IH Ch 79

Chapter 79

“It’s nothing like that. I’ll take care of it myself. Sorry for taking up your time when you’re busy.”

[…]

“Well, I’ll hang up n—”

[I don’t know what happened, but this isn’t so bad. It felt like you were throwing a bit of a tantrum.]

“……”

[You must have called because it was serious to you… But still, I’d like you to reach out more often like this. Make sure you eat well, and be careful when you go into gates. Don’t get hurt. Let’s see each other when we both have time. Take care.]

Even after Suhyeon, who had only worried about him until the very end, hung up first, Jae-i couldn’t bring himself to put the phone down.

He had no reason to get hurt anywhere, and there was no need to worry about whether he was eating well or not. Yet the words that he used to let in one ear and out the other now strangely lingered.

Hwang Jae-i looked at the picture frame placed deep inside the cabinet in the corner of the room. In the photo, Suhyeon, with a bandage wrapped around her arm, was smiling brightly as she hugged a much younger version of him tightly. Staring at her younger, softer face, Jae-i then lowered his gaze and let out a scoff. Because the little brat in Suhyeon’s arms wore a face full of discontent with the world.

He was like this as an adult, so would he have been any different as a child? Probably even more raw and volatile with his emotions back then. Jae-i stared at his younger self for a while before turning away.

He decided to deal with the Ahn Yuna issue tomorrow and step outside now. They were probably wondering what was going on after he had suddenly dashed into his room.

And when Hwang Jae-i finally opened the door and stepped out, he was strangely nervous.

“……”

Feeling nervous in his own home. Frowning to shake off the absurd thought, Jae-i tensed up when he spotted a small head peeking out from down the hallway. As Jae-i stared silently, Dohwa stepped forward with a wide stride and held his arms out to the sides.

“The clothes fit well.”

“……”

Dohwa was wearing light blue jeans and a Sprite-colored long-sleeved shirt with blue stripes. It was a basic, unremarkable outfit, but it looked great on him, perhaps because of how slender he was. The pants ending just at his ankles also had an oddly nice effect.

When Jae-i just stood there quietly staring at him, Dohwa slowly lowered his slightly outstretched arms.

“…Does it look weird?”

He had only tried one outfit on to check the size, but maybe it didn’t look good. As he turned to go back into the room to take it off, Jae-i strode toward him. Dohwa glanced up with only his eyes as Jae-i suddenly came right up to him.

With a stiff expression, Jae-i stared at him and then crouched down without hesitation.

“Aren’t these pants too short at the ankles?”

He reached for the exposed skin beneath the pant hems.

Something about that sight had caught his eye from the start. If Dohwa kept walking around like that, his ankles might get cold. Sure, he had once spent a day here without even wearing pants at all, but that memory was long erased from Jae-i’s mind. He reached for Dohwa’s ankle—and flinched.

It was so thin.

“How is it…?”

How could anyone have ankles this delicate? Wouldn’t they break or twist just from walking a bit? Jae-i frowned and, unsure whether Dohwa realized it or not, grabbed both ankles and gently prodded them. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he covered the tops of Dohwa’s feet with his palms, causing the boy, who had been standing still, to recoil slightly and curl his toes. Realizing what he was doing, Jae-i froze for a few seconds before quickly pulling his hands away and springing to his feet.

Standing awkwardly like a red panda with arms slightly lifted, Jae-i forced a scowl onto his face.

“If your ankles are this visible while standing, they’ll be up to your knees when you sit.”

“No way…”

He was going to say “no way, right?” but Jae-i didn’t even wait to listen and just walked past him.

“The sizing is off. I’ll exchange or return it.”

“No, no—don’t do that!”

Dohwa hurriedly grabbed Jae-i’s arm.

“I really like this one.”

“……”

“I want to keep wearing it.”

It wasn’t even a strange thing to say, but Jae-i stared at him for a few seconds in silence again. With no immediate response, Dohwa felt like it might have come across as a signal to take the clothes off, so he hesitated, then let go of Jae-i’s arm. He crossed his arms down and grabbed the hem of his shirt, then yanked it up.

The sudden appearance of bare skin startled Jae-i, who quickly pulled the shirt back down. Dohwa, puzzled by Jae-i’s reaction, looked up.

“…Keep it on.”

“……”

“Just wear it. I….”

Lowering his head, Jae-i muttered in a voice so small it was barely audible.

“It suits you.”

The visible ankles didn’t really matter as long as he was standing, right? When sitting, no one would be staring at them anyway.

As Dohwa continued to hold onto the hem of his shirt, he fidgeted with his fingers and cautiously asked,

“Does it suit me?”

