# Chapter 64
“Did you change what you were watching?”
“Huh? No.”
“The sound is different.”
“No, it’s not. It’ll come back when you arrive.”
“You definitely changed it.”
Lee Hwan giggled along with the sound of Taesung’s chuckle. True to his words, the channel Taesung had been watching was long gone, and now the TV screen was filled with a furry animal.
“No, look how big this puppy is. It’s still a baby.”
“A large breed?”
“Yeah, born in autumn but already bigger than a Shih Tzu.”
Lee Hwan comfortably lay on the sofa, chattering away as he relayed the TV content. Although Taesung looked curious, he didn’t leave his spot in front of the microwave.
Ding. A soft signal sounded, and Taesung took out a puffed-up bag from the microwave. White popcorn tumbled into a large bowl.
“What do you want to drink?”
“I already mixed juice in the water bottle earlier. Come and drink it.”
Lee Hwan grinned while gesturing with his chin toward the low table in front of the sofa. Only then did Taesung leave the kitchen and stride over to the sofa.
Clack. As the popcorn was placed on the table, Lee Hwan naturally drew his legs together to make room. It was a declaration of will that he would curl up his legs to make space but would never, ever get up.
Perhaps one should say that expensive sofas really were different. Taesung’s sofa was soft yet firm and elastic, supporting the body with resilience. Lying with your head against it, the mild leather scent added a luxurious feel. Sleeping here was comfortable too.
That’s why Lee Hwan, even when sitting properly with Taesung, would quickly lie down on the sofa whenever Taesung briefly left his seat.
“Just put your legs over me.”
Seeing how uncomfortable his scrunched position looked, Taesung patted his thigh and spoke. Lee Hwan glanced at Taesung before shaking his head and shifting his gaze back to the TV.
“No way. Then my feet would touch you.”
“They’re touching me anyway, so what’s the difference? No, I’m not saying to scrunch up more…”
He stopped mid-sentence, his lips twitching, clearly holding back laughter. When Lee Hwan narrowed his eyes and glared, Taesung grabbed his increasingly folding legs and pulled them firmly toward himself.
“Or just lie the other way around. Then your feet won’t touch me.”
“…Is that so? You’re a genius.”
Lee Hwan turned his body and rested his head on Taesung’s legs. The feel of firm, elastic muscles pressed softly against his cheek.
“Where’s the dog?”
“It’s gone. Now there are penguins.”
“All I see are walruses.”
“It says right there that Pengjul is celebrating his second birthday. I’m telling you, he’ll appear soon.”
Taesung’s deep voice seemed to resonate through his body, transmitting the vibration all the way to Lee Hwan’s face. Without lifting his head, Lee Hwan shakily stretched out his hand and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
“Next time, I’ll buy the onion flavor. You like that one, right?”
As he spoke while crunching on popcorn, chuckling laughter sounded from above for some reason. Lee Hwan thought this was another case of him laughing at strange moments, so he ignored it as usual and turned his eyes back to the TV.
With a sudden unopened gate added to his already packed schedule, he had endured a hellish month. After finishing all that arduous work, it was finally a peaceful holiday. As always, Lee Hwan had come to Taesung’s house to hang out.
Taesung’s home was, needless to say, spacious, pleasant, and excellent in every way. Like a wealthy family’s storehouse, every cabinet and refrigerator compartment was filled with food.
Most of it was food he liked, so Lee Hwan firmly believed that Taesung’s taste was similar to his own.
Same age, matching tastes, compatible personalities. At this point, they were close enough that living together wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. In fact, Taesung had previously suggested cohabitation to Lee Hwan, saying the house was too big and he needed a roommate.
Lee Hwan also thought it was an excellent idea, especially when thinking about his own cramped single room, but after consideration, he ultimately declined.
It was because he felt uncomfortable. Not that he disliked it, but it made him uncomfortable.
How to explain this? Lee Hwan tried to convey that it wasn’t meant negatively, but unable to find the right words, he just swallowed the statement that it was “uncomfortable.”
It was… roughly like this: Lee Hwan wanted to greet him with at least a washed face when waking up in the morning. He would also dab some water on his hair, which would surely be a mess.
He didn’t mind if Taesung heard him singing in the shower, but he didn’t want him to hear the “ugh” sound he made when accidentally swallowing some mouthwash.
He didn’t want to be caught scratching his stomach while watching TV in a stretched-out t-shirt. Even he thought that was a bit middle-aged.
And sometimes, he didn’t particularly want to show himself digging a hole when he was feeling down.
Kang Taesung would surely say it was all fine. Despite appearing cold at first glance, he was the most thoughtful and accommodating person Lee Hwan had ever met.
But he himself didn’t like it. Even though they would inevitably face each other in disheveled states during long missions.
—At that moment, Pengjul digs into and throws away the anchovy cake with his beak, then escapes into the water. Oh Pengjul, that’s not okay!
“This two-year-old has no manners.”
“I know, right.”
“Is an anchovy cake for penguins like a rice cake for humans?”
“Since it’s food?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… maybe it’s more like a sushi cake.”
“Eww.”
Time flowed endlessly as they exchanged meaningless conversation. Lee Hwan felt the fatigue from his recent schedule melting away as he lay on the warmed sofa. Weekends with Taesung were always like this. A time when depleted energy was replenished and both body and mind became pleasantly languid.
