Chapter 25: The Guest at the Door

Doyoon handed him a cup filled a little over halfway with tea.

Haesu pushed himself upright from where he had been lying unwillingly and accepted it with both hands.

Only after watching Doyoon drag a chair over from the small table in the room and sit down did he finally take a sip.

It was warm.

As the tea slid down his throat at the perfect temperature, a pleasant heaviness spread through his body.

It felt like some of the tension buried deep inside his subconscious was finally loosening.

After swallowing a few more mouthfuls, Haesu lowered the cup instead of drinking further.

Doyoon quietly took it from him.

“Lie down. I want your fever to drop a little more if possible…”

“Mm. About that.”

The truth was, sleeping wasn’t something he could control anymore.

Even if this unfamiliar space felt strangely comfortable to both his body and mind, sleep had long become the most troublesome thing in Haesu’s life.

The days when he could simply decide to sleep and actually fall asleep belonged far in the past now.

At his vague answer, Doyoon said nothing and simply laid him back down anyway.

Not satisfied with merely covering him to the neck with blankets, he tucked them around him tightly enough that even cold air couldn’t slip inside.

Then he sat in front of him again.

This time, leaning comfortably into the chair while watching Haesu quietly.

“From now on, I’ll tell you something incredibly boring. Maybe if it’s dull enough, you’ll fall asleep. Looks like life finally made me a professor.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…”

You really are strange.

Haesu had thought that for years already.

Doyoon’s sense of humor often drew laughter out of him before he even realized it himself.

Haesu liked that about him.

Kwon Seha had been the same way too.

Maybe that was why the two of them became friends in the first place.

Once Haesu laughed, Doyoon began talking.

Most of it made no sense to him.

Stories about graduate business programs.

About motorcycles Doyoon used to love.

Doyoon insisted the topics were boring, but Haesu listened more attentively than expected.

So those kinds of things exist.

That motorcycle part costs that much?

Thoughts like that drifted through his head while listening seriously.

The one left speechless by Haesu’s sudden concentration was Doyoon himself.

Laughter escaped him involuntarily.

Soon he was covering his forehead while laughing helplessly.

Embarrassed, Haesu turned his back toward him and hugged the pillow tightly.

“You really find motorcycle stories interesting? Why are you listening so seriously like a student?”

“Stop teasing me.”

“Haesu riding a motorcycle… that image feels really fresh. I just imagined it.”

“I said stop teasing.”

The pleasant sound of Doyoon’s laughter continued behind him without pause.

It was embarrassing, sure.

But somehow, it didn’t feel bad.

After sitting like that for several minutes with Doyoon behind him, Haesu eventually noticed the laughter stopping.

Turning back around, he saw Doyoon staring at his phone with a hardened expression.

“Did something happen?”

“Mm, no. I thought maybe I’d need to go somewhere, but I guess I don’t.”

“I see…”

“Yeah. Are you sleepy now?”

“I’m not.”

“So… would it be okay if I went to get my medicine?”

The bag he left in Doyoon’s living room after arriving suddenly came to mind.

More specifically, one particular thing inside it.

Even if he didn’t take them, he still wanted the pills nearby.

At Haesu’s request, Doyoon hesitated briefly.

He hadn’t brought Haesu here intending to forcefully break his habits overnight, but seeing just how dependent he had become on the medication still hurt him unexpectedly.

“I’ll bring them for you.”

“That’s not okay. You can’t make the homeowner run errands.”

“Who exactly created these rules where you can’t take the homeowner’s bed or ask them for favors?”

Well, it’s not really like that…

Ignoring the unfocused stare Haesu gave him, Doyoon walked into the living room without waiting for an answer.

Soon he returned holding the very thing that had briefly shattered him earlier at Haesu’s apartment.

Just like before, he carefully placed the white bottle on the nightstand beside the bed.

Haesu quietly thanked him and couldn’t stop staring at it.

“Doyoon. If you’re busy, go work, okay?”

“Yeah. I will. Since you might feel uncomfortable, should I leave the room now?”

“…This feels strange. It’s not even my room, yet I’m kicking someone out.”

It wasn’t a direct answer, but what Haesu meant was clear enough.

I think I can be alone now.

At this point, Doyoon couldn’t even feel offended by that anymore.

Because whatever Haesu wanted had already become what Doyoon wanted too.

The moment he stepped out of this room, Haesu would probably reach for that pill bottle again out of habit.

The thought was horrifying.

If Doyoon could physically throw himself in front of it and stop him, he honestly wanted to.

But he also didn’t want to wound Haesu further after seeing him improve even slightly compared to earlier.

Besides, Doyoon still had things to do.

After telling Haesu to sleep well, he left the room.

