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Chop, chop, chop…
A regular sound echoed in the kitchen. It was the sound of Kang Inheon cutting cucumbers with a kitchen knife. Lee Juwon sat at the dinner table and watched Kang Inheon’s back as he made a sandwich.
Wearing a plain grey short-sleeved t-shirt and roomy shorts, he looked as comfortable as if he were at home. No, this was one of Kang Inheon’s houses. Because he said so.
The wooden one-storey house had a spacious kitchen. Instead of the usual cabinets above the sink and kitchen shelves, there was a large window that stretched out and a garden full of wildflowers that could be seen from the kitchen.
It had good access to the sun, so it was bright even without the lights on. A yellow cat lay stretched out and sleeping like pudding in the sunlight streaming through the window.
It was as warm as if it had been painted using only warm colours. It fitted well with Kang Inheon. But he couldn’t figure out why it didn’t seem like Kang Inheon’s house. The Kang Inheon in front of him also didn’t seem to be the Kang Inheon he knew.
He didn’t know why, but it was unfamiliar. Like he was with someone else. He couldn’t figure out why he felt such longing when he was clearly with him right now.
“It’s strange…”
Even when Lee Juwon muttered like he was talking to himself, Kang Inheon replied with, “What is?” and brought the cleanly washed tomatoes to the cutting board. The tomato clearly looked big on the tray, but in his hands, it looked infinitely tiny.
Kang Inheon hummed softly as he sliced the tomato. The muscles in his arms moved with life.
Even the wrinkle lines on his clothes were vivid. His shoulder area was tight, and crease lines were drawn across his back, but the waist area was baggy and loose. Every time a breeze blew through the slightly open window, the hem of his clothes fluttered lightly, revealing his toned waist and thighs.
“Maoooow.”
Wondering when it had woken up, the cat had slowly wandered over to his feet and jumped onto his lap. Lee Juwon was the only one who was surprised by the sudden, heavy feeling. Gasp, he let out a breath, but neither the cat nor Kang Inheon looked back as if they were familiar with this.
Hesitating for a moment, not knowing where to put his hands, Lee Juwon slowly stroked the cat’s chubby nape. Its yellow fur, keeping in the sunshine, was warm and soft.
“Purrr.”
As he stroked its ears and even the fur on its forehead, he felt a purring vibration coming from the belly against his thigh. It was yellow and fluffy and warm, like freshly baked bread placed on his lap. He stared down at the purring cat for a while, its eyes folding into half moons as if at ease with the stranger’s touch.
Meanwhile, Kang Inheon, who had finished cooking, roughly wiped the water from his hands on his t-shirt and placed the sandwiches on a white plate. The freshly made pasta was also transferred from the frying pan to a large plate.
As he set the bowl down in front of Lee Juwon, he noticed a ring with a simple design on Kang Inheon’s fourth finger. Lee Juwon was also wearing a ring of the same design while he petted the cat.
The sandwich filled with fresh vegetables on rye bread, the oil pasta with more garlic and shrimp than noodles, and the orange juice squeezed from the juicer all looked appetizing despite the short amount of time they took to make. Was Kang Inheon always a good cook?
“Ugh…”
His head throbbed and ached again. This should have been a familiar situation, but it wasn’t familiar at all. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
The cat suddenly jumped to the floor and ran to one side of the living room. As he watched its bushy yellow tail, he felt a cool sensation on his cheek.
A hand, still damp from the water, touched his cheek. His eyes met with Kang Inheon, who was sitting next to him, not in front of him. Kang Inheon tilted his head and said, “No appetite?”
He flinched at the casual stroking of his cheek. It was more like confusion at the unexpected touch rather than displeasure.
Finding it difficult to maintain eye contact for some reason, Lee Juwon shifted his gaze to the window.
The garden was clear, matching summer’s arrival. Perhaps due to a midday shower, the leaves of the trees and blades of grass were dampened. Whenever a gentle breeze wafted through the half-open window, it brought with it the tingly, rain-soaked smell of earth.
He had no appetite, but he knew he couldn’t leave the food and perform a gosa. Lee Juwon picked up the sandwich first and took a bite.
He didn’t think it would taste like anything, but it tasted better than he thought. The fresh lettuce was crunchy and the ripe tomatoes were refreshing. The slightly salty bulgogi and freshly baked light bread went well together.
