FLPR 2.6

After dinner, Doyul opened the freezer door to give him the ice cream he had promised. Of course, he thought there would be ice cream, but contrary to his expectations, there was no ice cream in the freezer. Doyul was troubled. Should he go to the convenience store for a bit? It would take 10 minutes to walk from home to the convenience store. Would Woohyun stay quiet by himself during that time? The Woohyun I had seen so far seemed quite dignified, so he thought he would stay quiet enough.

A promise was a promise. He decided to go buy the ice cream and went to find Woohyun, who was sitting in the living room, watching TV with a bored expression. Curious, Doyul glanced at the screen and saw it was the news. No wonder Woohyun was bored. As Doyul approached, Woohyun turned to him.

“Hyung, there’s no ice cream in the freezer, so I’m going to go buy some.”

“You’re going out now?”

“Yeah.”

“No. It’s dangerous. Mom said not to go out at night.” Woohyun said firmly. Has Doyul ever heard something like that? He tried to remember. It seemed like it was something that was said only to Woohyun and didn’t apply to him.

“You stay here, Hyung. I’ll go.”

“No. I don’t need ice cream.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I don’t really like ice cream anyway.”

“Okay.”

Doyul realized it would be difficult to go out alone. It would be better to go tomorrow after lunch, during a break. He could ask Yujung to keep an eye on Woohyun while he made a quick trip.

He sat down next to Woohyun.

“Isn’t the news boring?”

“Yeah, it’s boring,” Woohyun admitted. Doyul picked up the remote.

“Should we watch something else?”

“Mom said I have to watch the news.”

Doyul quietly put the remote down. Since Hyobin was paying his salary, it was best to follow her instructions.

Only after the news ended did Woohyun get up. It was time for him to write in his diary. He went to his room, sat at his desk, took out his diary from the bookshelf, and picked up a pencil. Doyul, who was supposed to supervise, followed him into the room.

While Woohyun wrote, Doyul sat on the bed and looked around. Woohyun’s room was even larger than his own and had an ensuite bathroom. The bed was enormous, easily big enough for three people.

Watching Woohyun at his desk reminded him of their high school days. When Doyul was a sophomore, Woohyun had been a freshman in college. During school breaks, Woohyun would sometimes tutor him on weekends. It felt strange to imagine Woohyun, as a high school senior, sitting at that very desk, studying.

Woohyun’s room was a typical adult male’s room. He understood now why Woohyun had come to his room the first night, scared to sleep alone. He made a mental note to get him a stuffed animal.

“I’m done.”

“Okay? Can I take a look?”

“Yeah.”

Doyul got off the bed and went over to Woohyun. He took the diary Woohyun offered and read it. It was a typical entry: morning lessons, bathing with Doyul in the afternoon and enjoying the storybook they’d read.

He’d suspected as much, but the mention of bathing together still made him uneasy. ‘Is this really okay? ‘ he wondered. He figured it was because it was their first full day together, and he was the only person Woohyun had been around, so naturally, he featured prominently in the diary. Once Woohyun got used to him, Doyul reasoned, he’d probably appear less frequently. He smiled at Woohyun.

“You have really neat handwriting, Hyung.”

“Thanks,” Woohyun replied shyly. Doyul handed him back the diary.

“Now let’s brush your teeth, wash your face, and get ready for bed.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to go wash up too. Good night, Hyung.”

Woohyun’s expression fell slightly, and he nodded without a word. Doyul figured he probably wanted to brush his teeth together, but Doyul also needed to use the restroom, so he pretended not to notice and left the room.

Doyul used the restroom, washed up, and returned to his room. He sank onto the bed with a groan. He was used to sleeping on a futon on the floor, and the plush mattress felt incredibly luxurious.

“I’m going to sleep so well,” he muttered. He checked his phone; it was almost 10 p.m. Remembering his experience caring for his bedridden grandfather, he’d come prepared for a much tougher time. This was far more manageable. He smiled, recalling Woohyun’s adorable antics from earlier, especially when he’d brought a pile of snacks, thinking it would make them closer friends.

