Chapter 8: The Stray Dog

Jinho is noisy.

That was the thought Taehyuk had most often during the nearly three weeks they’d spent together. He’d never met anyone like Jinho who chattered and muttered incessantly in front of him like that.

Taehyuk had grown up in a somewhat unusual household. He’d learned taking before yielding, commanding before observing courtesy. So he’d never experienced what others would call a normal childhood. Not that he’d ever longed for it, either. Fortunately, that upbringing suited his temperament.

That’s how Taehyuk grew up without lacking anything as the heir of an organization. But perhaps he lacked nothing too perfectly. Some elders who had bowed their heads and hidden their ambitions beneath the surface took offense at him, and troublesome incidents began to occur.

It was a trap that normally would never have caught him—but the elders had discovered his one weakness and used it to attack him. They sent people to harm the first person Taehyuk had ever held in his heart but couldn’t bring himself to approach.

Fortunately, Taehyuk managed to stop them midway, but in his haste he hadn’t brought many of his men. In the end, outnumbered, he was stabbed and forced to retreat. Wounded for the first time in a long while, Taehyuk desperately gave them the slip, then collapsed in an alley, unable to fight off the dizziness that washed over him. It was the first true helplessness he’d ever experienced in his life.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was white wallpaper. He briefly thought it was a hospital, but the lack of that distinct smell made him quickly tense his body. His limbs wouldn’t obey him properly, and it took quite a while just to sit up. His back was damp with sweat.

Taehyuk knew from experience that getting stabbed wouldn’t leave him like this. Besides, the wound was just a surface scratch from what he could tell. As soon as he was certain someone had used some kind of medicine on him, he let out a low curse and surveyed his surroundings. Fortunately, his hands and feet weren’t bound, and he saw no torture devices or weapons anywhere. The more he examined it, the more it looked like just an ordinary family home.

For a moment, Taehyuk thought of Yeryeong—the person with the pretty smile. The location in his last memory had been near Yeryeong’s house, so he wondered if Yeryeong had coincidentally found him and brought him home. But his hopes were soon dashed. Following the sound of breathing nearby, Taehyuk leaned over and saw the face of an ordinary-looking young man—maybe high school age—asleep on the floor right beside the bed.

“I’m your junior, Kim Jinho!”

The man got up noisily and introduced himself with an embarrassed smile. Kim Jinho. At those words, Taehyuk searched his memory, but nothing came to mind. With that club, there’s no way we’d have recruited someone we didn’t know. As he thought this, his dry throat made speech difficult, so he just stared—and soon received a convincing enough answer.

Yeryeong. The one person who always made him drop his guard. Taehyuk finally remembered that Yeryeong had brought a friend along when he joined the club.

So it was this guy. But how could he seem so much like a stranger? As Taehyuk stared at him, Jinho’s face flickered with an expression like he was about to cry, then he smiled again. He left the room and came back with a tray, then brought a spoonful of porridge—which he said he’d made himself—to Taehyuk’s lips. Taehyuk felt an immediate revulsion and forced his mouth open to refuse, but his throat was clogged and his tongue wouldn’t move properly, so the words came out slowly.

Before he could even finish, Jinho urged him to eat. Even putting on a ridiculous angry face while doing it. Taehyuk, noticing that his furrowed brow probably just looked like a child’s sulk, found it strangely endearing and quietly opened his mouth.

The food was good, and the portion was decent. The constant chatter was a bit noisy, but tolerable. After some deliberation, he decided to stay here until his strength returned.

About two weeks had passed since Taehyuk started staying at Jinho’s house. Following his established routine, he would wake early at dawn to stretch, then lie back down around the time Jinho woke up. Jinho would soon get up, wake the feigning-sleep Taehyuk, help him wash up, and make breakfast.

It should have been tiresome, but Jinho brought out new side dishes or soup every day. Even with Taehyuk’s picky palate, every single dish was delicious. After the meal, Jinho would leave for work, and Taehyuk would exercise again and contact his men. To minimize the risk of his location being discovered, he only told his doctor where he was and handled everything else by phone. And when Jinho was about to return, he’d tidy up and lie back down again.

Jinho, completely unaware, worried that Taehyuk might have struggled while he was gone, so he’d quickly wash up and come over to start kneading him under the guise of a massage. Honestly, Taehyuk didn’t really care about the physical benefits—he just didn’t mind the kneading hands and the chattering voice, so he let it happen. But Jinho, proud as if his massages were responsible for Taehyuk’s daily improvement, would smile adorably every time.

