Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 49

“My shoulders are stiff…”

The first thought that came to mind as soon as he opened his eyes was that his whole body felt stiff. Since Ki-won, who didn’t have a sleeping habit, slept while hugging his partner, Yeon-woo also had to sleep in one position.

It was so difficult that it felt like a novel torture to Yeon-woo. It was only in the morning that Yeon-woo was able to move his arms and legs that had become stiff overnight.

“Should I massage them for you?”

Ki-won, who had woken up earlier than Yeon-woo and finished showering, approached while drying his hair with a towel. Yeon-woo felt somewhat resentful seeing Ki-won’s unaffected appearance while his own body ached here and there. Yeon-woo pouted his lips and quickly turned his head to the opposite side of Ki-won.

“It’s fine. I’ll just hurry and get ready to go out.”

He was in a resentful state, not having received an answer to his question and groaning throughout the night while falling asleep. As Yeon-woo couldn’t tuck his protruding lips back in, Ki-won approached and placed his hand on Yeon-woo’s shoulder.

“It’s really stiff here.”

It seemed like he pressed with a weak force, but a scream almost escaped in an instant. Yeon-woo gave Ki-won a brief glare with sagging eyes and moved his lips.

“…It hurts, so don’t press.”

“It’ll be tough if you stay in this condition throughout the trip.”

Normally, Yeon-woo would have silently received Ki-won’s massage, but today, his stubbornness was one step ahead. Yeon-woo snorted and abruptly sat up.

“It’s okay. If I wash with warm water, the stiff muscles will probably loosen up a bit.”

He didn’t want to act childishly, but his steps were forceful. Yeon-woo, huffing, slipped his body into the bathroom.

‘If he had just answered the question from yesterday, this wouldn’t have happened!’

It wasn’t a question he had asked with a predetermined answer, but somehow his feelings were hurt. Even if it were an empty promise, Ki-won could have answered, ‘I would have treated only you well,’ but he remained silent. It seemed like he answered with silence, ‘I would have done the same even if it were someone other than you,’ so Yeon-woo felt conflicted.

Warm water poured over his naked body. The muscles that had stiffened from maintaining one posture until morning began to gently loosen up as if gauging Yeon-woo’s mood. If his body ached on top of his bad mood, the trip would have been tiring. Yeon-woo let out a deep sigh and rubbed his shoulders, arms, and legs with the lather of body wash as a lubricant.

***

“Should I give you some painkillers?”

Ki-won asked when Yeon-woo finished showering and came out. Was he waiting outside just to ask that? Yeon-woo almost laughed at Ki-won’s absurdity. Yeon-woo, whose mood had significantly improved, took the medicine Ki-won offered and put it in his pocket.

“I’m fine now. If it still hurts after getting in the car later, I’ll take it then.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Ki-won stroked Yeon-woo’s cheeks, which had turned red from the warm water temperature, and then offered his hand.

“I don’t think you have much of an appetite in the morning, so I prepared something simple.”

“What is it?”

“Salmon salad and grilled bacon.”

“Oh…”

“You like making sandwiches with bacon, right?”

Yeon-woo swallowed his saliva the entire time he held Ki-won’s hand and walked to the living room. There was no better snack than putting grilled bacon on toast and spreading butter and jam. Yeon-woo was impressed by Ki-won, who accurately understood his taste, and quickened his pace.

“There’s really nothing to bring, right?”

Yeon-woo, who sat at the dining table, said as usual while scanning the appetizing food with his eyes. Since it was a day trip, he thought there would be no luggage to pack, but he wanted to double-check just in case.

“Yeah, most things are already provided at the villa, so you don’t need to bring anything.”

“Really? At times like this, I realize that you’re rich.”

He had forgotten while getting used to the daily life with Ki-won, but he realized the reality once in a while. Just having a villa felt impressive, but hearing that each villa was fully equipped with daily necessities, he couldn’t help but be surprised. In order to prevent dust from accumulating on the furniture, they would have to call a cleaning service periodically, and the monthly maintenance fee wouldn’t be light.

“Suddenly.”

Ki-won, who chuckled as if Yeon-woo’s reaction was cute, pushed the salmon salad in front of Yeon-woo. It was an encouragement to eat vegetables together without being picky. Yeon-woo, who glanced at Ki-won’s expression, picked up a few vegetables and placed them on top of the sandwich. He didn’t know Ki-won would notice that he wasn’t even touching the salad.

“Ah, can I eat while watching TV?”

“Of course, I’ll help you move it.”

As Yeon-woo was about to move to the living room table to grab the sandwich, Ki-won followed behind, carrying the dishes. From a certain day, Yeon-woo started watching the news every morning. It was one of the pastimes for Yeon-woo, who, unlike Ki-won, had no reason to go out. He even planned his daily schedule based on the weather forecast that came on at the end of the news, so it naturally became part of Yeon-woo’s morning routine.

“Is there any program you need to watch?”

