Chapter 113

The overlapping memories inside those dark, rounded eyes slowly faded away.

Hostility still lingered faintly in the eyes of the man quietly making his request.

“Use the Golden Date Card on me.”

Where the Gyeol of the past had brushed by, the Gyeol of the present now stood facing Seong Yo Han.

The eyes Yo Han looked into had not changed in the slightest over the years.

Back then and now alike, Gyeol’s eyes trembled easily, yet remained clear as a lake. Dark enough to reflect Seong Yo Han back at himself.

And because of that, every single part of them was beautiful.

“Okay, then.”

There was no drawn-out scheming. No probing or testing.

Gyeol pressed his lips tightly together at how readily Yo Han accepted the request. Yet instead of asking why, he merely lowered his gaze as though forcibly suppressing something inside himself.

He didn’t seem to have the luxury of questioning it.

“You said you’d do it.”

Gyeol repeated the words like someone demanding a promise be guaranteed.

He was anxious.

It wasn’t that Yo Han wasn’t curious about what could possibly reduce him to this—what could strip Gyeol so thoroughly of composure and leave him this desperate.

Because contrary to Yo Han’s original intentions, he had developed far too many questions about Gyeol.

One after another.

Until eventually his thoughts were crowded entirely with question marks.

And yet when Gyeol finally placed complete control directly into Yo Han’s hands, Yo Han instead chose to hand the control back to Gyeol.

Just like he had years ago.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask what’s going on, and I’m not going to force you to explain your wish immediately.”

“......”

“When someone goes this far for a Seong Yo Han they clearly can’t stand being around, there’s probably a reason.”

“...Don’t act like you understand how I feel.”

“I’m not particularly trying to understand your feelings. Does it sound that way?”

“...Forget it. I don’t have the energy to argue with you right now. I’ll assume we’re going tomorrow, then.”

“Think of it as a whim.”

“......”

There was no better explanation for it.

Not even for Seong Yo Han himself.

“If it benefits you, isn’t this exactly the kind of place you came prepared to accept any whim without complaint?”

The tension packed tightly into Gyeol’s shoulders finally loosened with a quiet exhale.

It wasn’t resignation so much as consciously lowering his guard.

“I’ll go.”

The glance he threw back at Yo Han before turning away trembled faintly.

And because it was impossible not to notice how precarious he looked, Yo Han ended up indulging one last whim.

“Gyeol.”

He spoke toward Gyeol’s back just as he took his first step away.

“Don’t worry.”

Yo Han saw Gyeol’s fists clench tightly at his sides.

“I said don’t worry.”

More than anything, though, he found himself hoping this truly was nothing more than a whim.

***

Early the next morning, the helicopter carrying Seong Yo Han and Gyeol lifted into the sky.

In front of the cameras, Gyeol tried to hide how anxious he was, but his complexion looked even paler than it had under the moonlight the night before.

The inside of the helicopter was deafening.

The roar surrounding them was so loud they would’ve had to lean directly into each other’s ears and shout to be heard at all, while the violent vibration of the engine rattled through their entire bodies.

Wearing ear protection, neither of them bothered trying to talk.

At any other time, Gyeol probably would have at least pretended to create a romantic atmosphere for the date, but now he merely sat in silence, occasionally clenching his jaw hard enough for the muscles to twitch.

After some time passed, it was Seong Yo Han who reached out first.

Without taking his eyes off the window, he laid a hand over the back of Gyeol’s hand.

Right over the bandages.

Right over the place where Gyeol had unconsciously been gripping himself tightly.

Startled, Gyeol instinctively relaxed his hand—but the moment he did, Yo Han’s larger hand completely covered it.

Gyeol’s hands weren’t particularly small either, yet Yo Han’s were much larger. Long fingers slipped easily between his own.

Thrown into brief confusion, Gyeol reflexively tried to pull away.

But Yo Han tightened his grip first.

What exactly was he trying to do?

When Gyeol turned to look at him, all he could see was Yo Han’s thick neck and sharply cut jawline.

Sensing the stare, Yo Han looked back.

Then he smiled slowly before leaning closer toward Gyeol. Lifting one side of the ear protection slightly, he murmured beside his ear.

“The cameras. Aren’t you going to pay attention to them?”

Warm breath brushed against the shell of his ear.

The surrounding noise was so overwhelming that not only would the microphones fail to pick up their voices—there was no way to hear each other at all without being this close.

“Get it together.”

At the low voice quietly scolding him, Gyeol finally realized what Yo Han was doing.

He was helping him.

Helping him avoid looking absent-minded on camera.

But why?

Why would you?

The skin beneath Gyeol’s sleepless eyes throbbed painfully. He hadn’t slept at all worrying about Yuli.

Forcing the corners of his eyes into a smile, Gyeol cupped a hand beside Yo Han’s ear and whispered back.

“Did you eat something weird?”

His voice was cold despite the smile on his face.

That only made Yo Han laugh.

To the cameras, it would simply look like a couple heading out on a date, whispering and joking together.

