touched his lips as well. It was a soft texture, different from his own rough lips.
‘It’s just like that time… Soft and squishy, like a marshmallow.’
The sweet memory of their kiss suddenly came to mind.
As if possessed, Hyowoo was about to bring his own lips to his lips when he pulled his hand back in shock.
‘Wh-what am I doing? How can I touch a sleeping person’s face so carelessly?’
It was right then, as he thought he really should get up now and wriggled to rise, that Lee Seohee’s arm suddenly tightened with strength and pulled Hyowoo’s waist even more firmly into his embrace.
“Why are you already awake?”
Lee Seohee’s eyes, which had been closed just moments ago, were now looking at Hyowoo. It was an incredibly loving gaze.
When their eyes met, Hyowoo’s eyes widened round like a rabbit’s and his mouth opened and closed.
“Were you… awake?”
“Yes.”
“Si-since when?”
“Since earlier. I’ve been awake the whole time.”
At Lee Seohee’s words that he had only been closing his eyes and hadn’t actually been sleeping, Hyowoo’s face flushed red.
Even though he knew just seconds ago that Hyowoo had been touching his face, he had simply let it be without saying anything.
“It’s still dawn. Let’s sleep a bit more.”
While Lee Seohee showed no particular reaction, Hyowoo was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do with himself.
“Wh-what time is it?”
When he asked about the time he wasn’t even curious about just to hide his embarrassment, he glanced at the bedside clock and answered that it was 3 AM.
“I was worried you wouldn’t be able to rest properly since you slept so long at the hospital, but you fell sound asleep right away.”
He said it was fortunate, then suddenly let out a small laugh—*keuk*.
“You said your hobby was napping, and you really do sleep well. Do you normally sleep this easily anywhere?”
“Huh? Ah… No, that’s…”
Hyowoo, who was about to explain that he was sensitive by nature and couldn’t sleep a wink when his sleeping environment changed, soon closed his mouth. Whether it was the airport, Taeseo’s house, or the hospital—he had easily fallen asleep anywhere when he was with him, so saying otherwise wouldn’t be credible.
Instead of finishing his answer, he buried his increasingly reddening face in his chest.
It was an action to hide his embarrassment, but since it was dark anyway, it couldn’t be seen. Nevertheless, this shy gesture of trying to hide his face was so endearing. Lee Seohee released the arm holding his shoulder and gently stroked his head.
“Do you know something?”
“…What?”
“That your sleeping face is incredibly pretty.”
“Huh?”
“I thought you were so pretty at the airport too, and today you’re just as pretty as always.”
“I… I don’t know about that…”
Though it was an honest statement of what he felt, Hyowoo seemed to take it as teasing and only burrowed deeper into his embrace.
Feeling the slight fever from his slender body, his ears had surely turned red.
Lee Seohee pressed his lips lightly to the top of his head with a gentle smile.
“Then, do you know this?”
“…If you’re going to tease me, don’t. I don’t need to know…”
“How happy I am that Hyowoo-ssi, who I thought I’d never see again, is here by my side like this right now.”
There was no response this time from Hyowoo, who had been sulking and answering curtly just moments before.
“I said this before too, but thank you for coming all this way to see me.”
When the warm whisper tickled his ear, Hyowoo’s shoulders trembled.
“…Is your arm… okay?”
After being held silently for a while, he carefully touched Lee Seohee’s left arm and asked.
“Yes, it’s almost completely healed.”
As if to show it wasn’t just words, he released his left arm that had been holding Hyowoo and naturally clenched and opened his fist.
“Are you… really okay?”
“Of course. I’m even scheduled to return to matches next week.”
There wasn’t a hint of falsehood in his expression. Nevertheless, Hyowoo still seemed anxious and grasped his left hand with both of his.
“But… you were hurt badly enough that you couldn’t play in matches for two months…”
“What the club values most in the end is winning and losing. If they thought I’d ruin the match by going out before being completely recovered, they wouldn’t let me near the field.”
At his words not to worry, Hyowoo pulled his hand to his chest.
“You told me not to apologize, but… I’m sorry. For causing you to get hurt because of me…”
“I told you it’s not your fault.”
“No. It is my fault… I really wanted to apologize…”
Holding his left hand preciously in his embrace, Hyowoo trailed off.
Lee Seohee, who had been looking pitifully at his appearance filled with guilt, eventually gently lifted Hyowoo’s head.
“Alright. I understand your feelings completely, so I’ll accept your apology. But in exchange, let this be the one and only time.”
“…”
“As you can see, my injury is completely healed. Daily life and soccer are no problem at all. And…”
He paused what he was saying and looked intently at Hyowoo.
Various complex emotions seeped into his gaze. He seemed to hesitate about whether to say the next words, but soon continued calmly.
“When you apologize, your face… looks too pained. So please stop now.”
Though he had surely cried enough to dry up his tear ducts, his eyes became hot again.
“I can imagine how hard it’s been for you since last summer, how much you’ve suffered from guilt about me. You’ve been in so much pain all this time, so please don’t hurt anymore because of me from now on.”
Before tears could flow from Hyowoo’s eyes, Lee Seohee quietly pressed his lips to his white forehead.
He then affectionately kissed his cheeks, the tip of his nose, and his lips, and asked.
“Do you remember the promise I made that day?”
Only then did Hyowoo properly meet his eyes. A beautiful light different from embarrassment lingered on his cheeks where the afterglow of the kiss remained.
“I said that my feelings or attitude wouldn’t change because of your past.”
When he nodded slightly, he pressed his lips firmly to Hyowoo’s forehead again.
“That promise still hasn’t changed.”
He stared blankly at Lee Seohee’s face as he affectionately stroked his cheek.
Actually, he had been anxious deep down.
Would he find it bothersome that he suddenly showed up?
Would he become uncomfortable after learning about the past, and eventually come to dislike him…?
However, making all those worries seem futile, even after knowing everything, there was no hesitation whatsoever in his gaze.
“Will you date me?”
For a moment, Hyowoo’s eyes wavered slightly.
“I’m not saying this lightly. I know very well that this will be far more burdensome and troubling for you than for me.”
“…”
“That’s why I’ve thought about it carefully for a long time. This is the conclusion I reached.”
“…”
“Most of all, I don’t have the confidence to part with you. Even knowing it’s selfish, I want to continue being by your side.”
Every single word he said was filled with sincerity.
‘I came here prepared to break up…’
Instead of the sadness of parting, a confession asking to officially date came back.
He was happy enough to want to answer right away, but Hyowoo couldn’t easily open his mouth.
‘I’m still not certain. Which path is the right one for Seohee-ssi…’
Thinking coldly, breaking up would be right for his future too.
Even though he was still in his early thirties, he had heard that his family was already pressuring him about marriage.
Naturally, they would want someone suitable for him, someone befitting a ‘chaebol bride.’ There was no way the elders would allow the eldest grandson who would lead a large company in the future to be with a male omega who couldn’t even have children.
Hyowoo’s parents were the same.
‘Father already opposes it. Mom’s opinion probably won’t be much different…’
His heart ached as the face of his mother, who would be shocked, came to mind.
When an answer didn’t come readily, Lee Seohee gently kissed Hyowoo’s lips.
“I really want to hear your answer—is that not possible?”
At his affectionate urging, Hyowoo bit his lower lip slightly and remained silent in thought for a while.
