Chapter 26 – Complete Lovers

‘Hyung, sorry. I don’t think I can make it today. Eunjae wants to see me.’

‘Hey, I’m out on leave and you’re doing this to me?’

‘Ah, really sorry. Let’s play basketball after I get back. Deal?’

‘…Fine, just go. Use this to buy something tasty.’

‘Awesome. Hyung, you know I love you, right?’

‘Gross, you brat. …Just go.’

The last thing Wooseok saw was his brother waving his hand and leaving the room. That memory was a moment Wooseok couldn’t even face in his dreams. He woke up with a suffocating sense of pressure.

His t-shirt was soaked in sweat. Wooseok caught his breath, got his bearings, and looked around. He was lying on his bed; the room was still dark. When he looked toward the window, the faint light of dawn was seeping in.

Yesterday had been a day where misfortune and happiness crossed paths for him. It was the day he first poured out his pain to his mother, and the moment he revealed the feelings he’d kept hidden from Eunjae and became completely one with her. Now, he couldn’t even confuse friend and lover—he’d intertwined with her, and even when he opened his eyes, Eunjae was right there looking at him.

He was happy. So much so that he wanted this moment to last forever. Everything had come true. Shin Eunjae liked him. So why was he still so anxious? When Wooseok thought of his brother who appeared in his dream, a heavy ache filled his chest.

Pretending not to feel pain was easy. You could just live as if nothing was wrong. Wooseok had lived that way. Even when his mother looked at him and saw his late brother, he pretended not to notice. He acted like he felt no guilt about his brother changing plans and taking an unplanned drive because of him. He had no choice. Otherwise, he couldn’t endure any of those moments.

Had his wounds become dull? As time passed, pretending not to know became second nature. He slowly began to think about his own happiness. He’d endured enough, hadn’t he? He felt truly alive when he answered his feelings for Eunjae, believing even his brother in heaven would understand.

Yet, in that very moment, his brother appeared in his dream, leaving him feeling empty. For years, even when he visited the columbarium for no reason, his brother hadn’t come to him in dreams. Wooseok roughly wiped his face and let out a hollow laugh.

He stared blankly at a spot on the wall before getting up. He opened the bedroom door and stopped in surprise. Was he seeing things? Was he still dreaming? He wondered, and slowly walked toward the kitchen.

There was Eunjae. She was at the sink, carefully handling utensils so as not to wake him. Without hesitation, Wooseok approached her. Eunjae, who had just finished washing onions and was turning to find a knife and cutting board, jumped in surprise at the sight of Wooseok standing like a ghost.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“…….”

Wooseok still looked at her as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Are you sick? You look sweaty.”

Eunjae brushed his forehead with a worried face, then checked her own temperature in comparison. Complete love. Was this what such a moment meant? Wooseok pulled her into a tight hug. He wanted to shout to anyone, “Don’t tell me this is a dream. If even this is a dream, isn’t that just cruel?”

“Did you have a bad dream?”

Eunjae asked as she hugged him, gently patting his back.

“What happened?”

Wooseok let go and tenderly cupped both her cheeks as he asked.

“…Just. I woke up early. And… I have to wash your hair.”

Eunjae seemed shy, unable to meet his gaze. Maybe she’d taken a passing comment to heart. Thinking back, it was always like that. Whenever Wooseok reached his limit, the person he could lean on was Eunjae. She comforted him and stayed by his side without asking for reasons. Just like now.

That made him afraid, too. Afraid of losing her. After losing his brother, he’d realized how brutal the pain of loss could be. Eunjae wasn’t someone he could simply confess to, get tangled with, and then break up with. She was someone for whom the distinction between friendship and love was meaningless.

Absolute feelings sometimes became a fear that prevented him from moving forward. For someone who was always satisfied just to have her by his side, Eunjae’s confession made him realize how arrogant and hypocritical his behavior had been. After lying that he could go back to being just friends if she wanted, he was even more certain he couldn’t turn back.

He couldn’t just watch her from afar.

He wanted to be her one and only.

He would do anything if he could.

He didn’t need to worry about the line between friendship and love—he needed to be a man who could protect love.

