# Chapter 21
Yeomin only packed a few essential items. In truth, he didn’t really need much.
Phone, money. That’s it.
Still, just in case, he grabbed a few decent outfits on his way out. Jiho had parked his car in front of the villa.
Do all chaebol heirs ride attention-seeking cars like this? The red sports car looked completely out of place in this neighborhood.
Yeomin climbed into the passenger seat with difficulty, clutching his crumpled shopping bag.
“Got everything you need?”
Seol Jiho had been smiling brightly since earlier—either because he was that excited or because he found Yeomin’s current state amusing.
He seemed to be in a very good mood.
“Put on your seatbelt. Want me to do it for you?”
“I can manage.”
Yeomin struggled to fasten his seatbelt by himself. Then, examining the almost brand-new interior, he asked:
“Is this your regular car?”
“I usually take a different one to school, but today was urgent.”
Ah, so he has more than one car? Yeomin didn’t even have the energy to be surprised anymore.
“I’m hungry…”
Yeomin mumbled out loud without realizing it. He hadn’t properly eaten a single meal today. Now that his mind was clearing a bit, hunger was hitting him along with the hangover.
“We should get you something to eat quickly.”
Jiho immediately started the car. The vehicle smoothly navigated out of the alley without any issues.
Yeomin asked a belated question.
“But why did you come to this neighborhood? Were you able to move around freely this whole time? I really thought you were being held captive somewhere.”
“Haha. So hyung was actually hoping I was imprisoned?”
“…”
He couldn’t deny it.
‘You do deserve to be punished a bit.’
Yeomin swallowed those words. After all, in this situation, Jiho was his only golden lifeline.
Jiho explained.
“I left something at your place, so I came to get it.”
“Then you should take it while you’re here.”
Did Seol Jiho leave something behind? What if it was something expensive? What if it got damaged from the rain? Yeomin was worried.
Yeomin made a fuss, telling him to turn the car around. But Jiho continued driving calmly and replied:
“I am taking it with me right now.”
“Hey, you don’t mean…”
Please tell me the answer I’m thinking of is wrong, please?
“It’s you, hyung.”
“You’re insane.”
So he still hasn’t come to his senses. You should have been locked up…
Yeomin couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh. He had no energy to laugh at such nonsense.
“Sit comfortably.”
“What if I get the seat wet?”
“It’s fine.”
“No, I’m more comfortable like this.”
Afraid of damaging the expensive leather with his wet clothes, Yeomin sat with his back not touching the seat as they headed toward some unknown destination.
During the drive, Yeomin glanced sideways at Jiho while he was driving.
He looked perfectly dry and fluffy. Like someone who hadn’t been touched by a single drop of rain. His neat appearance suggested he would smell like fabric softener.
“…”
Looking at him created a sense of disconnect. The Seol Jiho currently gripping the steering wheel seemed impossible to reconcile with the Seol Jiho who had been mooching off him and eating ramen at his place.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. Just drive.”
“When you look at me like that, I get nervous and can’t focus on driving. What if we have an accident?”
“I’m not looking, you crazy bastard.”
Just drive properly, please. Jiho reassured the nagging Yeomin.
“And don’t worry about your place. I’ll have someone fix it up properly. Or maybe this is a good opportunity to move altogether?”
“I need somewhere to move to in order to move.”
“Why don’t you have a place? We’re going there right now.”
“That’s… just temporarily imposing on your hospitality out of necessity.”
“Let’s see when we get there. I’m sure you’ll like it, hyung.”
Are you joking? Even without seeing it, I already like it. As Joo Yeomin, now a disaster victim, I’d be grateful just to have a floor to lie on.
Yeomin just wanted to get somewhere quickly and rest.
* * *
Perhaps we unconsciously think of “chaebols” as quite familiar beings.
It makes sense, right? They’re all over TV dramas. The villain is a chaebol. The male lead is a chaebol. The secondary female lead is a chaebol. The final boss is a chaebol. It’s a world that consumes chaebols like celebrities.
Joo Yeomin had watched many such dramas when he was younger. The family home in Cheongdam-dong, the mansion in Seongbuk-dong…
So he had probably been expecting what Jiho’s home would be like based on a database acquired from dramas.
