I put the wet towel in the basket under the shelf, put on the clothes, and dried my hair. After tidying up appropriately and going outside, the bag left at the entrance had disappeared somewhere. Dirt marks that had come from my shoes or my bare footprints continuing from the entrance to the bathroom door had also cleanly disappeared. The person who cleaned it was definitely Kwon Jukyung, but even looking around, I couldn’t feel Jukyung’s presence.
I walked toward the sofa and only then looked around the inside of the house carefully. It was a fairly comfortable studio apartment. The not-very-spacious living room was neat. The wooden floor without even a carpet reflected the lighting and gleamed. A two-person sofa and coffee table, a large TV hung on the wall. An air purifier. That was all the furniture. There was nothing unnecessary. Not even a common decoration, a carelessly placed book, or a single cup.
It was suffocatingly neat, as if not even a speck of dust would come off if you swept with your hand. My very existence, having appeared after rolling in dirt for days without washing properly, would look like filth to Jukyung.
Ah, there it is again.
I sniffed at the air. That scent I’d smelled in Jukyung’s car came again. It was still at a lingering scent level, but a bit stronger than what I’d smelled in the car. It seemed to be Jukyung’s perfume after all, and smelling it made me feel like my head was clearing. It was like being in the middle of a summer forest full of greenery. It’s a pleasant scent. Should I ask what fragrance it is? It seems like a scent I know after all.
“You washed properly and cleanly, right?”
A door opened and Jukyung suddenly appeared. As soon as our eyes met, he said something off-putting again. He’d changed into comfortable clothes, and whether there was a separate shower in the room, his hair was wet.
“If you’re suspicious, why don’t you inspect me?”
I was a bit offended, so my words came out crooked.
“Ah, really? Is that okay?”
“What?”
It was just something I said, but Jukyung approached with large strides. Startled, I reflexively stepped back, but the sofa was right behind me, blocking my movement. Jukyung stood close. The scent grew stronger. His breath almost touched my forehead. But surprised by the current situation, curiosity about the perfume and such flew far away.
What’s with this guy? Doesn’t he even know how to take a joke as a joke? Though this was the first time we’d been together this long or mixed words at length, I clearly understood his sense of humor was zero. And that he was the owner of quite severe germophobia too.
Jukyung tousled my not-yet-completely-dry hair with his long fingers. Just when I thought he was messing up the hair I’d worked hard to comb, he suddenly grabbed the neck of the t-shirt I was wearing and pulled.
“Hey!”
He suddenly pulled so hard my body was dragged. I nearly bashed my head into his chin.
“Sorry.”
Jukyung said nonchalantly in a not-at-all-sorry tone, then buried his nose in the suddenly pulled nape and sniffed.
“Are you a dog? What are you doing?”
I asked while pulling my head back and pushing away Jukyung’s forehead that he’d thrust forward. It was utterly absurd.
“You said to inspect. I have to check if you washed properly, don’t I?”
“Hey, that was just something I said. Do you really smell people just because of that?”
I glared in disbelief.
“I only didn’t wash for a few days, you know? Were you worried I’d forgotten how to wash in that time?”
“That’s something you can’t know. People surprisingly easily get used to filth and laziness.”
Jukyung spoke coldly while grabbing and pulling my shoulders as if embracing me. My upper body pressed close as if being hugged, and my face practically buried in his shoulder. When I struggled, he got annoyed saying “Ah, hold still.” I was dumbfounded. It was the pot calling the kettle black.
This time he pulled the back of the shirt collar to look at my back. I thought he’d sniff like a dog again, but he put his hand in and rubbed my skin. If I hadn’t kept his germophobia in mind, I would have thought he was a pervert, and a top-tier one at that.
Even with germophobia, I thought I wouldn’t stay still if he touched my pants, but fortunately he didn’t cross that line. Or rather, maybe it was because of his germophobia that he couldn’t go that far. Actually, thinking about it, aside from the rudeness, isn’t that something even a normal person wouldn’t do thinking it’s dirty?
Thinking that way, I started getting confused whether this guy had germophobia or not. While I was experiencing confusion in my head, Jukyung moved away a bit and demanded all sorts of absurd things like show me the soles of your feet, wiggle your toes, and so on. Even in my absurdity, I gritted my teeth thinking about my situation and obediently did as told, and the bizarre inspection finally concluded with confirming my feet’s cleanliness.
Whether he has germophobia or not, he’s more insane than I thought anyway. I glared at the bastard walking toward the kitchen with his back turned and clenched my fist.
