Ja-kyung’s eyes narrowed as he concentrated. He put shaving cream on Il-hyun’s face to shave the stubble on his chin, but his hands shook so much because he had never used a razor before. Seeing that, Il-hyun laughed.
“You’re unstoppable when you kill people, but why are you shaking like that?”
Ja-kyung felt that it seemed to be easier to kill people with blunt words.
“Don’t talk. Be quiet.”
He concentrated and shaved Il-hyun’s beard, making a scratching sound as he did so. He’d never thought a beard looked cool in his life. Ja-kyung’s beard didn’t grow much, thus shaving was only done on occasion, unlike Wang Han and Wang Lun whose beards became thick and wild in just a day.
But strangely, the beard suited Kang Il-hyun quite well. It made him look somewhat more decadent. Ja-kyung wanted to keep it, but he didn’t want him to look even more sick, so he made up his mind to shave it off.
He was focusing while staring at his cheek when he heard a knock. The food had come by the time Ja-kyung turned around. After shaving, he cleansed Il-hyun’s face with a warm towel. Il-hyun had lost weight while he was in the hospital, which made his already sharp features even sharper.
Ja-kyung opened the table on the bed and offered him porridge after tidying up. For the time being, he could only eat porridge. He set the utensils down, but Kang Il-hyun only stared at them. Even when Ja-kyung poured water and urged him to eat quickly, he didn’t even bother to pick up the utensils.
Il-hyun asked with a pitiful expression.
“Aren’t you going to feed me?”
Ja-kyung looked at him in bewilderment. The left hand is broken, but the right hand is fine. It has been like this for a few days now. Today, Ja-kyung firmly gestured with his eyes, pointing at his right hand. Then Il-hyun raised his chin and answered confidently.
“I’m left-handed.”
Since when? Ja-kyung remembered Il-hyun using his right hand to pick up a spoon, hold a ballpoint pen, and even rub his dick! Before Ja-kyung could ask where he was going with this, Il-hyun pushed the table forward as if throwing a tantrum and laid down on the bed.
Ja-kyung looked at him in disbelief. “Did you get shot in the head or something? Why are you acting so out of character?” He wanted to shout out those words but held himself back. Ja-kyung sat down on the bed, sighed, and pushed the table forward.
“Fine, I got it. I’ll feed you.”
Il-hyun gets up and sits down casually. Ja-kyung noticed the white bandage wrapped between the open hospital gown. The wound was healing quickly, but he’ll have to stay in the hospital for the time being. He took a spoonful of porridge, blew it, and then held it out.
“Ah.”
As Il-hyun opened his mouth, Ja-kyung pushed the spoon inside. As the porridge stained his lips, Il-hyun licked them teasingly and stared intently. Ah, I want to eat something else. Ja-kyung pretended not to hear and scooped another spoonful of porridge. Jihyeon stared at him as if he was chewing on Ja-kyung’s face rather than the food in his mouth.
Seeing a mischievous smile spread across his lips, Ja-kyung let out a sigh.
“Are you a kid, or what…”
Despite his grumbling, he found the sight funny and ended up laughing as well. He eventually fed him the entire porridge and made him brush his teeth and wash his face when he finished eating. Then he kissed him on the lips as a reward. Time passed quickly while he was in the hospital.
Park Tae-soo arrived in the late afternoon. On the first day Il-hyun was conscious, he smiled till the corner of his lips rose. It was the happiest expression Ja-kyung had ever seen on his face. While he came in once a day to report on business, Ja-kyung waited outside until he was finished.
As he sat down, familiar staff passed by and greet him. According to what he had heard, Chairman Kang’s funeral had been postponed since Il-hyun was still in the hospital. The company executives had decided to do the same.
They also stated that Kang Il-hyun should appear in court for a thorough investigation as soon as he recovered. Public opinion dominated with questions of whether it was necessary to summon someone who almost died for questioning, and whether it was too much to put him through in the midst of grieving for his father.
After Park Tae-soo went back, Ja-kyung went into the hospital room. The sun was already setting outside the window.
“Tae-soo is waiting downstairs. Go home today.”
Ja-kyung frowned at the unexpected words.
“Why…?”
“You can’t keep staying here. Your leg hasn’t fully healed yet.”
Ja-kyung pointed to the caregiver’s bed. Despite his claim that it was better than a decent bed, Kang Il-hyun insisted that he go home to sleep. It felt like he was being chased away, which made Ja-kyung upset. He sat there pretending not to easily change his mind.
After Ja-kyung persisted stubbornly, Kang Il-hyun finally gave in and contacted Tae-soo, telling him to go home first today. Only then did Ja-kyung’s face brighten.
“Then why don’t you sleep with me tonight?”