Kang Inheon sat at the table cupping his chin and watched Lee Juwon eat. Looking at his side profile eating, Kang Inheon said, “Does it taste good?”
Lee Juwon pushed the plate filled with sandwiches towards him. However, Kang Inheon didn’t even look at it and approached Lee Juwon.
Kang Inheon tilted his head, revealing an angular jawline. The long muscle of his neck, connecting the under area of his ears to his collarbone, was clearly visible.
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.
Lee Juwon hesitantly pulled back as much as he approached, but the back of the chair gave him nowhere to retreat. But… was there any reason to avoid him? Didn’t… didn’t he say he was his lover? His uvula moved as he swallowed hard and shut his eyes.
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When he put his fingertip down on the floor, the ant quickly crawled down from his nail to the floor and went its own way. After following the ant’s trail with his eyes for a while, he raised his body and sat up straight.
Riiiiing–.
Suddenly, he felt a vibration on his thigh. Lee Juwon was startled, but it was just an incoming phone call. He hadn’t even realized that he had left his phone in his pants pocket. It was like his saviour from the awkward atmosphere only he felt and Lee Juwon quickly took out the phone.
“……!”
Then, he threw it as if he had just picked up a black insect with twenty legs.
Bzzzzz, bzzzzz…
The rectangular smartphone squirmed as if it were alive on the hard table. Lee Juwon couldn’t believe the name on the phone’s screen, which was clearly his.
🌺Beloved Mrs. Choi Heekyung🌺
“What’s wrong? Pick up.”
Kang Inheon touched the green button at the bottom of the screen and pushed it. The loud vibrations stopped instantly. Leaving the phone on the table as it was, he switched to speakerphone.
– Juwon-ah?
A voice came from the top speaker. The affectionate voice was familiar. No, it was unfamiliar. Confused, Lee Juwon couldn’t answer. But he didn’t hear the voice ask again, or any silence passing by. Kang Inheon answered instead, “Mother, this is Inheon.”
– Ah, Inheonie?
“Yes, did you have lunch?”
– What time is it, I’ve already eaten. Have you?
“I’m about to eat.”
– Why are you eating so late? You should be eating on time.
“Haha, I apologize. I’ll eat on time from now on.”
– Ah, did you try the blueberries I sent you last time?
“Of course. They were delicious. Juwon ate a lot too, so we’ve already eaten half of it.”
– That’s good, I’ll buy some from the farm next year too and send them to you.
“As always, thank you.”
– What thanks… What’s Juwon doing?
Kang Inheon said, looking at Lee Juwon, who was staring blankly at the name on his phone, “Taking a nap.”
– Gosh, he’s sleeping again? Who does he resemble to sleep so much?
“I guess… hmm… he’s mother’s son…?”
– It isn’t me, though? Doesn’t he resemble his dad?
A light laugh came from the other end of the receiver. Kang Inheon laughed out loud too. When Lee Juwon raised his head, his eyes locked with Kang Inheon’s.
“It’s almost time for him to wake up now…” Kang Inheon continued while looking at Lee Juwon, “I’ll tell him to call you when he wakes up.”
– No, there’s nothing special going on. Just calling you is fine.
“Ah, mother, can we stop by Simcheong-dong this Saturday?”
– You’re busy, what’re you coming over again for… What time?
“We’ll match mother and father’s schedules…”
Lee Juwon grabbed his pounding temples. The two had an everyday conversation for a while longer before hanging up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
But the bigger problem was he couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t believe it.
Something was strange, and the more he tried to think about what was strange, the more the ringing echoed in his ears and his mind went white. He was dazed as if his thinking had stopped. Unable to make out what was what, Lee Juwon buried his face in his dry palms.
His ankle tickled. The cat, which had approached without any signs, sat at his feet.
It was early summer, the viridescence outside his window was green and the cicadas were already singing. Even the natural scenery didn’t seem to match the season.
But he was the only one who felt that way. His surroundings were just peaceful and routine. There was only one problem, then.
“…I think I’ve become a little strange.”
The man sitting closely, thighs touching, stroked Lee Juwon’s back and whispered in his ear, “It’s okay.”
“……”
“You’ve always been strange.”
Lee Juwon looked up and their gazes met. The corner of his mouth lifted playfully as if he were joking.
