Translated by Naralara

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang. When no answer came back, the man standing in front of the door pressed the doorbell again and agian without hesitation.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.

Did he repeat it ten times? 

There was a thumping sound from inside and an urgent voice saying, “Coming.” A man in sunglasses stood leaning and crossed his arms.

The front door opened wide.

“Who is it… Huh? Mr. Wooyeon? What happened…” 

Lee Wooyeon, who checked Inseop’s outfit, took off his sunglasses and frowned.

“Do you open the door without checking who it is? Dressed like that?” 

Water was dripping from Inseop’s hair, who was wearing shorts and a large tee

“What if someone with bad intentions comes in and does something bad?”

Inseop apologized, narrowing his eyes, saying, “I’ll be careful.”

“Why didn’t you answer the phone?”

“I didn’t hear because I was in the shower. Did you call?” 

Lee Wooyeon did not answer and went inside. After Inseop closed the door, he hurriedly looked for his cell phone to check. Twenty-three missed calls.

“I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t hear it because I was showering. But for some reason ….” 

“I stopped by because I was passing by.”

Lee Wooyeon smiled and replied. But his eyes were scanning the room from place to place.

 Inseop asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Because you’ve been hiding something.” 

“What?”

“I’m joking.”

Lee Wooyeon sat down on the bed.

After Inseop went home, Lee Wooyeon was not in a good mood. He tried to understand, but Inseop’s intention to have some time alone was not very pleasant. Even if he coaxed him to sleep at home with some flattering words, Inseop would definitely go back to his house after a few days. Like someone hiding something.

He couldn’t sit still any longer when he thought about whether Inseop might be meeting someone else. When he came to his senses, he was driving his car with the jackknife which he had on his table in his pocket. He called Inseop, but he didn’t answer. He felt even worse. He stepped on the accelerator, thinking that if he was hiding someone in the corner of the house like a jar of honey, he would slit the youngster’s head.

“Please wash up and come.”

He spoke in the most affectionate tone in the world.

“No. It’s okay. I was just washing it off.” Inseop replied, wiping his damp hair with a towel. Lee Wooyeon beckoned him to come closer and took his hand and sat him down in front of him. Then, he took a towel and began to dry Inseop’s hair.

“…thank you.” 

“It’s nothing.”

Looking from above, his nipples were clearly visible because of the large T-shirt with a stretched neck. Around his nipples, the scars he made were densely embedded. Lee Wooyeon smiled with satisfaction and carefully dried Inseop’s hair

His fidgeting caught his eye. It was a habit he showed whenever he wanted to say something. Lee Wooyeon pretended not to see, and pressed Inseop on the head, asking if he was refreshed?

“Yes, it’s very refreshing. Thank you. Uhm…”

“”Yes?”

Lee Wooyeon removed the towel and met his eyes.

“I was going to call you anyway. I have something to tell you.” 

The long eyelashes moved four times. Lee Wooyeon watched it from above. It was pretty.

A long smile passed by Lee Wooyeon’s eyes.

“So, I…” 

They heard the shrill cry of a child outside the door. Inseop’s eyes shook. Embarrassment flashed in his eyes, unable to hide his emotions. Lee Wooyeon, who held Inseop’s hand, unknowingly tightened his grip. It was only after Inseop groaned in pain, Lee Wooyeon let go of his hand.

“Sorry. I couldn’t control my strength.” 

“It’s okay.”

Inseop bend and grabbed the wet towel and opened his mouth, standing.

“Can I go out for a while?” 

Instead of answering, Lee Wooyeon slowly rose from the bed.

“You can go alone…”

“I’ll go with you.”

Although he said it kindly, Lee Wooyeon was in a state of irritation. Hearing the sound of a child crying outside the door, Inseop was still restless.

Was it a child that he was hiding?

“Are you going to go outthen? You’ll catch a cold.” 

“Ah, I see.”

Lee Wooyeon watched from behind as Inseop found a training jumper and put it on. His slender legs were exposed through his shorts.

There was no way he could have impregnated a woman with a body like that.

“Are you sure you want to follow me?”

Inseop asks again. Lee Wooyeon smiled and nodded.

Inseop put a water bottle on his side and took out a black envelope from the cupboard.

Lee Wooyeon hummed and followed Inseop. He went up to the roof through the emergency stairs. When he opened the rusty iron door on the roof, the cries that he had heard earlier sounded closer.

“Stay here a minute.”

Inseop looked up at Lee Wooyeon from the door and said. Lee Wooyeon put his hands in his pockets and smiled and nodded.

As Inseop walked to the corner waving a black envelope, cats appeared out of nowhere and began to gather. Meow, meow, the sound of the crying sounded like the cry of a child at first.

“Sometimes I feed them.”

Inseop poured the food into a bowl on the floor. It must have been food in a black envelope. The cats hurriedly ran into the food bowl.

“Eat slowly. Drink water,” Inseop said while pouring water into another bowl.

“Clean water is also important to them. They say that if you rummage through trash, you eat food that humans used to eat, which is bad for your body. I also read and learned on the Internet.…isn’t that funny?”

It wasn’t very funny, but Lee Wooyeon smiled softly as if to tell him to continue talking.

“About a month ago, I heard a sound of crying, so I came up to see it, and it gave birth to a baby in that corner. This is Ryoce, the mom. And he’s Arthur, that white-tailed one is Isaac, and that striped one is John. It is the smallest and weakest.”

Inseop pushed the bowl to a small striped cat and muttered.

“That’s a nice name.” 

There was a smile in Lee Wooyeon’s voice.

Royce McMaster, Arthur Conan Doyle, Isaac Asimov, and John Scalge. All of them were names he saw on Inseop’s bookcase. He thought it was a taste like a dream boy. Unlike himself.

“Can I touch it?”

When Lee Wooyeon went to his side, Inseop stopped him, saying,

“The kids are timid, so they’re afraid of strangers. It took me two weeks to touch him like this. I’m sorry.”

Inseop smiled broadly. Small tufts of hair purred and tangled under his hands.

“Why didn’t you take him and raise him?”

Lee Wooyeon said, and Inseop shook his head.

“We can’t raise animals in our house. I just secretly feed them food… Don’t tell the landlord.”

Inseop lowered his voice as if telling a huge secret.

If he wanted it even now, he would buy the whole villa and give it to him. Lee Wooyeon leaned against the wall and watched Inseop with a gentle smile.

“Even though I want to raise them, I can’t afford it. I’m often out of the house… Ryoce, since you’re their mother, you should eat a lot and stay strong. I don’t know when I’ll be back again, I’m sorry.”