Finding an unremarkable man adorable—Taehyuk thought he should ask his doctor if the drugs he’d been given had any mind-altering side effects.

“Mmm… warm… hehe…”

Jinho, who always said he was worried Taehyuk might be uncomfortable and lay a little farther away, would inevitably roll toward him soon after falling asleep. Then he’d cling on, hugging his arm or draping his leg over Taehyuk’s thigh.

Taehyuk let Jinho be. He’d pushed him away the first few times out of annoyance, but every time he did, Jinho would cry in his sleep and mumble things like “don’t throw me away” and “please let me live.”

Regardless, Jinho was making his stay comfortable, and Taehyuk knew the kid was putting in effort with meals and massages, so he figured he could endure this level of inconvenience.

Living together, Taehyuk noticed one peculiar thing about Jinho: his habit of constantly talking or muttering to himself. Jinho probably thought he was just thinking internally, but he definitely murmured out loud from time to time. Watching him complain with pouting lips about how quiet Taehyuk was or how his mouth hurt, even while smiling brightly—it was amusing, so Taehyuk never pointed it out. Either way, the kid was a handful to watch.

As they spent time together, the once-ordinary kid truly began to look cute to him. The way he’d grumble about his sore arms but still see the meal through to the end. The way he’d subtly gauge Taehyuk’s reactions when he spoke. Taehyuk thought Jinho resembled an animal whining and circling around because it wanted to stick close—a creature desperate for affection. In his eyes, Jinho was clearly a canine—specifically, a stray mutt raised on the streets with no manners, but starving for love.

When Jinho sulked and complained about being too quiet, a single short word from Taehyuk would make him smile brightly and chatter again as if he’d never been upset. And if Taehyuk happened to laugh once, Jinho would act as if he’d received a great gift. Behind that delighted expression, Taehyuk could almost see a wildly wagging tail. Somewhere along the way, Choi Taehyuk realized he’d become the owner of a stray mutt named Kim Jinho.

“So, sunbae-nim ended up staying at Jinho’s place?”

Then one day, Yeryeong came by. After a brief moment of surprise, Taehyuk remembered what the stray mutt had said—that the two of them lived right next door and were very close.

Even though his doctor had been visiting regularly, the effects of the paralytic agent on the knife still lingered. Taehyuk’s fine motor control—like his fingers—was still clumsy. He didn’t want to show this pathetic side to Yeryeong, but he also didn’t want to ignore him after he’d greeted him so brightly, so he forced out a reply through his tight throat.

But as soon as he did, Jinho’s face fell, and he started grumbling about how Taehyuk had spoken so much. Watching the kid pout with teary eyes and a sulky expression, Taehyuk couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. How cute. He almost wanted to ruffle his hair—but because the sight was so endearing, Taehyuk deliberately did nothing.

Thanks to Jinho—who explained things slowly with a dejected look and unclear pronunciation—it took quite a while for Yeryeong to understand the full story.

After hearing it all, Yeryeong offered to help Taehyuk and Jinho. But the thought of more people seeing him in this weakened state was already unpleasant—and the fact that it was Yeryeong made it even worse. Taehyuk refused before Yeryeong could even finish speaking. And for some reason, Jinho also raised a fuss and rejected the offer, so Yeryeong, looking a bit embarrassed, withdrew his suggestion.

“Alright, okay! I’ve delivered what I came to deliver, so I’ll be going now.”

Yeryeong quickly got up. Taehyuk would have liked to spend more time with him after so long, but circumstances being what they were, he couldn’t stop him. As he reluctantly opened his mouth to reply, his gaze caught Jinho—who’d been sitting quietly beside him—also standing up.

Taehyuk couldn’t suppress the sudden, inexplicable irritation that surged up. He followed them out and asked where Jinho was going. But the answer came from an unexpected direction.

He didn’t want to embarrass Yeryeong, but the thought of grabbing Jinho—who had no idea Taehyuk was talking to him—felt urgent. He snatched Jinho’s arm. Fortunately, Jinho had enough sense not to ask why he shouldn’t go out at this hour, so Taehyuk was able to see Yeryeong off with a satisfied smile.

And then, a few days later, Taehyuk found himself feeling that same inexplicable irritation once again—this time over one of Jinho’s trivial whims.

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