PO 56

Han Jaehee had asked Woojeong to tell her the expected arrival time. She came out in front of the house. Woojeong hurried out of the taxi and went to her.

“Welcome, Woojeong-ssi.”

She sat in the wheelchair and held out her hand to Woojeong. She looked a little more at ease than when she came to the Snow Reflection Residence.

“Hello.”

Woojeong held her hand and gave his greeting.

The place they arrived at was a quiet and calm countryside village. The house where Han Jaehee lived was a detached home that matched the scenery. In the yard there was a small flower bed and a vegetable garden, and the structure allowed a wheelchair to move comfortably anywhere.

“Was it hard for you to come here?”

“No.”

Han Jaehee reacted indifferently rather than showing surprise at Woojeong’s sudden visit.

“My mind, look at me. Hurry and come inside. I’ll show you around the house first.” Han Jaehee guided Woojeong into the house. The inside of the house, where the living room and the workroom were carefully arranged, could be looked around at a glance after moving just a few steps. Because of the peaceful scenery outside the window, the place felt cozy.

“Since you’re coming, I was preparing dinner, but before that, how about a cup of tea? Please bring us some warm tea.”

At the sight of Woojeong, who looked more dispirited than before, Han Jaehee raised her tone to be more lively. In the living room, instead of a sofa, there was a long sturdy table. When the madam brought tea from the kitchen, Han Jaehee received it and directly set the cup down in front of Woojeong.

“I wanted to invite you once anyway, so thank you for coming like this first. Today let’s rest first, and tomorrow let’s go get some fresh air at the valley, the two of us.”

Han Jaehee, who was trying to change the mood, spoke with a deliberately brighter smile, but Woojeong had no strength to respond to her effort.

“If you let me stay just one night, I’ll go back tomorrow.”

“Oh my, why?”

“I think it’s not right to cause you trouble, noona.”

Woojeong regretted coming all the way here. He felt heavy inside because it seemed he had dragged Han Jaehee, who had nothing to do with it, into his own affairs for no reason.

“Those words don’t mean you’re going to the Snow Reflection Residence, right?”

At Han Jaehee’s question, Woojeong quietly lowered his gaze. Whether that sight was enough to take the place of an answer, Han Jaehee’s voice became urgent.

“Woojeong-ssi. I really didn’t tell Jaegang. I have no intention to either. So just think you came to visit an older sister you know, and rest for even a few days before you go.”

“Thank you for saying so, but I’m fine.”

“I can’t send back a guest who came to my house like this.” Han Jaehee grabbed Woojeong’s hand tightly and sent him a desperate look.

Woojeong had become emaciated like someone who had been sick for a long time, he had lost the face that used to smile well and look comfortable when they met at Snow Reflection Residence.

After persuading him for quite a while and getting the promise that he would stay for a few days, Han Jaehee suggested that they eat dinner first.

“Our madam’s cooking skills are excellent. Come inside.”

Han Jaehee sometimes served Woojeong the chicken stew she always prepared whenever Han Jaegang came down. She tore the softly boiled meat herself and scooped the well-brewed broth for him, but Woojeong couldn’t eat properly.

He only ate a little of the thick porridge that was boiled down and then set the spoon down.

“Do you want to rest early today?”

“…Yes.”

She was too curious about what had happened, but for now she felt she should let Woojeong rest first. She thought that if there were circumstances, she could hear them slowly later.

Woojeong, who stayed in the guest room, turned off the light early. He leaned his back against the bed and turned on the phone screen with the bell sound switched off. There were several missed calls and message notifications, but instead of checking them, Woojeong stared at a single saved photo.

The sky dyed in many colors was beautiful, but the focus of the photo was elsewhere. Woojeong couldn’t take his eyes off the figure standing with arms crossed on one side of the garden. Although they had spent quite a long time together, this one was the only photo of Han Jaegang that Woojeong had.

Woojeong quietly ran his fingers over the figure in the photo, but he suddenly dropped the phone.

“……”

When the pain spread again, Woojeong hurriedly opened his bag. He took out Han Jaegang’s cardigan and hugged it to his chest and buried his face in it. The familiar scent made him want to cry.

•••

Even after Woojeong went out of the house, Han Jaegang stood still in the same spot. The closed door didn’t move at all, it seemed to be mocking him for hoping that he might return.

