“Let’s rest a bit and talk again. This could get serious. Your fever’s rising.”
Kwon Taejung placed a hand on Yigyeom’s forehead and cheek, which were flushed with fever, and sighed as tears continued to flow. Yigyeom’s mind was in turmoil because he had never expected things to unfold like this.
On a day of great sorrow, Yigyeom couldn’t even begin to fathom the enormity of what he had learned through someone else’s words.
“…Please go, Chief.”
“We haven’t finished talking yet. Plus, you’re unwell right now.”
“……”
“But should I leave you alone? I’m your guardian. I can’t just leave you alone.”
“Why are you my guardian?”
“If you don’t like that, then you protect yourself. When you’re well enough to protect yourself, we can talk again. Until then, I’m your guardian. Even if you don’t like it, I can’t help it.”
Sniffling, Yigyeom turned away from Kwon Taejung, facing the wall. Kwon Taejung covered Yigyeom with a blanket and sat on the bed, gazing at his trembling, dry shoulders.
“You can hate me, curse at me. Get angry and hit me. I’m the one who made the mistake by hiding things.”
“……”
“You can do anything to me, but don’t blame yourself. You’re not at fault.”
“……”
“I made it hard for you too… I’m sorry.”
Each time Yigyeom heard Kwon Taejung’s words, his heart ached unbearably. It felt worse than his grandfather’s passing. Yigyeom covered his face with the blanket.
“I want to be alone.”
“I’ll be outside. It’s shameless of me to say ‘sleep well’ after causing all this. But still, think of yourself. You have the funeral tomorrow, and it’ll be a long, tough day. It’s hard to endure this in your current state. So please rest a bit. For your sake.”
Despite the lingering tenderness in his voice, emotions overwhelmed Yigyeom as he heard Kwon Taejung’s voice softer than usual. He cried softly under the covers as he heard Kwon Taejung leave and the door close. He felt completely alone.
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.
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“……”
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He didn’t want to hear anything more. The play was over now, and having obtained what he desired, he didn’t want to face anything more, afraid of what might happen.
Though he had told him to leave, he secretly wished for him to stay. When he mentioned being his guardian, he felt relieved without realizing it. He couldn’t see any way to lift his heart, which had completely leaned towards Kwon Taejung, back to its rightful place. He didn’t have an ounce of strength left to put that heavy heart back in its place.
“What should I do, Yigyeom? I think I like you.”
The vivid memory of that moment when his heart sank flooded Yigyeom’s mind. Yigyeom wanted to believe that Kwon Taejung’s words and actions were not all lies. So unknowingly, he recalled the feelings Kwon Taejung had shown him, one by one.
As his tear-soaked eyes filled with memories one by one, he shimmered smoothly for a moment, then swiftly gathered and pushed out the emotions from that time. Even while crying continuously, Kwon Taejung strangely never seemed to leave his heart. It felt strange, pitiful, and yet…
“……”
It was a relief.
***
For several days, exhausted from crying and unable to sleep properly, Yigyeom eventually fell asleep. When Yigyeom had fallen asleep for quite some time and dawn approached, Kwon Taejung cautiously entered the room and observed the sleeping Yigyeom.
The red-rimmed eyes from crying so much looked pitiful, and his visibly weakened appearance within a few days was heartbreaking. Kwon Taejung lay down facing the wall and watched the exhausted, sleeping Yigyeom for a long time. He wanted to stroke his hair, to soothe him, but what Yigyeom needed now was rest.
He had barely eaten, just had some rice with soup and a few sips of instant coffee. If he couldn’t sleep any further in this state, it would be a real problem.
“So now… Chief, you don’t have to come anymore.”
Yigyeom’s words, “You don’t have to come anymore,” made Kwon Taejung’s heart skip a beat. Although he had expected such words to come naturally, hearing him was vastly different from just thinking about it.
Before hearing those words, he thought he needed to resolve and make up for this situation. But after hearing Yigyeom’s words, all he could think of was ensuring Yigyeom suffered as little as possible.
His own situation, explanations, sense of unfairness, or sincerity—all of those seemed like matters for later. For now, all he wished for was that Yigyeom wouldn’t cry.
Feeling like he had deceived, it was inevitable. His intentions were clear, his pursuit of those intentions undeniable. The problem lay in the genuine feelings that arose during that pursuit.
He hadn’t known that feelings for someone could suddenly emerge, or that he might want to make someone smile. He hadn’t known that just seeing someone’s faint smile could brighten his mood or that his face could linger in his mind all day.
It was a first. Not something he could be forgiven for because it was the first time, nor something he could justify, but still, these emotions were genuinely a first.
Curiosity, filled with more emotions, pity, gradually transformed into a more personal shape, and all his initial plans went awry.
