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Join the ServerUpon their return from the trip, daily life resumed its familiar rhythm. Yeon-chae found himself occupied for a considerable time, diligently catching up on the lectures he had missed. Yoonwoo, on the other hand, being on a leave of absence and having even quit his cafe job, had little to do beyond attending cooking classes once or twice a week.
He would often spread out a low desk in the living room, resting his head on Yeon-chae’s lap as Yeon-chae studied, and attempt to read. Yet, more often than not, the time he spent dozing off far exceeded the time he actually spent reading.
“Hyung, wake up.”
That day, Yoonwoo lay half-asleep, his book cast aside. Just as a new dream began to unfurl, Yeon-chae’s voice reached him from the hazy border between reality and slumber.
“Yeon-chae, I’m sleeping…”
He mumbled a groggy reply, but Yeon-chae remained insistent. It seemed Yeon-chae was determined not to let him sleep, perhaps because his increasingly frequent naps had begun to disrupt his nighttime rest.
Despite the intention to rise, Yoonwoo’s eyelids felt impossibly heavy, refusing to open.
“Quickly.”
Yeon-chae urged him once more. At last, Yoonwoo sluggishly pushed himself up into a sitting position, then leaned his forehead gently against Yeon-chae’s shoulder.
“Let me see your hand.”
He found himself too weary to even voice his annoyance, so he simply complied. Yet, Yeon-chae merely stared down at the outstretched palm, utterly silent. When Yoonwoo, growing impatient, shot him a questioning glance, Yeon-chae, sensing the attention, smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling.
Yoonwoo, his face etched with confusion, finally spoke.
“What is it? Why are you acting like this?”
“Oh, nothing. Just because.”
Yeon-chae offered a somewhat nonsensical reply, then lowered his head, rubbing his cheek playfully against Yoonwoo’s palm.
“Hyung, your palm is so incredibly soft…”
“Of course, a palm is soft… Ah, it tickles!”
Yeon-chae began pressing his lips, one after another, against Yoonwoo’s palm and fingertips. The flurry of soft, smacking kisses was both disorienting and a little embarrassing, effectively dispelling any lingering drowsiness.
Yoonwoo straightened his back, adjusting his posture.
“Is this why you asked for my hand?”
As Yoonwoo gently pressed for an answer, Yeon-chae shook his head. Then, with eyes gleaming mischievously, he swiftly placed something onto Yoonwoo’s palm.
“This. It’s a gift for you.”
“Huh? What is this…?”
It was a charming headband, the kind typically worn by children. More than just a simple band, it was adorned with neatly crafted cat ears. Yoonwoo blinked slowly, a hint of bewilderment in his gaze.
Meanwhile, Yeon-chae, beaming with excitement, rummaged around and produced yet another item.
“I have this one, too.”
This one was a rabbit-themed headband. Yoonwoo, utterly perplexed, questioned him.
“Are these for me?”
“Of course.”
If Yeon-chae had claimed these were gifts for their unborn baby, Yoonwoo might have simply accepted it. Instead, Yeon-chae’s eyes widened in innocent surprise as he emphatically stated that, of course, these were for *Hyung*.
Yoonwoo gazed down at the two headbands. ‘I’m not a child, why would he buy me something like this?’ A grumbling complaint inadvertently slipped from his lips.
“Ugh, what is this?”
“You don’t like them…?”
“Huh?”
“I bought them because I thought Hyung would look incredibly cute in them…”
A profound sadness began to cloud Yeon-chae’s handsome features. Startled, Yoonwoo reflexively snatched up one of the headbands.
“Oh, no, no. I like it.”
“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t like it…”
“No, really, it’s cute. Is this… is this how you wear it?”
Yoonwoo fumbled, then hastily pulled the cat ear headband over his head. He questioned whether it warranted such a sorrowful reaction, but he genuinely didn’t want to upset Yeon-chae.
Living with his young husband, it seemed, presented a higher degree of difficulty than he had ever anticipated.
