By Zephyria 
Seo Yi-kyung looked around the garden while blowing on his hot tea to cool it down. After staying confined to his room, sitting in the sun-drenched garden made his frail body feel somewhat better.
Seo Yi-kyung set down his teacup. It had already reached the bottom. Han Seung-jae, who drank faster than he did, was already on his second cup.
As Seo Yi-kyung placed the cup on the saucer, Han Seung-jae stood up with an indifferent air.
“Let’s head back in.”
He had already sent Butler Do and the attending physician away so that Seo Yi-kyung could drink his tea leisurely without worrying. They had been drinking tea alone together this whole time. In his own way, Han Seung-jae had been considerate.
“Seung-jae.”
Han Seung-jae’s upper body turned slightly. He looked down at his hand, which Seo Yi-kyung was holding. The white, small fingers cautiously let go. Seo Yi-kyung had grabbed him instinctively when Han Seung-jae leaned on the table to stand up.
Belatedly releasing Han Seung-jae’s hand slowly, he spoke.
“I want to stay a bit longer.”
If he asked him to go in first, would Han Seung-jae listen? Moreover, as the sun dipped, shadows from the trees began to stretch. Seo Yi-kyung felt a strong desire to sit here a while longer.
“Then do you want to have dinner here?”
Han Seung-jae shifted his gaze away from the hand he had been looking down at. Seo Yi-kyung blinked.
“Is that okay?”
It was a bit early for dinner. However, since Seo Yi-kyung had been ill, he hadn’t eaten much of anything substantial. Perhaps eating in the garden would bring back his appetite.
“Why would that be difficult? There’s no reason it wouldn’t be okay.”
After speaking indifferently, Han Seung-jae seemed about to sit back down at the table, but instead, he pulled out his phone. It seemed better to switch to something more filling than just letting a sick patient drink tea. Shortly after he finished a brief call, Butler Do and the chef came out from the house.
Seo Yi-kyung stared blankly at the nutritional porridge placed before him. In the morning, he had struggled to eat because he had no appetite, but seeing it outside, he felt a sense of hunger.
Seo Yi-kyung gripped the concave spoon. As he scooped up a bit of porridge, he suddenly paused. This was because Han Seung-jae had leaned forward. He had become that much closer to Seo Yi-kyung.
Unlike the large dining table in the dining room, the table in the garden was narrow. They couldn’t even fit all the side dishes for Han Seung-jae. The chef had carefully selected a few plates, placed the food in front of Han Seung-jae, and then departed.
“…….”
Because Seo Yi-kyung had been leaning back in his chair and looking around while drinking tea, he hadn’t realized the table was so small. At most, only a teapot and two teacups had occupied the space. However, as he pulled his chair closer to eat the porridge, he naturally ended up close to Han Seung-jae. That said, it would be awkward to hold his bowl of porridge while leaning back in his chair now.
Seo Yi-kyung took a spoonful of porridge. Then, Han Seung-jae, who was similarly leaning forward, spoke in a low voice from in front of him. Don’t get indigestion like yesterday. He was scanning the side dishes in front of him with a neutral gaze.
“Only eat as much as you can.”
Seo Yi-kyung nodded. He then slowly put the scooped porridge into his mouth. It was the same porridge he had eaten in bed, yet eating it outside seemed to make it go down easier.
Seo Yi-kyung stole a glance at Han Seung-jae. He was holding chopsticks, but they were as clean as if they were new.
Dinner was earlier than usual, and it seemed Han Seung-jae had no intention of eating in the first place. Even so, why wasn’t he going back inside? As he thought about this, he became conscious of Han Seung-jae sitting leisurely close to him. Their eyes met frequently as Han Seung-jae watched him.
“……I’m finished.”
As Seo Yi-kyung set his water glass back on the table, Han Seung-jae stood up and began to walk away. Seo Yi-kyung slowly straightened his knees.
The rustling leaves cast shadows over Seo Yi-kyung’s face. With a pale complexion, he drifted into thought for a moment.
When he had overheard Secretary Park’s phone call, Seo Yi-kyung thought Han Seung-jae would leave him for Min Ra-hyeon. He didn’t know why his thoughts had spiraled that far, but just thinking about it had made his legs give out, leaving him slumped on the floor.
Han Seung-jae, walking through the garden, looked back. Seo Yi-kyung took slow steps forward. There was no change in Han Seung-jae. Neither sadness nor pity was evident. Furthermore, he remained by his side to a degree that felt reassuring.
* * *
Swoosh—
A cold stream of water poured forcefully over his broad shoulders. Having finished his shower, Han Seung-jae turned around. He put on a robe and left the bathroom.
Then, he spotted Seo Yi-kyung lying on his side on the bed. He wondered how someone in that condition could sit outside for so long; it seemed his stamina had run out in the meantime.
Han Seung-jae sat on the edge of the bed. Even then, Seo Yi-kyung remained as he was with his eyes closed. He had showered first and fallen asleep without even drying his hair. Han Seung-jae brushed away the hair clinging to Seo Yi-kyung’s forehead with his fingers to check for a fever. Compared to the previous day, the heat wasn’t very noticeable.
Han Seung-jae withdrew his fingers from Seo Yi-kyung’s forehead. He considered waking him up to lay him down properly, but decided it was better to let him sleep a bit more. He leaned his back against the headboard and watched the sleeping Seo Yi-kyung for a while.
