*

Jeonghan woke up to the sound of the gusting winds hitting the windows of his room. He remembered that the weather forecast he had watched last night had reported that a storm would probably come by the next day. But he didn’t expect it would be this early. Heavy rain also started pouring, and it was really dark outside. The temperature was too cold, and the air conditioner on its maximum temperature didn’t help at all. He fumbled his hands through the drawer beside his bed to look for the controller and turn the machine off, but was disappointed when he remembered he put it at the dresser at the other end of the room. With a throbbing head, he stood up, but immediately sat back down when he felt his head throb harder. He winced. His eyes felt heavy too, and he knew they were swollen from both bawling his eyes out and sleeping late. Judging from the headache he felt, he guessed he only had an hour or two of sleep. He looked at the clock beside his bed and saw it was just 6:15 in the morning.

Is he still asleep?

Wrapping the comforter around his body and desperate to lessen the cold, he stood up and slowly made his way towards the dresser and took the controller. He struggled on doing so, because his vision was also blurring he couldn’t see if he was touching the right button. He also decided to take painkillers from the medicine kit inside his room.

When his back touched the bed, his eyes automatically closed and dozed off.

The wedding anniversary was only one of the many times that Jeonghan had seen Seungcheol on business parties. ‘Seen’, because the next encounters would only be consisted of Jeonghan seeing the other, but the other either just didn’t notice him or he was just too focused with his girlfriend to even talk to the lanky guy he met at Mr. Oh’s party. Or maybe he had forgotten about him all along.

 During those times, he tried hard not to mind the tight feeling he felt on his chest whenever he saw Seungcheol and his girlfriend kissing like there were no people other than them. They couldn’t be separated, and Seungcheol’s eyes were always with her, not even a second they looked at another girl. It seemed like his chances were already gone even without starting to make a move. Seungcheol obviously loved his girl.

And from then on, he realized he should just be contented watching him from afar, and stop giving himself false hopes. Years had passed and his routine called ‘secretly loving someone from afar’ remained the same. Until one random day, to his utmost surprise, Seungcheol’s parents came to their home, asking his hand for marriage. Of course, he was confused and didn’t know what to think—Seungcheol has a girlfriend, why should he marry him?

But then, he knew in his heart that he wanted to marry him, for no matter how ridiculous the circumstances were for him ending up being in an arranged-marriage set-up, his heart had already agreed the moment he heard the proposal, even if it wasn’t from Seungcheol himself.

The wedding came after a month of preparation. Everything came fast and sudden, exciting and scaring Jeonghan both at the same time. And during that one month, never was there a day when Seungcheol did not attempt to convince him to back out from the wedding. But all of it were futile attempts, for in the end, they still ended up married.

"You may now kiss," the priest announced, making his heart beat twice its normal speed. Was he just excited to feel Seungcheol’s lips on his?

Seungcheol leaned in very close, blocking his face from the guests' anticipating eyes, as if kissing him. And not only was he surprised when he smelled a faint smell of alcohol in his breath, but also, he was left stupefied when he heard his words against his ears—raging, taunting, and filled with loathe.

"I just want you to know that not because I married you means you already won," he whispered, his hot breath tickled Jeonghan's ears which sent shivers down his spine. “I swear… I’ll make your life miserable, in every possible way there is. You’d regret the day you married me.”

Jeonghan shivered, because the tone of Seungcheol’s voice was already promising pain and suffering. A few seconds after, his then husband gave him a searing and punishing kiss, as if sealing his promise of revenge…

Jeonghan opened his eyes when he felt something damp on his face. He saw Nanny Park’s worried face and a towel on her hand, now making its way on his neck. He tried to get up, but the old woman clicked her tongue and pushed him back to lie down like he was a little kid.

“Just rest, you have a fever,” she said.

“Oh.” Jeonghan muttered. That’s why I feel so weak when I woke up.

Nanny Park’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Don’t ‘oh’ me, you kid. You were already burning with fever yet you didn’t even dare call me! You were sweating so much when I came that I had to change your clothes.”

Jeonghan confirmed it when he saw he