MW 44

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After a simple breakfast, Yijae’s eyes widened when he discovered the dark, rich-colored coffee beyond the sweet hot chocolate placed in front of him.

“This, are you going to drink this?”

It looked like the poison he had only ever seen in historical dramas. Could a person actually drink this? He looked at Jaeha with a worried face, and his jaw dropped at the sight of him drinking the coffee with such a comfortable expression.

Come to think of it, the area under his eyes seemed a little darker than yesterday…

“Sunbae-nim, are you okay?”

“Hm?”

“You look a little tired. Did I, by any chance, yesterday…”

It was the first time he had ever slept with someone else. The sudden thought that he might have some sleeping habits made Yijae tense up.

“No, I slept well. I just have a hard time waking up in the morning. I sleep more than you’d think.”

Seeing the worry all over his face, Jaeha lightly ruffled his hair.

“I scheduled a visit for around 10 o’clock, so we should get going soon.”

“…Yes.”

The fact that he was meeting his mom for the first time in five years made him momentarily nervous. Sometimes, when he did a good job with a task he was ordered to do, Chairman Goo or Mrs. Lee would show him a picture of his mom as a reward, but that was all.

His mom’s scent, his mom’s touch, the expression on his mom’s face when she looked at him. As his memories faded with the passage of time, Yijae pressed his lips firmly together.

To go to the hospital, Yijae got into Jaeha’s car. Looking out the window as the car left the quiet neighborhood and sped down the road, he swallowed nervously.

“They say your mother’s condition is stable. She’s scheduled to start physical therapy next month, too.”

Noticing that he had become much less talkative, Jaeha relayed the information about his mother’s condition that he had received from Secretary Choi. Perhaps because it was after the weekday morning rush hour, they were able to arrive at the hospital sooner than expected.

Jaeha, who got out of the driver’s seat first, opened the trunk and took out a flower basket.

“Let’s put this in her room. Even if she can’t see it, she’ll be able to smell the fragrance.”

He smiled at Yijae, who had gotten out of the car and followed him. He hadn’t even thought of it, but when had he prepared flowers like this? With a grateful smile on his lips, Yijae took a heavy step forward.

Just then, as they were walking toward the hospital entrance, someone approached them, and Jaeha accepted his greeting as if it were a familiar occurrence.

“Yijae, this is Mr. Choi, my secretary. He’s in charge of my personal affairs. Mr. Choi, this is…”

He paused for a moment, as if contemplating, then intertwined his fingers with Yijae’s hand and continued speaking.

“My, boyfriend.”

As Yijae whipped his head up in surprise, Jaeha looked at him with affectionate eyes. Caught between the two of them who were exuding a sweet atmosphere, Secretary Choi cleared his throat with a ahem and opened his mouth.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from the young master. My name is Choi Sangjin.”

“Ah, hello. I’m S-Seo Yijae.”

He wanted to greet him coolly, but he was so flustered that he kept stuttering. He tried to dig his fingernails into his palm out of habit, but he couldn’t because Jaeha was holding his hand. In the end, Yijae’s face turned bright red like a ripe tomato.

Rubbing his reddened cheeks with the back of his hand, Yijae followed Secretary Choi into the hospital and furrowed his brow slightly at the familiar smell of antiseptic.

“Are you okay?”

Yijae just gave a small nod. This smell was one of those things he could never get used to, no matter how many times he smelled it. His face grew a little pale, feeling a strange tingling sensation around his neck.

“I think it would be best to see your mother first, and then meet with the professor in charge.”

Stopping in front of the hospital room labeled VIP Ward 1809, Yijae nodded and stared blankly at the spot where his mother’s name was written.

Is Mom really inside here?

It felt completely unreal, as if he were dreaming. As he was trying to snap himself out of it by chewing on the inside of his mouth, Jaeha placed a hand on Yijae’s shoulder and said.

“Yijae. I’ll be waiting here, so go on in.”

“…”

“You have a lot to catch up on with your mother, right? Go and say everything you’ve wanted to say for the past five years. I’ll wait here until you come out.”

It felt like he wouldn’t disappear until he came back, no matter if it took hours or days. Yijae stared at Jaeha, who was nodding as if to say it was okay, and then moved his hesitant hand to open the hospital room door.

With the flower basket in one hand, Yijae slowly walked forward. From a distance, he could faintly hear the steady beeping of a machine. Beep, beep, beep.

Mom is over there. Mom is…

Walking with his gaze fixed on the tips of his worn-out sneakers, Yijae looked at the hospital bed that came into view and carefully lifted his head.

“Mo…m?”

“…”

“…Mom.”

It had been a whole five years since he had last met his mother in person like this. She had lost a lot of weight compared to the last time he saw her, and wrinkles had formed in various places on her face.

Blinking his eyes, Yijae reached his hand out to her, and at the warmth remaining on his fingertips, he let out the turbid breath he had been holding back.

“Haaah…”

She was alive. Mom wasn’t dead.

At that realization, tears fell, plop plop, down Yijae’s cheeks, and a suppressed sob escaped from between his clenched teeth.

“Heuk, Mom…”

During the five years he couldn’t see his mother after his father passed away first, the mother he met in his dreams was always lying down like a cold corpse, just like his father. He would wail for a long time while hugging his breathless, stiffened mother, and when he woke from the dream, an even more nightmarish reality would be before his eyes.

He wanted to say that he was scared the dream would become reality if he met her, and that it was so hard, and that he was so lonely without Mom and Dad, and he wanted to ask her to punish the people who tormented him.

“Mom… can you, hear my voice?”

But when he finally faced her, she looked so fragile and small, and he felt so sorry for his mother who had been lying down for so long that he couldn’t make a sound.

Even though his mother couldn’t see him, Yijae pulled his trembling lips into a smile.

“I’ve been doing, heuk, well all this time.”

“…”

“I’ve been sleeping well in a warm place, and eating lots of food.”

He had a lump in his throat, but in case his mother might worry, Yijae continued speaking in the brightest voice he could manage.

“And I also studied hard and got into a good school. I met someone I like there, and he helped me a lot. He’s a very, warm and kind person. I’ll bring him with me next time.”

As Yijae spoke, recalling only the most precious and best memories he had, his mind was filled entirely with Jaeha.

“When you wake up, Mom, I’ll give you all the chocolate I’ve been saving.”

“…”

“I’m so sorry for coming to see you so late…”

Yijae gently stroked the back of her hand, where the bones of her knuckles protruded.

“You must have been very lonely too, Mom, but thank you for holding on so well. And I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

After whispering in his mother’s embrace for a long time, Yijae said one last ‘I love you’ and raised his head.

“Mom, I’ll come again tomorrow.”

He was told that from now on, he could come and see his mother whenever he wanted. Yijae wanted to stay here a little longer, but seeing that it was already well past lunchtime, he managed to get up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Heading toward the entrance of the room, Yijae turned his head and looked at the bed. Still, thanks to the flowers Jaeha had gifted him, the hospital room felt brighter. Feeling like he was about to cry again, Yijae squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

‘It’s been so hard all this time, but I’m so glad I didn’t give up on Mom.’

With a smile on his swollen-eyed face, he opened the door with more energetic steps than when he had entered and went outside.

“Sunbae-nim.”

“You did well.”

As soon as he came out, he ran into the arms of Jaeha, who was standing right in front of him as if he had been waiting, and hugged his waist. Pat, pat. At the clumsy but wholly comforting touch, Yijae rubbed his damp eyes as if he had never cried. Feeling the warmth that spread throughout his chest, he gave Jaeha a bright smile.