Chapter 2.4
He fed me, gave me a place to sleep, bought me a phone, and he even handed me his credit card. Even a volunteer worker could not do this much.
Hearing the question I blurted out in anger, Yeon Woojeong looked at me obliquely. His gaze scanned over me. He didn’t even try to hide his gaze going down from my eyes, to my nose, and to my lips.
“I received help in the past. I try to repay that, but… I was told to repay it to the next, and to the next. And so, you’re that next one.”
The dry voice scattered like a breath. He looked like someone who couldn’t speak to the point. Or maybe, he was someone who could only speak to the point.
I felt like I understood his story, but I didn’t want to know it. Because I didn’t really understand, I wanted to know. The plastic bag in my hand rustled.
“I walked my way, but you were there, and I…”
“…”
“It was the first time in my life seeing someone as beautiful as you.”
When I creased my forehead, Yeon Woojeong slanted his lips up. Unlike his lips, his eyes curved leisurely. My heart bubbled up. I wanted to wreck his smiling face. However, I couldn’t think of any method to make that happen, and while I was stunned like that, Yeon Woojeong turned back first.
As the handle of the plastic bag was divided into two, I held it on one side, and he held it on the other side. I followed him quietly.
“She must be still cleaning.”
Just like what Yeon Woojeong said, the employee was still cleaning his bedroom. I walked past them, who greeted each other, to the kitchen.
After organizing the groceries, I went to the living room. Yeon Woojeong sat on the sofa like a playboy with two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. I had nowhere to go, so I had no choice but to stay here, therefore I sat away from him.
“Ah, I’m tired.”
Yeon Woojeong laid down on the sofa. His toes were close to touching my thigh. I was on guard, so they didn’t touch, but the toes reached me. I was annoyed, but it’d be ridiculous if I avoided it, so I just stayed still. However, as time passed, it felt like the skin of the touched part heated, so I moved to the side enough for them to be unable to reach me.
He suddenly lifted his head and smirked. When I glared at him, he put down his head back on the sofa, and wriggled his toes, driving me crazy.
“What did you do?”
“…”
“Don’t you get bored because you have nothing to do?”
“…”
“Tell me if you need anything. Or you can buy it yourself. I already told you that this is my first time picking someone, so I can’t be perfect.”
The employee quickly moved, leaving Yeon Woojeong’s bedroom and going up to the second floor. She quickly went down, perhaps because there was nothing to clean on the second floor. As there was a sign she was leaving, Yeon Woojeong, who was lying down arrogantly, raised up his body.
“I’ll leave the shirt nearby as usual.”
“Yes, good work today.”
“It’s nothing. Ah, did you leave the laundry under the sofa on purpose?”
The moment Yeon Woojeong lowered his head to look under the sofa, I remembered that I left my underwear there. The fever rose in my head. After raising his head, Yeon Woojeong’s gaze landed on me for a second.
“Ah, yeah.”
“I thought so, so I didn’t touch it. Then, I’ll be leaving now.”
“Yeah, see you next time.”
Yeon Woojeong sent off the employee. I somewhat couldn’t move. It was not an embarrassing thing at all, but humiliation enveloped me for some reason.
The slow steps returned.
“There’s a wardrobe on the second floor. I think it’s better to bring in a bed, right? We— there is a lot for us to do.”
He stared at me, then went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. After taking out a lunch box, he looked back at me.
“Let’s eat.”
I wasn’t standing up. I was hungry, but I didn’t want to eat here. It was ridiculous to eat something I made by myself when Yeon Woojeong declared he would not eat what I made, but I also didn’t want to take and ate his lunch box. It had been a long time since we ate face to face because he kept working overtime, so I tried to picture eating with him, but I felt like it was better to eat later.
As I show no sign of getting up, I felt an intense gaze. Even when the microwave let out a sound, noticing it was done, Yeon Woojeong did’t move. The microwave let out a sound again. I ignored that and looked at the black TV. When I put my hands inside my pocket, there was me who looked somehow sulky there.
“You’re not eating?”
“…”
“You make me feel lonely.”
I turned my head at that nonsense. There was a coy smile blooming on his lips. He acted very shamelessly even after saying nonsense.
“Are you telling me to eat alone now? Why should I eat alone when there’s you here?”
“What nonsense are you talking about when you’ve been living alone until now?”
“That’s how it works. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Until when are you going to talk nonsense?”
“Until you eat.”
He didn’t even feel upset or sad, but he played with me. The microwave let out a sound again. I finally got up because I hated to hear that.
He cozily leaned his back on the chair. It would take time to cook the rice, so my turn would come once Yeon Woojeong emptied his lunch box. I took out the lunch box from the microwave and put it in front of Yeon Woojeong, then I opened the rice bag.
While I washed the rice and put it in the rice cooker, Yeon Woojeong didn’t touch the lunch box. He should just eat. It irked me that he kept staring every time I moved. It would take time for the rice to cook, and I had no plan to absentmindedly stand in front of Yeon Woojeong, so I went to the bathroom.
As I entered this place, I remembered the clothes I had taken off before leaving. I put it on the shelf, but looking that they were not here, I wondered if the cleaning employee washed it up. I went to the laundry room, and they were spread on the drying rack. There were no clothes to wear but this. I could sleep wearing the clothes I was wearing now, but I was reminded of the robe Yeon Woojeong wore after washing up.
I went back to the bathroom and washed my body. I believed Yeon Woojeong must be eating by now. All his bath products smelled soft. They also smelled light, so there would be no smell left after washing up.
After washing up, I dried my hair and took out a robe from the cabinet. I suddenly realized that I didn’t bring my underwear, so I tied the knot firmly.
Leaving the bathroom, I walked to the sofa, but I stopped because I felt a gaze. Yeon Woojeong still left the lunch box untouched in front of him.
“Why are you naked?”
He scanned me from the head to the toe. He really didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding the direction of his gaze. He likewise wears it every day, but if I wear it, I’m naked? The slow and persistent gaze felt like stripping me off. My toes were numb, but I ignored it and opened the rice cooker, which was emitting steam in the kitchen.
After stirring the rice, I put oil in the frying pan. I thought it was funny to move as if this was my house, but Yeon Woojeong said to just do as I liked.
I took out a canned ham, cut it, then cook it. After both sides turned yellow, I moved it to the plate. As I put the steaming rice and the ham on the table, Yeon Woojeong finally held his chopsticks. Even though it was clearly already cooled down, he didn’t think of warming it up. Is that annoying for him? Looking at the lunch book that looks tasteless, I spooned the warm rice to my mouth.
“We have to buy clothes too, don’t we?”
Yeon Woojeong asked while looking somewhere under my face. Yeon Woojeong’s chopsticks that held the food move to his mouth on rote. He looked like someone eating objects, not food.
We ate without talking for a while. When my bowl was near empty, I lifted my eyes because I felt Yeon Woojeong was staring at me. He put a meatball from the lunch box on the plate. Then, he took a slice of ham.
When our eyes met, Yeon Woojeong smiled.
“You said you won’t eat?”
“We’re trading.”
“I never said I want to do that.”
“This tastes good, though.”
He glanced at the meatball and ate the ham he took. He chewed as if savoring it, but he didn’t look like he knew what it tasted like. I looked down at the meatball covered in sauce.
I didn’t want to eat that. Likewise, I felt like I was losing to him if I ate that. But, I was curious because he said it’s tasty. While I stared at the meatball, my boiling heart slowly calmed down. I stabbed it with the chopsticks, then put it in my mouth. It tasted good.