“…From now on, don’t call my name so kindly.” The trembling voice that spoke with wet eyes didn’t leave his head. Han Jaegang, who stood as he mulled over those words, raised his head.

Even if Woojeong wanted it, he could not leave him to go off alone with that body. Han Jaegang was about to step out with the thought of somehow bringing him back.

“Ugh…”

Han Jaegang let out a short groan and clutched his left chest. He felt like something was tearing inside his chest. Each time his heart beat, the agony spread through his whole body, and his breath was choked off.

He staggered and barely grabbed the back of the sofa and pulled out his phone with a trembling hand. As soon as the signal tone went, Joo Yeongmo’s voice came out.

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“…Lee Woojeong left the house just now. Put someone on him right away.”

“Yes?”

“Tell them to follow quietly. Make sure Lee Woojeong doesn’t notice.”

“I understand for now. But why is your voice like that? Did something happen?”

Feeling Han Jaegang’s strange state over the receiver, Joo Yeongmo shortly said he would come right away and hung up.

It seemed the cause was what happened that dawn. Han Jaegang woke up from extreme chest pain. After a while it quieted down but then the symptoms came again, and even though Kim Junghyun gave him emergency treatment, there was no sign it would calm easily.

When he rushed to the center in the morning and got treated, his state seemed to improve. Kim Junghyun advised him to be hospitalized for a few days to observe the progress, but Han Jaegang did not bend from insisting he would return home.

He thought that instead of wasting time in the hospital relying on medicine that had no effect, it would be better to hold Lee Woojeong and take a nap. Han Jaegang hurried home thinking only of meeting Woojeong.

That day, Woojeong, who came out and sat in the garden, looked different. His face with no trace of a smile seemed vacant. He was right in front of him in the same appearance, the same face as usual, but something felt dry and brittle, so he continued looking at his face.

At one moment, Woojeong suddenly released dense pheromones. His body, which was not normal, reacted sensitively to his pheromones. Han Jaegang inhaled his pheromones without thinking.

<…Then, should we go in and have sex? That way, you can take in my pheromones well. Would this much make you comfortable? Or do you need more?>

It was something he never imagined would come from Lee Woojeong’s mouth. Tears welled up in Woojeong’s eyes as he said that.

<Executive Director, your heart hurts, doesn’t it? To get better, you need omega pheromones, don’t you? If you have sex with me, it really won’t hurt.>

He had never been so shocked by anything until then. Han Jaegang, standing dumbfounded, realized what it felt like when people said words failed them.

How on earth did he know? In his panic, his head wouldn’t work properly. His eloquence, which always persuaded others logically, was now useless.

<You said you liked me…>

It was the first time Woojeong poured out emotions like that. His mouth wouldn’t open, so he could not give any excuse or comfort. Woojeong’s voice scraped painfully at his chest.

<…Why didn’t you just say it honestly. If you had, I would have done whatever you wanted… I would have thought it was a relief that I had something to give…>

Woojeong had always spoken his true feelings honestly. Han Jaegang, who had tried to keep him by his side while hiding his own inside, could not give any excuse.

As if he had nothing more to say, Woojeong pushed him away and ran into the house. Watching that back, Han Jaegang realized bitterly that because he chose a long detour instead of the easy road, in the end he made Lee Woojeong hurt.

While Woojeong stayed locked inside the room, Han Jaegang kept watch before the door the whole time. But the door, behind which his heart had shut, showed no sign of opening.

Although there was only a single door between them, it felt like he was very far from Woojeong. His state, which seemed to stabilize briefly, began to deteriorate rapidly.

Han Jaegang, who drove Joo Yeongmo out of the house when he said they should call a doctor, endured while swallowing the medicine that had been brought.

When the drug effect dulled the pain and his consciousness grew hazy, he spoke to Woojeong beyond the door. Sometimes his mind grew so clouded he did not even know what he was saying.

Even though he spoke and knocked on the door, Woojeong gave no response. Unable to do anything, he released his pheromones and let them flow stronger than ever. He wanted somehow to let Woojeong know he was waiting outside.

-I already reported sick leave to the company. The Chairman must have heard you didn’t go to work.

“Alright.”

