“Judging by that expression, you’re about to make it your phone wallpaper?”
No matter what teasing Yoonkyung threw at him, Wookyung stared at the photo in a daze until Dokyung’s “Water. Waater” whining beside him made him jump up. As Wookyung was filling a baby cup with Totoro on it with water, he suddenly noticed a document envelope placed on top of the dishwasher next to the water purifier and asked Yoonkyung.
“But what’s this?”
“Ah, that.”
Yoonkyung’s face showed she couldn’t suppress her laughter. At Yoonkyung’s words to take it out and look, Wookyung casually pulled out the contents, then frowned and threw the envelope and its contents down on the dining table.
“Since oppa keeps returning them, Father sent it to our house this time.”
“Haah… Seriously, he’s too much. He’s so thoughtless.”
Just thinking of his father’s angry face made his head throb. Wookyung roughly swept up the hair covering his forehead. In the meantime, he carefully fed water to Dokyung who had toddled over urging him for water, then filled the Totoro cup to the brim with water and poured it into his own mouth.
“He wants you to meet just once. Think of it as his last will.”
“No… Haah. What kind of thing is that to say? And these days people send photos by phone, who sends them in document envelopes like this?”
“Father’s old-fashioned.”
Scattered carelessly across the documents was a printout filled with the face of some family’s precious omega son. Really, Father, what kind of world do we live in these days to send photos like this… Surely Wookyung’s face was also printed all over paper like that, placed on that family’s desk. Thinking about it made the gamjatang he’d eaten feel like it might come back up. Wookyung set down his cup on the table with a sigh.
*
“You’re here, Jeong-ssi?”
Yoonkyung opened the door with her usual bright smile. Jeong nodded and forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile as well. Fortunately, that beta man from yesterday didn’t come looking for him, but that didn’t mean he’d had an easy night. The men seeking his body at the establishment all felt like cannibals to Jeong.
“You worked hard. Come in quickly. No one’s here today, so eat breakfast before you go. Dokyung already woke up and is eating.”
“Appa!”
Dokyung came running from behind and threw himself into Jeong’s arms. Jeong’s face, soaked in fatigue, instantly brightened with a smile.
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it, the underwear was one he hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t the worn-out underwear with fuzz and loose threads everywhere that Dokyung always wore, but sturdy and pretty new clothes.
He’d heard that yesterday Yoonkyung’s older brother had given Dokyung various winter items as gifts—fur hats, gloves, and other cold-weather goods. Could he have even bought underwear? When Jeong looked at Yoonkyung with surprised eyes, she made an awkward expression.
“Ah, oppa is… kind of… a big spender, so he bought a lot of different baby clothes.”
[Still, how can I keep receiving favors like this every time…]
“It’s okay. My oppa makes good money. Hahaha… Eat breakfast first, and then we can slowly look at the baby clothes together.”
She deliberately spoke like it was a joke and smiled, but Jeong felt a bit conscious even toward Yoonkyung. Jeong scratched the back of his head as he stuffed the notebook with hastily scribbled notes into his pocket. Even so, if her own older brother spent this much money when it wasn’t even his nephew… he wondered if she might dislike it a little.
But Yoonkyung showed no such sign at all. The three people who had a hearty breakfast of toast and eggs took out all the clothes from the shopping bag to look at. For Yoonkyung, she’d already finished one fashion show yesterday, but Jeong’s eyes kept being colored with bewildered gratitude and amazement. He couldn’t believe that someone whose face he didn’t even know had bought such sturdy and good clothes for Dokyung.
He’d needed padding, boots, and underwear anyway… Last time too, with the money he’d received from that beta man, he’d resolved to buy padding first, but after dealing with the urgent monthly rent and gas bill, only enough money for rice remained. His heart had felt truly terrible as he dressed the child in two layers of underwear with a thin jumper buttoned tightly over them, but to be able to dress the child in such a fluffy down jacket… it felt like a dream.
[What should I do. I can’t just accept such good and expensive things… I’m so sorry and so grateful.]
“No, it’s fine. My oppa is totally smitten with Dokyung right now. He says he’s a fan.”
Yoonkyung smiled with a good-natured face.
“So Jeong-ssi too… it might be a bit burdensome perhaps, but just accept it with good feelings. Okay?”
[Yes. Thank you… so much.]
After hesitating for a moment, Jeong added one more sentence.
[Next time I want to… see his face. I really want to give my thanks directly.]
At the words Jeong wrote, Yoonkyung’s eyes widened. After catching him holding and smelling the shirt oppa had taken off last time, she’d thought Jeong would naturally feel uncomfortable around her oppa and avoid him.
Though when oppa treats Dokyung this well, with Jeong-ssi’s personality, he’s not the type to just quietly receive… Thinking that, Yoonkyung smiled broadly too.
“Alright. Next time, let’s all eat a meal together.”
[Yes. I’ll definitely treat you to something delicious.]
“Got it. I’ll gratefully accept? But don’t feel burdened.”
