As they descended the stairs, laughter echoed in the living room. Yigyeom looked at Kwon Taejung’s parents, who were sitting side by side on the sofa, sharing stories and laughter. The already good mood became even better with their smiling faces and laughter.
“Sweetie, Yigyeom, did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I didn’t wake up once until Chief came.”
“I thought about waking you up by feeding you, but I thought it would be better to eat together when Taejung arrives. Are you hungry?”
Only upon hearing the question about being hungry did Yigyeom realize that he indeed felt hungry. Yigyeom smiled, and Kwon Taejung, after smiling back, kissed his cheek and went into the kitchen to ask the ladies for dinner.
“…”
Left alone for a moment, Yigyeom looked at Kwon Taejung’s father, then approached a bit closer, clasped his hands, bowed politely, and greeted him.
“Hello… Sir….”
Searching for the appropriate title, he had practiced calling them ‘father’ and ‘mother’ with honorifics, and it seemed that addressing them as ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ would suffice. Yigyeom cautiously lifted his head and made eye contact with Kwon Taejung’s father.
“Well… yes. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine… thanks to your concern.”
“If you need anything, just let Taejung know. Tell us anything you need.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing Yigyeom gratefully smiling, Kwon Taejung’s father’s gaze softened.
“Wow, Dad, you’ve already melted for Yigyeom. Dad, Yigyeom is pretty, right? My standards are high, you know?”
“Yeah, way better than you.”
“Right. Yigyeom is way better than me. Mom, Dad, have you had dinner?”
“Not yet.”
“Then please join us.”
Seeing the parents rise from their seats, Kwon Taejung took Yigyeom into the dining room. In the meantime, the dining table was filled with delicious dishes.
“Uh, Chief… I need to use the restroom.”
Although he was definitely hungry and had thought about eating something, the smell of food flipped his stomach when he caught a whiff. Yigyeom excused himself, hurriedly left the dining room, passed through the living room, and went up the stairs. He quickly entered the bathroom near Kwon Taejung’s room, lowered his head over the toilet, and retched.
“Ugh…”
It was painful both in speed and throat. The nauseating feeling was too agonizing. Wiping away falling tears with the back of his hand, Yigyeom, feeling drained, tried to sit down, but Kwon Taejung firmly held him.
“Chief…”
“Our Yigyeom is going through a tough time. I wish I could bear it in your place.”
To prevent Yigyeom from sitting on the floor, Kwon Taejung sat him on his lap and gently swept his back. The limp body felt miserable, and his heart ached.
“I’ll lie down for a bit… Chief, please have your dinner.”
“No, I don’t need to eat. Let’s stay together.”
“Chief, you’ve been working all day… Please eat quickly. If you don’t, I’ll feel bad.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“P’w cba tecugs sfa. Cirb, ragjcufis, bcmf sbe rwfii rbwfatlcu, la rffwr ilxf sbe wluta cba yf jyif ab fja vef ab jc eqrfa rabwjmt. P’ii rfaaif vbkc j yla ijafg, jcv ktfc P mgjnf rbwfatlcu, kf mjc fja abufatfg.”
Bkbc Kjfpecu, ktb wfa Tlusfbw’r ujhf klat j rswqjatfalm ibbx, qijsoeiis xlrrfv tlr ilqr, wjxlcu Tlusfbw delmxis mbnfg tlr wbeat klat ybat tjcvr.
“It’s… dirty…”
“What’s dirty? Nothing’s dirty. Our Yigyeom is clean.”
Removing his hand from his mouth, Yigyeom blushed as Kwon Taejung kissed him again on the floor. Then, silently waiting beside Yigyeom while he brushed his teeth, Kwon Taejung supported Yigyeom as he had a few more bouts of dry heaving.
Without comfortable clothes to change into and considering that it might be better to go home than to stay with just the two of them, Yigyeom, supported by Kwon Taejung, carefully descended the stairs and looked at his worried parents.
“We’ll go to our house. Yigyeom has no belongings here, and it’s better for him to rest comfortably at home.”
“Yeah, that’s better. The vomiting is severe. Take care.”
Looking at Yigyeom, whose eyes were red from crying, Kwon Taejung’s mother approached and gently hugged Yigyeom, patting his back as if expressing sympathy. Smiling quietly in response to the gentle and warm comfort, Yigyeom also hugged Kwon Taejung’s mother, embracing her back lightly.
