# Chapter 129
As Mo Eunje got out of the taxi that had stopped in front of the main entrance on the first floor of Ritz Ville, the first thing he saw was a moving company truck. Two employees wearing vests with the moving company’s name were busily unloading items. It seemed a new tenant was moving in to the 4th floor that was supposed to be vacant.
When he tried to enter the lobby, he found that the glass door of the common entrance was fixed open, and the elevator, which had stopped at the 4th floor, showed no sign of coming down. Even if it did come down, it would likely be packed with the moving items just unloaded from the truck, so Mo Eunje quickly resigned himself to the situation and casually began climbing the stairs one by one.
After passing the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor, with about half left to the 4th floor, his breathing became labored. He thought his physical stamina was relatively good, but his lack of exercise was showing.
“Oh? Novelist-nim, hello.”
It was when he had one last step left before reaching the 4th floor. A face that was familiar yet different from what he’d seen before greeted him with an unfamiliar appearance. It was partly due to the large, boxy outfit that covered her body like a blanket, but especially because of the hat pulled down low—if she hadn’t greeted him first, he would have passed by without realizing it was Shin Dael.
“Hello. Are you moving in here, Actress Shin?”
“Yes. Thanks to Igyeol, I was able to move into unit 401.”
“I see…”
Honestly, Mo Eunje felt a bit hurt that Song Yeonhwa hadn’t contacted him even though unit 401 was vacant, knowing how much he had wanted to move into Ritz Ville. In the end, he probably would have decided against moving in after careful consideration even if she had contacted him, but he thought she would at least have given him a heads-up.
But since Shin Dael had said “thanks to Igyeol,” Mo Eunje could guess that his influence had played a role, which roughly explained why there had been no contact from Song Yeonhwa. Furthermore, even though it was half-hidden by her hat, Shin Dael’s face looked terrible, suggesting that there must have been some circumstances that led to her being given unit 401. After all, Tae Igyeol, who was almost cruelly disinterested in others’ affairs, still had a soft spot for those in his inner circle.
“Ah, because of the moving items, the elevator… I’m sorry, you must have been tired walking up the stairs all the way here.”
“It’s nothing. It’s not that many floors. It’s good exercise at times like this. But are you leaving while they’re moving your things in?”
“I was just coming out after telling my manager oppa about the furniture arrangement because I have a headache. I heard there’s a resting area on the first floor, so I was going to rest there a bit.”
“The coffee vending machine in the lounge is free. Having a sweet coffee and replenishing your sugar might help ease your headache a bit.”
In normal circumstances, he would have gone up to Tae Igyeol’s place to get headache medicine for her or gone down to the first floor with her to chat, but he had his own problems to deal with. Having come to confront Tae Igyeol, he couldn’t afford to waste even a little energy and needed to maintain full battle readiness. Even with thorough preparation, his chances of winning against Tae Igyeol, who had kept his feelings for over ten years and even confessed, were slim.
“Um, I was planning to contact you after I finished moving in and organizing my place.”
“Yes. For what reason…”
“If you’d be interested, I was thinking we could actually start a book club.”
“A book club? That sounds great. Minho would like it too. But due to personal circumstances, I can’t right now. Would it be okay if we coordinate dates later on?”
“I’ll be busy organizing my things for a while too. Let’s start when it’s convenient for you, Novelist-nim.”
“Alright. Good luck finishing your move, and I’ll see you next time.”
Mo Eunje smiled slightly, gave a light bow, and continued up the stairs. After climbing about three steps, he glanced down and saw Shin Dael going down the stairs.
“…”
Judging by the fact that she had moved into the lower floor, it seemed that, regardless of what Mo Eunje might think, Shin Dael was probably someone with a more special meaning to Tae Igyeol than just another actress from Ila Actors. The fact that Tae Igyeol’s arm bent inward meant that Shin Dael was someone who had entered his territory. Even knowing clearly where Tae Igyeol’s heart was directed, Mo Eunje felt an uncomfortable emotion blooming. Before the petty and ridiculous jealousy could reveal itself, he shook his head and continued up the stairs.
In front of the door to unit 501, Mo Eunje took a solemn deep breath, gathered his emotions, and reorganized his thoughts. After briefly hesitating whether to press the doorbell or enter the password, he extended his finger. As he was about to touch each number that he used to press habitually, he remembered the day they had set a new password.
Originally, Tae Igyeol’s door password was a meaningless six-digit number that Mo Eunje could never remember. Moreover, there wasn’t a single repeated digit, which made it even harder to remember and confusing. He had written it down in his phone’s notes, but it was inconvenient to look it up every time, so he often ended up pressing the doorbell. Perhaps tired of opening the door for Mo Eunje, who came and went frequently, Tae Igyeol undertook changing the password after just a few days.
‘Tell me all the numbers you have memorized.’
