GCT 31

Yohan was approaching Lear when he froze at the sight of Patrick. He too had no idea when Lear’s father had gotten there, but he had suddenly appeared, holding a gun and aiming it at Joel’s head as if he would blow it off at any moment. The way things were going was truly unbelievable.

‘I’m so rushed, I could die….’

Yohan grit his teeth, frantically moving his zip-tied wrists and trying to break free. Usually, the tactical team should have arrived by now, but the surroundings were quiet.

‘Nothing’s going right.’

Unable to understand the situation unfolding before his eyes any better than Joel could, Yohan stopped moving his arms and blinked with a foolish expression, wracking his brain as much as possible. It truly felt like tears were about to burst forth.

‘What is this?’

It was a situation where one second felt like an hour.

“No matter how well-off my family was, it couldn’t be helped that things were hard. Joel, you didn’t take responsibility not only for me but for our son, and you only thought of your own interests. How could I just stand by and watch that? When you backstabbed me, I couldn’t just let myself be had.”

“……”

“I had to get my own insurance, in my own way. Since I was unfortunately entangled with you. I love you… I can’t erase that feeling… So, that’s why I did it.”

“Paddy…”

“And it wasn’t that difficult to win over your subordinates.”

“No way…”

“That’s why you shouldn’t have been so tastelessly obsessed with alpha supremacism in this day and age. Thinking of anyone other than yourself as a chess piece was your mistake. Do you get it now?”

When Yohan had met Patrick at Lear’s house before, he had only received the impression of a nice Mister. He was even a producer who was quite well-known to the public. But he was using Joel Declan’s men like his own limbs? Something unbelievable was happening right before his eyes.

And listening to Patrick’s words, filled with a mixture of love and hate for Joel, it seemed he had been slowly chipping away at Declan from the bottom up and filling the void with his own shadow for quite some time.

Yohan finally managed to make sense of the situation. Declan’s real shadow was Patrick. Did Lear know? If he had known, he might not have thought to foolishly take a bullet from Joel’s gun. Although he was a cold son who didn’t have a speck of affection for his father, it seemed Patrick and Lear cared for each other more than anyone.

“Well, I was the idiot for believing you in the first place. That was true until just a moment ago. I thought I’d come to my senses to some extent, but to think you’d ruin your kid’s life like this for your own greed.”

It was truly a scene like a reality show trailer, full of deceit, betrayals, and endless twists. Yohan truly thought, in this moment, that it would have been better if he were a viewer of this show, not a cast member.

Hoping Lear would hold on, Patrick gestured with his chin toward the trembling Yohan. In that instant, another chaotic scene unfolded. Separate from Patrick being the real shadow, it seemed there were still subordinates loyal to Joel Declan, as the organization members split into two groups and faced off against each other.

“It wasn’t like this. You weren’t this kind of person…”

“Give up.”

“What?”

“Everything.”

“Lear… didn’t intend for this to happen. If only he hadn’t become needlessly obsessed with that beta guy. Wait. For now, let’s get on the boat. Stop doing things you don’t mean and let’s go and think.”

Patrick scoffed.

“You talk too much. In the past, at least your face was worth looking at, but now you’re not as good as you used to be, you’ve become uglier. Joel.”

After mocking Joel heartily, Patrick’s expression hardened even more. He still loved Joel and couldn’t forget him even at this age. That was why Patrick had planned to retire, wrap everything up, and live quietly in Tulum as Joel had suggested. It was fine even if he had been a bad guy in the past. He thought he needed a reward now after living so tensely and fiercely. He had wanted to let go of everything he’d been holding onto and enjoy some leisure. But to think Joel would backstab him like this. He’d never even been a proper parent, how dare he hurt Lear. Patrick grit his teeth and said.

“The bombs.”

“What?”

“I know about the ones you hid. You were planning to have Katie destroy the evidence to prepare for the unexpected, weren’t you? Well, but you need O’Connell’s laptop for that, don’t you?”

