Reasonable Loss - 21

“It won’t hurt.”

But Dokwon cut down Eunsu’s worry with a single stroke.

“How do you know that, Dokwon.”

“Because I haven’t hurt once during these past few weeks of meeting, so now it won’t hurt.”

Dokwon’s voice was full of certainty. But Eunsu’s eyelids, heavy with worry, showed no sign of lightening. At that, Dokwon quickly pulled his hand.

From here to his place was a 15-minute walk, so no need for a car, and it was a very good ‘date’ spot. He regretted not realizing it until now.

Eunsu reluctantly stepped forward at Dokwon, who seemed somehow excited.

It was Dokwon’s house after exactly a month. Still clean, still luxurious.

Unlike when Eunsu had come before, he entered the house hesitantly. While taking off his shoes, he glanced at Dokwon, while taking off his coat, he looked at Dokwon, while drinking water, he looked at Dokwon.

“Why do you keep looking like that?”

Dokwon asked while opening the fridge door.

“Because I’m worried you might collapse.”

Eunsu, sitting on a dining chair, answered while rubbing the floor with his toes.

“I told you I won’t.”

“You don’t know.”

A faint irritation lined Eunsu’s eye corners. It’s not something you can assert like that. Would people who suddenly collapse know they’re going to collapse? The body isn’t that kind.

If Dokwon collapsed right in front of him, the shock would be immense. Even when he lay down to sleep, visions flickered of Dokwon glaring at him while voicing his pain, Dokwon with a nosebleed, Dokwon crumbling while clutching his head.

Dokwon approached with the fridge door roughly closed at Eunsu’s sulky face. He lightly cupped Eunsu’s cheeks with his large hands. And in a low voice, he said clearly.

“No headache. If it seems like it will hurt, I’ll tell you in advance.”

“……”

“And no matter how much it hurts, I won’t chase Yoo Eunsu out like last time. Don’t worry.”

“……That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Got it, got it.”

Dokwon chuckled softly and straightened his bent upper body. Then he picked up the cardigan draped over the chair.

“There’s nothing to eat at home. Is there anything you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.”

“Well. Nothing comes to mind.”

“Then I’ll buy everything that catches my eye. I won’t let you get up until you eat all of it.”

It was a pretty scary threat. The old Dokwon was like this. He would look at him disapprovingly for munching only on snacks like cookies without eating properly, then drag him to a restaurant and threaten that he couldn’t go home until he finished everything.

“Hmm, then…… I want tteokbokki.”

“Tteok…… bokki?”

Dokwon’s eyebrows twisted crookedly. He thought he could buy and offer anything. The completely unexpected menu was disconcerting.

“Yes.”

Eunsu nodded. Dokwon shook his head with a stiff face.

“No. It’s food with a mess of nutritional components. Carbohydrates, sugar……. Not good for the baby either.”

“Just add sausage to the tteokbokki. And fried squid too. Then protein is covered. I want kimbap too. It has vegetables, so that’s fine. Cheese sticks too. That’s fat.”

“Ha……”

Dokwon chuckled as if it was absurd.

On the other hand, Eunsu giggled as if something was so funny. Until just a moment ago, he hadn’t thought of being hungry. But listing the menu made hunger hit him all at once.

Eunsu dangled his feet. Tteokbokki, tteokbokki, tteokbokki. With cheese added. While looking up at Dokwon like that, Dokwon still had a stubborn, unyielding face.

“Then let’s have Korean food for dinner, and tteokbokki for dessert.”

“Unfortunately, my stomach isn’t wide enough to accommodate all that.”

“……”

Dokwon’s eye corners twisted in disapproval. It was when Eunsu lifted the corner of his mouth into a sly smile while looking at him. Buzz, the phone in Eunsu’s jacket vibrated strongly. Eunsu pulled out his phone.

It was Dokwon’s mother, Myunghee.

Eunsu showed the caller ID to Dokwon and swiped the call button.

“Yes, Mother.”

-Eunsu. Are you home?

“Uh…… No.”

-Then where are you? I was going to have the secretary bring dinner over.

“……”

Eunsu chewed his lips and looked up at Dokwon standing in front. Dokwon tilted his head to the side. With an expression asking if there was a problem. Eunsu answered instead with a faint smile.

“I’m at…… Dokwon’s house.”

-……Dokwon?

Yes. Dokwon. Eunsu nodded awkwardly. It’s not like they were meeting secretly, or doing something embarrassing, and it was a place he used to frequent often before, so why was he so shy?

-……

Myunghee was silent for a moment. It was only natural to find it strange that they were together now when cold winds had blown between them before. As Eunsu moved his lips to add an explanation, Myunghee spoke first.

-Oh my, oh my, oh my. Yes, yes. Good, good. You haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Then I’ll send it to Dokwon’s house.

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

-Anything you want to eat separately?

Eunsu, about to absentmindedly say no, nothing, smiled slyly. Then he quickly erased the expression and put on a pitiful act.

