PIA 162

“Don’t talk with your eyes. If you’re human, use language.”

Ji-an scoffed in disbelief at his audacious attitude.

“I have money too. Please get me another room. I didn’t come here with you for… this kind of thing, you know?”

Jeong Hee-seo gave him an indifferent look as he pushed Ji-an toward the elevator.

“Listening to all your multi-dimensional stories and whatnot, I started wondering if my role in your drama was being a babysitter. Picking you up, feeding you, putting you to bed, right?”

When Ji-an planted his feet firmly in front of the elevator, refusing to move, Jeong Hee-seo pinched his nose tightly.

“Ow!”

“You little brat, already acting up. What? ‘For this kind of thing?’ What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean? The person booking only one hotel room is the weird one here.”

Bang! Jeong Hee-seo reached out to catch the elevator door that was about to close. Ji-an hunched his shoulders at his piercing gaze, as intense as the loud noise.

“You don’t realize what your eyes look like right now, do you? You’ve been talking about s**cide all day long.”

Ji-an swallowed. He tried to hide his agitation by blinking slowly, but couldn’t control his trembling eyes.

“…Are you worried about me right now?”

He hastily asked, thinking  Jeong Hee-seo had misunderstood something strange. His face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

“This hotel is managed by my sister. I can’t let something like that happen in one of the rooms.”

So he had been worried after all.

“You always have to say things in such a deliberately mean way…”

Ji-an mumbled as he stepped into the open elevator. He held the handrail and leaned back against it, while Jeong Hee-seo followed him in and stood with his back turned.

Ji-an quietly watched him press the floor button and then let his eyes trace his straight back. Snow had settled on the shoulders of his dark gray coat.

“You don’t have to be so serious about it… I don’t have any intention of doing anything with you either.”

Jeong Hee-seo let out a hollow laugh. Then he slowly turned around.

“You punk, go out now and see. If you’re so resourceful, find a room. See if there’s an empty hotel room on Christmas Eve.”

“…Ah.”

There was really nothing to say to that. Glancing around, he suddenly noticed that the elevator interior was also decorated all over for Christmas.

Ah, right. He had forgotten again that tomorrow was Christmas.

Since starting the regression, Ji-an’s life had repeated dozens of endings where he died before Christmas arrived, so he had unconsciously forgotten about it.

So this was, in a way, his first Christmas free from the curse.

Ji-an quietly closed his mouth that had opened in realization. As the atmosphere suddenly became heavy, Jeong Hee-seo exhaled a long sigh. Though he didn’t seem to have said anything particularly harsh, seeing Ji-an’s drooping eyebrows and gloomy expression made him feel as if he had committed some great sin.

He could state with certainty that among all the humans he had encountered, Seo Ji-an was the most difficult to deal with. Even though he openly displayed his expressions in front of him, or perhaps because he showed everything so clearly, it made it harder to respond appropriately.

And when he opened the door to the suite, Jeong Hee-seo became even more speechless.

“…”

Several small candle-shaped mood lights were arranged along the corridor inside the suite, and the floor was covered with red rose petals. A large cake and wine had been prepared on the reception room table. The masterpiece was the lavishly decorated bedroom. The pair of robes placed on the wall were made of see-through material that revealed everything underneath.

Jeong Hee-seo furrowed his nose bridge while moistening his parched lips.

“…It seems the manager has misunderstood the situation.”

He made what sounded like an excuse as he rubbed his face with dry hands.

What misunderstanding? The manager had made a perfectly reasonable assumption. He was the one who had impulsively visited with an Omega on Christmas Eve. Anyone would have misunderstood. It was clearly his mistake for not providing a proper explanation.

Ji-an, who had been confrontational in front of the elevator, tossed his coat carelessly onto the sofa without any particular reaction. That also puzzled Hee-seo.

Ji-an plopped down on the sofa and skillfully opened the wine that had been prepared. With a pop sound, sweet-scented carbonation flowed from the mouth of the sparkling wine.

“Sit down. Let’s just drink.”

Ji-an tilted the bottle to fill his glass. Then, without waiting for Jeong Hee-seo’s answer, he filled his glass too. To break the awkward atmosphere, he operated the pad and turned on some music. As if it had been set up in advance, jazz carols flowed out softly.

It truly felt like Christmas. The snow falling outside the window late at night had thickened into large flakes. Even the twinkling lights on the distant sea looked like tree ornaments.

After waiting quietly, Jeong Hee-seo came over and sat beside him. Perhaps because of the flower petals filling the room, a waft of fragrance rose as he sat down. There was no need to ask why he sat next to him among all the available spaces. That was because everywhere else was decorated with flower petals, and only these two adjacent seats were left empty.

