F Side Story 2-3

Siwoo gently patted Yeonho’s trembling back to calm him down. After settling him into a chair, he sat beside him, stroked his hand, and nodded warmly.

“So that’s what it was.”

“My grandma said she had a dream about me. I guess it wasn’t a good one, so she got worried. I’ve had a lot of bad things happen lately, so she’s probably more sensitive to that.”

“Of course. She must be worried.”

“She mentioned that one of her friends reads fortunes. She gave me the address and told me I should go see her. I met her once when I was a kid, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello… and also play a little prank on you.”

Yeonho pulled a small advertisement card from his pocket and handed it to Siwoo. The background was a mix of yellow and red, with the large bold black characters Moon Sea Fairy printed across it. That was when Siwoo finally understood everything suspicious Yeonho had done from start to finish.

The food Yeonho had ordered in advance arrived. As they began to eat, Siwoo asked in a relaxed tone, pretending not to care too much.

“What did you talk about with her? You must’ve had at least something on your mind to go.”

“A concern? No, not really. I just told her I had someone I was going to marry, and she told me to have the wedding next winter. I’m sorry, hyung, I know you don’t believe in that stuff, but… I kind of sold your birth date.”

Yeonho looked genuinely apologetic for having handed over Siwoo’s personal info so casually. Of course, Siwoo had done the same with Yeonho’s palm lines, so he quietly postponed his own apology and replied,

“Weren’t we already married?”

He looked Yeonho in the eyes and asked seriously. Caught off guard by Siwoo’s lack of teasing, Yeonho looked flustered for a moment, then fiddled with the couple ring on his index finger with his left thumb and murmured,

“Let’s do it again. With our parents this time.”

“I’d love that.”

Siwoo gladly accepted the suggestion. Then, feeling guilty for leaving poor Yeonho alone for a whole hour, he came clean about where he had been and what he had done.

“I’ll tell you where I went.”

After confessing and apologizing for using Yeonho’s biometric data without permission, Siwoo returned home and drew an outline of Yeonho’s foot on a blank sheet of paper.

Sitting beside him, Yeonho matched his hand to the palm drawing Siwoo had done earlier. The size, the thickness of the fingers, even the small lines in the palm, it was all accurate.

Once the foot drawing was complete, Yeonho leaned back against Siwoo’s chest. Pressed into his arms, he placed his own foot over the drawing. That too was an exact match.

“That’s amazing. Is it because you studied architecture? It’s like watching a 3D model render. Do you remember things numerically?”

Siwoo shook his head. It had nothing to do with any technical talent, nor was it artistic skill. It was only possible because of his love and attention for Yeonho.

“I just… love you too much.”

Yeonho felt his heart pounding in his chest again. Siwoo’s simple “I love you” still made him flutter the same way it did when he first heard it. He was touched by how deeply he was loved. How much must Siwoo love him, to remember even the shape and size of his body so exactly?

“Hyung, I could never draw you like this… but even if a thousand people reached out their hands, I’d still find and hold yours.”

It was Yeonho’s reply to Siwoo’s confession. Siwoo buried his lips against Yeonho’s neck. Yeonho could feel his chest rising and falling with every breath, heart beating just behind his spine. Soon, their breathing matched, their heartbeats aligned. As Siwoo breathed against his skin, Yeonho followed his rhythm, breathing in sync.

Still in his arms, Yeonho checked a new message on his phone. It was an invitation to a departmental alumni gathering. After graduation, life had thrown too much at him too quickly, and he had lost touch with most of his classmates.

Letting Siwoo see the screen, Yeonho glanced up and stroked his cheek.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going.”

Siwoo didn’t say anything. He simply took Yeonho’s hand, spread it open, and traced the lines in his palm with a slow fingertip. Then he placed his own hand beside Yeonho’s.

“Why don’t you go? Even if you’re not in the mood, just try.”

“Huh? Are you serious? Hyung, don’t tell me you believe what she said. You don’t believe in that stuff. Neither do I.”

