# Chapter 17
“What are you doing here, hyung?”
As soon as Jiho’s voice was heard, the man quickly rolled up his car window.
The sound of the engine starting could be heard, and within seconds, the car drove away.
“What the hell…”
Yeomin was dumbfounded watching the car flee as if its tail was on fire. Then he grimaced at the pressure he felt on his shoulder.
Jiho was gripping his shoulder while smiling. No, his mouth was smiling but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“Don’t talk to strangers, hyung. It’s dangerous.”
Fuck. Is it more dangerous than living with a suspicious bastard like you?
Yeomin glared at Jiho without responding. But Jiho acted like his usual self. No. Actually, he was a bit more… chilling than usual.
“Why are you so late? Not answering my calls either. I was so worried. Afraid you might meet someone bad.”
Shut up. It’s not easy to meet someone worse than you.
“Jiho.”
“Yes, hyung.”
As always, his response is so prompt. Yeomin got goosebumps from Jiho’s smiling face.
‘Did he smile at me with this face before?’
If so, I must have been possessed or something. To think I considered this predator to be like a puppy.
“I heard you met my sister.”
I don’t have the energy to beat around the bush. Yeomin got straight to the point.
Even with all context cut out, Jiho’s face showed that he understood what Yeomin was talking about.
“Yes. I met her.”
He could at least pretend not to understand. It’s more irritating that he answers right away.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you didn’t ask.”
“So you’re the one who gave the watch to Joo Yeojin.”
“She seemed like she wanted it.”
“What were you thinking while watching me freak out about it being stolen, you psycho bastard?”
Yeomin muttered in rage. Where did the guy who acted like he would bare his soul to Yeomin go?
Jiho answered without blinking an eye.
“I told you. I thought hyung crying was cute.”
“…You crazy bastard.”
“I thought it was cute.”
“You could have told me.”
‘At least that it wasn’t stolen… When I was cursing and resenting my sister, you had countless chances to tell me it wasn’t true.’
But Jiho didn’t. Yeomin had hoped for even a slightly normal, understandable answer, but he seemed to have no intention of making Yeomin understand.
“Why should I?”
“You crazy…”
“You hugged me first. Even though I didn’t hug you.”
“…”
“You even said you trusted me and thanked me, why would I bother with such an explanation?”
At first, I thought he was just a guy with a few screws loose. Maybe someone with attachment issues or separation anxiety. I thought he was like a greenhouse flower, a young master who didn’t know the ways of the world.
But now I see he’s just a twisted, empathy-lacking sociopath. This thing that Joo Yeomin carelessly picked up. It was a very dangerous object.
Jiho held Yeomin’s hand and acted affectionately.
“Your legs must hurt. Let’s go inside.”
Yeomin shook off Jiho’s hand.
“You go in, you bastard.”
He glared at Jiho and turned away. As he walked away, Yeomin regretted it.
He wanted to tell anyone: Please don’t carelessly pick up things.
If you don’t want to end up like me, absolutely, absolutely not.
* * *
Yeomin was at a jjimjilbang near the university. Of course, he had left Jiho behind.
When Jiho tactlessly tried to follow him, Yeomin had glared at him with murderous intent and threatened him.
‘I’ll never come back to the house while you’re there, so just leave.’
After saying something that harsh, he thought Jiho would leave of his own accord, but…
Jiho simply stayed right where he was. As expected, he was someone who had never been equipped with things like courtesy or conscience.
Yeomin decided to treat himself just for today. He planned to use the money he got back from Yeojin, what was left after selling the watch.
At the restaurant inside the jjimjilbang, he ordered cold noodles, maekbanseok eggs, and sikhye.
Is this what paradise feels like? After sweating it out and lying down, he couldn’t be more comfortable.
…Except for the messages coming in with crazy intensity.
[Sundoli: Where did you go]
[Sundoli: Department office?]
[Sundoli: Friend’s house?]
Seeing Jiho’s texts that hadn’t changed even in this situation made reality hit hard.
‘Did I seem so pushover to him that he could take this kind of attitude with me?’
Yeomin made up his mind.
What Joo Yeomin had given to Seol Jiho was his cramped room, not Joo Yeomin’s daily life.
His heart… even less so.
‘I have absolutely no reason to be interrogated by you like this.’
The semester was over anyway. He was thinking of staying here for a while, or even at a nearby motel.
[Sundoli: I was wrong]
[Sundoli: Don’t be angry]
Jiho apologized. But even though it seemed like he was trying to appease him now, judging from the expression Jiho had earlier, Yeomin could tell.
This guy probably doesn’t even know what he did wrong.
‘You hugged me first. Even though I didn’t hug you.’
‘…’
‘You even said you trusted me and thanked me, why would I bother with such an explanation?’
“Damn dog…”
His fists trembled with anger. Yeomin sent one final reply.
[Get lost]
[I’ll come back when you’re gone]
Then he turned his phone off completely. The powered-off phone gave him unprecedented peace of mind.
He hadn’t realized it, but all this time, something had been occupying a corner of his mind. Some kind of… ‘responsibility’ for Seol Jiho.
I was just trying to look out for my own interests, but somehow I ended up showing kindness without realizing it.
You nearly got in big trouble, Joo Yeomin.
* * *
– The phone is turned off and cannot be connected…
Jiho irritably threw his phone. Then he got up from the mattress with the slightly sunken part that was making his back hurt terribly.
It was a room where everything was within reach in one step. Yet the one person who absolutely should be in this house was absent.
To be fair, not a single thing here was to Jiho’s taste.
