Chapter 6: The Reason He Couldn’t Sleep

Yunhwan, calmly assessing Seonghye’s physique, suppressed a rising sigh. A well-maintained body reveals itself in the smallest details. Seonghye’s frame, which filled the hospital bed, was naturally robust; judging by the havoc he had wreaked over the past week, his core physical strength was exceptional.

As proof, how many doctors and nurses had it taken to restrain Seonghye and put him under just a moment ago?

It was as Yunhwan was exhaling a secret sigh.

“Excuse me.”

An unfamiliar voice called out to him. At the sound of a third party interjecting without warning, Yunhwan’s head snapped around.

“Seonghye… probably won’t wake up for another two or three hours.”

Standing there was Junseong, the man who had warned Yunhwan to be careful earlier.

“Everyone seems to want to take him to Seoul right away for tests or whatever, but…”

As the stranger’s explanation continued, Yunhwan’s expression twisted awkwardly. Though he was a stranger, seeing him with Manager Park suggested he either knew Seonghye well or was someone entitled to know his current condition. While Yunhwan pondered this, Junseong spoke with an easy sociability.

“As you saw, stabilizing him was the priority, right? Well, we’ve forced him into a sleep state for now, but he’ll be better when he wakes up. The tests have to come after that. Then we’ll naturally find out exactly what happened to him.”

“…….”

“You looked worried, so I felt I should let you know.”

A hand was thrust forward toward Yunhwan.

“I’m Kim Junseong. I’m a close older brother to Seonghye. I was actually planning to come down to Sanghui-ri as soon as I finished some urgent business, but things turned out like this.”

As the mystery of the man’s identity was cleared, Yunhwan’s eyes wavered.

“Ah… I am…”

In contrast to the man who revealed himself so freely, Yunhwan found it difficult to speak. While Yunhwan struggled with how to describe himself, Junseong gave a light smirk.

As sentences crumbled in his mouth, Yunhwan paused. Junseong didn’t seem to mind Yunhwan’s hesitant manner.

“I know. Min Seonghye’s guardian… no, caregiver. Are you alright, Yunhwan? I heard you two rolled down together.”

Junseong’s observant gaze swept over Yunhwan’s body before pulling away.

“You got hurt while working, so make sure to claim the medical expenses.”

He smiled, wrinkling his nose slightly. He was a man who knew exactly what was most effective in breaking down a stranger’s guard. When Yunhwan took the offered hand to avoid being rude, Junseong glanced toward the door.

“If it’s okay, shall we go out and talk more? Honestly, it’s comfortable in here, but Seonghye needs rest, and it looks like Manager Park will be back soon after getting his own head stitched up.”

The hallway of the health center, which didn’t have many patients, felt somewhat eerie. Passing a vending machine with flickering lights, the two men sat down on a bench, both looking visibly exhausted.

Silence settled between them for a moment. Fortunately, instead of the shy Yunhwan, Junseong spoke first.

“I’ve been curious for a while. Whether Seonghye was doing well in Sanghui-ri, if he was having a hard time, things like that.”

Junseong ran a hand through his hair.

When he first heard that Seonghye would be staying in some unheard-of countryside, Junseong had been the most vocal opponent. He had a strong premonition that there would be severe side effects.

Even before coming down here, it was visible that the balance between Seonghye’s day and night had collapsed. It was a fatal red flag. A crack had formed in his daily cycle, which was usually strictly divided by sunset and sunrise.

Tracing his memories, Junseong let out a deep sigh.

In the final check-up he had insisted on before Seonghye moved to Sanghui-ri, the specialist’s opinion was that Seonghye urgently needed “absolute stability” and “concurrent drug therapy.” To shove someone who needed treatment more than ever into a place like this remote island—what a barbaric thing to do.

Moreover, if the very “reason” that allowed him to breathe and move had been fundamentally cut off.

This was like a bolt from the blue for Junseong, who had handled Seonghye’s psychological counseling for a long time. He didn’t know when or how the fuse on the time bomb known as Min Seonghye would burn out.

Brushing back his disheveled bangs, Junseong turned to Yunhwan.

“Did Seonghye sleep well?”

“Sleep?”

Junseong nodded.

“Yes. What were his sleeping hours like, how was the quality of his sleep… did he have nightmares while sleeping, things like that.”