Patrick’s shoulders flinched. It was impossible to gauge just how much Patrick knew and how far his reach extended.

“I got my hands on all of it. And I installed them where your money sources are.”

Patrick pinpointed not only the Chula Vista factory but also several other buildings that Joel considered important. Joel regretted the things he had missed due to his reduced range of activity while pretending to be dead all this time.

“Joel, stop with the useless mind games. Let that kid go. If you don’t, not just me, but all your money sources will be blown away. What, you think I can’t do it? Because I’m an omega who only knows how to be swayed?”

Joel, trembling, told his organization members to stop, his face pale. In that moment, Yohan felt the zip tie binding his arms snap and recalled the day he first met Patrick.

“You said you were staying in New York for a while. Why…”

“I came for a bit because something came up. I was just going to grab my things and leave again, but I didn’t know this would happen. Mom said she has business in Sacramento these days, so she seems to be staying at a hotel there, and you don’t invite guests to the house…”

The neighborhood where a stripper becomes a Grammy-winning singer and an actress once called America’s Sweetheart threatens to hire a hitman to kill her cheating husband is only a two-hour drive from here. Although this very situation felt like something out of an HBO series, an Emmy-winning producer swallowing up a gang wasn’t all that strange.

“More importantly, are you seeing anyone these days, Dad?”

Yohan, thinking he wanted to escape this soap opera as soon as possible, whatever it took, snatched Lear, who was leaning against Joel’s chest as if being held, and pulled him tightly into his own arms. In that instant, his body staggered and his legs gave out, but Yohan did not let go of Lear.

“Pa-Paddy… I…”

“That’s enough. Give the rest of your testimony in court.”

“……”

“Let’s really end it now.”

It was then. As soon as Patrick’s words ended, the sound of sirens was heard in the far distance. Thinking the timing was really good, Yohan held Lear tight, then lifted his head and met the eyes of Patrick, who was looking at him.

The tactical team arrived with Jun, but Yohan didn’t say anything in particular about Patrick or his identity. Having only exchanged glances, Yohan handed Lear, who was in his arms, over to the paramedics. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Lear, thinking he had been shot because he had recklessly followed him.

It was also because he was nothing to him…. If, just if, the worst were to happen, he didn’t have the confidence to handle it.

With a tired face, Yohan watched Declan being loaded into a transport vehicle in handcuffs. As Patrick said, Joel’s life would probably end here.

After standing trial, he would rot in prison for the rest of his life. In a maximum-security prison, no less. Besides, when the data on O’Connell’s laptop was released, the country would be in an uproar, so it would be quite a spectacle.

Yohan let out a deep sigh and looked up at the sky. It was studded with stars.

“Good work, Yohan.”

At the words of Jun, who had approached at some point, Yohan let out a small laugh.

“Someone else did all the hard work, not me.”

Yohan said to Jun, fiddling with his throbbing wrists. He really hadn’t done a single thing since coming here. Lear had even been the one to get shot, and he couldn’t even go after him after he was shot. Because he felt that something bad would happen to him if he followed. He didn’t have very good memories when it came to gunshot wounds.

“Want to grab a beer before I head back to New York? I was planning on having a drink with Aisha.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I have somewhere to be.”

At Yohan’s words, Jun spoke to him with a look of sudden realization.

“Right. I didn’t think of that.”

Even to Jun’s eyes, the two seemed to have a rather deep relationship, even if they didn’t say it. But then, he was puzzled that Yohan didn’t follow the injured Lear, so he had wondered if their relationship wasn’t that deep after all.

“There’s Mr. Crawford, of course.”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Well… right.”

Yohan scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

“You’ll have to return soon, but it feels like I won’t be able to see you off, so I feel kind of sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. If anything, I’m wondering if it’s okay for you to still be at the scene, Yohan. Don’t worry, we’ll handle all the clean-up. More importantly, will Mr. Crawford be okay?”

