UR Chapter 109

Chapter 109

The white puppy loved cotton candy, especially the kind that looked like his own fluffy fur. He liked the way its soft, sweet taste and scent spread through his mouth when he stuck his tongue out to lick it.

“Al! Al!”

The first time he tasted a small, cloud-shaped cotton candy that his dad had bought at a family gathering, it felt like pure heaven. The white puppy spun in circles and barked loudly, his black eyes glistening like polished beads. If he had a mother to pat his head and sweet cotton candy to eat, there was nothing else he could wish for.

“Don’t eat it all by yourself!”

He wanted to swallow it in one bite, but the amount he could have was less than a fistful. Smacking his tongue, he tried to soothe his disappointment. At that age when no matter how much he ate, he would be hungry again in no time, his little puppy dream was to eat a whole cotton candy all by himself.

Then he spotted white cotton candy drifting in the air. Floating in the piercingly blue sky, they were spotless, big, and plenty.

‘How exciting.’

The little puppy twitched his nose and hopped up and down. Looking up at the sky, he saw enough floating cotton candy to fill him to bursting. To eat them, he stuck out his tongue. Maybe, if he stood on tiptoe, his tiny tongue might touch them.

Wiggling his little white toes, he stretched his tongue toward the sky, but he was too short. It was always just barely out of reach. All he could feel on his tongue was the cold air.

A teasing breeze whirred past his ears, making his round eyes go wide.

‘I won’t give up! I’m going to eat it!’

The puppy was a descendant of wolves. He lived with the dream that if he pushed off hard with his hind legs, he could leap just like a wolf. The white puppy gathered strength in his back legs and sprang up.

He would chomp down on all the sweet, delicious cotton candy perched up in that blue sky.

“You’ll get hurt if you keep doing that.”

Just as he leapt courageously toward the sky, something caught him by the scruff of the neck. With an unfamiliar voice, his paws dangled in midair. Rolling his eyes to the side, he saw it was a boy he had never met before, holding him by the neck.

“You can’t just jump around like that. What if you get hurt?”

The boy’s face reflected clearly in the puppy’s black, bead-like eyes. Wearing a neat wool jacket, the handsome boy looked down at him, and then, as if exasperated, set him down and tapped his nose.

“…Arhk?”

The white puppy perked up his pointed ears and tilted his head. He looked innocent and clueless, as though he had no idea what the boy was worried about.

Wagging his plump tail, the puppy went back to hopping toward the sky, little legs springing as his tongue flicked out again and again.

The boy watched him quietly for a moment, then seemed to realize what was going on.

“You want to eat that? The clouds?”

“Al!”

“…Then do you want to come to my house? I’ll give you a tasty treat.”

The puppy licked his lips and snuggled into the boy’s arms.

* * *

“…Ah.”

I-bom’s eyes slowly opened. He couldn’t quite remember what he had dreamed—only that it felt like the memory was slipping away the moment he tried to grasp it.

His blinking lashes felt heavy, as if something had settled on them. Moisture blurred his vision between half-open lids, and a faint sting, like grit in his eye, made him press his fingertips to his eyelids. As hot tears rolled down his cheeks, the blur began to clear. Around him stretched nothing but pitch darkness.

“…Ugh.”

When he tried to twist his body and lift his shoulders, he felt the weight of something heavy draped over him. A sideways glance revealed Beom-ho, arms wrapped around his waist, eyes closed.

‘…Guess he’s sleeping.’

In his last memory, Beom-ho’s face had been pale as he chewed down on some medicine. He had even clamped the rope in his teeth and held out his hands, asking to be tied before he lost control.

I-bom slowly studied his face. With his eyes closed, it looked as smooth as porcelain. Looking down further, he saw that the wrists wrapped around his waist bore deep red marks.

“Oh…”

…So it wasn’t a dream.

Wriggling a little, I-bom turned his gaze toward the window. Now that he knew it hadn’t been a dream, he wondered what time it was. But outside, thick fog shrouded the world, making it impossible to tell.

Blinking, he tried to recall where he had left his phone.

“Ahem… hm…”

Taking a breath made his throat feel raw and torn. He wanted to believe it was from the dry air and cold winter wind, but deep down he knew it wasn’t. The corners of his lips stung from having been stretched too wide earlier. No—his lips weren’t the only thing aching.

“……”

Though slim and wiry, I-bom’s body had been hardened from years of physical labor. He had always taken pride in the fact that, despite appearances, pressing his belly or waist wouldn’t sink into soft flesh but meet firm muscle. Yet now his entire body ached. With a deep sigh, he reached for Beom-ho’s clasped hands around his waist to loosen them.

“…Sleep more.”

He had thought Beom-ho was asleep, but the voice came from right behind him.

“Ah… My eyes just opened. Um, do you know what time it is?”

“Probably around two in the morning.”

“…That’s all?”

“Yes. Do you want to sleep more? I can help you sleep. If you want, I’ll even sing you a lullaby.”

Beom-ho stretched his arms and pulled I-bom close. All his wriggling to escape was for nothing—he slipped right back into Beom-ho’s embrace with ease.

Beom-ho rubbed his shoulder blades and gave gentle pats with his palm, like soothing a child to sleep.

“N-no… I’m not a kid, I’m fine… But did I wake you?”

The sound of a pounding heartbeat mingled between their bodies. I-bom blinked and burrowed closer. Once, even the lightest touch had made him step back, but now they were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

“I wasn’t sleeping. I was watching you sleep.”

“Me?”

Beom-ho’s lips curved into a sideways smile. Flustered, I-bom gave his chest a light push.

“I… I sleep badly.”

His voice trailed off, his expression turning sheepish. He remembered his grandmother scolding him for his restless sleeping habits, telling him never to go on trips because of it. He would grind his teeth, drool, and sometimes, like I-seol, spin in circles while asleep. He worried he might have drooled or kicked in his sleep in front of Beom-ho.

“Didn’t seem bad at all. You just slept really cutely. You were so cute I pinched your cheek, and you didn’t even notice.”

Beom-ho tugged lightly on his cheek and smiled. Still holding him in his arms, he rubbed his face against I-bom’s. The soft skin of his cheek brushed against Beom-ho’s solid chest, carrying that deep scent I-bom had noticed whenever they were pressed together. Without realizing it, I-bom flushed and mumbled.

“Still… I drool…”

“I wiped it with your own hand.”

“Ah…!”

Realizing he was being teased, I-bom squirmed free from his arms and sat up abruptly. The sheet that had been covering him slid down without him noticing as he pouted and tapped Beom-ho’s arm.

“That’s not sleeping well at all!”

Beom-ho chuckled as her small fists thumped lightly against his arm. In the dim light, he could see I-bom’s pale body shifting slightly.

Even in the darkness, his gaze was drawn to I-bom’s thin wrist—more specifically, the marks left there from when he had lost control and bitten down.

Swallowing hard, Beom-ho pulled him back into his arms and pushed him to the center of the bed so he couldn’t escape this time.

“I was joking. You slept beautifully.”

He kissed I-bom’s lips with an audible smack. As I-bom made a soft, muffled sound, Beom-ho slid his tongue in, sucking deeply as though savoring even the breathless sounds spilling from him.