# Chapter 15
## 2. Always Shop Carefully
“What do you like?”
Iyeon held out a tablet to Sano. Various pieces of furniture were displayed on the rectangular screen.
Sano, who had been fidgeting with his phone, glanced at it briefly before looking away. It was such a half-hearted glance that it didn’t even last a second. There was no answer either.
Thanks to this, it was Iyeon who was growing impatient.
“Hey, don’t just look. Pick something you like.”
It had already been several days. He had agreed to take responsibility for Sano’s belongings with the card Jonghee had given him, but the person in question showed absolutely no interest. Come on, it’s not like I’m asking him to give me something, I’m offering to buy it for him, so why is he playing hard to get? Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Iyeon who was buying it, but…
Honestly, it’s not like Jongchan and Jonghee were going to barge into Iyeon’s house, so what would be the problem with not buying anything? But still, the thoughtfulness toward his superior was commendable, and just wiping his mouth after receiving the card gave him an unnecessary feeling of debt. Weren’t they worried that Sano might end up sprawled out sleeping on Iyeon’s living room floor? In reality, he had been sleeping crumpled up on the sofa the whole time.
“Just pick one thing.”
After gathering his resolve when he was about to give up, and waving the tablet around for another three minutes, Sano finally opened his mouth.
“That tablet.”
“Huh?”
“Did you have it originally?”
The coaxing motion stopped. A brief silence passed between Iyeon, who had frozen like a statue, and Sano, who was looking at him indifferently.
“Forget it if you don’t want to! Just sleep on the sofa for the rest of your life!”
With a clearly suspicious attitude, Iyeon threw the tablet and plopped down on the sofa with a shout. With a bang, the small device flew through the air. With his body deeply buried in the backrest, his gaze, wandering far away as if dreaming, absolutely refused to meet Sano’s across from him.
“Hey.”
“Why isn’t Hyegang here yet? What time is it? He’s been coming in late these days.”
“Jung Iyeon.”
“This won’t do. He might have met with a serious accident. I’ll go patrol around a bit.”
“In broad daylight?”
“Since when does crime only happen at night!”
“You’re not even a police officer.”
“There was a time when I dreamed of that… There’s no such thing as being too late in life, so wouldn’t it be okay to start now?”
Sano looked pathetically at the mouth that was spouting nonsense.
“The tablet is all screen on the front.”
“Ah, let’s stop talking about the tablet now…”
“I’m saying if you throw it carelessly, the display won’t survive.”
“…”
Iyeon’s head turned very slowly and stiffly. The silver tablet that had hit the dresser and was now lying face-down on the floor, showing its back panel, was emanating an ominously foreboding aura.
It was the aura of death.
“My… my tablet! I only bought it two days ago!”
Inadvertently confessing, Iyeon rushed over and flopped down in front of the tablet. Unable to bring himself to flip it over and check the condition of the screen, he was pathetically tilting his head this way and that when a creaky, old friction sound was heard behind him. It was the sound of the door.
“Hello.”
Neat chestnut-brown hair and a fluorescent tracksuit set to match. It was Hyegang.
“Hey! You’ve been coming to work late lately—”
Incompetent boss Iyeon had just raised his head to shift all blame to Hyegang when their eyes met. His confident tone rapidly faded.
At just twenty-two, Hyegang had an exceptionally cute face even considering his young age. His delicate features, snow-white skin—a shade different from Iyeon’s pale complexion—and refined contours boasted an androgynous charm that made it difficult to determine his gender at first glance.
You could say he had a face that was adored everywhere. Thanks to this, walking with Hyegang made it easier to take shortcuts. Though he wasn’t a field worker, so they couldn’t use this advantage often…
With Sano added to the mix, Chageum could rightfully be called an invincible face squad. Maybe we should promote the company this way? Iyeon, whose mind had wandered to unrelated thoughts, came back to reality. That’s not the important thing right now.
Hyegang’s soft, fair face had become half of its former self overnight. His haggard complexion had dark circles like a panda under his eyes, and his gaunt cheeks looked as if his soul had been drained.
“What’s wrong with you?”
It wasn’t a trivial matter. Iyeon’s face turned serious.
“It’s fine. I just couldn’t sleep because of various overlapping matters.”
Hyegang walked to his desk, pressing firmly on his shadowed eye area. Even his gait was a gloomy, sluggish movement that didn’t match his bright fluorescent green outfit.
Seeing that he wasn’t inclined to talk willingly, Iyeon looked at Hyegang for a moment before speaking.
“Let me know if you need any help.”
Unlike his cotton candy-like appearance, Hyegang was fiercely independent, rarely asking for help even when in trouble. Iyeon was curious, but… Just as he was about to swallow his curiosity and turn his back, Hyegang suddenly asked in a mumble.
“Hyung, do you have any animal allergies or something?”
At the unexpected question, Iyeon opened his eyes wide.
“What animal allergies?”
“If not, could you look after an animal for a little while?”