“Well, he’ll be okay. Alphas have strong recovery powers, and that guy gets cursed out so much usually that he’ll probably live a long life.”

“Don’t worry too much.”

Jun reached out and patted Yohan’s shoulder. It seemed he didn’t look okay even though he said he was. So Yohan awkwardly brought up Nasim and gave a forced smile.

“What about Deputy Director Nasim?”

“Ah, he’s fine. It was just a small tear, so he said a few stitches would do it.”

“That’s a relief. Really.”

“Well, he can keep something like that as a badge of honor.”

Yohan nodded in agreement with Jun’s words, then glanced at his watch. More time had passed than he thought. Still, seeing as there was no particular news so far, it seemed that Lear fellow was holding on well.

“More importantly, you should get going.”

“Huh?”

“Quick, before you change your mind.”

Jun handed the car keys to Yohan and pushed him on the back.

“It’s the best car. Seems necessary for today’s hero. Go on.”

“Then… Jun, I’ll be going.”

Yohan held the car keys Jun gave him tightly and added.

“More importantly, show me around the neighborhood next time I visit New York.”

“But of course.”

“Mia, too. She was very cute, takes after you, Jun.”

“Come with Mr. Crawford. I’ll treat you properly.”

Yohan gave Jun a bright smile and offered a handshake. Jun then took Yohan’s hand.

After getting in the car, Yohan drove toward the hospital where Lear had gone for surgery, but turned the wheel in front of it. When it came to actually seeing Lear’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to go. That was why he couldn’t even get into the ambulance Lear was in at the scene and had entrusted him to Patrick.

Normally, Patrick was also one of Declan’s associates, but Yohan pretended not to know. It wasn’t like he had been actively using the Declan organization, and he had helped him.

Besides, there were many people involved with Joel Declan even without Patrick, so the FBI would undoubtedly be busy for at least three more years, even without him.

Of course, the more important reason was that Patrick, unlike Joel, was Lear’s ‘real’ family.

“Damn it.”

Yohan chewed on his lower lip in anxiety, fear, and impatience, cursing himself over and over. He couldn’t understand why he was acting so stupidly. That was why Lear got hurt, and why he foolishly couldn’t even stay by his side. But he couldn’t go to Lear’s house either, so Yohan had no choice but to head to his house in Compton.

Driving all the way from Chula Vista, he arrived in front of his house in the middle of the night. A sense of emptiness washed over him with the quite chilly wind.

Yohan turned off the ignition and sat for a long time before taking the car key in his hand. Worried that parking a car like this on the street in a neighborhood with bad security would get it stolen, he needlessly pressed firmly on the sticker attached to the front of the car. No matter how many people in the neighborhood hated the police, there probably wouldn’t be a crazy person who would hijack an FBI car.

Clicking his tongue once, Yohan picked up his jacket, pretending to be unfazed, and went up to his house. As expected, the door was half torn off. Yohan entered the house with a slightly tense expression. Sure enough, the house was so completely ransacked that it wouldn’t have been strange if an evil spirit appeared.

In the midst of that, he picked up a flyer that had fallen on the floor. He licked his lips, thinking it was perfect since he was hungry anyway. It was a pizza place that delivered late. Of course, he also found himself despicable for being hungry enough to want to stuff his face in the middle of all this, but Yohan tried hard to push away the useless thoughts and looked around.

“Hah, it’s really filthy.”

Muttering to himself, Yohan tossed the things in his hand roughly onto the table and unbuttoned his shirt. The look of utter disgust on Lear’s face when he first came to his house came to mind.

“I really have to clean it.”

A wave of bitterness washed over him, but Yohan tried hard to act as if he wasn’t bothered. Still, fewer things were missing than he’d expected. Not that there were many things in the place to begin with, but everything except the television was fine. Then again, seeing this mess, anyone would lose the will to steal.

