#65

The man woke up at 4:30 AM as usual. He carefully moved between the living room and the kitchen, keeping the bedroom door closed for Detective Oh. Tae-heun, who had been listening intently from the room while the man took care of his needs and showered, opened the door just as the man was coming out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. The man stopped when he saw Tae-heun.

“Did you sleep well?”

His voice was warm.

“No. I couldn’t sleep alone.”

The man laughed at Tae-heun’s exaggeration. For some reason, the man’s face looked haggard too. Had he tossed and turned all night like me? I had foolish hopes.

“Didn’t you see me in your dreams? I sent you a massive telepathic message.”

“Go wash up. I’ll make some hangover soup.”

Would it hurt to respond a little?

Once again, the man changed the subject.

“I already washed up. Look at my face. It’s so clear.”

He leaned in, but was ignored.

Tae-heun had been awake all night. Even if he wanted to sleep, he couldn’t. He couldn’t even doze off or nod off. He had endured the boring hours of the night and finished showering just in time for the man to wake up.

The man walked to the kitchen, shaking off his wet hair. Tae-heun stared at the man’s back as he left the room, deliberately stomping his heels on the floor as he crossed the living room.

Standing on the porch and looking up at the sky, it was as if it had never rained, with not a cloud in sight. It seemed like it would be sweltering during the day.

The mountains and fields, soaked from the rain that had fallen overnight, looked even greener. The birds were chirping energetically. The puppies were still running around the not-yet-dry yard, leaving footprints behind. Tae-heun was about to gather the laundry hanging on the porch when he shouted towards the man.

“Ki-beom, are you gathering the laundry? Or should I hang it back outside?”

He didn’t care whether Detective Oh was awake or not.

The man gestured for him to lower his voice, but Tae-heun pretended not to notice.

“Gather it?”

In the end, the man hurried over to Tae-heun. He was swaying more than usual as he rushed over.

“Hang it outside.”

He whispered.

“Got it. Why are you being so careful?”

“You must be tired, so I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Aren’t I tired?”

Tae-heun asked, feeling a bit resentful that the man was more concerned about Detective Oh.

“That’s not what I meant.”

The man looked flustered.

“I was joking. I’ll hang the laundry.”

Even though he said it was a joke, he didn’t smile. He knew he should smile, but he couldn’t because he felt hurt that the man was more concerned about Detective Oh. The man replied with a sullen “yes.”

Ah, I don’t like this either.

“Is it fish soup?”

He asked with a grin, showing his teeth this time.

The man flinched and stepped back, as if he found the expression ugly.

“…Yes.”

“Ji-hye will have some hangover soup too.”

“That’s right.”

Only then did the man smile.

His smiling face was truly charming. Not only that, but his white, even teeth and his rather plump, red lips seemed perfect. Tae-heun stared at him. The man, too, gazed back at Tae-heun and blushed late.

“The soup will overflow.”

Worrying about soup that wasn’t even boiling, the man hurriedly walked to the kitchen.

“Not the soup, but I’ll overflow.”

Tae-heun muttered behind him.

Would he understand the hidden meaning?

He shook his head and draped the laundry over his arm.

The soles of his feet tingled. It seemed that the wound had worsened because he stubbornly refused the man’s offer to treat it. When they were alone later, he would have to ask for treatment. Imagining the man disinfecting the wound and applying red ointment made him smile involuntarily. Would he bend down and blow on the wound again? Just thinking about it made his whole body heat up.

To be honest, I’m much prettier than Kwon Yong-jun. Of course, I am. Comparing himself to Kwon Yong-jun out of the blue gave him confidence. Of course, the man’s preference might be for small, petite guys, but when it comes down to it, all that remains when you’re completely naked is your face, right? His body was good enough not to be outdone by anyone, so it was pointless to say more.

Whistling, he stepped down into the yard. He hung the man’s underwear next to his own. The man wore white cotton briefs, as expected. Tae-heun wanted to buy the man something expensive and high-quality, known as “dros,” something similar to what he wore. White would suit his dark skin well, so it would be best to get white. Imagining how pretty the man’s member would look outlined by the snug underwear made him so happy that his gums dried out.

If he had a chance to go to Seoul, he could buy it right away. At times like this, he regretted being stuck in the countryside. If he asked Detective Oh to buy it for him, he would do it without complaint, but he wanted to buy underwear for the man himself. The man would surely fall over when he saw the price of the underwear, but he wanted to enjoy the fun of seeing that too.

