Why is he suddenly acting like this now?
It was far too late for that — didn’t he know it? In Hae-yul’s eyes, Kwon Gyo-eon was already the image of someone infuriatingly absurd. It was almost impressive that a person with such a cold demeanor could leave that kind of impression.
“For now, it would be best to get the address transfer done quickly.”
“What? No — do we really have to go that far?”
Hae-yul asked back in a surprised voice at the unexpected term.
“Even if you’re only staying here temporarily, we can’t avoid it if we want to use the address transfer as objective evidence.”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d somehow been tricked — but it was difficult to push back against someone calmly explaining that it was all because of the situation with Kim Myeong-gyu. Hae-yul stared at Kwon Gyo-eon in disbelief for a moment, then eventually gave up and nodded.
Right. It’s just an address transfer — it’s not like it’s a big deal…
There was no limit on how many times you could do it or for how long, so there was no need to attach any particular meaning to it. Doing so would only exhaust him more. If anything, since he was already in deeper debt to him, it seemed better to bring up the topic of personal boundaries now. He had no idea how much longer he’d be staying here, but it was a conversation that absolutely had to happen, if only to prevent a repeat of what had happened earlier.
“And there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss. I’d really appreciate it if you’d hear me out on this.”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“I’d like you to respect my personal space. Things like drying my hair the way you did earlier, or suddenly touching my shoulder like yesterday — from my perspective, that’s quite uncomfortable.”
“In other words, you’re asking me to be careful until we’ve become close enough to be comfortable with each other?”
“No? What — there’s absolutely no chance of that ever happening, but I was just asking you to be mindful. Though I realize it’s a bit presumptuous of me to be setting all these conditions when I’m the one receiving your hospitality.”
“I don’t see it that way at all, so feel free to speak up whenever. Is there anything else you’d like me to be especially mindful of or work on while we’re living together?”
Kwon Gyo-eon, who Hae-yul had expected to push back and ask what Hae-yul took him for, was once again being perfectly mild-mannered and gentlemanly. He even went so far as to ask whether there was anything else he should improve on himself.
That matter-of-fact attitude felt suspicious and unsettling somehow — though he couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was simply because the person himself was such an enigma.
Well, it’s not as if there’s only one or two things he needs to fix.
But things like — don’t call my name like that, stop saying weird things, stop looking at me like that. Every single one of them sounded petty and unreasonable the moment he tried to put them into words.
Of course, they also needed to discuss how many more times they’d have to see each other going forward — but that felt more like a separate topic to address rather than something to lump in with things to fix, so it seemed right to let it go for now.
Hae-yul furrowed his brow as he thought it over, then added with a tone of reluctant concession,
“I think there’s nothing else to fix for now. What about you?”
“There is one thing — though it’s not necessarily something you have to change. May I say it?”
“Oh, yes. Go ahead, feel free.”
“Then I’ll say it plainly.”
Kwon Gyo-eon, who said he’d speak plainly, paused for a moment. What on earth is he planning to say that he’s being this careful about it? He felt inexplicably uneasy.
“I’d like you to quit your part-time job.”
After all that buildup, the topic that finally came out of Kwon Gyo-eon’s mouth was one Hae-yul had, to some degree, already been anticipating.
Having thought it over as rationally as he could before going to sleep the night before, he had come to the conclusion that — with the semester starting soon and everything that had happened with Kim Myeong-gyu — he had no choice but to take a break from work for the time being.
Of course, the fact that it was Kwon Gyo-eon who had brought it up first gave him a vague sense of reluctance, like he was just going along with what the man wanted.
He wasn’t used to taking a break from work, but he figured he could use that time to look for a better part-time job instead. Focusing on studying for his certifications also seemed like a good option.
He didn’t need to be so rigid about keeping the part-time job going — there were more things to do, and things he could do, than he’d thought.
“I had actually been thinking it might be better to quit anyway. But my phone is broken, so reaching out right away is a bit…”
“Oh — the phone. Wait just a moment.”
Whether something had just come back to him, Kwon Gyo-eon shot to his feet and went into the room. A moment later, he came back out with a small shopping bag in hand.
Kwon Gyo-eon held it out to Hae-yul.
“Here.”
“But…”
Hae-yul was at a loss for words.
He actually meant it when he said that yesterday?
Even so, he hadn’t expected him to actually go out and buy one. How does he not say a single careless word?
“It’s already powered on and has the SIM card in, so you can use it right away.”
“A phone isn’t exactly cheap — just accepting it like this is…”
“Take it already. You clearly promised yesterday to accept it graciously.”
He seemed to be steering things in his favor again — but Hae-yul had absolutely no memory of making any such promise. Even as Kwon Gyo-eon pressed him, Hae-yul hesitated and didn’t take it readily, so Kwon Gyo-eon spoke in a voice dripping with exaggerated sorrow.