“I’m saying this because I think you’re misunderstanding.”

Ji-an pushed a glass full of wine toward Jeong Hee-seo sitting beside him.

“I really value my life.”

“Then that’s good.”

“…”

His straightforward affirmation was stronger than any denial might have been. He gave off an atmosphere that suggested he wouldn’t easily believe any explanation.

“I’m serious.”

“Okay.”

As Ji-an tried to continue, his brief response cut in. Jeong Hee-seo, seemingly tired in that short moment, was sitting with his body deeply reclined against the backrest. Ji-an was conscious of his body temperature touching his thigh and fidgeted a little. He tried not to look at him on purpose.

“I just don’t know what to do now… That’s all. That guy left me an excessive gift, but I don’t have a plan for how to use it.”

Jeong Hee-seo stared intently at Ji-an. From behind, only his white cheek and ear were visible, but he gazed at him steadily as if their eyes could meet. Jeong Hee-seo tilted his glass and drank the wine inside.

“Then don’t do anything.”

“What kind of advice is that?”

Ji-an turned his head abruptly.

“I’m not joking. And why do you have to do anything special?”

“…”

Jeong Hee-seo took off his watch and placed it on the table.

“Just make as much effort as you need. That’s how most people live.”

“Hearing those words from someone who doesn’t live that way makes them quite convincing.”

Jeong Hee-seo smiled gently at Ji-an’s reply.

“If you really need something to do, want to apply for an internship?”

“What?”

This time, Ji-an burst into laughter. It was because he clearly knew the offer that Jeong Hee-seo from the other world had made to ‘Seo Ji-an’. Honestly, he had felt a subtle jealousy toward the ‘Seo Ji-an’ who went to his place and built a happy life. Was it possible because he was ‘real’? That thought had tormented him.

“But I don’t know how to do anything. I can’t even speak English.”

Ji-an deliberately stole the words that ‘Seo Ji-an’ had said.

“Really? You seemed pretty good at investing.”

But the response was different. It was only natural, but somehow it made him feel a bit intimidated.

“When you repeat life in short cycles, you naturally get better at short-term trading. But from now on, even I don’t know what the future holds.”

“Well, whatever.”

Jeong Hee-seo answered with a slight smile and drank his wine.

In the ensuing silence, Ji-an somehow felt comforted thanks to Jeong Hee-seo. Just as he had answered, from now on was a completely unknown future.

Perhaps he could allow himself a little hope.

The jazz carol, singing of approaching happiness in a gentle voice, mingled between the two people. Jeong Hee-seo picked up the wine bottle to fill Ji-an’s empty glass, and then poured some into his own glass.

Time flowed well amidst trivial conversation. Jeong Hee-seo asked Ji-an the simple question of what food he liked, and Ji-an returned by asking what alcohol he usually drank on his days off.

The occasional sound of clinking glasses was inexplicably comforting. The warmth surrounding them, their cheeks flushing even redder, and the fragrance of the two people filled the void completely.

When they suddenly came to their senses, it was well past midnight.

Looking at the clock on the table, Jeong Hee-seo straightened his waist, thinking about putting Ji-an to bed. He was about to say that he would use the sub-room inside, planning to preemptively block any unnecessary worries from Ji-an.

But Ji-an turned first and offered his glass. It was unexpected that he suddenly wanted to make a toast that they hadn’t done from the beginning, but when he readily clinked glasses with him, Ji-an smiled brightly.

“Merry Christmas.”

With his sudden smile, it was as if flowers bloomed on his face. As the flower buds burst open, Ji-an’s pheromones also bloomed fully. For a moment, while the surprised Jeong Hee-seo couldn’t continue his response, Ji-an spoke in an unprecedentedly bright voice.

“Mister, I just heard incredible news.”

His voice was even moist. The way he blinked his dewy eyes made him look overwhelmed with emotion.

“What news… from where?”

Despite Jeong Hee-seo’s bewildered look at the absurd statement, Ji-an could hardly hide his excitement.

“The baby…”

He didn’t know how many times he had lost it. Inside a scenario designed to inevitably lose the baby, Ji-an had struggled to protect it, but failed every time. Later, he even got rid of it himself, not wanting to be hurt—that baby.

When ‘Seo Ji-an’ said he would protect the baby, he had deliberately criticized him harshly and told him to get rid of it because of his own fear. He had also resented it because it was an existence that only brought him despair, and he had secretly cried a lot because he felt sorry for the baby who had a fate that would not even allow it to be born for his misfortune.

“I think the baby was born!”

Ji-an embraced Jeong Hee-seo tightly while uttering the miracle that had happened to him. When the still bewildered Jeong Hee-seo carefully patted his back, Ji-an couldn’t help but shed tears.