IPSTDS Side Story Chapter 6

Side Story Chapter 6

Kangil really did take a vacation right away. Nahyuk worried it might interfere with the booming work at the center, but…

“Don’t worry. It’s not such a flimsy place that it would falter just because I take a short break.”

Kangil only repeated those confident words, brimming with assurance. Nahyuk knew how seriously he took his work, so he couldn’t bring himself to nag him further.

Trust him. He’ll manage it well.

Ever since deciding to be more honest, to lean on him more, Nahyuk found he could trust Kangil more firmly than ever.

Since he had never once taken a vacation since joining the company, it was far easier for Nahyuk to rest than it was for Kangil.

Thus began their date. It wasn’t anything flashy or worth bragging about to others.

They simply went to places they’d wanted to visit, ate the foods they craved, and watched the things they wanted to see.

Ordinary as the plan might have been, every moment felt precious because of the person he shared it with. They were beautiful memories he could never forget, not even in death.

Nahyuk thought he already knew everything about Kangil after spending the past year with him, but through this trip, he learned something new.

If he had to name one thing—it was that Kangil had a surprising weakness for small and cute things.

Despite having a face and manner that made him seem like the type to enjoy brutal movies, whenever a small creature passed by, Kangil would flinch slightly.

At first Nahyuk thought it was out of dislike. But it turned out it was the opposite—he liked them too much. Unfortunately, little animals didn’t like him back, so he flinched out of worry that he might scare them.

Perhaps it was his sharp features that made animals cower preemptively.

Yet when, on rare occasions, a puppy would open up to him, Kangil would fawn over it endlessly.

Nahyuk liked that side of him too. Maybe it was because Kangil cherished living things that he had become such a renowned researcher.

Perhaps Nahyuk loved every part of him.

His eyes turned to Kangil, sitting right beside him.

His hair fluttered aimlessly in the sea breeze, his deep eyes gazed out at the ocean… his face, lost in thought, looked nothing short of breathtaking.

Nahyuk especially liked looking at Kangil here, at this seaside with the old cinema they sometimes visited. Maybe it was because his sunlit face looked as transparent as waves shattering into foam against the rocks.

Then, quietly, Kangil spoke.

“In that movie we just watched, remember how they said love has an expiration date?”

“Yeah, they did.”

Before sitting at the beach, they had watched an old film together.

It told the story of a long-term couple trying to overcome a rough patch.

To put it simply, they failed.

Before they could come to hate each other, they chose to part ways while they could still remember each other fondly.

As the credits rolled, the heroine’s monologue rang out: that love, inevitably, has a shelf life.

“What do you think? Do you believe our love has an end too?”

That was something Nahyuk had wondered while watching the movie as well. If their love also had an end…

After some thought, he shared the conclusion he had come to.

“Of course, some love must end. Like the couple in that movie.”

“…”

“But I don’t think everyone’s ending is the same. Personally, I think love can take many forms.”

He didn’t need to look far for examples.

He already knew that Kangil, Seo Dowoong, and Kim Daon had all loved him in very different ways. He didn’t want to condemn any of those loves now. It was simply proof of love’s many shapes.

“Sometimes we’ll hate each other. Sometimes we’ll fight. But I feel like our love will last forever. Or at least, that’s what I hope. And I’ll work to make it so.”

Honestly, the couple in that film hadn’t tried nearly hard enough. Nahyuk believed he could put in much more effort, with greater seriousness and care.

“What about you, Kangil? What do you think?”

Kangil answered briefly.

“The same as you.”

“What, just riding on my answer?”

“What you think is what I think. And what I think is what you think.”

“You could at least say something of your own.”

“And if I can’t put it into words, you’ll just love me more, right?”

“No, that’s got nothing to do with it. I always love you.”

Nahyuk chuckled.

Kangil, still shameless, let the corners of his lips curl in a lazy smile too. Then, naturally, as if it were something they had promised to say, he confessed.

“Let’s live together.”

“Huh?”

Of course, even now, they were practically already living together. Kangil usually fell asleep in Nahyuk’s bed.

That was why they had never directly said to one another, “Let’s live together.” Maybe it was because they hadn’t really felt the necessity.

But Kangil spoke firmly, as if he had made a decision.

“We can find a new place, or I can move into your house, or you can move into mine. I don’t care which, but from now on, let’s live together fully.”

“What made you suddenly say that?”

“Because you said you were lonely. I can’t get that out of my head. If we live together, at least we’ll be together more than before.”

“Lonely… I meant it more physically than emotionally…”

“And if you said you’ll put in the effort, then why shouldn’t I? Unless… you don’t want to live with me?”

“No! I’d love it.”

“Then it’s decided. We’ll live together.”

“I like my house, so you should move in here. If you’re okay with that, I’d be happy for us to live together.”

After dropping into this reality, with nowhere to truly feel at home, the very first place that became a refuge for his heart was Yoon Noah’s house. With its garden that changed beautifully with the seasons, Nahyuk didn’t want to leave that mansion.

Fortunately, Kangil answered without hesitation.

“It might sound strange, but I’ve come to feel more comfortable at your house too. I don’t know why I never thought of fully moving in before.”

Then, in an unexpected moment, he drove in the nail with a confession.

“I love you.”

It was an utterly sudden declaration. Yet, as always, Nahyuk’s heart trembled at the unannounced confession.

Kangil gazed at Nahyuk, whose face had turned red.

His soft, wind-tossed brown hair, eyes pure and without a trace of falsehood, skin so clear it looked like the sea could be reflected on it—an endlessly beautiful lover, no matter how many times he saw him.

A rut? The expiration date of love? It felt like those things would never come for them. That was how completely Kangil had fallen for Nahyuk.

Perhaps that was why he had given such a simple answer to Nahyuk’s question earlier.

Did he even realize that, in order to save his withering lover, he had sacrificed his own body to the brink of death to create the drug?

Would there ever come a day when he would grow tired of a lover worth more than his own life?

Kangil could confidently predict: he would love Nahyuk for the rest of his life.

Even if his cherishing made Nahyuk feel lonely at times, it would never be because his love was lacking. He could stake everything on that.

The seasons were changing. The wind brushing past his cheek carried a mixed warmth.

Kangil wondered how many more seasons they would get to share together. He hoped, just for a moment, that their final season together would be a warm day like this one.

Because his lover cried easily and had such a tender heart, he even imagined—far in the future—that he should live just one day longer, so he could follow after him.

Even imagining such a far-off death filled him with happiness, because every day until then would be spent at his side.

Kangil put his present happiness into a single word.

“I love you.”

That short phrase carried a deep resonance. It was a truth he could repeat endlessly without it ever growing old.

Nahyuk gave a soft laugh as he looked at Kangil. It was a spring day that could not have been more blissful.