The 3rd floor was where rooms assigned mostly to upperclassmen were located. The cleaning supervisor sitting in the lobby waved cheerfully when Sangho came up the stairs. In front of the cleaning supervisor sat a man with his back turned. Sangho quickly approached the supervisor and greeted him politely.
“Oh, Sangho-ssi. This is the TA in charge of Building B. He’s about to graduate but does TA work too? If there’s anything special, this person will contact you.”
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
“Hello.”
‘Wow.’
Sangho looked up at the man who quickly stood up to greet him. He hadn’t seemed that tall sitting down, but he was a tall student with a fine stature. He’d heard that sometimes high-achieving upperclassmen among the seniors took on TA positions, and he seemed to be a fairly top-ranked student in Computer Science.
The man gave off a sharp, intelligent atmosphere. He’d heard that engineering students all wore checkered shirts. The man in a black t-shirt and jeans had sharp eyes with jet-black pupils that gave the feeling of finely crafted obsidian. A prominently raised nose ridge continued sharply, and a thin, refined jawline finished with lips that seemed unlikely to easily show emotion. How should I put it, he was a person who suited the expression ‘perfect.’
When Sangho, feeling somewhat intimidated, showed an awkward smile, the man who had been standing motionless extended his hand and said.
“I’m Nam Dohyun.”
“…!”
Thump.
With a feeling like his heart was dropping, Sangho’s pupils dilated with fear. Unable to take the extended hand, Sangho froze in place, feeling cold sweat trickling down his back. All his muscles stiffened with tension, and only his lower lip trembled.
“Sangho-ssi?”
“…?”
The cleaning supervisor called Sangho again as if puzzled. Nam Dohyun standing in front also withdrew his extended hand without comment. Sangho snapped to attention, looked at the cleaning supervisor, and barely managed to open his mouth to speak.
“I-I’m Lee Sangho.”
“Please sit.”
With a gesture, Nam Dohyun pointed to the seat next to the cleaning supervisor and sat down himself. On the table were piled documents like dormitory precautions and information, and a list of students assigned to each room.
“It’s nothing much. In about a month it’ll be vacation and many rooms will be empty, so you just need to pay a bit of attention then. The entrance door automatically opens and closes by time period, but it locks at 2 AM. During cleaning hours everything is open, so you don’t need to manage the entrance door separately.”
A low-voiced, indifferent explanation continued.
“The 3rd floor is mainly double rooms and single rooms. These days it’s festival season, so sometimes there are students who secretly bring outsiders in during dawn hours. If you happen to find any, please contact me.”
And Nam Dohyun extended a phone number written on a Post-it with long, white fingers.
“…”
Sangho received the paper with trembling hands. Nam Dohyun, who had come quite close, was staring at him with strange eyes. The man who had been gazing at him for a while soon stood up from his seat without lingering, bowed slightly in greeting, and turned around.
“Sangho-ssi. What’s wrong?”
“…N-no.”
At the cleaning supervisor’s worried question, Sangho snapped to attention and shook his head. Nam Dohyun must have clearly sprayed pheromones in his studio apartment. Naturally, when he approached, there was no scent at all. Nam Dohyun also acted as if seeing him for the first time.
“Wh-who was in charge of Building B before?”
“Ah, that person. They resigned. Something suddenly came up with their family?”
“Ah… D-do you know what kind of person the TA is?”
“Nam Dohyun? I only know he’s graduating this year and is in Computer Science… Well, I heard he’s not particularly difficult. He’s probably the same age as you, Sangho-ssi? Why?”
“It’s nothing.”
Sangho awkwardly brushed it off and quickly swept up the remaining documents on the table with his hand. The cleaning supervisor stood up with an unimpressed expression.
“If you haven’t eaten, let’s have lunch together before going. Sangho-ssi, you’re still in the same area, so you should get close with the dormitory staff.”
“Yes.”
Walking toward the staff cafeteria, the cleaning supervisor talked about who was in charge of each building, what each person’s personality was like, and so on. The dormitory people are generally gentle. Sangho-ssi, rely on them a bit and ask if you have questions. Everyone was worried about you after the Center Director incident. Picking up the chattering cleaning supervisor’s words, Sangho tried hard to shake off his anxiety.