“Should I slice some cake? The one you brought.”
“No, maybe a little later.”
Lee Hwan licked his lips as he thought of the strawberry cake he had brought, but gently shook his head. He didn’t want to break this peaceful moment of lying comfortably. The cake could be sliced as dessert after dinner later.
The light coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows grew stronger. As noon approached, the surroundings became even brighter. At some point, the animal program had ended, and now news was flowing from the same channel.
—British Awakened Tom Baker has admitted that his gravity skill originated from a skill stone discovered in Korea. The gravity skill stone appeared three years ago in a gate belonging to the Naru Group…
It was a story he had heard many times before. Lee Hwan’s head jerked up at the mention of the skill stone. Taesung gently pressed his head back down onto his leg and murmured:
“That skill would have suited you well.”
“Gravity?”
“Yeah.”
A look of regret spread across the face Lee Hwan glimpsed. He tapped away Taesung’s hand resting on him and thought:
It’s fine. I already ate that one.
‘…’
Me? A skill stone?
‘I… did eat it, right?’
As he muttered inwardly, Lee Hwan suddenly felt something odd about his thoughts. Right, he had obtained that skill stone. From Gate A-08.
But when was that? Why was the story appearing differently on the news?
Lee Hwan blankly watched the TV screen, then suddenly felt his heart sink.
‘…What’s going on?’
An inexplicable anxiety slowly wrapped around his chest. From that moment, a headache gradually approached, and his body became unbearably stiff. At the thought crossing his mind, Lee Hwan inhaled sharply and stiffened his neck.
In that instant, he realized this wasn’t reality.
It happened in an instant—a peaceful dream becoming lucid. The surrounding scenery and his consciousness slowly separated. The reality he hadn’t wanted to know washed over him like a wave, slowly filling his mind.
The fact of his regression, everything that happened afterward. The situations leading up to his loss of consciousness passed before his eyes like a panorama.
‘This is…’
A dream. A dream reconstructed from past memories after fainting on the landing.
‘Why is this…?’
Lee Hwan was confused. How could his spending an ordinary weekend with Taesung be a dream, while the world ending and him regressing and tumbling around be reality? How could that make sense?
Unable to believe it, he pinched his arm, but strangely, his side hurt. Lee Hwan twisted his perfectly fine arm more, feeling a dull sensation.
‘This is absurd.’
Then suddenly his eyes grew wet. The news ended and an entertainment program began, with Taesung’s laughter transmitted through his body, yet that shallow trembling gave him a strange sadness.
Disappointment and loss seeped through. His heart, which had been warmly baked, seemed to collapse and crumble. Perhaps this is how it feels to suddenly get lost and have your coat and bag stolen.
The panelists on TV let out a “Hahaha,” but nothing was funny at all.
“Haah…”
When Lee Hwan groaned, a large hand tapped his head again.
“What’s wrong?”
Asked the past Taesung, who knew nothing. Lee Hwan could vividly feel his gaze as he lowered his head to examine his face. Those innocent eyes… Lee Hwan didn’t even turn his head, just feeling the warmth of that warm hand while biting his lip.
“…Joo Lee Hwan, are you crying?”
“No.”
“Why are you crying? What happened?”
“Just watch the TV, man.”
Lee Hwan hurriedly wiped his tears and gave a thorny response. He realized that even if he spilled all his accumulated stories here, they would all be for nothing the moment he woke from the dream.
“Joo Lee Hwan, get up and look at me. What’s wrong?”
“No. I want to stay lying down.”
He clamped his mouth shut even more stubbornly. He didn’t care whether Taesung shook him or touched him. He felt resentful. And also afraid. What if he said something wrong and woke up from the dream?
But…
In fact, instead of turning his head away to ignore him, he wanted to say these things: Where have you been? What happened to your head that made you forget me? How could you do that?
‘You bastard.’
If conditions permitted, he also wanted to tell him that bad things would happen not too long from now. He wanted to warn him to be careful, advise that the two of them would regress to the past at the exact moment of danger, and reproach him because he wouldn’t remember Lee Hwan and would beat him up and interfere.
And also, just to say he missed him.
But all those stories couldn’t leave his mouth even in a dream. Not knowing what to do, Lee Hwan firmly stared at the TV with a churning heart.
“…”
For a while, only the TV sound filled the living room. Lee Hwan controlled his eyes, dried his wet face, and slowly suppressed his sadness during that long time.
He felt regretful. Regretful that time was passing.
After waking from the dream, he would have to return to that reality. Unless he had died, he would eventually wake up soon, and he didn’t want to waste this rare dream by crying like an idiot.
“Are you not feeling well?”
Still a concerned voice despite his unilateral rejection. Lee Hwan bit his lip tightly.
“No. I’m fine.”
“Then why is your head so warm?”
“Living people’s heads are all naturally hot.”
He countered with nonsensical words and took one deep breath. Then he turned the TV to the music channel that past Taesung used to watch.
Soft music flowed like a dream, and warm sunlight streamed into the living room, reaching near the sofa. Lee Hwan, still using Taesung’s leg as a pillow while dangling his own legs off the sofa, listened to the music coming from the TV.
He knew Taesung had been watching him instead of the TV for some time now. Lee Hwan pretended not to know, kept turning his head away, and silently watched the undulating sound waves on the screen with reddened eyes.