“Even if you refuse, I have no intention of returning it. This phone, born from painstaking research and development, will simply be left abandoned and ownerless in this vast apartment. And the engineers who poured their hearts into developing it will think of cold-hearted Hae-yul and grieve for years to come.”
It was complete and utter nonsense. Hae-yul stared at Kwon Gyo-eon — taking things to such ridiculous extremes — with a look of pure disbelief, then reluctantly accepted the shopping bag being held out to him. The small bag felt extraordinarily heavy.
Kwon Gyo-eon watched Hae-yul set the shopping bag down on the sofa, then suddenly pulled his own phone out of his pocket. He checked something with a slight furrow of his brow, clicked his tongue softly, and then spoke in a gentle voice.
“I’d rather not leave you alone, but something’s come up.”
At those words, Hae-yul frowned slightly. It wasn’t as if he were some child — and it wasn’t like it was funny to be moping around over something like that just because he was a man who’d gone through a rough time.
“Please, go. Isn’t your company looking for you? Aren’t you being a little too laid-back about work?”
Kwon Gyo-eon looked down at Hae-yul with a strangely unreadable expression. Then he muttered something incomprehensible.
“Hmm. Not bad.”
“What isn’t? Don’t tell me you mean me being snarky? Why on earth?”
Kwon Gyo-eon smiled with just the corners of his mouth and shrugged.
“Who knows. But so you did realize you were being snarky.”
Hae-yul’s eyelids twitched with irritation. It was maddening how he never lost a single exchange. Hae-yul just stared at him in silence, and Kwon Gyo-eon added in his usual easy manner,
“I plan to be back before dinner, so feel free to make yourself at home until then. You’re welcome to look around the apartment too. And if you need anything, call me.”
“Sure, fine.”
Hae-yul replied flatly and nodded. Kwon Gyo-eon headed to the dressing room and came back out having changed. As always, he dressed in a suit and headed for the entryway.
Just sitting on the sofa and watching the owner of the apartment leave without so much as getting up felt a little rude, so Hae-yul awkwardly trailed after Kwon Gyo-eon to the entryway. At that, Kwon Gyo-eon paused in the middle of putting on his shoes, then smiled that unreadable smile again.
“Why are you smiling?”
Hae-yul asked bluntly, looking Kwon Gyo-eon up and down. Whether it was because he’d nagged him about going to work, he was finally leaving — his tie was tied perfectly.
“It’s a rather strange feeling, having you see me off.”
“It’s not exactly seeing you off — it just felt odd to sit there doing nothing while the owner of the apartment was heading out.”
“Let’s say that’s the reason.”
“It is the reason — I’m telling you.”
Hae-yul’s voice rose as he argued back. He shot a sideways glare at Kwon Gyo-eon, who managed to get under his skin right up until the moment of leaving, then looked away.
“No discomfort anywhere?”
“Not particularly.”
“Alright then.”
Kwon Gyo-eon nodded, though he still looked somewhat skeptical.
“I’ll be off.”
Kwon Gyo-eon said it with an air of quiet satisfaction and disappeared behind the large front door. Why on earth did he feel the need to say “I’ll be off” before leaving? Hae-yul had only seen him out out of courtesy, and yet Kwon Gyo-eon’s mood seemed noticeably lifted — which, for no particular reason, made Hae-yul want to be contrary about it even just in his head.
Even after Kwon Gyo-eon had left, Hae-yul stood in the entryway for a while before soon muttering with a short sigh.
“Ha, damn… I forgot to talk about how many more times we’d have to meet.”
He’d gotten flustered by the sudden phone situation. Still, since Kwon Gyo-eon had said he’d be back before dinner, they could talk again then.
Hae-yul walked back from the entryway to the living room and scratched his head. Compared to the goshiwon, Kwon Gyo-eon’s apartment was remarkably spacious and comfortable. But perhaps the excessive size was working against him — he simply couldn’t relax.
Though that said, he had slept unreasonably well the night before.
When the two of them were together he felt nothing but uncomfortable — and yet now that he was left alone in this vast apartment, what settled over him wasn’t freedom or relief, but boredom and emptiness. Maybe it was because this place was beyond what suited him.
Hae-yul clicked his tongue and stretched. He figured he’d pass the time doing what Kwon Gyo-eon had suggested — looking around the apartment. There hadn’t been any rooms he was told to stay out of, so going wherever he liked should be fine.
With that thought, he peered into this room and that. A room that was bare and empty. A room stuffed full of Kwon Gyo-eon’s clothes and watches. A room with a bed that appeared to be a guest room.
But is there really any need for three beds?
Well, he probably had the money and the rooms to spare. After wandering past several rooms, Hae-yul’s feet came to a stop in front of a study lined wall to wall with books.
