By Zephyria 
“What were you and Hyung talking about so seriously?”
“Did we look serious?”
Setting his wine glass down on the table, Lee Hae-sung gripped Choi Hong-seo’s fingertips and pulled him close. He lightly embraced the boy’s hesitant waist and toyed with the damp hair by his sideburns.
“Did you just wash your face?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about how hard it would be for you to see Mr. Yu-jun.”
“I didn’t think about it either, so it’s fine.”
“It was because of some of the scenes you saw before you woke up. Mr. Yu-jun was among them, right?”
Choi Hong-seo nodded.
“The mister was there, and My acquaintance, Hyung, Han-i Hyung, and that person from earlier too. The revenge story I told the mister before. It’s not a scary memory, but… I just remembered the terror of that time… when no one could hear my voice or see me… I think I just froze.”
“It’s all over now, Hong-seo. You’re not going back to that.”
Cupping Choi Hong-seo’s cheeks, Lee Hae-sung met his eyes. Choi Hong-seo’s cheeks, fresh from washing, were cool, while Lee Hae-sung’s palms were hot. Their temperatures neutralized each other.
“I can see you, hear you, and touch you.”
Choi Hong-seo overlapped his own hand atop Lee Hae-sung’s and nodded with a faint smile.
“Then why do you look like you’re about to cry right this second?”
“It’s nice meeting Ji-in Hyung and seeing that he’s doing well and healthy… but every time Hyung calls me Hyeon-seo, I feel like I’m deceiving him.”
“Deceiving? Why would you say that?”
“The mister knows who I am. He knows everything, and it’s a name the mister gave me himself. That’s why I like it when the mister calls me Hyeon-seo. But Ji-in Hyung… he doesn’t know.”
Lee Hae-sung applied more pressure to the cheeks he was cupping. Looking down at the face where the pressed cheeks made the lips pout like a duck’s beak, he put on a stern expression.
“You’re not deceiving him. We’re just burying the story because it’s unbelievable.”
“O-okay.”
Watching the face unable to pronounce words properly because the cheeks and lips were squeezed, Lee Hae-sung let out a chuckle and released him.
“And you, you know you have to take your penalty, right?”
“Why do I?”
“You just called me ‘mister’ five times.”
“You said you’d let it slide in the car earlier.”
“That was earlier.”
“You’re petty.”
“I believe you already confessed to being a shameless rogue a long time ago.”
“Shameless rogue… it’s not even something cool. You’re just a petty adult.”
Wrapping one arm around the waist of the aggrieved Choi Hong-seo, Lee Hae-sung leisurely took a sip of wine.
“Ah, right, adults are naturally petty and detestable. And I’m probably the boss among them. I was just pretending to be cool in front of Hong-seo.”
“Fraudulent marriage!”
“We haven’t even married yet, and you’re calling it a fraudulent marriage. Now, hurry up and say ‘Lee Hae-sung.’ ‘Hae-sung, let’s get married.’ That would be bold and nice.”
“I don’t want to. You said you’d let it slide, so I’m not doing the penalty.”
Wrapping his arm around the waist of Choi Hong-seo, who was desperately trying to escape, Lee Hae-sung hugged him with enough strength to nearly lift him off the ground. Burying his lips against the earlobe that had turned bright red just from the mention of marriage, he threatened him sweetly.
“Choi Hong-seo, if you act like this, I’m not eating persimmons anymore, okay? Should I just get rid of the penalties from now on?”
“Really, stop it, what if someone comes…”
“What if someone comes? We’re lovers.”
“I don’t like it. It’s embarrassing.”
“Choi Hong-seo, am I embarrassing?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean the mister is embarrassing… but…”
The end of Choi Hong-seo’s sentence trailed off as he struggled in Lee Hae-sung’s arms. His expression darkened along with it. He looked more terrified than when he had seen Yu-jun.
“Hy… Hyung.”
Where the pale, almost blue-tinted face of Choi Hong-seo was looking, Jeong Ji-in was standing. It was impossible to tell how long he had been there. He might have just arrived, or he might have been rooted to the spot, unable to believe the scene he was witnessing, hearing and seeing everything.
Jeong Ji-in slowly shook his head and spoke.
“You two, just what on earth are you…”
Unfortunately, it seemed to be the latter.
■
“Hyung… this, I mean, it’s not like that…”
Choi Hong-seo desperately attempted to make an excuse. However, it didn’t seem easy. His face was desperate as he looked back at Lee Hae-sung, as if pleading for him to say something.
But unlike Choi Hong-seo, Lee Hae-sung’s face was composed. It was a face that wouldn’t look flustered to anyone. It wasn’t an expression of dismay either. With an unwavering gaze, he even wore a thin smile on his lips. However, it wasn’t a smile suited for a May spring evening. It was a cold smile, as if he could spit out venom effortlessly with a calm expression and voice. He did not release the arm embracing Choi Hong-seo.