“……”

Hwang Jae-i couldn’t answer right away. He hesitated, then gave the smallest of nods and replied with a soft “Yeah.” For some reason, an overwhelming wave of fatigue washed over him, and he headed for the sofa. Slumping down, he looked at the floor, where the shirt, pants, sneakers, and underwear were neatly laid out.

The clothes still in their packaging were mostly in primary or bright colors. He had to admit, Ahn Yuna had done a good job picking them out. But even as he had that thought, his face darkened.

Ahn Yuna, just wait till tomorrow.

Still seething over the condom, Jae-i picked up the shopping mall’s instruction sheet that had been sitting on top of the clothes. It included exchange and return policies and a note stating that the clothes had been sanitized at the factory and could be worn immediately.

Could he really trust that? It seemed suspicious.

Feeling unsure, Jae-i considered washing them again just to be safe. Just then, a shadow loomed over his face, and he looked up. Seeing Dohwa standing there, Jae-i blinked and then looked back down at the paper in his hands. Even though he had already read it, he kept staring as Dohwa asked,

“Hey.”

“…What.”

It sounded like his usual indifferent tone, but he lacked his usual energy.

“That thing earlier… who did you buy it to use with?”

“……”

Jae-i crumpled the paper in his hand. His head jerked up in panic, and his expression was contorted. In contrast, Dohwa remained calm.

“I was wondering if you had someone in mind when you bought it.”

“…No.”

His voice was hoarse as he denied it. He was extremely flustered, and his head felt hot. All he could say was “no,” but it didn’t feel like enough. Jae-i couldn’t understand why Dohwa was curious about something like that and shot up to his feet to look down at him.

“Ahn Yuna added that on her own. I only asked her to help pick out some clothes for you to wear…!”

“Why would Ahn Yuna add something like that? That’s really personal.”

“That’s…”

He didn’t know either. All he had needed was a few properly fitting outfits for Dohwa and a bit of help selecting them. But even then, she had started spouting nonsense about sex education. He should have shut her down properly right then. But because he didn’t want to even have that conversation, he let it slide—and then she went and bought condoms and tucked them in with the clothes. And they just had to fall out while he was with Dohwa. Biting his lower lip, Jae-i thought bitterly.

As he stood in silence, unable to figure out what to say, Dohwa turned around.

He examined the clothes Jae-i had taken out during the phone call. At first, he thought there might be some for Jae-i, but they were all too small for him. That’s when he realized they were all meant for him. The new clothes were neat, slightly loose-fitting, and comfortable to wear. The bright colors also made him happy. But that feeling quickly sank again when he thought of the condom.

Dohwa looked up at Hwang Jae-i once more. Staring at his unsettled face, Dohwa slowly opened his mouth.

“That thing won’t fit you anyway. You’re big.”

“……”

“If it’s something you’re trying to be prepared for, you should at least know your size…”

A large hand suddenly covered Dohwa’s mouth. He clamped down, covering half his face and stopping him from speaking any further. Dohwa looked up again at Jae-i.

His ears were slightly flushed all the way to the tips.

“Do you even know what you’re saying right now?”

Dohwa gave a small nod.

That reaction made Jae-i press harder against Dohwa’s mouth.

Hwang Jae-i had never once in his life seriously thought about condoms or his own size. He’d never had the interest, nor had he ever planned to use one. That’s why he had been so angry when Ahn Yuna acted on her own. But now…

This wasn’t something Hwang Jae-i could control anymore. So he said,

“Sleep.”

“……”

“Just go to sleep.”

In response, Dohwa rolled his eyes toward the large window covering one wall.

Right, it’s still broad daylight—how could anyone sleep now? That was probably what he was thinking. But Jae-i couldn’t come up with any better way to escape this situation. He lowered his hand from Dohwa’s mouth and bent down. One by one, he gathered the scattered clothes on the floor. Dohwa followed suit, crouching down and placing his hand on the box containing the sneakers. As he slowly stroked the lid, he spoke.

“Jae-i.”

“……”

His ears tingled. Jae-i frowned instinctively but quickly relaxed and looked at him.

Still looking at the sneaker box, Dohwa hesitated before moving his lips to speak.

“Thanks for getting me such pretty and nice things. I’ll wear them well.”

Then, pulling the sneaker box into his arms, Dohwa smiled faintly.

“And I’ll wear these a lot too.”

“……”

Jae-i just stared at Dohwa’s smiling face. He couldn’t say a single word, didn’t even blink. Once all the items were packed, he carried them into Dohwa’s room and then returned to the living room.