“Ah…… um…… Mother.”

-Yes?

“I want to eat some tteokbokki, though.”

-Ah, tteokbokki? Sure, I’ll buy some and send it over.

“But Dokwon won’t let me eat it.”

-……Why would that crazy guy do that?

“Right? But it’s a relief that Mother’s sending it. Please send it for sure.”

-Okay, okay. I’ll tell them to deliver it within thirty minutes.

Eunsu smiled broadly at the conversation unfolding just as planned and said, “Thank you. It’s only you, Mother.”

“Ha…….”

Dokwon let out a soft chuckle as he watched the whole thing unfold right in front of him. He sometimes felt it, but Eunsu was sharp and cunning in a way that contrasted with his slender and clear-eyed appearance. Of course, being cunning was better than being naive for getting by in society, but that odd disconnect often gave him chills running down his spine.

Eunsu tapped Dokwon’s forearm, which had gone limp in a daze.

“I guess we don’t need to go out to buy food. So, shall we watch the movie?”

With that, he walked briskly toward the living room TV.

Myunghee seemed to have a sense of mission to feed Eunsu every food in the world, because she sent all sorts of dishes packed up. Korean food, Japanese food, Chinese food, and even tteokbokki. Not one but two secretaries came and unpacked the bulky packages of food before leaving.

It was an amount that Eunsu, staying at Dokwon’s house for a whole week, wouldn’t be able to finish eating.

Eunsu moved his chopsticks eagerly. Since Myunghee wouldn’t have sent just any random food, everything she prepared was delicious enough to make his eyes light up. Especially the tteokbokki and fried items, rolled up neatly in black bags as if bought from a street food stall—they were a work of art.

While Eunsu was lost in the tteokbokki, Dokwon transferred galbi jjim, stir-fried vegetables, and kongjaban to Eunsu’s small plate in front of him. And he tapped the plate with his chopsticks, urging him to eat.

Eunsu polished it off without any particular complaint. He wasn’t the type to be picky about food anyway, and since it was for his body—for the baby in his belly exactly—he could eat as much as needed.

After eating heartily like that and clearing the table completely, they laid out dessert. The thoughtful Myunghee had even prepared dessert generously.

Eunsu was thrilled. Because he loved desserts so much.

While Dokwon focused on the hero zooming busily across the sky, Eunsu concentrated on the cake. The cake with large strawberries generously packed in was so delicious. The strawberries were tangy yet sweet, the cream was nutty, and the bread was moist and fluffy.

Chewing on it like that and then sipping warm, slightly bitter tea made heaven nothing to envy.

Eunsu finished two pieces of cake in one go. And that was when he picked up the fig-flavored financier from the box that came next.

“Do you always eat like that?”

Dokwon asked. Eunsu startled so badly at the sudden voice that his body jerked, and he dropped the financier. He looked sadly at the bread rolling on the floor, then glared at Dokwon with his face paling.

“I almost lost the baby!”

“Ah…… I didn’t know you’d be that startled. I’m sorry.”

Dokwon apologized sincerely. Then he picked up a new financier and placed it in Eunsu’s hand. Strangely, Eunsu’s sharply raised eyebrows relaxed.

Dokwon learned something new. Eunsu was cunning unlike his clear-eyed appearance, but he was weak to desserts. And that suited Eunsu so well that he nearly burst into silly laughter.

Don’t follow some weird uncle just because he offers to buy you strawberry cake. I’ll buy three boxes, so call me instead. He thought that a day might come when he’d say something like that.

“Yes. I eat like this normally too. Pregnancy affects it some, but I’ve always been this way. But not every meal like this. When I don’t feel like it, I don’t eat at all. When I do, I eat a ton.”

Eunsu replied while chewing the crunchy yet chewy financier thoroughly. Dokwon drew in a deep breath, his face showing surprise.

“I wondered what food Mother sent that made you eat like this. So there was a reason.”

Dokwon was picky about tastes, but his portion sizes weren’t small. With his tall frame and plenty of muscle, he ate a lot to match his high basal metabolic rate.

But Eunsu…… no matter how he looked, his basal metabolic rate didn’t seem high. Plus, he wasn’t skinny, but his forearms, waist, thighs, and neckline were all slim.

He wondered where all that food went—it was truly amazing.

While Dokwon sat there blankly for a moment, Eunsu finished one financier and picked up another. Then he uttered something quite frightening.

“Later, with morning sickness and when the baby grows a bit, I’ll eat even more, right?”

“Ah……. Yes, probably. I’ll prepare thoroughly.”

Dokwon’s eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as he spoke in a resolute voice. Eunsu nodded and praised him for his good attitude. After that, he focused back on dessert, and Dokwon watched the movie.

About five minutes passed like that. Suddenly, Eunsu burst into giggles like a child. Dokwon’s gaze naturally drifted to Eunsu. As if he’d been waiting, Eunsu chattered on.

“It just popped into my head.”