“I told you. It’s a whi—”

“A whim. Yes, I heard you.”

“Hmm.”

The satisfied look on Yo Han’s face—as if watching a student score a perfect grade—irritated Gyeol.

Especially because it wasn’t the first time he’d seen that expression.

Though it had been a very long time.

Come to think of it, the old Seong Yo Han used to look at him like this fairly often.

As though he found him admirable.

As though he was proud of him.

...Who do you think you are.

His head pounded from lack of sleep and crushing stress.

He didn’t know anymore.

Whatever Yo Han’s intentions were, Gyeol had chosen him as his final option short of leaving the show entirely. Until the moment he saw Yuli safely with his own eyes, he was willing to let Yo Han play him however he wanted.

He didn’t have the mental space to analyze Yo Han’s intentions or hidden motives.

Not when it involved Yuli.

Even someone like Gyeol couldn’t manage that right now.

So for now, it was easier to simply swallow the convenient excuse Yo Han had handed him.

The excuse called a whim.

“Smile. Stop killing the mood.”

“Isn’t the phrase supposed to be stop ruining the vibe? Wait... wow. You actually know memes. That doesn’t suit you at all.”

“What’s with this ‘doesn’t suit you’ thing? Everyone in this industry is managing an image anyway.”

So he wasn’t even going to bother hiding his true personality around him anymore?

The absurdity of it made Gyeol let out a breathy laugh.

“It’d be hilarious if all of this got picked up on the microphones, wouldn’t it?”

“It won’t make the final cut anyway.”

Yo Han answered in an almost prim tone before straightening back into his seat.

If his goal had been making Gyeol laugh, then he had at least succeeded halfway.

Even after Gyeol fixed his posture again, Yo Han continued holding his hand.

While they sat side by side looking in opposite directions, Yo Han’s thumb lightly brushed against the inside of Gyeol’s palm.

The bandages dulled most of the sensation, but an inexplicable ticklishness still spread through him, making Gyeol gradually want to pull away.

And almost as if timing it perfectly, Yo Han finally let go first.

Maybe because he’d laughed despite himself, the nausea-like churning inside his chest had calmed considerably.

I don’t want to owe this man anything.

Thinking about it that way, agreeing to grant some “wish” in return almost felt preferable to being indebted to him.

His thoughts gradually shifted toward what came next.

...Once we land, we switch to a car. From the parking lot to the hospital room should take around twenty minutes. At least the hospital’s close.

Then suddenly, Gyeol realized something.

It wasn’t just that Seong Yo Han was the only way for him to see Yuli without leaving the program—

Out of everyone trapped on that island, Seong Yo Han was also the only person who shared his secret.

The person who had once held Gyeol’s throat in his grasp had somehow become his sole escape route.

***

“You’ll need to return here in about two hours. Hmm... let’s say by noon to be safe.”

They’d managed to buy roughly seventeen extra minutes.

Grateful for even that small amount of time, Gyeol climbed into the sedan the production crew had prepared.

While Yo Han walked around the front of the car after opening the passenger-side door for him, Gyeol carefully scanned the inside of the vehicle.

Checking for cameras or microphones.

Producer Yoo had guaranteed there wouldn’t be any, but people doing something they felt guilty about naturally became cautious anyway.

A moment later, Yo Han climbed into the driver’s seat.

“What’s got you in such a hurry?”

Murmuring softly, he suddenly leaned across toward Gyeol.

Startled, Gyeol instinctively recoiled.

Regret hit him a second later.

Careless.

No cameras meant Seong Yo Han could do whatever he wanted.

But the car seat blocked him from retreating any farther.

Gyeol frowned sharply.

Yo Han’s heavy scent brushed past his nose, and then—

Click.

A soft fastening sound rang out.

The seatbelt.

“If you get in a car, the first thing you do is put on your seatbelt.”

“......”

Damn it.

Watching Yo Han lean back and buckle his own seatbelt, Gyeol felt heat rush into his face from sheer embarrassment.

“Destination?”

“...Ieum St. Mary’s Hospital.”

“A hospital.”

Yo Han repeated the words shortly before pulling out his phone and entering the location into the navigation app.

A moment later, the route guidance chimed on.

The engine started.

At the same time, Gyeol’s heart began pounding heavily inside his chest.

Thankfully, he’d already heard that Yuli’s fever had gone down more this morning.

Though hearing that he’d cried and thrown up all his medicine afterward still left a bitter feeling in his stomach...

Still.

He’d get to see him soon.

He could comfort him properly, and if there was time, maybe buy him candy on the way in. Yuli was gentle by nature, even if he occasionally got stubborn, so he would listen well if Gyeol talked to him.

So don’t panic too much.

It’s okay.

You’ll see him soon.

His thoughts tumbled over one another uncontrollably. Like a deadline that suddenly felt real the closer it came, the knowledge that he would see Yuli soon made his heart spiral wildly.

It’s okay. It’s okay.

Just as he barely managed to calm himself, Yo Han’s question abruptly hooked into his consciousness.

“So you’re going to see your kid?”