“You know your mom can’t cook, right? She’s been preparing since the crack of dawn, and this time it actually tastes good. Try some.”
Cha Ihyun looked at the table laden with food. There was a lot of it. Thinking they could finish it all if Cha Dobum ate with them, his gaze instinctively drifted toward Cha Dobum’s door.
“Go ahead.”
But under the gazes looking at him with such warmth, Cha Ihyun eventually picked up his spoon.
The food was delicious. The side dishes, seasoned without being overstimulating, were warm and soft without a single cold item. Even Cha Ihyun, who usually picked at his food, didn’t put down his chopsticks for quite a long time, and casual, everyday conversation flowed continuously over the table.
As the meal was coming to an end, Cha Yunjae and Jeong Sieun piled presents onto the table.
“Even when I want to buy you things you need, you never tell us anything.”
“We just walked around the department store together and picked things out. No matter what, we couldn’t beat Minhyun’s present though.”
There were shopping bags full of laptops, phones, sneakers, and clothes. With presents filling even the floor due to lack of space, Cha Ihyun finally burst into laughter.
“I keep telling you it’s too much. When am I ever going to use all this?”
“Why couldn’t you use it? You’ll have lots of occasions to dress up after graduation. The more clothes, the better.”
Warmed by the overflowing affection, Cha Ihyun smiled broadly.
At first, when he came to this house, all of this felt burdensome. He tried to return what he received, but only got scolded. They said the youngest is supposed to only receive.
Now he could accept this affection, but Cha Ihyun actually knew. Part of the reason they took such excessive care of him was out of pity for a child who had lost his parents. They were warmhearted people who regularly donated to orphanages anyway.
His heart, which had grown lonely from studying abroad, seemed to warm up again. Then Big Aunt gently asked.
“I’ll ask one last time. Is there really nothing you want?”
It felt like he’d been hearing this question particularly often this year. Cha Ihyun shook his head.
“If I think of something later. I really don’t have anything right now.”
“When is later?”
“Um, after I go to university? If I need something, I’ll tell you right away.”
As he laughed and brushed it off, he widened his eyes at the subtly stiffened atmosphere.
“Next year.”
Big Aunt’s voice trembled slightly at the end. She composed her voice and lifted the corners of her mouth.
“You have to tell us next year, okay?”
It was a voice that somehow sounded sad. The two embraced each other’s shoulders and smiled. It was a sight he often saw normally, but now it looked as if they were facing a separation.
Cha Ihyun sent his gaze to Cha Minhyun. At his look asking why they were acting like this, Cha Minhyun covered his mouth and mouthed the words.
Study abroad.
In that moment, he understood their reaction. They seemed to want to give him a big present before sending him to study abroad.
Honestly, really. Those two.
He was going to come back anyway, yet they were reacting like that. They seemed to have softer hearts than him, Cha Ihyun thought with a smile.
The family dinner ended harmoniously as always.
Returning to his room, Cha Ihyun set down the bundle of presents on the floor. Even though it was covered with fancy gifts, being alone quietly in his room made him feel slightly, just slightly empty. He received loud celebrations every birthday, but the more he did, the more he couldn’t help thinking about his parents. It seemed worse because he tried not to show it.
Cha Ihyun sat at his desk and took out a postcard. After finishing dinner on his birthday and returning to his room, he always wrote a letter to his parents. He thought it would be good for both him writing it and his parents reading it if he wrote when he was happiest. And he always brought these letters on his parents’ death anniversary.
As he wrote about the surprise birthday party, the study abroad talk, and how Cha Dobum didn’t attend today, the letter naturally led to the incident of Cha Dobum dropping out.
…I feel bad because it seems like it’s because of me.
Big Aunt and Big Uncle seem a bit indifferent to Cha Dobum… Ah, this is a secret!
Anyway, Cha Dobum needs to come to his senses. What on earth is he trying to become?
Cha Ihyun stopped his pen and asked himself.
Right. What on earth would Cha Dobum become?
While I’m taking entrance exams and going to study abroad, is Cha Dobum just going to go around meeting girls like that?
No matter how well-off the family was, this didn’t seem right. If no one was going to advise Cha Dobum, then he had to take on that role. They were family, and Cha Dobum’s dropping out was somewhat his responsibility too.
