By Zephyria 
When Ha-jin finished showering in the bathroom attached to the master bedroom and came out, Byeol, who had been waiting in front of it, hugged him tightly once again.
“Ha-jin Uncle! My mom brought something delicious. Let’s have dinner.”
Before he could even dry his hair with the dryer, he was led to the dining room by the child’s hand. The woman who was setting the table pulled out a chair as if to tell him to come quickly. Ha-jin didn’t sit down right away but instead helped her put the dishes on the table. Eden and his Hyung were nowhere to be seen.
The table was filled with various seasoned vegetables, braised short ribs, grilled eel, and more. Just roughly counting, there were over 20 side dishes. The smell of the food made his mouth water, and the hunger he had forgotten quickly rushed in.
The woman silently watched Ha-jin helping her with curious eyes before cautiously broaching the subject.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from our Byeol. He said you took good care of him. I really wanted to meet you, and I’m so glad you came safely with my son. My husband cooked today’s meal as a thank you, so please enjoy it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Ha-jin always wanted to continue the conversation smoothly and naturally, but since it was his first time meeting his lover’s family, he didn’t know what to do and stammered. After a moment of hesitation, he turned his gaze to Byeol, who was running around the table with Pie, and opened his mouth.
“Actually, I received a lot of help instead. Byeol is so brave and smart, and he listens so well…”
“Mom! I’m going to marry Ha-jin Uncle later, so keep that in mind!”
At that moment, Byeol, who had been running around under the table, suddenly put his hands on his hips and shouted solemnly. The woman laughed nonchalantly at her daughter’s audacious declaration and shrugged her shoulders.
“Okay, do as you please.”
“I’m not kidding!”
Ha-jin, who was awkwardly watching the child’s stubbornness, stiffened as he suddenly felt a hand groping his waist from behind. Eden, who had approached him unnoticed, pulled Ha-jin into his arms and sighed.
“Jeong Byeol. Who said they were going to marry you?”
His subtly questioning voice was ominous. Ha-jin, feeling uneasy at the atmosphere as if he was about to drop a bombshell, quickly pulled away.
“Um, Jeong Tae-geon…”
Before he could stop him, another voice cut him off.
“Byeol, unfortunately, the Magician Uncle already has a partner.”
Eden’s Hyung, Jeong Tae-woo, smiled kindly and sat down, continuing,
“Byeol, you were in Korea with us, how did you not know that? That the two uncles are dating.”
What am I hearing right now? Next to Ha-jin, whose jaw was dropping, Byeol shouted.
“No! Ha-jin Uncle is mine!”
Ha-jin blushed, not knowing what to do in the face of the sudden turn of events. Judging from the way things were going, the couple already knew about Eden and him.
Besides, Byeol didn’t seem that surprised either. The child was just huffing and puffing, unable to contain his anger, but didn’t show any particular reaction to the fact that Eden and he were same-sex lovers.
Eden sat Ha-jin down in a chair and took a seat on his left. Then, as if he had been waiting for it, the child quickly sat down on Ha-jin’s right.
The couple sat down across from Ha-jin, who was awkwardly receiving the gazes pouring in from both sides.
Before starting the meal, Ha-jin cautiously opened his mouth, looking around.
“Um… I greeted you earlier, but I don’t think I’ve formally introduced myself.”
With a nervous expression, he stood up slightly from his seat and bowed deeply to the couple. He never dreamed that a meeting similar to a formal meeting between families would take place just a few hours after arriving in the United States, so he was out of his mind, but Ha-jin tried to be polite as much as possible.
“I’m Do Ha-jin, who is seriously dating Jeong Tae-geon. I look forward to working with you again.”
Eden, who was watching, scanned Ha-jin’s profile with a satisfied look. Byeol, feeling sulky, pouted and stared only at the table.
“Oh, we look forward to working with you too.”
“Please take good care of our Tae-geon.”
Contrary to Eden’s cold and prickly personality, thanks to the gentle and considerate Jeong Tae-woo and his wife, the meal was held in a comfortable atmosphere throughout.
He had eaten well on the aircraft carrier and on the plane, but it had been a long time since he had eaten such a home-cooked meal. Ha-jin quickly emptied two bowls of rice, as if the tension he had felt was all for naught.
After dinner, the couple led Byeol, who was whining that he didn’t want to go home, out the front door. Ha-jin, who had seen them off, returned to the living room and leaned back on the sofa as if collapsing.
As the tension eased, sleep rushed in like crazy. He barely managed to get up at Eden’s nagging to brush his teeth and go to bed, but after that, his memory was completely erased. He didn’t remember where he fell asleep, what sweet words Eden whispered in his ear, nothing.
Ha-jin was asleep for several days like a bear in hibernation.
