“Are you okay?”
As expected, wearing Junseok’s clothes with his face scrunched up, rubbing his forehead—it was exactly Ondal. Not neatly combed-back hair, but bangs that had fallen messily after just roughly shaking them dry after showering made him look even younger.
“More than me, you’re…”
“Team Leader-nim.”
“What?”
He needed to make things clear-cut. If he hemmed and hawed and slithered through like a snake over a wall, it was obvious he’d be the one left holding the bag.
“Yesterday, today’s events—they don’t have any particular meaning, right?”
Reading Leo’s expression, Hyedam quickly continued before he could speak.
“If you’re aroused, it can happen. Both you and I are adults, and we’re not traits that would hold each other responsible. If you’re uncomfortable, you could transfer me to another team…”
“Don’t beat around the bush, just say what you want to say directly.”
An expressionless look descended on Leo’s face, which had been showing emotions so clearly just moments ago.
“It was my mistake. I apologize.”
Hyedam bowed his head respectfully and offered words of apology. Rather than attaching various explanations, saying it like this seemed the most direct and clean.
“Instinct. Mistake. So you’re saying if the person here yesterday wasn’t me but someone else, you would have done the same?”
That’s not it. It was because it was you.
“…Yes.”
“Excuse me.”
Hyedam’s words, full of hesitation contrary to his true feelings, were buried by Robert’s voice that came with a knock.
“Robert-ssi?”
Avoiding Leo’s hand trying to grab him, Hyedam went to the entrance in one stride and flung open the front door. He seemed like a savior appearing in the most difficult and awkward situation.
“Hello, Hyedam-ssi.”
“Please come in. I was wondering when you’d arrive—was it hard to find?”
“Not at all. But Hyedam-ssi. Are you sick some…”
“*Ahem*. I got some snow on me yesterday, so I have cold symptoms.”
Hyedam, who coughed unnecessarily, hastily turned around. Leo was standing in front of the room door where they’d been talking, arms crossed. Standing there with his brow furrowed as if extremely displeased about something, he silently turned and entered the room.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll also change clothes and come out.”
“Following the strong wind warning, a heavy snow advisory was issued at dawn, so I was delayed in coming to pick you up. Are neither of you injured?”
“I’m fine, but Team Leader-nim injured the area above his forehead. It seems slightly torn, and though the bleeding stopped right away, I think he should still go to the hospital.”
Hyedam, who had turned the passenger seat heater to maximum and was burying himself to feel the warmth, answered quickly.
“I’m fine, so drop Hyedam-ssi off directly at his home on the way, and Hyedam-ssi should rest until the weekend and come to work from Monday.”
Hyedam’s eyes widened at Leo’s words, who had sat in the back seat, crossed his long legs, folded his arms, and closed his eyes. Until he spoke, the relationship between them that had felt soft now seemed to have become endlessly distant again.
With Robert’s appearance, their conversation couldn’t continue further. Following Leo, when Hyedam also came out changed into a suit, a lunchbox Robert had prepared sat on the low dining table instead of the retort food Leo had prepared.
They filled their hunger by eating the lunchbox halfheartedly without any particular conversation, and except for grabbing his arm when he staggered from soreness as they left the house, Leo wasn’t doing anything special.
But suddenly giving vacation? Since today was Thursday, it was vacation given for just one day tomorrow, but from Hyedam’s position, he could rest for four days.
“Yes, I understand.”
With Hyedam’s answer—having no particular reason to refuse vacation given for free—only classical music flowed in the car. Though he knew he should stay awake, along with fatigue, Hyedam pressed his thighs firmly with his fingertips while relying on the seat that cozily wrapped around his body.
Time that seemed stopped steadily flowed, and when the car that had been moving slowly through narrow alleys lined with row houses stopped, Hyedam got out of the car without a word.
Compared to his house in the best location overlooking the Han River at a glance, Hyedam’s home looked truly modest. Instead of an open view where the wide river could be seen at a glance, his home was a place where opening the window showed another house’s window just a few meters ahead.
Still, he’d steadily receive his salary and move to a more comfortable and spacious place. Since poverty wasn’t shameful, Hyedam turned and briefly looked at Leo, who was getting out following him.
Leo stood in front of the car door looking up at the old 5-story one-room building.
