IH Ch 35

Chapter 35

The last time he’d seen it, the house had been a mess, but now it was impeccably clean. Even the kitchen, which he entered half in disbelief, was the same. Not a single trace of water lingered in the sink; it gleamed.

“……”

Jae-i set the shopping bag down on the dining table, then paused. In the corner of the table lay a tray with a shattered drone on it. The drone was so thoroughly destroyed that it was impossible to recognize its original form—lens and all. As he examined the wreckage, he spotted a small chip nestled among the debris. Picking it up, Hwang Jae-i resumed walking, this time heading toward the guest room.

Since there was no sign of movement elsewhere in the house, the person he was looking for was likely inside. But even from the hallway, no sound could be heard. Jae-i raised his hand to knock, then stopped. As if to shake off the moment of hesitation, he pushed the door open wide. The bulging shape of the bed was the first thing to come into view.

“……”

Was he really asleep? It wasn’t nighttime—it was still quite early in the day.

With a hardened expression, Jae-i entered the room and deliberately dropped himself onto the bed with a loud thump. Still, there was no response from the person lying there. He’d hoped the sound or motion would provoke some reaction so he could strike up a conversation naturally.

But no—that was the wrong way to think. This wasn’t someone who should be treated with naturalness or familiarity. The guy should’ve been confined to a Hunter detention center, and yet somehow, he was now living in Jae-i’s house.

With a stern expression, Hwang Jae-i turned to face him.

“You—”

He was about to snap, “How can you sleep like this when the owner of the house just walked in?” but stopped mid-sentence. Because the sleeping figure’s face didn’t look good at all.

That small face was paler than usual, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Behind his tightly shut eyelids, his pupils could be seen darting back and forth. His jaw was clenched so tightly that Jae-i could see the tension. Alarmed, he leaned in.

“…What’s wrong? Wake up.”

He seemed to be caught in a nightmare.

Gently shaking Dohwa’s shoulder, Hwang Jae-i called to him again. But Dohwa only frowned and let out a pained groan, burying his face deeper into the pillow. Just as it seemed the tension in his jaw might loosen, he began to mumble in a faint, whisper-like voice. It was hard to make out what he was saying.

Jae-i leaned closer to Dohwa’s face. That was when Dohwa exhaled deeply. The hot breath brushed against his cheek, carrying a faintly sweet scent, and Jae-i froze on the spot. While he remained still, the mumbling grew slightly clearer until he could just make out what Dohwa was saying. No, I don’t want to. I won’t. I don’t want to do it. Again and again, the whispering continued, eventually turning into a tearful murmur.

Having heard that, Jae-i immediately pulled back to create some distance. The strangely wet tone clung to his ears, and he rubbed at them with the back of his hand before suddenly stopping. That was because he had caught sight of the shimmer of tears squeezing out from between Dohwa’s tightly closed eyelids.

“…Hey.”

Despite hesitating, Jae-i once again placed a hand on Dohwa’s rounded shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. The movement caused Dohwa’s body to sway slightly, and at the repeated calling, he scrunched his eyes shut tighter. He seemed to be trying to open them, but it didn’t look easy. Hearing another groan, Jae-i—feeling an odd stir of emotion—shook Dohwa’s shoulder more firmly. And at that moment, Dohwa’s eyes suddenly opened.

His gaze was unfocused at first, but then gradually shifted toward Jae-i, who now wore a hardened expression. For some reason, tension made it hard for him to exhale properly; he stood stiffly. Then Dohwa’s gaze softened.

“…What the.”

Smiling faintly, Dohwa slowly adjusted his posture to lie flat on his back and stretched his arms out toward Hwang Jae-i.

“When did you come back again? Come here.”

“……”

“I don’t think I can get up right now… I had a bad dream.”

Motioning for him to come closer, Dohwa yawned with his mouth slightly open. After licking his lips and letting out a deep breath, he looked again in Jae-i’s direction. Jae-i moved. His body reacted before his thoughts did. By the time he realized it, his face was pressed against Dohwa’s chest, and Dohwa had one arm draped over his head and the other across his back.

Not just resting them there—his slender fingers gently scratched at Jae-i’s scalp. The other hand rubbed up and down his broad back, occasionally giving a light pat. The touch gradually slowed, and soon, soft, rhythmic breathing could be heard.

“……”

When the hand on his head slid down and brushed against his neck, Hwang Jae-i felt a wave of goosebumps ripple over his skin. Unlike the one who had fallen asleep so peacefully, the one left behind was still wondering what the hell had just happened.

Every morning when he opened his eyes, Dohwa was there. More precisely, he was holding the guy tightly in his arms.

If it had happened only once, he could’ve dismissed it as an accident. But when it kept happening, it could no longer be considered a coincidence. He needed to find out whether something was wrong with himself—or whether that guy was up to something.

Since these incidents occurred in moments he couldn’t remember, he decided it needed to be documented. That’s why he had installed a baseball-sized close-range surveillance camera. But the device had been smashed to pieces, and only the chip had been salvageable. Still, he was lucky even to have that. Thanks to it, he could review the events leading up to the destruction of the camera.

On the screen, he saw himself returning from pushing his body through all sorts of intense training, including a sauna session. After rehydrating, he briefly sat on the living room couch, then his head slowly tipped back. As he reclined, his body eventually began to move smoothly.

“……”

The camera followed his back as he walked without any sign of staggering—completely composed. He arrived at the room where the guy stayed. As soon as he reached the door, he raised his hand and knocked. After doing so a few more times, the door opened, and a pale face appeared.

The pale face, just visible below his broad shoulders, looked calm. As if this were something that happened often. They exchanged a few words, and then he lightly tapped the door again. It opened wider, and he stepped inside naturally, wrapping the guy in an embrace. The slender body leaned into him without resistance. While standing there quietly, the other lifted his arms and patted Jae-i’s shoulder. Then, groaning slightly, he pulled himself out from between Jae-i and the door.

Even then, Jae-i simply stood in place. The other pulled him by the hand, took a few steps forward, then turned back—perhaps urging him to follow since he wasn’t coming on his own.

At that point, a faint memory surfaced.

Not from the footage—but from what he’d seen with his own eyes.

Back then, he had lowered his head to look more closely at that serene, pale face gazing up at him. Even when the distance between them suddenly closed, the guy hadn’t flinched. He simply lifted his large, double-lidded eyes and confirmed who he was looking at. Remembering that face and those black pupils staring up at him, Hwang Jae-i stopped the video.

He covered his face with a large hand. The tips of his ears, peeking out beneath his hand, were red.

The guy scooped up his food and shoved it into his mouth, chewing briskly. As usual, his cheeks puffed up from stuffing in more than a mouthful. But gradually, his jaw slowed, and he glanced up.

“……”

At first, Hwang Jae-i pretended not to notice, but the continued glances irritated him, and his brows furrowed.

“What are you staring at?”

Dohwa stopped chewing and swallowed before answering.

“You’ve been staring at me this whole time.”

Grabbing a strand of long hair and tucking it against his cheek, he mumbled, almost to himself,

“It’s rude to stare at someone while they’re eating.”

“…Hah.”

As if hearing something utterly ridiculous, Hwang Jae-i let out a dry laugh. But the laughter quickly faded, and his expression grew even more sullen as he looked down. In front of him was the same takeout meal that Dohwa was eating.

10 a.m. It wasn’t quite breakfast, but after staying up all night without sleep, Hwang Jae-i didn’t care about such distinctions. He hadn’t really planned to eat. Then he remembered he wasn’t alone in the house. For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he ordered food. Usually, he would just make do with whatever was in the house, but he’d cleared out half