By Zephyria 
“I’ll have to call the attending physician home tomorrow and give him a piece of my mind.”
Seo Yi-kyung felt Han Seung-jae’s fingers brush against his collarbone as he fastened the buttons. Once the buttons were done up to the neck, Seo Yi-kyung lifted his head.
He took in Han Seung-jae’s expressionless face. It was difficult to tell if his words were a joke or serious. Then again, was he the type of person to joke? Seo Yi-kyung didn’t believe Han Seung-jae was someone who engaged in such lighthearted wordplay.
Seo Yi-kyung thought he was acting this way because of the bandages wrapped around his chest. Perhaps he was blaming the doctor because the wound still hadn’t healed despite the time that had passed.
“Actually, he did say he would remove the stitches soon…”
Seo Yi-kyung defended the physician. It was true that he had treated him with all his heart and soul. The slow speed of the healing process was a separate issue.
Having changed into his pajamas, Seo Yi-kyung was led by Han Seung-jae onto the bed. The cozy feel of the duvet against his skin was incomparable to being in the hospital.
While it was true that Seo Yi-kyung received devoted care from the attending physician at the hospital, it still wasn’t like being at Han Seung-jae’s house. In this house, there was Butler Do to attend to him, and a chef who could make whatever Seo Yi-kyung—who was carrying a child—craved, regardless of the time.
The idea that he had slept, eaten, and received treatment well while at the hospital was merely Seo Yi-kyung’s own perception. In Han Seung-jae’s eyes, Seo Yi-kyung still looked small, thin, and full of wariness.
Once on the bed, Seo Yi-kyung quickly slipped under the covers. Han Seung-jae, having taken off his bathrobe, watched him while putting on his own pajamas. With movements even faster than when he had dressed Seo Yi-kyung, he fastened his buttons and spoke.
“When did you say the bandages would be removed?”
“….”
Seo Yi-kyung stealthily pulled the duvet over his head. He thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep since he had slept at the hospital, but once he closed his eyes, drowsiness washed over him.
The bed touching his back was soft, the scent of white wood brushing his nose provided a sense of stability, and Han Seung-jae’s voice was low and resonant.
* * *
The next day, Seo Yi-kyung lifted his heavy eyelids and looked up at the ceiling. He stared at the pattern, which was different from the hospital ceiling, for a brief moment.
Seo Yi-kyung approached the sink and gazed into the mirror. His thin eyebrows drooped weakly. He washed his face with one hand. It took time, but he was becoming quite accustomed to it. At the hospital, he had washed in an even narrower space, which had caused his cast-covered arm to get soaked.
Wiping his cheeks with a towel, Seo Yi-kyung stepped out of the bathroom. Looking at the quiet bedroom, he finally realized where he was.
‘It wasn’t a dream.’
He had thought he had a long dream last night. However, he didn’t wake up throughout the time he spent walking out the door.
As he appeared on the first floor, a helper passing by bowed and greeted him. Instead of speaking, Seo Yi-kyung nodded. He tried to force a smile, but perhaps because he had returned after fleeing the house, it felt unfamiliar.
Seo Yi-kyung headed straight for the dressing room. It would be better to change his clothes first. He felt embarrassed bumping into people while wearing pajamas. However, he soon paused. He had spotted Han Seung-jae in the dressing room. He must have lost his sense of time after being away from the house for a while; he hadn’t realized Han Seung-jae hadn’t left for work yet.
Han Seung-jae, who was putting cufflinks into his sleeves, murmured something to Secretary Park beside him. Upon hearing this, Secretary Park turned and stepped out. Because of the distance, Seo Yi-kyung couldn’t hear what was said.
Seo Yi-kyung stood there unsure of what to do, watching Secretary Park exit through the half-open door.
“I could come back in a little while.”
However, Secretary Park opened the door a bit further and replied.
“It is fine. He is waiting for you, so please go in.”
As Seo Yi-kyung entered, Secretary Park closed the door behind him. Han Seung-jae was fully dressed in a suit. In contrast, Seo Yi-kyung looked disheveled, as if he had just woken up, creating a stark contrast. However, Han Seung-jae didn’t seem to mind much. It seemed Seo Yi-kyung was the only one conscious of it.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Han Seung-jae seen Seo Yi-kyung wearing nothing but patient clothes in the hospital room many times? Still, having washed and come down by himself, standing before Han Seung-jae in damp pajamas was burdensome. Seo Yi-kyung moved his fingertips as if to hide the pajamas.
Looking now, the bandages wrapped around his chest were visible through the pajamas. Had he shown this side of himself to the helpers on his way here?
“Have you picked something?”
At the words of Han Seung-jae, who turned around after putting on his suit jacket, Seo Yi-kyung lifted his head and examined the clothes in front of him. He scanned them a few times, but the clothes he used to wear often didn’t catch his eye. Just as the season was changing from winter to a cozy spring, the organized clothes had changed as well.
