Chapter 2.2
The same sound continued to ring. It wasn’t close to me but behind the door. I pulled the blanket to the top of my head, but I couldn’t endure it anymore, so I got up from the sofa.
Even though this was a place with good soundproofing, the sound coming out all the way here meant that the alarm sound was not set the normal loud. Now it was 6:30 a.m. The normal time for people to clock in was 9 a.m., and considering the distance from here to the prosecutors’ office, this was a bit early to wake up. Well, taking note of the time Yeon Woojeong washed up, I think it was fitting.
I suppose it was better to just open the door and woke him up or turned off the alarm instead of enduring the noise and watching Yeon Woojeong late to work. As I kicked the door in, there was a cocoon on the bed. Even though the phone on the bedside rang passionately, Yeon Woojeong didn’t budge even an inch.
After approaching the bed and turning off the alarm, I pulled the blanket. Yeon Woojeong’s eyes squirmed.
“Wake up.”
When I hit his arm, he creased his forehead and let out a small sound. The wet-looking tongue inside the lips that were open in a defenseless state came out slightly, licking his lips. His eyes opened when I hit his arm once again.
“Wake up, I said.”
“What time is it…?”
“Half-past six.”
“It’s still… not the time to wake up…”
“Then why did you set the alarm?”
Yeon Woojeong let out a sigh and groped the bedside. As I handed out his phone in my hand because he seemed to be looking for it, he tapped on it with squinted eyes then showed the screen to me.
It was ridiculous. There were about ten alarms set, and the last alarm was set right at 7:30 a.m.
“You won’t wake up? It’s noisy.”
“You have sensitive ears, huh.”
With his eyes closed, Yeon Woojeong chuckled. He opened his eyes again. He blinked his eyes as if he was blinded, then suddenly pulled my wrist. Thanks to that, I ended up sitting on his bed.
“Then turn them off and wake me at half-past seven…”
As he closed his eyes again after making such a brazen request, he became quiet again. Force left my grabbed wrist. The skin touched by his hand was hot, so I clenched my fist.
Somehow, I felt angry. I tried to imagine what would happen if I choked his white neck. Imagining the skin with handprints and horrible bruises, I slowly closed my eyes and opened them back. Come to think of it, he was the owner of this house, so I had no right to order him.
Looking down on Yeon Woojeong sleeping peacefully when his hair was messy, I took his phone and turned off all the alarms except for the last one.
Whether he would get late or not, I had no plan to wake him up. I could just get up and leave, but because my wrist was trapped inside his clutch, I felt like I had to sit a bit longer.
This was because he didn’t sleep until dawn, so he couldn’t wake up in the morning. He shut himself in the book room even though it was time for sleep, then he walked out to drink water, wandered around while staring at me from near the sofa, and made me couldn’t sleep as well.
I wondered if the reason he could sleep peacefully in front of a stranger was that he was used to this since he was born. I wanted to see his reaction that would appear if the peace surrounding him was broken firmly. But, if I break that, I didn’t think I would be able to stay here. I spent the time with useless imaginations. It was easy to waste time inside the room with the right temperature that was not cold or hot as the outside.
The last alarm rang. Yeon Woojeong was still sleeping. I turned off the alarm and grabbed his shoulder. I could feel the firm yet soft flesh under the thin T-shirt. Then, I shook him strongly.
“Wake up.”
After shaking him a few times, Yeon Woojeong opened his eyes. Looking at how he easily woke up unlike earlier, it seemed like he realized that now was really the time to wake up. He smiled faintly and put his hand on the top of my hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you.”
The back of my hand felt hot. The heat left by his hand felt unpleasant, so I harshly rubbed the back of my hand. Yeon Woojeong got off the bed and stretched.
“Sleep here if it’s noisy outside.”
He closed the door as he left. Not enough to live in his house, I now even invaded his bedroom.
On the whole weekend, Yeon Woojeong stayed in the house, and since I also had nowhere to go, I stayed next to him. We ate and watched TV together, but it didn’t mean we talked much. He still hadn’t asked me any questions. Also, he still hadn’t made any demands.
I slowly grew uneasy. After staring at the closed door, I shoved my head into the bed. There was a smell. A warm scent, the scent of laundry when it was freshly washed. There was no damp or unpleasant smell, even a bit.
I could vaguely understand why he couldn’t wake up when he slept here. I took a deep breath. The fact that I could be at ease in the personal room of a man I didn’t know wrenched and wrecked me inside. I grabbed the gray blanket, like tearing it apart.
***
The wound had already healed before I knew it. Although it was hard to say it had completely healed because there were still light bruises left, at least this didn’t make me reminded of Lee Sugeol when I looked at the wound.
It had already been a week since I’d lived in this house. I was still wasting time without doing anything. Yeon Woojeong came home late every night as if filling up the time he had played at home all day over the weekend. The time I saw him was only when I entered his room because I was irked by his alarm, or when I opened my eyes for a moment at dawn. I ate the lunch box that was filling the freezer one by one, and luxuriously, I desired to eat other food.
I had to look for a job, but it was a waste to look for it in haste because I would have more options once I came of age. Maybe I thought like this because I had someone to lean on.
Yeah, frankly, I wasn’t desperate. The fact that I could be out of guard despite knowing nothing about Yeon Woojeong’s scheme was because he looked safe—at least for now. Safe. It was a funny word. Because I didn’t know when someone would suddenly change, I had to add the premise ‘at least for now.’
I was thinking of cleaning and shopping for groceries today. This house was neat, but the dust was bound to accumulate at any time, and the shirts that Yeon Woojeong put in the laundry room had already formed a pile. Can I just wash his shirts in the washing machine?
I wondered if Yeon Woojeong would get off work after I cleaned the house and went to the mart. He didn’t get off work on time for a week, so I didn’t think he would come earlier today.
I made the plan inside my head and then got up from my seat. Suddenly, the bell rang. There was no one visiting this house this whole week except for the courier who delivered the lunch box. As I checked the intercom screen, there was someone’s face there. She was a middle-aged woman, and she was wearing something like a uniform.
I looked at the intercom, then I tried to push the button with the mic shape on it.
“Who is this?”
—Ah, you’re home! I’m from the cleaning company, sir.
Cleaning company? I never heard of that. I looked at the intercom for a moment, then I took out my phone and called Yeon Woojeong. This was my first time calling him.
The dial tone lasted quite a long time. The person on the intercom said, ‘sir?’, looking for the house owner that wasn’t here. When I was about to end the call, I heard a voice.
—Yes, this is Yeon Woojeong.
I quickly closed my parted lips. Yeon Woojeong’s voice through the phone was more low-pitched, and it tickled my ear. His first words were very normal, which was rather strange.
—Hello?
“…. It’s me.”
—…… ah, I see.
Yeon Woojeong reacted as if he didn’t save this number. Well, it was obvious because even though he saved his number on this phone; he didn’t note this number.
—What’s the matter?
“Someone from the cleaning company knocks on the door.”
—Aha, that’s right. There’s someone who comes once a week. Please open the door.
For now, I pushed the key button, then I walked away from the intercom and leaned on the wall. I was really not happy with someone entering this place.
—If you’re uncomfortable, you can enter my room or go out.
“If I go out, then you’re telling me to leave that person alone?”
—Yeah, it’s normally like that.