“He was so cute…”

His face, his personality, his body… Doyul silently screamed and buried his face in his pillow. Suddenly, the image of Woohyun’s body from that afternoon flashed in his mind. Honestly, Woohyun’s body was the most memorable thing about the day. He’d been trying to suppress the thought, feeling like a pervert. They say that when you see something too stimulating, it’s all you can think about. Woohyun’s body had been more stimulating than anything he’d ever seen. He hadn’t had pure thoughts about Woohyun before, and now it was only going to get worse. And Woohyun genuinely thought of him as just a friend.

‘Then again, Hyung always just thought of me as a younger brother.’

Doyul smiled bitterly. From the beginning, Woohyun had treated him like a close younger brother, a friend. He was the one who’d misread kindness and fallen in love. Woohyun had drawn a clear line. Depressed, Doyul turned over and stared at the ceiling. What if he ended up loving Woohyun forever, pathetically lingering by his side?

‘No. I signed the contract.’

He didn’t know when Woohyun’s memory would return, but his time by his side was limited. There was no point in dwelling on such thoughts. When Woohyun’s memory returned, he just wanted to be remembered as a decent younger brother.

“Doyul-ah.” A knock on the door, followed by Woohyun’s voice. Doyul sat up.

“Yeah, come in.”

The door opened, and Woohyun stood there, his eyebrows drooped.

“Can I sleep with you again tonight?”

“Are you scared?”

“Yeah…”

He probably hadn’t adjusted to the house yet. Doyul patted the space beside him on the bed.

“Come here.”

Woohyun’s gloomy expression vanished, replaced by a bright smile. He quickly lay down beside Doyul, nestled his head on the pillow, closed his eyes tightly, and said,

“Good night, Doyul.”

“Yeah. Good night, Hyung.”

Doyul watched Woohyun for a moment, then lay down. He’d fallen asleep quickly the night before due to exhaustion, but he’d napped today, so he didn’t feel sleepy. He turned on his side and observed Woohyun. His eyelids, squeezed shut, trembled slightly, indicating he wasn’t asleep yet. Doyul smiled silently and turned over again, his back to Woohyun.

He found it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to kiss those lips. Every time Woohyun looked so vulnerable in front of him, the impulse surged, making him feel disgusted with himself. Doyul clenched his fists and made a promise.

‘I have to protect Hyung. These thoughts are morally wrong. I have to remain a good person to him until the very end!’

When he thought that way, his fluttering heart seemed to calm down a little. That’s why he was now one of the supporting characters who helped the main character. Why aren’t there such supporting characters? When the main character is in danger, they show up coolly, help him, and then suddenly disappear, leaving only a lingering impression. Later, the main character succeeds, meets a lover he truly loves, and lives happily ever after. In this case, Woohyun was that kind of protagonist. Thinking about it that way, he felt a sense of responsibility to somehow take good care of Woohyun until the end.

“Mmmnya.”

He heard a deliberately loud mumble and an arm snaked around his waist. The warmth pressing against his back startled him, and he held his breath.

“Hyung?”

He called out softly, and Woohyun responded with an exaggerated snore. He seemed to be in a playful mood, as the arm around his waist tightened, making him gasp.

“Ugh, hyung, it hurts”

The pressure loosened. Doyul worried he might have cracked a rib. He rubbed the sore spot.

“Can’t you sleep?”

“Nope.”

As expected, the nap had made it difficult for him to fall asleep. He’d have to avoid napping in the future. Doyul turned to face Woohyun and whispered,

“Want me to tell you how to fall asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Imagine a wide field full of sheep. And you give each sheep a number. First sheep, second sheep, like that.”

“I can’t imagine it,” Woohyun pouted. Trying to imagine sheep like Doyul described sounded boring. Doyul smiled.

“Well, isn’t it true that being bored makes you sleepy?”

Woohyun considered this and then obediently closed his eyes.

“Stroke my hair.”

“Your hair?”

“When you stroked my hair this afternoon, I fell asleep easily.”

“Alright.”

Doyul reached out and stroked Woohyun’s hair. The soft strands felt pleasant slipping through his fingers. Woohyun finally seemed content and closed his eyes. Looking at his peaceful face, Doyul felt a tickle in his chest.

‘I hope this doesn’t become a habit.’

It had only been two days since he came to this house. He thought that once he got used to it a little more, he wouldn’t ask to sleep with him anymore. There wouldn’t be many moments when Woohyun would come to him like this. Doyul already felt regretful. Doyul continued to stroke Woohyun’s head diligently until he fell asleep.