Hyegang’s face as he said this was quite serious, unlike his usual relaxed and laid-back demeanor, so Iyeon nodded reflexively.
After work that day, they went straight to Hyegang’s house. Iyeon was going to ask if Sano wanted to come along, but he was nowhere to be seen. Since Sano’s sudden outings were common, Iyeon left the office without bothering to look for him.
“Here.”
Standing at the entrance, Iyeon blinked blankly. At the end of his gaze was a small black ball of fur curled up.
His first impression of Hyegang’s pet was… he couldn’t tell what kind of animal it was.
“Is it a dog?”
“I think so.”
The creature with glossy black fur and amber eyes appeared to be about the size of a medium-sized dog, but its round, small ears and long, luxuriant tail made it look like a dog, or a baby black panther, or a black jaguar. However, except for the dog, the rest were animals that would feel incredibly out of place for an individual to raise in the city, so he decided to just think of it as a dog.
“What’s its name?”
“It doesn’t have one.”
Are you really its owner? In response to the dubious look, Hyegang shrugged.
“I just happened to pick it up recently.”
“…Are you dumping it on me?”
“No, it’s not like that, I just have something to check.”
What does he mean by something to check? His life without a pet?
“Anyway, please take care of it just for a while.”
After vaguely evading the question, Hyegang soon brought various items for the black ball of fur. Small things like a soft cushion and toys. For something he had just picked up recently, the carefully prepared items suggested that he didn’t have bad intentions…
With the heavily packed items, Iyeon left Hyegang’s house. At the end of his disgruntled gaze was the black ball of fur.
Even without a leash, the fur ball followed Iyeon with sharp intuition. It seemed to have a friendly personality that didn’t shy away from strangers.
Well, a few days should be fine. Iyeon dismissed it lightly and moved on.
“I’m home.”
Iyeon, who had opened the door and entered, greeted Sano, who was lying on the sofa as usual. That damn sofa. He needed to buy him a bed soon. Only then could he take the tablet for repair without a guilty conscience.
One of Sano’s eyebrows raised askew as he saw the small, black creature crossing the threshold. It was a look like someone who had brought in trash.
“You pick up all sorts of things.”
“You’re also a benefici— Hey! You have to wash your paws before going in.”
Iyeon quickly caught the fur ball that was scampering toward the living room and lifted it up. It was a bit heavier than expected. Seeing the long tail sticking out from under Iyeon’s arm and fluttering, Sano’s eyes narrowed subtly.
The fur ball was extremely well-behaved. It didn’t seem to mind being picked up or having its paws washed at all. Moreover, its attitude was strangely arrogant. As if it was willing to tolerate this… Anyway, it was fortunate. Given its not-insignificant weight, if the fur ball had resisted, Iyeon would have had a rather difficult time washing it.
After finishing drying its feet with a towel, Iyeon released the fur ball, and only then did it excitedly explore the living room. While watching it sniff the sofa and table, Iyeon muttered.
“They say it doesn’t have a name.”
Still, since they would be living together for a while, he couldn’t keep calling it “fur ball.” What would be a good name? His contemplative face was serious. Sano looked at Iyeon with a subtle expression.
“Treating it like a bastard, huh.”
“Huh?”
Well, what else would you call a dog if not a dog… He muttered like that, but Sano showed every sign of being displeased.
He had looked at it like a bug just a moment ago, so why was he suddenly acting like Heungbu and Nolbu’s father? It was impossible to understand his temperament. Even amid all kinds of scrutiny, Iyeon, who was struggling undaunted to come up with a good name, suddenly brightened.
“How about Chil-chil-i?”
“Are you serious?”
Sano’s face grew even colder. Iyeon mumbled the origin of the name he had ambitiously revealed.
“Seven is a lucky number, you know.”
“More like a reason for being clumsy.”
It was a compliment in meaning, but it strangely felt like an insult.
“Ah, fine. I’ll think of another name.”
As Iyeon grumbled and sat down, the fur ball, which had been exploring here and there, quickly approached and nestled into Iyeon’s cross-legged lap. It seemed to feel more intimacy with the person who had brought it here.
As Iyeon naturally stroked the fur ball’s head, it moved its body a few times to find a comfortable position and lay down. It had remarkable sociability for something they had known for less than an hour.
Sano looked at the fur ball positioned between Iyeon’s thighs. Despite the cold gaze upon it, the fur ball didn’t care at all. Even the fluttering of its tail was utterly nonchalant.
Even if it were an animal with developed senses, it shouldn’t be able to brazenly ignore Je Sano’s aura.
“…Hmm.”
When Iyeon stopped his hand, the fur ball made a whining sound and rubbed its head as if asking to be petted more. When Iyeon obliged, the fur ball became docile again as if nothing had happened. Although he checked Sano’s demeanor, only the usual inscrutable, indifferent face was looking back at Iyeon.
Judging from the reaction, it didn’t seem to be that dangerous, but… No, it couldn’t be, right? Only then did such a worry suddenly strike him.
