Cheonghyeon floundered in the waves of overflowing affection. If this were a dream, he would not want to wake up; he was that happy.
But the feeling of happiness was fleeting. Cheonghyeon took a deep breath.
Now, finally, it was Ihwa’s turn.
Cheonghyeon felt uneasy, as if he had to confess to something wrong he had not done.
The heavy door to the waiting room opened, and a woman entered.
Perhaps the waiting area had been warm, for she carried the coat she had been wearing just moments ago over one arm. The slumped coat seemed to be staring right at him.
Cheonghyeon could not quite define this feeling.
As she awkwardly took a seat, Cheonghyeon watched her with a complex expression.
Then, preparing for any eventuality, he addressed the guards standing watch behind him.
“This person is someone I know personally. It is fine if you guys rest somewhere else.”
The words were permission, but it was effectively a dismissal.
Cheonghyeon felt Ihwa’s startled gaze, but he calmly watched the guards until they left.
The guards exchanged brief glances among themselves, nodded understandingly, and stepped outside.
Just before the guards exited, Ihwa suddenly raised her voice to address Cheonghyeon.
“Hey, you should at least show your face during the holidays. We are cousins, but it feels like a million years since I last saw you. Do I have to come all the way here?”
Cheonghyeon’s eyes widened, but at Ihwa’s firm glare, he froze, as still as a dead mouse
As the sound of the guards leaving the room faded and silence settled, Ihwa let out a deep, weary sigh.
“Hey, you idiot. Do you not know how rumors spread through those guards’ mouths? My brother was assigned to protect Gi Cheonghyeon, and he seemed pretty close to some woman who came to the Secret signing event? Rumors like that spread in an instant. You have to be careful everywhere, all the time. Did you forget all the rules I taught you about what not to do when I am not around?”
Ihwa had been boiling inside, wondering endlessly what she had done wrong or what had happened to Cheonghyeon, who had not contacted her at all.
But when Cheonghyeon dismissed the guards by saying he knew them, she felt like they had slipped back into their past relationship.
She scolded him playfully while smiling and spoke up. Cheonghyeon watched her silently before opening his mouth with a heavy tone.
“I did not forget. I did not know.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I am not Gi Cheonghyeon. No, I am the real Gi Cheonghyeon.”
As Ihwa stared blankly, Cheonghyeon opened his mouth with a complicated expression.
“Where should I start…” he murmured, letting out a light sigh before smiling bitterly.
A moment later, Ihwa’s eyes welled up with tears, and she began to sob. Cheonghyeon could not bring himself to tell Ihwa the truth: that he had switched bodies with Gi Cheonghyeon after Gi Cheonghyeon committed suicide.
Telling her the truth would not change a single thing. But she would have to live with the guilt she gained as the price of that truth for the rest of her life.
So Cheonghyeon told Ihwa a white lie. A white lie, skillfully blending truth and falsehood, crafted solely for Ihwa.
“Actually, I did think it was strange. I thought it was strange… It just did not make any sense. It is not like I am a ghost or anything, so how could it only be visible to me?”
Before Ihwa could finish her sentence, she began to cry, and Cheonghyeon listened quietly.
“I am saying this just in case, but it was not your fault, Ihwa. It was a situation that should have returned to normal anyway. It just happened to be that time, this January.”
“So then, it really was not suicide back then? You just lost consciousness because your soul switched while you were sleeping?”
Cheonghyeon hesitated but nodded. “That is right. Both me and that guy quietly switched while we were sleeping,” he added softly.
The Secret Signing event’s time limit had already passed. But Cheonghyeon had contacted the manager earlier, asking them to apologize to the last person waiting and explain the signing would run late. Then, with an awkward gesture, he patted Ihwa’s hand.
“Is he doing well over there? I mean, is there a sudden power struggle brewing inside the palace or something?”
“Nothing like that will happen. When I was young, my eldest brother was already the Crown Prince, and by the time my body changed, he had been Emperor for six years. He is doing well.”
Cheonghyeon answered tenderly, and Ihwa wept again.
It was sad and regrettable that he had left, but her tears also held a sense of relief that Cheonghyeon had found his own world.
Knowing how hard Cheonghyeon had struggled to endure in a world that did not suit him, Ihwa could not stop her tears. And all because of some minor error by the messengers.
“What about you? Are you okay? Was it not hard there?”
Cheonghyeon faltered. Was I okay there? It was not a question he could answer now. He simply gave a faint smile, his answer vague.
