IPSTDS Chapter 66

Chapter 66

“Hyung, if you’re really sleepy…”

Kim Daon started to speak but then noticed that Yoon Noah had already fallen asleep.

His chubby cheek was squished against the palm of his hand propping up his chin. His head kept nodding forward, looking like it might topple sideways at any moment.

Before such an accident could happen, Daon shifted closer to him. The moment he leaned slightly toward Noah, Noah’s head naturally came to rest on his arm.

Phew, that was close.

Daon chuckled quietly as if he had never worn such a serious expression, gazing at Noah.

Noah, fast asleep to the point where he wouldn’t notice if someone carried him away, looked adorable. Even though he was clearly older, he felt strangely like someone younger.

Daon watched his face resting on his arm for a long moment, then carefully lifted him into his embrace.

Rather than waking up, Noah whimpered like a child and burrowed deeper into his chest. Curled up so still, he somehow looked even more lovable.

Daon laid him down on his bed—the very bed even Seo Dowoong had never lain upon.

He didn’t have obsessive cleanliness, but Daon hated it when others came into his room or lay on his bed. Even his younger brothers were cautious about it.

Yet he didn’t dislike letting Noah into this private space. Was it because his sleeping face looked so much like a child’s? Or maybe because he simply liked him that much.

Even carrying him here hadn’t felt hard.

Noah was unbelievably light. He hadn’t shown many signs of sickness, but perhaps his illness had made him lose weight.

His sleeping face also seemed paler than before.

Maybe I shouldn’t have let him drink.

Daon regretted it belatedly.

He hadn’t invited Noah to drink for the sake of celebrating his birthday, but to get him tipsy.

Daon already knew Noah’s drinking capacity. He had sometimes been forced into those “kidnap drives” where they ended up drinking beer together.

To put it simply, Noah couldn’t drink well at all.

That was why Daon gave him a little alcohol, hoping it would make him tipsy or fall asleep.

The reason came from a phone call between Noah and Lee Kangil.

Kangil had firmly told Noah he must never stay out overnight. Even Daon, who was nearby, had clearly heard Kangil’s strict voice from the receiver.

Hyung isn’t a kid. And he’s not even your real boyfriend, so how dare you interfere with his curfew?

Besides, Noah-hyung had promised to spend the whole day with me today.

That snake-like man was trying to ruin his birthday. Daon didn’t like it one bit.

At first, he had intended to respect Noah’s wishes. If Noah said he wanted to go home early, Daon would have gladly agreed.

But when Kangil interfered and pushed for Noah’s early return, an unexplainable stubbornness welled up inside him. He wanted to keep Noah at his place, even if it meant getting him drunk.

It was, in a way, just another round of their ongoing battle of nerves.

The day before, Daon had provoked Kangil with suggestive words, and Kangil had retaliated at the hotel.

Now it was Daon’s turn to strike back.

Still, Daon thought, it wasn’t just competitiveness that made him keep Noah by his side.

These days, he found himself strangely bothered by the sudden changes in Noah.

The more they met, the more he felt an odd attraction growing.

It was strange. Daon wasn’t the type to suddenly grow fond of people. Even with Seo Dowoong—whose face was exactly his type—he hadn’t dated him for that very reason.

On the surface, Daon wrapped himself in gentleness, but in truth he judged people harshly and carefully. He slowly distanced himself from those who didn’t suit him, while keeping close those who did.

He hadn’t really gotten along with Noah before, but because Noah was consistent and honest, he didn’t dislike him either. Daon preferred someone sharp-tongued or transparent over someone two-faced.

But then, one day, Noah suddenly changed completely. He was still honest and transparent, but everything else about him was different.

Now Daon liked how Noah looked up at him with clear, innocent eyes.

He liked the way Noah simply said he would always support him no matter what. He liked how Noah’s voice carried consideration when he spoke.

He even found himself pitying Noah for his incurable illness.

All of it stirred Daon’s heart.

