Lovely Monsters Chapter 56

The yellow pupils of Lion Head grew fierce. Still, seeing as it did not bare its teeth, it seemed to be restraining itself in its own way.

Kim Heejo was forced to back away from Choi Seongjin. As he did, he whispered with a happy face, as if sharing a very delightful secret.

“You know. They said after ten times, just ten more times… they’ll let me do it with you once. So be waiting, okay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry, Heejo. I—”

Choi Seongjin’s slowly fluttering lips were blocked by Kim Heejo. From the touching lips, a fishy taste that had already become familiar flowed into Choi Seongjin. Because of that, when Kim Heejo pulled back and their eyes met, Choi Seongjin sobbed quietly.

The monsters all laugh and the humans all cry.

If so, then Kim Heejo is…

“Don’t cry, Seongjin.”

Kim Heejo wiped away Choi Seongjin’s tears. And he looked at him with a gaze as tender as when the two of them once lay side by side in bed, facing each other. In a moment like this, only one thing could be said.

“I love you.”

After whispering in a low and sweet voice, it was a parting once again. Kim Heejo left Choi Seongjin behind and returned to the four monsters. Contrary to the words he had whispered, he did not look back even once.

The monsters, who had now become so lovely, welcomed such a Kim Heejo.

Kim Heejo is an early riser.

Choi Seongjin is the type to sleep in quite late.

When Kim Heejo opens his eyes first, he gets out of bed very carefully so as not to wake Choi Seongjin.

Choi Seongjin has seen Kim Heejo’s back several times as he cautiously raises his body to avoid waking him.

When it becomes 10:00 AM and Choi Seongjin wakes up, Kim Heejo turns on the television from that point, washes himself while making the sound of water, and when that is finished, he enters the kitchen. Around that time, Choi Seongjin, having barely raised his body halfway up from the bed, turns his gaze toward the kitchen. The old villa where the two of them live together is very narrow, so one can see the kitchen directly from the bedroom.

Kim Heejo, who was taking various things out of the refrigerator, hummed a song familiar to Choi Seongjin’s ears. He said he didn’t know the title and only knew some of the lyrics, but even when he searched for it, it didn’t come up. Kim Heejo’s expression while saying such things looked a bit regretful. At any rate, Kim Heejo made breakfast while repeatedly singing the same song.

It is not a frequent occurrence. It was because both of them have no talent for cooking and don’t particularly like preparing a grand meal. So whenever the two were together, they would always buy something and roughly finish their meal. However, once in a while, Kim Heejo would go into the kitchen and make breakfast.

He doesn’t have to do that, he should just sleep more with me.

Choi Seongjin, thinking to himself, slowly scanned the interior with his eyes. Although it was a villa so old and shabby it looked pathetic, the fact that it was perfectly cleaned and tidy was somehow very Kim Heejo-like. It took after its owner exactly.

Come to think of it, had they ever been close enough for him to visit the house like this? Kim Heejo was the first person he had ever invited into his home. While making him let down his guard and tell all sorts of stories, in the end, he himself had to make sure not to let any of his true feelings out of his mouth. Naturally, he had never shown his true self.

Even just the name Choi Yujeong was like that. He had stolen the identity of a man named Choi Yujeong who had no relatives and not even a single close acquaintance. The real Choi Yujeong had large debts and had likely been sold somewhere by now and died. Normally, he himself would have ended up that way… was he lucky? I don’t know.

Wait a minute, so why am I using the name Choi Yujeong? For what reason am I taking and using the name of a man who might be dead or alive because of debt? Why on earth?

“…….”

The more he thought, the more his head throbbed as if it were being crushed. He held his head with both hands and suffered, but felt a little better after shaking his head violently. However, since the afterimage of the headache still remained, he repeatedly reminded himself to stop thinking useless thoughts and finally got out of bed and approached Kim Heejo.

“Darling.”

When he hugged him tight, he smelled the same body wash. Since they were practically living in the same house, it was only natural, but this fact evoked a strange emotion in Choi Seongjin. Next, when he pressed his lips to his cheek, Kim Heejo burst into laughter. Then he tightly grasped the hand wrapped around his waist. When the hand with severe calluses brushed the back of his own hand, Choi Seongjin felt troubled, but he spoke while pretending to be fine.

“Why are you up already? You should sleep more. You worked until late yesterday.”

“Because I wanted to eat breakfast with you. Just wait a second. I even went grocery shopping yesterday… I’ll make you something delicious. Just wait.”

Before long, Kim Heejo had prepared so many dishes they nearly filled the dining table. Had there ever been a time like this before? He was puzzled, but perhaps due to hunger, his gaze turned toward the table. He swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and sat across from Kim Heejo.

While having a slightly late breakfast, the two shared various stories. Naturally, most of them were stories related to Kim Heejo. While Kim Heejo talked with a joyful expression about the college he recently entered, abandoned dogs, and topics he was interested in lately, Choi Seongjin listened quietly and continued his meal.

“Since I keep scratching them and giving them snacks, I guess they like me now. I hope they get better quickly and get adopted into a good place.”

“Aren’t you going to raise one? You like dogs too.”

“Me? Well… it costs a lot of money.”

Huh, did I originally ask something like this? Choi Seongjin questioned himself. He kept feeling like he had asked… something else. For example, “Do you contact the people at the animal shelter often?” or “Is there anyone who goes with you when you go to volunteer?”

“Because I like them, I’m a bit cautious about raising one. But later, you know, once I get a job and settle down… I do want to raise one. Ah, but the walking is a bit of a problem.”

“If it’s about walking them, I’ll do it with you. We’ll still be dating then, won’t we?”

Even while sharing sweet talk and laughing, Choi Seongjin simultaneously had other thoughts.

I don’t think we’ve ever had a conversation like this.

But that was a natural thing. How could they have had the exact same conversation before?

“Because I like them, I’m a bit cautious about raising one. But later, you know, once I get a job and settle down… I do want to raise one. Ah, but the walking is a bit of a problem.”

“That’s true. Since you have to walk a dog every day.”

Words he had never spoken lingered in his ears. Choi Seongjin, who unconsciously tightened his grip on the hand holding the chopsticks, finally contorted his face.

“…….”