SDM 62

Seong-woon smiled brightly as he brushed back his disheveled hair. At that casual, informal speech, Sang-hyun’s eyes turned red again.

“Haa…”

“I’ve been through something even more fantastical than a fantasy novel… I’ll tell you later when I’ve sorted it out. Right now, even I don’t know what to say.”

“…Sunbae.”

Sang-hyun acted as if that was the only thing he could say. The Baek Sang-hyun, who had shaken up Jeon Seong-woon inside Ryu Chae-yoon’s body and kept talking about dating, seemed to have disappeared somewhere.

“My amnesia acting must have been really terrible. How did you figure it out so quickly?”

“No, from you… There was always light.”

“…Light?”

“Yes. Like a light that burns the soul.”

Sang-hyun looked down at Seong-woon with disbelieving eyes for a long time, then, as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, pressed his lips to Seong-woon’s cheek. Hot, and wet, swollen lips… It was a bit of a funny sensation.

The one and only person who liked Jeon Seong-woon, and the person who recognized his soul, it would be strange not to like him.

Seong-woon hugged Sang-hyun like a very, very large dog. It was the only gift he could give to someone who had endured deep fear and nightmares.

As lips touched his cheek and mouth, Seong-woon slightly turned his head to bring his lips to meet them. Baek Sang-hyun, who had been a bit surprised and pulled back, now softly enveloped Seong-woon’s lips, revealing his trembling.

The kiss, comforting each other, tasted more salty than sweet. But Seong-woon was certain that at some point, it would become sweet enough to make their tongues tingle.

Sang-hyun exhaled roughly, as if he was still overwhelmed. Seong-woon gently stroked his back and chuckled, teasing about Sang-hyun’s way of addressing him.

“But are you going to keep calling me ‘sunbae’? If others see that…”

“Then should I call you Chae-yoon?”

That’s a bit…

“Hm?”

“Call me ‘sunbae’ when we’re alone.”

“Yes, sunbae.”

“Were you always like this?”

“Like what?”

“…Like this, now.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

“…I thought you were a good junior, but now I feel cheated.”

“Haha…”

Sang-hyun finally laughed. Watching Sang-hyun laugh brightly with an expression he had never seen before, either as Jeon Seong-woon or in Ryu Chae-yoon’s body, Seong-woon quietly brought his lips to Sang-hyun’s ear.

The words he whispered quietly were an answer to the proposal Baek Sang-hyun had made quite some time ago.

“I think I like you, too. So let’s date.”

Sang-hyun’s eyes, which had widened in surprise, curved into beautiful arches. Unable to hide his overwhelming feelings, he answered with a trembling voice.

“…Okay.”

But soon after, he put on a slightly stern expression.

“But you still have to go to the hospital.”

“…Alright.”

‘Somehow, it seems like overprotectiveness only gets worse, never better. Well, that might not be so bad either.’

The half-moon quietly embraced its source of light. The moon only revolves around the star, but for Sang-hyun, being this close felt like a dream. Just like the title of the movie they filmed.

Even if it’s a dream, it would be happy, but if so, he hoped it wouldn’t end. That was Sang-hyun’s only wish, and the Reincarnation Management Committee granted his wish, too.

Epilogue—

“Well, so…”

Chairman Ryu, looking at the family members gathered around the sofa, glanced briefly at Chae-yoon sitting at the farthest end, then cleared his throat a few times with a complicated expression before speaking again.

“The reason for calling this sudden family meeting is that our youngest wants to move out and live independently. So I wanted to hear everyone’s opinions…”

“Why do I need the family’s opinion on my independence?”

Before he could finish speaking, Chae-yoon quickly interrupted with a contrary remark. Even before losing his memory, while lovable, his personality was far from ordinary, but since his severe illness last summer, his soft yet sharp responses when disagreeing were just so adorably…

“I’m against it.”

“Brother!”

The eldest son, who usually just silently kept his place at meal times or gatherings, was the first to express opposition. When Chae-yoon looked at Hae-yoon with a dejected expression, he lowered his large frame, avoiding eye contact like a dog who had done something wrong.

‘Tsk tsk, why speak up if you’re going to be like that…’ 

Chairman Ryu clicked his tongue and looked at each of the shocked family members. Among them, only Ryu Chang-yoon had a very calm expression, as if he had been expecting this.

“Chae-yoon, why do you suddenly want to live independently? Is there something you don’t like about the house? If so, let’s move together with mom and dad!”

“If I’m the only one leaving, why move?”

“Mom and dad would rather move than let you go, wouldn’t they? Right?”

‘That’s right! Ho-yoon, good job! 

Chairman Ryu nodded vigorously and looked at his wife. Still in shock, Chairwoman Choi was just mumbling “independence, independence…” Unable to help it, Chairman Ryu had to step in.