The fluctuating water temperature, the low sink, the rattling refrigerator, the uncomfortable bed, the noise coming through the window. Everything was uncomfortable and poor quality.
Among all that, only Joo Yeomin was to his taste and interest.
“I already said I was sorry…”
From chewing his lips so much, Jiho’s lips were bleeding. Frustration washed over him.
Giving the watch to Yeomin’s sister had been an action done without much thought.
‘Do you need this? Then take it?’
‘What? Really?’
‘Yes.’
‘I think Yeomin will get mad…’
‘It’s mine so it’s fine. I don’t need it.’
To be honest, he also wanted to see Yeomin shaken.
Since Yeomin only reacts to material things. He wanted to see him anxious in front of him.
What would Joo Yeomin look like when he breaks down? It was a primal curiosity.
“…Hyung.”
Jiho stared at his call log filled with just one name.
Where could he have gone? The PC bang? The department office? Since it’s vacation, he wouldn’t be at school, so maybe he went to Taeyang’s house.
If he had his way, he would search everywhere and bring him back. But,
‘You go in, you bastard.’
Yeomin’s expression when saying those words was so cold that he couldn’t.
Hesitating to be hated. For the Jiho of before, this would have been unimaginable.
Looking at traces of Yeomin left all around the room, Jiho made up his mind.
And he sent messages.
[Okay I’ll leave]
[I’ll pack up and leave soon]
[Can’t we talk before that?]
[I should at least say goodbye]
Pretending to be pitiful. Pretending to be miserable. He was putting on all kinds of acts.
But no response came easily from Yeomin. Truly, it was difficult to enter Yeomin’s heart. Just when he thought the summit was within reach.
“What’s an owner to do, leaving his house empty? When this dog is waiting like this…”
Hugging the cushion that Yeomin always slept on, Jiho muttered.
The night without him was very long.
* * *
The next day, Yeomin woke up feeling refreshed. Sweating in the sauna seemed to have cleared away all his accumulated fatigue.
Of course, as soon as he turned on his phone, his mood quickly soured.
[Sundoli: Okay I’ll go]
[Sundoli: I’ll pack up and leave soon]
[Sundoli: Can’t we talk before that?]
[Sundoli: I should at least say goodbye]
What do I need to talk about with Seol Jiho? Thinking about it, he realized he had nothing to say.
Yeojin sold the watch, and this is all the money left, and I spent another 30,000 won flexing at the jjimjilbang yesterday…
Should I say something like: considering the care I’ve given you, I’ll keep this much as a service fee?
If I’m really going to cut ties with Jiho, this was also an unavoidable task.
As Yeomin was leaving the jjimjilbang, he replied:
[I’m coming now, see you at home]
[Sundoli: I couldn’t sleep at all without you]
[Sundoli: Come quickly I miss you]
Unbelievable. Are you blaming me now?
Yeomin power-walked toward home. The more he walked, the more yesterday’s events felt distant.
‘What good will it do to confront Seol Jiho…’
Joo Yeomin is probably the only person who finds enlightenment in a jjimjilbang.
As he was heading home, Yeomin stopped at the sound of a “HONK!” from a car horn.
“You scared me! What is it?”
It was Manager Cha’s car. The front window rolled down and Manager Cha started bantering:
“Where are you going so early in the morning, Joo Yeomin? And with a face like you stepped in shit.”
“Home.”
“But your skin looks a bit shiny today?”
“I took a bath.”
“Good, keep yourself clean.”
“Are you going to work now, boss?”
“No. I’m actually on my way home. Have you eaten breakfast?”
“No.”
“Then eat before going home.”
“I need to get home right away.”
“I was going to offer you some rice soup for breakfast.”
Manager Cha coolly gestured.
“Get in. I’ll drop you off at your place.”
“Really? Awesome.”
Yeomin quickly got into the passenger seat. It was a walkable distance, but by car it would take just two minutes.
“But why are you at the sauna at the crack of dawn?”
“I slept there.”
“Why, when you have a home?”
“I didn’t want to be at home. Oh, just drop me off up there. The alley is too narrow for cars.”
“No, I’ll take you all the way. Gotta get some credit for it.”
So this is what they call a ‘young boomer,’ huh.
Manager Cha’s car entered the narrow alley.
He asked:
“What are you going to do during the break?”
“I’m thinking of taking on another tutoring job. Need to earn living expenses for next semester.”
“You really live hard, Joo Yeomin.”
Even with all that struggle and saving penny by penny, it’s not enough to buy even the watch hands for Seol Jiho’s wristwatch.
When the car approached his home, Yeomin was startled.
In the student rental area, quiet due to vacation, there was someone completely out of place against the backdrop of the shabby, incongruous villa.
Who else but Seol Jiho, oozing luxury from every pore? Jiho was watching the car in front of the villa.
What’s more, he was wearing Joo Yeomin’s university jacket that was obviously his.
‘I told him to see me at home, why is he outside?’
When Yeomin sighed, the perceptive Manager Cha asked:
“Do you know him? Don’t tell me that friend or whatever is still staying at your place?”
“Yeah.”
“How do two guys live together in that cramped house? Bumping into each other.”
“That’s why I’m kicking him out.”
Yeomin answered meaningfully, then got out of the car.
“Thanks for the ride. Go home, boss.”
After getting out, Yeomin approached Jiho. Soon the sound of Manager Cha’s car driving away was heard.
Jiho’s gaze was fixed not on Yeomin, but on where Manager Cha’s car had disappeared.
“Seol Jiho.”
Only then did Jiho turn to Yeomin, and his expression was incredibly unfamiliar.
To the point where Yeomin wanted to demand: Who are you to make that kind of face?