‘For the sake of the next person…’

Though exhaustion was creeping in, Yohan turned on the sink to wash his hands first. Perhaps because it was a house provided by the FBI, despite its appearance, the electricity was on and the water ran well. And just then, the phone in his pocket made a sound, signaling a text message. Yohan shook his hands dry and, with an annoyed look, took out his phone and turned on the screen.

It’s Patrick

He had no idea how Patrick knew his number when he’d never given it to him, but considering he was a man who had lived his life carefully concealing his identity and was the person who had given birth to Lear, Yohan figured he was more than capable of it and continued reading the message.

I figured you’d be curious

The surgery went well

He’ll be transferred to another hospital soon

Letting out a sigh of relief, Yohan swept a hand over his chest. If anything was a relief, this was it. Then, looking at the hospital address Patrick sent next, Yohan wanted to ask if Lear had woken up, but he held back. First, he had to clean the room, take a shower… and eat pizza.

Yohan chewed on his lower lip and, with an anxious face, ordered a pizza first. And then, just as he was taking off his clothes and flinging open the bathroom door.

“Aargh!!”

A homeless person suddenly jumped out, screamed, threw toilet paper at Yohan, and ran straight outside. Yohan stood still for a while with a dumbfounded look on his face, then let out a curse.

“No wonder…. I thought it was in better shape than I expected.”

A disgusting smell filled the bathroom. He had no idea how long the guy had been hiding there, but he didn’t feel like chasing him down and roughing him up. No, before that, if you’re going to stay in someone else’s house without paying, you could at least wash up. He couldn’t understand why he was hiding in the bathroom without washing.

“Haaah.”

Yohan shook his head and closed the bathroom door. When he turned on the shower, the caked-on blood washed off his body, and every time the water touched his beaten and broken skin, it stung and hurt. His skin was red and swollen, and it looked like it would bruise soon.

“Ugh…”

Yohan squeezed his eyes shut from the stinging pain, and each time, his mind filled with the image of Lear collapsing into his arms, blood streaming down. His heart felt more painful and raw than his tired and injured body.

The image of Lear, lying there as if dead without waking up until the moment he was taken from his hands and loaded into the ambulance, wouldn’t leave his mind.

Of course, he had received word that the surgery went well, but thinking that Lear might find him pathetic if he saw him moping around in this dump, Yohan finished washing up and threw on some clothes he had shoved in the closet.

He was so tired and exhausted that he wanted to collapse and fall asleep right away, but Yohan held on and began to clean the utterly messy room.

Just then, there was a loud knocking on the door. Thump, thump. Yohan trudged out. It seemed the pizza he had ordered before showering had finally arrived.

Yohan carefully lifted the door slightly and then opened it. And there was Fiona’s unexpected face. Holding a pizza box, Fiona grinned and greeted Yohan, saying it had been a while.

“What is this?”

“Pizza delivery.”

“Why are you doing it?”

“Isn’t it better than selling drugs?”

Fiona looked embarrassed, then handed the pizza box to Yohan and said.

“My cousin used to work at a restaurant. He was better at it than I thought, so I just said let’s open a restaurant right away. Slipped him some money, and it took about a month. Ah, should I not be saying things like this to an agent?”

Had that much time already passed? Yohan stared blankly at the pizza box Fiona was holding.

“Anyway, I’ll give it to you for free. Think of it as a grand opening special.”

As soon as Fiona finished speaking, Yohan said a quick thanks, snatched the pizza she was handing him, and tried to close the door immediately. But Fiona stopped him.

“You said it was free. Was the tip separate?”

“No, it’s not that… are you okay?”

“With what?”

“There was no news from you. It’s still a bit chaotic around here. We haven’t dealt with Jamal yet either….”

“Tell Jamal I’m coming for him soon. It’s hard right now because there’s a lot of work, but it’s not like I can’t catch him if I try.”

