TWELVE 97

Kissing Gi Seoin was no longer unfamiliar. However, that didn’t mean I had grown used to the fluttering of my heart. My heart raced every time I saw him, and the nape of my neck burned with heat every time we touched.

Was Gi Seoin the same as me?

To me, who was always curious, he answered with his expression and the look in his eyes.

“…Haa.”

“Are you out of breath?”

“No.”

I lied because I wanted to kiss him more, but there was no way that would work on Gi Seoin of all people. He caressed my cheek, brushing my lips with his thumb, then swept back my hair and spoke.

“Lie down. I’ll order room service.”

“I think we could do it later…”

Whether he heard my timid murmur or not, Gi Seoin glanced at me and smiled. Then he picked up the pamphlet I had cast aside.

I swallowed a sigh as I watched his back while he picked up the phone and ordered room service.

Since our first time, we hadn’t done anything beyond kissing. It was because Gi Seoin, having heard about my physical condition at the hospital, had firmly made up his mind. He insisted we would do it only after I had fully recovered my health.

Gi Seoin was stubbornly keeping a resolution he had made all on his own, completely excluding my opinion. I knew he was a fellow who did what he said he would, and I knew he was a fellow with excellent patience to begin with, but I really didn’t know he could endure this well.

After going through various incidents, I also feel that my body is not what it used to be. However, I wasn’t so weak that I needed to be cherished to this extent. Gi Seoin acted as if I were some kind of doll crafted from glass.

“What did you order?”

I asked the fellow who approached the sofa again. He sat by my head, let me rest on his thigh as a pillow, and answered.

“I ordered Korean food. Shall we take a nap after eating?”

“That sounds good, but now that I’m actually here, it feels like a waste of time to spend it sleeping.”

“Do you like it here that much?”

“Yeah. I think it really is different from being at home.”

“Let’s come often.”

“Isn’t it too expensive to come often?”

“It’s worth coming.”

What would be the cost of a hotel stay that is “worth it” by Gi Seoin standards? I didn’t ask because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to suggest coming again if I found out.

Thinking about money, it was harder now because of the guilt toward Gi Seoin than the fear for my own future.

“Seoin.”

The fellow looked down at me. That gaze was so soft that I even had the illusion that my forehead was tickling.

“If I happen to get my money back, I’ll pay you back. The money you paid hyung on my behalf.”

“Unnecessary.”

As expected, Gi Seoin revealed his reluctance by slightly furrowing his eyebrows.

“Rather than that, I’ve thought of a way I can use it more effectively.”

“I think paying you back is the most effective way to use it…”

“Don’t be like that.”

The hand that was stroking my forehead moved down to my shoulder.

“How about using it for your studies.”

“…”

Right, that was a thing.

I had completely forgotten the fact that I was preparing for the high school equivalency exam. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen my desk or the books I was studying in the new house, so there was nothing to trigger the memory.

“That… But where did the desk and books go?”

“I hid them for a bit.”

“You hid them?”

“Because I was afraid you’d stubbornly sit at the desk to study while you’re sick.”

“Wow.”

An exclamation that wasn’t quite an exclamation burst out of me. Just how far does Gi Seoin’s deliberation go regarding matters related to me? I was amazed by a meticulousness I couldn’t even begin to imitate.

“You thought that far?”

“Anyone who knows you would have thought the same.”

“Only you would. I don’t like studying that much.”

“Even if you don’t like it, once you start, you work hard, excessively so.”

Did I work that hard?

To be honest, the kidnapping incident was so difficult that I didn’t remember well how I lived before then.

As I moved my hand while thinking of the past, he wriggled his fingers playfully. I laced my fingers with his and put strength into my hand.

“I have to work hard to become successful and support Gi Seoin.”

“Ah, so that’s why you worked so hard?”

“Of course. Our Seoin has sophisticated tastes, so it costs a lot of money.”

“I only need you.”

“But you have to eat. You have to wear clothes too. Are you going to live naked?”

“If you want.”

Look at him.

A hollow laugh broke out.

“You’re good with words.”

“It’s a relief I’m not just good with words.”

“Look at this.”

I unlaced our fingers and touched his lips. The smooth lips without a single hangnail were warm and soft when touched.

The sunlight shone behind his head like a halo, and that warmth, combined with his body heat, completely embraced me.

