CH 88

Their house was perfectly clean, not a speck of dust visible to the eye. But Yiyoung noticed something was different; all her belongings had been moved to Muyeol’s bedroom, which was at the east end of the house.

Muyeol put the luggage down in a corner of the living room and walked toward Yiyoung. “From now on, start working out and look after yourself. Stop eating ramen. Do yoga, go swimming, or run on the treadmill. Do whatever you can to keep yourself healthy.”

“Stop nagging me.”

“I realized how weak you are after this incident. It’s terrible.”

“It’s not as bad as you think,” said Yiyoung, shifting around as Muyeol helped take off her cardigan.

“Didn’t you faint in the ER before? With a bloody nose and all?”

Someone had probably tattled on her. Yiyoung glanced at Muyeol and let out a groan. “Do you really have to know every single detail about me?”

“I never asked anyone but you. People just came up and told me about it. Besides…” Muyeol put both his hands on Yiyoung’s waist to measure it. “I’m not into a girl with a skinny waist. It makes me feel as if I’m dating a weak person.”

“Don’t guys usually love a skinny waist though?”

“You do know there’s a difference between plain skinny and a glamorous waist, right?”

“So what?” Yiyoung scoffed, “What do you want me to do?”

“So start exercising,” Muyeol responded as if he had been waiting for her to ask, “Come with me every morning.”

“No, no.” Yiyoung shook her head. “I’ll focus on breathing techniques, and that’s it.”

“We just got home. I don’t want to argue with you again,” Muyeol said with a sigh.

Yiyoung stopped fooling around and looked at Muyeol. He didn’t seem all that well, perhaps because he could never be comfortable at the hospital. There were often cases where the caregivers themselves ended up with more health problems because they forgot to take care of themselves in pursuit of their duty of taking constant care of others.

Yiyoung felt guilty and muttered, “Sorry.”

“Fine.” Muyeol turned around and walked toward the bedroom.

For a moment, Yiyoung watched him walk away, before quickly running past him and blocking his way. “I’ll exercise from now on!”

“I said, fine.”

“Then please don’t look like that. You look like you’re the only person left in this world.”

Muyeol studied Yiyoung’s face, his eyes unblinking, and she didn’t avoid his gaze.

“We just began our relationship. We’re going to care for each other and sleep together.” Yiyoung stood in front of him courageously and reached out to gently touch his face, leaving him wide-eyed. “So don’t look like that… I’m here with you.”

Muyeol’s heart skipped a beat. Yiyoung put an arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug. But this hug had an unusual effect; it stirred him up with desires.

His body began to heat up, his length getting especially hard in response to his burning desire. And Yiyoung was able to feel it all.

Startled, Yiyoung jumped away from him, gawking at his pants. “Didn’t you say you’re impotent?”

“I never said that. I just never felt like explaining.”

Yiyoung didn’t know what to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop staring at it. It was amazing how she was able to make out its shape through his pants. She was familiar with the shape of men’s body parts, and also knew why they got aroused, but those things were simply matters between a patient and a doctor. She didn’t consider a patient’s gender while treating them.

Muyeol was the first person whom she considered she wanted to be in a physical relationship with.

“If you keep staring at it like that,” Muyeol warned in a low voice, “I might end up doing something.”

Yiyoung looked away from him, but answered honestly, “I hope my first experience will be good.”