After looking at the padding, fur hat, underwear and such for a while, Jeong suddenly looked at the clock and jumped up. It was almost time for Yoonkyung to leave for work. As Jeong busily gathered Dokyung’s things while hurriedly sweeping the baby clothes into the shopping bag, his gaze suddenly stopped on the dining table.
“Jeong-ssi! We need to leave now…”
Yoonkyung’s gaze also stopped on the document envelope placed on the dining table.
Jeong’s questioning gaze slowly turned toward Yoonkyung. Yoonkyung chuckled and organized the contents into the envelope. Belatedly, Jeong hurriedly withdrew his gaze. The thought that it was rude followed a beat late.
“Ah, this… It’s a photo Father sent telling oppa to go on a matchmaking date.”
[I see. I didn’t know it was something that personal and ended up seeing it. I’m sorry.]
“Hey, what are you sorry for. It’s fine. Anyway, my oppa…”
“Imo! Imo!” Dokyung’s yelling from the side cut off Yoonkyung’s words that were going to say ‘won’t get married.’ Yoonkyung laughed out loud at the sight of Dokyung standing imposingly like a snowman, having gotten fat after putting on his outerwear.
“No, how can you be this cute? Dokyung-ah. You ate a lot, so should I give you one candy?”
“Candy! Candy!”
Dokyung’s eyes sparkled as he spread out his chubby palms and neatly put them together. Jeong smiled at Dokyung and naturally took out one organic candy hidden on top of the water purifier and handed it to Yoonkyung. When Yoonkyung received the candy, unwrapped it and gave it to Dokyung, Dokyung let out a shriek of “Kyaaaa—” with the candy in his mouth and ran off in that direction.
“Let’s go now! Dokyung-ah. Imo will be late.”
She also took out the small fur boots and put them on him fresh. The boots with the label torn off fit the child’s feet perfectly. Jeong looked at the pretty boots with half affection, half regret. They’re such pretty and sturdy boots, but it seems like he’ll probably only be able to wear them for this year. Yoonkyung, who noticed Jeong’s gaze, said something from the side.
“They say if kids wear shoes too big, their feet get deformed as they grow. So don’t save them, just let him wear them freely all winter. Next year, I’ll have to give our Dokyung one as a Christmas present. That’s okay, right?”
How does she know everything in my heart without me saying anything? With a touched heart, Jeong bowed his head and smiled at Yoonkyung. Dokyung, wearing new clothes and new shoes, seemed excited too and was running around everywhere wildly today. As they went out to the hallway, Yoonkyung shouted “Careful! Dokyung, be careful!”
Looking at her back, Jeong firmed up the resolution he’d made earlier.
He couldn’t keep just receiving like this from her oppa anymore. Instead of avoiding him like this, next time he should ask to be properly introduced. And definitely convey his thanks directly. Whether alpha or omega, what did such things matter. He was such a grateful person.
This winter seemed unusually cold. These were the new winter clothes and cold-weather items he’d really wanted to buy for Dokyung. Winter clothes were especially expensive compared to summer clothes, so he’d been steeling himself and tightening his belt to save up penny by penny. If only the landlord hadn’t threatened to raise the monthly rent again this time… he could have bought them quickly.
‘Jeong-ssi. Let’s not do this and just make it easy. Huh? What’s so hard about spreading your legs once? It’s what you do all the time anyway. Right?’
The landlord, a hot-blooded alpha, had known from the beginning that Jeong did night work, so he constantly came around to harass him. He yelled at Jeong, saying you won’t find a place this cheap even if you look everywhere, asking if Jeong expected him to dig up the ground to make a living.
Each time, Jeong closed his eyes at the despair that washed over him distantly. The landlord was lusting after Jeong too blatantly and didn’t particularly try to hide it. Jeong wasn’t unaware of what he wanted from him.
Once or twice, he raised the monthly rent as the landlord wanted and paid it. But at the amount that kept increasing every month without end, Jeong eventually surrendered. Taking advantage of the fact that Jeong was a person who didn’t exist in this world, the landlord hadn’t even properly written up a contract. It was a condition absolutely disadvantageous to Jeong. Despite such abuse of power, Jeong had nowhere to ask for help.
So, he spread his legs as the landlord wanted, several times. The landlord would slyly come looking for Jeong only in the mornings or afternoons when Dokyung had been sent to daycare at Jeong’s request.
After the landlord left, Jeong would cry endlessly in despair. He felt dirtier than a maggot crawling through filth. Even though he’d been receiving customers all night just fine, strangely, giving his body to avoid being evicted by the landlord felt as miserable as falling to the lowest depths of the world.
But it was better than being evicted with young Dokyung in this winter. As long as he could let that young child sleep without being cold. What use was saving this body that would rot after death anyway, this worthless body good for nothing.
Life was not easy on Jeong and Dokyung. To avoid being chased out of a warm place, he had to open his body to a man, and to buy one sack of rice, he had to be devoured all night long. He struggled so hard to buy winter clothes, but even that wasn’t easy.
