By Zephyria 
After tidying the bed linens, Haon gave a long stretch. Perhaps because he had polished off a bowl of thin rice porridge right in front of In-ho, he felt surprisingly energetic despite not having slept a wink.
Haon checked the mirror—something he rarely did—and applied the ointment In-ho had left for him to his cheek. It was an ointment designed to make bruises fade quickly. In-ho had mentioned that he had stepped out to buy it because they didn’t have any at home, and during that brief time, he thought Haon had disappeared.
When In-ho said he thought Haon had left the house, Haon had firmly declared that such a thing would never happen. Unless In-ho kicked him out, there was no way he would ever leave this house of his own accord.
Perhaps Haon had reacted too seriously to a light comment, as In-ho had ended the conversation with a laugh.
Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether the things he said were jokes or serious.
“Maybe I’m just slow on the uptake…”
Haon was recalling the conversation he’d just had with In-ho while fiddling with the small tube of ointment. Then, a soft knock sounded. As if he had been waiting for it, Haon rushed out.
“What were you doing?”
“Tidying the blankets.”
Standing at the door, In-ho let out a small chuckle as he looked at the neatly squared-off linens on Haon’s bed.
Having finished his shower, he wasn’t wearing athletic gear, but a black round-neck T-shirt. His pale skin looked exceptionally translucent against the dark fabric.
“How are you feeling? Is anything uncomfortable?”
In-ho continued the conversation while remaining by the door. The awkward tension that had lingered between them had completely vanished.
Haon opened the door wider, pondering his answer. Although muscle aches remained in every corner of his body, he felt much better than yesterday. Strangely, after talking with In-ho, his body felt even lighter.
“I’m a bit tired, but I’m not struggling.”
Instead of simply saying he was fine, he confessed his state honestly. Listening intently, In-ho nodded and placed a hand on Haon’s forehead.
“Tell me if you feel like you have a fever. Make sure to tell me if you’re in pain, too.”
“Okay.”
Haon pressed his lips together to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up too much. Seeing In-ho look at his cheek—where he had applied a generous amount of ointment—with a satisfied expression made him glad he had used it.
“It’s not uncomfortable for you to walk, right, Haon?”
“I’m fine. It’s not a problem for me to work at all.”
In fact, he had been planning to start on the housework soon. Since he hadn’t been able to clean for over five days due to his heat, he needed to move diligently. The laundry would be piled up, and dust would have settled throughout the house.
“Then, would you play with me today?”
In-ho tilted his head slightly, his smile widening. Haon blinked and tilted his head to the side in imitation.
“Let’s go pick out a phone for you, Haon.”
“I thought you said you ordered one yesterday…”
Hadn’t he? Haon swallowed the rest of the sentence and looked at him with questioning eyes.
“I canceled it because they said it would arrive late. I thought it would be faster to go and buy one in person.”
In-ho shrugged and added before Haon could respond.
“Or, I could just go and buy it by myself.”
“I… want to go too.”
Haon took a bold step toward In-ho. He looked ready to follow him out this very second.
“Let’s go. I’m all ready.”
Smiling even more brightly at Haon, In-ho said he would just go down to grab an outer layer. It seemed what he was wearing now was already suitable for going out.
“Ah, wait…”
Belatedly remembering his own clothes, Haon reached out toward In-ho, who had turned away.
“What is it?”
The clothes Haon was wearing weren’t exactly pajamas, but they were starkly different in vibe from the high-quality cotton T-shirt and trousers In-ho wore. Haon wanted to wear something similar, at least when going out with him.
“The clothes I wore that day…”
He asked, recalling the outfit he had worn to the movie theater. It was the only piece of decent clothing Haon owned. After a moment of confusion, In-ho responded with an “Ah.”
“You mean the beige knit. I threw that away.”
He hadn’t told Haon the details, but the clothes Haon wore that day had become a mess, stained with cola and popcorn crumbs. Of course, they would have been like new if sent to the laundry, but In-ho had tossed them into the trash without hesitation.
Since he was the type to buy things easily and discard them even more easily, he hadn’t realized Haon cherished those clothes. Because he had been the one to give them, he had thrown them away without asking…
“I’m sorry. I should have asked before throwing them out.”
“No, it’s okay. I didn’t buy them anyway.”
