Salt Society Chapter 8

Since I was the type of person who found such small tasks very troublesome, I just kept forgetting to change it. While Kihyun was thinking that even a code like that had been set according to Cho Yeonoh’s whims, Cho Yeonoh walked into the open door as if it were his own home.

“I cannot tell who the homeowner is.”

“You should come to my place too. Who is stopping you?”

It was his way of saying that if Kihyun felt wronged, he should come and sleep at his house. His attitude was that as long as So Kihyun was there, the location did not particularly matter. As proof of that, Cho Yeonoh always told Kihyun to go to his house. Kihyun had no choice but to refuse that proposal every time. It was hard enough to endure right now, and he did not know what might happen if he went thoughtlessly to the house of a guy whose body scent was so strong.

Sometimes, regarding himself—disguised with a plain face while staring intently at Cho Yeonoh’s body—he wondered if this was what people meant when they said there is no one you can trust. It was also ridiculous how he was being careful all by himself when Cho Yeonoh, the one who would actually have to give him the treat, was not even thinking about it.

“I am going to wash my hands, so think about what you want to eat.”

Cho Yeonoh, who had entered first, was hanging his suit jacket in the clothes care machine he had bought with his own money. Since he spoke briefly and headed toward the bathroom, Kihyun also simply washed his hands with the hand wash kept in the kitchen. Then he replied softly.

“I do not have an appetite.”

“Stop talking nonsense…”

Cho Yeonoh’s voice could be heard distantly from inside the bathroom. Kihyun let out a smirk at the words spoken with such certainty, as if it were not even funny.

But it was true. Lately, his body temperature had been a bit high and his condition was consistently poor. Perhaps because he had no appetite, he was losing weight because he kept leaving his food behind.

“I cannot have muscle loss.”

Thinking of his ankle, he needed to do more strength training, but he was beyond exhausted when he returned from work. However, since Cho Yeonoh was the type of person who did what he said he would do, Kihyun was destined to force down a meal he could not stomach today as well.

A slight sigh escaped. Inside the goldfish tank, bubbles were constantly floating up without a sound. Staring blankly at it, the question arose whether he was exhausted right now.

But by what?

But from where?

Just where was So Kihyun exhausted, and what was making him tired? Kihyun remained silent at the question he himself could not answer.

⏳

“Kihyun, are you joking.”

“…”

He was too busy clutching his solar plexus and groaning in pain to even answer those words.

Because he had forced down the dinner he could not stomach, he had finally ended up with indigestion. He thought that even if he was a bit sickly because of his ankle, at least his internal organs were strong, but recently his minor ailments had increased.

As Kihyun kept his eyes tightly shut, unable to even answer because he was dizzy from the indigestion, Cho Yeonoh made a clicking sound with his tongue, as if it were absurd that Kihyun suddenly got sick after appearing to eat well.

Of course, Kihyun did not give any answer. Part of it was that he had nothing to say, and even to himself, he looked pathetic.

“Yes, Doctor. I am sorry. Manager Yoo will be there to pick you up shortly.”

Kihyun, who had been lying down covering his eyes with his forearm, was surprised by the contents of the call and sat halfway up with a start. It seemed he had called the family doctor, but the problem was that it was the Vice Director of Haeseong Hospital.

Kihyun was currently serving as a physical therapist at Haeseong Rehabilitation Hospital, which was essentially a branch of Haeseong Hospital. The news was that a rank far too high for him to receive in his bedroom was coming over this late at night just because of a case of indigestion. Kihyun, frowning because the high-handed guy who naturally summoned the Vice Director of Haeseong Hospital was so ridiculous, spoke in a rare, annoyed voice.

“Are you crazy, calling the Vice Director at this hour.”

“The sick bastard is the one in the wrong, am I the problem? Kihyun, the Doctor is someone who even got a degree to do things like this. When I am saying I will call such a person for you, what is this ‘Are you crazy’ talk to your boyfriend?”

“Ha…”

He was so dumbfounded a sigh escaped him. He was worried about what might happen if word got out that a low-level employee, who was already rumored to be a special hire, had summoned the Vice Director of the main hospital just for indigestion. It was obvious what would happen to his already difficult work life, so he wondered why Yeonoh was acting like that.

Because Cho Yeonoh cherished Kihyun in his own way, there were actually many things that were inconvenient for Kihyun in various ways. Besides, “boyfriend.” It seemed he really did think of it that way, which made another sigh come out.

…Even if it was only a title, he was grateful for the fact that he was still in that position. If so, where should he direct that gratitude? To the friendship of the guy who played a major role in remaining by his side until now? Kihyun thought it was impossible to know.