At Yohan’s cold words, Fiona shivered theatrically, saying he was being brutal. It wasn’t cute at all, though. The handsome man in his early thirties, who was bigger than her yet pouted like he was sulking in a way that didn’t suit him, was cuter.

“What is it now.”

Yohan cursed himself internally for thinking of Lear and looked at Fiona, slightly irritated. Fiona then scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment and said to Yohan.

“Just… thanks.”

“……”

“When I decided to get my act together and try living like other people, even if it wasn’t perfect, it turned out life goes on, eventually.”

“You…”

“Haha, I’ve been talking too much nonsense to a customer late at night. Anyway, I’m off. If you want pizza, just call me. I’ll give it to you for free.”

Seeing Yohan’s exhaustion-drenched appearance, Fiona gave his arm a light tap and spoke cheerfully. And just as she was about to turn and leave, this time Yohan stopped her.

“What, you have something else to say? I wasn’t going to take a tip, but… Kitty, if you really want to give me one, I’ll take it.”

“It’s not that…. The big case is more or less over. I don’t know how Jamal will react, but it would be best to lie low for a while.”

“Ah, right.”

“What do you mean, ‘ah, right.’ Take care of yourself.”

Yohan sent Fiona off after she thanked him and looked around the silent house. It was cramped, but it looked like it would take a while to clean. Still, he forced himself to tidy up the room.

For such a tiny house with so few things, why was there so much to clean? Cursing up a storm about why the lunatics had turned his house upside down like this, by the time he finished cleaning, dawn had passed and it was morning.

In the end, Yohan, who hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, looked at the cold pizza, put the lid back on, and put it in the fridge. Looking at the clock again, Yohan sat on the bed and chewed on his lower lip at the sight of a condom he found while organizing a drawer.

He wondered if he would ever have a use for this now. Come to think of it, after confessing that he liked Lear, to leave a dying person and go into a house he hadn’t been to in ages to clean up—Lear would be more than disgusted if he found out.

“Still… just in case.”

Yohan stuffed it into his pants for now. Then he looked down at the children going to school below the broken window and took a deep breath. Yohan thought he should get some sleep since he hadn’t slept at all and lay down on the bed.

He was so steeped in exhaustion that he thought he would be able to sleep soundly without dreaming, but when he actually tried to sleep, sleep wouldn’t come.

“Hah, really…”

One thing after another. Yohan thought that some crazy guy had suddenly barged into his life, shaken him up, and now, not content with planting guilt, was keeping him from sleeping. Since when had he started sleeping with someone that he was acting like this?

“Fuck.”

Yohan shot up, grabbed the car key from the table again. He checked the address Patrick had sent once more and thought.

‘I should buy a Red Bull, drink it, and then go.’

Finally standing in front of the hospital room where Lear was admitted, Yohan wore a very tense expression. He had grabbed the nurse in charge and heard a rough summary, and it seemed his condition was fine. But strangely, hearing that made him wonder if it was okay for him to act nonchalant and ask Lear if he was okay.

I was the one who hurt Lear, and I even ran away. On top of that, Lear would now be entering the witness protection program for Joel Declan’s trial, and if that happened…. With a complicated heart, Yohan chewed on his lower lip.

Setting everything else aside, he was afraid Lear would resent him. But… I bought something to give to Lear just in case, I should at least give him this before I go. When I stopped by the convenience store to buy a Red Bull, there was one particular item that caught my eye. Though I had no idea why that specific item was right in front of the counter. Yohan thought this as he fumbled with the get-well gift he had bought as if possessed, which was now in his pocket. Now that he was actually trying to see Lear, he couldn’t bring himself to take a step.

‘Should I just go back to the branch office and do some paperwork?’

There were plenty of people who would help, but they would all be busy. Joel Declan would try to negotiate, and even without O’Connell’s laptop, the moment he opened his mouth, a lot of people, starting with the FBI, would be implicated and things would be turned upside down.

‘Yes, let’s go back.’

