Love Born of Pity Chapter 126

Kwon Jiho woke up feeling a familiar sense of restraint. He blinked his heavy eyelids slowly. He felt that he could easily escape the embrace if he just pushed slightly, but he decided to stay held for a little longer. As he carefully extended his hands, which had been folded against his chest, to wrap them around the waist of Do Yeonjae, he pulled his body closer in his sleep.

“…Let’s sleep more.”

He encouraged sleep with a sluggish voice. Kwon Jiho blinked his eyes, following the hand that was patting and stroking his back. What time was it? It felt like morning, but it was hard to gauge the time because of the curtains.

“Mr. Director.”

Actually, he had been hungry since the moment he woke up. Because of the hungry feeling, even when he tried to sleep more, the only thing that intensified was a longing to eat something. Something like ramen, cold buckwheat noodles, or spicy mixed noodles.

However, Do Yeonjae showed no sign of waking up. Whether he had fallen into a deep sleep or not, there was no response even when he called out. He had closed his eyes to sleep together, but food was floating around in his head. After biting his lip hard and swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth, he eventually couldn’t stand it anymore and escaped the arms of Do Yeonjae.

Kwon Jiho, who left the bed following the light of the mood lamp, headed straight for the kitchen. For some reason, he found himself walking on his tiptoes just because Do Yeonjae was there. He let out a short, sharp breath in front of the refrigerator after muffling his footsteps. Was it too early to make something to eat?

He had definitely thought it would be fully bright out, but the view outside the window was filled with the dimness of dawn. He bit his lip slightly and opened the refrigerator.

“Sour, ah…”

The anticipation that had welled up to the brim collapsed with a crash. The refrigerator was empty. It was filled with water and bottles of unscented drinks. No matter where he looked, there was nothing that could produce a spicy and sour taste.

As he stared into the refrigerator with a devastated expression for a long time, it beeped with a beep-beep-beep sound, indicating the door had been open for too long. A sudden wave of sorrow welled up. There was no food to satisfy his hunger, and he did not want to drink the beverages. He knew that the kind people had cleaned out everything with strong odors for his sake because his morning sickness was severe, but… he was hungry.

As he closed the refrigerator door, tears started falling involuntarily, and there was a presence behind his back.

“Kwon Jiho? Ha… Damn it, ah… Mr. Kwon Jiho.”

He heard hurried footsteps approaching. Kwon Jiho hung his head low at the sigh that seemed to suppress an oath and his name being called multiple times. The moment he moved his hand to rub his cheeks, his body was turned around.

“Jiho.”

“…”

“Why, why are you doing this? Hmm?”

“Mr. Director, I… I’m hungry.”

He had tried not to cry, but the pent-up sorrow caught fire. He burst into tears, going, “Waaaaah.” As he rubbed his eyes with his fists and explained that he was hungry but there was nothing to eat, Do Yeonjae pulled Kwon Jiho into his arms with a bewildered expression.

“I was hungry, so I came out, hic… sob, there’s nothing, huff, at all.”

“You should have told me. Why did you wake up alone and cry… What, what do you want to eat?”

Do Yeonjae’s voice wavered. He couldn’t tell if he was flustered or shocked. He wanted to see his face, but his vision blurred quickly even when he blinked. The large hand wiping his cheeks was shaking.

“…Noodles, I want to eat noodles. Spicy mixed noodles.”

“Wait. Just wait. I’ll make it for you right away… Just a moment. I’ll go get the ingredients, so don’t cry and…”

At the words that he would make it for him, his tears stopped as if by magic. When Kwon Jiho asked if that was true, confirming it, and raised his head, Do Yeonjae replied that it was, with a serious expression.

“I like it with young radish kimchi inside. But… it doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s sour.”

“Okay, just sit for a moment.”

Do Yeonjae nodded decisively. He turned on the kitchen light and pulled out a dining chair. He held Kwon Jiho’s hand to sit him down, then took out sparkling water and a bottle of lemon preserve from the refrigerator. Then, as if pondering for a moment, he stopped moving his hands and turned his head.

“…Why are you doing that?”

“Are you cold?”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

Kwon Jiho shook his head. The whole house was as full of warmth as the bedroom. Even in his thin pajamas, he didn’t feel cold.

Do Yeonjae scrutinized his clear face, where the traces of tears hadn’t fully vanished, and then nodded. Still, he didn’t put ice in the ade. After placing the drink in front of Kwon Jiho, Do Yeonjae moved about while unable to hide his worried gaze until the end.

“I’ll be back soon, so stay for a moment. Don’t cry. I’ll be back soon. I’ll really be back fast.”

He told him not to cry several times until the moment he left the kitchen. Kwon Jiho felt a little embarrassed. He didn’t know why he had suddenly cried. But the embarrassment was soon forgotten. His hunger deepened, and his longing for noodles grew intense. He even felt a little nervous because it seemed like Do Yeonjae might appear with something similar.

