Chapter 89: The Unexpected Confession in the Entryway

Leaning his cheek against Yeon-chae’s chest, Yoonwoo murmured in a voice so faint it was almost imperceptible. Yeon-chae peered down at Yoonwoo’s small face, his expression laced with concern as he spoke.

“What?”

“Since when have you felt that way about me…”

“Hyung, I can barely hear you. Could you please speak a little louder?”

Yeon-chae’s soothing words prompted Yoonwoo to lift his head. His eyelids and cheeks were so swollen, he resembled an overcooked dumpling, about to burst. A fleeting smile almost touched Yeon-chae’s lips as he recalled Yoonwoo always calling *him* a dumpling.

As if sensing Yeon-chae’s efforts to suppress a smile, the swollen ‘dumpling’ pouted for a moment. Yeon-chae finally understood why Yoonwoo had always been so eager to pinch his cheeks whenever his own face became puffy. He swiftly stole a glance at Yoonwoo’s plump, flushed cheeks, then quickly composed his expression. His brow furrowed with a worried countenance as Yoonwoo mumbled, his voice hoarse, as if speaking only to himself.

“You, I truly… No, you should have told me earlier. This is precisely why people must live their lives through dialogue…”

“What? What conversation are you talking about, Hyung? Please, just tell me.”

“No, no. It’s not like that… So, back then, that was about me, wasn’t it…”

“When was ‘back then’?”

“So even then, you intended to give that to me…”

“What are you talking about, Hyung? What’s gotten into you?”

Yoonwoo, who had been stiff and rigid, slowly began to stir, a faint creaking sound accompanying his movements. After a slight struggle, he subtly lifted his head, his gaze darting to Yeon-chae as if seeking reassurance. Yeon-chae wondered what thoughts were swirling within that small head. Yoonwoo’s face, puffy and seemingly ‘buffering,’ continued to swell, making him appear endearingly cute. Yeon-chae barely managed to resist the overwhelming urge to press his lips against those plump cheeks.

Then, Yoonwoo suddenly squeezed his eyes shut. ‘What could he possibly be about to say?’ As Yeon-chae watched him, utterly bewildered, Yoonwoo finally opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Trapped within Yeon-chae’s embrace, Yoonwoo offered a sudden, tearful apology, his face wet and punctuated by soft sniffles. His voice was so faint, it would have been missed entirely if Yeon-chae hadn’t been listening intently. The hand clutching Yeon-chae’s clothing trembled uncontrollably.

A laugh threatened to escape at the sight of his crumpled, ‘dumpling-like’ face, yet simultaneously, the sight of him crying twisted Yeon-chae’s heart with aching pity. ‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?’ Yeon-chae pulled Yoonwoo closer, hugging him tightly. Yoonwoo could only manage a series of choked sobs.

“It’s all my fault. I’m truly sorry… You must have had such a difficult time. It’s because I was so oblivious…”

“What?”

Yoonwoo, who had been rambling incoherently to himself, began uttering increasingly perplexing statements. ‘What exactly is he talking about?’ While it was a relief that Yoonwoo had finally recognized his own cluelessness, both the situation and the timing were incredibly strange. They were standing in the entryway, having just returned from the emergency room after falling ill from eating raw crab marinated in soy sauce. Neither Yeon-chae nor Yoonwoo had even managed to properly take off their sneakers yet. Yeon-chae had absolutely no clue what had suddenly gotten into Yoonwoo.

Heavy drops of moisture, clinging to Yoonwoo’s clumpy, wet eyelashes, fell one by one, tracing paths down his cheeks. He looked far too serious, lost in his own thoughts. ‘He should tell me too…’

“I’ll do better.”

At that moment, Yoonwoo, his expression one of complete surrender, stretched out his arms and pulled Yeon-chae into a tight embrace. Caught entirely off guard by this sudden reaction, Yeon-chae became even more bewildered.

“What…?”

“Everything.”

“Huh…?”

Even though they were alone, Yeon-chae felt utterly excluded. ‘Hyung, please, just tell me what’s going on.’

After grumbling inwardly, he leaned in close to Yoonwoo’s ear and whispered his question.

“Did someone bother you, Hyung?”

“Yeon-chae did…”

“What? Me?”

“No, no.”

Yoonwoo quickly shook his head, his black hair fluttering with the movement.

“Because I bothered Yeon-chae…”

“You, Hyung?”

“I’m sorry… Did you cry back then?”

Yeon-chae blinked slowly, feeling even more bewildered than before. ‘When is he talking about?’ He couldn’t even begin to guess, as crying because of Yoonwoo was hardly a rare occurrence. Yeon-chae asked cautiously.

“When are you talking about crying?”

“Did you cry that much?”

“What? Oh, no. Please, don’t cry!”

Yoonwoo, who had just seemed to calm down, burst into tears once more. Yeon-chae was so startled he almost jumped back.

Then, Yoonwoo lifted his head.

His gaze fell upon the tears still clinging to Yoonwoo’s thick eyelashes, and his heart instantly melted. Gently, Yeon-chae cupped Yoonwoo’s swollen cheeks. They felt warm and damp beneath his touch.

He gently traced the swollen areas around Yoonwoo’s eyes, the bridge of his nose, and his flushed cheeks and lips with his fingertips. The situation was both perplexing and amusing, yet simultaneously, his chest ached so intensely it felt as though it might burst.

“Yeon-chae.”

Yoonwoo’s voice, choked with tears and raw with emotion, called out Yeon-chae’s name. Yeon-chae said nothing, simply looking down at him in silence. Then, he managed to part his lips.

“Yes, Hyung.”