Black hair fell naturally over his clean-cut forehead. The back of his hair stretched out and stuck up slightly. His glowing, healthy skin was clear. His eyes sparkled in the early summer sunlight, and his straight nose made a distinct shadow on one cheek. Looking into his black eyes, Lee Juwon muttered as if confessing a sin, “I don’t remember you very well…”
He couldn’t even tell what he remembered and what he couldn’t remember. To the point he felt guilty for not remembering his cat, his mother, Kang Inheon, and all these loving and affectionate beings properly.
But the man spoke nonchalantly as if he were comforting a heartbroken child who lost a 100-won coin, “That’s also possible.” The man continued, his lips moving smoothly and animatedly, “It’s okay.”
“……”
“Let what was forgotten be forgotten.”
He smelled captivating, like musk. The man slipped his fingers through Lee Juwon’s hair and stroked it gently as if combing it with a brush.
“It probably wasn’t a very good memory anyway.”
…Really? If it had been a good memory, he wouldn’t be feeling this suffocated and emotional. It wouldn’t have made his eyes feel hot and made him nauseous like he was going to wretch every time he tried to remember it.
“You can start anew here.”
The whisper in his ear penetrated his mind like a sweet incantation. It was like a command laid upon his jumbled memory.
Starting anew, yeah, that was what Lee Juwon had wanted so badly.
Looking at the beautiful man in front of him, Lee Juwon nodded his head.
As if praising him, the man gently overlapped their lips. He bit the middle of his thick upper lip. Every place his tongue touched tingled. The warm breaths exchanged were so sweet he couldn’t continue thinking.
It was a relaxing and peaceful weekend. The day off spent lazing around in the living room was unprecedentedly satisfying.
Lee Juwon laid on the soft sofa and read a novel in paperback. Most of the books in the library were about astronomy, earth science, and agriculture, but there were also poetry collections, essays, and popular fiction novels.
Pondering over what he should read, Lee Juwon had picked out a book. The introduction written on the back cover was compelling.
Lily marries her unrequited love, Noah, but their relationship is marred by misunderstandings. Lily, disadvantaged by Noah’s cold treatment, loses her life in an unexpected accident… Noah, who only starts regretting after having lost Lily, gets run over by a dump truck! Noah is brought back to the day before his wedding…!
The introduction to the book was just an introduction, only five pages long. It was a common cliche according to Kang Inheon, but it was the first novel Lee Juwon read after <Kapitan Ri>, so it was fresh and interesting. They kept their mouths shut apart from when they were kissing, so it was frustrating how they had no plans of clearing their misunderstandings via conversation, but it was fun in its own way.
In the garden outside the window, Kang Inheon was watering various plants with a long hose. A small river flowed from north to south through the large garden, difficult to distinguish from the forest. It was early summer, but the river breeze carrying the water was cool.
“Kweeek!”
The sudden scream made Lee Juwon drop the book he was reading. It was the cry of an elk that had suddenly appeared and disappeared.
“Haha…” Lee Juwon burst out laughing. While trying not to splash the elk, Kang Inheon momentarily let go of the hose and lost control of it, and the blue hose flopped around like a live snake. Unexpectedly, Kang Inheon was hit by the water and drenched.
He quickly turned off the tap and shook his soaking-wet hair. The water droplets from his hair sparkled in the sunlight and scattered. He ran his hand through his still-damp hair, clearly revealing a handsome forehead.
“Nyaa–.”
“Gasp…!”
Without warning, Nabi jumped up to his chest and sat down. Nabi had already pushed through the stuff on the table, sending books crashing to the floor.
The yellow cat they were raising was named Nabi. Unlike its cute name, it was very old. Lee Juwon was told it was a cat he had picked up from the streets when he was young. When he said that, Kang Inheon didn’t seem all that happy. Kang Inheon, who would even save a single ant, seemed to strangely dislike Nabi a bit.
When Lee Juwon stood up while hugging Nabi in his arms, the round and big Nabi stretched like liquid on his chest. He pressed his nose to its forehead and smelled its aromatic but funky smell.
“Are you looking at the butterflies because your name is Nabi?”
Among the books that had fallen to the floor and spread out because of Nabi, there was the national must-have, the Encyclopedia of Monsters. It was so cute that it was looking at the butterfly pictures like a cat.
