Stranger Who Found Spring

Looking at the diamond ring on the ring finger of his left hand, Cho-seung exclaimed.

“It’s pretty.”

“Right? It’s better to get it right once.”

Ha-hyun, who cut off Cho-seung’s words, said proudly and stretched out his finger so that the ring could be seen clearly. Cho-seung shook his head at him and couldn’t let go of the idea that he had bought it well, even though it was expensive.

Even when he saw it in the store, he couldn’t get rid of the idea that the design was simple and pretty, but it looked really good on him when he saw Ha-hyun wearing it.

In particular, not only the ring but also Ha-hyun’s hand stood out thanks to Ha-hyun’s white skin. Sitting next to Ha-hyun, who was lying on the couch and hugging a cushion while watching the drama, Cho-seung support his body with his left hand and got up.

“Where?”

“Let me take my notebook.”

“Notebook?”

Cho-seung kissed Ha-hyun’s forehead as he questioned him, told him to wait a moment, and went to get the notebook he had left in the study. Ha-hyun, who was looking at the back of Cho-seung, who suddenly disappeared, wanted to follow him, but he missed it while contemplating it.

Now, even snooping around seemed to be funny. Ha-hyun decided to sit up and wait for Cho-seung to return. Cho-seung returned shortly after. With a notebook in one hand as he said.

“Why the notebook?”

“There’s something I’d like to find out for a moment.”

They could use their cell phone to find out, but it would be more convenient to have several windows open, so Cho-seung brought a notebook and sat down on the sofa as a backrest.

Ha-hyun, who approached Cho-seung and put his chin on his shoulder, tilted his head while looking at the search terms he entered on the portal site.

“Do I have to take care of the diamonds too?”

“Since it’s an object, wouldn’t there be a separate way to take care of it?”

Ha-hyun, who had never thought of such a thing, exclaimed at Cho-seung’s words. Besides, since it was a jewel, it was only natural that there would be a separate way to take care of it.

“But can you trust the blog?”

“Um… then let’s look for news or videos.”

Is there anything written about how to take care of them?

He didn’t know if it was a cutting method, so he didn’t think there would be such a thing. There might be videos, but it was still a question whether they were reliable.

Ha-hyun, who didn’t want to hit the candle, kept his mouth shut and focused on the keyboard sound he hadn’t heard in a long time. The typing sound was light and it reminded him of when he was using a notebook in the middle of his college days. (초 치고 싶진 않아 입을 꾹 다문 하현은 오랜만에 듣는 키보드 소리에 집중했다)

“Found it.”

“Oh? Really there is?”

“There’s it.”

There were all sorts of news.

Ha-hyun looked at the long line of letters with cloudy eyes and lowered his head. It was very difficult for him to look at the letters after a long time. It was something he wasn’t even interested in.

He put his chin on his shoulder and played with his hair, trusting that Cho-seung would take care of it. Cho-seung, who read the text with concentration, leaving his hand playing behind his head, played another video he had been paying attention to.

As Cho-seung was given an expensive ring that didn’t fit his taste, he thought that he had to take care of it properly. Beside Cho-seung, who was so eagerly searching for information, Ha-hyun let out a yawn.

“Sleepy?”

“No. Just yawning.”

Drunk by the pheromone emanating from the nape of Cho-seung’s neck, he shook his head slowly. He felt like he would wake up in the morning if he went to sleep now. He thought it would be better to hold out for an hour or two and sleep with Cho-seung.

Cho-seung, who was concentrating on the video, turned his head to check Ha-hyun’s condition.

Seeing him slowly blinking his eyes while leaning against his hand and then gently stroking his cheek, he thought he would fall asleep soon, so he didn’t speak anymore.

In the end, Ha-hyun idled around next to Cho-seung and fell asleep. Cho-seung, who found him later, embraced the sleeping Ha-hyun and held him in his arms, patting him so that he could fall asleep more deeply. Ha-hyun, who was awakened by Cho-seung’s hugging hand, headed back to his dream with his warm touch.

* * *

After gaining some information, Cho-seung carefully hugged Ha-hyun and stood up. He decided to clean up his seat later.

Even though his legs were dangling, he took Ha-hyun to sleep well, carefully went into the bedroom, and laid Ha-hyun on the bed.

Ha-hyun, who was tossing and turning on the changed bed, stretched out his hand and fumbled around. Noticing what that hand was looking for after a few days of experience, Cho-seung leaned against the headboard of the bed rather than give it what he wanted.

Then, finding a solid object, his arm withdrew and his body squirmed closer and laid down on Cho-seung’s thigh.

Waiting until Ha-hyun fell into a deep sleep, Cho-seung turned on the lamp on the bedside table and picked up the book he had read.

It was Cho-seung who got used to the daily routine of reading until he fell asleep while volunteering for a body pillow next to Ha-hyun, who fell asleep first every time.

In the quiet bedroom, only a small light and the occasional sound of flipping papers heard.

He would release pheromones in between readings without forgetting to read them.

After some time had passed, Cho-seung carefully moved Ha-hyun’s head onto the pillow and went out to the living room to clean up the mess. After that, he entered the bedroom and quietly headed to Ha-hyun’s side.