Suddenly, the pounding of his own heart echoed in his ears.

Yeon-chae couldn’t understand why his heart was suddenly racing like this. An absurd, relentless hope began to cautiously raise its head, seemingly tireless.

‘No way.’

‘That can’t be.’

Up until now, Yeon-chae had only ever ‘dug holes’ – made countless futile efforts. He had dug so diligently that he felt his arm muscles would never disappear. It was during their recent honeymoon that he had finally decided to completely abandon all that ‘digging’.

Yet, a sudden thought struck him: the feelings hidden within Yoonwoo’s tough exterior might be entirely different from what they appeared. This realization hit him the moment he faced Yoonwoo’s red, swollen eyes, flushed cheeks, chapped lips, and sniffling voice—a side of Yoonwoo he had never even considered before.

‘But that can’t be right.’

The situation and timing were just too strange.

They were on their way back, having barely recovered after going to the emergency room with a raging fever, barely conscious. Yeon-chae and Yoonwoo were both still standing just inside the entryway, neither having managed to properly take off their sneakers yet.

‘But…’

“I like you.”

Yoonwoo said it. Here and now, not in a dream, not a memory, but in this very moment. And with those words, time and space seemed to stop.

His stomach, having emptied all the marinated crab, still ached. The spot where the IV had been for hours still stung with a dull throb. This moment was so profoundly different from the one Yeon-chae had yearned for in dreams for fourteen years, a moment he hadn’t even dared to imagine. ‘A day like this would probably never come, but if it did, I would take Yoonwoo to a fancy restaurant overlooking the Han River nightscape and…’

“Yeon-chae, I like you.”

‘…present him with a large bouquet of roses, slipping a proposal ring onto his finger.’

“I…”

‘I was going to create the perfect situation and confess at the perfect time, but he beat me to it.’

“I truly, incredibly like you a lot.”

Butterflies erupted in his stomach, fluttering their wings all at once. These butterflies cared nothing for the situation or the timing. They simply tickled the inside of Yeon-chae’s chest with their transparent wings.

“I like you.”

‘Oh, what do I do.’

‘I really didn’t want to cry because of Hyung anymore.’

“I truly, truly like you.”

‘It really doesn’t go as planned.’

“I’ll truly do well from now on. Please accept me… Okay?”

‘It really didn’t go as planned.’

Yoonwoo stood on tiptoes and wrapped his arms around Yeon-chae’s neck. His small face, eyes closed, suddenly drew close.

Yeon-chae’s lips parted slightly, and he received Yoonwoo’s kiss in utter silence, unable to utter a single word. That bird-like pecking kiss continued for a long time, until the tears that had slowly gathered in Yeon-chae’s eyes finally overflowed, unable to bear their own weight. They streamed down his clean cheeks, soaking them completely, before ultimately dripping onto his sneakers.

Yoonwoo suddenly snapped back to reality. His breath had just begun to quicken, following a long, continuous kiss.

It was only then that he remembered: he had showered Yeon-chae with kisses without even waiting for a reply. Upon reflection, it was an unconsented physical touch. ‘Is this sexual harassment…?’ Yoonwoo hesitated, backing away, and cautiously observed Yeon-chae’s reaction.

However, Yeon-chae remained silent, his head bowed low. The fact that he wouldn’t even show his face made Yoonwoo feel a little uneasy. Yoonwoo gently grabbed Yeon-chae’s arm and shook it.

“Yeon-chae, aren’t you going to look at me?”

Yeon-chae remained utterly silent. ‘Could it be that he disliked it?’ It was entirely possible. Yoonwoo’s heart suddenly sank.

Still, he hesitantly reached out and took Yeon-chae’s wrist. The warmth of Yeon-chae’s body against his palm felt pleasant and comforting.

“Come here. Let me see your face.”

He put more strength into the hand gripping Yeon-chae’s wrist. Yeon-chae was pulled weakly, standing close in front of Yoonwoo. But…

‘What? Why are there tears in his eyes?’

“Why are you crying?!”

Yoonwoo jumped back in alarm. He had confessed and kissed Yeon-chae, only for Yeon-chae to be covered in tears. He had no idea how to interpret this. It certainly didn’t seem like a good sign.

Yoonwoo’s face was distraught as his mouth fell open, but he had no idea what to say. ‘Sorry for sexually harassing you?’

He didn’t want to think that, but Yeon-chae, silent and simply letting tears stream down his pale face, looked utterly wronged and harassed. Yoonwoo, his voice trembling with fear, cautiously asked:

“Um… Was it really that bad?”

Yeon-chae bit his lower lip and shook his head from side to side, hiccupping softly. As his head swayed, Yoonwoo finally noticed Yeon-chae’s ears, burning bright red as if on fire.

Yoonwoo blinked. It seemed it wasn’t that he disliked it.

“Then why are you crying?”

“It’s just…”

“‘Just’?”

‘Because I like you…’ That’s what Yoonwoo thought he heard, but the voice was quickly swallowed, making it impossible to be sure.

While Yoonwoo felt a pang of disappointment, Yeon-chae opened his mouth.

“I brushed my teeth earlier. Before we left the hospital.”

“Huh?”

That was completely out of the blue. Yoonwoo had seen Yeon-chae stop by the hospital restroom to brush his teeth. They had bought toothbrushes and toothpaste from the 24-hour convenience store in a corner of the hospital and stood side by side, brushing their teeth together. Yeon-chae had been glum, saying he felt uncomfortable and unclean after throwing up.

Yoonwoo was about to ask, bewildered, “And?” when Yeon-chae sniffled and said:

“Kiss me more.”

“……”