♬⋆.˚

It felt like less than a few minutes had passed. Since Do Yeonjae had returned before he had even finished the ade, it had taken… maybe about 20 minutes?

“Just a moment.”

With a determined expression, he laid out the boiled somyeon noodles, young radish kimchi, sauce, and a bottle of sesame oil. He started placing the ingredients he had taken the trouble to bring separately into a wide ceramic bowl one by one. Kwon Jiho swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth over and over, focusing intently on the way Do Yeonjae’s hands moved.

“They say adding sesame oil makes the nutty flavor stronger, should I add it?”

He was troubled. What should he do?

“I brought plenty, so I’ll add it, and if the taste isn’t good, I’ll eat it.”

Do Yeonjae gave a clear solution. At least, that was how it felt to him.

“Quickly…”

Kwon Jiho’s eyes shone. The moisture on his eyelashes had all dried, but his cheeks were flushed. Had he cried a little more when he wasn’t there? Worrying, Do Yeonjae, who had drizzled sesame oil over the young radish kimchi he’d placed as a garnish, put on plastic gloves.

“They said to mix it like this. Do you not like it?”

“I like it.”

Do Yeonjae smiled. The sight of him concentrating with disheveled hair and an mismatched appearance… it made his heart feel ticklish.

“All done. Oh, sesame seeds.”

Only after sprinkling them from a small container were the red-mixed noodles placed in front of him. The familiar scent stimulated his sense of smell. His eyes stung again, overcome with emotion.

“I will eat well.”

Kwon Jiho greeted him with a tearful voice and picked up the chopsticks. The worry that the sour taste might be masked by the sesame oil disappeared the moment he put the noodles in his mouth. It was a familiar taste, but honestly, it was the most delicious noodle he had ever eaten. His eyes widened, and his sorrow melted away in an instant.

“Eat slowly. You have to chew and swallow. What do you mean by just swallowing?”

Do Yeonjae, who had been sitting across from him, quickly moved to Kwon Jiho’s side. He adjusted the speed of his eating by offering him the ade, as Kwon Jiho was busy swallowing noodles without chewing them more than a few times. Kwon Jiho, who had wolfed it down like a starving person, muttered that he wanted to eat more.

Do Yeonjae, as if he had been waiting, mixed more noodles, took out an empty bowl, and served a new portion. Kwon Jiho cleared it as cleanly as if it were his first bite. When asked if he wanted more, Kwon Jiho shook his head with eyes full of regret.

“I’m full, so I can’t eat any more.”

“Tell me when you want to eat again.”

He pulled out a tissue and wiped the corner of Kwon Jiho’s mouth, then added:

“Don’t cry. You startled me. I thought something had happened.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. My heart dropped.”

At the voice that rang calmly, Kwon Jiho’s eyes turned toward him. When their gazes met, Do Yeonjae smiled. Perhaps because the tension had snapped, drowsiness slowly filled his face.

“Shall we sleep a bit more? Or go for a walk? I seem to remember you saying that you feel stifled if you eat a lot.”

Kwon Jiho looked quietly at Do Yeonjae, who had not forgotten what he had said, and shook his head.

“…I’m sleepy because I ate.”

He hung his head low, feeling embarrassed about what had happened in a short time—crying alone and then eating.

“Sleepy?”

Do Yeonjae held firmly onto the hand that had cautiously reached out toward him. Inside his palm, his fingers were wiggling ticklishly. The tips of his ears, the back of his neck, and his cheeks were red. He gazed intently at every spot with a fervent look and then sucked in a short breath.

He stood Kwon Jiho up. After waiting for him to brush his teeth in front of the bathroom and lying down side-by-side on the bed, Kwon Jiho’s half-closed eyes opened wide, as if he had noticed something strange only then.

“But why are you here, Mr. Director?”

“I came at night, and Mr. Kwon Jiho grabbed me and told me not to leave.”

“Did I… did I grab you?”

“Yes, you asked me to hold you.”

It was a lie. While Do Yeonjae had watched him sleep for over an hour, his eyelids hadn’t even flickered once. He had breathed softly without even a twitch. It was he who couldn’t bear it and pulled him into his arms. Only after holding him tightly, anxious that he might wake up, did sleep pour over him. Inhaling the cozy bedding and the soft scent to his heart’s content, he had fallen into such a deep sleep.

“If it’s uncomfortable…”

“It’s too comfortable.”

Afraid an eviction order to return home might fall, Do Yeonjae covered Kwon Jiho’s eyes with his hand. He dropped a light kiss even on the lips that had parted to speak and pulled him closer.

“Let’s name the baby when we wake up. I’ll tell you in advance, I’ve already thought of about two.”

“…”

“I didn’t tell you to make you feel pressured.”

Kwon Jiho hesitated but hugged Do Yeonjae back. At his action, Do Yeonjae smiled slightly. The hand covering his face was warm, and the arms he was held in were familiar.