“Yes, Chae-yoon. Rather than leaving home, how about we all move together?”

“That’s troublesome. You know how long you’ve lived here… All your acquaintances are nearby, and it would be chaotic to move all the staff. And it’s not that I don’t like anything… I just want to be independent, literally.”

“How can a baby live alone!”

“Th-that’s right! Chae-yoon is still a baby.”

Chairwoman Choi, who had momentarily regained her senses, agreed with Ha-yoon’s words. Chae-yoon, who had briefly looked dumbfounded at being called a baby, smiled brightly at her family.

“What kind of baby earns their own living?”

“Right here. Our family’s baby who earns a living!”

“Aren’t you still too young to live on your own? Later maybe… or do you have to live alone later too? You can live with mom and dad.”

“But my older siblings all moved out before they were even twenty, didn’t they?”

That was true. Hae-yoon, Ho-yoon, and Ha-yoon all attended school in the United States, so they left their parents’ care right after graduating from elementary school, and even Chang-yoon, who completed the Korean education system, started living on his own as soon as he entered university.

But isn’t Chae-yoon’s situation a bit different? Chae-yoon would probably still be called a baby by her parents and siblings even at a hundred years old.

“Chae-yoon is… um…”

Unable to say that she was ill, Hae-yoon mumbled for a while. For a long time, the Ryu family had difficulty even using the word “sick” among themselves. Though, things had gotten much better lately.

“The hospital said I’m almost at a normal person’s level now. Even if they couldn’t declare a complete cure.”

It was like a miracle. When the child’s heart perforation disappeared and it now looked like a completely normal heart, didn’t the whole family weep at the news that there would be no more heart attacks or seizures due to cardiac malformation? But now that joy was coming back as a boomerang?

“Still…”

“I’ll keep the defibrillator, so I can respond to idiopathic fibrillation, and I’ll install emergency call buttons in every room.”

“Where are you planning to move?”

Cutting off Ho-yoon’s hesitant words, Chang-yoon spoke for the first time. Among the family members, he paid the most attention to Chae-yoon and was somewhat scarily obsessed, so they thought he would strongly oppose, but his composure was strange.

“…I’m looking into it.”

“There can’t be many places, right? Counting villas or apartments in Seoul with high security ratings suitable for Chae-yoon… I’d say three or four? Among those, two are the best.”

“…”

“I live in one of them, and Baek Sang-hyun lives in the other, right? Someone wanting independence wouldn’t come to where I live…”

As soon as Chang-yoon finished speaking, all family members turned their gazes sharply to Chae-yoon. Chae-yoon kept her mouth tightly shut without saying a word.

“Baek Sang-hyun?”

An uncharacteristically ominous voice flowed from Hae-yoon’s mouth. He was always sweeter than honey when talking about the youngest… Chairman Ryu heaved a deep sigh. In fact, the family meeting was just for show. Because no one in this family could win against Chae-yoon.

“Well, that’s the most likely possibility, but…”

Chang-yoon didn’t let Chae-yoon easily change the subject. And here, the reason for his composure until now is revealed.

“I heard Baek Sang-hyun’s downstairs apartment is on the market.”

“…When did you find that out?”

“I even heard someone already put down a deposit.”

“…”

“Ryu Chae-yoon!”

The rather hot-tempered Hae-yoon and Ho-yoon stood up abruptly, calling Chae-yoon’s name simultaneously. But Chae-yoon, too familiar with them, didn’t even glance their way and just kept nibbling on the apple in front of him like a rabbit.

‘How can even eating like that look pretty!’ 

Chairman Ryu barely restrained himself from praising his youngest son’s handsomeness, beauty, and cuteness. Instead, he took a half-peeled tangerine and carefully peeled it with his large hands, placing it in the child’s hand.

“Thank you, father.”

Though he still hadn’t reverted to calling him “dad,” Chairman Ryu was simply grateful. Even when he lost his memories and acted like a stranger, not once did this child feel like a stranger to him. Then and now, he’s still his beloved youngest son.

“Chae-yoon, isn’t this too rushed? Why don’t you think about it a bit more?”

Chairman Choi seems to have given up on completely preventing Chae-yoon’s independence and shifted to delaying it. But that didn’t work either.

“I want to move out before the movie premiere. By then, my schedule will be busier, and it’ll be troublesome for me to come and go late at night or early morning…”

“It’s not troublesome.”

Chae-yoon just smiled and nodded as if he had already anticipated this kind of reaction.

If Chae-yoon got angry or irritated, they might have tried to persuade him more, but how could they say anything bad to a child who’s listening to all the nagging from his family, even though it’s already a decided matter?

