By Zephyria 
#Side Story 6
Ire loosened his tie and took off his jacket, then collapsed on the sofa. He had safely finished the wedding and come home, but fatigue washed over him like a tide. It seemed the aftermath of flying over the sea in a helicopter last night was still lingering.
Am I getting old? I felt like I could fly when I was twenty. He muttered such nonsense and closed his eyes for a moment. Thinking of Anna and Matteo’s happy appearance, he couldn’t help but smile.
The two had finished the ceremony and gone on a trip, taking the children with them. In fact, Ire had intended to take care of his younger siblings while they were away. He felt sorry that Anna had suddenly become the children’s mother, and he didn’t think they should go on their honeymoon together.
But Anna, despite Ire’s worries, wanted to be with the children. She said that today was a meaningful day for her, so the children couldn’t be left out. He couldn’t help but feel grateful and sorry at the same time.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and then he heard footsteps. Kim Ha-yoon, who had gone to talk on the phone for work, returned, standing there with flowers in his hand. Ire stared blankly at the flowers in his hand. It was the bouquet that Anna had held.
Normally, after the ceremony, the bouquet should be thrown and caught by one of the bride’s friends, but because Anna was so full of energy, the bouquet had flown to Kim Ha-yoon. Everyone laughed, but Ire couldn’t laugh at all.
He was worried that this man might actually hold a wedding soon. Same-sex marriage was legal in district a, but there were definitely some who didn’t like it.
He put the bouquet on the table and then straddled the table in front of the sofa. Then, with his eyes half-open, he swept Ire’s hair back.
“Tired?”
“A little. I had three cocktails earlier.”
“Go to bed.”
“Just ten minutes.”
Kim Ha-yoon took off his jacket in the same way and then climbed onto the sofa as it was, pressing his body close. One adult male was manageable, but with two lying down, there was bound to be little space.
He leaned against the backrest and made room so that Kim Ha-yoon wouldn’t fall off. As they lay with their legs intertwined, their lower bodies were pressed tightly together. Kim Ha-yoon pulled Ire into his arms, buried his face in his chest, and fiddled with his ear.
“Today was unexpected.”
“……?”
“You, I mean. You were smiling brightly throughout the wedding. I thought you’d be bawling.”
At those words, he laughed silently. As if I’m a child who would do that, it’s true that I have affectionate feelings for Matteo. There was a time when I was confused about my feelings for him. I didn’t realize that sexual love and familial affection were different.
“Thank you.”
“For what.”
“For everything.”
Today, he introduced Ire to everyone he met, saying that he was a precious person to him. He said those words without blushing, and Ire was grateful for his heart that valued him so much, even though he was shameless.
Ire hugged Kim Ha-yoon’s waist tightly. It was a peaceful afternoon. He prayed that life would be like this from now on. Kim Ha-yoon seemed to feel the same way, stroking Ire’s hair.
“Let’s sleep like this for an hour. Then we have somewhere to go.”
“Where?”
“You’ll know when you get there. It’s a good place.”
Ire frowned as he looked up at the hospital. Kwon So-young, that traitor…. I asked her not to say that. After the wedding, she said we were going to a good place, so I followed her willingly, but it was none other than the hospital.
The hospital where Kwon So-young’s lab was located. Countless studies were still being conducted there. Ire hated this place, perhaps because of the bad memories. As he stood there resisting, Kim Ha-yoon subtly pushed him in the back.
“Go in. You just need a simple checkup.”
Reluctantly dragged in, Ire watched him carefully.
“How much did you hear?”
“That you poured out a bucket of blood from your nose.”
“Again.”
Kim Ha-yoon stopped talking and turned to stare at Ire. His eyes were more serious than ever. Ire realized that he knew everything. No matter how much he tried to hide it, reports of what happened in Zone D were constantly being sent to Kim Ha-yoon.
Kim Ha-yoon had mostly pretended not to know even after hearing about it, but this time it seemed it wouldn’t be easy.
“I met someone similar to me there. I didn’t see them directly, but.”
Kim Ha-yoon’s expression didn’t change. He noticed. As expected, he said he was planning to deploy troops. He said he would collapse the building and bury it. He urged me not to get involved anymore.
