Chapter 33: A Tender Morning

“Ah…!”

I turned on the shower without thinking and stood there blankly, only to get scalded by the hot water.

I cooled my reddened back with cold water and slowly shampooed my hair.

My body felt even heavier, having just woken up.

My arms and legs were sore.

I roughly shook my head to rinse out the shampoo foam and picked up the body wash.

Only after squeezing a generous amount of body wash into my palm did my injured finger catch my eye.

Just last night, Chul-soo had told me not to let it get wet, but I had forgotten.

Belatedly, I wrapped my finger in a towel and washed my body with only my left hand.

I hated the sight of the black stitches holding my skin together, so I had covered them with a band-aid, but that had caused it to fester.

I had gotten so used to the stinging pain that I had forgotten I was even injured.

If only I had gotten the stitches removed sooner, it would have healed quickly.

“This is so d*mn annoying…”

Looking at my injured hand, a wave of irritation washed over me.

Was it because I hadn’t been able to sleep for long?

My rapidly fluctuating mood kept becoming easily sharpened.

Whenever Chul-soo wasn’t by my side, a frown would invariably form on my forehead.

I gently rubbed the space between my wrinkled eyebrows with the damp towel and then got dressed.

Following Chul-soo, who would get fully dressed in the bathroom after his shower, I also started getting completely dressed after showering.

I miss the days when I could run around with the kids in just my underwear.

When I opened the bathroom door, I immediately saw Chul-soo sleeping on the bed.

The moment I saw him, my deeply sunken, gloomy mood soared as if to touch the ceiling again.

It was like this every day recently.

When I was alone, I would feel melancholic, but when he was in front of me, the corners of my mouth would lighten up before I knew it.

“Why is he sleeping like that?”

I wanted to take a picture of him lying horizontally on the bed, but I restrained myself.

The younger Chul-soo had developed bad sleeping habits.

He wasn’t one to sleep in a perfectly still position before, but it was never this bad.

I picked up the pillows that had fallen on the floor one by one and piled them at the head of the bed.

These days, he would always throw his pillows while sleeping.

He would even throw my pillow far away, so I often woke up in the middle of the night.

I had woken up that way today, too.

‘Will his sleeping habits get worse when his legs heal?’

For now, he was at least only rolling around in the bed, but I was worried he might fall off the bed if he could move his legs.

‘Should I just tie him up?’

As if he had heard my thoughts, Chul-soo suddenly tossed his upper body and frowned.

Then, I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from bursting into laughter at the sight of him scratching his stomach.

I laughed silently, pressed close to the headboard, and watched him.

Frowning, he stopped scratching his stomach and tried to take off his shirt.

He pulled the thin, black, short-sleeved t-shirt up to his chest, tossed and turned, and then became still again.

He must be hot.

I forced my gaze away from his chest and lowered the air conditioner’s temperature.

I had been keeping the temperature a little high, worried he might get cold.

Silencing my presence, I carefully sat down at the head of the bed.

I hid my body with the fluffy pillow and continued to watch him sleep soundly.

I liked that I could look at his sleeping face to my heart’s content.

Wanting to see him from a little closer, I lay down next to him.

I held the pillow in front of my chest like a shield and lay parallel to him, keeping a distance.

‘He’s really sleeping soundly.’

I was tempted to put my finger in his habitually open mouth, but I satisfied myself with the thought.

With the current him, there was a risk he might accidentally bite my finger.

I just admired his handsome face with my eyes.

‘…But I still want to touch him.’

‘It’s all mine.’

Feeling a sense of loss, I slowly took in each of his features—his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Having become seventeen, he strangely looked younger and younger.

The way he slept with his hand inside his clothes also seemed like a high schooler.

Was it because I was conscious of his age?

Except for his sudden outbursts or his inability to hide his emotions, his personality was the same.

He was still mature and broad-minded, not like a seventeen-year-old.

His kind personality, unable to just stand by and watch a sick person, was also the same.

Even that heart of his that worried about me.

“Chul-soo.”

I called his name softly, then a little louder.

Kim Chul-soo, Chul-soo-ya.

I repeated his name like I used to when I joked around with the him from before he lost his memories.

Whenever I called, he would always come to me with a smile.

I wish it were the same now.

As if it had all been a joke and nothing had ever changed.

I hoped that one day soon, he would call only my name.

“Wake up.”

“Let’s eat.”

I nudged his chest with the pillow, waking him.

It was already past eleven in the morning.

Chul-soo had said he had rehabilitation therapy at two o’clock today as well.

“Ugh, ugh-huh.”

“I’m awake.”

He mumbled, snatching my pillow and hugging it.

He even whined, saying he wanted to sleep for just ten more minutes.

It didn’t seem like he was talking to me, so I just watched for a moment before stroking his messy hair.

Then, his sleep-talking, looking for his mom, followed.

Today, too, his family appeared in his slurred sleep-talk.

