SDM 52

“The problem is there’s only one bed.”

“I’ll sleep on the sofa…”

“It’s wide enough to share.”

“I said I’ll sleep on the sofa…”

“There’s only one blanket, too. Though there are two pillows.”

“Will you listen to me?”

“Don’t you remember what I said?”

“…I remember.”

“So?”

“…”

Looking down at Ryu Chae-yoon, who seemed at a loss for words, Baek Sang-hyun combed through his mostly dried hair with his fingers. The fine, silky black hair tickled the thin skin between his fingers.

Why is everything about him being thin and weak… Tossing the towel aside, Baek Sang-hyun lifted Ryu Chae-yoon from behind. He flailed in surprise as he picked up his limp body.

“Stay still. You’ll fall.”

He’s quite tall, but why is he so light? Are his bones hollow? Clicking his tongue, Baek Sang-hyun carried him into the bedroom. There really was only one bed, one blanket, and just two pillows.

“Go to sleep now.”

He lay his head on the inner side of the bed and pulled the blanket up to his neck.

“What about you, sunbae?”

“I need to sleep too.”

“Where?”

“On the sofa.”

“Ah…”

Although he had said they should share the bed, Baek Sang-hyun didn’t really intend to lie in the same bed. Of course, he trusted his self-control and patience, but don’t accidents happen when least expected?

“You said… we’d share.”

“…What?”

“The bed.”

“…”

“I think it’ll be fine since it’s wide…”

He seemed to dislike being alone. Ryu Chae-yoon looked afraid that Baek Sang-hyun might leave right away. After stroking his cold cheeks a few times with his warm hand, Baek Sang-hyun got into bed.

He could feel Ryu Chae-yoon’s body, which had been tense to the point of trembling just moments ago, suddenly relaxed. Baek Sang-hyun felt no sense of reality in the current situation, so he briefly flexed each joint from his fingertips. He had the very naive thought, hoping this wasn’t a dream.

“…It’s okay if you do.”

“Do what?”

“Anything… You used to do as you pleased, didn’t you?”

It seemed Ryu Chae-yoon had reached his limit and was determined to act recklessly. Remembering the kiss he had given to shake him, Baek Sang-hyun gently traced his cheek with his fingertips.

He didn’t want to take advantage of or mistreat someone so weak and hopelessly broken. At the very least, he should have the strength to push him away if he disliked it.

Baek Sang-hyun carefully pressed his lips to his hot forehead and eyes. It wasn’t quite a kiss or a peck. Perhaps it was more like comfort, like a wall he could lean on whenever, wherever. 

Chae-yoon, lying still and staring at the ceiling while slowly blinking, let out a shaky breath. At that moment, tears streamed down his face once again.

Baek Sang-hyun had many questions he wanted to ask – why he was crying so much, what made him so sad, what doubts about life he glimpsed – but he kept quiet. Both then and now, Baek Sang-hyun only wanted to do what he desired, even if it was incomprehensible or a bit painful.

Baek Sang-hyun wiped his wet eyes with his palm. But the tears he shed wouldn’t stop easily. Now unable to hold back his sobs, all that was heard in the quiet room was the sound of Seong-woon’s tears.

Chae-yoon acted as if he had never cried before. His face was filled with bewilderment, and he kept tilting his head in confusion as he wiped his tears, not understanding why they kept falling. When sobs escaped, he inhaled sharply.

There was only one thing Baek Sang-hyun could do. He quietly patted his trembling back while holding him tightly in his arms.

Ryu Chae-yoon cried until his clothes were soaked through, hiccuping and sniffling, before finally falling asleep much later. Baek Sang-hyun gazed quietly at his swollen, reddened eyes before burying his face in the pillow.

* * *

Seong-woon woke up to faint household noises. His eyelids were so heavy and stinging that he could barely open them halfway as he sat up. His whole body ached and felt limp, as if he’d been beaten.

Ah, he really had been hit. Bruises were visible here and there under his raised pajamas. Even if it was just acting, getting hit always left marks like this. After gently rubbing around the dull bruises, Seong-woon looked around.