Seo Yi-kyung pulled out a piece of clothing nearby. Since buttons took time with one hand, a shirt seemed best.
Seo Yi-kyung fumbled with the buttons of his pajamas. He felt he could speed up a bit, but because Han Seung-jae was watching, hesitation seeped into his movements.
The long, flowing shirt covered Seo Yi-kyung’s hips. After taking off his pajamas, he felt as if he were breaking into a cold sweat the entire time he changed into comfortable pants. It was even worse because he couldn’t understand why Han Seung-jae wasn’t leaving. Even though he was this slow because he was using one hand, the man said nothing. Normally, he would have been unable to wait and moved, or left, or said something…
Only after Seo Yi-kyung had struggled to finish dressing did Han Seung-jae’s voice reach him.
“Paintings.”
“…!”
Seo Yi-kyung’s spine stiffened. His hand stopped for a moment as if doubting his ears, then he finished pulling up his pants upon seeing Han Seung-jae step forward in the full-length mirror. While doing so, he pulled down the shirt to cover his stomach, which had begun to protrude slightly.
“Do you want to go see some this evening? Hasn’t it been a long time since you’ve been to an art museum?”
Part of it was because he had been practically trapped in the hospital, but he had thought Han Seung-jae wasn’t particularly interested in such things. Was that not the case?
Han Seung-jae added,
“You said you felt suffocated.”
He had never explicitly mentioned such a thing to him. Nevertheless, Han Seung-jae seemed to assume that Seo Yi-kyung felt that way. Seo Yi-kyung parted his lips slightly.
“Today?”
“Tomorrow is also fine; we have plenty of time.”
* * *
Seo Yi-kyung stood for a moment, watching Han Seung-jae’s back as he left for work. Even after he disappeared from sight, he stood blankly for a while before turning around.
Han Seung-jae’s attitude had changed somehow. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was, but it had definitely changed.
Throughout breakfast, Han Seung-jae had asked what kind of paintings he wanted to see and told him to go out with the driver if there was a place he wanted to visit. It seemed to imply that going to an art supply store would also be fine.
However, it was only after the attending physician entered the house that Seo Yi-kyung fully understood Han Seung-jae’s words.
“Do you know how surprised I was when I entered the hospital room this morning and you weren’t there?”
The physician repeatedly said how he had searched for Seo Yi-kyung several times while staring blankly at the empty hospital room. He could fully understand the physician’s feelings of alarm at the patient’s disappearance.
It wasn’t a new thing for Han Seung-jae to not kindly explain situations to others. Still, he had vaguely thought that he would have passed the word to the physician, but it seemed that wasn’t the case either.
“I apologize for saying unnecessary things. I was just emotionally agitated.”
The physician took tools out of his open house-call bag, cut through the knotted bandages, and continued the treatment. He carefully scanned Seo Yi-kyung’s wound and snipped all the stitches.
Seo Yi-kyung lowered the shirt he had pulled up. As the bandages around his chest were undone, he finally felt as if he could breathe.
Seo Yi-kyung touched the area of his chest over the shirt. The wound would be around here. However, even when he pressed with his fingertips, no pain was felt.
“I brought what you left behind in the hospital room.”
With a rustle, the physician took a folded envelope and a pocket watch necklace from the bag and held them out to Seo Yi-kyung. Seo Yi-kyung took the pocket watch.
The physician placed the envelope on the bed. Just then, Butler Do knocked and opened the door. The physician said the treatment was finished and stepped out.
Seo Yi-kyung sat up in bed. As he was about to leave the room, he thought the envelope looked familiar. When the folded part was opened, the logo of Chae-eon Foods became visible.
Wasn’t Chae-eon Foods a place deeply connected to Jin Seon-yu? Holding the pocket watch necklace in his grip, Seo Yi-kyung examined the front and back of the envelope. As expected, it was indeed the one Han Seung-jae had been holding. Yesterday, Han Seung-jae had shown unpleasant emotions while looking at this envelope.
—Why don’t you keep some distance from Jin Seon-yu?
Come to think of it, Jin Seon-yu had said something like that. Had he mentioned that his Hyungs were sending pregnancy celebration gifts? At the time, he had no intention of receiving anything and lacked the capacity to worry about such things, so he had let the words slip by unnoticed.
Seo Yi-kyung looked inside the envelope and felt his heart thumping at what he saw. It was a car contract. Despite not even having a driver’s license, he imagined himself driving a car.
With a slightly brighter face, Seo Yi-kyung thought he should call Jin Seon-yu and walked out into the living room. He moved forward, watching the physician greeting Butler Do.
Suddenly, Seo Yi-kyung stopped in his tracks. Then, he stared at a spot in the living room that felt empty, as if a part of it had been carved away.