“Whoa!”
Fortunately, Yeon-chae seemed utterly content simply because Yoonwoo had, albeit belatedly, put on the headband. His face radiated such unadulterated happiness, his eyes disappearing into crescent moons, that Yoonwoo couldn’t help but echo his smile.
‘As long as you’re happy,’ he thought to himself.
“But why two of them?”
“This one is mine.”
“Oh?”
“I’d wanted to buy one last time, but there was only a single one left, so I couldn’t. When I went this time, they were selling two different kinds. This one’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Uh…”
With a rather noncommittal expression, Yoonwoo watched as the man, nearly 190 centimeters tall, donned the rabbit-ear headband and then meticulously folded down one of the ears. Yet, perhaps owing to his striking good looks, it suited him surprisingly well.
Yoonwoo let out a soft chuckle, then spoke.
“Yeon-chae. Don’t you have a headband for the baby? Should we buy another one and give it to the baby when they’re born?”
“What? Hyung, how could you put a headband like this on a newborn? It would hurt the baby’s head.”
“…”
A scolding, laced with an incredulous tone, was his only reply. Now, it was Yoonwoo’s turn to feel utterly dumbfounded.
“Where did you even buy these…?”
He had only ever seen such headbands at amusement parks during his childhood. It hadn’t occurred to him that they might be sold in regular stores.
Did Yeon-chae perhaps wish to visit an amusement park? Yoonwoo gently tapped Yeon-chae’s rabbit ear, lost in thought. It suddenly struck him that they had never even had a proper date, having rushed headlong into pregnancy and marriage.
Yoonwoo, too, felt a touch of wistfulness.
“When the baby is born, should we leave them with my brother and go on a date to an amusement park?”
“Why an amusement park?”
“Oh? Well, you like these kinds of headbands… And everyone wears them at amusement parks, right?”
“Oh, really?”
“You didn’t know? Then why did you buy them?”
“Because they’re cute.”
Yoonwoo couldn’t help but laugh at that answer. Especially considering Yeon-chae’s imposing stature.
Yeon-chae, meanwhile, was utterly absorbed, his phone camera switched to selfie mode, capturing both Yoonwoo and himself. The screen displayed a somewhat sullen-faced cat alongside a rabbit that was trying its utmost to appear adorable.
It wasn’t merely an act of cuteness; Yeon-chae genuinely was adorable. Not the rabbit headband with its folded ear, but Yeon-chae himself, adorned with the accessory.
“Hyung, you’re genuinely so cute. Wow, I can’t even.”
Yeon-chae, overcome with excitement, clapped his hands, then began to insist they swap headbands, creating a minor commotion. Yoonwoo, nodding along with a resigned ‘Alright, alright,’ placed the cat ear headband he was wearing onto Yeon-chae’s head.
He muttered under his breath, ‘You’re actually cuter, you know? I’m truly baffled by you.’
“Hyung, Hyung. Let’s take a picture!”
“What picture? No, no, absolutely not.”
No incriminating evidence could be allowed to remain. Yoonwoo shook his head in adamant refusal, yet deep down, he knew he would ultimately yield to Yeon-chae’s persistence.
After a brief struggle, Yoonwoo ultimately succumbed, donning the cat-eared headband and posing for a picture beside Yeon-chae. Yet, even Yoonwoo could not have anticipated a future where that very photograph would be printed, framed, and proudly command a spot on their living room wall.
Having played to his heart’s content with the headbands, Yoonwoo began to show distinct signs of weariness. Lately, perhaps due to the increasing weight of his body, he found himself tiring easily and constantly fatigued.
“I want something delicious to eat.”
“What kind of thing?”
“Something sweet…”
Yeon-chae absently stroked the round back of Yoonwoo’s head, as Yoonwoo rubbed his face against Yeon-chae’s chest. His gaze drifted to the shopping bag carelessly tossed near the table. It held a cookie set he had purchased with Yoonwoo in mind, yet he hesitated, unsure whether to offer it.