It felt like being protected by a love more solid than anything else. And it felt like I could do anything. I think that’s why I was able to find the courage to speak.

“Seoin.”

Above all, today was December 31st.

“About your birthday.”

I wanted to congratulate him properly once more before it was too late.

“Actually, I prepared a gift. But… I couldn’t give it to you because of that incident.”

I figured Gi Seoin must have left the move to a company while searching for me without even a moment to enjoy his birthday. There was a possibility he didn’t even know of its existence because the gift I prepared might have been lost in that process.

I didn’t want him to think he hadn’t been celebrated. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth because he might have actually discovered the gift and said nothing. I was afraid he might not welcome my celebration that much.

“I’ll prepare the gift again and give it to you. And I also wrote a letter…”

However, at this moment, I gained the conviction that all of it was useless worry.

“The things I wrote in the letter are things I can just say anyway…”

It was a letter that became long and detailed as I wrote it. But there was only one line I really wanted to say.

“I…”

It was then.

“I know.”

“…Eh? You know?”

Gi Seoin seemed to be trying his best to hold back his laughter, but his face was already full of it.

“Actually, I’ve known since the day you bought the gift.”

“How?”

I sat up abruptly in bewilderment.

“How did you know?”

“I told you I set your phone up so I could track your location.”

I felt like I had already heard the words that would follow.

“I saw that you went out right after I went to work that day, and when I checked to see where you went, I saw you went to the department store.”

“…”

“I didn’t think you would have gone to the department store to buy something for yourself, and since your birthday was the following week, I roughly guessed.”

“Ah…”

“I was certain after I saw the gift at home.”

“Wow…”

I was dejected.

“I hid it really thoroughly.”

“Putting it between the clothes?”

“You have to push aside the hanging clothes to see it.”

“You can see it as soon as you push them aside. You can’t call that thorough.”

Why had I been worrying and imagining all sorts of things all this time?

Gi Seoin was also at fault here. If he saw the gift, he should have said he saw it; why had he kept his mouth shut until now? It was draining.

“If you knew, why haven’t you said anything until now?”

Now, Gi Seoin didn’t even try to hold it back and burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny? Say something, I’m serious right now.”

“Sorry.”

He wrinkled his eyes as if trying to stop laughing. Thanks to that, his expression became even more annoying.

“I just intended to wait until your next birthday.”

“What?”

“Because I wanted to receive it directly from Woo Seungkyung. And you…”

Gi Seoin grabbed my hand.

“You probably wanted to give it to me directly, didn’t you.”

A wave of dejection washed over me, and my shoulders slumped because I was upset that he intended to wait again until next year’s birthday.

“Even so, how could you wait until next year? Are you a fool? You could have just asked. Then you… did you actually look at the gift?”

“I did. I opened it on my birthday.”

It was painful to imagine him welcoming his birthday alone and opening the gift in a situation where I had disappeared without a word.

“I read the letter too.”

I wanted to cry, but tears didn’t actually come; Gi Seoin watched me quietly and then wiped my eyes. I looked at him again.

“Then, then where is the gift?”

“I put it in the safe.”

“The safe…”

Right. There was a safe in the bedroom. I had never once been curious about what was inside it. Since he was a lawyer, I figured there would be important documents. Or I had just vaguely guessed there might be house deeds or gold bars.

But to think that the gift I prepared was actually in there.

“Don’t be upset.”

He spoke in a sweet voice as if comforting me.

“I stayed quiet because I didn’t know how you wanted me to act. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“No, it’s my fault for staying quiet first. I should have said something sooner…”

“Then I guess I can say it now, too.”

“What…”

Suddenly, Gi Seoin hugged me tight. Habitually, I grabbed his waist as if hanging onto him.

“Seungkyung.”

His heartbeat, which had seemed so calm, beat violently and sent its resonance to me.

“Let’s become lovers. Just like you wrote in the letter.”

With this, it became certain.

“I’ll promise a lifetime. Though you said it seemed like it would be difficult.”

Gi Seoin had been just as anxious as I was.

“I’ll do all the difficult parts. So all you have to do is stay by my side easily.”

Also, he was just as desperate as I was.

As much as I wanted Gi Seoin, he wanted me too.

So at this moment, our hearts beat at the exact same speed and intensity.