‘Right, this is my daily life.’
The suddenly appearing Nam Dohyun bothered him greatly, but Sangho felt grateful as he read the cleaning supervisor’s intention to help him get close with the dormitory cleaning staff group. Sangho nodded and trotted after the cleaning supervisor.
After eating lunch with the student dormitory cleaning staff, Sangho returned to the apartment feeling quite lighthearted. The meal with colleagues was more harmonious than expected, and the cleaning staff in their 30s and 40s seemed to treat the youngest Sangho well, looking after him with various things. All sorts of stories poured out, from absurd stories that happened in each person’s assigned cleaning area to how to apply for Korea University benefits.
The social seniors Sangho had encountered until now were always people who frowned, suddenly had power struggles, or subtly put him down and snubbed him. For the first time, Sangho felt quite shy around colleagues who showed courtesy and goodwill. So this is what the supervisor meant by ‘people are gentle.’ He even thought he could work here for a long time.
Sitting on the sofa eating a bag of castella that Kyungoh had bought, Sangho saw the front door open and Kyungoh enter. He’d said it was okay to eat it, but Sangho, feeling self-conscious for no reason, quietly put down the half-eaten castella out of sight next to him.
“There’s milk in the fridge. Eat it together.”
“Yeeess…”
When Kyungoh, who had roughly put down his sports bag, spoke, Sangho answered awkwardly. When Kyungoh took off his top right there, Sangho quickly turned his gaze elsewhere. Why is he suddenly taking off his clothes?
With a slightly reddened face, Sangho was keeping his gaze fixed outside the window when there was a snickering laugh and the sound of the bathroom door closing. Ah… He took it off to wash after exercising. Sangho recalled Kyungoh’s chest muscles and abs that had flashed by in an instant and bit his lip hard. Why does he take off his clothes anywhere? What if Wonha sees?
Somehow his lower body seemed to be throbbing. Why am I like this these days, really?
After a bit of time, Kyungoh came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him. Kyungoh, wiping off the dripping water, went to the refrigerator, opened the door, and tilted his head toward Sangho to ask.
“You want milk?”
“…Yes.”
Sangho, who had been blankly watching Kyungoh’s thigh barely visible below the towel, answered. But why does he keep speaking casually? Sangho felt his pride hurt at inadvertently responding with formal speech to Kyungoh’s casual speech. But there was nothing he could do. His thigh seems thicker than my waist. Sangho knew well that if he rashly jumped at him like last time, he wouldn’t even be able to pick up his bones. In Sangho’s view, Kyungoh seemed to be controlling himself by drawing his own line.
Somehow… it also seemed like he was waiting day and night for someone to cross that line. Then the moment they entered his territory even a little, he’d instantly pounce and devour them.
“I didn’t see you at the gym.”
“My assigned area changed. To the dormitory.”
Kyungoh, handing over the milk cup, plopped down next to the sofa. Due to the weight, Sangho’s body tilted slightly toward Kyungoh, and he quickly dodged to the side while receiving the milk cup. Sangho, who took another bite of the half-eaten castella, gulped down the savory milk. Kyungoh also tore open a package and demolished one castella in two or three big bites, then chugged his milk. He really eats well, even looking again.
“You like castella?”
“Well. I didn’t eat it much before.”
“But you bought so much.”
“…Because it’s not enough.”
Kyungoh glanced at Sangho as he spoke. What is it. Bulking up? Sangho roughly went along with it, ah, I see.
“…”
After a brief silence, a warm sunlight scent suddenly spread from his nose. Outside the window, May sunlight was pouring warmly inside.
Right. I was going to ask what fabric softener he uses. Sangho was sneaking a glance at Kyungoh when his eyes met directly with Kyungoh, who was staring intently at him.
“Uh, um… What fabric softener do you use?”
“Fabric softener?”
“Yes. Your clothes smell really good, like sunlight.”
“…”
Kyungoh stayed still with a blank face for a moment.
“You don’t use softener? Do you just dry them in the sunlight?”