“Did you sleep well, Father?”

He heard a child’s voice greeting the man.

“Uncle is in the yard!”

Tae-heun shouted. In less than a second, the child appeared on the porch.

“Uncle, did you sleep well?”

“Of course. Did you sleep well, little drunkard?”

“Hey, I’m not a drunkard.”

The child twisted his body shyly.

“You’re not? If you hadn’t taken it from me, you would have drunk the whole kettle. From now on, no more complaints about us drinking.”

“Tch, where’s that coming from? I only had a few glasses of makgeolli.”

He pouted.

“But, Uncle.”

The child beckoned Tae-heun to come closer. When he approached, the child whispered.

“Is Father angry?”

His tone was cautious. Tae-heun burst into laughter.

“Have you seen Ki-beom angry?”

“No.”

The child soon smiled brightly and ran inside. As he stomped around, he suddenly seemed to remember something and tiptoed carefully.

Seeing that, Tae-heun suddenly realized something. Until just a moment ago, he had been annoyed, but the consideration of the child and the man towards Detective Oh was actually because he wasn’t entirely comfortable. He truly had no sense.

Tae-heun chuckled to himself and looked around, wanting to do something more for the man, who seemed to feel more at ease.

“Man-su, Mu-gang. Do you want some food?”

At Tae-heun’s call, the puppies stopped what they were doing and looked back. They didn’t seem excited enough to run over, but at least they didn’t bark or show their teeth.

“Ki-beom, I’ll feed the kids.”

He deliberately raised his voice as he entered the storage room. When he came out with a bag of dog food, the puppies came running with their tails wagging. After all, to animals, the person who feeds them is the best person. Tae-heun smiled at the little one that had come close to his feet.

Naturally, he thought of his uncle. The one who fed Lee Seon-jae and gave him money. All of his family, including himself, were his puppies. They had always wagged their tails in front of him. He had done whatever he wanted.

The child, Kim Ji-yoon, had organized the ledgers in the dusty storage room with his small hand holding a pencil. Following his uncle’s words that time is money, he graduated from elementary school early after repeating classes, and later took the high school equivalency exam for all his courses.

Lee Seon-jae had no memories of the typical school days. He had only achieved grades good enough to have his name in the newspaper by participating in the math Olympiad. University was a distant dream. While his brother and Lee Hyun-jun were busy with entrance exam academies and private tutoring, Lee Seon-jae was preoccupied with ledger work.

Then, due to his uncle’s whims, he belatedly received tutoring at the age of seventeen to match the standards of VIP clients, and the following year, he entered the country’s top university.

His university years were Lee Seon-jae’s golden period. It was the only time he dreamed of his own future in a world without his uncle, during those three years of attending university. He was just a puppy with a loose leash.

“Please wash the dishes.”

The man, who had come out onto the porch, said.

Tae-heun’s playful side kicked in. He wagged his tail like a puppy towards the man. The man frowned as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have when he saw Tae-heun shaking his butt. And he really pretended not to see.

“It must have gotten dirty from last night’s rain.”

“It’s clean.”

Tae-heun shook his butt again, but the man didn’t pat his head. The man avoided his gaze and said, “Still.”

“Got it. I’ll wash it clean and feed you.”

“And give them water.”

“Yes, my lady.”

This time, he imitated Dol-soe. In the end, the man couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

“After you feed the kids, come inside. It’s almost morning.”

The man said this and disappeared.

Tae-heun quietly stared at the sliding door through which the man had vanished. Standing there, he felt like the head of a household. The man was his wife, and he was the man’s husband. To the neighbors, he might look like an incompetent husband. Leaving behind a dark-skinned wife while he himself looked pale.

He found it amusing how he was lost in delusions and fantasies every moment.

Lee Seon-jae was an excessively realistic person. He had never indulged in fantasies. He always sat in the office, buried in ledgers and documents. He had only dated women, and even that was extremely calculated. Marriage and children were not even considerations.

In contrast, Kim Tae-heun was always out and about, lost in thought, and indulging in fantasies. He liked men, not women. He was blindly devoted to a man he had never even kissed, let alone had sex with. He wanted to build a family so naturally, and the man’s child seemed as lovely as his own.

On the day Lee Seon-jae died, he had an absurd thought that someone had swapped his brain. He chuckled softly.

“Let’s eat, kids. Mom is busy preparing breakfast, so Dad will feed you.”

Tae-heun washed the puppies’ food and water bowls and shook off the water.