He hugged it tightly again, and Nabi slipped out from under him as if finding his actions annoying. Beneath the crudely drawn butterfly Nabi quickly stepped across, unreliable information was written.
Psyche (Extremely rare species, impossible grade measurement)
Ability _ Replicates the target its prey finds the most ideal for a mate! Beware and beware again as it captivates people by recreating the subconscious even the target it copies is unaware of!
Attack _ Weighs love and suspicion on a scale that cannot coexist! If the pendulum of love tilts further for one season, you can happily stay and reproduce in that nest forever. If the pendulum of suspicion tilts further for one season, there will be a return in order to stay and reproduce in that nest forever.
Afraid of it being called a trash book, not writing an attack strategy was better than writing one. In the first place, there was suspicion concerning if the Psyche even actually existed, so it was also a book that should make you feel sorry for the trees.
Nabi’s water bowl was empty, so he poured water into it and leisurely poured himself a glass of water too, but Lee Juwon flinched for a moment.
“…What?”
It seemed like Kang Inheon had called his name just now…? Lee Juwon looked around, but there was no one in the house. He walked over to the window and pressed his forehead against the living room’s large window and looked around, but he couldn’t see Kang Inheon. After searching for him for a while with his eyes, Lee Juwon put on his slippers to get some fresh air and went outside.
The wind blew gently and the sunlight was warm. The garden was large, but it didn’t take long to find Kang Inheon. He had been outside all day since morning, weeding and watering, and seemed to be uncharacteristically tired, so he was laying down on a low wooden bench under a crepe myrtle tree and sleeping.
“…Did I hear wrong?”
Lee Juwon sat at the very end of the wooden bench and looked at the sleeping Kang Inheon.
His heels were so round and smooth it made him want to bite them, the bones of his ankles were prominent, his calves long, and a slender waist that was more defined by lying on his side, but his shoulders were so broad that his head was cocked in discomfort. Nevertheless, Kang Inheon slept soundly.
orcinus comments:
the descriptions about food made me so hungry ngl… u know i used to be a proud hater of chapter 5 until i finished it and suddenly my life was over
can anyone guess as to why inheon dislikes nabi so much? 
Indeed, why exactly, hehe
?
my guess is that Inheon is jealous of the attention Nabi gets.
Isn’t because the “Inheon” in this illusion is the psyche butterfly and butterflies are know to be a cat’s prey? So he dislikes poor Nabi 🤔🤔
That makes a good amount of sense. Im curious why in his romantic fantasy a cat is present though 😂
Because in his jump to the past they talked about him wanting to raise a cat and I bet in that moment he had a scenario of raising one together in his head
I liked every episode so far, but I didn’t like this episode. I don’t like these kind of illusions😤
S And why doesn’t she love Nabi… Maybe Nabi is the key to break out of the illusion or just because butterflies are Nabi’s prey 🧐
chapter 5 is hard to get through, but its worth it in the end!
I want him to dislike Nabi because he’s taking juwons attention but I can’t help but feel its because of something malicious ㅠㅠ
since it’s transforms into what the prey ideals it’s probably an illusion fantasy of inheons maybe Nabi could tilt love to suspicion?
To think that all this is just an illusion (;_;)
Maybe Nabi are his locked away memories? And those are giving hints like with throwing over the books about butterflies? When Kang Inheon called him just now despite sleeping, was it maybe the real one and not the fake created by those butterflies 🦋
I don’t like this chapter I don’t know why but I feel uneasy and a little anxious for no reason tho I love the kisses and stuff😍
Ay dios mío después de la nota de la traductora creo que cuando termine el capítulo 5 voy a quedar sin nada de estabilidad emocional 😢
omg so it was a monster’s illusion
a good dream. Love life, good food, the cat they were talking about in the past, alive parents, etc. 😭 At the same time, yahh, if feels so discomfiting
Like ml was so readily accepting if mc forgets about his past and such sksksksk amongst other points
_He couldn’t figure out why he felt such longing when he was clearly with him right now.’ —because it’s probably not your Inheonie… 🙁
THEY ARE SO DOMESTIC I CAN’T bc I know it’s all an illusion
‘Beloved Choi Heekyung’
this dream… it’s too good to be true. the could have beens…🥲
..porque los gatos ven cosas que las personas no. Y nabi sabe que ese no es Inheon