Ryu Chae-yoon’s room was on the second floor in the innermost part, so almost no noise disturbed him. And the bed was strangely wide, the blanket was thin, and the air was freezing.

Shivering as he wrapped the thin blanket around his shoulders, Seong-woon finally realized where he was.

He had come to Baek Sang-hyun’s house. It seemed like the only place where he could escape the identity of Ryu-Chae yoon, so he came here without thinking… He should have just gone to a hotel. At first, he came here because he didn’t have much cash, but now that Ryu Chang-yoon had caught him and everything was exposed, it might be better to move.

“Are you awake?”

Light spilled into the dim room as the door opened. Seong-woon squinted at the brightness, and Baek Sang-hyun, who had just strode in, pressed his thumb firmly against Seong-woon’s hot eyes.

When Seong-woon twisted his head away in pain, a cold eye mask was stuck to his eyes.

“Cool your eyes with that and come out.”

Since the eye mask covered his eyes completely, Seong-woon waved his hand, unable to see. Baek Sang-hyun quickly pressed his upper body down again, adjusted his posture, and wrapped him completely with the blanket.

The room fell silent again. Outside, clattering sounds could be heard as Baek Sang-hyun did something.

The cold sensation of the eye mask felt quite nice. Seong-woon could feel his eyes, which had been burning hot and painful, gradually calming down. Under the blanket, Seong-woon moved his hand to grip his left wrist. A heavy smartwatch was wrapped around it.

Yesterday’s explosive emotions had subsided with time. Wasn’t it ridiculous? One moment he was throwing a fit, saying he would jump into the Han River, and now… He didn’t know. Why was he so attached to life?

He thought he could do it again since he’d tried once before, but that wasn’t the case. He had failed last time, so could he succeed this time? Seong-woon fiddled with the heavy watch band. It felt like a nonexistent wound was throbbing.

Seong-woon remained submerged in thought until the firmly frozen eye mask softened. He then let himself be lifted out of bed by someone’s hands. When he removed the eye mask, the bright light stung his eyes, blinding him for a while until he finally adapted to it.

“It’s past 10 o’clock.”

“…Do you have a schedule?”

“It’s my only day off. Have breakfast. I heard you don’t have food preferences, so I prepared what I usually eat.”

A plate of salad, an open-faced toast with a few slices of egg and ham, yogurt sprinkled with nuts… and for Seong-woon, a cup of warm barley tea instead of coffee.

“You eat healthily.”

“I’ve been eating like this all along.”

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

Seong-woon politely greeted and picked up the toast. The crispy bread tickled his fingertips. The salad, sprinkled with wine vinegar, was tangy and refreshing. It seemed even more so because thinly sliced apples were added. The barley tea had a nutty flavor, and the clinking of tableware was pleasant to hear. The light coming in through the window tickled his vision.

Touch, taste, sound, smell, light… He tried to rein in his soft brain that was attempting to feel the joy of life through such mundane sensations, but it was difficult to collect his emotions at will, as if someone had thoroughly kneaded his mind.

Could those guys from the Reincarnation Committee manipulate people’s minds, too? But judging from how C1012 tried to stop his rampage yesterday, that didn’t seem to be the case…

“…Is it that delicious?”

“Pardon?”

Baek Sang-hyun’s hand lightly touched Seong-woon’s eyes and withdrew. A drop of water clung to the tip of his finger.

“It is delicious, but… my tear ducts seem a bit strange.”

“Once you start crying, you tend to keep crying.”

Baek Sang-hyun said bluntly, as if speaking from experience. It didn’t sound like something someone who seemed to have been great since birth would say.

“…Sounds like you have some experience?”

“Yeah. I do.”

I shouldn’t have asked. Seong-woon instantly regretted it.

Baek Sang-hyun had been a good person to Seong-woon from the beginning. And after entering Ryu Chae-yoon’s body, he became an even better person. If he learned more about him here, if he developed more feelings, he might really cross the line without a second thought.

Seong-woon was beginning to hate himself for having such thoughts while taking advantage of Baek Sang-hyun’s kindness.

“I was quite small when I was young.”

