Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2 Exploration
I looked around to check for the time, but there was no clock here. I subsequently noticed a phone left on the table. It was unfamiliar, but it was mine. As I turned on the screen, it was 8 a.m.
The bedroom door was still closed. I didn’t hear the sound of him leaving the house, so I checked the entrance. His shoes were still there which means he was still home.
After taking a shower and brushing my teeth, I got hungry. I could endure the hunger, so I decided to not have breakfast now.
Because there was really nothing for me to do, I turned on the TV and then; it was almost 1 p.m. already. I didn’t see any sign of Yeon Woojeong coming out of his room, so I took out a lunch box from the freezer. After finishing it, I was back to having nothing to do, and I stared at the closed door. Was it a book room? Yeon Woojeong never said to not enter anywhere.
I opened the door. There was nothing to cover the window here, so the sunlight filled the room. It was so bright even without turning on the light, so I just entered it and stood before the bookshelf.
There were a lot of kinds of books here. Perhaps because he was a prosecutor, there were a lot of books related to law or trial, and books on various topics, such as classic novels which I heard the titles of when I was in school, history, and economy that were put randomly.
I caught sight of the title ‘All About Car,’ so I took out the book that was not too thick. However, there was a glass filled with liquid drawn on the cover. I lost interest as soon as I found out that it was tea, not a car, so I put it back. Why would he read this? There is only water in his home, though. (TN: both car and tea has the same word ‘’ so actually the title is ‘All About Tea’)
The book was not an object that was close to me. Reading took time, so it eventually became a luxury for me. The food for the heart could not fill the stomach. I wondered if Yeon Woojeong had read all of these books. I tried to imagine him sitting in an extremely mushy chair while reading a book. Unexpectedly, it fit him.
“What are you looking at?”
My shoulders jerked at the sudden voice. I turned my back and creased my forehead.
Yeon Woojeong, who still had dopey eyes, his hair was just like a magpie’s nest. It really shocked me that a human’s hair could stand jaggedly like that.
“Did you sleep without drying your hair?”
“I dried my hair.”
“But why is your hair like that?”
“It’s normally like this.”
Yeon Woojeong yawned while walking inside. He was wearing a large T-shirt and pants covering his feet. He stood next to me and looked at the bookshelf. I barely turned my gaze from the wrecked hair.
“Did you read all the books here?”
“Yeah.”
It was surprising that he had read all the books even though there were not only a couple or dozens of books. I pulled out one of the books in front of me that looked boring. Lev Tolstoy, ‘Resurrection’. Yeon Woojeong glanced at that, then furrowed his brows and laughed.
“Ah, it was really hard reading that.”
“Why?”
“It was hard and not fun. I couldn’t understand it even though I’ve already read it twice, so I read it once more, and then finally I understood it.”
“Why did you read it again if you couldn’t understand it?”
“It’s pissing me off if I can’t understand a book when I’ve completely read it.”
That pissing you off? I put back the book. As we talked, his dopey eyes gradually turned clear. His sleepy eyes were…… somewhat making me out of my mind, but his eyes now were the usual him.
“Then, what was the most entertaining?”
“Erm… this one.”
Yeon Woojeong pulled out a book. I often heard it, but I never read it. ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. It was a manhwa from the cover. When I turned my head, he tapped someone’s face in the cover with his finger.
“If anything is fun, that’s all.”
“There are more that don’t look fun, though.”
“Truthfully… they are perfect to read when I can’t fall asleep.”
He took a thick book and then buried himself in the chair. He opened the book and put it on top of his face. After straightening his feet, he put his right foot on top of his left foot and crossed his arms on top of his stomach. That looked so natural and comfortable. The hems of his pants were slightly lifted up and showed his ankle bones. I stared absentmindedly at the reddish skin, then turned my gaze to the bookshelf.
There was another ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ under ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. The one below was a novel. Each novel and manhwa had ten volumes. I picked out and opened the first volume of the novel. The words didn’t really entice me.
“How is it? Is that readable?”
“Don’t know.”
“Try to read it once. Well, it doesn’t have to be that one. Read one and make one target. Something like I’ll eat something tasty after I finish this book, or I’ll do this and that until I finish this book…”
He stretched himself and walked out. I should leave this house after I read all ten volumes. I can’t leave this house until I read all the books here. Thinking of such silly thoughts, I put the book on the bookshelf and left the room.
“Do you want to eat?”
“I ate.”
“Then I’m the only one who needs to eat.”
