Even the day after Cha Gil-Do had given Baek Eun-Seong the greenhouse, his mood did not improve. Whenever his guard dropped, he remembered what Baek Eun-Seong had almost said.
‘This is something I should be doing with Kang Ji-a… uh!’
Cha Gil-Do was furious that Baek Eun-Seong had mentioned Kang Ji-a while kissing him in the greenhouse. What made him even angrier was that, instead of showing any sign of remorse, Baek Eun-Seong had crawled under the blankets and fallen straight asleep. He had cried so hard it was closer to fainting from exhaustion, but the more Cha Gil-Do recalled it, the more enraged he became.
‘How can you have your mind on someone else when I’m right in front of you?’
He tried to sit quietly by the bed and look over the backlog of work on his tablet, but his eyes stayed fixed on Baek Eun-Seong until the man had sunk into a deep sleep.
Only when Baek Eun-Seong’s breathing quieted did Cha Gil-Do let out a sigh, put the tablet on the nightstand, and lie down. As their bodies touched, Baek Eun-Seong shifted, and Cha Gil-Do slipped an arm under his head. That round head settled perfectly into his embrace.
The next morning, Cha Gil-Do got ready for work. By then, Baek Eun-Seong had still not left the bed.
‘Before, he would at least tell me to have a good day….’
Rather than using the dressing room, he came into the room where Baek Eun-Seong lay to put on his jacket and adjust his tie. As he fastened his watch, he glanced at the figure lying quietly beneath the blanket.
Feeling slighted that Baek Eun-Seong would not look at him even once, he raised his voice deliberately so it would be heard.
“Watch him well. Don’t even let him think of going outside.”
Leaving Baek Eun-Seong behind, who seemed always to be scheming to escape, made it hard for him to walk away. His chief secretary was the one who paid the price.
“What is Baek Eun-Seong doing.”
“He is in his room.”
The secretary, well used to this question that came like a greeting the moment they arrived at the office, answered like a talking doll triggered by a button. But today the frequency was unusually high. Very unusually.
“What is Baek Eun-Seong doing.”
“He is in his room.”
Not even an hour later, the question returned every thirty minutes. The secretary wanted to shout that it would be easier to install home cameras in every room and watch the feed himself, but after four years and three months of salaried work, he did not want to be unemployed before even getting his monthly credit card bill.
“What on earth is he doing in that room.”
At last, it came.
“In the dark room, without even turning on the lights…”
The secretary put on a serious expression, and Cha Gil-Do tensed without realizing it.
“Lying flat and tossing about, letting out rough breaths…”
“That…!”
For a moment, Cha Gil-Do thought he was about to hear details of Baek Eun-Seong’s private affairs and quickly tried to cut him off.
“He does not come out from under the blanket.”
“……”
“It is certain that Baek Eun-Seong was born with the temperament of an idler.”
“Get out.”
The secretary retreated faster than anyone. Cha Gil-Do’s head throbbed. In other words, according to the secretary, Baek Eun-Seong had stayed in bed all day, under the blanket.
“Even with a different personality, he still manages to be infuriating.”
Cha Gil-Do thought Baek Eun-Seong was protesting against him. He could not forget how Baek Eun-Seong had insisted he did not want to be here, how he wanted to leave. Even when he seemed obedient, he was always plotting to escape his grasp.
He had even shown tears. He had cried so desperately, as if begging to be let go… But unfortunately for him, then and now, Cha Gil-Do had no intention of setting him free.
Cha Gil-Do left work early.
Until the very last moment, he kept receiving reports of Baek Eun-Seong’s movements, but his location was unchanged: still in his room, under the blanket. He had ordered his staff to keep a close watch in case of mischief, but he knew he had to see for himself.
“He skipped breakfast and lunch as well.”
As soon as he arrived home, the servant told him something even worse than what he had heard at the company: Baek Eun-Seong had skipped every meal and never left his room.
Because Cha Gil-Do had ordered the servants not to let Baek Eun-Seong see them while he was away, they could only peek through a slightly opened door to check his condition. Remembering how he had barely moved on the bed, the servant added:
“And since the morning, even the sound of him shifting has stopped….”
Hearing that, Cha Gil-Do did not ask further. He went straight to the room, his steps growing quicker and heavier as he neared the door.
When he opened it, there was only darkness. Though the sun had not yet set, not a trace of light entered the room. He switched on the light and looked at the bed.
Should he yell and force food down his throat?
Perhaps he should throw him back into the basement, to remind him how lenient he had been. In that place with no light, he would have nothing to do but wait for him.
‘So he can never even think of Kang Ji-a again.’
His possessiveness threatened to grow vicious and lash out, but outwardly, Cha Gil-Do calmed himself. He was no clumsy hunter. A beast that had bitten its prey’s throat needed only to watch silently until the last breath left.
