Chapter 59
Mu-gyeong’s lips curled up on their own as he looked down at Hongju’s flushed cheeks.
"Why? Curious, are you?"
"Just... wondered, that’s all."
There was a small laugh, but the answer Hongju wanted never came. All that followed was the slow, featherlight sweep of Mu-gyeong’s fingers through his bangs.
"You’re curious about the weirdest things."
He reached over to the bedside shelf. Hongju’s eyes followed the movement to his fingertips. Mu-gyeong opened a bottle of water without effort and set it down again.
I didn’t take that out. Where did that water—and those pills—come from? As Hongju furrowed his brows and tried to focus on the pills, Mu-gyeong slowly turned away.
"Sleep."
He watched that silhouette for a long time as Mu-gyeong walked out, his back turned against the darkness. Dream or reality—it all started to blur.
Slowly, Hongju sat up and swallowed the pills down with a few gulps of water. The feeling of fullness in his stomach was uncomfortable, but he soon lay back down. As his eyelids grew heavy, a realization flickered through his mind—this was the first time he’d ever taken something handed to him by someone else without a second thought.
Maybe it was the pills, or maybe the deep sleep that followed, but his body felt much lighter when he woke. His throat was still scratchy, but it was far better than the fever that had wracked him through the night before.
Mu-gyeong had stayed seated in the lounge until Hongju woke. He’d been rubbing his forehead, staring intently at his phone, and shut off the screen the moment Hongju stirred. Then, saying he’d head to the House for the first time in a while, he rushed to get ready. The two of them arrived at the House together.