Contract Marriage with Memory Loss on Top - Chapter 55

The first day was somehow endured, but from the second day, it was pure agony. Yeon-woo, sniffling, quietly hugged his shivering arms. It felt like it was past lunchtime, but Yeon-woo, who had caught a cold, still couldn’t get out of bed. If only the boiler was running, it would have been a bit better.

“Are you okay?”

“…I think I’m fine except for being a bit cold.”

Although he took both the fever reducer and cold medicine Ki-won gave him, the stubborn illness wouldn’t go away. The fever made his head heavy, and a lot of energy was being consumed just to lift his body. Yeon-woo’s gaze fell on the porridge Ki-won brought.

“I don’t have an appetite right now…”

“You need to eat something.”

It was nice of him to cook porridge for him, but he didn’t feel like eating anything because he wasn’t feeling well. Yeon-woo stared blankly at the white porridge and reluctantly took a bite. Normally, he would have insisted on eating it himself, but he had to rely on Ki-won as he didn’t even have the strength to hold a spoon.

“The fever isn’t going down well.”

Yeon-woo, who opened his mouth every time Ki-won held out the spoon, chewed and swallowed the porridge repeatedly, sniffling. Perhaps because of the darn fever, the cold didn’t go away. Even though Ki-won purposely brought all the blankets from the other room and piled them on top of Yeon-woo, the desired effect didn’t come.

“Yeon-woo, should we go up to Seoul?”

“Are you going to carry me down?”

It was still raining, and the mountain road had become even rougher. Knowing this, Yeon-woo jokingly asked, and Ki-won seemed to have been serious about it, as he sincerely nodded his head.

“What… You’re really amazing in many ways.”

Even though Yeon-woo was smaller and slimmer than Ki-won, he was an adult man. His body, more droopy than usual due to the fever, would certainly be heavier. Knowing that it was impossible and dangerous even if it was possible, Yeon-woo shook his head.

“Then should I bring you more blankets?”

“I might suffocate at this rate.”

As Ki-won held out the spoon and asked, Yeon-woo obediently ate it and answered as usual. The blankets were piled up so high that it was heavy enough to make it difficult to breathe. It wasn’t a bird’s nest, but it felt strange to have pillows and blankets all around him.

“I want to stop eating…”

“Okay, tell me if you get hungry.”

Although he only managed to feed him a few spoonfuls, Ki-won readily backed off. Judging that eating less was better than forcing him to eat and causing trouble, Ki-won cleared the plate and disappeared, saying he would be back.

Yeon-woo repeatedly closed and opened his heavy eyelids. Perhaps because he took various medications, he felt sleepy no matter how much he slept.

Yeon-woo stroked the coldly cooled mat with his hand and shivered. The goosebumps that rose on his arms showed no signs of subsiding, so he had to keep rubbing his skin.

“This can’t be a precursor symptom of a heat cycle, right…?”

Yeon-woo quietly pressed his forehead and then smelled the scent coming from his wrists, arms, and flesh. If it were an early symptom of a heat cycle, a distinctive sweet scent would have strongly risen, but fortunately, there was no smell at all. He really caught a cold, Yeon-woo blinked his eyes in sorrow.

“Cold…”

Yeon-woo couldn’t stop moaning even as he burrowed into the blanket. It felt like he was in an ice field, not a blanket. Even though the embers in the fireplace were burning fiercely, his body cried out that it wasn’t enough.

‘I don’t think I originally had such a weak body…’

It seemed his body had become accustomed to a comfortable environment after living with Ki-won and not doing any hard work at all. His pride was secretly hurt that he was groaning like this just from getting a bit wet in the rain. Yeon-woo, who made a resolution to prepare a lot of cold medicine as emergency medicine when he started living alone, looked beyond the bedroom door. Ki-won, who had finished cleaning the dishes, was coming back.

“Hyung…”

As soon as he saw Ki-won’s face, Yeon-woo made a weak sound. Perhaps because he knew that Ki-won was still his guardian, he wanted to act like a baby to the man.

“What should I do, the medicine isn’t working well.”

“I know…”

Ki-won looked down at Yeon-woo, who was shivering inside the blanket, and made a face as if making a special decision.

“Hyu-hyung…?”

Yeon-woo was startled by Ki-won’s action of suddenly taking off his top and covered his eyes. Between his slightly parted fingers, Ki-won was in a state of boldly exposing his chest and abs.

“You said you were cold.”