“It’s not because of Baek Sang-hyun, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“Everyone here knows how much you liked Baek Sang-hyun!”

“I don’t remember, I told you.”

It seems like he’s using the memory loss a bit too conveniently… They say he got along well at school and maintained a good relationship during the movie filming. The secretarial office has already thoroughly investigated, and Baek Sang-hyun was confirmed to be quite a decent young man.

In the quiet living room, only the sound of Chae-yoon crunching on the apple could be heard. He used to dislike apples because they were too hard, but when did he start eating them so well? Our son has grown… As Chairman Ryu was looking at him with a pleased expression, Chae-yoon stabbed an apple piece with his fork and offered it to him.

“Thank you.”

‘I’ve raised my children well.’ 

Chairman Ryu thought as he chewed the apple his youngest son had given him. Everyone wanted to stop him and object, but they couldn’t bring themselves to voice their reasons, so they just fretted silently.

“Then come home once a week.”

“Here?”

“Yes. We’ll all come too. Let’s have at least one meal together.”

Chae-yoon nodded readily to Chang-yoon’s suggestion. It seems he was already willing to do that much. But Chang-yoon’s mouth clamped shut at the words that followed, “In exchange…”

“In exchange, I’m going to switch to a normal watch from now on.”

“What?”

“It’s not right to receive someone’s health information like that. I have privacy too, you know.”

“What privacy!”

“I’ll go to the hospital regularly as told, and I won’t drink caffeine or alcohol just in case. I’ll take care of my health on my own, so stop the surveillance from you, hyung, and the secretarial office.”

With that, he took off the watch and placed it on the table. Hae-yoon and Chang-yoon looked at the watch with complicated expressions. As the rumors suggested, Ryu Shin Electronics had obsessively developed technology related to heart disease, such as blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and pulse monitoring, largely due to Chae-yoon.

“Chae-yoon, but still, that…”

“I’ll wear it if you give me one without the transmission function.”

“…”

Chae-yoon gave a simple answer to Hae-yoon’s dejected words. Chang-yoon gritted his teeth, then punched his own thigh before covering his face with both hands. A voice, like it came from hell, seeped through his fingers.

“You’re not living with Baek Sang-hyun, are you?”

“Why would I?”

“Live tog… Living together?”

“I said no. Didn’t I say he contracted the downstairs apartment?”

“Don’t tell me… that bastard…!?”

‘Well, it always did seem like he liked Baek Sang-hyun too much.’ 

Chairman Ryu had decided to give Chae-yoon anything he wanted as long as he was alive, so this meeting was meaningless. 

‘Even if Chae-yoon said he was dating Baek Sang-hyun, of course… No, but still, that bastard? With our youngest?’

“Really, what’s…?”

“I said it’s not like that?”

“Really not? Truly?”

Chae-yoon couldn’t deny it anymore, and even his nape started turning bright red. Seeing this, all family members fell silent.

‘So… it was true. That our family’s beloved youngest wants to move out and set up house with some dark-skinned man…!’

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone just looked at each other, unable to speak. Chae-yoon, as if unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, unnecessarily rubbed his bright red nape with his palm. Unable to watch any longer, Chang-yoon grabbed his wrist and put it down.

“You’ll chafe your skin.”

Only then did Chae-yoon realize what he had been doing and let out a long sigh. Chairman Ryu, not wanting to leave his lovable youngest son in this pit of embarrassment any longer, summarized the situation.

“…So when are you moving out?”

“Around the end of next month.”

“That’s quite soon.”

“I thought it would be good to move out after the holidays.”

‘Sometimes this kid, who’s never had any social experience, acts like he’s been around for decades…’ 

Yet, Chairman Ryu’s eyes on Chae-yoon don’t change at all.

“Alright. …Here, have some more tangerine.”

“Dad!”

Ignoring Ho-yoon’s call, Chairman Ryu held Chae-yoon’s hand tightly with both of his hands. He could see guilt and apology flashing across those incredibly deep and beautiful eyes, which he didn’t know who they resembled.

There’s no need to feel such emotions, he thought. Whether Chae-yoon was moving out because he really had some relationship with Baek Sang-hyun, or because he was tired of this house, or because the overprotective family was burdensome, he was sorry that all his father could do was support him.

“What money are you planning to use to buy the house with?”

“Oh, with the payment I received and by selling some stocks…”

“I’ll buy the house for you.”

“What?”

“I should at least provide a house for my son’s first independence.”

With Chairman Ryu speaking like that, no one could say anything more. Although he felt Chairman Choi’s sharp gaze on the side of his head, he endured it steadfastly.

‘As long as he’s alive.’ 

Wasn’t that all he had wished for? Everything else was just greed. Just Chae-yoon smiling brightly was enough to make it worth doing.