Chapter 116

Hyesung reflexively turned toward Yuli.

Yuli opened his eyes, his face still soaked in sleep. When he realized there was someone other than Uncle Hyesung standing at the foot of the bed, his eyes went round.

A moment later, disappointment crossed the child’s face when he realized it wasn’t his dad—then quickly changed into shock.

Yuli struggled to sit up and cried out,

“The man from TV......!”

Hyesung jumped in alarm and hurriedly clapped a hand over Yuli’s mouth. His heart nearly stopped, terrified the others in the room might have heard the child.

Fortunately, judging by the way everyone kept murmuring among themselves without any special reaction, no one seemed to have caught what Yuli had said. Thank God the child was sick and had only just woken up, so his voice had come out small and a little hoarse.

Yuli made muffled protests and pointed toward the foot of the bed.

“Shh... You have to be quiet, Yuli. He came here secretly.”

Only after Hyesung pleaded with him did Yuli finally settle down. In the child’s rolling eyes, there was a spark Hyesung hadn’t seen in days. He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that recovery was this visible in a moment like this.

Yuli recognized him? Hyesung turned to look behind him and finally checked the face of the man who had removed his mask.

The moment he confirmed Yo Han Sung’s face, Hyesung’s mouth fell open. In casual terms, his jaw nearly dropped clean off. After shushing Yuli, he barely managed to stop himself from shouting, It’s Yo Han Sung!

Seeing Hyesung wide-eyed and helpless, Yo Han nodded politely again. He reacted like someone who had been through this many times before.

Reality had fucking died. Hyesung felt like he was dreaming.

It was Yo Han Sung. The Yo Han Sung. The man people of every trait, gender, and age said they could die happy if they saw him in person just once.

The top star currently doing better than anyone else in South Korea. The man supposedly being flooded with love calls from Hollywood.

Just a few days earlier, Hyesung had run into Yo Han Sung while scrolling through short videos on his phone. It had been a clip of him appearing on a famous foreign talk show, carrying the interview effortlessly in fluent English with a sharp sense of humor.

Even to Hyesung, a beta, Yo Han Sung was on another level. He felt like a different species entirely. Not human, but some kind of handsome android commissioned by someone with terrifying taste.

Sure enough, the comments had been packed with people saying the same thing.

he doesn’t even seem human lol looks like he walked straight out of a 3D game. like he was sculpted out of 0s and 1s..

ppl keep saying Lee Kyuhwan is catching up to Yo Han Sung lately but honestly that’s insane; he’s not on the same level.. looks acting language wit he lacks NOTHING

why is his english so good wtf thought he was a native speaker

⤷ he is a native speaker apparently he grew up in america

⤷ wait not a rumor??? for real???

⤷ damn no wonder he hits different..

⤷ apparently it’s not just english either he speaks spanish and french too... four languages

NO!!!!!1 the world wasn’t supposed to find out how perfect Yo Han Sung is stop exporting him overseas now ㅠ ㅠ lol ㅠlolol ㅠ ㅠ ㅠ

⤷ he’s promoting the country, that’s a win, drink up

famous even among celebs for being popular but not one dating scandal.. overflowing sincerity about acting.. how do you NOT love him.. Yo Han do whatever you want ㅠㅠ

⤷ 222.. he takes such good care of his fans too if you go to even one fan meeting it feels like he remembers every face

⤷ Yo Han is a faaamous fan-lover.. makes stanning him worth it.. which is why ppl go insane and run between Seoul and Busan for like 1n stage greetings then die..

let me see Yo Han Sung in person just once before i die,,,,plssss,,,,,,,,,,,

⤷ SHOW HIM TO MEEEE!!!!!!!!!

And now that very Yo Han Sung was standing right in front of him, this close.

Hyesung’s head instantly became a mess.

Why? Why was Yo Han Sung here with him?

The program Gyeol had joined was definitely a dating show. Yo Han Sung had clearly said he had come because of the program’s rules. Then did that mean—no way—Yo Han Sung was appearing on the dating show with him?

It felt like he’d been hit with an enormous spoiler. Even after making a reasonable deduction, denial crashed over him because he simply couldn’t believe it.

Watching Hyesung flounder in confusion and near-screaming shock, Yo Han gestured with his hand.

“You should let the child go.”

“What?”

Yuli was slapping Hyesung’s hand with his tiny palm.

Startled, Hyesung quickly released him.

“Seriously, Uncle Hyesung....”

Grumbling, Yuli made a little huffing sound as he tried to push himself upright with both hands on the bed. Hyesung hurriedly raised the bed to help him.

Unlike Hyesung, who was half-panicking, Yuli was solemn and bold. Staring straight at Yo Han with round eyes, Yuli coughed briefly, then pointed at the plastic bag by his feet.

