・・・・・
When she simply checked with her hand, the fever seemed high but not this bad. However, as soon as their bodies touched and they lay together, his entire body felt like a ball of fire.
The fact that he acted as if nothing was wrong, making chicken soup and showing her around the house, and even following her around, made her feel strangely guilty and uncomfortable. Moreover, even while taking his medicine, he didn't take his eyes off her.
All the lights in the house were off, except for the bedside lamp. Perhaps due to the typhoon, there were occasional sounds from outside, like something breaking or falling, but the noise was so faint that it wouldn’t be noticeable unless she paid close attention.
"Ah..."
Seo Dohyun groaned and hugged her tighter. It had been about 30 minutes since he took his medicine, but it didn ’t seem to help. Gaeul, who had been quietly nestled in his arms, squirmed, trying to slip away.
"I can’t do this. I’ll go get a wet towel."
"It’s fine. Don’t go."
"Staying like this won’t change your condition. Since you’re not feeling well, I need to find something I can do."
"This is your job. Just stay in my arms like this."
"Haa... seriously."
At the strange stubbornness, Gaeul let out a deep sigh. She reasoned that if she simply fell asleep, whether he was holding her or not, she could at least escape her worries. But it was still too early to sleep.
Gaeul picked up her phone from the nightstand and started browsing the web. The news article said that the metropolitan area wouldn't be free from the typhoon's effects until tomorrow afternoon. If things got worse, she’d have to take him to the emergency room once things calmed down outside.
As she stared at her phone for a while, she gradually noticed the sound of his breathing above her head becoming steady. When she shifted slightly to check his face, it seemed he had already fallen asleep.
She thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to wet a towel and place it on his forehead.
Gaeul carefully slipped out of his embrace and placed her feet on the floor beneath the bed. Just as she was about to stand up from her spot…
A hot, large hand snatched her wrist.
"I told you not to go."
The voice coming from behind was threatening.
As Dohyun pulled her arm sharply toward the inside of the bed, Gaeul lost her balance and collapsed onto the bed. Taking advantage of this moment, his forearm wrapped tightly around her waist. Then, in the blink of an eye, he pulled her body to the centre of the bed. The whole process happened in an instant.
"I was going to bring a wet towel."
"I told you it’s not necessary."
A chill ran down her spine as their eyes met. Raw emotions swirled in his darkened gaze. A mixture of possessiveness, anger, anxiety, and unease, along with emotions that were difficult to pinpoint, rose and slowly settled.
"You have such a high fever. I'm just saying that I want Seo Dohyun to feel a bit more comfortable..."
Not only did Seo Dohyun lay her down on the bed, but he also leaned over her as if to prevent her from escaping. As his robe slipped open, his sculpted torso was fully revealed. Normally, she might have admired the sight, but with his fever so high, worry took over instead.
"Don't do that. Just wait a moment. I'll quickly go and dampen a towel with water."
Instead of answering, he just stared intently at her face.
He remained still for quite some time before slowly parting his lips.
"...Your glasses are thick."
"Huh?"
He started to fiddle with Gaeul’s glasses.
"You can’t see anything without these?"
"Almost."
Dohyun smirked and quickly removed the glasses from Gaeul's eyes. Immediately, her vision blurred, and a sharp cracking sound followed.
She couldn’t see it, but one leg of Gaeul’s glasses was now broken and shoved into the corner of the nightstand.
"What was that sound? Did you break my glasses?"
"What do you think? Now you can’t see anything, can you?"
"Are you crazy? My eyesight is really bad! And do you have any idea how much those glasses cost?"
"Well, that’s quite a rewarding piece of news."
“What’s so rewarding about that?”
"I’ll buy you new glasses. You can wear your contacts when you go home anyway."
"The problem is that this house is so large that it’s hard to even find my contacts in the dark. I can barely walk on my own. Did you completely break them? Please give me at least one of the lenses."