Yeonho laughed awkwardly and gave Siwoo’s cheek a light tap. Siwoo kissed him on the cheek, then curled up like a little bird in the rain and clung tightly to Yeonho’s waist. His voice came out soft and lonely.

“If it’s about you, I care about everything. No matter what it is. If you told me you were a ghost, I’d believe in ghosts from that moment on.”

***

To become whole even without you. To be partners, not dependents. Two separate beings choosing to walk together, not tangled into one.

It felt impossible. Even if it wasn’t, they didn’t want it to be possible.

Even though they knew that was the healthy, ideal way to love, the very idea provoked discomfort, even disgust. It felt like someone trying to rip apart two people who had already fused into one.

But… could they not live like this forever? Without drawing a line between “you” and “me”? Like a person who loses half their body and loses everything.

Still, the advice not to cling too tightly, to enjoy life separately, was reasonable. It wasn’t just a matter of superstition.

Time kept passing, and their love never faded. Instead, it deepened, making their irrational feelings swell like a snowball. If the moment ever came when they felt even the smallest bit of alienation from someone they thought was a part of them, they really might end up hurting each other.

So Siwoo and Yeonho agreed to try, for each other’s sake. To separate again into two people, after they treated “you” as “me” and “me” as “you.”

Yeonho decided to spend time with people who weren’t Kim Siwoo, for the first time in a long while. And Siwoo tried to cheer him on. He wanted there to be a world just for Kim Siwoo, one just for Joo Yeonho, and one they shared together.

If possible, he hoped Yeonho might return to how he used to be. Before Siwoo monopolized him. Bright, outgoing, and full of life. Siwoo knew he was partly responsible for the change. Ever since they first met, a part of him had wanted to isolate Yeonho and keep him all to himself.

So, he let Yeonho go off to a night out. But Siwoo didn’t feel the slightest separation anxiety.

Of course not. He was sitting right at the table behind Yeonho’s.

An expert stalker like him wouldn’t be caught.

Yeonho explained his recent life to the alumni he was seeing for the first time since graduation.

“I’ve just been working at a company. Living normally. I have someone I’m going to marry.”

“Wait, what? You? You always said you had zero interest in dating or marriage! What the hell happened?”

“Actually, I’ve been seeing someone for a long time. Since I was twenty.”

“Since freshman year?! Are you nuts? How did you hide that all this time?”

Sipping a non-alcoholic cocktail, Siwoo listened to Yeonho’s voice from behind. He smiled, pleased that Yeonho was counting even the years they’d been apart. No matter how much they had misunderstood or hurt each other, they’d never stopped loving each other. Every moment counted as part of their time together.

But after spending time with people who weren’t Siwoo, Yeonho found himself unable to keep the conversation going. What used to come easier than breathing now felt suffocatingly difficult. After being betrayed by people he loved and trusted, he still struggled with connecting to others. It was one thing if it was for work, but revealing anything personal felt impossible.

And yet, he didn’t want to force himself back to the way he used to be. If meeting others meant always feeling like this, then maybe not meeting anyone was the more respectful choice.

Yeonho found it hard to speak, he ended up drinking. A lot. And before long, he was beyond drunk.

His alumni realized his state and called a driver. Siwoo witnessed everything, he stood up and waited by Yeonho’s car.

Soon the driver arrived. Siwoo paid him in full and sent him away.

A moment later, Yeonho stumbled out, supported by his classmates. The “vile stalker” Kim Siwoo calmly played the role of the driver in front of Yeonho’s unsuspecting friends.

Head hanging low, Yeonho opened the car and started the engine. Siwoo slipped into the driver’s seat. Yeonho, with help, got into the back.

As Siwoo started driving, he raised his voice, acting the part.

“Looks like you had a lot to drink.”

“…Yeah.”

Eyes closed, head resting against the seat, Yeonho answered in a low voice. It was clear he didn’t want to talk.

Siwoo quietly watched, fascinated by this Yeonho, who had become an impenetrable wall in front of everyone else.