# Chapter 75
The cute couple in casual attire chatted away while walking between the display shelves. Though Iyeon hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, the interior was small and they were the only customers, so their conversation reached his ears.
“Ugh, it was nice when we came before, but yesterday was a bit off. Didn’t you hear thumping noises in the early morning?”
…A ghost story? Come to think of it, they say places like hotels are haunted by many ghosts. Iyeon thought nonchalantly as he put back the items he had been holding one by one.
“Really? I slept well…”
“You wouldn’t wake up even if someone carried you away once you’re asleep.”
“That’s strange. I thought you would sleep well yesterday too.”
“Ugh, what are you talking about!”
The woman with her hair prettily styled up playfully hit the tall man’s shoulder. Does she dislike sleeping well? Why is she hitting him? Not understanding the conversation, Iyeon tilted his head but soon focused back on his task. There was a peculiar satisfaction in seeing the small boxes aligned in rows.
“Wow, could it be a variant?”
“No way. How could a variant get into the hotel? Is there any place that doesn’t hire hunters these days?”
…Surely Mungchi wasn’t running around? Feeling a bit guilty, Iyeon pretended not to know and kept his eyes fixed on the display shelf.
“That’s true. Then… a ghost?”
“The room did feel a bit eerie.”
The woman laughed, putting on a show of being scared, and the man laughed out loud too. The couple, chatting sweetly, bought a small set of handmade soaps and left the store.
Later, while Iyeon was alone tending to the bustling shop, various customers came in, chatted, browsed, and left. Thanks to this, he could pick up bits and pieces of incidents that had occurred in the hotel over the past few days. Like the couple earlier talking about hearing thumping sounds, or someone claiming to have seen a meteor shower while walking on the trail at dawn, or how time flew by watching two handsome men lying by the pool all day…
It wasn’t busy enough to make his head spin, but being around check-out time, it was the busiest part of the day. It’s normal to feel annoyed when left alone to work during such hours. I should go play after Jaekyung-ssi comes to take over. Iyeon thought glumly as he sat alone at the counter after a brief rush of customers had ebbed away like the tide.
“Hyung. Doing well?”
The bell jingled again. Hyegang, dressed simply in white t-shirt and swimming shorts with neon palm trees, handed Iyeon a drink. It was a refreshingly cold carbonated beverage with droplets forming on its surface.
“Thanks.”
Just what he needed—his throat had been dry from attending to customers. Iyeon opened the can in one go and gulped it down. Hyegang leaned on the counter, watching Iyeon’s Adam’s apple bob.
“You two are really close.”
“Huh?”
“Sano hyung and you.”
So this was a continuation of their earlier conversation. I don’t see it that way… Before Iyeon could shake his head at the absurdity, Hyegang continued.
“Honestly, I’ve never seen you be so comfortable with someone.”
“Me? With Je Sano?”
Iyeon pointed to himself with an incredulous face, but Hyegang wasn’t fooled by the exaggerated gesture.
“You rarely speak informally.”
In most situations, Iyeon used formal speech. Unless they were as young as Mirae, the only person Iyeon addressed informally was Hyegang.
And Sano.
“That’s…”
He’s right? I’ve been using it so naturally that I didn’t even notice. Iyeon belatedly realized this fact and felt a bit flustered. When did I start speaking informally? …Surely not from the beginning?
“You and Sano hyung have completely opposite personalities.”
Hyegang tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand, even as he spoke.
It was true—Sano and Iyeon were polar opposites in personality and inclinations. Not just in appearance, but in talkativeness, speech patterns, fighting styles, and other basic traits, all the way to small details like eating habits and morning routines.
In many cases, Iyeon gave in, but he wasn’t entirely submissive either. The fact that they had lived together for months without clashing meant Sano had compromised in some areas too. Of course, Iyeon had yielded most of the time… Wait, is this relationship just maintained through my sacrifice?
“I think it’s because I’m nice.”
Iyeon’s serious mutter was dismissed as a joke.
“I saw Sano hyung hugging you earlier.”