“Hmm, let’s see. I don’t have anything specific to watch.”

When Yeon-woo asked, picking up the remote control, Ki-won shook his head. Ki-won, who sat next to Yeon-woo saying he could watch whatever he wanted comfortably, grabbed a tissue in his hand. It was because every time Yeon-woo took a small bite of the sandwich, distracted by the TV, bread crumbs fell on his lap. Ki-won carefully cleaned up the fallen remnants so that Yeon-woo wouldn’t notice.

“I wonder what the weather will be like today…”

Yeon-woo, who swallowed a big bite of the sandwich, muttered to himself.

“Do you want to watch the news?”

“Yes, I want to see what the weather is like today…”

Yeon-woo finished his sentence and mumbled while eating the salmon Ki-won had prepared. Ki-won, who seemed to be pondering Yeon-woo’s answer, soon nodded his head briefly. Whatever he was thinking, a subtle change appeared on his face.

It was when he was concentrating on the news. It seemed like the prepared content was almost finished, and the weather forecast was about to start. Yeon-woo listened intently and put the last piece of sandwich in his mouth. Unlike Yeon-woo, whose eating speed had slowed down due to his focus on the TV, Ki-won had already emptied his plate.

“Drink some water too.”

Yeon-woo’s gaze, which was fixed on the TV screen, moved to the water glass being offered. Yeon-woo received it as Ki-won gave it to him, drank it, and rubbed the butter on his fingertips with a wet tissue to wipe it off.

“Look at this, Ki-won. I think I’ve become an expert at eating sandwiches. I didn’t drop any today?”

He looked around for a while to clean up any crumbs that had fallen on his lap, sofa, or floor, but the surroundings were clean. Yeon-woo looked at Ki-won with a surprised face, but the man only shrugged his shoulders without showing a big reaction.

“I guess your proficiency has increased.”

“Right?”

Yeon-woo, who had become proud, was about to look at the TV screen with a triumphant face. It was then that Ki-won, who was arranging the plates next to him, made an unexpected request.

“I’m short on hands. Can you help me clean up?”

“Of course! I’ll clean up what I ate.”

Usually, before Yeon-woo could even try to clean up, Ki-won would quickly take the plates away. Yeon-woo doubted his ears for a moment, then abruptly got up and grabbed the dishes. The weather forecast started at a good time, but Yeon-woo couldn’t check it as he moved to the kitchen.

“Huh, is the dishwasher broken…?”

The dishwasher, which had been working fine until yesterday, was quiet as if it were dead. Yeon-woo, who was startled, was fumbling with the machine when Ki-won, who had approached late, opened his mouth.

“What’s not working well?”

“The power won’t turn on. I was going to run the dishwasher before leaving…”

As Yeon-woo kept pressing the power button, Ki-won put down the dishes and walked towards the wall.

“I had unplugged the power cord earlier. I should have told you in advance.”

“Oh? Really? I didn’t know…”

Yeon-woo, who had never thought there would be a problem with the cord since there was no reason to unplug it normally, became embarrassed and scratched the back of his head. Ki-won naturally took the dishes in Yeon-woo’s hands and glanced towards the living room.

“I’ll finish up here, go and rest.”

“But I didn’t do much…”

Yeon-woo slowly moved his reluctant steps. He wondered why Ki-won asked for help, but in the end, the clean-up was Ki-won’s job. Yeon-woo kept lingering around the kitchen out of guilt, but Ki-won only repeated telling him to rest.

‘Oh, the news ended.’

It seemed like the weather forecast had finished as well, as commercials were playing on the TV. It wasn’t a big deal since he could search for it on his phone. Should he look it up now? It wouldn’t take long to find, so he thought he could search for it now.

It was when Yeon-woo was fumbling with his pocket to take out his phone. Ki-won, who had walked out of the kitchen, spoke in a relaxed voice as always.

“Is there anything you need before we leave? Like snacks to eat in the car.”

Yeon-woo, who stopped his gesture of searching for his phone at Ki-won’s voice, slightly tilted his head. Snacks, it was definitely better to have them than not.

Yeon-woo waved his hand to stop Ki-won, who said he would go and buy them.

“Then I’ll change clothes and go to the convenience store downstairs and come back!”

He couldn’t ask Ki-won to take care of the snacks on top of preparing breakfast and cleaning up.

‘I’ll look up the weather later.’

The forecast was information he could quickly find even if not now. Even if the weather was bad, it would probably be at the level of rain. Even that would be a brief shower.

‘There can’t possibly be a heavy rain forecast, right?’

Yeon-woo shrugged his shoulders and moved busily to finish preparing to go out.

Yeon-woo smiled brightly and made a circle shape with his arm at Ki-won’s words to be careful and not run. It was a distance where he could reach without taking many steps as there were amenities within the complex, but it was an unnecessary concern.

‘He really thinks I’m a child.’

Ki-won sometimes tended to treat him like a young child. But Yeon-woo, who didn’t dislike even that, giggled and moved busily.