PIA 136

Epilogue

Kim Han-seok, who came rushing in, looked as bewildered as Jeong Hee-seo. This wasn’t the first time Hee-seo had called him out on his day off because of Ji-an, but today was by far the most shocking.

“He looks perfectly fine—almost unbelievably so. Like someone who just woke up after a good night’s sleep.”

“I’m really fine. I can explain everything.”

Ji-an spoke while staring blankly at Han-seok’s mismatched socks. It felt to him like he’d been wandering aimlessly for three days, yet here, three months had passed. What a big waste of time.

He was also frustrated about missing the moment Poggles was born. And now talking about the hospital was absolutely out of the question.

Jeong Hee-seo anxiously ran his hand through his hair.

“Han-seok. Ji-an is being stubborn about not wanting to go to the hospital right away, that’s why I called you. Please check him thoroughly again.”

“Anyway, you said it’s Saturday today.”

“There’s no such thing as Saturday for the emergency room.”

“Anyone can see I’m not in a state to go to the emergency room, hyung.”

Despite having just woken up, Ji-an, who had left everyone worried for months, nonchalantly kept talking. Only Kim Han-seok was left in an awkward position. He seemed to ponder for a moment before calling Jeong Hee-seo.

“Um… Hee-seo, can I talk to you for a moment?”

After the two stepped out of the bedroom, Ji-an’s attention, now left alone, turned to Poggles. The child he finally met after crossing dimensions was unfamiliar. He couldn’t believe this baby was born from him.

“Hello.”

Even though the baby couldn’t speak, Ji-an greeted him anyway—it felt appropriate.

“You’re so tiny.”

From head to toe, the baby was only about as long as Ji-an’s hand to his elbow. When Ji-an brought his finger to the baby’s cheek, the baby puckered his small lips, as if expecting food. Everything about him was small—his lips, his closed eyes, his nose, though it was adorably prominent.

As he gazed quietly, Ji-an was reminded of the bread dough-like image he had seen in the ultrasound, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Do you look like me…? It’s amazing. Our baby.”

His chubby cheeks, full of baby fat, were almost translucent and covered in fine, fuzzy hair. The healthy pink hue of his complexion reminded Ji-an of a peach. Ji-an gently dabbed away the drool that had seeped out from Poggles’s mouth movements with a gauze handkerchief. When he tapped lightly, the baby squirmed and whimpered.

While he was doing this for a while, he heard movement behind him. Ji-an turned his head while holding onto the crib’s railing. Jeong Hee-seo, who had come in at some point, was picking up Poggles’ things that had fallen on the bed and tidying up around.

“Hyung.”

Ji-an didn’t even call softly, but whether he didn’t hear or pretend not to hear, he turned his head in another direction and moved to the opposite side of the bed. He muttered while tidying up the scattered IV lines.

“Han-seok left. He told me to calm down for now.”

As he continued to linger around the bed, Ji-an casually climbed onto the bed and lay down near his line of sight.

“Hyuuung—”

As soon as he called, Hee-seo turned his body away again. He pulled out a few wet wipes and kept wiping the tea table that didn’t need cleaning. It seemed he was determined to show only his back to Ji-an.

If Ji-an turned his head to the right, he would turn his body to the left, and if he turned to the left, Hee-seo would dodge to the right. He repeatedly tidied Poggles’s already neat bed and refolded the gauze handkerchiefs that weren’t even wrinkled.

His hunched shoulders seemed to be protesting to him.

“I’ll go to the hospital on Monday.”

“…”

“I promise. I’ll get examined from head to toe. I’ll take all the medicine they give me… and if they give injections, I’ll take them all too.”

It seemed he was upset that Ji-an had refused to go to the hospital.

Finally, Jeong Hee-seo’s shoulders moved slightly. He seemed to sigh, then muttered quietly.

“Han-seok said since you’ve been lying down for a long time, be extra careful when going up and down stairs. He said your muscles might suddenly give out and you could fall and get hurt.”

“…”

Looking closely, he was unfolding the handkerchief he had just folded, shaking it out. Ji-an slowly got up and approached him from behind. Wrapping his arms around him, he felt Hee-seo take a deep breath. But Hee-seo didn’t push him away. Ji-an rested his cheek against Hee-seo’s warm back and closed his eyes.

“They say our hyung cries a lot, and it’s true.”

When Ji-an gently turned his trembling body around, he was greeted by a tear-streaked face looking down at him. For a moment, Ji-an was at a loss for words. His heart ached at the pain Jeong Hee-seo had endured. All he could do was hold him tight.

Unable to think of a better solution at the moment, Ji-an bit his lip hard.

“You’re wearing it too.”

The ring. The word tickled his tongue as he said it. Ji-an took his large hand and gently touched the ring on Hee-seo’s left ring finger. Judging by the deep imprint, it hadn’t been removed even once during the past three months.

“I just gave it to you. Without doing anything, just as you wanted.”

“You could’ve practiced violin at least, even if it was by yourself.”

Facing each other, they put their left hands together and then intertwined their fingers. Jeong Hee-seo smiled with a deeply furrowed brow.

Ji-an looked at his face and laughed in bewilderment. How could someone look so stunning even when crying and smiling at the same time? This was trouble. It’s already trouble enough that he’s so handsome.

A man who knows too well how handsome he is, using tears as a weapon.

Oh my, I must never make our hyung cry again in the future. Ji-an made this resolution as he hugged him tightly once more.

At that moment, as if feeling left out, Poggles began to whimper and cry, flapping his short arms and legs.