-Executive Director, you need to go to the hospital. What are you really planning to do like this? Wouldn’t it be fine to take Lee Woojeong to the hospital together with you?

“I’m fine, so stop worrying and handle your work properly.”

After ending the call, Han Jaegang held the phone in his hand and looked around the house for a long time. A huge amount of money and effort went into changing the first-floor, which had been left empty for a long time, into how it was now. Thanks to that, this place now looked like a proper home.

While Woojeong stayed, a pleasant warmth lingered in the house. For Han Jaegang, who disliked the cold and silent feeling and cleared this place then moved to live in a small space on the third floor, that warmth felt strange and special.

At first, after coming back from work, eating with Woojeong or talking with him, and sleeping on one bed while sharing warm body heat felt unfamiliar. Only after he got used to such moments did he finally understood the words of people who said they went home after work to rest.

Simply decorating like a home did not make it truly a home. Now that Woojeong locked the door and hid inside the room, this space, where warmth used to flow, became silent and desolate again.

Woojeong endured for days in the room without drinking even a sip of water. Then one dawn, he suddenly opened the door and came out. He ran straight to the kitchen, took out side dishes, and started to eat rice hurriedly.

The way he ate dry rice into an empty stomach for several days looked not just worrying but even dangerous. Han Jaegang coaxed him softly with words to sit and eat, but Woojeong looked at him with resentful eyes.

After putting down the spoon and returning to the room, Woojeong soon came back out holding his bag. Han Jaegang tried somehow to stop him, but Woojeong shook off his hand, saying this wasn’t his own house.

He was convinced that Han Jaegang was holding him only for his own safety, Han Jaegang did not try to change his decision. His eyes, once tender and affectionate, were now filled with wariness toward him.

So Woojeong left and only Han Jaegang remained here alone.

<Are you keeping Woojeong-ssi with you now because of your health problem? No, I think you are seriously mistaken. Maybe others don’t know, but noona knows. You changed. I have never in my life seen you take care of someone, look after someone, worry about someone like this. Isn’t that right?>

Han Jaehee’s words suddenly came to mind along with Woojeong’s figure.

His face that sometimes came out to the garden and looked if he was coming, his sleeping face early in the morning, his lips smiling and saying it was delicious while eating dinner together, his hands absorbed in work after bringing tasks to the gallery…

When his body was unwell, the way he came and embraced him as if he knew it was hard shimmered before his eyes.

Lee Woojeong, who said he had nothing to give, was giving generously what no one else could give to Han Jaegang until now.

While he turned this desolate Snow Reflection Residence into a home, what on earth had he been doing?

Han Jaegang took a deep breath and waited for the pain to settle, but in the end he couldn’t endure and collapsed on the spot.

“Oh dear. Executive Director, why are you doing this here? Are you unwell somewhere?”

Madam Kwak, who was about to go from her room to the living room, saw Han Jaegang and came over in surprise. He refused her hand that tried to support him.

“…I am fine.”

“Are you really fine? Your complexion does not look good… But where did Woojeong go this morning? His body should not be in a state to go out.”

Madam Kwak, who carefully asked while looking inside Woojeong’s wide-open room, received no answer from Han Jaegang.

“Go and rest.”

Hesitating in front of the bowed Han Jaegang and unable to leave, Madam Kwak carefully opened her mouth.

“Well, Executive Director. I thought countless times about whether I should say this or not.”

“What is it?”

“I think I need to tell you. I saw something while cleaning Woojeong’s room…”

Madam Kwak hesitated but she quickly told what had happened. As he quietly listened to her words, Han Jaegang’s face gradually hardened. He clenched his fist.

“…So, I think you should definitely check it.”

Even before she finished speaking, Han Jaegang hurriedly tried to rise, but he stopped. His abnormal heart could not endure the sudden movement. With pain that felt like his breath would stop, Han Jaegang clutched his chest.

“Director!”

Han Jaegang collapsed to his knees, he barely supported himself by pressing on the floor. That endurance lasted only briefly, then his consciousness quickly dimmed and his eyes.

“Director! Please, get a hold of yourself!”

“Tell Woojeong…”

Han Jaegang, whose lips moved, fell to the floor of the living room. Only Madam Kwak’s urgent call echoed inside Snow Reflection Residence.