“I'm pleased with this. Now you can't do anything without me.”
Gaeul looked at him with a look of disbelief. His features were even blurred, so she couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was making after causing this issue.
Dohyun lay down with a more at ease expression and pulled Gaeul into his embrace.
"It’s strange. At work, when I see someone who can’t do anything, I start thinking about how to make use of them, but when I look at you, I almost wish you couldn’t do anything at all."
He nuzzled the bridge of his nose against her hair and chuckled softly.
"Now, you won't be able to run away."
“I’ve never run away.”
“Remember? At the hotel.”
“...”
“If I don’t do this, when you wake up, you’ll just run away and hide in some unreachable place again. Then you’ll cut off contact and disappear on me.”
Dohyun lowered his head and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Then, he hugged her tightly. The intense heat from his body passed through the thin fabric and reached Gaeul directly.
“I gave you my number, but why didn’t you contact me? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
It was the question she had avoided during the day. Now that they were stuck together all night, it seemed impossible to delay answering it any longer.
To be honest, at first, she didn’t understand why she was feeling that way. The fact that Seo Dohyun had given her his contact information made her genuinely happy, and she really wanted to reach out, but she was also afraid.
“…I was wondering if what I’m doing is the right thing.”
“...”
"If it were someone else, sure. I could approach them casually, and if things went well, we could start dating. But my brother really loves his current company. Seoil Electronics is incredibly difficult to get into. And the team leader is his boss. No matter how much you try to separate personal and professional matters, it's still a human affair. What if things get awkward between us and it affects my brother's work?"
Once she started talking, the emotions she had been holding back came rushing out.
“And I’m currently looking for a job. I’ve lived my whole life like Lee Gajun’s shadow, but when it comes to getting a job, I want to do better than him. I want to beat him, just once.”
“You want to beat Assistant Manager Lee?”
“Yes.”
"Well, let's put that aside for now. Keep talking."
“You said you weren’t following me around because you liked me. You just needed someone to sleep with and suggested we do it three more times. If you don’t even like me, why are you acting this way, Seo Dohyun? When you behave like this, it confuses me. I’m already disoriented by the way you tease me in bed, and now this…”
Gaeul paused for a moment to catch her breath. It felt like something hot was rising up from her chest. Saying it out loud only made her feel even more upset.
“I find you incredibly difficult to deal with. If I just focus on what I need to do, I’d at least achieve some meaningful results one way or another. At the very least, I’d get a job somewhere. But contacting you, meeting you again, getting physically involved under the excuse of some threat — what if I end up liking you so much that there’s no turning back? And then, if time passes and I’m left with nothing, what am I supposed to do then?”
She liked him. However, Gaeul wasn’t sure about his feelings. If that was the case, wouldn’t it be better to just focus on finishing her preparations and get a job? Even if they were both confident about their feelings, there were too many obstacles in their relationship, making it difficult. And if Seo Dohyun only cared about her body…
"You asked earlier why I called you over."
“...”
“I called you over because I missed you.”
Dohyun kissed the nape of her neck.
“I think I might like you.”
・・・・・
The area where the typhoon had passed was sunny as if it had never rained.
When she opened her eyes, it was midday. Feeling her body free, she fumbled around the bed but found that Seo Dohyun was gone. She reached for the nightstand and found her glasses with one leg broken. It seemed he had fixed it with tape after waking up this morning.
"Just tell me where my glasses are. I won’t run away."
"They're in the corner of the nightstand. I'll fix them properly tomorrow. Let's go buy a new pair after you wake up."
"Where are you going with a body like this?"
“It’ll get better after I sleep and wake up.”
When she put on her glasses, they tilted to one side because the broken side was weak, but it was better than having no glasses at all.
Looking at the photos from the online article, she saw that the streets were a mess, with signs, bicycles, and broken trees scattered everywhere. Fortunately, the typhoon turned out to be weaker than expected, and it seemed that everyone had prepared well, so the damages were minimal.
