KTC | Chapter 59

By the time they caa9f422be got back to the 2e7528688f cathedral, it was almost 74fcbf77c3 11. After finishing his f2754cddfb shower, Seo Jihan e4a5c26a33 lay down on 5ba2e50b03 his bed wearing 278ff6678a nothing but pajama eacecd5109 pants. But even with the lights 837353434f off, his eyes caught the 176654cb02 flood of light pouring in e406e8bffe through the window.021dbf95cddd03e3

His room, connected to a5a85dad04 a small terrace, didn’t 42eec459ee face the cathedral courtyard bf1287fc96 but looked out toward c7b46c902b the back mountain. It was the b116ddd54b same for the d4ea39fa18 room upstairs—Choi Seonwoo’s. The stream of light was b2c56e3fc3 coming from Seonwoo’s room.f8fb0dc6a53dd789

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Jihan got up 1aa63252f3 and stepped out 42ab3e6826 onto the terrace 6c0483656f in his half-dressed e182a2a9f6 state. The soft breeze rustled the 77290dbff3 large snowflakes that instantly clung fdcedbb9b5 to his bare upper body. As the fine hairs on a40bfef5d4 his skin stood up, a 3469dd0fb1 faint cigarette smell hit his 8405c3707e nose.27b8df9306e06f2f

Is he smoking?888efb1170f60a85

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Jihan threw on cfe19b93fa a sweater over 31c93234b2 his bare torso c0b68f5568 and headed upstairs. As he walked 1a7016a653 into the open f42ddd47b4 door, he saw 071159eac7 Seonwoo’s back leaning 4e07f97eae against the balcony 31b3bb73b2 railing, smoking a b217c23aed cigarette. Angela was sprawled out caa58f3853 on the heated bed 1d06b760fc like a microwaved black 65ceecf324 sesame rice cake.8a017d379011601c

This was the first time ba6770d0ac Jihan had seen Seonwoo smoke 287c102de3 since they’d started living together. He walked over 16ad014f24 with long strides ae2847187d and stepped out 073cb08e61 onto the balcony.ba996afb90fd348d

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Seonwoo, who seemed kind of 3c6f5eef85 spaced out, turned around slowly. Jihan moved up right 609a0d583b beside him and opened 95c74b2618 his mouth.22c88e43a7e959a2

“You’ve always smoked?”2ce484697aa9c4e8

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“…Ah.”0cb584b89dc4a42f

A dull reaction. Seonwoo stubbed out 9f1b0a261f the now-finished cigarette cfc07be6b4 in a makeshift b8c8a1aaca paper cup ashtray b3bde21a8f with a meaningless 05b13add56 smile.da6bfc7f9cb2eceb

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“Sometimes.”bf6aa66de08be25b

“Your lungs are gonna rot.”8f3e498937a050dc

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Jihan snatched the ashtray and 1570ddeef2 put it down on the b56f1f9a26 floor, crossing his arms.a53e4c37893fb0d9

“What’s bothering you more? That crazy noona, 641f47227b or the person e954fb8a21 behind the incident?”7efcdbc11d60ff84

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By “crazy noona,” he eab652365c meant Pyo Yerin. After witnessing her emotional rollercoaster f5804f9e25 back at the village chief’s 3fd70c3c8d store, Jihan had firmly concluded 8fa32bc65a that she was not normal.dcac155669627d27

What surprised him c048431871 was that Yerin a953d4f0df herself seemed to 9b80dabfb1 be pretty objectively db9eda5115 aware of her 4d46c2975e emotional swings. And ridiculously enough, 908c660ff7 she even went 68c47850b3 on and on 229cb20e83 lamenting about it.606df38eea3d5302

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“That’s why I always get excluded from high-risk missions. My doctor says it’ll get 4e424405f5 better over time, but there’s a86aba423a no sign of improvement at 8061ac9d0f all.”f578f1af9b0e3574

