UR Chapter 126

Chapter 126

I-bom found himself running quickly down the slope without realizing it. When he sniffled, the air that touched his nose was cold. His cheeks, numb from the chill, felt hard, and his lips were frozen, making it hard to speak properly. There was so much he wanted to say now that the person he’d most wanted to see had appeared, but only his lips moved soundlessly.

The snow-covered mountain path had grown slick and shiny, dangerous enough to cause injury with just one misstep, but he didn’t care.

He was getting closer to him. The man’s smooth lips curved upward gently into a smile aimed at I-bom. He reached out his hand and bent forward slightly toward him.

“Come here, Kang I-bom.”

Before he even had the chance to wonder how his voice could sound so close despite the physical distance between them, I-bom’s face lit up. Feeling the warmth in that voice seeping into his ears, I-bom leapt toward him. His body was frozen from the cold, but it didn’t matter. Even if he fell, he believed the man would run to catch him. And if not, he believed he would at least help him up.

Just as he’d trusted, I-bom landed lightly in his arms.

“Are you alright?”

Even though I-bom’s body had come down toward Beom-ho with force from the speed of his descent, Beom-ho received him effortlessly.

“Mmh, haaa…”

Burying his face in the man’s chest, I-bom rubbed his cheek against him. Amid the scent of the cold winter wind was Beom-ho’s warm, comforting scent. The bittersweet warmth of his skin stirred up all the thoughts I-bom had kept bottled inside. He wanted to blurt out, I had a rough day, please comfort me. He wanted to be spoiled by him.

“Your body’s frozen solid. How did you walk all the way down from Manwol Mountain in this weather? You’ve been through a lot.”

He wrapped his arm around I-bom’s waist and whispered in his ear. I-bom, relaxing at the sound, wrapped his arms around the back of his neck.

“Yes, mm… I took the bus from the foot of Manwol Mountain… I was going to go to Samho, but I got lost and ended up walking here.”

“Samho?”

“Yes. You gave Soo-hyun hyung your business card before, remember? And… if I take the bus from my place, it goes all the way there…”

“I see. You did well. It must have been hard to get out here in this cold.”

He gently rubbed I-bom’s back.

That unconditional, warm welcome almost brought him to tears. I-bom forced himself not to let his face crumple.

His grandmother, pointing at him with cold disdain. Soo-hyun, looking down at him and telling him to apologize. All the resentment he had kept bottled up seemed to melt away with just that gentle touch.

“Were you wandering around for long? Your hands are cold.”

Without answering, I-bom curled his frozen fingers and laced them loosely around the outside of Beom-ho’s neck. The moment his stiff, frozen fingers touched the warmth of Beom-ho’s strong neck, they prickled painfully.

Worried his touch might sting Beom-ho as well, I-bom started to pull his hands away.

“Your hands are frozen. Why are you letting go? Hold on tight.”

With a gentle smile, he took I-bom’s retreating fingers and clasped them firmly.

“Wait, I-bom. Let’s warm your hands first. You’ll get frostbite.”

With one arm around I-bom’s waist, holding him close, Beom-ho took both his hands and pressed them firmly to his neck. His warm, soft body heat seeped into the cold skin, slowly melting it. Resting his face against Beom-ho’s chest, I-bom mumbled,

“…You’re cold too, Beom-ho, s-so, let go.”

“Mm. Do you want to finish what you were saying earlier? So you got lost looking for me and ended up here at Gangwol Mountain.”

Feigning not to hear his protest, Beom-ho gently prompted, drawing the chilled body even closer to his bare skin.

“Mm? I-bom.”

He whispered lightly into his ear, holding him as if it were nothing.

“Then why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

It was as if he already knew the answer.

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

The moment those words reached him, the dam broke. In truth, nothing unusual had happened today—it had been the same as most days—but somehow he had felt lonely, and he wanted to see Beom-ho.

He wanted to see him because he was lonely, and because he liked him.

He liked Beom-ho. His handsome face, the warmth in his heart that looked only at him, the attentiveness that read his mood with just a glance—he liked it all. He liked how he could treat him like a child, then look at him with eyes burning hot with desire.

That warmth was directed only at him. The intoxicating sweetness of that overflowing affection was so overwhelming that it made I-bom greedy enough to want him all to himself.

“…I like you, Beom-ho.”

Sniffling, he confessed, rubbing his cheek against him like a puppy showing affection to its owner.

“I’m not going to give you to anyone else.”

Guilt, resentment, injustice, and embarrassment all tangled together. He hadn’t shed a single tear when his grandmother hurled harsh words at him, but the moment he saw Beom-ho’s face, tears threatened to spill.

“Even if you tell me to go, I won’t. Why, did someone ask you for me?”