As she slipped on her slippers and headed to the living room, she heard some activity coming from the kitchen. As she got closer, a delicious smell wafted toward her. When she entered, she found a meal set up on the dining table. There was freshly made soybean paste stew, grilled mackerel, fried eggs, stir-fried sausages and vegetables, pickled radish, and kimchi — a hearty Korean meal. Just then, Dohyun turned around from where he had been filling a bowl with rice, and their eyes met.
Seo Dohyun seemed to have woken up early to wash up and change clothes, as he looked neat and tidy. He wore a white short-sleeve T-shirt similar to hers and a pair of sweatpants.
An awkward atmosphere settled between them. As he approached the table, he set the bowl down and cleared his throat softly.
“I think I might like you.”
“...”
"You don’t have to answer. I’m just telling you."
The reason for the awkwardness flashed through Gaeul's mind. She quickly shook off the memory and assessed his condition. The redness on his skin had disappeared, and his gaze seemed as usual. He had said he would feel better after waking up, and it really seemed like he had improved. Thank goodness.
“Has the fever gone down?”
“I’m fine.”
“What’s all this?”
“You said you wanted to eat Korean food before going to bed.”
“That wasn’t an order for the patient to prepare food for me...”
“Now it’s not a patient but a healthy adult man who made this food, so just eat.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Gaeul quickly sat down.
Throughout the meal, Gaeul was once again impressed by his cooking skills. She had often seen posts on the internet where people expressed curiosity about their ex’s cooking recipes, and now she understood why. Gaeul, too, felt like she would also be curious about the recipes for the chicken soup and soybean paste stew that Seo Dohyun made.
After finishing her meal, she brushed her teeth with Seo Dohyun, who was still following her around, and then she pushed him out of the bathroom, saying she needed to shower.
“By the way, your cologne smells nice. Where did you get it?”
“I got it from my cousin. She launched a brand called ‘Seasonal Scent’ or something.”
“'Seasonal Scent?’ No wonder it seemed familiar. It's a brand run by a senior from my university club. I’m not close to her, but I’ve heard about it and visited the offline store. I didn’t know she was Seo Dohyun’s cousin.”
“...She’s a senior?”
"Yeah. Isn't it fascinating? Anyway, I'll wash up quickly and come out."
While Dohyun was frozen, Gaeul closed the door.
“She’s twenty-seven years old.”
The smile disappeared from Dohyun’s face as he muttered softly.
・・・・・
When Gaeul came out after washing up, she noticed that Dohyun had already changed into clothes for going out. He was wearing well-fitted pants, a T-shirt, and a cardigan, and his hair seemed to have been tidied up a bit, looking better than before. He had even sprayed on the cologne she had mentioned. It really felt like they were dating.
He shook his car keys.
“I’ll give you a ride. We can stop by the optical store on the way.”
Gaeul’s gaze turned to the car keys in his hand.
It was a luxury car logo. She had expected as much.
・・・・・
“Anyway, I’m moving to another department in three months, so you don’t have to worry about Assistant Manager’s job.”
“Is this an appeal?”
“It’s kind of similar.”
Pik. The corner of his mouth curled up.
Dohyun continued speaking while turning the steering wheel.
"But why are you your brother’s shadow?"
"It’s been that way since I was a kid. Everyone always focused on my brother because he was so remarkable, so when they saw me, they only asked about him. My parents, too, naturally set their expectations based on him.”
"Are people blind or something? You're much prettier than your brother, and cuter too. Your voice is also more pleasant to listen to. You're less affected by situations or emotions than Assistant Manager Lee, and you're meticulous enough to take care of what you need to in any circumstance. If it had been Assistant Manager Lee, he would have just gone with the flow, even with pizza-scented condoms or whatever. In my experience, you also handle your liquor better than your brother."