At some point, he forgot why he was meeting Yigyeom. There was no official reason beyond meeting to enjoy good food and spend time together.
But even so, nothing changed. Ultimately, his reason for approaching Yigyeom was indeed to prevent the broadcast, and yes, it was true he had hidden his identity as the youngest son of the Taesung Group.
“…….”
Covering Yigyeom with the blanket up to his shoulders, Kwon Taejung, feeling the room was too quiet and somewhat desolate, focused on Yigyeom’s breathing flowing through the room, almost forgetting to breathe himself.
Just a few days ago, they had laughed and talked. They hadn’t defined their relationship, but they had kissed like lovers and longed to face each other’s warmth. But now, it all felt like a dream.
However, Kwon Taejung couldn’t express any regret. It was he who had abruptly woken up from a dreamlike, delicate moment.
Thus, in the quiet, he had no choice but to listen attentively to Yigyeom’s weak breaths, filled with fear that he might stop at any moment, hoping the night wouldn’t end, cruelly welcoming the morning. For a long while.
***
The funeral was held modestly, attended only by Kwon Taejung, his secretary, and the caregiver. To avoid leaving Yigyeom and the deceased feeling lonely, he moved together from the mortuary to the memorial hall. Finally, he returned home in the car driven by the secretary. Supporting Yigyeom, who was so tired that even walking properly was difficult, Kwon Taejung entered the entrance.
“…I’ll go home now.”
“…….”
“I promised not to do the broadcast, and Grandfather has passed away… I feel like there’s no reason for me to be here anymore.”
Even though words he wanted to say almost reached his lips, Kwon Taejung refrained from speaking, knowing that those words would only weigh heavier on the already burdened Yigyeom. Right now, the priority was ensuring Yigyeom suffered no more.
“What are you going to do by going home in this condition? I won’t be there for you. Even if I stayed, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“…I want to be alone.”
“I understand. I know how you feel, but stay here for a few more days and rest before leaving. Recover enough to protect yourself, just like I mentioned yesterday.”
“…Please leave.”
Yigyeom’s voice trembled, but there were no tears. After crying too much all day, he had no more tears left to shed.
“Then stay here for at least a day. Take a shower, rest well, and eat dinner, then sleep again.”
“…….”
“After that, wake up, we can have breakfast together, and then leave. I’ll take you.”
Kwon Taejung didn’t have the strength to insist more strongly on going home. Yigyeom gave up and went into the bedroom. From there, he took out underwear and comfortable clothes with familiar touches.
“Can you shower alone?”
“…Yes.”
“Can’t I stay by your side? It’s dangerous if you slip in the bathroom.”
“…It’s okay.”
Seeing Yigyeom head into the bathroom, Kwon Taejung sighed softly. He waited, worried if any loud noise might come from the bathroom.
But Yigyeom didn’t come out for a long time. Anxious, Kwon Taejung stared at the bathroom. Thinking that it might take longer to shower thoroughly after using the funeral home’s shower, but even after fifty minutes, there was no sign or sound from inside, worrying him.
Finally, when an hour had passed, Kwon Taejung knocked on the bathroom door. Twice, four times, six times. Getting no response, he opened the door and found Yigyeom slumped inside the shower booth, seemingly unconscious.
“…Damn it.”
Surprised, Kwon Taejung turned off the water continuously pouring down. It seemed that fainting due to the hot water hadn’t led to any major misfortune. He checked if there were any injuries on Yigyeom first and then wrapped him in a large towel, lifting him up.
“Yigyeom.”
Laying Yigyeom on the bed and covering him with the blanket to prevent him from feeling cold, Kwon Taejung gently held Yigyeom’s cheeks. With each attempt to call out his name and touch his face, a sudden fear rushed in as he saw his lifeless, slack face.
“Yigyeom. Can you hear me?”
Despite speaking continuously, Yigyeom showed no response. Kwon Taejung, seeing Yigyeom’s paleness, took out his phone and called Cho Hyunjun.
This last few chapters were so heartbreaking. I couldn’t read comfortably without pausing every few minutes.It was so disappointing that his grandfather passed on. It was inevitable, and they were spending so much on his ailness. Still, I had little hope that he’d survive it.Also, why didn’t Taejung beat the shit out of that Goo Daebum? I expected that bastard to have a few broken bones from running his mouth so stupidly.I do hope Yigyeom is okay. I can imagine how deeply hurt he feels. It would have been a bit better if he had heard the truth directly from Taejung and not that awful mouthpiece.I seriously hope they make up soon. Taejung has a lot of begging to do. No one likes to be used or lied to.
Thank you so much. I every day check if you upload new chapters.
Thanks very much for the chapters
Gosh reading this while listening to only by leehi hits different 🤧
I’m determined that this is their song huhuhu