‘My birthday, your birthday, my ID number, your ID number, my phone number, your phone number.’
‘What else?’
‘Our house password. That’s all. You know I’m not good with numbers.’
‘Haah… Fine, do as you please.’
The moment Tae Igyeol gave his permission, the first number Mo Eunje thought of was his own birthday. He couldn’t use the latter part of his ID number or phone number because it somehow felt uncomfortable, and the home password, which was his parents’ wedding anniversary, didn’t seem appropriate.
But when he tried to set his birthday, it felt too simple. On the other hand, using Tae Igyeol’s birthday seemed like it would make the homeowner think he was stupid and pathetic. There was only one option left, and Mo Eunje changed the password without a moment’s hesitation. At that time, his shoulders had risen high with the thought that he was quite clever.
041718*
As he pressed each number firmly, the lock released with a sound, and the door opened. He suddenly realized how unusual it was to be allowed to set the password of someone’s home, regardless of how close they were as friends or like family. It was different from knowing each other’s family home passwords.
He had heard that very close friends shared their apartment passwords, but that was merely a matter of being given and memorizing a password set by the homeowner. No matter how frequently a friend visited, it was rare for that friend to change the password themselves.
Moreover, the password Mo Eunje had set for Tae Igyeol’s home wasn’t known to any of his family members. The simple and private combination was a number shared secretly by only two people: Tae Igyeol and Mo Eunje.
Mo Eunje sprayed himself with the sanitizer at the entrance and stepped inside. The first thing that caught his eye was a hundred roses that had faded elegantly and luxuriously. The flower basket that Tae Iden had gifted, which had been placed next to it, was gone. Tae Igyeol had clearly thrown it away, revealing his nasty temperament because it had withered a little.
But the house was strangely quiet. He wondered if Tae Igyeol might not be home. As always, there was only one pair of slippers at the entrance that he wore when going out to nearby places. Since he immediately put his shoes in the shoe rack when coming home, and since there were so many shoes that it was impossible to know how many pairs there were even if he opened the shoe rack, Mo Eunje couldn’t guess whether Tae Igyeol was out based on the shoes alone.
Wondering if he might be taking a nap after taking medicine, Mo Eunje checked the bedroom first. As he entered the clean and tidy bedroom, he heard the sound of a shower from inside. Confirming that Tae Igyeol was showering, there was no need to look further, so he went back to the living room and sat on the sofa.
As soon as he sat on the sofa, the comfort remembered by his body automatically made him start to lie down, but he caught himself and raised his half-reclined body. Come to think of it, he had spent most of his time in this house lying on the sofa with his head on Tae Igyeol’s thigh.
“…”
It was truly ridiculous. While he had rejected Tae Igyeol’s feelings, bringing up mere friendship as an excuse, he had constantly taken positions that only lovers would, regardless of day or night, under the pretext of closeness. Before justifying his own feelings, he should have examined what intentions Tae Igyeol had when accommodating such boundary-crossing behavior, but because he had closed his eyes to the fundamental issue, this situation had arisen.
The person who had been immersed in a pseudo-romantic game under the guise of a special and unique friendship was not Tae Igyeol, but Mo Eunje himself.
Startled by the intense realization that could no longer be ignored, Mo Eunje abruptly stood up. With this mindset, he would be easily swayed when facing Tae Igyeol, which put him at a disadvantage. He thought he had come fully prepared, but he was wrong. First, he needed to leave this house.
“…Eunje.”
But as luck would have it, at that moment, Tae Igyeol emerged wearing a robe, and their eyes met without any chance to escape. His eyes held a mixture of joy and a hint of surprise. He seemed to have been diligent about his hospital visits, as the plaster cast that had been wrapping his right arm was no longer visible.
“Your cast… is off.”
“Yeah.”
“Is your arm okay?”
“No, it’s not. They told me not to exercise yet, so it’s uncomfortable and frustrating.”
Judging that escape was impossible, Mo Eunje flopped back down on the sofa. Until his injury, Tae Igyeol had practically lived at the gym and fitness center as if addicted to exercise, so it must have been incredibly frustrating to be confined at home due to an arm that caused discomfort even in daily activities.
“Are you coming back?”
“No.”
“Come back. If you don’t want it, I can’t do anything to you. So stop avoiding me now.”
“The problem isn’t that you can’t do anything.”
“When you left like that and didn’t contact me… I felt like I was dying.”
Tae Igyeol approached Mo Eunje and sat down on the floor in front of him. Reflexively, Mo Eunje’s feet twitched as if to move, but he carefully held onto his reason and kept his position. However, despite his efforts, Tae Igyeol wrapped his broad palm around Mo Eunje’s ankle and placed it on his own thigh. The indescribable comfort and sense of security it brought were enough to bring tears to his eyes.