Eventually, Jeong Ji-in spoke first.
“Choi Hong-seo… you definitely called him that, didn’t you, Hyung-nim? Several times.”
Like a witness to a horrific crime scene who could no longer pretend not to notice, Jeong Ji-in’s voice trembled miserably.
“Why, what is it? What’s wrong? Huh?”
Yi-han, who appeared late, saw Jeong Ji-in’s state and demanded an explanation from Lee Hae-sung.
“Ji-in saw me calling Hyeon-seo ‘Hong-seo.’ He must be in shock.”
“Wait a minute. Who is calling whom… what?”
Yi-han held up his large palm, cutting off Lee Hae-sung’s words. He also had an expression as if he had heard something utterly unacceptable.
“Hyung, are you in your right mind?”
Hyung. It was the first time in decades that Yi-han had called Lee Hae-sung ‘Hyung’ instead of ‘Hyung-nim.’ Due to a family tradition that was beyond strict—it was solemn—and the age difference, Yi-han had been required to call his older cousin Lee Hae-sung and his own biological brother Lee Seo-kyung ‘Hyung-nim’ since before he had even matured.
“It feels good to hear you call me ‘Hyung’ after so long. Ji-in, you should call me ‘Hyung’ from now on too. We’ve become quite close.”
“Whether it’s Hyung or Hyung-nim, what exactly are you trying to do right now? I know you’ve had a hard time, Hyung, but even so, this… this is rude and hurtful to Mr. Hyeon-seo…”
“It’s not!”
Choi Hong-seo, the only one among the four who was breaking into a cold sweat and flustered, firmly denied Yi-han’s words. Everyone’s attention focused on him.
While holding onto the arm of Lee Hae-sung who was embracing him, Choi Hong-seo spoke, almost shouting with desperation.
“I asked him to!”
“Mr. Hyeon-seo did?”
“Hae-sung Hyung… misses that person from before very much. So I suggested it first.”
As he continued to speak, Choi Hong-seo actually became calmer. He had been so nervous that a habit he thought he had completely fixed had resurfaced, and he was a child who couldn’t even look at Jeong Ji-in properly after entering this house… yet now, Choi Hong-seo was lying to the two people in front of him without any hesitation. To protect Lee Hae-sung.
“I told him not to struggle so much and that we should work through it slowly together. I told him I was okay. That he… could call me Hong-seo.”
Jeong Ji-in looked at Choi Hong-seo with pitying eyes.
“Mr. Hyeon-seo, it’s not our place to interfere and say anything, but… why go that far…”
“Because I want to be by his side.”
“……”
“I want to be by his side, in whatever form it takes.”
A gentle puppy who seemed to know nothing but following behind is the one who stands in front and barks bravely if someone tries to harm its owner. Whether the opponent is a mastiff several times its size, a fire-breathing dragon, or the world’s worst villain, it does not hesitate or fear for a moment.
No, you are not a fragile puppy.
My Prince.
Lee Hae-sung buried his lips in the back of Choi Hong-seo’s head. The warmth of the sun and the scent of life were there. Lee Hae-sung closed his eyes and whispered.
“It’s okay. You can stop now.”
“I’m really okay.”
“There’s no need to explain further. You can stop.”
“But…”
Lee Hae-sung’s two arms tightened strongly around Choi Hong-seo’s chest and waist. Then he spoke as if pleading.
“Hong-seo. Stop.”
He drove the nail in. In front of everyone, Lee Hae-sung called Hyeon-seo ‘Hong-seo’ once more.
His two arms, embracing Choi Hong-seo as if binding him, were trembling. Choi Hong-seo slowly stroked those arms. Lee Hae-sung lifted his head and looked at Jeong Ji-in and Yi-han standing before him. It was a gaze that bordered on a glare.
“I have something to tell you two.”
“Mister, no. Don’t do it.”
Sensing what he was about to say, Choi Hong-seo shook his head.
All the memories and the soul of the dead Choi Hong-seo are now inside Hyeon-seo’s body. — Who would believe such a story? They would think that Lee Hae-sung, who missed his dead lover so much, had finally lost his mind.
And Choi Hong-seo would not be able to bear Lee Hae-sung being treated that way.
But it was the same for Lee Hae-sung. He could not bear Choi Hong-seo being regarded as a mere replacement. He didn’t care about others. But he hoped that at least Jeong Ji-in and Yi-han wouldn’t feel that way. These two, who knew exactly how much Lee Hae-sung had loved Choi Hong-seo, how much he regretted letting him go, and how much he had suffered in longing.