Just then, Seo Yi-kyung tossed and turned, grasping Han Seung-jae’s hand. To be precise, he had merely covered the back of Han Seung-jae’s hand.
Han Seung-jae’s gaze slid toward the contact. No strength was conveyed from Seo Yi-kyung’s hand. It was just a touch in his sleep, and Han Seung-jae could have easily pulled his hand away. However, Han Seung-jae left his hand as it was.
Whenever Seo Yi-kyung held his hand, he felt as if the other was pleading or clinging to him.
There were often people who tried to grab Han Seung-jae’s hand or the hem of his trousers whenever they asked for a favor. But back then, Han Seung-jae had shaken them off coldly and without hesitation.
Now, he wanted Seo Yi-kyung’s hand to stay in contact.
* * *
After noon passed and lunch was over, Seo Yi-kyung, who had been staying on the second floor, came out of the elevator. He approached the sofa and took a seat.
After some time, the sound of footsteps approached Seo Yi-kyung.
Butler Do spoke.
“A guest has arrived.”
Seo Yi-kyung turned his head as if he had been waiting. He smiled as he looked at Jin Seon-yu, who was waving his hand.
“Welcome.”
Quite some time had passed since Seo Yi-kyung had fallen ill. During that time, Jin Seon-yu had offered to visit several times, but Seo Yi-kyung had declined every time.
“Are you feeling okay? I think you’ve lost more weight.”
Seo Yi-kyung lacked overall flesh, with only a small protrusion of a belly. Butler Do placed refreshments in front of him.
“Did you eat lunch?”
Seo Yi-kyung asked while holding his teacup. Jin Seon-yu shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Then instead of drinking tea, shall we go to the dining room?”
Seo Yi-kyung set the teacup back down. Just as he was about to call out to the receding back of Butler Do, Jin Seon-yu waved his hand.
“It’s okay. I don’t feel like eating right now. I decided to eat with Gi-jun a bit later.”
Seo Yi-kyung’s gaze, which had been on Butler Do, slid over slowly. He could confirm through Jin Seon-yu’s mouth that he hadn’t misheard.
“My eldest brother kept stopping me from going out, so I sold Gi-jun out a few times.”
As the frequency increased, Jin Seon-yu feared his second brother might try to verify his whereabouts, so he called Kwon Gwi-jun and asked him to pretend they had met. Unexpectedly, the response from Kwon Gwi-jun was that they should actually meet. When Jin Seon-yu seemed to hesitate, Kwon Gwi-jun drove the point home: In the future, you’ll be able to move around comfortably if you use my name.
“So, we decided to meet.”
Jin Seon-yu had a calm expression as he explained the series of events. As Seo Yi-kyung took a sip of tea and set the cup down, Jin Seon-yu looked around as if conscious of their surroundings. After confirming no one was passing by, Jin Seon-yu stood up from the sofa and sat close to Seo Yi-kyung.
Seo Yi-kyung’s doubt lasted only a moment. Jin Seon-yu’s expression, which had been calm and nonchalant until a moment ago, turned quite serious.
“You know.”
Accordingly, Seo Yi-kyung placed his teacup on the saucer as if focusing on Jin Seon-yu’s words. Seo Yi-kyung shifted his body slightly.
“What is it? Why are you hesitating?”
Jin Seon-yu said, “You know my brothers are eccentric, right?”
Seo Yi-kyung nodded. Both of them had an exceptionally special and distinct affection for their younger brother, Jin Seon-yu. But wasn’t it because both Jin Tae-won and Jin Seok-young worried about Jin Seon-yu?
“Do you think Gi-jun could withstand our brothers?”
Seo Yi-kyung asked tentatively.
“Why did you think that?”
“It’s not that the thought suddenly occurred to me, but because my brothers’ interference is getting worse. I wondered if meeting someone would make it better.”
And Seo Yi-kyung filled in the rest.
“And you think it would be good if that person were Kwon Gwi-jun?”
Jin Seon-yu scratched his head vigorously and confessed his inner thoughts.
“When I talked to you on the phone back then, you said it.”
Shadows of eyelashes flickered beneath Seo Yi-kyung’s eyes. At Jin Seon-yu’s following words, Seo Yi-kyung felt the heat from the hot tea move from his chest to his cheeks.
“That the person who came to mind when you thought you were dying was your husband.”
Seo Yi-kyung raised his hand and brushed his right cheek to dissipate the heat. Jin Seon-yu leaned down, looking surprised.
“Why is your face turning red? You’re not sick, are you?”
Seo Yi-kyung lowered his hand and turned his head to stare blankly at Jin Seon-yu.
—You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask. Being in that house… are you really okay?
Seo Yi-kyung could guess what Jin Seon-yu was worried about. And because they were talking on the phone at the time, his face wasn’t visible, allowing him to reveal his honest feelings. Besides, it was Jin Seon-yu, after all.
—The thing is… when I thought I was dying that day, the person who came to mind was Seung-jae.
Having finished the recollection, Seo Yi-kyung corrected the wrong words with a flushing face. Facing him like this brought a sense of embarrassment.
“When did I ever say ‘husband’? I said Seung-jae.”
Jin Seon-yu’s eyes widened.
“Either way, isn’t it the same thing?”