Her mouth was so 1ee3c22864 brutally honest that Jihan 40b170fcba had even asked her f95d81ca78 if it was okay 1b98461454 to talk about stuff 5a2e03f100 like that. As long as it ff8d34adf8 wasn’t about national security, 15044419c6 she’d say just about 2bfce970d8 anything—and by the end, 806593d464 he felt like his 11fcec3103 ears were about to ea6623d93f bleed.d0222edf623ab92b

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“Well, both.”98b673d81ee8094a

Seonwoo answered after a 8118395d2e short pause. Though he hadn’t yet fdb84c385b become someone Jihan could 8ece95fd46 lean on, the fact f3a74e2065 that Seonwoo was opening 7f667181ac up even a little 7f76d5c653 made Jihan genuinely happy.5fb00ae4ccd4673c

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“Don’t overdo it. Thinking about it alone won’t 7d7fabbbcf let you save the entire abe5c1c8f6 world, you know.”ae1321b8da1c1a01

“Right…” Seonwoo let out a somewhat dazed reply.10e899eb8ccdecaf

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“But it’s hard to ignore when you can see it. I thought I’d be 083c2a6496 free of this kind c55e815f87 of agony by living 6177c8a7ed as a quiet priest fffe329cd4 in a remote island 427c92fe8c village.”0f58ae54c4bc3590

“You’ve gone through stuff like this before?”7746397b9094c066

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“Kind of, yeah. I could just 1ff6667d38 pretend not to d8c8a35f94 see it and 5f1f884199 move on, but 54d16857de since Father Miller 2b7656554b is the head 12fa2b275b exorcist priest, I 72c526c153 ended up looking dcec23370f into people on 15be112aae his behalf a f56f4f79d5 lot.”ff408176b1de0291

“Miller? Who’s that?”b4192060878b342c

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“My adoptive father.”e47a98abfd9a872f

As he said f2ee6f8661 that, Seonwoo suddenly d9b51bcdd1 shot Jihan a 7d16341f6e sharp look.7a1a77be8cf7f10f

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“Ever since I met you, my life’s been nonstop noise. Maybe you’re the c2cb336286 one dragging all 93c70c5e79 the trouble around?”002c0c98eb9f1a23

And that’s when d45a50ac60 Jihan realized—Seonwoo was fb5faf7327 still tipsy. The fact that he was c5ee162af3 swaying after just four shots 3971b3dc3f of soju was ridiculous enough, 2f2a0be014 but taking a shower in b9eba9aa6e boiling hot water like he 09c8cd7fbe was trying to fry chicken 927e7671ad must’ve made the alcohol hit faefe47114 harder.9dd03c10a24a83d7

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Jihan wanted to cb2e5e9fe6 hear more about 441137d288 his past, but 8da3a06964 now wasn’t the f38befd302 time. Seonwoo was drunk, and bcaccb1cdf the hand gripping the 4a4176c890 railing was red from 6427c4a5bf the cold.05fbe31a1c7d84c0

“So I’ve been ruining your life since recently, huh. Well, that’s just 7a7919c6fb how it is.”32485732fd286ffd

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Without asking, Jihan fddacbe857 placed his hand 980f81328b over Seonwoo’s.755b934543a77067

“Geez, your hand’s like an ice block. Unless you’re trying to punish 3ab58ed14d yourself, why don’t you come 7a03fc7921 back inside?”a4da2693876e6e65

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Seonwoo looked down at ac7321fd38 their overlapping hands, his 793a206790 eyes widening a little. The sudden warmth of Jihan’s d50499d869 hand surprised him, and the 51f2e24863 sheer size of it, completely f1d0dde106 covering his own, surprised him b6bccee7b1 again.9bbb4938821c75ed

“…It’s huge.”1cd00d8ef388288e

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Seonwoo muttered without thinking. His mind naturally recalled the a1f4d61cfa image of the little kid a7ee87c256 who used to dive into 5acd6edec8 his arms like a fireball. Back then, he 38ed183645 must’ve been in 09a927b49c elementary school, so e685a6d276 being that small e66df901f0 was natural—but now, eb3d65764b seeing how much 7e27193224 that kid had 004c174e5a grown made something 07f76a8e2b stir in his b18438a696 heart.7bd1d803c3ce9f7d