“…….”

“My questions must seem very strange. You look quite flustered, Yunhwan.”

Junseong broke off with an embarrassed look and stole a glance at Yunhwan. Yunhwan, whose guard had lowered slightly, looked at Junseong with an unreadable gaze—a look that was calm and cautious, as if searching for something hidden.

Finally, after swallowing once, Yunhwan looked down and spoke.

“As far as I could see…”

He cleared his throat and continued.

“Seonghye always had his days and nights reversed. Even then, he looked tired sometimes, as if he couldn’t sleep well. At least he didn’t skip his meals, which was a relief, but thinking back, he never seemed to sleep deeply.”

“His days and nights were flipped, and food… did he eat everything you gave him? Him?”

At Junseong’s surprised reaction, Yunhwan nodded simply.

“Yes. If I left food in front of his door, he ate it all and put the dishes back out. Sometimes he would run away right after eating, though.”

“Run away? Like today?”

“Seonghye… tried to leave the house every night using all sorts of methods,” Yunhwan replied, barely swallowing a sigh. He couldn’t tell Junseong, but there were times he had seriously considered whether he should just chain Min Seonghye up.

“Do you know why he tried to leave like that every night?”

Junseong’s questions didn’t stop. Though the queries followed one after another, both men remained focused on the conversation with serious expressions.

“He probably wanted to go back. …To where he originally belonged. I don’t know the reason why Seonghye had to be in Sanghui-ri, but if anyone were in that situation, they would have acted just like him.”

As Yunhwan spoke with his head bowed, Junseong thought of Manager Park and the others who would be in Seonghye’s room by now. Their commonality was that every single one of them had pushed Min Seonghye into this countryside.

The more he recalled those faces, the more Junseong’s eyes twisted fiercely. They had forcibly tied a guy who was already in bad shape to a place like this; of course an accident like this was bound to happen.

“I suppose so. It would be stranger if he stayed quiet.”

“…….”

“And so, Seonghye, unable to overcome his homing instinct, ran to the mountain, and you two rolled down together.”

Yunhwan stole a glance at Junseong, whose voice sounded like he was suppressing anger for some reason. When their eyes met, Yunhwan awkwardly looked away.

“You must have been frustrated too, Yunhwan. You’re living together because you were paid, but your housemate keeps trying to escape.”

Returning to his usual supple tone, Junseong surmised Yunhwan’s situation. When Yunhwan shook his head with an embarrassed face, Junseong changed the subject. It was Seonghye again.

“Sleeping during the day and awake at night. …Shall I guess something else? Wasn’t his personality eccentric and foul? He’s a friend with a lot of anger and a strong rebellious streak, so he probably curses a lot too.”

“That’s right.”

At the reflexive answer, Junseong smiled with a look that said, I knew it.

“His physical strength is like a monster’s and he never tires. Is that right too?”

This time, Yunhwan paused longer to choose his words.

“Ah… well, I heard Seonghye is an Alpha. From Manager Park. So I know his stamina and strength are better than most people’s.”

While Yunhwan answered hesitantly, Junseong let out a long sigh and pushed back the hair on his forehead.

“Understood. Now, just one last thing.”

Behind silver-rimmed glasses that couldn’t hide tired eyes and a weary expression, a slightly anxious gaze directed itself at Yunhwan.

“There should be a pair of glasses among Seonghye’s belongings. Did he usually wear them? It’s nothing major, just for vision correction.”

“…Glasses?”

“Yes. Thin, black frames.”

Confusion spread across Yunhwan’s face. Min Seonghye wearing glasses? He was a guy who rummaged through mountains and rice paddies like they were his own front yard without the help of glasses. For Yunhwan, who hadn’t seen Seonghye wear glasses once in the past week, it was a very strange question.

“He… he doesn’t even read books, so why glasses?”

Yunhwan shook his head firmly, certain of his memory. Right then, the vending machine screen that had been flickering precariously in front of him blinked out with a sharp pop.

‘He really does have glasses.’

Returning home from the hospital, Yunhwan discovered the glasses in the room where Seonghye had been staying.

The room—containing only a wooden bed, a nightstand, and a folding desk—hadn’t changed much since Seonghye first arrived. His luggage was piled in the corner, not even properly unpacked, with just a few simple pieces of clothing tossed on top.