When I saw him from afar, I couldn’t even imagine he was that kind of guy. Because his shell looked decent, he was quite popular, but I’d never heard that he had such perverted cleanliness. Does he desperately pretend to be normal outside? Though it seemed he occasionally went on light dates, there were no rumors of him dating anyone for long. Well, who would put up with a pervert like that for long?
“What?”
As if feeling my unfavorable gaze, he turned around abruptly. Does he have sensors on his back? I must have glared at him too blatantly. I flinched and immediately unclenched my fist, showing the brightest smile possible.
“Hm? What? I was just straightening my clothes?”
With a smiling face, I tugged at the clothes I was wearing to smooth the wrinkles and gently smoothed the stretched neck of the t-shirt with my hand. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked me over. Is he looking at me like that because his clothes got ruined? But that’s all his own doing. Who told him to yank the clothes around like that?
While thinking it wasn’t my fault, I was about to feel uncomfortable from his continued staring when he suddenly chuckled.
“Well, it suits you well enough.”
Suits me? What does? These clothes?
“……”
I briefly pondered how to react to those words. No matter how positively I tried to think about it, it was a comment I absolutely couldn’t take well.
Normally, I was above average height and though thin, had fairly solid lean muscle, so I’d never felt inferior about my appearance. It’s not like I envied bulky muscles either. It wasn’t just my delusion—I’d lived hearing lots of compliments about my appearance, so that was just the plain truth no matter what anyone said.
But right now, that bastard’s snickering laugh was scratching my pride. I’d lost a lot of weight and muscle from unintended short-term dieting. Though upsetting, honestly my body had gotten frail so my height actually looked shorter than it was.
On the other hand, Kwon Jukyung was taller than me and proportionally had a bigger build. Naturally his clothes couldn’t help but be noticeably big on me now. Wearing clothes this big in both fit and length, to say it suits me—anyone could hear that as mockery.
That somewhat satisfied expression could only be thought of as being happy to confirm the superiority of his physique. Thinking that way made my insides twist. What should I snap back to distort that grinning face? While racking my brain with such schemes, a remarkable line burst from Jukyung who turned his body and walked toward the kitchen again.
“Well, that aside. There’s nothing to eat at home, but that’s okay, right?”
My mouth fell open without realizing it. Clothes, physique differences, worthless idle thoughts all flew outside the universe.
“Hey, what are you saying?”
Then why are you going to the kitchen now? Why is that big refrigerator there? No, there should be something in it. Does it make sense for a modern person who frequents large marts and internet shopping not to stock anything in the refrigerator?
Leaving me frozen in shock, Jukyung calmly opened the refrigerator. The inside of the refrigerator visible beyond Jukyung’s body was almost empty. There wasn’t even any juice. Only bottles of water and beer were stocked by type.
He took out one of the lying water bottles. Then looking at me with a “why?” expression, he slowly drank water. I stared blankly at Jukyung’s adam’s apple moving as the water went down. While watching, I reflexively swallowed my saliva gulp by gulp too.
“Want some too?”
Capping the half-empty water bottle, Jukyung asked. I nodded without hesitation. Come to think of it, my throat was parched. Though I’d filled my stomach with park tap water instead of dinner in the evening, quite a bit of time had passed and I’d lost a lot of moisture while washing.
Jukyung threw me the water bottle he’d been drinking from.
Cheapskate.
There’s plenty of water, but give me a new one if you’re going to give it.
I grumbled inwardly but outwardly obediently received the bottle and gulped it down. Emptying the water bottle cleanly and wiping my mouth, I saw Jukyung staring intently. I’d stared because I was hungry and thirsty, but why is that bastard staring so annoyingly again?
I cursed inwardly.
Moreover, it wasn’t just staring—it was somehow an uncomfortable look. Like he was looking to cut through flesh and bore through to the inside. Though he had a cold face, his eyes somehow resembled fire. Like a beast of prey watching its prey from hiding. The kind that crouches low then suddenly pounces on prey to bite and break its windpipe and swallow it.
Still, I couldn’t pick a fight like a thug asking why he was looking at me unpleasantly to the homeowner who’d let me stay tonight. I just shook the empty water bottle pitifully.
“Where do I throw this?”
“…Give it here.”
Jukyung took the empty water bottle from my hand. I thought he’d crumple it and throw it away somewhere, but he looked at what he held in his hand briefly, then brought it to the water dispenser opening attached to the refrigerator door. Pressing the button to fill it halfway with water, he started drinking water again.
Watching that, I became a bit dumbfounded. I knew he wasn’t normal, but I couldn’t follow that bastard’s thought process. No, let’s say having water bottles stocked when there’s a perfectly good refrigerator water dispenser is acceptable. Maybe he distrusts the water dispenser because of germophobia.
