IRLPLBIO Chapter 27 Part 1

Chapter 27 #6. Look Again at the Extinguished Fire (1)

A moment later, a somewhat annoyed sigh was exhaled, followed by the sound of someone gulping down water. Lee Young-hwan could clearly see the process of suspicion and caution rising and then subsiding in Shin Ju-hee’s mind in that short span of time.

“I was just curious. There’s no other meaning.”

―I know. That you’re not that kind of person. But why Dae-yeong?

“They seemed similar.”

―The one you mentioned a moment ago?

“No. The other kid who was with him.”

―Ugh, just forget it. Dae-yeong is complicated these days; you’ll get hurt if you interfere carelessly.

Shin Ju-hee was not prejudiced against specific groups, but recently, whenever Dae-yeong was mentioned, her nerves became frayed. Dae-yeong’s informers had started looking for Shin Ju-hee from somewhere. The Elder had more than a few people under him, so she couldn’t understand how they pinpointed her specifically.

This was because Han Yun-cheol had started searching for a woman with the surname Shin, following Jae-gu’s words, but Shin Ju-hee at the moment did not know this. She merely vaguely thought that Dae-yeong’s Strategic Planning Office must be working intensely. Because just as underground funding streams change their flow, power relations above ground are also bound to change.

As May drew to a close, the weather grew progressively hotter. Unable to endure the sunlight beating directly down on his head, Jae-gu crawled under a parasol in front of a convenience store.

How long had it been since he’d slumped over with his cheek against the table, when something cold touched the back of his neck? Normally he would have jumped, but, exhausted by the heat, it was the perfect temperature right now.

“Hah… that’s cool… put it on my face too…”

A languid, stretched-out Jae-gu exploited the other person without moving an inch. Kwang-cheol chuckled and, following Jae-gu’s words, briefly held the ice cream to his face. Jae-gu knew it was his favorite ice cream just by the rustling sound of the plastic packaging.

“Get up before it melts. It’s your favorite.”

“Yeah, I like it, Ppappico.”

Hehe, Jae-gu chuckled and snapped off the tip of the tube ice cream. He put the tip in his mouth and mumbled, then suddenly looked at Kwang-cheol.

Kwang-cheol’s gently smiling face looked somehow different. This was because the sunlight hitting the parasol was divided into blue and white, splitting Kwang-cheol’s face. One side looked a little dark, and the other side relatively bright, exactly like…

“…Ah.”

Jae-gu’s eyes suddenly clouded over. The thought he used to have when he saw Kwang-cheol in the past resurfaced.

At that time, even though one side of Kwang-cheol’s face was covered in a large burn, it looked no different to Jae-gu than before. So, Jae-gu would simply perceive it as one side of Kwang-cheol’s face being a little darker. Although others seemed unable to believe Jae-gu’s eyes.

He hadn’t returned to that time. Even knowing this, the Kwang-cheol of the past and future overlapped with the Kwang-cheol of the present.

Jae-gu reached out his hand to Kwang-cheol in a daze. The sensation that met his fingertips was smooth. Warm and soft.

Each time Kwang-cheol flinched in embarrassment, the sensation of his skin and muscles moving was fully transmitted to Jae-gu’s palm. Without realizing it, Jae-gu’s mouth opened.

“It’s all healed…”

“…Hyung?”

“That’s a relief.”

“……”

Kwang-cheol closed his mouth. Jae-gu’s eyes weren’t looking at him.

He had never been injured in the part Jae-gu was touching. Even if he had been injured, he wasn’t sure he would receive such an affectionate gaze.

Though it annoyed him that Jae-gu was seeing someone else, someone not present, reflected in him, he remained still, not wanting to upset Jae-gu’s mood.

Whenever Jae-gu thought of something Kwang-cheol didn’t know, something stirred in Kwang-cheol’s mind. It was like the lid of a tightly shut box rattling, or a cloth covering something fluttering. Contents that seemed almost graspable tickled behind his eyeballs.

Kwang-cheol allowed Jae-gu to persistently touch only one side of his face for a while, even gently stroking his eyelids and eyebrows. Whatever Jae-gu was thinking, the person he was caressing right now was himself.

But then came a moment when even Kwang-cheol couldn’t tolerate it.

“You’re still handsome. Really.”

Jae-gu smiled softly. It was a smile he had never shown to others, completely devoid of fierceness, with the corners of his eyes drooping, his lips slightly parted, and his front teeth peeking out.

A defenseless smile that only appeared after violence and intimidation had been shed. The moment he saw it, a chill ran through Kwang-cheol’s gut.

It was fine for Jae-gu to smile at others, but a genuine smile was meant only for him. Just the thought that someone else had seen this expression of Jae-gu’s made violent thoughts surge within him.

Kwang-cheol turned his head toward Jae-gu’s hand, which was still cupping his cheek. The moment Kwang-cheol’s lips brushed against the plump flesh below Jae-gu’s thumb, Jae-gu flinched. The focus returned to his eyes, which had been blank, as if staring into a distant place.

“…Hyung. The ice cream has melted.”

“Huh? Oh! What a waste!”

Jae-gu quickly put the mushy ice cream into his mouth. His face was completely different, as if his words and actions from just moments ago had instantly evaporated. With the shadows lifted and years erased, Jae-gu diligently squeezed the tube ice cream.

“It’s on here too.”

Kwang-cheol took hold of Jae-gu’s finger, which had melted chocolate dripping from it. Then he gently wiped it with his fingertip, and even sucked the residue from his own finger.

“Wh-why would you…!”

“Hm?”

Unlike the flustered Jae-gu, Kwang-cheol calmly met his gaze as if asking what the problem was.

No, was Kwang-cheol not thinking anything at all, and I was the only one having bad thoughts?

Jae-gu, pricked by his own conscience, mumbled, “It’s nothing…”

Gazing steadily at the top of Jae-gu’s head, who was bent low and idly squeezing the innocent ice cream, Kwang-cheol licked his finger once more. Beyond the overly sweet chocolate taste, a faint taste of Jae-gu lingered.

It was his alone, something he couldn’t give to anyone else.

Hours earlier, Shin Ju-hee had heard surprising news. Dae-yeong’s equity structure had changed. It was a change that happened instantly, without even a smokescreen of rumors.

“They must be preparing for succession. Whose shares increased? Han Yun-cheol’s, perhaps?”