“I want to meet them once.”
“Don’t mistake that because you have the same power, everything else will be the same.”
No one knew what kind of power the other person had, whether they would be a threat or a help. However, if I had to guess, the fact that they had been hiding until now meant that they had no intention of harming me. If they had bad intentions, they would have been exposed at any time.
However, that didn’t mean there were no risk factors at all. I couldn’t recklessly reach out my hand, so I decided that I needed to watch them. But Kim Ha-yoon seemed to be planning to eliminate them altogether.
When I brought up the story of wanting to meet them again, Kim Ha-yoon fell silent. Ire also stubbornly resisted this time. Then Kim Ha-yoon sighed and made an unexpected proposal.
“If you really want to, then go with me.”
Ire’s eyes widened.
“Are you serious?”
“Instead, get your checkup quietly today.”
He nodded obediently. Kim Ha-yoon shook his head, saying he couldn’t help it, seeing his excited expression. After changing all his clothes, the examination began. It took quite a long time to conduct brainwave tests, blood tests, and other things.
As expected, it was concluded that there were mostly no abnormalities, and the figures were normal. Only then did Kim Ha-yoon smile, relieved.
“See? I told you I was okay.”
At first, I didn’t know my condition and often bled from my nose, but now I was able to control it quite well. But this time it was an unavoidable situation…. That’s why I felt the desperate need to meet the other person even more. There were things I wanted to confirm.
He got off the bed and took off the patient gown, changing into his usual clothes. Kim Ha-yoon came close and buttoned up his shirt, then touched his cheek and rubbed his thumb against his lips. Ire quietly took his hand away, worried that someone might see them.
“We’re in a hospital.”
“Who said anything? I took it off because there was something on you.”
“…….”
“Actually, that’s a lie.”
Kim Ha-yoon laughed and then brought his lips to rub against his. He kissed him briefly and then pulled away, smacking his lips as if he was disappointed, and then leaned in again. If he left him alone, he would be about to take off the clothes he had just put on again, so he grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away.
“Don’t do this here.”
“Not outside?”
Ire checked the time. Today was a weekday, and Kim Ha-yoon must be busy, but he was worried because he had been following him around all this time. Kwon So-young had subtly hinted that after his father died and he became the supreme Chairman, the members were complaining about him being away from his position so often.
Still, the reason why no one dared to show it was because of his nasty temper. He had witnessed Kim Do-cheol being shot to death by a gun in The Committee with his own eyes, so the Old man’s balls must have shriveled up.
“You’re busy. You need to go to your office.”
“What about you?”
“I have to go too. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
After thinking for a moment, Kim Ha-yoon put his arm around Ire’s shoulder.
“Instead of that, shall we go today?”
Ire immediately understood where Kim Ha-yoon was talking about. With a slightly excited face, he grabbed Kim Ha-yoon’s arm. It was such an active action that it was embarrassing that he had been pushing him to go to work until just now.
“Let’s go quickly.”
Kim Ha-yoon pinched his cheek with a disapproving expression.
“I don’t feel good seeing you getting attention from someone I don’t even know.”
“Are you jealous of complete strangers now?”
“I told you. I’m greedy, remember?”
Ire checked outside once through the small window in the hospital room. He had a feeling that if he didn’t appease Kim Ha-yoon here, he would nag him all the way. He went over and held his cheeks and kissed him, and the corners of his lips slowly turned up.
It was an expression that seemed to say, “Don’t act like a fox,” but he still seemed to be in a good mood. As the kiss deepened, his body was pushed further and further inside. Ire realized that Kim Ha-yoon was trying to go to the bathroom and quickly pushed him away.
“The rest when we get back.”
“Ha.”
Growing impatient, Ire grabbed his hand and pulled him. I’ll give you a deep one when we get back. Kim Ha-yoon laughed in vain, but he was dragged along without resisting. After putting him in the car, Ire’s expression as he grabbed the steering wheel was more determined than ever.
Even when living with people, he couldn’t erase the thought that he was always a stranger. An infected and a Mutant. But the thought that there was someone else like me made my heart flutter with fear.