The moment the door shut and Haesu disappeared from sight, every smile Doyoon had shown him vanished instantly.

His expression hardened completely.

He unlocked his phone and checked the missed calls piled up there again.

Kwon Seha.

Now that Doyoon had decided to involve himself more deeply in Haesu’s life, his old friend’s name no longer felt welcome at all.

There were four missed calls from Seha alone.

At first, Doyoon had no intention of returning them.

After about two hours without further contact, he had planned to ignore Seha until the weekend passed entirely.

Because he could already vaguely predict how the conversation would go once they spoke.

He tried hard to shake off the anxiety growing larger the longer he delayed responding.

He distracted himself by reading random articles on his phone.

By wondering what Haesu might want for dinner later.

But as time passed, Doyoon’s instincts began screaming warnings at him.

Clicking his tongue irritably, he finally grabbed the phone he had been avoiding.

[You’re really hard to reach.]

“Who wants to answer their boss’s calls on the weekend?”

[Hearing that from a friend hurts a little.]

As if waiting for this exact moment, Seha answered immediately.

Just as expected, every word carried hidden barbs.

Even if Seha pretended otherwise, Doyoon could practically feel his agitation through the phone.

After all, the last thing Seha had seen was Yoon Jiwoo deeply shaken.

Which only made Seha’s calm tone feel even stranger.

[I’m at your house, by the way.]

“…What?”

[What, am I not allowed here anymore? You’re making me sad all of a sudden. Were you really that busy?]

Nothing Seha said was technically wrong.

Doyoon was the one reacting strangely.

They had been friends since childhood.

Considering how often they entered each other’s homes over the years, this situation shouldn’t have felt unusual at all.

But today was different.

Choi Haesu was inside that room.

The person Doyoon had practically dragged here through sheer stubbornness because his anxiety wouldn’t let him leave Haesu alone.

Even knowing Haesu would feel uncomfortable, Doyoon still begged him to stay.

There was no way he could let Kwon Seha run into him here.

[Open the door. At least I’m polite enough not to punch in your passcode and walk in myself. And don’t tell me the room’s messy or something equally stupid. Just open it.]

Doyoon bit down hard on his lip.

Otherwise, he felt like he might start swearing.

Before hurrying toward the entrance, he stopped himself and turned back toward the bedroom first.

“Hang up for now. Wait.”

Stuffing the phone carelessly into his pocket, he forced himself to breathe slowly.

No matter how deeply he inhaled and exhaled, his thoughts refused to settle.

Was Haesu asleep?

Only a few hours ago, Doyoon had felt heartbroken watching how dependent he was on those pills.

And yet now, he desperately hoped Haesu had fallen asleep because of them.

Whether he was angry at himself for that contradiction or furious at Seha for appearing out of nowhere, even Doyoon couldn’t tell anymore.

Carefully opening the bedroom door, he immediately caught Haesu’s scent.

He had only arrived recently, yet somehow the room already smelled like him.

The anger pounding through Doyoon’s head slowly began calming down.

Soft, even breathing filled the silence.

No voice.

No murmuring.

Walking closer, Doyoon finally saw him.

Haesu was asleep.

Judging by how deeply unconscious he looked, he probably hadn’t fallen asleep naturally.

Still, the sight of him breathing peacefully was enough to make Doyoon feel relieved for now.

Turning away, he quietly closed the bedroom door.

Please don’t wake up.

Even for a little while.

No matter what dreams he had, Doyoon simply wanted him to stay asleep.

Repeating it’s okay, it’s okay beneath his breath, he walked toward the entrance to greet the guest he absolutely did not want to see.

“What is it?”

“How did Choi Haesu and Yoon Jiwoo end up meeting?”

No greeting.

Straight to the point.

Doyoon expected this already.

It wasn’t as though they were the kind of friends who exchanged warm greetings every time they met anyway.

But neither were they usually the type to speak with this much restrained anger.

Kwon Seha was furious.

After everything involving Jiwoo yesterday and today, that reaction made sense.

Jiwoo’s gentle personality made him terrible at hiding his emotions or lying convincingly.

Doyoon suspected Seha’s anger resembled the same emotions he himself had felt before.

“It was coincidence.”

“Then explain how that coincidence happened.”

“What’s strange about people running into each other at a restaurant? Maybe Jiwoo went there often too.”

That much was true.

Doyoon had no intention of exaggerating or hiding what happened.

The morning he intended to spend entirely focused on Haesu had simply been interrupted by Jiwoo’s appearance.

Either way, Doyoon understood Seha’s frustration.

If possible, Seha probably wanted Jiwoo to remain unaware of Haesu forever.

But not only had that failed — it happened right before the wedding.

If Doyoon were in his place, he probably would’ve reacted the same way too.