Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2.1

“This is a matter of whether to do it or not.”

Suddenly, Min-gyu shifted the topic and made a somewhat awkward sound. What was that? Yeon-ha, slightly tilting his head, responded. Rather than curiosity, he felt a twinge of unease. It was rare for someone so bold and unrestrained to show such hesitation. Min-gyu’s lips curled into a faint smile as he looked at Yeon-ha.

“I had a single cigarette while working earlier.”

Yeon-ha paused, taken aback by the whispered confession, and replied, bewildered. “…So?”

“So, what? I was supposed to quit.” Min-gyu raised his voice slightly as if incredulous.

Was that so? Yeon-ha, at a loss for words, simply pressed his lips together.

“I’m really quitting now. I was close to quitting, though.”

“….”

“..I’m quitting because of you, not because of anything. You know, secondhand smoke is scarier, so I’m going to quit at least while you’re here.”

Min-gyu quickly added, his exaggerated measures to Yeon-ha collapsing frequently. In reality, Yeon-ha had only fainted once in front of Min-gyu, but he chose not to correct him. Min-gyu, looking intently at Yeon-ha’s unchanged expression, suddenly reached out. He pulled Yeon-ha’s limp body into his arms and hugged him tightly to the point where Yeon-ha could barely breathe.

The familiar warmth, mixed with a faint scent of soap, washed over him.

Then Min-gyu relaxed his hold and slipped one of his legs between Yeon-ha’s. The sensation of Min-gyu’s training pants pressed against Yeon-ha’s bare skin was palpable. Resting his head against Min-gyu’s firm chest, Yeon-ha quietly thought.

‘I don’t really mind.’ Yeonha thought as she buried her head in his shirtless chest.

But there was no reason to stop someone who was determined to quit. Although Yeon-ha didn’t know when Min-gyu had started smoking, it was clear that smoking was bad for health.

“I’m leaving early tomorrow morning. I’ll probably be back at night, so make sure you eat well.”

Yeonha slowly nodded as Min-gyu gently ran his fingers through her disheveled long hair. “Okay.”

“Aren’t you going to ask where I’m going?”

“…Where are you going?”

“None of your business. It’s just a matter of accepting a beating, alright?”

Min-gyu chuckled, clearly enjoying keeping the details to himself. He tightened his embrace around Yeonha once more, adding pressure as if to assert his presence. Despite already being pressed closely together, he seemed unsatisfied and slipped his long legs more deeply between hers, exhaling a languid breath against her exposed nape. Min-gyu’s imposing physique overshadowed Yeonha’s more delicate frame. Feeling overwhelmed, Yeonha mumbled.

“I can’t breathe…”

“Stop being dramatic.”

Min-gyu clicked his tongue but immediately relaxed his hold. Yeonha finally found it easier to breathe. Though Min-gyu’s arms remained wrapped around her, she was accustomed to this level of closeness.

“Go to sleep.”

With that brief command, Yeonha nodded slightly. The sensation from their bodies touching was oddly distracting, but she closed her eyes, pretending not to notice.

The room fell silent again.

Occasionally, the sound of the wind brushing against the window caught Yeonha’s attention, but soon she relaxed completely. Despite her earlier comment about feeling smothered, Yeonha nestled even deeper into Min-gyu’s embrace. Outside, it was spring, but the only warmth she knew was still in Min-gyu’s arms. In a world where no one else was around to care for her, this was the safest place she could find.

* * *

When she opened her eyes, he was home.

Yeonha, still heavy with sleep, blinked her eyes open in surprise. The man in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall with an indifferent expression, looked at her with an impassive stare.

‘Why is he like that?’

Even in her dazed state, there was a sense of déjà vu in his slouched posture, with one knee raised and chin resting on his hand. If a cigarette were tucked between his fingers, it would almost mirror their first encounter.

The lingering impression from that day seemed quite vivid, even if she hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Yeonha’s full lips slowly parted, and a cracked voice emerged.

“…You didn’t leave?”

Min-gyu’s nod, or lack thereof, was lazy and indecisive. Yeonha slowly lifted her heavy body, wincing as she felt a dull ache spreading from her ankle up through her calf.

“Why?”

The immediate response from Min-gyu came as expected. Yeonha unconsciously tried to mask her expression.

“Um….”

“Is your ankle hurting?”

She hesitated, almost denying it, but then mumbled slightly. “A little…”

“Let me see.”

Min-gyu, having risen and approached swiftly, roughly threw back the partially disheveled blanket. His careful touch as he held her thin ankle, sitting on the edge of the bed, was a bit awkward.

“It’s not really painful. It happens from time to time.”

Just a slight twinge, really. Feeling embarrassed by Min-gyu’s serious expression, Yeonha quickly added more. Min-gyu examined her pale ankle, which still bore faint surgical scars, with a focused but serious demeanor. Even though there wasn’t much to see or learn, his intense scrutiny made Yeonha fall silent.

Perhaps she didn’t add more because she enjoyed the gentle, soothing touch of his hands.

How much time passed like this? Min-gyu, still holding her ankle, finally lifted his gaze. His observant eyes swept over her pale face, from the downcast eyes and sealed lips to the scattered strands of hair on her nape.