“No. I will stay at the hospital.”
“Even if you do, you can’t see him right now, so go home and sleep. Come tomorrow before 8 o’clock. Don’t worry about anything because the Chief has set up a room for me right next to him, so I’ll be there right away if anything happens.”
“… Chief was here?”
“Yeah, since I was pretty taken aback by the situation I immediately contacted the Chief earlier. He happened to be in the demolition village, so he came right away and contacted the hospital here. Even if your grandfather comes out of the intensive care unit, he says he should stay in the hospital for a few days just in case, so he asked for a single room. Oh, there you are.”
At the words of the caregiver, Yigyeom quickly turned his head and looked at Kwon Taejung, who was approaching. When he saw that face, he was a little relieved though.
“You’re here? You must have been shocked. Don’t worry too much because he came here to rest.”
“Yes…Thank you. For coming to the hospital instead of me…It’s something I should have done…”
“What if someone does it? Don’t think about that right now, get rid of your surprise. Then I will see my grandfather tomorrow.”
Yigyeom nodded and watched Kwon Taejung say various things to the caregiver. The light and mischievous appearance he usually showed was completely mature. Kwon Taejung was different from him being flustered and in tears.
“I will take Yigyeom home and come here with him tomorrow morning because Yigyeom has to visit his grandfather.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about it.”
“Please take care.”
Kwon Taejung, who had silently bowed lightly, climbed into the elevator holding Yigyeom’s shoulders, whose eyes were bloated from crying. He kept alternatively touching his hair and cheek all the way down to the parking lot.
“What about the cafe?”
“I contacted the boss, and he sent his younger brother to cover my shift…”
“Hm, the boss is decent enough. I thought he was insane for overworking you as a part-timer but I think I should reflect upon myself.”
Knowing that Kwon Taejung was trying to ease his mood, Yigyeom smiled a little at him. His hand stroking his hair was so warm that he wanted to lean on it.
In the car leaving the hospital, Yigyeom listened to Kwon Taejung in detail. It was a mixture of the stories Kwon Taejung heard from the caregiver and the stories he experienced himself.
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.
My grandfather, who had dinner, suddenly said that he felt stuffy inside, and while the caregiver was patting his back, he said that he could not breathe properly.
Ktjcxr ab atf delmx jgglnji bo 119, atfgf kjr cb fwfgufcms agfjawfca, yea yfmjerf bo tlr juf, atf tbrqlaji vfmlvfv obg tlw ab rajs lc atf lcafcrlnf mjgf ecla obg j ofk vjsr jcv kjamt tlr qgbugfrr, pera lc mjrf.
“Qtfc tf mbwfr bea bo atf lcafcrlnf mjgf ecla, tf klii yf rtloafv ab j rlcuif mjylc. Pa’r mbcnfclfca obg atf mjgfulnfg ab yf atfgf, jcv la’r mbcnfclfca obg sbe ab nlrla tlw.”
“…Thank you so much. If I had been by myself, I would have been very confused about what to do.”
“I am cool, aren’t I?”
“…Yes.”
Surprised by Yigyeom’s reply, Kwon Taejung turned his head to look at the passenger seat, then came to his senses and moved his gaze forward again. It was great that Yigyeom gave a positive response to his question, but he was really surprised and his heart was beating wildly.
“Don’t make me think of naughty things while your grandfather is at the hospital.”
“…I didn’t.”
“You just did that.”
“But…I am really grateful…It’s really cool how you solved everything… .”
“I understand what you mean, but when I hear that, I feel like you’re fucking with me. It’s better if you think of it that way.”
Yigyeom, whose ears turned red at the blatant and crude expression, placed his hand on his thigh for no reason.
“I’m saying this out of consideration, but you don’t have to think about how to pay for hospital bills. Since I’m not giving you a loan or something.”
“…But you’re still spending money. I can’t pay you back right away, but I’ll pay it back once I start working. I think that will put my mind at ease.”
“Then will you stay with me for longer?”
“…”
“Did you forget 100,000 won an hour? You could stay for five hours longer.”
Kwon Taejeong smiled at Yigyeom and moved his gaze forward again. Yigyeom came to like Kwon Taejung so easily after his resolve to never like him was broken. Even with a smile, even with mere comfort, even with just eye contact.
“… I’m not sure if me being with you helps. I don’t do anything for you, and I feel sorry that you even give me money just because I am with you, so I do not feel at ease.”
“It helps. It’s the only way you can help me. When I’m with you, I don’t have to do anything else, I just need you, so I’m comfortable too. You don’t know when that bastard friend of that cat mascot or Goo Daebeom will come. The bastard says he won’t come because he saw how angry I was…but for Goo Daebom, it’s due time for him to crawl out. Did you send the money I gave you then?”
