RB 31

“I unpacked late. I was going to give it to you yesterday evening, but they said you were already asleep.”

Eunho stared blankly at the box handed to him. On top of the box, tied with an olive-colored ribbon, the luxury brand logo he knew well was printed.

“I bought it myself during my stay in Paris. I don’t know if you will like it, but it should suit you.”

“Is this a business trip gift?”

“To be exact, it’s a reward. You surprised me, so you deserve a prize.”

Eunho was dumbfounded by the sudden reward. For now, he received the box that was handed to him. It was quite light, so he could not guess what might be inside.

He had worked hard not to disappoint Choi Yeorok. Eunho had hoped that when Yeorok returned, he would be startled by how much Eunho had changed. The box before his eyes was confirmation and reward for all that effort.

“What if… it hadn’t satisfied you?”

“Then you would have been slapped on the palm.”

Yeorok spoke with an indifferent expression. It was hard to tell whether it was a joke or the truth. It felt more likely to be the truth, so Eunho swallowed dryly.

“It is etiquette to open a gift in front of the giver.”

“Ah, yes.”

He quickly untied the ribbon. When he opened the box, a neatly designed watch appeared. Displayed on the soft velvet interior, the watch gleamed with a clean polish.

Eunho stared at the watch in disbelief. Setting aside how expensive it looked, he immediately liked it. He had never once felt desire to own luxury goods, but Yeorok’s gift instantly turned him into a materialist.

Yeorok looked down at his wide-open eyes. He had expected Eunho would be expressionless, but he looked moved. Does he like it that much? Well, he had also thought, at first sight, that the watch suited Eunho.

“It has no special meaning. It’s simply encouragement.”

Yeorok deliberately kept his tone flat. In truth, it carried no great meaning. Even if Eunho had been below standard when they met again, it was a gift he would have kept and eventually given at some point.

“Put it on. Let’s see if it suits you.”

Once ordered, Eunho fumbled to take out the watch. Even the ribbon felt too precious to throw away, so he shoved it into his pants pocket before carefully lifting the watch from its case. He at once brought the strap to his left wrist, but Yeorok severely corrected him.

“You have to wear it on the right hand.”

“Ah.”

A foolish mistake. Since Choi Yoonho was left-handed, Eunho, who was imitating him, had to wear the watch on his right wrist. He hurriedly moved the watch to his right hand.

But he soon started sweating. He had trained hard to act left-handed, but after making one mistake, with Yeorok watching him, his hands moved slower. On top of that, the strap was too long and the design unfamiliar, so he struggled to fasten it.

He heard a sigh. Yeorok stepped closer and reached out. He took the watch from Eunho’s arm and did the work himself. The long leather strap wrapped around Eunho’s wrist twice.

While Yeorok concentrated on fastening the buckle, silence filled the space between them. Each time his cold fingertips brushed his wrist, Eunho had to hold his breath. He could not even lift his gaze, only watching those fingers.

Yeorok’s long fingers moved with the same refinement as their shape. Even after fastening the watch, he adjusted the strap’s position to make it sit neatly. Only after turning Eunho’s wrist this way and that did he finally let go.

“The way it fastens is a bit unusual.”

Eunho then lifted his wrist. The watch in etoupe color showed its full value more on his wrist than when sitting in the case. Even to his untrained eye, the thin strap on his slender wrist matched perfectly.

“…This is the brand Choi Yoonho likes, right?”

Even without a single jewel, it was a luxury worth millions. Choi Yoonho’s dressing room already overflowed with clothing and accessories from the same brand. But this watch was only Eunho’s.

“Yes. That’s why you have to wear it every day.”

“If I wear it every day, it will get scratched.”

“Polishing it and cherishing it is what nouveau riche do.”

It meant he should behave like an heir of Haegang. Eunho nodded in agreement. But he still looked regretful.

“In the end, it’s a consumable. There is no need to attach meaning to things you use and throw away.”

“I… feel like I could never throw this away.”

“Now that it belongs to you, I cannot interfere.”

