There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 695: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 30

The reunion of a supposedly married couple did not happen with an endearing hug--much less a kiss. It happened around a table, while they sat across from each other. Like a conference. Like a trade negotiation.

Like the first meeting of an arranged marriage.

Which was morally complicated because one of them had the mental age of a seven-year-old.

"This is...kind of funny?" the onlooker was whispering from the living room.

"Sush!"

With a sharp warning, they pretended not to stare, but it was human nature to be curious. Be it with skills or through reflection, they watched the awkward meeting unveiling in the corner. Well, what could they do? It wasn’t like they could leave a kid meeting with an adult unsupervised.

That being said, nothing was being said on that table for nearly five minutes. There was a cup of warm tea in front of Radia and a glass of warm chocolate instead of chocolate milk in front of Han Joon. That in itself was a funny scene.

Han Joon had been staring at the table while glancing at Radia about a dozen times during those five minutes. His face was strangely impassive despite the slightly reddened ears, but the black eyes were filled with all kinds of emotions: curiosity, confusion, astonishment, and there was a time when he just looked blank as if his brain got overloaded with his own thoughts.

As someone who had been taught to only follow orders and not think by himself, the torrent of thoughts he had to face for the past few hours was just overwhelming.

"Drink your chocolate before it gets cold," Radia said in an awkwardly soft tone. Of everyone else, he was probably the one most confused about how he should treat his child-husband.

"Ah--yes," Han Joon obediently grabbed the warm mug and sipped on the nice indulgence. His eyes flickered at the rush of the new flavor, and the sheer joy of it gave him the courage to speak. He raised his head to look at Radia properly instead of stealing glances. "Are...are you really that boy?"

"Mm." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Oh," Han Joon nodded. "Do you remember me?"

"Would I be here if I didn’t?"

"Oh..."

The short-living conversation was both frustrating and hilarious for the peanut gallery, especially for those who had been used to how those two acting all flirty around each other. But honestly...it was like that for Radia too.

He wanted to talk more to Joon, but he just didn’t know how he should act around this child version of his husband. Certainly, he couldn’t just act as usual. He had been holding back from even thinking of touching the strand of Joon’s hair. He was a child. But also a husband he wholeheartedly loved and missed. He just didn’t know what to do.

In the end, he could only speak shortly and stiffly as he tried to suppress his longing. Oh, it was even harder than kneeling on a snowy ground.

Holding back a sigh that might make the child inside the fully-grown adult in front of him overthink, Radia asked in a soft tone--or at least he tried, but it came out stiff and dry. "You said you want to see me."

The red at the tip of Joon’s ear spread to his cheeks as he replied bashfully. "Yes."

It was hard. It was so fucking hard. Radia gripped the teacup just to make sure his hands did not cross the table. "But you don’t want to meet me?"

"...because I still can’t do it," the reply was something Radia did not expect.

"What is?"

"Live freely."

This time, Radia was the one blanking out--after all, it was already more than three decades for him. But the memory of their first meeting came to him gradually. A weird kid who tugged at his heartstrings and curiosity.

He was staring at that kid again, thirty-three years in the future. "You can start from now, can’t you?"

"I...think so," it was a hesitant answer, perhaps because he had just come to terms with the fact that he was free from his father. "Ah, I want to thank you."

"You already did," Radia smiled slightly, although his mouth felt bitter. Joon had thanked him millions of times and paid it back with something Radia could never return.

"I see..."

Han Joon nodded and fidgeted with the half-empty glass of warm chocolate. It was clear that there was something he wanted to say, but he held back because he had been taught to never have any opinion.

"It’s okay, Joon. You don’t have to hold back anymore, remember?" Radia held his cup even tighter because he really wanted to reach out and stroked his beloved cheek. "Start to live freely by telling people what’s on your mind."

The black eyes blinked several times as Han Joon digested the words, before he finally nodded. "Yeah," the hesitation gradually turned into determination, and with it, he asked Radia something he had been curious about since he woke up. "So, umm...why are you in a bed with me, Sir? Oh, I mean--ah, I don’t know your name."

At this point, Radia was digging his heels into the hospital’s floor. "...you can call me Dee."

"Dee?" Han Joon blinked. "Dee..." he repeated the name, rolling it in his tongue. It felt good. It felt nice. As if it had always belonged there. Ah, but he still had the question. "Why are you in a bed with me, Mis--"

"No Mister."

Han Joon pressed his lips and pressed his still unanswered question. "Were we...sleeping in the same bed?"

Radia wanted to slam his head onto the table, but the onlookers also wanted to shriek. "This is uncomfortable," Bassena said. "But also funny. I can’t decide which."

Rather than answering, Radia made a statement instead. "I won’t do that from now on."

Han Joon looked startled. "Oh? W-why?"

"Because I shouldn’t," Radia sighed. It really was hard. "For now, you’ll return with Mother to Grandma’s place."

"No, no," Laurel, upon hearing her son alluding to staying somewhere else, immediately interjected, rushing over to the awkward table. "We’ll all return together--including you, son. Grandma’s place is big, after all--oh, why don’t you come too, Shin?"

"Huh? Can I?" Han Shin perked up from another table.

"Of course! Let’s all gather together, okay? You too," she pointed at Bassena and Zein, who hadn’t been coming closer because they came much later in Han Joon’s life and he had no idea who they were at this point. "Bring your kids too. Grandma would love it."

As the grand invitation was being spread, Han Joon stared at Laurel. He was told to call the lady ’mother’ before, but...knowing she was the mother of the adult in front of him, Han Joon was getting confused about what to call her. For his seven-year-old mind, wasn’t he supposed to call her gr--

"I’m going to get angry if you call me Grandma," Laurel cut the thought before it fully formed as if she could read Han Joon’s mind.

He flinched and lowered his gaze again. "I’m sorry."

"Mother, okay? Mo-ther," Laurel patted the kid’s shoulder, smiling sweetly and making Joon smile shyly in response.

"I’ll go talk to the doctor first," Radia stood up, taking the chance to get out of the situation. He had no idea how much longer he could hold back, and he’d rather not test his mental endurance in front of such a docile and adorable Han Joon.

Naturally, his mother knew it well. "Okay," she chuckled and presumed Radia’s seat so she could talk to Han Joon instead.

While Radia was saying it as an excuse, he did need to talk to the doctor, because he was Han Joon’s ’guardian’. The doctor had just returned to the suite with the result of Han Joon’s medical newest examination.

"There’s a difference between yesterday’s scan with today’s," the doctor gave the folder to Radia. "The anomaly in the brain wave is fluctuating."

"What does it mean?"

"It’s only my conjecture, but he might get his memory again, gradually."

Han Shin jumped off and almost slammed the table. "That’s great!"

"I said that, but there’s no proof it’ll happen, so we still have to see more. Also, we don’t know if it’ll happen in days, weeks, or even years."

"But as long as Joon is alive, it will happen eventually, right?" Bassena asked.

"I hope so, Sir."

Radia clenched his jaw to keep his expectations at bay, but he couldn’t help but wish for the best. As if trying to convince himself of hope, he took a seat at another table to peruse the folder that the doctor gave him, and the doctor stayed to explain the results in more detail.

"He kept glancing and blushing," Zein commented, feeling very much amused as someone who had witnessed how wild Han Joon could be.

But then again, it would be weirder if a child already had those tendencies from such an early stage.

"Hah," Bassena chuckled. "I didn’t know he already had a crush on Radia since he was that young."

"I see now why he grew up to be so obsessive about Radia," Han Shin stroked his chin, and the same thought arrived in everyone’s mind.

It was like they finally learned Han Joon’s story, after all this time.