SDM 42

Wow, this… Experiencing this sensation for the first time in his life, Seong-woon found it hard to keep his knees straight. Just as he was about to slide down, Baek Sang-hyun made him lean completely against his own body and continued the soft kiss.

Even knowing he was fully leaning on Sang-hyun’s body, Seong-woon couldn’t bring himself to stand up. It was warm and hot and firm, and his heart was beating incredibly fast, but strangely, he felt a sense of relief.

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

Baek Sang-hyun whispered with their lips still touching. Not bad? …How could this be bad? Being held by someone and kissed? Especially when that someone is Baek Sang-hyun? Um… but he’s a man, why doesn’t it feel bad? Is it because he’s handsome?

“You’re thinking I’m handsome right now, aren’t you?”

“…Are you reading my mind?”

“Did I guess it right?”

“I want to go home.”

Wiping his moist lips with the back of his hand, Seong-woon barely managed to break free from Baek Sang-hyun’s embrace. It had been comfortable, making it difficult to leave.

“Not going to study more?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you say you needed to get a B0?”

If not, I’ll just threaten the professor. Money and power should take care of it. Seong-woon had a very chaebol-like thought as he picked up his bag from the floor.

“Be careful on your way home.”

Following the fleeing Seong-woon to the entrance, Baek Sang-hyun kissed him on the cheek. And right at that moment, the watch started blaring a warning sound.

Wow, this is crazy. His heart rate had instantly shot past the limit, painting the display with bright red numbers. At the same time, his phone started ringing, and Seong-woon hurriedly pulled it out of his pocket.

─ Young master, did something happen? I’ll come up right now…

“I’m leaving, right now!”

─ What?

Knowing that Lee Hyeong-seok would find a way up, either by sweet-talking or threatening the manager, Seong-woon decided to leave this house as quickly as possible. Ignoring Baek Sang-hyun’s muttering behind him.

“Ah, was it a peck rather than a kiss?”

What nonsense. Without even saying goodbye, Seong-woon slammed the front door shut and escaped from Baek Sang-hyun’s house. The watch that had been beeping warnings even as he descended in the elevator finally quieted down as he stepped into the parking lot.

“Young master!”

Lee Hyeong-seok, who had been waiting right in front, called out to Seong-woon anxiously, and Seong-woon just heaved a deep sigh. He felt utterly lost about how things were unfolding and how to resolve this situation going forward.

Lee Hyeong-seok demanded an explanation while showing the heart rate graph, but Seong-woon had nothing to say. With his mouth tightly shut like a clam, he just stared at the graph, which had spiked above 120 despite not having exercised, with troubled eyes. His heart rate, which had been fluctuating just below the limit, had shot through the roof with that single, brief kiss.

“…Young master.”

At Lee Hyeong-seok’s ominous voice, Seong-woon just scratched his cheek. He had neither words nor mouth to explain.

“Nothing happened.”

“Then why does the graph look like this?”

“Well… I got frustrated when I couldn’t solve a problem while studying.”

After barely squeezing out this lie, Lee Hyeong-seok, who had been looking at him suspiciously for a while, sighed once and let it go. He turned off the graph decorating the tablet and brought up another topic with Seong-woon.

“The chairmen are here.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes.”

“My parents don’t receive all these graphs, do they?”

“No.”

“So just Chang-yoon hyung and you?”

“That’s right. When I’m not with you, the head of security is given the authority.”

Well, at least they seem to know that someone’s health records are confidential. But why on earth is that Ryu Chang-yoon receiving these?

“I guess mother came to Korea?”

“Yes. She returned around 3 PM.”

Ryu Chae-yoon’s mother, Choi Ji-won, had been living mostly in Southeast Asia recently as she expanded her hotel business there. Of course, she returned to Korea every few weeks, but it was usually just to hug Seong-woon once before leaving again.

“She plans to have dinner together and then depart for Vietnam again. Chairman Ryu is also coming to match the schedule.”

His father’s work hours were quite late, so Seong-woon usually ate dinner alone or took turns eating with Ryu Ho-yoon, Ryu Ha-yoon, or Ryu Chang-yoon, but today he would have to eat intimately with his parents.

Although he had gotten a bit used to the siblings, Seong-woon still found the parents difficult. He had been awkward with his own parents to begin with, and now it was even worse.

“Our youngest is home!”

As soon as he opened the front door, his mother, dressed in comfortable clothes, approached and hugged Seong-woon tightly. How would Ryu Chae-yoon have acted in this situation? Would he have hugged her back, or would he have stood awkwardly like a stone, as Seong-woon was doing now?

“…You’re here?”

“Yes. I came because I missed my baby.”

Baby… It was a term of endearment for the youngest son with a big age gap, but he still couldn’t get used to it. Seong-woon nodded, trying to make his awkward smile look as natural as possible.

“Here, mom brought you a gift.”

It was a bit unexpected that the gift she presented wasn’t some expensive luxury item, but flower tea and dried fruits.

“I bought these especially for my children.”

