Chapter 160

There was no room left for denial.

Watching his sleeping face had made Gyeol’s chest ache. He had felt a dull pain, like someone groaning beneath the weight of something heavy pressing down on them.

And if he replaced all of that with another word....

***

To be honest, he thought he had been expecting Yo Han to appear.

Whenever he walked down the hill alone after finishing a late-night interview, Yo Han was always there. He would suddenly appear, torment him, confuse him, and then... excite him.

But unexpectedly, no matter how long Gyeol walked tonight, he sensed no sign of anyone nearby.

Just in case, he slowed his pace and even glanced between the trees now and then, pretending to admire the scenery.

No one was there.

Only silence lay over the path, broken here and there by moonlight.

“.......”

As far as Gyeol knew, Yo Han’s name had been called before his. Which meant Yo Han should have voted, finished his interview, and walked this path much earlier than Gyeol.

Halfway down the hill, Gyeol suddenly stopped.

Then, chewing his lip as though hesitating, he called cautiously.

“...Yo Han?”

A long silence followed. The only sound was the chirping of insects somewhere in the grass.

What am I doing?

Feeling faintly embarrassed, Gyeol tucked his chin down firmly and strode down the hill.

It makes it look like I was expecting something all on my own when he wasn’t even thinking about it.

His cheeks and the back of his neck burned.

As he approached the lodging, he heard a lively commotion.

Several people were sitting together on a wooden bench, drinking canned beer.

The first face illuminated by the lights belonged to Gyujin. Since he was sitting facing the path, he noticed Gyeol first and raised a hand.

“Popular guy. Come sit down.”

“I told you not to call him that.”

Isu, sitting beside him, frowned and scolded him.

As far as Gyeol was concerned, he did not care in the slightest about what Gyujin had said. No matter what he babbled, it did not bother him at all.

What bothered him more was the broad back seated across from Gyujin.

The person who turned around just then after noticing Gyujin’s reaction.

“Gyeol. Come over here.”

Isu’s words merely brushed past Gyeol’s ears.

Because his eyes had met Yo Han’s.

The instant their gazes connected, Yo Han’s eyes curved as he smiled at him. It was always a pleasure to see that polished, sophisticatedly handsome face soften into such an unguarded smile. That was undoubtedly true, and yet....

“No. I’m a little tired.”

Gyeol answered Isu while avoiding Yo Han’s gaze.

“Huh? Gyeol! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Come in whenever you’re ready.”

He forced a smile, waved, and headed straight into the lodging.

After stepping inside and closing the door, Gyeol stood blankly in the entryway for a while.

Beyond the door, the noise quickly grew louder as more people joined them. Tommy and Hee Jun must have arrived.

Feeling the stark contrast, Gyeol buried his face in both hands. When he finally dragged them down, faint dismay lingered across his features.

It was the face of someone who had realized something he desperately wanted to deny.

***

Hyesung Bae

A dinosaur drawing by Commander Yuli

(A crooked dinosaur picture that looks as though it was drawn by a young child)

— 202X. Crayon on canvas.

Gyeol studied the photo Hyesung had sent and tapped the screen to enlarge it.

Beside the large dinosaur were four tiny people.

?? Four people?

Tilting his head, Gyeol typed a reply.

Artist Yuli, who took great pride in his artwork, usually included one protagonist representing himself and three other people in his compositions.

Dad, Uncle Hyesung, and Uncle Kisoo.

The three people who made up Yuli’s world.

“Did he draw himself as the dinosaur this time?”

But if that were the case, all four people appeared to be about the same height. No, perhaps one of them did seem unusually tall.

Artist Yuli, cherished by the teacher of his daycare art class, would never overlook such an important detail.

Y H S

Gyeol tilted his head in the opposite direction.

???

A typo?

o h a n

Only then did the consonants and vowels combine into something he could understand.

Yo Han Sung.

“No.”

Gyeol blurted out the word in instinctive protest.

Why are you appearing in someone else’s son’s drawing?

Why?

How the hell should I know..

I think Yuli likes that man quite a lot

Why???????

I said I don’t know??

Gyeol clutched his phone in both hands, trembling as he denied reality. Then he let out a deep sigh and dropped his forehead against the screen.

How did he win the kid over after meeting him just once...?

He really was something else. Yuli was fairly shy around strangers and certainly not an easy child to win over.

A notification soon appeared saying that the message containing the initials “Y H S” had been deleted. Hyesung was meticulous as always. Feeling grateful to him all over again, Gyeol released a sigh of relief.