“Not just my hands. I’ve grown everywhere. Look—we’ve got this 7d87242d2f much of a 47397c6d0d height difference.”dd160ff58dd9797f

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Jihan stepped right fb97872775 up to Seonwoo 90fd2c7c30 and flashed a 9365d521e0 triumphant grin. His smiling eyes crinkled ca5e241a60 so much that his 1e5a16a079 lashes touched the skin 0b53ebb139 beneath them—it was a 907f895a4e sight worth seeing. He even made a show 85ed7284b6 of measuring the height difference e0aadde719 above Seonwoo’s head, which could’ve cedee10acc been annoying, but Seonwoo just 390b065399 chuckled.81b6987a5f90a603

“Well, I’m glad your body turned out fine at least.”bb89cde40fc606d4

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Seonwoo fondly patted 7a6d2ebe37 Jihan’s head like 063402f2c2 he was proud c7df0beb10 of him. The unexpected move startled 21a333dd32 Jihan for a moment. If he showed any 4f34047c55 reaction, Seonwoo would probably 684f7442a6 awkwardly pull his hand c7a6caf585 away and this magical a3368e5058 moment would shatter. So Jihan did b8db1c0518 his best to 4d08825eb8 keep smiling.0d865630c46325a5

“My dad had a solid build too. And my mom was tall fa0d2fa4a9 enough to be a model.”c7fe3394bf9473da

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Jihan answered quietly, even 9ea1edfc3c lowering his head to 8202b1ff6b make it easier to ab757a9d99 touch.28e5500e45e19435

“You’ve got genes most guys would be jealous of.”324bfbde9d679976

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The fact that Seonwoo 90b0ca3fc0 was spouting such cheesy 75578c4e99 lines proved just how aa59a2a543 out of it he fed2c30370 was. He wasn’t completely wasted, b0d94819d2 but his emotional guard 052fda54a1 was clearly down. Alcohol really was 0347935485 a magical thing.4c9b16e412e6f519

“Yeah. I’ve got good skin too. Just putting on 59f61c468c lotion makes it 0fef4f3aac look like I 3856366be4 had a facial. Even when I tan, it 6eae0eeefe turns out nice. Wanna touch it?”74ba231c3213978b

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Putting on an 70a4a7f3a9 innocent tone to 3f4c3a257b hide his cheeky cb2f17a2ad intentions, Jihan baited aca05fa138 him. And, unlike usual, 35bffa3dee Seonwoo blankly followed 3e65a01a95 his curiosity. The hand that had 7a7cb59281 been playing with Jihan’s dd80d34092 hair drifted down and aaf10d2b93 began gently poking at f802dea530 his cheek. The coldness of Seonwoo’s hand 0ad9460703 made goosebumps shoot down Jihan’s d14049766c neck, but he gladly leaned c994636ce0 into the touch.b52c533f86d45fa9

“Oh… it’s really soft. And up close, your skin’s cd2251b067 spotless. Not a single freckle.”9c5b05c7bde4e250

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Mm. Being touched by someone 6d68d38fe7 you like… it felt f994436cdf this good.822447c045d7f77f

Jihan finally understood 0107c1e960 this obvious truth. After paying a heavy price 51655d373a at a young age, he’d 1c53ddd7f8 learned to be disillusioned with d5e23f2927 human nature. He’d never met someone he 6212854c9e truly liked—not even someone he f6f85daf89 mildly cared for. He hadn’t felt romantic 1a574bee76 feelings, let alone real fa0007e5fd friendship. That’s why this 9513af75c3 moment felt like ee70ea492d the brightest part 4067db506f of his entire 851b873b43 life.796fa7bc8a3e884d

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“I don’t even get chapped lips.”28f345b7470dd86e