Mom, Dad, and even Grandma.

He dreamt of those three people almost every day.

My name never came up once.

I couldn’t bring myself to wake him further and just kept stroking his hair.

Seeing his peaceful expression, I found myself stroking his hair as if lulling him to sleep.

But the gentle smile spreading on his lips actually made my mood sink.

Soon after, he opened his eyes, and our gazes met.

“Awake?”

I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile and took my hand off his head.

He blinked his heavy eyes for a moment, staring at me intently, and then soon smiled back and greeted me.

“Did you sleep well?”

Chul-soo never said a word about his dreams.

Whether they were happy dreams or sad dreams, he kept them all to himself.

I decided to think that he, too, forgot his dreams upon waking.

That’s what I decided to believe.

“It’s already past eleven.”

“Let’s wash up and have lunch.”

“Did I sleep like this?”

I shrugged at him, who was looking at his horizontal position with puzzlement.

“I was lying like this when I woke up, too.”

“I guess we moved around in our sleep.”

He chuckled at my words.

Muttering, ‘That’s strange,’ he had no idea how bad his sleeping habits were.

“Hyung, yesterday…”

Chul-soo, who was rubbing his dry face, narrowed his eyes as if trying to recall the moments before he fell asleep.

“Did I fall asleep in the middle of it?”

“You don’t remember?”

Leaning his cheek on the pillow, he had an expression that said he didn’t know when he had fallen asleep.

Then again, he had looked tired ever since coming back from rehabilitation therapy yesterday.

“You were dozing off, so I just said let’s sleep.”

“Ah…, I’m sorry.”

“What’s there to be sorry about?”

I smiled lightly and sat up first.

Lying down next to him was making me sleepy too.

“Want to shower?”

“Or just wash your face?”

“I’ll just wash my face.”

He stretched as he got up and smiled at me.

“Yeong-u-hyung.”

‘There he goes again.’

‘Making my heart flutter.’

“Let’s do it again today.”

For him to not only show interest but to even suggest it first.

I showed my excitement openly and agreed.

Chul-soo was smiling at me often now.

Ever since I had my cold, he had been treating me with a completely open heart.

Just as Tae Seung-jun had predicted, he also calmly accepted that we were lovers.

Though he probably accepted it because he had no choice, since it had already happened.

“Aren’t you going to dry your hair, Hyung?”

Chul-soo, who had transferred to his wheelchair, pointed at my wet hair.

“I don’t really use a hairdryer in the summer.”

“Why?”

“It’s hot.”

“Well, it’s hot because you’re dressed like that.”

Chul-soo glanced at my thick sweatshirt and let out a dry laugh.

Instead of answering, I gestured with my eyes toward the air conditioner blowing cool air.

“If you’re cold, Hyung, turn it off.”

“Then you’ll be hot.”

“I can just wear something long.”

“Hurry up and go wash.”

After sending him to the bathroom, I got off the bed too.

He needed help with showering, but he could wash his face by himself.

I was about to leave the bedroom but changed direction and squatted in front of the TV stand.

I took the Nintendo Switch out of the basket stored under the stand’s legs and connected it to the charger.

We couldn’t even finish one round yesterday because he fell asleep in the middle, but today I decided we’d enjoy a game for the first time in a while.

It was the first time since losing his memory that Chul-soo had suggested doing something first.

It would have been perfect if he’d shown enthusiasm for Guiding instead of a game, but I was just glad he was showing interest in anything.

Last night, when he refused my Guiding, I had been nothing but gloomy.

‘Do it for me when your hand is all better, Hyung.’

Last night, pointing at my hand reddened by the disinfectant, he had firmly refused Guiding.

‘This is fine!’

I couldn’t hide my bewilderment and jumped up, holding out my middle finger.

I hadn’t expected to be refused.

Especially since just that morning he had said he would receive Guiding, I had been waiting for night all day.

‘Look at this.’

‘Huh?’

‘I just need to get the stitches out tomorrow.’

‘It doesn’t hurt, and I can’t even feel it.’

‘That’s even more dangerous.’

‘How can it not hurt when it’s swollen like this?’

‘Are your nerves paralyzed?’

‘It hurts a little.’

‘A little.’

‘And being slightly injured like this won’t interfere with Guiding.’

I was about to release my Guiding to show him I was in top condition, but I gave up.

I had no choice but to shut my mouth at his next words.

‘I don’t want to receive Guiding while holding an injured hand.’

‘…’

‘And I don’t like people who can’t take care of their own bodies.’

Since he put it that way, I couldn’t argue any further.

In the end, after checking that his wavelength level was in a stable range, I forced myself to accept it.

So, we postponed Guiding until my finger was fully healed.

He did agree to let me release a little of my wavelength while I sleep.

We agreed that, except for when his level rose sharply, he would only receive Radial Guiding.

It’s so d*mn hard to get one kiss.