“Yigyeom, go rest well. After your stomach settles, if you crave something, tell Taejung. Okay?”
“Yes… I’ll do that. Please don’t worry too much… Uh, Mother…”
“Oh, Yigyeom, why are you so beautiful like this?”
Kwon Taejung’s mother, who had slightly moved away and pressed Yigyeom’s face gently with both hands, expressing how lovely he was, this time held the hand of her real youngest son.
“Taejung, take good care of Yigyeom. Got it? If you want to eat something, tell Mom, and I’ll make it for you.”
“I will. By the way, Mom, Yigyeom is beautiful.”
“Yes, very beautiful. SoI’ll be careful in how I treat him.”
Even amidst Kwon Taejung proudly boasting about his lover, he gently supported Yigyeom again and carefully left the house. After moistening the back seat just enough, he placed Yigyeom in the passenger seat.
As Kwon Taejung started the engine and left the garage, he somehow sensed Yigyeom’s discomfort with a leather-like smell emanating from the car. Quickly releasing his pheromones, he felt the tension leaving Yigyeom’s body. He knew this scent was one that Yigyeom could fully rely on.
“I’ll wake you up when we arrive. Sleep tight.”
“Yes…”
Reaching out to stroke Yigyeom’s soft cheek, his eyes closed quickly. Seeing him fall asleep so easily, it was truly adorable, yet the memory of holding him tightly as he cried earlier made Kwon Taejung’s heart tighten.
If only I could endure all the pain on his behalf. However, the desire alone couldn’t change anything, making Kwon Taejung feel saddened as he sighed softly.
Though Yigyeom woke up, he hadn’t fully regained consciousness. Kwon Taejung embraced him, carried him into the house, and now fully trusted and relied on him. In the elevator, Kwon Taejung wetted the back seat appropriately and sat Yigyeom down.
He felt relieved as Yigyeom’s tension left his body with the scent of dry roses spreading inside the car. However, knowing that Yigyeom had been through so much, Kwon Taejung sighed with a heavy heart.
“Let’s go. Wake up when we get there.”
“Yes…”
Extending his hand to gently stroke Yigyeom’s cheek, he caused Yigyeom’s eyes to close again. As Yigyeom fell asleep once more, Kwon Taejung carried him down to the bed and placed him carefully.
It was important for Yigyeom to eat and rest well. However, with his current condition, eating seemed like a struggle. The only things he could eat were fruits like peaches, ice cream, and bread. If he continued like this, it seemed like he might collapse.
“Umm…”
“Yigyeom, what’s uncomfortable?”
“I want some water.”
“Water? Just a moment.”
Quickly leaving the room, Kwon Taejung opened a bottle of water left outside, filled a cup, and returned to the room. Meanwhile, he gently lifted Yigyeom, who was sitting up, tilted the cup, and fed him water. Afterward, he wiped his wet lips and gently touched his face.
“How does your stomach feel now?”
“It’s better now.”
“Can you eat something?”
“I feel a bit hungry, but…”
Having had a light brunch for lunch, Yigyeom felt noticeably hungry as he hadn’t eaten much. He lightly touched his slightly tingling stomach.
“Do you have anything specific you want to eat? Think about it, and I’ll buy anything you want.”
“Hmm…”
Yigyeom thought about various foods. Rice, noodles, bread… Rice seemed impossible to eat, and noodles didn’t appeal to him. As for bread, he had been eating it frequently lately, but now he didn’t feel like having it.
“…I want something spicy.”
“Spicy?”
“Yes… um, tteokbokki.”
In Kwon Taejung’s mind, images of tteokbokki he had seen before appeared. Surprisingly, Kwon Taejung had never bought tteokbokki for himself. He had never asked his mother to make it at home. Occasionally, when his older siblings, when they were young, shared some with him, he had tried it at their urging.
“Tteokbokki… Oh, tteokbokki. I’ll quickly go get some. Is there anything else you want to eat?”
“I can’t think of anything else.”
“Alright, then I’ll quickly go get tteokbokki. Are you okay being alone at home?”
Nodding, Yigyeom’s cheek received a light pat from Kwon Taejung, who then quickly left the room. Taking the car keys and stepping outside, he only started contemplating where to buy tteokbokki after entering the elevator.
“…”
However, he had never thought about tteokbokki before, so nothing came to mind. Even after searching on his phone, most of the places seemed to challenge the limits of spiciness, making it difficult to decide where to buy.