“He said he is coming soon, so endure even if you feel nauseous. If you throw up, you will only hurt your esophagus for nothing.”

“…You rest too. You must be tired.”

“Are you worried about me? Just sleep. I will wake you up when the Doctor arrives.”

Having said that, as if he were bored, there was the sign of him sitting on the bed. Feeling the mattress sink slightly, Kihyun glanced down and cried out in surprise when he saw Cho Yeonoh lifting his leg and placing it on his thigh.

“—What are you doing.”

“I saw earlier that your pace was slowing down, so I am going to give you an ankle massage.”

“I will do it myse… Ah—!”

Since his legs were more sensitive than other places, he wished Yeonoh would not touch them. Whether Cho Yeonoh knew his inner thoughts or not, he would often jump in saying he would massage Kihyun’s ankle without a second thought.

Cho Yeonoh’s hot hand touched his toes, which had turned cold from the indigestion. He pressed down firmly starting from the Achilles tendon, and Kihyun struggled because it felt like he would groan helplessly. He was already suffering from his tightly blocked solar plexus, so he did not have enough strength to resist even such a simple stimulus.

“Heugh…”

“You are stiff here.”

But Cho Yeonoh only continued to hold Kihyun’s ankle with hands that felt hot and kneaded his calf. Kihyun buried his face in his palms to try and hold back something that was trying to burst out. Cho Yeonoh, unaware of his feelings, looked at him and smirked.

“Does it hurt? You are such a baby.”

“…”

It was not being a baby; it was just difficult because the sensation coming up was driving him crazy. Kihyun tried to think of other things, but once his senses were concentrated on that area, it was hard to shake off.

In the end, it reached a point where he had to pull the blanket to cover his lower body. Just as Kihyun grabbed the blanket, Cho Yeonoh’s touch stopped abruptly.

“…”

“…”

Because the silence, different from before, was heavy, he opened his closed eyes and looked down, only to see Cho Yeonoh staring at Kihyun’s crotch. …Ah, fuck. Kihyun swallowed an oath. Then he pulled the blanket and covered his front. Just as Yeonoh was about to open his mouth to say something, the intercom rang.

The guy got up immediately and went out to answer the intercom. Kihyun, suddenly left alone, had to endure a moment of reality realization that arrived without warning. After some time had passed, when the bell rang once more, he heard the sound of Yeonoh opening the door. At the sound of the conversation heard dully through the single wall, Kihyun’s body quickly cooled down.

Would it be extreme to think it would be better to just become impotent like this? So Kihyun, who knew only Cho Yeonoh, used to think that he would probably love Yeonoh for the rest of his life even after this. If that was the case, his lower half would not be very necessary.

He thought the possibility of Cho Yeonoh ever accepting him was remote, and since his stray desires were nothing but inconvenient and utterly useless.

Just as he was having those thoughts, he felt the presence of two people entering the room. As Kihyun started to sit halfway up in surprise, Yeonoh, who was following behind an elderly man, quietly lowered his palm in a gesture for him to lie back down.

The same went for the Vice Director, whom Yeonoh called Doctor. He reassured Kihyun with a kind face.

“You may stay lying down. Since they said you have not vomited, it seems a simple IV will be enough. Is the nausea severe?”

He did not know what he was thinking about Kihyun, but the Vice Director spoke softly as if treating a young patient with a kind face. Even though he was embarrassed, Kihyun spoke up, thinking that at this point it would be better to reduce this man’s workload and let him go home quickly.

“I have not had vomiting symptoms, and I was a bit dizzy a moment ago, but I am not like that now.”

“I see. I will set up an IV for you.”

Approaching the bed, the Vice Director secured the IV bottle to the hanger. Then he took down a picture frame from the wall and hung it there instead.

Even while the Vice Director was taking down the frame, Yeonoh just stood there silently behind him with his hands shoved in his pants pockets. When Kihyun looked at him as if urging him, he had a face that asked what he was looking at while shrugging his shoulders. He was the type of guy whose “young master” nature showed through in places like this. Kihyun had a hard time holding back a sigh even while the Vice Director was inserting the needle into his wrist.

“Try to get some sleep until it is all finished.”

Because it was a minor treatment, Cho Yeonoh’s expression turned sharp.

“Is that all it takes?”

“For now, since the indigestion is not very severe…”

“What do you mean it is not severe, Doctor. Look at the kid’s face. What is with that complexion?”

His complexion had turned bad because of the discomfort of having a person who was like an incredibly high-ranking superior wait on him. Only Kihyun, who was called a kid at the age of thirty, became flustered and tried to stop Cho Yeonoh.

“I am fine. I think I will be better after getting the IV and sleeping. …Doctor, thank you.”