“I’ll be going in now. Thank you for the ride, and I’ll see you on Monday.”
“Be careful going in.”
Hyedam, who hadn’t expected Leo’s farewell or response, slightly bowed his head at his calm words and entered the small house.
As soon as he entered the entrance and the door closed, instead of taking off his shoes or jacket, Hyedam sat down right there and buried his face in his knees.
Tired and exhausted. He wanted to fall asleep just like this.
After crouching for a while and gathering his strength, Hyedam went inside while taking off his clothes one by one like shedding snake skin. When he reached the bed, he was wearing only underwear. Throwing his body down as is, Hyedam slowly burrowed into the blankets.
“Hera. Delete all the alarms I set.”
— Yes, I’ve deleted all alarms.
With a small sigh, Hyedam immediately fell into a deep sleep.
*Bang bang bang.*
Hyedam, who had been having a cozy dream in the warm blankets, pulled the blanket up to cover his head at the continuously heard unpleasant sound. Since he’d woken up after sleeping soundly for once without even dreaming, he wanted to stay like this a little longer.
Wrapped in a hazy feeling, just as he was trying to catch the drowsiness that was gradually fading away, he frowned at the feeling that his own name ‘Lee Hyedam’ seemed to be mixed in among the irregularly heard unpleasant sounds.
In the cozy space created by the blanket pulled up to his head, lying on his side with his body curled up and yawning small, Hyedam heard his name again in his ears.
“Lee Hyedam!”
The moment his eyes snapped open, Hyedam threw off the blanket and sat up. The unpleasant banging sound was the sound of someone knocking on his house door, and the voice calling his name was a voice he knew well.
But why was Leo knocking on his house door so roughly? The doorbell was broken. He hadn’t fixed it because he lived alone and had no inconvenience or interest, but after blinking dazedly and picking up his phone, Hyedam only left the bed after confirming the phone wouldn’t turn on due to a dead battery.
“Ugh. It’s cold…”
Muttering while turning on the intercom, Hyedam flinched at seeing a neck and shoulders instead of a face, then immediately approached the door.
“Team Leader-nim?”
“…Hyedam?”
“Yes.”
The knocking stopped, and a deep sigh was heard from outside.
“…Open the door.”
After a moment of silence, when Leo’s voice was heard again, Hyedam scratched his head and opened the door.
“Your phone is off, your doorbell is broken, and there’s no sign of life even when I knock. Your name…”
Though he opened it carefully, as the door swung open with cold wind and Leo entered continuing his words, Hyedam shrank his body and quickly stepped back.
Hyedam blankly watched like watching a movie as the door closed on its own behind Leo who’d entered the entrance, and Leo stopped speaking mid-rant, covered his eyes with one hand, and sighed.
Where else would you find such a rude awakening?
“Were you sleeping until now?”
Though he didn’t know what the standard for “until now” was, since it was true he’d fallen asleep as soon as he came home, Hyedam nodded and the motion of wrapping his upper body with his arms and rubbing his forearms suddenly stopped.
The drowsiness that had still remained in a half-asleep state instantly disappeared, and Hyedam, who saw Leo standing at the entrance, the suit dropped piece by piece from the floor to the bed, and finally his own half-naked body wearing only underwear, couldn’t say anything.
“I’ll wait in the car, so get ready to go out and come down.”
“…What? Yes!”
As the front door opened again, Leo disappeared, and the door closed, Hyedam, who had been watching in dismay, started pouring out curses.
“Fuck. What day is it today!”
— Today is December… The current time is 2 PM…
With Hera’s voice kindly answering his outcry as background, Hyedam staggered into the bathroom. After showering frantically and flinging open the closet door, Hyedam’s head tilted slightly to the side.
“Hera, what day of the week is today?”
— It’s Saturday.
Why would a workplace superior come to my house on Saturday? Come to think of it, he recalled that Leo was also in comfortable clothing, not formal wear. He dropped me off at home on Thursday. Said we’d see each other at the office on Monday. But why did he come to my house today? On the weekend? He said it was vacation. I can rest well until tomorrow. And today was a public holiday, a day legally unrelated to the company.
Since it didn’t seem to be work-related, Hyedam reached for the comfortable clothes next to them instead of the neatly hanging suits.