“Hyung, you seem to be craving sweets even more than usual these days. I wonder if the baby has inherited your sweet tooth…”
While Yoonwoo had always possessed a fondness for sweets, his cravings had become particularly intense recently. Yeon-chae occasionally found himself concerned, wondering if consuming such an abundance of sugary treats was truly advisable.
However, Yoonwoo seemed to interpret his words quite differently. He abruptly pushed himself upright from where he had been leaning, fixing Yeon-chae with a sharp, narrowed gaze.
“What exactly is wrong with my taste?”
“What? Oh, no, no. Hyung’s taste is absolutely excellent.”
“Then why are you worried?”
“…Hyung, these cookies must be incredibly delicious.”
Yeon-chae quickly tore open the shopping bag, revealing a dazzling set of cookies. ‘The doctor said there’s no need to worry, so I guess I shouldn’t worry,’ he mused to himself, a silent reassurance.
Yoonwoo still grumbled softly, but his annoyance swiftly dissolved as he became captivated by the exquisitely crafted cookie set. With eyes wide and enchanted, he surveyed the array, then picked out the most appealing one. He popped it into his mouth, and in a blink, three cookies had vanished.
“Hyung, eat slowly. I’m not going to steal them from you.”
“Delicious,” he mumbled.
Yeon-chae’s attempts to slow him down were futile. Lately, Yoonwoo’s appetite had grown as much as his need for sleep. Moreover, the cookies seemed to be perfectly to his liking; he stuffed them into his mouth until his cheeks bulged, chewing contentedly until both sides of his face rounded like a squirrel’s cheeks full of acorns.
Yeon-chae’s fingertips instinctively reached for Yoonwoo’s cheek. He repeatedly kneaded Yoonwoo’s plump cheeks, eventually succumbing to the temptation and giving them a firm squeeze.
“Hey! Don’t do that!”
Yoonwoo, having barely swallowed the half-chewed cookie, glared at Yeon-chae.
His narrowed eyes, his plump, protruding cheeks—everything about him was adorable. He was truly beautiful.
And so, Yeon-chae found himself unable to suppress the confession that burst forth like a sneeze.
“Ah, Hyung. I truly love you.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
It was utterly sudden.
Yoonwoo, startled by the unexpected declaration of love, blinked, his eyes wide, and let out a hiccup.
“What did you just say?”
Yeon-chae was just as flustered. This was absolutely not how he had intended to confess his love. The last time he had confirmed Yoonwoo’s feelings was in the early morning at the entrance after their emergency room visit. He had planned to make a proper love confession, but…
Yeon-chae pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Ah, damn it…”
“What? ‘Ah, damn it’?”
A curse-like word followed the love confession. Yeon-chae, startled by his own outburst, stammered in confusion.
“No, I misspoke. That’s not what I meant.”
“What? You misspoke about loving me?”
Yoonwoo retorted, his face utterly bewildered. His formerly gentle, round eyes twisted into a fierce glare, his dark pupils glinting. Yeon-chae’s mind raced, desperate to figure out how to salvage the situation.
“Yes… Yes?”
“What?!”
“No! It’s not that! I meant I wanted to tell you properly in a nice setting, but it just blurted out, and I was surprised!”
“No matter how surprised you were, how can ‘I love you’ be followed by ‘damn it’?”
“When did I ever say that?!”
“As if you did nothing wrong!”
Naturally, the situation remained unsalvageable.
A confession delivered with a bouquet of roses in a restaurant overlooking a night view seemed not to be Yeon-chae’s fate. After a prolonged uproar, Yeon-chae, with one ear gently bitten by Yoonwoo, said tearfully,
“I’m sorry… I love you…”
Yoonwoo, exhausted and weary from the commotion, pressed his lips to Yeon-chae’s earlobe and replied,
“I love you too.”
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Read : The Boy Who Bit Moma's Leaf
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