Sorry I couldn’t help with the discharge

You have a lot to be sorry for. Hit it big and buy me beef tenderloin

I’ll buy you a hundred pounds

Yuli, who had been discharged earlier than expected, seemed to be in excellent condition.

More messages followed, saying he had been squirming around so much at home that he was going back to daycare starting tomorrow.

Only a few days left. I’ll repay you properly when I get out.

Yeah, spend the rest of your life repaying me, punk

Gyeol let out a quiet laugh as he wrapped up the conversation.

He was about to turn off his phone when he opened Yuli’s drawing again and studied it.

Two people stood on each side of the large dinosaur. Uncle Hyesung, who always carried a book. Uncle Kisoo, who was never without his phone. Dad Gyeol, with rabbit ears drawn on him. And....

Beside the tall man drawn directly next to Dad was a yellow star. Yuli must have been trying to express sparkle. Children were honest, and apparently even Yuli could tell Yo Han was handsome.

“Ridiculous....”

Chuckling, Gyeol enlarged the version of Yo Han drawn by Artist Yuli. His eyebrows slanted sharply upward, and he held candy and chocolate in his hands.

It looked like him.

Gyeol kept laughing at the tiny details Yuli had captured.

Still crouched in the bathroom, he gazed at the drawing for a while.

Later, let’s take everyone you want to bring somewhere with a swimming pool.

Something warm and soft seemed to gather around his chest. Like freshly boiled silken tofu, it floated gently through him, gradually melting the body he had held rigid.

“...How does that make any sense?”

A picture of Yuli, Gyeol, and Yo Han together.

“It doesn’t make any sense....”

Afraid some absurd hope might begin to bloom, Gyeol bowed his head deeply and curled in on himself. Even when he crushed his lips together, the strange sensation inside his chest refused to settle.

***

Gyeol had gone ahead and showered as well, and he had just climbed beneath the blanket in his pajamas when it happened.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang at such an unexpected hour.

Isu had not returned yet. If it were him, he could simply enter the lodging, so the late-night visitor had to be someone there to see Gyeol.

Dragging his slippers, Gyeol headed to the entryway.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

A low voice came from beyond the door, almost a whisper.

This was a deserted island. Everyone on it was either part of the production staff or a contestant. Because of that, Gyeol had reached automatically for the handle to open the door at once, but his hand paused.

“...Why are you here at this hour?”

Gyeol answered without opening it.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?”

“.......”

Gyeol tucked his lower lip between his teeth, then slowly opened the door.

Only a handspan.

He glared through the gap and said,

“Stop speaking so formally. It’s awkward.”

“You’re speaking formally too, Gyeol.”

A hand slipped through the gap and poked his cheek.

Gyeol tightened his grip on the door, rattling it as though he might shut it at any moment.

“I might close it just like this.”

“You’ll cut off my finger.”

“I don’t think that’s my problem.”

“It would be your problem. You’d become the perpetrator. But if the perpetrator were you, I’d gladly give up a finger or two. Becoming the victim and demanding that you take responsibility for me forever might not be so bad.”

Gyeol stared at him with an expression of genuine disgust at the stream of ridiculous logic.

Seeing his horrified face, Yo Han grinned and gripped the threshold firmly.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?”

He seemed to have showered too. His damp hair was disheveled, and the rough appearance made him look strangely delinquent.

Thinking he could imagine what Yo Han must have been like as a student, Gyeol released the handle.

Yo Han immediately swung the door wide open as though he had been waiting for that.

“Isu went to talk with Gyujin.”

“Yes....”

There really did seem to be something between them.

The things that happened between Alphas and Omegas were impossible to understand. What kind of chemistry had suddenly sparked overnight?

Gyeol nodded vaguely and turned toward the inside of the lodging. But Yo Han remained standing in the entryway without moving.

“...What are you doing?”

“Can I come in?”

“What?”

“I should get the homeowner’s permission.”

Gyeol shuffled over to the sofa and sat down, making a careless gesture with one hand.

“What homeowner...? It’s shared lodging. If you’re that determined to get permission, go ask Isu.”

At that, Yo Han promptly closed the door and entered the living room.

Without asking another question, he sat down beside Gyeol.

“...Why didn’t you ask permission before sitting on the sofa?”

“I reached the limit of my patience.”

As he said it, Yo Han wrapped an arm around Gyeol’s shoulders and pulled him closer from the handspan of space between them.

It happened too suddenly for Gyeol to defend himself.

His body sank fully into Yo Han’s embrace.

Yo Han kissed his temple and said,

“Were you waiting for me?”