Perhaps it was because of what he had said the night before, but Seo Dohyun spoke without hesitation. Fortunately, since he was driving, he wasn't in a drunk state, and because they were in the car, Gaeul was the only one who could hear his rambling. It would have been embarrassing if she had heard it face-to-face.
“How do you know my drinking tolerance?”
"I have a rough idea. You smelled like alcohol when I saw you at the hotel."
"I didn’t even drink that much that day. I wouldn’t even be considered a lightweight."
Dohyun quietly laughed instead of responding.
When they hit a red light, his gaze shifted directly to the passenger seat. As their eyes met, Gaeul’s face turned red, and she quickly looked away.
"Assistant Manager Lee probably wouldn’t suit glasses as well as you. You look good in both silver frames and horn-rimmed glasses."
"You’ve never even seen me in horn-rimmed glasses. I switched to silver frames because the horn-rimmed ones didn’t suit me."
"Why? I think you’d look good in them. Wear them."
“People say they don’t suit me.”
"Don’t worry about what others say. What do you like?"
“What do I like...?” Gaeul murmured in a low voice.
She had never really thought that deeply about it.
"...Honestly, I think the horn-rimmed ones suit me better. I've worn the silver-framed ones for years, but strangely, I just can't grow fond of them."
“See?”
Dohyun returned his gaze to the front and started driving again.
"Let's buy both silver-rimmed and horn-rimmed glasses."
After a brief pause, he continued speaking.
"What’s the point of beating Assistant Manager Lee? You’re already much better than your brother."
At the optical store they soon arrived at, he went ahead and bought Gaeul both silver framed and horn-rimmed glasses.
・・・・・
Despite spending quite a bit of time at the optical store, the journey home felt short.
While she was excitedly trying on various horn-rimmed glasses, convinced that not all horn-rimmed frames were the same, she received a call from Gajun. He told her to come home quickly so they could have dinner together. In order to eat all the side dishes that their mother sent them before they spoiled, the two of them had to diligently eat home-cooked meals together for a while.
“What do you want for dinner?”
"I don't think I can eat with you. My brother is asking me to come home quickly."
“...Okay.”
As Gaeul stepped out of the sedan, she gazed at the old apartment building. On the sixth floor, she noticed the lights were on despite it being early evening, so it seemed her brother was home.
Dohyun, who got out of the car with her, stood facing her. Seeing him standing with the sunset behind him, she couldn’t help but think again how impressive he was. Whether he was dressed in a neat suit, wearing a robe, in casual wear like sweatpants, or even just everyday clothes, nothing seemed out of place on him. Then again, a man who looked good even without clothes would look good in anything.
"I put it off for a long time."
Gaeul silently looked at his face. What could he have been postponing this time? She was the one delaying an answer to his feelings.
Could it be that he was planning to confess at this very moment? Just thinking about it made her mouth go dry, and cold sweat beaded on her palms. What should she do? Should she say she needed more time to think, or...
“So, how old are you?”
Ah, that.
She had completely forgotten about it, even after telling Juhee how much it bothered her.
Tension appeared on Gaeul’s face. The first time she had lied about her age, she had said she was 28. Since she had introduced herself as Gajun’s younger sister, he would think she was at most 27 years old. That alone already made a four-year difference.
She lowered her gaze, hesitated, and then began to speak.
“…years old.”
“What?”
“Twenty-three years old.”
“Twenty-three?”
Ha.
When she looked up at the sound of a dry laugh from above, she saw Seo Dohyun standing there, pinching his brows together as he pressed his palm against his forehead.
“Then how old are you?”
Dohyun lowered his gaze and looked at her with an awkward expression.
“...Thirty-three.”
“...What?”
“I’m ten years older than you.”
Translator's Corner:
Hi all! Hope you've been having a wonderful weekend~ Just wanted to mention, I didn't realise the "Comments" section had the "username" part as required T_T Sorry about that! I have turned that off, so if you do want to make any comments you can do it without a username!~
Anyway, happy reading~! 🌸
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