“N-no…”

Glancing sidelong at I-bom burrowing into him, Beom-ho bit down gently on his earlobe. The soft, warm flesh was sucked into his mouth, and his tongue rubbed over it as he nibbled and sucked without hesitation. The nape of I-bom’s neck trembled, flushing red before settling again.

“Then why say that? Did Kang Soo-hyun come looking for me?”

The bone that jutted out from his bent neck shifted faintly. At Beom-ho’s tender question, I-bom hunched his shoulders, leaning against him. Beom-ho slowly stroked the back of his neck.

I-bom moved his round head slightly before cautiously lifting it. Worried he might cry, Beom-ho began to raise his arm—and sure enough, I-bom’s brows drew upward as he tried to hold back tears, then collapsed as fat drops rolled down his cheeks.

“Beom-ho…”

“Why are you crying, my puppy?”

The tender voice vibrated vividly in his ear, and without meaning to, he burst into noisy sobs like a faucet turned on full.

The sound of his own crying felt strange. He had never been like this before, but the sobs poured out one after another without pause. He swallowed back the hot tears with a hiccup, but the effort was wasted as he crumbled completely.

“I… I left home.”

“You left home?”

“No… I just packed my things and left for good, sniff…”

Overcome with uncontrollable emotion, I-bom twisted his lips and cried loudly like a child. Clutching Beom-ho’s clothes, he buried his face deep against him.

“I, hic… I’m not going back anymore… ever. Grandma said I’m not her grandson anymore… that she hates me… She took Soo-hyun’s side, and that—”

His words came out jumbled, either from the frozen lips or from the storm of emotions boiling inside him. Haltingly, between sobs, he pushed the words out one by one.

Beom-ho, as if he understood everything, simply held him close and patted his back gently.

* * *

“Snff…”

Once his emotions had settled somewhat, I-bom lifted his face from Beom-ho’s chest. The soft knit sweater he wore was damp and blotched from I-bom’s tears. Carefully, I-bom used his palm to wipe away the wet spots. Now that the surge of sorrow had calmed, his surroundings came into view. That was when he realized he was still being carried in Beom-ho’s arms. Sniffling, he squirmed and twisted his waist.

“Please put me down now…”

He mumbled the words as he stretched his legs toward the ground to walk, but Beom-ho, as if not hearing him, adjusted his hold and kept walking at a steady pace.

‘Can’t he hear me…?’

Before long, the snow-covered dirt road of the mountain ended, giving way to a paved asphalt path. Unlike the deserted mountain interior, there were now groups of people in hiking clothes scattered here and there. Spotting people walking toward them from afar, I-bom’s reddened eyes widened.

“P-put me down, Beom-ho.”

He tugged at Beom-ho’s sweater, giving it a gentle shake. His nose was too red and his eyes too bloodshot from crying for him to face the man directly, so he kept his gaze lowered, clutching his sweater and whispering quickly.

“Your arms must be tired…”

“They’re not.”

Beom-ho glanced down at I-bom wriggling in his arms. Carrying him with one arm was neither tiring nor troublesome. If anything, he found the way I-bom hunched his shoulders in embarrassment—worried people might laugh at them—adorable. Smiling faintly, Beom-ho drew him in closer until his flushed earlobes were shielded against his chest.

“You’re worn out from crying, and you’re not in the best mood. So just stay in my arms and let me walk. Sometimes you need a day to be spoiled like this.”

It felt like he spoiled him every time they met… I-bom thought to himself but kept quiet, burying himself deeper into the large, warm embrace as he was told. Following the slow, steady rhythm of Beom-ho’s steps, the salty tang of his tears mixed with the faint, bittersweet scent of his body. I-bom closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“…I was in such a bad mood today. That’s why I even delayed calling you.”

From within Beom-ho’s chest, the steady thud of his heartbeat sounded heavy in I-bom’s ears.

“…Because if I called right away… you might hear how upset I was. Then you’d start worrying, and it would ruin your mood too.”

“Is that so?”

Beom-ho replied, rubbing his forehead against I-bom’s before pressing a light kiss there. His deep voice resonated through their touching foreheads and into I-bom’s whole body.

“So… instead, I thought I’d surprise you in person. Not over the phone, but face-to-face.”

I-bom’s shoulders shrank slightly.

“The bus to Samho is right at the base of the mountain, you know. I thought, I’ll take it and go see Beom-ho… sniff… but somehow I got lost, and—snff—while I was coming down, I ran into you. Isn’t that such a strange coincidence?”

“My… that could’ve been dangerous.”

With his fingertips, Beom-ho gently smoothed the hair at the back of I-bom’s head.

“Actually, my office is right in front of Gangwol Mountain, I-bom.”

“Really? That’s amazing…”

I-bom’s eyes lit up as he looked at him.

“I know, right? I can’t help but wonder… who arranged for us to meet like this so perfectly.”

Beom-ho murmured softly to himself.