“I saw the diary the old Cheonghyeon left behind. It mentioned you a lot, Ihwa. I felt I should tell you at least once. You do not need to spend so much money on me anymore, or take time out of your schedule to come take my pictures.”
Cheonghyeon spoke calmly. Ihwa looked at him, flustered, and said:
“Why are you saying that? I will keep chasing after you and taking pictures forever. On bonus days, I will send you gifts and keep liking you.”
Cheonghyeon could not understand. Why? Was it because she felt guilty about suddenly cutting ties? Seeing the question mark clearly forming on Cheonghyeon’s face, Ihwa declared, “I am serious!” expressing her true feelings.
Cheonghyeon chose his words carefully.
“I am not the Gi Cheonghyeon you knew. Are you still okay with that?”
“We can get to know each other from now on. I will keep liking you until I see you happy and smiling in this world.”
The room, where Ihwa had chattered away for a long time conveying her true feelings, was quiet as if time had stopped after she left.
Cheonghyeon stared blankly at the dust floating in the sunlight streaming through the window.
“Cheonghyeon, I hope you are happy.”
Tap.
“Huh?”
The moment he realized the drop on his hand was a tear, they streamed down like a broken faucet.
What is this? I am not sad or scared right now, so why am I crying?
Tears he could not explain kept flowing. He sobbed, stifling the sound, then gasped for air when he opened his mouth, triggering a fit of hiccups.
Cheonghyeon, like a child discovering how to cry for the first time, was at a loss, vomiting his emotions out in tears.
Cheonghyeon’s world expanded once more. Yet, for the present Cheonghyeon, even patting down this newly widened world was overwhelming enough to name this immediate emotion.
Was it relief? Happiness? Or perhaps both?
Feeling something warm and vague blossoming within his chest, Cheonghyeon wiped his tears with white tissue paper.
With each swipe of the tissue, the tender skin and the unacknowledged sorrows of the past were gently wiped away. The tissue, soaked and crumpled by tears, looked fragile.
“Since the home’s name is Gideon, it is only natural I will protect Gi Cheonghyeon for life. Cheonghyeon, no, Isaac, will live well in the imperial palace now, right? Now I will be your guardian.”
The words Ihwa had left behind kept echoing in his ears.
Cheonghyeon, pitifully, let tears fall one by one as he chewed on those words. They were words that, the more he chewed on them like grains of rice, the sweeter they became.
He cried endlessly like that until the manager came to check on the room and rushed over in shock.
“Are you okay? What did you talk about with Gideon? Oh dear, Cheonghyeon, your eyes are all red and puffy.”
As the manager fidgeted, applying an ice pack to his eyes, Cheonghyeon quietly accepted the gesture. The cold sensation on his warm eyelids made him want to cry.
He wanted to ask him to stop, but the last person waiting was Hyeonbaragi.
It was already hard enough to only show his good side, and he did not want to face him with eyes this red. So, Cheonghyeon obediently let the manager continue.
“The last person waiting was originally supposed to be first, but something came up suddenly, so they moved them to the very end. Thank goodness, really. They said they are on their way now. Until then, just keep holding this.”
“Uh…”
The manager seemed curious about Cheonghyeon’s conversation with Ihwa, but perhaps because he had seen her sobbing when she came in, he could not bring himself to ask easily.
Deciding it was not a conversation best had here, he asked briefly.
“You were not crying because that person said something hurtful, were you? Like, cursed at you or something.”
Cheonghyeon shook his head. The manager seemed satisfied with that and placed the ice pack back on Cheonghyeon’s eyes. Just as the sensation around his eyes was fading, the guard knocked and entered.
“The last person on standby has arrived.”
Hearing that, the manager removed the ice pack and stood up.
“Fight until the very end. Call me if anything happens. Got it?”
Cheonghyeon gave a small nod. Changsik grinned and left the VIP lounge. After Changsik closed the door and exited, Cheonghyeon tilted his head.
“Why are the bodyguards not visible?”
Did they think I meant to stay out there the whole time?
Lost in thought, the door opened and the man he had seen earlier entered.
Through the crack, he caught a glimpse of bodyguards bowing respectfully. But they looked slightly different from the guards he had seen before. They were larger and exuded a more professional aura.
“Did they switch shifts?”
Hyeonbaragi, as if accustomed to this, received a light greeting and stepped inside. His demeanor was strikingly similar to his own from his days as a prince.
Cheonghyeon thought nothing of it but felt a quiet joy: We have so many similarities.
A clear smile lit up his eyes as he watched Hyeonbaragi.
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