There he was: Baek Eun-Seong, still under the blanket. Cha Gil-Do reached out and took the pale hand sticking out. It was warm, but he assumed that was only from being under the blanket all day.
“What have you been doing all day, not coming out from under here.”
“……”
Baek Eun-Seong gazed at him quietly. The beast, more skilled than anyone at snapping a throat in an instant, opened his mouth.
“Baek Eun-Seong?”
When Baek Eun-Seong sagged as if he could no longer support himself, Cha Gil-Do hurriedly caught him around the waist. Too thin, and strangely hot. Shuddering, barely managing ragged breaths, he trembled violently. Cha Gil-Do quickly held him close and touched his forehead.
‘Burning.’
He had a fever. Anger surged. He was not a child—why had he not known he was sick, and instead locked himself away in the room?
“You, until you’re in this state…”
He nearly asked, why didn’t you call for me? Though he knew full well this fever was because of him.
He could say no more, carefully laying Baek Eun-Seong down. Gripping his trembling hand, he called to the servant outside the door.
“What are you doing, not calling the physician immediately!”
Baek Eun-Seong could not keep his consciousness. Yet he did not let out even a groan, which drove Cha Gil-Do even crazier.
“Damn it, how long has he had this fever.”
Normally he did not speak crudely, but before Baek Eun-Seong he spat curses like a thug.
“His constitution is weak. He must have often been sickly before. Especially in a patient like this, stress can aggravate the illness, so you must take particular care.”
Thanks to the physician who rushed in and treated him immediately, the fever that had risen to 41 degrees finally began to subside. The thought that, had it risen any further, organ failure might have followed—it chilled him.
After the physician left, the room held only the quietly sleeping Baek Eun-Seong. Cha Gil-Do reached out. His hand, hesitating for a moment, slowly touched the cheek. Stroking the warm skin, Baek Eun-Seong turned his head toward his hand. Cha Gil-Do could not let go of that face, small enough to fit in one hand, for a long time.
Baek Eun-Seong awoke. Five hours had passed since the fever had boiled and calmed.
Cha Gil-Do was drawn to the gaze that met his own, as if by a magnet.
“Ahem.”
Baek Eun-Seong coughed lightly and shivered. His throat seemed parched, and without a second thought, Cha Gil-Do brought water. Nestled weakly in his arms, Baek Eun-Seong tried to drink but could not swallow properly. Each hacking cough made his already pale face look paler.
“Damn.”
The curse slipped out again. He was sick to the point of not even being able to drink water on his own, and yet Cha Gil-Do had only just noticed. But his priority was to quench that thirst, not his anger. He could have used a straw, but his rational judgment had long since yielded to instinct.
He tilted the cup to his own lips, pressed his mouth to Baek Eun-Seong’s, and pushed the water past his teeth. Half of it spilled down, but when he saw him swallow a few times, Cha Gil-Do was satisfied. Baek Eun-Seong’s mouth was hot, soft, tender wherever his tongue touched. Sweet too—so sweet it stung his tongue, like honey.
Cha Gil-Do carefully traced Baek Eun-Seong’s slightly parted lips. Catching his chin, he tilted his face up.
“It’s all spilling. Open properly.”
He wanted him to accept everything he gave. Forgetting about the water, their lips tangled again. As Baek Eun-Seong tried to pull away, Cha Gil-Do bound him tightly and slipped his hand inside his shirt. Unaware that his frail body was being toyed with, he only tried to avoid the kiss, until Cha Gil-Do bit his tongue lightly. Finally giving up resistance, Baek Eun-Seong let out a moan.
Though he knew he should stop here, the sound of that ragged breathing by his ear made him restless. Though he had always gotten whatever he wanted, Baek Eun-Seong felt like something that would slip through his fingers even when held. Should he sink his teeth deeper? Should he leave marks that would never fade?
Unfamiliar with these feelings, he mistook them for nothing but possessiveness.
“Stress can be a cause, so he must rest—that is what I said….”
When Baek Eun-Seong’s fever spiked again, the physician who returned saw the mottled marks on his body and guessed enough of what had happened. He had no interest in his employer’s sexual tastes. What angered him was that the patient he had just managed to stabilize had relapsed. Were it not his employer, he would have used curses openly. Suppressing his fury, he said:
“Rest, and more rest. If you think you will forget again, shall I write it down for you?”
“……”
Cha Gil-Do avoided the physician’s sharp gaze.
After the physician left again, Cha Gil-Do pressed his brow, weary from the barrage of scolding. Even he could not speak carelessly to the physician. Nor to his own brother, the psychiatrist. Knowing he was at fault, he said nothing.