“That wasn’t a hug, he was protecting me from getting hit by the ball.”
“He also gave you sunscreen.”
“Well, that…”
That was just common courtesy…
“Is Sano hyung usually that kind?”
“…”
That’s… true? Iyeon paused again.
Come to think of it, it was strange. Compared to how Sano was when they first met, the change was beyond monumental—it was apocalyptic.
He’s not that kind of person.
“I’ve gotten pretty close with Sano hyung too, but I’ve never even shaken hands with him.”
“I haven’t shaken hands with him either.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I know, I just said something random because it was awkward. Iyeon sheepishly gulped his drink.
Following Hyegang’s observation, as Iyeon quietly retraced his memories, situations that now seemed ridiculously cooperative began to emerge. When he sat between Sano’s legs at the amusement park, Sano was well-behaved because he was acting as an umbrella, but during the pasta game too, he didn’t hesitate to touch, touch, touch. Would someone normally do that willingly, no matter how competitive?
That wasn’t all. Sano followed Iyeon wherever he went, and when Iyeon was stabbed, Sano nagged him about getting immediate treatment. He offered to share hobbies, and there were numerous times when he had protected Iyeon in dangerous situations. And then there was today.
This was Je Sano, of all people. The same Je Sano who tried to kill him at their first meeting just because he was suspicious.
“…We really did become friends, huh.”
Iyeon muttered with a dumbfounded expression. His tone was somewhat incredulous.
“It’s fascinating that you’re only realizing this now. Do people normally get this close when they live together?”
“Maybe so…”
The two put their heads together to ponder, but since they both lived independently, the question wasn’t satisfactorily resolved. To think that the intimacy created by sharing living space applied even to Je Sano… It just made him seem more human…
Honestly, Iyeon hadn’t expected it.
He was quite pleased with this newly discovered truth. So while Sano acted like he was always speaking harshly, he was actually being quite friendly. Even to the extent that others noticed. Thinking about it this way, even Sano’s gruff face seemed a bit cuter.
“I should have lived with you too, hyung.”
“Huh?”
Having been lost in his own pleasant thoughts, Iyeon missed Hyegang’s words and asked again. Hyegang put his cheek on the cleanly wiped counter and grumbled.
“You’ve been neglecting me lately.”
His curly hair scattered across the wooden countertop, and his soft cheeks were slightly pressed, affecting his pronunciation. His young face, barely shed of boyhood, as always didn’t show much change in expression, but just by slightly drooping his delicately shaped eyebrows and eyes, he looked quite dejected.
But Iyeon wasn’t fooled. Hyegang had the peculiar personality of feeling lonely but not actually enjoying having people around. If Iyeon dragged Hyegang around as often as he did with Sano, Hyegang would run away before a week was up.
“What do you mean?”
“Whenever I need you, you’re nowhere to be found, and you only hang out with Sano hyung.”
“Oh my, were you feeling left out?”
Still, it had been a while since he had openly sulked like this. Finding it cute, Iyeon laughed and ruffled Hyegang’s hair.
He had first met Hyegang about two years ago. It was around when Hyegang had just turned twenty after the new year. Sitting alone in front of a closed shop late in the evening with his hood pulled over his head, he looked exactly like a runaway teenager, so at first, Iyeon tried to persuade him to go back home.
But he said he had nowhere to go. That he had no family.
He was too young to be alone. So Iyeon took Hyegang in as a business partner.
“I always care about you, so don’t worry. And be sure to introduce me if you get a partner. Don’t bring home any strange people.”
“Come on…”
Hyegang chuckled and shook his head, but he didn’t seem particularly upset. He seemed to take it as a joke.
But Iyeon was serious. Although Hyegang might appear capable at a glance, he surprisingly lacked discernment. With a face like a porcelain doll, all sorts of weirdos would be attracted to him even if he just stood still, so it was a blessing that he found going out troublesome… Otherwise, he would have had daily chaos trying to fend off stalkers who flocked to him like magnets.—There had actually been incidents.—