Haon waved his hand and took a step back. Feeling his expression stiffen slightly, he naturally scratched the corner of his mouth and gave a smiling look with his eyes.
“Take your time coming down. I’ll grab my outer layer and come out too.”
“Haon, wait a moment.”
Leaving Haon with a request to wait, In-ho headed toward the dressing room at the end of the hallway. It was a space where out-of-season clothes were stored.
Waiting for In-ho with a glimmer of hope, Haon’s lips slowly parted. The moment he saw the light beige knit and trousers In-ho brought out, the words “You don’t have to” escaped him involuntarily.
“You don’t have to give me these! I have clothes!”
“Just wear these for today, and let’s buy new ones while we’re out.”
In-ho forced the clothes into the hands of the diligently protesting Haon.
“I’m sorry for throwing them away as I pleased. I’ll be careful from now on.”
Before Haon could refuse again, In-ho pushed him back into the room and closed the door.
Since he didn’t have any suitable clothes to wear out immediately, Haon ultimately couldn’t refuse until the end. He wouldn’t have cared what he wore when going out alone, but since he was going out with In-ho, his shabby clothes weighed on his mind.
“You really didn’t have to…”
Muttering out of guilt, he unfolded the clothes. As expected, the thick knit fabric was soft. The color was moderately bright, making it an easy choice to wear.
“Oh, this.”
Unable to distinguish fine details in clothing, Haon momentarily thought he had received his own clothes back based on the color alone. However, upon trying them on, there seemed to be a slight difference. He didn’t remember exactly, but the previous clothes didn’t have sleeves that rolled up like this.
After changing into the trousers as well, Haon stood before the mirror and spun around once. Wearing the newly gifted clothes made him feel good, regardless of the guilt. For a very brief moment, he did.
But as he examined the clothes that fit him perfectly, his smile gradually faded. He became curious about who the owner of these clothes—which were far too small for In-ho—could have been.
It seemed they had belonged to a man of about his height. Who could it be? What was their relationship that they had left not just one, but two sets of clothes? And such high-quality ones at that.
The forgotten curiosity bloomed again. He pressed his nose to the fabric and sniffed, but he only smelled the diffuser scent from the dressing room. It was a scent similar to the smell of In-ho that Haon liked.
He wanted to ask In-ho who it was, but he forced the curiosity away. It wasn’t that he lacked the courage to ask, but rather that he simply didn’t want to know. He felt that knowing would only make him more upset.
The important thing was that while he had stayed in this house, the owner of the clothes had never once come to visit. Regardless of their relationship, it might have ended long ago, or perhaps they weren’t that close. He hoped that was the case.
“What am I even saying…”
He grumbled to himself, trying to shake off the spiraling thoughts. They say human greed has no end. It felt ridiculous that he couldn’t just be satisfied with receiving the clothes and was instead thinking such things.
After combing his hair one last time, Haon was about to leave the room but returned to the mirror. He carefully opened a drawer and took out the perfume he had kept inside. It was the perfume Tae-hwi had given him as a gift.
Spritz, spritz—.
He intended to spray only a tiny bit on his wrists, but he sprayed the perfume on his clothes once as well. The subtle scent lingered more strongly than the first time he had used it.
Spritz.
Before putting it back in the drawer, he lightly sprayed some on his face. He wondered if the scent would carry better that way.
* * *
Wearing a thin jacket, In-ho checked his reflection in the mirror. He was naturally pale, but perhaps because of the lack of sleep, his skin felt even more pallid.
Gazing blankly at his face, he combed his hair with his hand, covering his forehead completely. Usually, he wore his hair swept back or partially revealing his forehead. However, today he changed his style so that his eyelids were half-covered.
“It’s grown again…”
The In-ho in the mirror let out a low sigh. He was speaking while looking at the roots of his light brown hair.
Black hair, distinct from the light-pigmented strands, was growing in bit by bit. The un-dyed roots were the exact same color as his eyes. In-ho stared at them with disapproval before averting his gaze from the mirror.
Just as he was about to leave the bedroom, his eyes fell on the phone resting on the nightstand. The screen of the phone, set to silent, lit up with impeccable timing. In-ho stood there for a moment, looking down at the device.
[Son, I want to hear your voice]
It was a text from an unsaved number.
Without touching the phone, he read the message with his eyes and then left the room. He didn’t need the phone today anyway. He planned to return home immediately after the outing with Haon.