# Chapter 120
“Will you live alone?”
“Yes.”
“There are several newly-built places too. But buying would be better than jeonse. The prices aren’t that different.”
“No. I’m only looking for jeonse.”
If he had been planning to buy, he would have definitely asked Song Yeonhwa for help, not come here.
“There aren’t many jeonse properties available these days, but seeing them in person is better than my explanation. Let’s go.”
“Ah, I don’t have time right now. Is tomorrow possible?”
“We’re closed on weekends. Hmm… Monday is fully booked, how about Tuesday afternoon?”
“Yes. How about Tuesday at 2 PM?”
“Okay. I’ll find a few more places and make some calls. Let’s meet Tuesday at 2.”
Mo Eunje left his name and contact information, received a business card, and left the real estate office. Even though he hadn’t committed any crime, he felt guilty thinking about Song Yeonhwa’s affection and dedication in spending her limited time helping him look for places. But he rationalized that this was all because Tae Igyeol’s confession had forced him to urgently find a place, and Song Yeonhwa was too busy, so he had no choice.
He had heard from his mother that a unit on the fourth floor of Ritz Ville would be vacating soon. Although he had coveted that place a month ago, now he wasn’t particularly drawn to it. Of course, if there was a guarantee that his relationship with Tae Igyeol could return to what it was before, he might be the first to rush to sign a contract.
But now, I’m not sure if we can repair our relationship.
It was obvious that unless Tae Igyeol sorted out his feelings, it would be impossible, and Mo Eunje was becoming increasingly unsure. Especially since Tae Igyeol had clearly stated that his feelings couldn’t be resolved.
Lying on the sofa with his head on Tae Igyeol’s thigh watching movies together, giggling over silly conversations, bickering about dinner menus, knowing every detail of each other’s lives as if they were one’s own, staying by each other’s side and taking care of each other, falling asleep and waking up in the same bed, sharing the time given to each other—was it really impossible to be satisfied just continuing like before?
I already miss him so much…
“You said you were buying coffee, but what are you doing standing here like an idiot?”
As Mo Eunje stood dazed, staring at the sky in front of the residents-only entrance door to the officetel, Ban Hajun approached and nudged him. The strong smell of cigarettes suggested he had stopped at the smoking area. The two entered the code and stood together in front of the elevator.
“Quit smoking. What’s so good about something that’s completely harmful?”
“Save those nagging comments for your housekeeper.”
“He doesn’t smell bad even when he smokes.”
“What the hell? Are you saying only I smell bad? I recently switched to the same cigarettes as him, you know?”
“Maybe it’s not the cigarette then. Wash yourself properly, Hajun.”
Mo Eunje gave him a smiling glance and slipped into the open elevator. Ban Hajun, who was preparing to unleash a torrent of curses with his entire face, reluctantly shut his mouth and just glared when other people boarded the elevator too. Mo Eunje pretended not to be with him, standing at a distance in the corner, reading notices posted beside the mirror.
“Sometimes I dislike your detestable self more than cold Tae Igyeol or clueless Gye Minho.”
As soon as they got off the elevator that stopped at the 10th floor, Ban Hajun rapidly spat out what he had been holding in.
“Rweally? But Eunje weally wikes Hajunnie.”
“Want to sleep outdoors tonight?”
“…How petty. What’s with this landlord power trip? What’s wrong with you guys having no sense of humor? Jeez, so uptight.”
Mo Eunje grumbled, glaring at Ban Hajun’s back as he entered the password for unit 1002. At least Tae Igyeol never threatened him about sleeping arrangements while flexing his landlord status. Though he might nag about cleanliness and cleaning, even then he would just verbally complain while doing the work himself.
Until his parents moved away, Mo Eunje hadn’t realized how difficult it would be without a home. The fact that he was responding emotionally to what was usually just playful banter showed that he was emotionally drained.
“Wow, crazy. Mo Eunje’s cleaning skills are insane. The floor looks like it’s shining. Hey? Am I going to slip?”
As soon as he entered the apartment, Ban Hajun slid his feet on the floor, making a fuss. He moved around like he was moonwalking, examining every corner, wiping his finger for dust and blowing on it in front of his nose. In short, he was putting on a real show.
“How can there not be a single speck of dust? Look at how neatly the laundry is hung. As expected, someone who lived with a germaphobe really is different.”
“I’m just naturally good at cleaning, that’s all.”
These were all cleaning techniques learned thanks to Tae Igyeol’s nagging, and despite developing these painstaking cleaning habits, he never cleaned at his family home. But out of pointless pride, he insisted otherwise. However, Ban Hajun wasn’t about to be fooled.
