At the same time, he caught a strange smell. Not from the wet hair, but emanating from the other’s entire body. Something chilly, something that seemed like what he’d often smelled in the hospital during his hospitalization—a smell that wasn’t unfamiliar.
“Hey.”
Suddenly a low voice echoed like a cave. Before he could think it was a pleasant gentle voice despite being so low, force was applied to the hand gripping his collar.
Seonwoo’s body was pulled along with it, bringing the two even closer together. If they got just a little closer, the moisture-laden hair would touch Seonwoo’s cheek.
“I said take off your clothes. Right now.”
Only after carefully examining the other’s appearance did Seonwoo register that demand. So he’d woken up a sleeping person and suddenly demanded he take off his clothes. It was an absurd demand.
But Seonwoo didn’t swat away the hand gripping his collar or get angry telling him to get off right now. He stared piercingly at the other’s face once more, then tilted his head as if gauging something.
“These, are they your clothes?”
His hunch in asking was correct. The expression became twice as fierce, looking ready to throw a punch.
“You’re this house’s son, right?”
“So what.”
“Your dad brought them for me to wear, so…!”
That’s when it happened. A large hand pressed down on his crown and forcibly shoved his face into the neckline. Snap snap, the sound of stitching breaking could be heard. Not undressing him but ready to tear it off.
Without a chance to resist, his top was stripped off. When the rough hand touched his bottoms, he instinctively grabbed his waistband. But he belatedly realized it was his right hand that he’d urgently extended.
The moment the rough force pulled down his pants, he felt pain. For an instant, Seonwoo grimaced and held back a groan. The futile resistance accomplished nothing as the undressing was completed without problem.
“……”
In the blink of an eye, Seonwoo sat forlornly on the bed in just his underwear. His usually calm hair was sticking out everywhere, making him really look like someone who’d met a robber and been cleaned out from head to toe.
That was the end. Without a word of warning or threat, the other turned his back, crumpled clothes clutched in one hand. Yet for someone who’d been struck by lightning in his sleep, Seonwoo was peaceful. More precisely, his face was thoughtfully contemplating something.
“Wait a moment.”
“……”
“Take this too.”
It was the moment large bare feet were about to cross the threshold. The body that had been going its way stopped abruptly. Only a very small space remained between the threshold and the crown of his head. Every door in this house was close to 2 meters, yet because of his large height, the width and height all looked low.
The face that turned back scowled fiercely. There was no way he’d be pleased to see the body of a same-sex person suddenly exposing important parts. He was even sitting sprawled on the bed with his legs spread wide as if he had no sense of shame.
“You told me to take them off.”
“What?”
“This is yours too, right?”
Seonwoo held out the underwear hooked on his thumb. This underwear had also been included with the clothes the Vice Director brought, and it wasn’t packaged like a new product. Then it was obvious, wasn’t it?
Was it because of the soft eye shape that drooped slightly downward? His expressionless face looked so innocent that it was hard to tell whether this was a lowbrow provocation or sincere goodwill.
Either way, it was impossible to get a good response from the other party. The flickering eyes swept up and down Seonwoo’s naked body once, then returned to the underwear hooked on his finger, soon becoming colored with disgust.
“You crazy bastard……”
The low, quiet voice was full of contempt. He closed the door with enough force to break it, expressing his displeasure as it was. Even until then, Seonwoo didn’t budge from the bed.
After the door closed and a brief silence, Seonwoo put the underwear back on. After all, it was too cold to be naked in this weather.
He had only covered his important parts so the cold remained, but in this situation, if he went back to ask to borrow some clothes, it seemed like there would be a funeral.
No wonder it seemed like clothes for someone his age. He thought they wouldn’t be the Vice Director’s clothes, but he didn’t know he’d bring his own son’s clothes. Even the underwear. Judging from what just happened, it seemed he didn’t even get permission.
It was his first day as a freeloader, yet all he’d gained was the impression of a dysfunctional household. If it had been someone other than Seonwoo, it would have been quite an uncomfortable environment.
Right now, far from being mindful of others, Seonwoo searched the room for something to wear. When he opened the closet on the wall side, there were seasonal blankets in the upper space and neatly folded clothes on the lower shelves.
Thanks to that, he could avoid the sight of wrapping himself tightly in a blanket wearing only underwear. The first shelf was outerwear, the second shelf was indoor clothing, and the last shelf was the underwear section.
When he randomly pulled out some clothes, they smelled of the same fabric softener. But instead of body odor, there was a strong smell characteristic of new clothes. Moreover, without a single wrinkle, they showed no signs of use.
Dressed in indoor clothes, Seonwoo pondered disposing of the underwear he’d just changed out of. It was obvious he’d only get cursed at if he returned it. He stored it in an empty space, planning to secretly throw it in the trash later.
“Ah……”
The moment he got up, a sudden headache struck as if stabbing his head. Seonwoo unconsciously lowered his posture and sat on the edge of the bed.
It felt like his entire head was tingling and vibrating. Until that sensation disappeared, he couldn’t move and just sat still.
After one bout of migraine passed and he looked around the room, the paper bag he’d thrown in the corner of the bed had fallen to the floor from the earlier commotion.
He took out a white envelope from inside. It was what the Vice Director had given him to use for transportation. Inside were twenty 50,000 won bills. It was an excessive amount to use for transportation. Seonwoo didn’t take out the money and put the envelope in the bottom drawer of the desk.
The white envelope placed in the center of the empty drawer was too conspicuous. But Seonwoo didn’t care if someone else discovered it or stole it. He doubted there would be any occasion to use that money anyway.
The time he checked on his phone was 11 PM. He’d woken up at an awkward timing, but his drowsiness had already flown away and there was no sign of falling asleep again. Just as he was thinking about what to do to kill time until sunrise, he felt a chill from his body.
Could the headache have appeared because of the cold wind? He belatedly closed the wide-open window, but the cold air remained. Should I take a bath? There was nothing else to do anyway. Seonwoo immediately got up.
But the moment he opened the room door, there was a burning smell from somewhere.
It wasn’t a mistake. It rushed at him along with the air beyond the door. One corner of the dim living room was uniquely bright. Unidentifiable shadows flickered on the wall.
The source was the living room fireplace. Clothes were burning on top of the charred black logs. They were the clothes Seonwoo had been wearing until just a few minutes ago. Seonwoo was inwardly impressed. What a temper.
Appreciation aside, it seemed like he shouldn’t leave it as it was. The flames were getting fiercer and the burning smell was getting stronger. Seonwoo crossed the living room and headed to the room at the end of the corridor.
He didn’t even try to silence his footsteps. He reached the front of the room in an instant and grabbed the doorknob. However, he only heard the sound of something blocking it, and the doorknob didn’t turn. Seonwoo knocked on the door with his intact left hand.
“Hey. You deal with what you caused.”
There was no response, so he knocked once more. This time with a bit more force.
“You’re going to burn to death like this, you know?”
There was absolutely no sign of life even at the obvious provocation. Did he leave the house in the meantime? Seonwoo, who went down to the first floor, looked around the house roughly but there was no one. Even at the entrance he checked last, there were only the patient slippers Seonwoo had worn.
As he went back up to the second floor, he could already smell the burning from the stairs. Now black smoke was leaking from the gaps in the fireplace. The entire outfit was engulfed in flames and burning from the edges.