Yohan sighed and was about to turn and leave the hospital when it happened.

“Yohan?”

It was Patrick.

“Hello.”

“You’re here late.”

“Ah…. I guess so.”

Patrick smiled at the sight of Yohan scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“I was waiting for you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you wait…. I had a lot to do. More importantly, the things you mentioned back then.”

Yohan raised his head again and asked, meeting Patrick’s eyes. Patrick then scratched his cheek and said.

“Ah. Weren’t you going to pretend you didn’t see? I thought you were letting it slide as the price for my life back then.”

“Even if we leave that as is, the bombs… I think you need to tell me about them.”

“Ah. The bombs were a lie.”

“What?”

“Joel did actually install them, but I found and got rid of them. I don’t know if it’s because he spent a lot of money on his new business or if he was trying to save money, but thankfully, they were shoddy bombs.”

“…I see.”

Responding to Patrick’s words, Yohan felt strange. How stupid, saying ‘I see.’ What did he see? Yohan berated himself again inwardly.

“It’s illegal, but…. still, I didn’t do anything against the public interest. And I tried my best not to leave any traces. I have my social standing to consider, too.”

He had thought Lear only took after his maternal grandmother, but looking at him like this, it seemed he resembled his father a great deal too.

“Since when…”

“It’s been quite a while since I met Joel again.”

“……”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say it like this. Haha.”

“Still, thanks to you, I was able to make it this far, so that’s a relief. I had no idea Joel Declan would turn on me like that when he saw me there.”

At Yohan’s words, Patrick clicked his tongue.

“I didn’t know that man would act like that there either. I thought he would just properly talk the kid down and send him on his way. That crazy bastard…”

“……”

“I was also watching to see how far he would go. Joel rushed me, saying things were wrapping up faster than he thought. I didn’t ask Joel deeply about it until then. He said we should drop everything we’d been doing and live with him in Tulum, so I just thought that was that.”

“Then…”

“I was planning to bury the fact that I’d been digging into Declan behind Joel’s back. I was going to spend about three years in Tulum and then travel around, moving from city to city…”

Patrick smiled bitterly. Yohan nodded, saying he understood. Then, he smoothly gestured to his waist and said.

“Oh, I didn’t bring my badge. I left it in the car.”

“Ah.”

“And it looks like things will get quite busy from now on, so I don’t think it’ll be easy to investigate Patrick as well.”

Patrick nodded, indicating he understood everything Yohan was saying. Then, he grinned and said to Yohan.

“By the way, for your reference, I was the one who started the rumor that Joel died from a heart attack during sex.”

“What?”

“Maybe because I’ve been in the broadcasting world for a long time, starting rumors is a really easy thing to do. Besides, Joel said some really obnoxious things at the time.”

Patrick smiled slightly. Yohan was curious about what Joel had said to Patrick, but he didn’t ask for details. He just smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. Then Patrick grabbed Yohan’s arm and suddenly pushed him by the back toward the hospital room, saying.

“Anyway, I’ve talked too long. You should go in.”

“What? Wait, just a moment.”

“I’m going to Tulum, even if I have to go alone.”

“Wait…!”

As if for show, Patrick flung the door open and pushed Yohan right into the room where Lear was. Then, saying to please take care of Lear, he closed the door and waved at Yohan. Yohan stared at Patrick with a foolish expression, then swallowed hard at the presence he felt behind him. When he turned around, Lear was eating Jell-O.

Yohan, acting nonchalant, smiled awkwardly and asked in a rather cheerful voice.

“You’re up? How’s your body?”

Lear, who hadn’t seen Yohan at all until now, put down his plastic spoon and said.

“It’s fine. The painkillers are working wonders.”

Yohan hesitantly approached Lear. Then he sat down beside him, reached out, and gently stroked Lear’s hair. Looking around the private room Lear was staying in, Yohan said something unnecessary to him.