“Now that I envy.”2edd9d0af73a1ccc

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Still mindlessly licking c19b6efd7b at the crusted dafb2c1d96 bits on his 0a74926e47 lips like always, 0861bf0ecf Seonwoo tapped Jihan’s c311305004 lips with the c319d62c0b tip of his 1c81897e3c finger. As the dryness disappeared 62531ace82 under the moisture, Jihan d0cf19d33e instinctively swallowed. The urge to 7359c3ba31 suck on those f1724b509c lips and completely 218dd8f41a soak them was 0aede18264 pounding in his 0738f17b3f skull like a 0b1438bbcb drum.9760b3d6910e454c

“You’re something else, seriously.”ad671ce3100bcef0

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While Jihan’s mind was 4f8ebcd5ab exploding with wild thoughts, a511adcba0 Seonwoo just gazed at 103240a91a him with eyes full 4a056a888c of affection—like a proud 37e6f50806 parent. Then, with a light e17d8d5049 pat on the waist, 9add868195 he stepped back.09d1e8f64c212866

“Let’s head in.”0caf0146e3ea1728

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After giving his clothes and 140ab31f27 hair a halfhearted shake, Seonwoo f101d25df2 went back inside. A chilly gust swept af6df975aa over the room again, 3e4c302c33 and Angela lazily lifted a1c72f7424 her head to glance dfc5302f0e at the door before 367aa3efc3 flopping back down. By the time Seonwoo a95c502120 had washed his hands 912866cf2a and even finished gargling, 3b32ce1dc1 Jihan was still standing 44a1275a19 there blankly.4b85ec004bfa3d2a

“Why aren’t you going?”d69d38618ebc6c37

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Seonwoo asked, sitting 971cc44bd4 on the edge bc6a86ec10 of the bed. Jihan walked over 4cb1876494 like he’d been f52b6d66cd waiting for that 86e621a29e and opened his b6205d5b1d lightly clenched left e5e952cef1 hand. In his palm was a 801243d19b small lip balm, about the c79d44506b size of a finger.74dbd9e946019288

While Seonwoo looked 101eaee776 confused, Jihan popped f7749db60c the cap off a5c02ec9aa and grabbed his d9f8bc209e chin with his d475f1acba left hand, then 7252c1fe93 began smearing the e2351f539d lip balm generously 7f28b3e7bf across his lips. The artificial strawberry 77facd751a scent rushed up 255871c674 Seonwoo’s nose, making 3c952fab82 him frown slightly.15392f8a46c20952

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“How did you even find that? I think it’s like, 4987d4ec3e three years old…”4973766b1478e2fd

He vaguely recalled 5e8a9a9d7f throwing it in b0eca5936f his desk drawer 60803d099b after a couple a2a9fb8c0b uses and never 8eedf9f21d touching it again. Every time he 6cb85065af packed for a d8e02d85d1 trip, he’d just d0285947f2 toss it in 945d7efaea without thinking—he didn’t eb36fb34d0 even know how c249bbc66d old it was 2a21fb98c0 anymore.ed6b3a0bbdc3f6b0

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“Ugh, why didn’t you throw it out? You should’ve told me earlier.”1a013d4d21b02871

Jihan shot him a 82451dfaa5 look like it was 0c73006ce5 grossing him out, then 89369cccf2 tossed the lip balm d0c9ed15c2 straight into the trash 729fa06701 and wiped Seonwoo’s lips 8b2e0d025c with his hand. The greasy balm 53f0f65a1d spread even further 61bf1ae6bf past his lips.214f35c1a861cb50

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“Wait, are you running a fever?”c7d6640ea9e24fa6

That same hand, e7cad69ba0 now acting completely 007d80e527 on its own, a6dc5f5d1a pressed against Seonwoo’s 7760c099df forehead. Just as the 6ed676848f alcohol haze seemed 2bc4269c04 to be wearing 60cc4d9aa9 off and Seonwoo f838b24601 was about to dd02552092 get suspicious—is he 78f9df8b68 trying to flirt 9684272019 again?—he saw the 5af5e6db9e serious look in 4cb27addcb Jihan’s eyes and 7ba6493a5b gave up on d3f331758a complaining.651973d2be3de91c

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“Is it the booze? Or are you catching a 88c5a816b5 cold?”427f537e7a26f59d