Yigyeom recalled the money Kwon Taejung had put into his bank account and quietly nodded his head. He spent a little more together with his cafe salary and left the rest of the money in his bank account.
“If I send the money at once, I think he will visit me once again… so I paid him in small amounts.”
“Good job. If you had paid 10 million won in at once, he would have come asking where you got it from. No, fuck him. Does it really matter where the money comes from as long as you’re paying him? If you give them money, he should just wag his tail at you.”
Looking at Kwon Taejeong, who was annoyed at the thought of it, hitting the steering wheel with the palm of his hand Yigyeom chuckled and dropped his gaze onto his thigh again. Until then, he was so scared but it was amazing that he could put my mind at ease and even laughed thanks to Kwon Taejung.
“Ah, I keep warning you not to make a jerk of me.”
“… I didn’t do anything…”
“You laughed.”
“Your laughs are so damn pretty.”
“Keep in mind. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t laugh, just laugh often and be careful of this idiot.”
After thinking about what that meant for a while, Yigyeom rubbed his pants slowly with his finger inadvertently. He thought that he would be willing to do what Kwon Taejung said. Of course, he wasn’t shy just for thinking his way.
Arriving in Daramdong, the car drove inside and stopped at the entrance of an alley. Yigyeom watched Kwon Taejung get out of the car and open the door before he came to the passenger seat and opened the door. Kwon Taejung got Yigyeom down and closed the door after him.
“See you at 8 tomorrow morning. In the evening you can come at 6 or 7. They said you can only visit him twice a day. The visiting hours might be closed late in the morning, so I think you better get out of the house around 6:30. You can’t be late. I will go with you, so never go by yourself.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
Standing in front of Yigyeom’s house, Kwon Taejung recalled the evening when he ran after receiving a phone call from his caregiver. The ambulance could not enter the alley, so paramedics with stretchers came running and provided first aid, causing a commotion.
If Yigyeom had seen that, it would have been very difficult. Yigyeom’s grandfather stopped breathing for a moment, and when Kwon Taejung saw the color of his face change, he was shocked too.
“Aren’t you afraid to be home alone?”
“Ah…”
At Kwon Taejung’s words, Yigyeom looked back at the closed gate. Come to think of it, he hardly slept alone at home. He always had his grandfather, and even when he was hospitalized for a while, he slept with him in the hospital, so he couldn’t sleep alone at home. So, being home alone at night was very strange to Yigyeom.
“Shall I spend the night here”
Yigyeom wanted to be together more. It was natural to want to be with the person who made his heart be tilted against his will. However, Yigyeom remembered the small room, the old floor and wallpaper, and the musty smell that started to come back little by little no matter how comfortable he made it.
It must be difficult for Kwon Taejung, who was uncomfortable even sitting down at a snack bar, as if it was dirty, and sleeping in such an old and dilapidated house would be more so.
“Shall I not? Will it be awkward for you?”
“…I think you will be uncomfortable. The room is too narrow…Same with the blanket…The hot water doesn’t come out too hard. The floor is hard…”
“Well, I already know how small the room is, so I bought the bed for you, remember? We can sleep together on your bed..hm…I didn’t know how that hot water didn’t come properly at your place.. . I’ll still wash myself slowly and patiently. However, it’s a problem that I didn’t have enough clothes to wear.”
Of course, it was not an easy decision for Kwon Taejung to sleep here. It was a very brave decision for Kwon Taejung, who did not like to sleep on a bed other than his own, and who had never slept on the floor, decided to sleep here.
“Just tell me this. Don’t think about everything else, just tell me whether you want me to sleep here or just go. Don’t think about me, just think about you.”
“… I…”
Not thinking about other people’s feelings, but only thinking about his feelings. It was very unfamiliar to Yigyeom, who always held his feelings back but he still wanted to do as Kwon Taejung said. Yigyeom listened to what his heart was saying.
“…I want to be…together…with you.”
Yigyeom barely made a small noise and looked over his shoulder at Kwon Taejung in front of the door.
“Let’s go in.”
Yigyeom’s heart melted and collapsed again at the gaze and laughter that fell on Kwon Taejung’s face. Yigyeom quickly turned around and opened the gate with slightly trembling hands, went inside and watched Kwon Taejung follow him, then closed and locked the door. Just seeing the locked door, made his heart beat as if there was nobody who could intrude upon them.
“Please make yourself at home.”
After opening the door and turning on the light, Yigyeom looked into the messy room where the tense moments from earlier remained intact and tidied up his grandfather’s disheveled blanket. He put all the things under a small table in the kitchen. After busily tidying up, there was enough space for Kwon Taejung to lie down and sleep.
Thank you for the chapter! 💜
Thanx for the update! 💕