“Looks like you’ve found your own cozy little nest, cute and charming like a hamster’s cage.”

“You remember that?”

“Well… how could I forget what you said.”

Lear chuckled, feeling Yohan’s touch. Then he leaned slightly against Yohan and asked.

“Why did you come so late?”

“Just. I was a bit… busy.”

The moment his eyes met Lear’s, Yohan took a slight breath and pulled Lear into an embrace. Lear then patted Yohan’s back and said.

“Ah. If you didn’t show up, I was going to release the sex tape.”

“What?”

“It would be super popular, you know?”

Yohan scoffed and gripped Lear’s clothes a little tighter. In that moment, feeling Lear’s heartbeat, he was reminded anew that he was alive. Then, Yohan relaxed the strength in his fingertips and buried his face in his shoulder.

He felt sorry for him in his hospital gown, and at the same time, he was relieved that he was looking at him like this. Lear kissed the top of Yohan’s head. At that, Yohan’s shoulders trembled slightly.

‘Coward.’

Lear was taken aback by the sudden sound of sniffling.

“Yohan, are you crying?”

“I’m not crying. What kind of idiot cries?”

“I think there’s an idiot right in front of me.”

“That’s just because your painkillers are working so well. It’s all a misconception.”

Laughter escaped Lear’s lips at Yohan’s stubborn words. He then reached out and wiped Yohan’s tear-stained face. Contrary to his claim that he wasn’t crying, the corners of his eyes were moist and red.

Yohan then grabbed Lear’s wrist and lowered it, saying the IV needle would come out, sniffled once, and sat up straight again. Then he suddenly turned around and rustled around, taking something out of his pocket. Lear tilted his head at Yohan’s sudden action. He couldn’t figure out what on earth he was doing.

“Yohan?”

“H-hold on a second!”

Yohan let out a deep sigh, then, with his hands behind his back, looked at Lear and opened his mouth.

“All I have left now is my pride…”

Hesitating for a moment, Yohan met Lear’s eyes. It was something he always thought, but they were truly beautiful violet eyes.

“So, what I mean is… just saying this to you really hurts my pride…”

Yohan’s voice trembled as he spoke to Lear.

“I’ve thrown away all my pride.”

Yohan swallowed hard and, handing Lear what he had been hiding behind his back, said.

“Lear Crawford, will you marry me?”

A ring pop, bought from a supermarket in a hurry, shone before Lear’s eyes. Perhaps because of the painkillers, the ring pop seemed to feel like a giant diamond ring.

“J-just dating won’t be enough. You need to be legally bound.”

“Yohan.”

Lear grinned. Yohan was quite worried about his deathly pale face and how he seemed high on painkillers, but Yohan smiled along with Lear’s smile and moved closer to him.

“Okay.”

Yohan slid the ring pop onto Lear’s finger and said.

“I’ll, I’ll buy you a proper one later. There weren’t any jewelry stores open in the morning.”

It was a ring pop he had bought impulsively when he went to get a Red Bull. It was a bit embarrassing, but seeing it perched on Lear’s pinky nail because it didn’t fit on his finger, it didn’t look so bad.

“It suits you.”

Seeing Yohan at a loss, as if embarrassed after doing everything he’d set out to do, Lear hugged him tightly.

“Hey, you’ll bleed if you do that.”

Yohan was anxious that the IV needle would come out, but Lear couldn’t care less. The moment he was shot, there was something he had wanted to say to Yohan. Though it seemed the man before him had beaten him to it this time as well.

“I like you, Yohan.”

Yohan, who had been struggling, stopped moving.

“And I love you.”

Yohan lightly gripped Lear’s clothes. Lear kissed Yohan’s head and continued in a sweet voice.

“So Yohan, will you marry me?”

As soon as Lear’s words ended, Yohan, in a way that didn’t suit him, burst into tears and kissed him on the lips. It was a kiss hundreds of times sweeter than the candy ring on his finger.