“Thank you.”

“For what… Just for washing your hair?”

“Then will you help me wash my body, too?”

Wooseok couldn’t help but tease. Eunjae’s eyes widened and her neck flushed red, just as always. She couldn’t know what Wooseok was thinking at moments like this. Or rather, she shouldn’t know. If she realized how many times he’d struggled not to be overwhelmed by desire, she might see him as an animal rather than a person.

“You said you’d wash me, right?”

“Just your hair!”

Eunjae’s sharp reply made Wooseok laugh. Maybe she felt teased again, because she turned away, refusing to look at him. But Wooseok couldn’t even allow that brief moment, so he hugged her from behind. Eunjae tried to shake him off with the onion in her hand, but it was useless. With Wooseok hanging on her like baggage, she managed to find the knife and cutting board, then started slicing the onion.

“Maybe a little spice will help you snap out of it?”

Wooseok smiled at her plan.

“If that was enough, I wouldn’t have started.”

Wooseok made Eunjae put down the knife and then lifted her into his arms.

“Hey, wait!”

Eunjae struggled in surprise.

“Just wash my hair. Only my hair.”

Wooseok carried her toward the bathroom as he spoke.

“Really, just your hair… right?”

Was she foolish for trusting him so easily after being tricked? Or was he the bad one for never seeing her as just a friend and deceiving her for twenty years? Either way, the two of them couldn’t be separated. They believed it was fate.

Inside the bathroom, Wooseok sat obediently on a small stool, just as Eunjae told him. He didn’t even know where it came from, nor that he had such a thing at home. Eunjae wrapped a towel around his neck.

She’d learned this method when her mother hurt her arm once. If she held the showerhead, Wooseok could lean forward and she’d gently wash his hair. Water could get in his eyes or nose, but that was a risk he’d take. It was better than lifting his shoulder too high.

“How’s the water temperature?”

“It’s fine.”

“Lean forward a bit more. Hey! Why are you grabbing my waist?”

When her waist was at his seated level, Wooseok couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her. Surprised, Eunjae smacked his back. Wooseok suddenly grabbed one shoulder and let out a pained groan.

“I know you’re faking it.”

Eunjae spoke as if she wouldn’t fall for it twice. Honestly, saying he couldn’t wash his own hair was a lie. How did he wash yesterday, and how could he lift her onto the bed? Not to mention all those times they’d slept together.

“So why did you come?”

Wooseok knew, too. Eunjae’s visit was just an excuse.

“…Because I wanted to see you.”

She answered simply, gently spraying water on his hair. At that moment, Wooseok lifted his head.

“Hey! Why are you lifting your head? The water’s running everywhere…”

“Shin Eunjae.”

Wooseok didn’t care if his clothes got wet; he looked straight at her. She had a sense of what he was about to say, yet somehow didn’t know at all. She’d promised herself she’d just wash his hair and leave, but facing him made her heart flutter and something tighten in her lower belly.

“Should we get married?”

“….”

Eunjae was momentarily speechless. How—no, who proposes like this, in a moment like this? This had to be a joke. That’s why she suddenly got angry.

“You’re crazy.”

“Why? I’m serious.”

“We just started dating yesterday!”

Eunjae shouted in disbelief.

“That’s what you think.”

“What?”

“We can’t break up, can we? Then we have to get married.”

Wooseok casually draped the towel back around his neck as he spoke. Why did she feel annoyed and hurt by how easily he said it? Was it because she’d confessed first? Eunjae found herself shrinking again.

“Who says… we can’t break up?”

She replied just as shamelessly.

“Can you break up with me?”

Wooseok’s gaze suddenly grew serious.

“Hey, if we don’t click as lovers, we can always end it. We can go back to being friends.”

Wooseok gave a dry laugh at her conclusion. Then he wrapped his arms around Eunjae’s waist again and sat her on his thigh. Sitting on his wet lap, holding the showerhead, Eunjae was speechless. She tried to turn off the water, but Wooseok wouldn’t let her go. Her clothes were soaked through, her underwear visible beneath her t-shirt.