“…Really?”

“I was small in Korea, but when I went to America, I was about the same size as kids three years younger.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

“Plus, there were barely one or two Asians in the neighborhood. I was bullied at school and even got beaten up by groups…”

Baek Sang-hyun spoke casually while chewing his toast, but Seong-woon couldn’t even swallow what he was eating. Why had he thought that Baek Sang-hyun was a sheltered young master who had grown up without any scars till now?

…Then again, wasn’t he the same? In this industry, revealing one’s vulnerabilities to others was like sticking one’s neck into a predator’s mouth, asking to be devoured.

He couldn’t have exposed such emotions and inner thoughts in the entertainment world, where journalists were obsessed with increasing views, companies only thought about selling people’s lives at high prices, and jealous colleagues tripped each other up.

“I refused to go to school and just watched a ton of Korean dramas and movies at home.”

“…”

“They were fun.”

Seong-woon silently watched Baek Sang-hyun’s smiling face, blinking a few times. When another drop of water fell onto the table, Baek Sang-hyun wordlessly reached out and wiped it with a tissue.

“Finish everything, don’t leave any leftovers. And go to the hospital.”

“…The hospital?”

“Your manager came by this morning. I told him I’d feed you and send you off, so he’s probably waiting downstairs.”

“…”

“You have to keep your promise to your brother if you want to stay here longer. From what I saw, he seemed ready to drag you there by force.”

Is that so? Seong-woon thought that while Ryu Chang-yoon was a bit crazy and obsessively attached like a brother complex, he would never be able to refuse what ‘Ryu Chae-yoon’ said. Even if Seong-woon ignored and didn’t keep what he said, Chang-yoon would only threaten with words and not be able to act.

“I shouldn’t renew the contract for the Ryu Shin Construction advertisement.”

“Please continue it.”

“Why?”

“If you don’t do it, I might have to.”

Right now, he was using Baek Sang-hyun as a shield, but if the contract ended, he might really have to film a construction company advertisement. A rookie actor who hadn’t even had a proper role yet.

“Isn’t an apartment ad okay?”

“It’s not okay. People criticize it.”

“Who would criticize you?”

This guy’s reaction is exactly the same as my family’s. Seong-woon chuckled at Baek Sang-hyun’s genuinely confused reaction. When he was Jin Seong-woon, it was natural for everyone to criticize him, but now it’s natural for everyone to like him.

After finishing his toast and washing up, Seong-woon put on Baek Sang-hyun’s large clothes. He had to roll up the sleeves of the sweatshirt, and even though he deliberately wore pants with an elastic waist and drawstring because the waist was too big, the problem was that the hems dragged on the floor.

Thinking that he should bring or buy some clothes next time he came, Seong-woon only put his phone in his pocket.

“I’ll give you a key to this place.”

Baek Sang-hyun handed Seong-woon a card-shaped smart key.

“Why do you trust me?”

“There’s nothing to steal.”

The moment he put the smart key in his pocket, a hologram popped up in the corner of his vision. Seong-woon, no longer surprised, stared at it calmly.

Quest 7

Participate in the second filming of 〈Orbital Collision〉

Reward: Revelation of Ryu Chae-yoon’s wish

Deadline: D-20

Return to the branch point upon failure.

Soul Adjustment Project in progress….

It was the quest and reward he had expected. Now that it wasn’t just revealing a ‘part’ of the wish, it probably meant the final wish would be fully revealed. Seong-woon stared at it wordlessly and then asked Baek Sang-hyun.

“If a person likes someone… and thinks they want to get involved with that person…”

“Yes?”

“How do you think they’d want to get involved?”

Baek Sang-hyun thought for quite a while about this sudden question. After a long time, he finally offered an adverb.

“If it were me… I’d want to get involved ‘sincerely’.”

“…Sincerely.”

“Without lies or secrets.”

Feeling like Baek Sang-hyun’s gaze was peering into his eyes, Seong-woon looked away. He hoped that what he asked wasn’t Ryu Chae-yoon’s empty wish, because finding someone to sincerely love him was Seong-woon’s wish.