In the middle, Pie’s ticklish breath and wet tongue touched his lips, but he couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality. When he opened his eyes, he was in Eden’s arms, and when he opened his eyes again, the bright sun was shining through the window.
He slept straight through as if he had a disease. Eden forcibly woke up Ha-jin, who couldn’t wake up easily, fed him, took him to the bathroom, and washed his body himself. Despite all his efforts, Ha-jin fell asleep again as soon as he closed his eyes.
He couldn’t easily come to his senses due to the accumulated fatigue and jet lag over the past few months. Then, on the fourth day, Ha-jin finally woke up completely.
When he rubbed his blurry eyes, he saw Eden, wearing black horn-rimmed glasses, caressing his laptop beside him. He hadn’t even called out to him, but he felt the presence and glanced back at Ha-jin.
“Are you awake? Eat some porridge and sleep. You’ll really die if you keep doing that.”
Eden handed him the lukewarm water he had prepared. Ha-jin took the cup, smoothing his messy, bird’s nest-like hair. He gulped it down vigorously, and Eden looked back at him again.
“Are you completely awake?”
Ha-jin replied in a hoarse voice.
“I think so. Cough… How long have I been asleep?”
The moment he asked, Eden got up from his seat and pulled Ha-jin tightly into his arms.
“It’s been four days.”
Ha-jin, who was blinking his swollen eyes, burst into a hollow laugh. He muttered in a cracked voice.
“Crazy… This is the first time I’ve ever slept like this. It wasn’t even this bad when I had the flu.”
“You came back from the dead, so this is nothing. You can sleep more if you’re tired.”
“No, I’m really okay now. My back is stiff from sleeping too much.”
“Let’s go to the gym later and do some stretching.”
“Yes… By the way, how is Jeong Tae-geon? Is he okay?”
“I slept well for about two days too.”
Ha-jin checked the clock, which was pointing to noon, and slowly got up from his seat. After taking a clean shower, he ran back into Eden’s arms. Eden closed the laptop screen he was looking at and kissed Ha-jin’s lips deeply at the sight of his lover affectionately rubbing against him.
❖ ❖ ❖
From the next day, Ha-jin embarked on a full-fledged schedule to rebuild his broken body and mind. He did strength training with a personal trainer every morning and evening, and ate three fresh and hearty meals a day, taking nutritional supplements.
He also faithfully attended the mental care program that Eden had foretold. He was defensive because it was awkward to confide in a strange foreigner, but as time went by, Ha-jin was able to talk about his feelings honestly.
The sadness of losing his only family and the longing for the friend he left behind in Korea, the shadows of the Zombies that appeared every night, the vagueness and fear of the future… The topic changed every time, but when he talked to the counselor, he inevitably burst into tears.
Fortunately, after a few weeks, the tears gradually decreased, and the random thoughts that had been swirling in his head were significantly reduced. Thanks to consistent physical management and counseling, his tired body and mind were slowly recovering. (Pie’s health condition, which was examined at the animal hospital, was fortunately also good.)
Even without health management, Ha-jin’s day was busy. He had to go back and forth to the immigration office to process complicated immigration documents, and he searched every corner of the neighborhood for open Magic shops.
Most of the rest of the time, he was dragged around by Eden, who was mainly focused on buying Ha-jin’s clothes and daily necessities at department stores. Once, as if trying to create a honeymoon atmosphere, he threw away perfectly good furniture and ordered new furniture, and he arbitrarily bought luxury goods and brought them to Ha-jin as gifts.
At first, Ha-jin just gratefully accepted them, but as his spending habits became more and more excessive, he couldn’t help but criticize him. As a result, the two had to argue and have a big fight for the first time.
“Why do I need designer clothes!”
“Then are you going to keep wearing those rags that cost a few dollars at the mart?”
“Don’t you remember picking up the duck T-shirt at the restaurant? You’ve lost all your initial intentions?”
“My initial intentions weren’t there in the first place. If you really don’t like it, don’t wear it and tear it up.”
With those words, Eden tore off the clothing tag attached to the new clothes as if to show him. Ha-jin, who had lost the chance to get a refund right in front of his eyes, despaired and covered his face. But such childish love fights usually didn’t last more than an hour.
That was because of a photo attached to one corner of the bedroom. In the slightly crumpled Polaroid, Ha-jin, Eden, and Pie were smiling brightly in front of a baobab tree.
The fact that the past, when they longed for survival, made the current worries seem trivial was the only advantage that the Zombie crisis brought. Thanks to this, Ha-jin was able to casually dismiss the current situation of receiving excessive gifts, and Eden was able to calmly control his desire to give his lover everything.
As he lived through such a hectic daily life, a month had already passed since he came to Texas, and Eden’s sick leave was coming to an end.