Eunho looked again at the watch wrapped around his wrist. Even if it was called a consumable, to him it was far too precious. Beyond its cost, because it was given by Yeorok, it had deep meaning. He wished the light of it would never fade.

Eunho kept looking at the watch with a flushed face, so Yeorok stepped back and crossed his arms. He did not feel bad watching him treasure the watch. And as he expected, the gift suited Sim Eunho well.

“You look even more moved than when I praised you.”

“…I guess I am becoming more and more materialistic.”

“That is a good sign.”

Eunho slowly lifted his head. Now Choi Yeorok often smiled sincerely in front of him. As much as he himself had changed, so had Yeorok. At last he felt he had stepped into his domain.

“I will be in your care from now on.”

A long hand stretched forward asking for a handshake. Eunho clasped his hand with the one wearing the watch. The grip tightened and something inside his chest started to feel heavy.

***

The effect of the reward was big, so Sim Eunho trained even harder than before. Except for sleeping hours he spent all day embodying the man called Choi Yoonho. No, since he even dreamed of Choi Yoonho at times, it seemed like he was trying to become him even in his unconscious.

Eunho developed a habit. Sometimes he checked the time. He often gained strength every time he looked at the watch wrapped around his right wrist. The watch was more powerful than any tonic.

“Eunho, you… are really ruthless.”

Seo Taehwa spoke in a serious voice across the dining table. Eunho’s big eyes opened wide.

“Me?”

“Do you not know what resting time means? Who studies even during break time? Not even the top student would go that far.”

Seo Taehwa picked up the printouts that had been in front of Eunho and read them. It was a chart organizing all the misdeeds Choi Yoonho had committed until now. The paper he himself had handed over just two days ago was already full of highlighter marks everywhere. There were also notes Eunho had written scattered throughout.

Seo Taehwa clicked his tongue inwardly. Sim Eunho’s effort drained even the people who watched him. Working hard was good, but he worried Eunho might fall ill at this rate.

“Are you not tired? You should rest when it is time to rest.”

“What is there to be tired about. It is not even physical labor.”

Eunho stealthily took back the printouts that had been seized by Seo Taehwa. Then he went back to studying again. He was so focused that it was hard to even start a conversation.

He poured all of even a short twenty-minute break into study. Even though there was no bonus or reward, and when calculated it was no different from unpaid labor, Sim Eunho devoted himself ruthlessly.

Eunho suddenly held his head and frowned. He pressed on his temples and forehead, showing signs of a headache. Seo Taehwa could not watch any longer and snatched away his printouts and mechanical pencil.

“Stop studying. Are you going to rest or not?”

“Hyung.”

“If you feel restless and think you need to do something, then go see Ahn Jaehwan.”

Eunho asked back with a puzzled face.

“Do I still have treatments left?”

“No… well, he said he has something to talk about.”

He could not bring himself to say that Ahn Jaehwan was keeping an eye on his condition. After all, the man was a psychiatrist. He did not want to burden someone who was working so hard with unnecessary worries. Ahn Jaehwan would know how to frame it properly.

Seo Taehwa stood Eunho up and pushed him into the counseling room.

“Oh, Eunho-ssi. Come in.”

Even though Eunho entered suddenly without knocking, Ahn Jaehwan greeted him gladly. In fact he had been waiting impatiently for him to come.

“Hello, doctor.”

Eunho greeted politely. Ahn Jaehwan laughed as he heard the formal title. He gestured for Eunho to sit on the empty spot on the sofa.

“Do you know this? Eunho-ssi treats each of the four of us differently.”

“Huh? In what way….”

“All four of us are the same age, thirty-one, and we met around the same time. But you treat Seo Taehwa like a close hyung, with Hong Namyeong you are still distant, and me you treat politely like a doctor.”

“Ah, did I?”

Eunho pursed his lips in embarrassment. Seeing his cheeks flush red, Ahn Jaehwan slowly touched the smile on his own lips.

“What about Choi Yeorok?”