Yeon Woojeong took a lunch box from the freezer and warmed it. While the microwave was operating, he touched a machine on the sink. Soon, the coffee aroma filled in.
“What about coffee?”
“I don’t drink it.”
He put his lips on the white cup. While he sipped the coffee, the microwave let out a sound noticing it was done. Yeon Woojeong didn’t take it out and leaned his body in the sink, engrossed in drinking the coffee. The microwave let out a sound again. I hated to hear that sound so I took out the lunch box, and as I put it on the table, Yeon Woojeong smirked and sat on the chair.
The portion of the lunch box was small, but it seemed like it was proper for him. Looking at how he ate the food less passionately than when he drank the coffee, I asked him.
“About the food, can I make it on my own?”
“You know how to make it?”
“Yeah.”
“Is this bad?”
When I nodded, Yeon Woojeong looked at me and the lunch box alternately.
“Just do as you wish. You don’t need to ask for my permission. But, is this bad? This is a balanced diet and delicious.”
If it’s not good, then it’s not good, it was weird of him to ask for confirmation. As I gave no answer, he shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat.
I stood leisurely at the kitchen entrance because I had nothing to do and Yeon Woojeong’s gaze returned to me. He slowly chewed on his food while staring intently at me, then he raised up his eyebrows.
“You, what’s your name?”
Furrowing my brows, I had no memory of telling him my name. I pondered for a while if it was okay to tell him my name, but if a prosecutor dug something up, I didn’t think he wouldn’t find it out.
“Kim Jiho.”
“Kim Jiho… it suits you well.”
“Your name doesn’t suit you, Mr. Yeon. Awfully.”
“Awfully? Is it that bad?”
Yeon Woojeong burst into laughter and took a sip of the coffee. How come the coffee lessened faster than the food?
“It was popular back then. Woojeong, Heemang, Sarang…”
I couldn’t believe those kinds of names were popular back then. It seemed like the parents of that time were out of their minds. Yeon Woojeong should be grateful that his name was the most normal among those three names.
“Your name is beautiful. Just like you.”
I said it didn’t suit him, not that it didn’t beautiful. Besides, it was weird that he kept associating ‘beautiful’ with me and it annoyed me. As my forehead creased, he smiled again with that ridiculing smile.
Because it was ridiculous to keep watching him eating, I returned to the living room and sat on the sofa. After eating for a long time, Yeon Woojeong got up to clean the empty lunch box and opened the compartment under the sink. At a glance, it was a dishwasher. He put the spoon then sat next to me.
He took the remote control and turned on the television, and then quickly laid down. Because it was an extra-long sofa, he didn’t reach me even though he was laying down. He was really like a cow. The channels that kept changing stopped at a news channel. Yeon Woojeong threw the remote control near his head and fixed his gaze on the TV.
I almost never had stayed in one place — on top of that — doing something this quiet and peaceful with someone, so this was strange. However, Yeon Woojeong lay comfortably and looked so nonchalant. Is it because this is his house? Or is it because he is a shameless person? If not, maybe because this kind of thing often happens.
While thinking of numerous possibilities, I observed the movement of his eyelids that kept getting slow. Yeon Woojeong soon fell asleep again. He did come back at dawn, but considering the time he came out of his bed, it looked like he was not a very diligent person.
I took the remote control, lowered the volume, changed the channel, and then put the remote control down when I reached a documentary channel. A baby elephant collapsed, and the mom next to it tapped on the baby elephant’s foot. It was a scene of death.
The camera zoomed in on the elephant mom. Something like tears flowed down, but I didn’t know if that was really tears. I didn’t really feel like watching, so I turned off the TV and turned my head. It was quiet now, and I could clearly hear the peaceful breath out of Yeon Woojeong.
The word beautiful is… doesn’t suit him as well. His face was just like a sculpture. It was not like the plaster figure I saw in the school art room, and I couldn’t find such a face even in the statue I passed by, but it was because his forehead, nose, and face were finely shaped. When he opened his eyes, I didn’t feel like I could easily get closer to him. But when he closed his eyes like now, his face made me want to leave the trace of my hands there.
Clenching my fingers, I laid my head in the direction of Yeon Woojeong’s head. I was the type who rarely took a nap. Not only that I didn’t have time to spare, sometimes I felt like sleeping was a waste of time.
My eyelids were heavy. I tried to breathe in synchronization with the breathing sound next to my head. The noise inside my head subsided. The sleep that welcomed me was terrifically sweet.
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