Seeing that the items she intended to give to others were similar, it seemed this was her usual way of bringing gifts. However, Seong-woon’s share had much more flower tea and dried fruits instead of coffee.

“I’ll enjoy them.”

“Yes, drink lots of warm tea since it’s cold in winter. I’m worried because your body is cold.”

Holding Seong-woon’s cold and dry hands tightly, his mother headed to the dining room. The table was filled with much more food than usual.

“Chae-yoon is here.”

“You’re here.”

“Yes. Let’s have a cozy dinner together with me and mom today.”

Mom… Seong-woon had never uttered that word with his own mouth since entering this body. He occasionally used phrases like “Mom’s hotel” on social media, but…

Even when he was Jin Seong-woon, it had been a very long time since he had affectionately called anyone “mom” or “dad,” so this was only natural.

“I asked for some nutritious food since it’s winter.”

Seating Seong-woon close to her, his mother moved food one by one onto Seong-woon’s plate like a mother bird. Seong-woon thought that eating everything without leaving any rice was the best he could do for these parents, so he chewed and swallowed the food as deliciously as he could.

“I’m so glad you’re eating well, when you used to only eat sweets.”

“…It’s delicious.”

“Yes, try this soup quickly too. It’s very tasty because we boiled beef bone and brisket separately and then mixed them.”

She seemed to be trying to make up for the time she hadn’t seen Seong-woon. His father just chuckled beside them.

“Is work not too hard? I heard you’ve been studying very hard these days.”

“Not… too hard. But I feel like I should get scores that aren’t embarrassing…”

“It’s okay no matter what scores you get. Just do it moderately so you don’t get sick. Okay?”

“…Yes.”

Hmm, is the seasoning on the grilled ribs too strong? Strangely, his nose felt tight and something seemed to be poking the inside of his eyes. Seong-woon rubbed his nose once for no reason and put a big spoonful of white rice in his mouth.

To Seong-woon, parents were… a cruel existence. Perhaps he had already died once when contempt began to fill the eyes of those who had never spared praise and love.

They couldn’t bear themselves feeling contempt for their own child. Yet when they saw Seong-woon, they couldn’t bear not showing that disgust and contempt. So Seong-woon had no choice but to choose to distance himself from them.

It was probably around his first year of high school when his parents started to dislike him so much. At that time, he could still maintain shallow interactions with complete strangers, but even that became impossible after he turned twenty.

“Are you okay?”

With his head bowed, Seong-woon stroked his left wrist once for no reason and then smiled brightly. It was to lift the suddenly chilled dinner atmosphere.

“Yes, I’ll… eat this with some mixed pickles.”

“Yes, okay.”

The soup served at today’s meal was a rich meat broth, though it wasn’t clear if it was ox bone soup, short rib soup, or beef bone soup. Seong-woon tried his best to look happy as he mixed rice into the soup and ate it with sour mixed pickles.

This family doesn’t want anything from me. Even if I lie about losing my memory, even if Seong-woon says strange things and uses different names for them, even if I show a completely different attitude, they just accept it.I’m not Ryu Chae-yoon, so is it okay for me to receive this endless love? 

Feelings of guilt and apology suddenly rose, making Seong-woon swallow hard several times.

“Sweetie, if you have any troubles, you must tell us. Okay? Mom and Dad are sorry for being so busy.”

“…I don’t have any troubles. And how old do you think I am?”

“No matter how old you get, you’re always our baby.”

Overwhelmed, Seong-woon found it difficult to open his eyes. This flood of intense love was an unfamiliar emotion to Seong-woon, and yet… it was something he had longed for.

“Um, Mother. You’re going back to Vietnam today, right?”

“Yes. The flight is at 11 PM, I think?”

“…I’ll see you off.”

“Huh?”

“To the airport.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“Won’t you be tired? Didn’t you say you studied today?”

“It’s okay.”

Seong-woon looked at his mother’s thin hand for a moment before gently covering it with his own. Though the gesture was awkward, it seemed to satisfy his mother, whose face lit up.

“Then shall I get a send-off from my son?”

“What about me?”

“You stay and watch the house.”

“But I want to see off our son too.”

“There’s not enough room in the car.”

Making up an implausible excuse, his mother stood up, linking arms with Seong-woon.

“Mom will get ready quickly. Wait just a moment, okay?”

His mother warmly caressed Seong-woon’s cheek before leaving, and Seong-woon, feeling a slight tightness in his throat, tugged at the turtleneck covering his neck. Unable to bear his father’s fond gaze, Seong-woon went up to his room and covered his face with both hands. He wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right.

The emotions Ryu Chae-yoon should receive, Ryu Chae-yoon’s place, Ryu Chae-yoon’s… The jealousy that surged up momentarily, but in the end, only sorrow remains. Ryu Chae-yoon, who died leaving behind such people… how could his wish be something like that, with all these lingering attachments?

Only after rubbing his face several times could Seong-woon compose himself. But even he couldn’t have imagined that he would burst into tears at the airport. Nor that it would be immortalized and circulate on the internet, becoming a hot topic everywhere.