Il-hyun patted on his bed. It wasn’t particularly wide, but it was enough for two people. However, Ja-kyung was worried that he would accidentally touch the wound while sleeping. Il-hyun moved his body a little more to the side as Ja-kyung hesitated. There was enough space, and Ja-kyung climbed onto the bed. Then he cautiously placed his hand on Kang Il-hyun’s chest.
“It hurts?”
“No.”
“Can I just lean on you and sleep like this?”
“Sure. You can climb on and even ride me if you want.”
Ja-kyung frowned as he understood the meaning of the words
“Is that all you have on your mind?”
“You should try having a boyfriend like yourself. Not like me, all messed up and broken.”
He reached out his right hand and gently stroked Ja-kyung’s hair. From the head, his touch descended down the nape of the neck and touched the back. Pat, pat, his large hand comforted Ja-kyung’s back. Ja-kyung felt his eyelids growing heavier.
“You know, CEO Kang…”
He called him with a voice tinged with drowsiness.
“Yeah.”
Ja-kyung hesitated. Still, he thought it would be more comfortable to address the issue and move on.
“I’m sorry…”
“What for?”
“Your father…”
He stopped speaking there. Although he died at the hospital, it was ultimately Ja-kyung who killed him.
“He died because of his own actions, not because of you. Don’t think like that.”
The hand that had been patting his back slipped inside his shirt and touched his bare skin. Ja-kyung tensed. Il-hyun buried his face in the nape of his neck and took a deep breath. The hand that caressed his body grew stronger. Suppressing the overwhelming lust that rose fiercely, Il-hyun recalled the deceased Chairman Kang.
In fact, everything went smoothly after Chairman Kang died. He must be the scum of the earth as he felt relieved deep down. On the other hand, Il-hyun pretended not to notice Ja-kyung’s feelings of guilt. If he could use that to hold him captive, he would also exploit his emotions. Never letting him leave.
He struggled to keep it hidden because he was afraid that Ja-kyung would become unhappy if his true feelings were exposed. He made eye contact, disguising his desires behind a good-natured smile.
“Stop talking and go to sleep. You look sleepy.”
Ja-kyung, who had been forcing his eyes open, nodded his head unable to bear it any longer. Afraid that he might accidentally touch his wounds in his drowsiness, he turned his body and lay down on the outer side of the bed. Kang Il-hyun’s breath brushed against the back of his neck, his lips briefly touching before separating.
A low whispering voice was heard.
That he liked him a lot. That he’s in love.
Those remarks came through clearly even in Ja-kyung’s sleepy state.
***
Kang Yoo-jung stopped by Kang Il-hyun’s hospital room in the morning while visiting patients and was at a loss for words. The nurses next to her also looked bewildered. After sending them away, she approached and met Kang Il-hyun’s gaze as he opened his eyes. Ja-kyung was curled up like a caterpillar next to his body, clinging to him in his sleep.
She was at a loss for words when she saw Lee Ja-kyung’s hand gripping Kang Il-hyun’s patient gown tightly.
Kang Il-hyun whispered for her to leave.
“Come back later. I’m still sleepy.”
Yoo-jung shook her head and clicked her tongue as she noticed him lowering his voice in fear of waking up Ja-kyung. She was surprised at first that he wasn’t Zhang Yi An, and then she was surprised that he had tried to kill Kang Il-hyun. What surprised her even more was the fact that Il-hyun knew all this and yet accepted him.
He also told Yoo-jung not to show any signs of discomfort. In other words, he meant not to make Ja-kyung feel uneasy. Although she was worried that he had fallen head over heels for him, she was also glad to know that, despite the fact that Ja-kyung is a male, Il-hyun was now doing everything that other people did.
She thought he would live his whole life cutting off people’s fingers.
But when she saw it with her own eyes, she just couldn’t get used to it.
“Get out, quickly.”
Il-hyun frowned as Lee Ja-kyung wriggled and squirmed. Yoo-jung sighed and left, and the room fell silent. Il-hyun turned to face Lee Ja-kyung, who was sleeping next to him. That saddened him every time he saw Ja-kyung sleeping curled up.
He pulled out a blanket and covered it up to his shoulders. Kang Yoo-jung had told him. Lee Ja-kyung sat in front of the intensive care unit every day for the ten days he was unconscious. He didn’t listen to her, even when she tried to stop him, and he waited for him to wake up with a distressed expression on his face.
Perhaps it was because of the sunlight streaming in through the window, but his closed eyelids trembled and opened, showing his brown eyes. His dazed expression from just waking up was lovely. If he had died, it would have been unfair not to see this face, and he would have been upset about it.
“Morning. Did you sleep well?”
Ja-kyung carefully dug into Il-hyun’s arms, who smiled brightly. Just 30 more minutes. Please let me sleep for just 30 more minutes. His murmuring voice was filled with drowsiness. Il-hyun tilted his body as much as possible toward Ja-kyung. He stroked his soft hair and Ja-kyung burrowed deeper as if he’d been waiting.
The wild cat had now become a perfect house cat.
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