“…”
But since he had never thought about tteokbokki before, nothing came to mind. Even after searching on his phone, most of the places seemed to challenge the limits of spiciness, making it difficult to decide where to buy.
After about twenty minutes of searching, Kwon Taejung called various tteokbokki shops and snack bars in order. However, it seemed there was no place that offered tteokbokki with the level of spiciness Yigyeom would like.
In the end, Kwon Taejung decided to call his older brother for help. Since his brother enjoyed desserts and had a sweet tooth similar to Yigyeom’s, and he had heard stories about his sister and brother making and enjoying such snacks, Kwon Taejung thought he could seek assistance for this.
– Yeah, maknae.
“Hyung, are you at home?”
– Yeah, I came in a while ago. In and out? Yigyeom was said to have a bad appetite. Is he feeling better?
“Yeah, he’s somewhat better than earlier. Hyung, do you remember when we made tteokbokki with Noona before?
Suddenly bringing up tteokbokki over the phone might seem odd, but Kwon Taejung didn’t have time for leisurely conversations.
-Tteokbokki? Yeah, we sometimes make it as a late-night snack with Noona. But why are you suddenly talking about tteokbokki? You usually don’t eat it.
“Yeah, but Yigyeom wants to eat it. He wants something not too spicy… I’ve called various places from the search results, but it seems they can’t adjust the spiciness.”
While talking on the phone, Kwon Taejung felt pathetic, knowing that Yigyeom must be waiting, and it had been almost thirty minutes since he went out, lingering in the parking lot.
-Tteokbokki? Sure. Come home quickly, and I’ll make it. Since I heard about it, I suddenly want to eat it too. I’ll check if Noona wants some.
“Really? Can you make it?”
-Yeah, I’ll make it not too spicy. Come home, and I’ll be preparing it.
“Can you make it not too spicy and a bit sweet?”
-Seriously? Because Yigyeom’s taste is really similar to ours. Noona and I also make it that way.
Relieved by his brother’s words, Kwon Taejung quickly backed up the car and smiled. His heart, which had been in the dark, felt as if light were pouring in.
“Hyung, thank you so much. Truly, the light of Taesung, Kwon Kijung.”
-I’m making it like light, so come home quickly. Drive safely.
“Yes, hyung.”
Ah, he’s alive. With a relieved heart, Kwon Taejung hung up the phone and quickly left the parking lot.
Without entering the garage, Kwon Taejung, who had parked in front of the house, hurriedly entered the house, following the enticing aroma into the kitchen.
“Hyung! Oh, Noona is here too.”
“If Kijung made it, there’s no way I can resist. How about Yigyeom?”
“He’s gotten better. I’ve been struggling to eat lately, so I’m worried. I hope he can eat this well.”
“Indeed. It’s a concern. When I asked a friend earlier, they said it can’t be helped during tough times. Even a little discomfort from being sad while being together is unforgettable, so be good to him.”
Kwon Yu-jung, tapping Kwon Taejung’s shoulder, took a piece of tteokbokki on the table and fed it to him. Then, he also fed one to Kwon Taejung.
“Maknae, how is it? Not too spicy?”
Oddly, today tteokbokki tasted exceptionally delicious to the point of being strange. Watching his brother filling the tteokbokki into the container, Kwon Taejung nodded approvingly. It had a moderate spiciness and a sweet taste that Yigyeom would probably enjoy.
“It’s delicious. Yigyeom will like it. Thank you, hyung.”
“We can do things like this anytime, so if you’re unsure, don’t hesitate to call. We three can quickly solve it together.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“Well, here you go. Yigyeom must be hungry. Go quickly. Drive safely.”
“Yeah, really thank you. I’ll go. Don’t come out.”
Waving goodbye to his sister and brother in the kitchen, Kwon Taejung, holding a shopping bag with the tteokbokki, quickly left the house again. He felt a bit sorry for not being able to say goodbye to his parents, but at this moment, Yigyeom was more important, and there was no other choice.
Carefully placing the shopping bag on the passenger seat, Kwon Taejung suppressed his urgency and drove as cautiously as possible. He now understood that to make Yigyeom and Ppiaegi happy for a lifetime, he had to be extremely careful and vigilant.
Oh, am I becoming more mature? I should ask Yigyeom to praise me. Smiling at the shopping bag on the passenger seat, Kwon Taejung drove through the darkness again.
KT has sympathetic pregnancy symptoms.
You are becoming more mature…