“That’s ridiculous. It’s not like I’ve never been to your room. Where do you get off selling this nonsense? You’re completely different when you’re at your house versus at Tae Igyeol’s, you know?”
“I’m not different at all! I’m naturally neat too!”
Mo Eunje mimicked Ban Hajun’s childish tone with a comical expression, but was met with only mockery.
“Yeah, right. Honestly, my place was cleaner than your room. When I first visited your house, I can’t forget how moved and touched I was to find someone worse than me.”
“Hey, forget about stuff like that quickly. Why remember such useless things?”
Mo Eunje, embarrassed as he recalled what his room used to look like, began organizing the groceries they had bought. Come to think of it, Tae Igyeol, who was obsessively clean, never displayed his germaphobia in Mo Eunje’s room. Despite frequent visits, and despite his personality that would typically compel him to tidy up, he never touched the messy assortment of items sprawled across the desk, or the pile of worn and unworn clothes mixed together. Knowing that Mo Eunje didn’t allow the housekeeper who came twice a week to touch his room, Tae Igyeol must have suppressed his itchy desire to clean everything and been considerate.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat dessert first, then I’ll slowly start making pasta.”
Ban Hajun, after washing his hands, took a sip of vanilla latte, turned on the TV, and sat on the living room sofa, opening the packaging of his cream castella. Not to be outdone, Mo Eunje quickly washed his hands too and sat next to Ban Hajun, fixing his gaze on the uninteresting TV while putting castella in his mouth.
The castella Tae Igyeol had bought from the same café was really delicious, with a fluffy texture that melted softly, but now it just tasted bland. This was peculiar since it wasn’t even made in-house but supplied to the store, so it should have tasted exactly the same.
“…”
How every little thing naturally led back to thoughts of Tae Igyeol was truly maddening, infuriating, and driving him crazy.
&
The long and tedious weekend passed in an eerily quiet manner. As expected, there was no contact from Mo Eunje, and Tae Igyeol had no intention of giving up his feelings. Mo Eunje had left the house in the early hours between Thursday and Friday, so if Tae Igyeol endured just a few more days, Mo Eunje might at least stop by. Having left with nothing and being unable to bear inconveniencing others, it wasn’t in his nature to impose on Ban Hajun’s home for more than a week.
Monday morning, Tae Igyeol took a taxi to the hospital for outpatient treatment. Since it wouldn’t work on Mo Eunje anymore, having the cast was meaningless and just annoying, so he asked to have it removed. Whether he couldn’t use his arm due to the cast restricting movement, or due to pain making movement uncomfortable, the constraint on his activities would be the same for the time being. After removing the cast to shower, honestly, it felt fine, as if it had completely healed. But the attending physician said it needed at least one more week, and if it was severely uncomfortable, they could remove the cast on Friday, so they just changed the bandage.
After finishing the examination, Tae Igyeol got on the elevator without thinking. As the elevator stopped at each floor, it filled with people, and Tae Igyeol, pressing himself against the corner to avoid even brushing against someone’s clothes, regretted not using the emergency stairs.
In the elevator that repeatedly stopped and continued its descent, someone timidly tapped his cast with slender fingers. When he turned his head, the first person whose eyes he met was a manager from Ila Actors. After giving a slight nod in greeting and turning his gaze, he saw a person next to the manager wearing a hat pulled down so low their eyes weren’t visible, and a mask. If he hadn’t known that the manager was in charge of Shin Dael, he wouldn’t have realized this person was Shin Dael. Since he hadn’t paid attention, he didn’t even know which floor they had boarded on.
“How did you injure your arm?”
When people were rushing out at the second floor, the manager asked casually.
“Just happened somehow.”
“It must be hard to drive with that arm. You didn’t bring your car, right?”
“No. I came by taxi.”
“Come with us in our car. We’re going that way anyway, so we’ll give you a ride.”
“Yes, Igyeol. Let’s chat at the practice room.”
Just as he was about to decline, not seeing any reason to accept the favor, Shin Dael chimed in with a small voice. She seemed cautious, afraid that the few people remaining in the elevator might recognize her. Tae Igyeol nodded, thinking it might also help clear his complicated mind, and the three of them got off together at the underground parking level.
When the manager pressed the smart key, the company’s business sedan made a cute sound and blinked its lights. Since they were visiting a hospital, it seemed they had left behind the Starcraft van that Shin Dael usually rode to schedules, trying not to attract attention.
“Ride in the back seat with Dael comfortably.”
The manager suggested to Tae Igyeol while opening the back door for Shin Dael. Tae Igyeol didn’t recall the manager opening car doors before, but feeling that today the manager was taking especially good care of Shin Dael, he went around to the opposite side and got into the back seat.
