The night wasn’t over yet.
ლ
“Ugh, my whole body…”
Tapping his lower back with a clenched fist, Ian headed to the living room sofa. Even though it was a sofa, it was as large as a single bed, so as soon as he sat down, he lay his body on its side.
Blink blink. Even though he was just closing and opening his eyes, he was sleepy. Haaam. Yawning until his mouth tore, he took out his phone from his pocket.
3:42 PM.
He’d briefly woken when Ganghyuk left for work and then fell back asleep, and when he opened his eyes, it had been quite a while since the sun had risen high in the sky.
「Are you up?」
「Guess you’re still sleeping」
「Make sure to eat when you wake up」
Reading the messages piled up, the corners of his mouth twitched on their own. The time when he’d been dejected because Ganghyuk didn’t reply to his messages felt as distant as a past life.
Now Ganghyuk often left messages for Ian like this. Sometimes when Ian’s reply was late because he was concentrating on work, he even called.
Bzzzz.
Can’t be a gentleman after all. At the vibration ringing in his hand, Ian cleared his throat with a cough to loosen his voice. Having moaned all night long, his voice was completely hoarse.
“Hello.”
-Baby, are you up?
A low voice like the resonance of a string instrument tickled his ear. Ian fiddled with his earlobe for no reason as he answered.
“Yes, just a moment ago. I’m lying on the living room sofa now. I have no strength in my legs at all, so it’s hard to move.”
-Hyung did wrong. I should have left you with enough strength to walk around.
Ian giggled at Ganghyuk’s joke.
-Food.
“Not yet. I’m thinking about what to eat right now.”
Since he’d exhausted so much energy, he wanted to eat something substantial, but everything felt bothersome. He also felt like eating something simple like bread. Since he didn’t know yet what ingredients were in this house, he only imagined in his head.
-If you look in the refrigerator, there should be various things. You just have to heat them in the microwave and eat. Or should I have something delivered to the house?
“No. I’ll get up and eat now. Executive Director, did you have lunch? Did I ask too late?”
Since it was close to 4 PM, it was a strange time to ask about lunch.
-I ate a sandwich simply. After eating so full yesterday, I don’t really feel like eating.
Ian’s lips slowly parted. To others it would sound like an ordinary statement, but it sounded different to Ian.
However, Ian adapted quickly for his young age. He was just a bit surprised since Ganghyuk wasn’t the type to make these kinds of jokes often, but it didn’t sound strange.
“My dick still hurts.”
At the throbbing sensation between his legs, he spoke whatever came to mind. While on the phone, Ian put his hand inside his pajama pants. Since Ganghyuk hadn’t put underwear on him, he immediately touched bare skin.
The hand groping between his buttocks was cautious. He remembered worrying about what to do if his hole never closed again as he fell asleep almost like fainting at dawn.
When his fingertip touched the plumply swollen skin, stinging pain rushed in. There was still a bit of slippery texture remaining, whether Ganghyuk had applied ointment.
“My hole is really swollen. Did you apply ointment?”
-…What are you doing right now?
“Touching my butt. It still feels open, so I checked a bit.”
There was a brief rustling sound, then he heard Ganghyuk muttering to himself that he was going crazy.
But in Ian’s opinion, this wasn’t something to be embarrassed about. Ganghyuk wasn’t just anyone, he was his lover who’d had sex with him last night.
It was much better to speak honestly than to lie. Didn’t Ganghyuk also express being full from eating him a lot?
-It’s fine, so stop touching. If you keep touching, it’ll hurt.
“Okay.”
Since his skin was already stinging anyway, Ian quickly pulled his hand out. He wiped the ointment on his fingertip by rubbing it on his pants.
-I think I’ll get off work around 7 PM. I’ll buy something delicious.
“Got it. I’ll wait obediently.”
-Okay. And think about what you want to do from now on.
“Yes.”
He got homework. Ian, who ended the call, put his phone on the table and headed to the kitchen. With each step, his whole body throbbed starting from his waist, and sounds of “agogo” kept bursting out.
When he opened the refrigerator door, he saw neatly organized containers. Taking out a few and checking inside, there were various foods including salad, pasta, fried rice, doenjang jjigae, grilled eel, and more.
They were containers that could be heated in the microwave right away. It was really amazing when he’d prepared all this before leaving.
Seeing the food suddenly made hunger rush in, so he took out and heated all kinds and ate them. After putting away quite a large amount, his stomach protruded roundly like yesterday, so after finishing the dishes, he sat on the living room floor.
Leaning his back against the sofa leg, he tapped the phone screen. There was no additional contact from Ganghyuk. After sending a message that he ate deliciously, he rested his chin on his palm and fell into thought.
When the soup restaurant building still remained, he’d tried to run the business there and repay even a little of the debt he owed Ganghyuk. He also had a strong desire not to close the shop his grandfather had cherished like a child for so long.
He wanted to continue the will that those who were hungry and starving for lack of money could come anytime and eat at least one warm meal.
But now the old buildings in Hyoseong-dong were being demolished one by one and new buildings would be erected. Okjeong and Soyeon had left too, and other elderly people who had lived there for a long time had also moved to find new homes.
Ian likewise followed Ganghyuk and nested in a new place. Getting up at dawn every day to go shopping and open the shop had been his daily routine, but now he would be idling around endlessly.
Ganghyuk told Ian he could do anything he wanted. Even if he said he wanted to live his whole life just eating Ganghyuk’s money without working, he would accept it with a smile. Because that’s the kind of person he was.
Not wanting that, Ian held his head and groaned. He knew that no matter what work he did, it would be difficult to earn more money than Ganghyuk, but still, he didn’t want to be someone embarrassing to stand next to Ganghyuk.
‘There are often parties or gatherings with partners. Executive Director isn’t very active in social activities, but since there are many people he meets for business.’
This was what Jaehyun had indirectly told Ian. Since Ian might soon go to gatherings or parties as Ganghyuk’s partner, he’d given advance notice.
Suddenly the moment Ganghyuk had handed him a business card at the funeral hall came to mind. If he had a proper job, he could have a business card like that too, right?
“Ugh, what should I really do…”
With the soup restaurant disappearing, he felt at a loss again. Since his grandfather had only wished for him to stay healthy, he’d never studied hard either.
Ian, who had been pulling his bangs and pondering deeply, suddenly raised his head.
There was one thing. Something Ian had recently become interested in.
“Should I learn cooking?”
He was almost at a professional level now at making soup and seasoning fresh kimchi. Although he couldn’t make various dishes yet, he had quite a good touch. It was also possible to follow YouTube videos for dishes that weren’t too difficult.
Cooking was more fun than expected. Should he say it felt like creating something with his fingertips? The aroma from ingredients cooking over fire, the sound of liquid bubbling up, the changing colors as ingredients cooked, the tactile sensation at his fingertips when cutting ingredients.
Cooking stimulated all five senses. The point that delicious food was created as much as he put in effort also played a part. Especially when he saw someone happy eating the food he made, the sense of accomplishment was great.
Once he’d settled on cooking, nothing else came to mind. There was also the path of studying and going to university, but that would take too long to become a proper member of society.
It would take at least 4 years, and he didn’t want to live just receiving allowance from Ganghyuk during that time. Of course, learning cooking wouldn’t be easy either, but there was also the method of self-studying at home as much as possible.
Ian, who got up from his seat, wandered around various places in the house and then found a yellow notepad and pen in Ganghyuk’s study and returned to the living room.