Cha Ihyun looked at the bookshelf. The bread he’d brought from the school store was still piled up like a mountain. Should he bring that bread next time and try talking to him? It was strangely odd that even though they lived in the same house, he couldn’t readily cross that door.
Is he still busy…?
As Cha Ihyun was fiddling with his lips, he jerked his hand away at a ding sound. His phone screen was glowing.
Cha Dobum Did you check your birthday present?
As soon as he saw those three syllables “Cha Dobum,” he immediately picked up his phone. But after seeing the message, he curled his lips as if to say “when did I?”
What birthday present? You didn’t even eat with me.
The grumbling that resembled hurt feelings led to a sulky reply.
?
Cha Dobum ㅋㅋ Haven’t looked yet?
Cha Dobum Check under your blanket
Blanket? Cha Ihyun approached the bed suspiciously. The moment he thoughtlessly pulled back the blanket, a stifled scream escaped through his teeth.
A cat—that black cat Cha Dobum called Ggumdungi—was sleeping on his bed.
Did he really bring it for him to raise? Does he even have a brain or not?! First, first he had to take it out. However, he couldn’t figure out how to pick up this tiny living creature.
As if seeing his two hands hesitating in the air, his phone rang cheerfully once more.
Cha Dobum I fed it until its belly was about to burst so it’ll be quiet
ㄴ Are you really crazy? Come get it right now
Cha Dobum Just hang out together for tonight ㅋㅋ Can’t stay with the Princess long anyway because of the fur
Cha Dobum I’ll come get it in the morning ^^
Just as Cha Dobum said, Ggumdungi was sleeping soundly with no signs of waking up. It was the same even when Cha Ihyun froze in place and watched for several minutes. Even when he approached the bedside and crouched down on the floor, the ball of fluff remained quiet.
Cha Dobum I washed it so don’t be mean and call it dirty
Come to think of it, Ggumdungi’s fur was fluffy. The appearance of an obvious stray cat had completely disappeared.
Cha Ihyun laid his upper body on the mattress. As he quietly stared at the small belly moving up and down, he suddenly thought it might be hot with all that fur. He felt reassured after turning the fan on low speed toward it.
With someone else’s breathing—not his own—audible in his usually quiet room, he felt strange. Even though he’d lost his bed and was crouched down, he wasn’t uncomfortable at all. Rather, his eyes closed on their own.
His first birthday present was one he couldn’t even touch and would disappear in a few hours, but it still seemed like it would remain in his memory for a long time.
***
At the ticklish sensation on his cheek, Cha Ihyun frowned.
Ggumdungi, who had come close at some point, had its bottom pressed right against his arm. Despite being so small, the body heat where they touched was warm.
Motor sound…
The rumbling sound was exactly the same as when it was clinging to Cha Dobum’s shoulder. Cha Ihyun desperately swallowed a sneeze and shifted his position as his legs grew numb.
He heard sounds of someone beyond the door. For a moment he thought it was Cha Dobum, but the quiet sound like trees swaying in the breeze was his hyung’s presence. More than anything, the only one going out at this dawn was his hyung. He’d heard recently that hyung was even doing case studies helping a professor.
The sound of footsteps brushing the floor stopped in front of the door. Cha Ihyun held his breath without realizing it.
“Ihyun-ah.”
Worried that Ggumdungi’s motor sound might be heard, Cha Ihyun made a “mmm” sound and rustled as if tossing in his sleep. But he immediately regretted it.
What if he thinks I answered and opens the door to come in? I didn’t lock it…!
His heart pounded. In the past, he would have wished for his hyung to open that door even once, come in and pat his head before leaving, but now he hoped that door wouldn’t open.
A small laugh came from beyond the door.
“Hyung’s heading out.”
Fortunately, he seemed to think he was asleep. Cha Ihyun pricked up his ears until the sound of footsteps disappeared down the stairs. Only after faintly hearing the sound of the front door opening and closing did he relax and sit up.
Meow. Ggumdungi cried, seeming displeased at having its cool cushion stolen.
“Just wait a moment.”
Cha Dobum said he’d come get it in the morning, but to avoid running into Big Aunt and Big Uncle, now was the right time.
Cha Ihyun pulled on a zip-up hoodie. It was the largest garment he owned, so it seemed like it would be enough even with Ggumdungi inside. He struggled for a while as the body flowed down like some kind of liquid, but he finally succeeded in stuffing Ggumdungi into his chest.