Ha-hyun, who struggled to sleep after being hugged from behind, turned and lay down facing Cho-seung. Cho-seung looked down nervously to see if he had woken up and was relieved after hearing the sound of his breathing.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes while hugging Ha-hyun, who had a higher body temperature than a normal person.

* * *

“Uh…”

Cho-seung, who had fallen into a light sleep, opened his heavy eyelids at the sound of a moan in his ears. While figuring out what he was talking about in his dizzy head, he hurriedly looked at Ha-hyun and saw him curled up and then grabbed his shoulder while shaking him.

“Ha-hyun-ah, what’s wrong. Ung?”

Ha-hyun, who barely opened his eyes at the urgency of the hand gesture, fluttered his eyelids powerlessly. Cho-seung, who became more impatient with that, raised Ha-hyun’s upper body and held him in his arms.

“Shall we go to the hospital? Where are you sick?”

Cho-seung chewed his lips with an expression full of nervousness while sweeping Ha-hyun’s body with his hand or wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead.

“I can’t. Get ready to go to the hospital.”

It was Ha-hyun who grabbed Cho-seung as he tried to get out of bed. Cho-seung stiffened up with a weak hand gesture and went back to Ha-hyun’s side and stroked his cheek. Ha-hyun, who gripped his hand, shook his head at the words to go to the hospital.

“You told me to go to the hospital right away if you get sick. Ung? Ha-hyun-ah.”

“Ung… stay, with me.”

“That—”

Of course, I will.

When he said he wouldn’t go to the hospital, Cho-seung wanted to push Ha-hyun, but he tried hard to suppress his emotions. With the force of pulling the hand that he kept holding, he hugged Ha-hyun in his arms and kissed his forehead which was dripping with cold sweat.

Ha-hyun, leaning against his firm chest to catch his breath, placed his hand on his lower stomach. As Cho-seung covered him and shared the warmth, he showed a soft smile even in the midst of pain.

“Stubborn.”

“Ung. Soon, it will be fine…”

This was the third time. It was the first time he woke up in pain at dawn like this, but Ha-hyun, who was used to it as it happened often, shook his head at the urge to go to the hospital.

Ha-hyun, who had been resting while receiving Cho-seung’s pheromones that were being intentionally poured out excessively, let out a sigh of relief as his condition gradually improved. He was used to it, but he didn’t enjoy the pain.

Ha-hyun barely raised his head and met eyes with Cho-seung, who must have been worried. And then he said it was okay and bent his eyes.

As for Cho-seung, he liked seeing his pretty smile, but he couldn’t hide his worry. He put a little strength in his hand that held his and asked again.

“Are you really okay?”

“Ung. Look, I’m not even sweating anymore.”

Cho-seung looked at Ha-hyun’s forehead while holding his hand and massaging it, then nodded reluctantly.

“Would you like something warm? Are you surprised?”

Ha-hyun nodded at the words whispered affectionately. He didn’t think he would be able to fall asleep right away, so he thought that would be better.

“If this happens again, we will definitely go to the hospital. At that time, even if you insist, I won’t listen.”

Contrary to the blunt words, the pheromone that landed on Ha-hyun’s body was still sweet. It was warm and cozy. It seemed like he was deliberately collecting only warm things, so he thought he would laugh, but he held it in. Because if he laughed now, Cho-seung might get upset and nag him more.

Even though he was on his way to get something to drink, he often looked back in between. Ha-hyun, wearing an awkward smile and feeling apologetic for the worry over a trivial act, leaned against the head of the bed until he returned.

“Is yujacha okay?” (유자차, meant citron tea, here)

“Ung. That’s good, yujacha.”

“It’s hot, be careful.”

Ha-hyun nodded at the whispered words as he handed over the glass. Covering the cup with his two hands, he noticed that Cho-seung cared about the temperature because it felt warm rather than hot. Cho-seung, who came to Ha-hyun’s side, wrapped his arm around Ha-hyun’s shoulders as if it was natural.

Ha-hyun sipped yujacha while leaning against him to keep his tongue from burning and slowly closed his eyes as he felt his stiff body loosen up when he drank the warm drink.

“Do you like it?”

“Ung. By the way, where was yujacha from? I don’t remember buying it.”

“I brought it from my house. I made it myself.”

Maybe that’s why it was less sweet. It wasn’t tasty either. It was moderately sweet, so it fit Ha-hyun’s taste.

“Anyway, was it usually like this…”

Ha-hyun pretended not to know and smiled with his eyes closed when the words full of worries landed in his ears. He enjoyed the caress running down his forearm, bathing in the pine-scented pheromones that filled the room.

Cho-seung almost sighed as he looked at Ha-hyun, who pretended not to know even though he had heard it but held it in.

“You’re tired too. Woke up at dawn.”

“I’m not tired. I don’t mind, so take care of yourself, ung?”

“Ung. I will.”

Ha-hyun, who tried to divert the subject, failed beautifully. As he quietly nodded his head and repeatedly promised that he would be careful, only then did Cho-seung slightly raise the corner of his mouth. Seeing him, Ha-hyun smiled along and Cho-seung reached out then wrapped his cheek.

He slowly lowered his head and gently kissed his soft lips. Ha-hyun, who was touched lightly, touched Cho-seung’s cheeks as if reciprocating.

It was deep in the morning.