Ki-won, who gave a simple reply, went under the slightly lifted blanket. Unlike Yeon-woo, who was shivering and saying he was cold, the temperature inside the blanket felt warm to Ki-won. Ki-won fumblingly caressed Yeon-woo’s skin, which contrasted with the warm temperature.

“Come here.”

Ki-won said, making room for Yeon-woo to snuggle in. It wasn’t the first time he had hugged him and slept, but it was different from now when he had his top off.

‘This… is just a way to transfer warmth.’

If he got embarrassed and refused here, he would become the only one who had strange thoughts. Although he hesitated for a moment, Yeon-woo soon wriggled towards his embrace.

“It’s warm…”

It was a warmth that made life worth living to the point where his true feelings automatically spilled out. It was ridiculous to think that he had felt cold to the point of worrying that he might die of hypothermia at this rate.

“Why are your legs so cold?”

Ki-won furrowed his brows as he fumbled over Yeon-woo’s smooth thighs. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t wearing pants, but they were unusually cold compared to other parts.

“I told you I was cold. I should have worn pants… They don’t slip down when I’m lying down.”

Yeon-woo slowly lowered his eyelids and raised them repeatedly. He was so dazed that he didn’t know what he was saying. Yeon-woo, who had completely entrusted his body to the warmth the other person was giving him, exhaled roughly.

“Next time, I’ll prepare clothes that fit your size too.”

“Yes… My size…”

Although the man’s voice reached his ears, the meaning wasn’t fully conveyed to Yeon-woo, who was half asleep. Yeon-woo mumbled as if savoring Ki-won’s words and headed into a deep dreamland.

***

“Resurrection!”

Yeon-woo shouted “resurrection” as soon as the morning sun rose. Thanks to Ki-won feeding him, embracing him, and busily taking care of him, Yeon-woo was able to regain his energy from the next morning.

“Don’t be too excited.”

Ki-won firmly pressed Yeon-woo’s forehead and laid him back on the bed. The reason was that it wasn’t good to be active here and there as soon as the fever went down. Yeon-woo stretched while lying down to loosen his stiff body and looked up at Ki-won.

“I’m really fine. I’m not cold anymore either.”

“Hmm.”

Ki-won’s eyes moved up and down as if examining Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo swallowed his saliva while being tense, as if those eyes were medical devices.

“Okay, then.”

As soon as Ki-won gave his permission, Yeon-woo jumped out of bed. Perhaps because he was frustrated that he had been lying down for a whole day, he looked restless as he peeked here and there.

“Hyung, today is the last day of vacation, right?”

As predicted by the weather forecast, it was still raining, but the sky was clear as if it was about to stop, and the raindrops were not thick. Realizing that it was time to return to Seoul, Yeon-woo made a suggestion to soothe his regret for not being able to do anything.

“Shall we take a picture?”

“…A picture?”

“We came here to have fun, but we couldn’t do anything because the weather wasn’t good. Of course, me being sick also played a part.”

Yeon-woo pulled the corners of his mouth in embarrassment.

“If we at least take a picture, won’t it remain as a memory that this happened at this time?”

Even though he was eagerly explaining, Ki-won showed no significant reaction since hearing the suggestion to take a picture.

“Hyung?”

“Oh, yeah… That’s fine.”

After barely getting an answer from him, Yeon-woo started preparing busily with a satisfied expression. Saying that he couldn’t take a picture in a shabby state, he ran to the bathroom, and soon a small exclamation was heard. He must have forgotten that only cold water came out because the boiler wasn’t working. Yeon-woo kept saying it was cold but didn’t stop washing. The sound of water continuously came from beyond the bedroom.

***

“Even though it’s raining, the sky is clear, so I think it’ll be fine to take a picture anywhere.”

Yeon-woo, who finished preparing and came out to the yard, chose to take a picture with the large villa as the background. It wasn’t bad to have the mountain as the main scenery, but he wanted to capture the villa that he couldn’t come to again with Ki-won, even if only in a picture.

By the time Yeon-woo took his position, Ki-won had set up the camera in a suitable place. Originally, he was going to take a picture with his cell phone and print it out, but it seemed there was a camera in the villa.

“Hyung, come quickly!”

Yeon-woo shouted at Ki-won, who couldn’t take a step for a while even after setting up the camera. Is he not feeling well somewhere? He didn’t seem to have a good complexion either. Just as he was worrying about whether Ki-won had caught a cold from him, Ki-won approached.