“Is that mine?”

“Yeah.”

At the cute yet cheeky question, Yo Han let out a faint laugh. He really was exactly like someone.

“All of it?”

“All of it.”

Yo Han lifted the bag and placed it on Yuli’s lap. Yuli’s face brightened instantly.

The small hand rustling through the bag had an IV line trailing long from it.

Yo Han watched him quietly for a moment, then asked for permission.

“Can I sit beside you?”

“Mm... yes.”

After thinking hard about it, Yuli gave a big nod, as if granting him a favor.

Hyesung stepped back, and Yo Han sat on the edge of the bed. Up close, the child’s face was blotchy with fever, rough-skinned, and marked with tear tracks.

Yo Han looked steadily at Yuli’s face, then asked in a voice so gentle it was hard to imagine that tone had been hidden inside him.

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I just bought a little of everything. Is there anything you like?”

“Yes. I like this chocolate, and this. I like this one too.”

Rummaging through the bag, Yuli answered clearly. Then he tilted his head and asked,

“But how do you know my name?”

“I heard it from your dad.”

“Really?”

Suspicion appeared on Yuli’s face.

“My dad’s super famous, so it’s a secret that I’m his son. Only Uncle Hyesung and Uncle Kisoo know.”

He looked pale, and there was barely any strength in his chattering voice, but the narrow, sharp look he gave Yo Han was impressively firm for a child.

“You really heard it from my dad? You’re not someone who bullies my dad?”

At that question, Yo Han couldn’t immediately answer.

Just as Yuli’s eyes slowly began to narrow, the hospital room door opened and closed. Footsteps approached.

A moment later, the edge of the curtain opened, and Gyeol looked inside.

“What’s going on? Why is the curtain closed so—”

Seeing the large body immediately blocking his view, Gyeol trailed off. He quickly slipped inside the curtain and closed it tightly again.

“Dad!”

Yuli shouted in a ringing voice. It was incomparable to the voice he had used when he first saw Yo Han, or any of the voices he had made until now.

“Yuli.”

Gyeol strode over too, turning his back to Yo Han as he wrapped the child fully in his arms.

The moment Yuli was held by Gyeol, he burst into tears. Rubbing his sick little face against Gyeol’s chest, Yuli mumbled in a tear-soaked voice.

“Why did you come so late? Sob. Yuli kept... kept waiting.”

“I’m sorry. Dad’s sorry....”

“Yuli told... the teacher. To text you. Because Dad wasn’t answering....”

“Dad saw the teacher’s message late too. I’m so sorry. You were sick, and Dad couldn’t even stay beside you....”

Hic, hic. The child’s body began rising and falling more and more heavily. Soon, Yuli started sobbing loudly with his whole throat. Coughs burst out between the cries now and then.

“Dad’s sorry. Don’t cry. Okay? You’re sick, and crying like this will make you feel worse....”

Yuli seemed to be babbling something and throwing a small tantrum, but it was swallowed by his crying and couldn’t be heard clearly.

Gyeol held him in his arms until Yuli grew tired and his sobs began to fade, continuously rubbing his back and stroking his hair.

After Yuli had calmed down somewhat and started squirming in Gyeol’s arms, Gyeol loosened his hold a little and looked down at him.

“Our handsome Yuli’s face is all swollen now... You’re going to burst like a dumpling. Hm?”

Even though his own eyes were full of tears too, Gyeol poked Yuli’s cheek and made a pointless little joke.

“I’m not a dumpling... Yuli won’t burst.”

Sniffling as he answered, Yuli seemed to remember something late and rustled the plastic bag as he showed it off.

“The man bought me this.”

“The man?”

“The drama man.”

The drama man. Apparently, he meant Yo Han Sung.

Gyeol looked down at the plastic bag in Yuli’s hands. He had thought earlier that he should buy something, but he’d been so out of his mind he hadn’t brought anything. It seemed Yo Han had bought snacks himself.

How did someone who stood out everywhere even manage to buy something like this?

A lollipop caught on the opening of the bag slipped free and fell to the floor.

“My candy.”

At Yuli’s whine, Gyeol instinctively bent down to pick it up.

But Yo Han, standing behind him, reached out a step faster than Gyeol could move. Without meaning to, Gyeol ended up covering the back of Yo Han’s hand—the one wrapped around the candy—with his own.

At the unexpected contact, Gyeol gave a small jerk and curled his fingers in. Then Yo Han’s hand placed the candy into Gyeol’s palm.

Somewhere along the way, the warmth touching his hand had become familiar.

It was Yo Han Sung’s body heat—the heat that had once felt like it burned him.

“Why are you holding my dad’s hand!”