* * *

News of Ji-an waking up spread quickly, and soon the house was inundated with gifts and flowers.

Without exaggeration, the doorbell rang every hour. Each delivery driver commented on the steep hill, so Ji-an apologetically handed them a drink each time.

This was all because Jeong Hee-seo had completely blocked visitors.

“Hmm, what should we do with all these flowers?”

“Shall we dry them? I wonder what this blue flower is called. It’s so pretty I’d like to make it into a herbarium.”

“I’d like to help with that.”

The housekeeper, who had come to look after Poggles, sorted through the piled flowers alongside Ji-an. Thanks to her gentle manner and warm personality, Ji-an had become fond of her in just a few days.

The housekeeper, who had worked for Jeong Hee-seo’s family for a long time, said she had been watching over Ji-an since he fell asleep. She said that Jeong Hee-seo, who had been in denial for the first three days, showed hysterical behavior after a week had passed.

In the end, he ignored the opinions of both the hospital and family, brought Ji-an home, and began a secluded life.

As she recounted how Jeong Hee-seo had personally financed the large medical equipment that still occupied one side of the bedroom, she shook her head in amazement.

Ji-an nodded awkwardly while smiling.

Jeong Hee-seo had some inflexible sides. No, he had many. When he made up his mind, no one could stop him. Right after the engagement party fell apart, he immediately cast out Seo Ji-hyuk and put Jeong Han-joo on trial. Seo Ji-hyeuk wasn’t even given a chance to explain.

Judging by how Seo Ji-hyuk disappeared immediately from the emergency room where he was taken due to cuts from broken glass, it seemed he had no intention of explaining anyway.

The reason Jeong Hee-seo’s extreme measures were easily accepted wasn’t just because of the fake pregnancy.

Myeong Hyun-sook, despite offering a chance for confession and forgiveness, was most offended by Ji-hyuk’s vile attempt to deceive everyone until the very end. 

Generous as she was when granting opportunities, once her lines were crossed, she severed ties without hesitation—a trait she shared with Jeong Hee-seo.

And he probably regretted cutting off Seo Ji-hyuk so abruptly. It was obvious that he would have tormented himself, constantly searching for the cause of Ji-an’s prolonged sleep.

“Ji-an, it’s time to eat.”

Jeong Hee-seo, who had come down to the first floor after putting Poggles to sleep, led Ji-an to the dining table.

Ji-an had many questions. He was curious about what had happened to Seo Ji-hyuk, and he was worried about the well-being of the person injured when Seo Ji-hyuk had hit them with his car.

From what he heard, Seo Ji-hyuk had been detained without showing any signs of remorse. The only answer he got was not to worry about it, as the trial would take a long time.

It seemed he would be confined to this house until Jeong Hee-seo was satisfied. Of course, he didn’t have any major complaints about that.

Ji-an was also quite shocked when he contacted his mother.

She said she had finally decided to become psychologically independent. The resolute voice saying she was preparing for a divorce lawsuit lingered in Ji-an’s ears.

Kang Boon-nam, who had been tormenting Yoon Ok-hee all the time they lived together, was now belatedly clinging  like a leech to her daughter-in-law’s trouser legs. She was throwing tantrums, lying down and asking if they were abandoning an old woman with dementia.

Yoon Ok-hee’s voice relaying this news was firm and unwavering. It seemed Ji-an’s incident had become a major turning point for her.

On the other hand, Ji-an was worried about Myeong Hyun-sook and Jeong Hee-young, who must be desperately curious about his news, and Yi-seo, who wanted to see Poggles.

However, Jeong Hee-seo seemed to have no interest, thoughts, or concerns other than making sure Ji-an ate.

“Come on, open wide.”

Ah, he did seem to have one concern. Ji-an looked into his deeply furrowed brow. It was a brow of anguish, desperately hoping that Ji-an, who had woken up after a long sleep, would properly regain his former tremendous appetite and become a big eater again.

He seemed to be putting his heart and soul into the ingredients composing Ji-an’s porridge for every meal.

As he ate the porridge with chewy pieces of abalone, Ji-an quietly observed the man before him. It was a face with slightly faded confidence that had once been brilliantly clear, now overcast with worry.

The man who once seemed as unyielding as a fortress had grown vulnerable.

The Jeong Hee-seo that Ji-an observed these days didn’t sleep well. No, he hadn’t seen him sleeping. If Ji-an suddenly opened his eyes while sleeping, Jeong Hee-seo would be staring at him blankly. Each time, his expression was full of an almost frantic need to wake him.

‘Hyung… didn’t you sleep? I’m not going anywhere.’

‘Just…’

‘Come here. Let’s sleep hugging each other.’

Only when Ji-an opened his eyes and called his name did he seem to feel at ease.

Because of him, Jeong Hee-seo’s sharp edges had been worn down.

Ji-an thought that he would need as much time as he had been lying down, or perhaps even more. He would need to help him regain his trust so that Jeong Hee-seo could become strong and solid again.

Until then, Ji-an was fine with being confined to this house, this castle on a hill, like a sleeping princess. He could wait as long as it took for the thorny bushes cast over Jeong Hee-seo’s heart to disappear completely.

The porridge he was being fed was savory, and the snacks filling the cupboards were plentiful. The bedroom was cozy, and Jeong Hee-seo’s embrace was incomparably warm.

Ji-an suddenly hugged him as he held the spoon. Deciding to live like an emperor as much as his lover wanted, Ji-an opened his mouth wide again with an “Ah—”.