He’d even been preparing to politely greet Seol Jiho’s parents with, “Hello, I’m Jiho’s senior from school.”
“…”
But the place Yeomin arrived at was a penthouse. One without a butler or helper opening the door, or scary chairman parents welcoming him.
Yeomin was bewildered. Why… is there an elevator inside the house?
When they got out of the residents-only elevator, they were directly inside the home. It was truly a culture shock.
“This is your home?”
“I suppose so, for the time being.”
“…For the time being?”
“It originally belonged to my uncle, but I took it from him.”
“So you’re saying you live here alone?”
“Of course not. I’ll be living with you, hyung.”
Could you not answer with such a shy tone…?
Yeomin felt disgruntled at Jiho’s beaming response. However, his attention was quickly drawn to examining the house.
Overall, the interior was modern like a hotel. Besides that, there was an eye-catching TV, game consoles, and tasteful decorative items placed throughout.
A chaebol’s house wasn’t as old-fashioned as Yeomin’s impoverished imagination had expected.
When Jiho pressed a button on the remote, all the curtains in the house opened simultaneously, and the kitchen lights came on at once.
“I sent away all the staff because I thought they might make you uncomfortable. There’s only you and me here.”
“You don’t happen to have maids and such, do you…?”
“Do you need them? If you want, I can call them back.”
‘Seol Jiho really is a gold spoon kid. No, an ultra-premium diamond big magnum spoon…’
“No, it’s fine.”
Yeomin waved his hands dismissively. Just then, growl- a loud noise came from Yeomin’s stomach.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t had either hangover soup or a proper meal. Now that the tension was easing, hunger was taking over.
Jiho was quick to notice.
“Go wash up first. Then we’ll eat.”
“Uh…”
“If you don’t know how to use something while washing up, just call me.”
How could someone not know how to wash up? Yeomin scoffed at the absurd statement and turned away.
But he didn’t know where the bathroom was. There were too many doors.
“I’ll show you.”
Jiho guided the lost and wandering Yeomin to the bathroom.
There were so many rooms and doors that it would be difficult to memorize their locations in one go. He might actually get lost inside the house.
“There’s a bathrobe in the bathroom, so wear that. And new underwear inside too.”
“Uh… thanks.”
Jiho acted as naturally as if he’d known Yeomin would be coming here.
Maybe it was because he’d become more suspicious after the recent betrayal.
Yeomin was too cold, hungry, and uncomfortable to think complicated thoughts, so he immediately dashed into the bathroom.
He wanted to wash away this uncomfortable and depressing feeling with hot water as quickly as possible.
The bathroom he entered was enormous. The bathtub was spacious enough to swim in.
Yeomin pressed a button out of curiosity and was startled by the bubbles that began to rise and froth.
“I could live in this bathroom.”
Yeomin almost fell asleep in the tub. It was just too cozy…
After throwing in various bath products and body washes and soaking himself, his entire body became relaxed.
As he was soaking until his body was thoroughly warmed, there was a knock from outside. The sound seemed distant because the bathroom was so large.
“The food is getting cold. You didn’t fall asleep, did you?”
“I’ll be right out!”
Yeomin hurriedly rinsed off the bubbles covering his body. He put on the feather-soft bathrobe and dried his hair with a luxurious towel.
The bathroom sink was wide enough for three men to stand at, and the shelf was filled with various razors, skincare products, and hair products.
Although he normally didn’t put anything on his face, seeing all the products made him feel like he should use them. Yeomin squeezed what looked like skin toner onto his hand and splashed it generously on his face.
‘This is how they do it in commercials, right?’
Standing in this luxurious bathroom wearing a bathrobe and washing his face with toner, he really felt like the male lead in a drama.
Though in reality, he was more like a freeloader in the male lead’s house. But that role wasn’t so bad either.
“How did Seol Jiho even survive in our place?”
Thinking about his cramped studio apartment bathroom that could barely fit one man… it was amazing how Jiho had endured it.
What reason could he have had for disliking his home enough to endure that bathroom? Just as Yeomin was beginning to wonder—
Growl- his stomach rumbled loudly in the bathroom.
“Let’s eat first and think later.”
Appetite always wins over curiosity.
Yeomin patted his face to help absorb the toner and left the bathroom. The food smell coming from outside intensified his hunger even more.