The reason for Noah’s change didn’t matter. Daon simply thought he must have had his reasons. More than that, he felt relieved—glad, even—that Noah had changed for the better.

That was why Daon grew interested in him.

He couldn’t stop remembering how that gentle, pitiful man had lost consciousness and whispered, Love you… I missed you.

Daon didn’t think he could stand watching Noah disappear from this world without ever experiencing real love.

Of course, he would survive thanks to Lee Kangil’s new drug…

“…”

Daon’s eyes sank deeply.

He knew all too well how suddenly and how easily people could die.

From the day his parents, whom he believed he’d always see again, passed away in an unexpected accident, he had understood the impermanence of life.

So sometimes he wondered if Noah too might vanish from this world like smoke. Ever since he learned that Noah’s disease could kill him at any time.

“Hyung.”

There was no reply to his soft call. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Daon gently brushed back Noah’s hair.

“You won’t die, right?”

He hoped this fragile man would not die.

“And why do you keep secretly glancing at me these days, blushing so often?”

He hoped Noah would live and keep showing him those cute sides for a long time.

“When you make that face, it makes my heart race in such a strange way.”

He wished Noah wouldn’t show that face—the one that made his heart flutter—to Lee Kangil.

Letting out a sigh, Daon rubbed his face as though washing it dry.

He remembered what he had almost blurted out to Noah a moment earlier.

‘What if, I mean… what if I were completely done with Seo Dowoong…?’

The words he couldn’t bring himself to say earlier finally slipped out now.

“What if, I mean… if I were completely done with Seo Dowoong… would you have chosen me instead of Lee Kangil?”

Pretending to be your fake lover—I think I could do a better job at it than Lee Kangil.

Despite his repeated words, there was no reply. Deep in sleep, Yoon Noah only let out dry breaths.

Daon’s hand, which had been hovering near Noah’s forehead, slid down and touched the tip of his sharp nose.

His hand slowly drifted further, finally brushing against Noah’s lips, flushed red like ripe fruit.

The touch of his lips beneath his fingertips was soft. Smooth enough to make one curious about what it would feel like if their lips actually met.

Did I drink too much wine?

Unable to fight that curiosity, Daon leaned down impulsively, his hair falling softly forward.

Soon, their lips barely touched. As though that was enough, Daon straightened his head again.

The faint contact had felt perfect. Softer than he had imagined, it made him want to kiss Noah longer.

But he couldn’t.

If the kiss lingered, Noah might wake. He didn’t want to risk earning his resentment in a moment of impatience.

Once resentment takes root, it’s hard to turn it back into affection.

With a face tinged with regret, Daon whispered one last time.

“Hyung, let’s count this as a birthday present too.”

* * *

Daon watched the sleeping Noah for a long while before finally leaving the room, realizing he hadn’t cleaned the table.

Maybe I should tidy up, wash up, then try falling asleep next to him.

It wasn’t because of any sneaky intention.

Daon simply wanted to fall asleep at his side. He had a feeling that if he drifted off while staring at that childlike face, he might have good dreams.

He had never told anyone, but ever since nearly getting into a car accident, Daon sometimes had nightmares.

It was always the same nightmare. The day of the accident appeared again and again.

In the dream, Daon failed to avoid the oncoming car and crashed into it head-on.

The blaring horn echoed, and he felt his whole body shatter in excruciating pain. Pain so vivid it made him believe it was real.

But on that day when he ended up in Noah’s house, quarreling with Kangil, and somehow the three of them ended up asleep on the same bed—on that day, not only did he not have a nightmare, but he actually slept soundly for the first time in a while.

It definitely wasn’t thanks to Lee Kangil. Daon thought it must have been because of Noah.

That was why he was curious to see if it would happen again this time.

If the same thing happened twice, it wouldn’t just be coincidence—it would be real.

It was at that moment that he noticed his phone, left carelessly on the table, vibrating nonstop.

It couldn’t be his younger brothers calling from outside. Daon already had a good guess about who it was.

When he finally picked it up, just as expected, the name appeared.

Lee Kangil.