When he answered bluntly, Lee Euishin was silent. Yeah, give up and sleep. The moment he was about to hang up, a low voice was heard.
[…Come.]
“What?”
[I can’t sleep because of you.]
His heart sank. It was because of the excessively low voice. He answered crookedly as if to blow away his confusion.
“Hey, that’s what I should be saying, you know? Because of you, food won’t even go down.”
[So come home and eat.]
What do you mean ‘so’? It was absurd. Lee Euishin didn’t give in and spouted more nonsense.
[I’ll make everything you want to eat, so come home.]
“That method doesn’t work anymore.”
[Come tomorrow morning.]
“…There’s no talking to you.”
He hung up. When he closed his eyes, all kinds of troubled thoughts came between the scattering streaks of light. Why is Lee Euishin’s puberty only starting now? He missed the dignified, cool, and fresh guy from his fifteen-year-old days.
Tossing and turning until dawn before barely falling asleep, Lee Euishin appeared in his dream.
The guy who’d been like a tall prince at fifteen bought him all kinds of delicious things from the convenience store. The class president who didn’t get angry, didn’t act mean, and didn’t put him in difficult positions was pretty and welcome, so Kwon Yunsu gave up his favorite strawberry milk and yokan. When he woke in the morning, it was a nice enough dream to feel nostalgic.
Looking at the clock, it was 6 AM. From Ahn Shinwook’s house to school took a little over 30 minutes. Even considering he had a first period class, it was still early.
But he couldn’t fall back asleep. After tossing and turning for about 5 minutes, Kwon Yunsu got up and hastily washed up and packed his things.
[Come tomorrow morning.]
Perhaps those words had been poisonous.
Kwon Yunsu thought he was like a knight climbing to the demon lord’s castle without a single sword as he trudged home.
He opened the door prepared to run into him face-to-face again, but fortunately that didn’t happen.
Instead, drawn by the food smell drifting through the interior, when he went to the kitchen, Lee Euishin was there. Exactly as he’d captured in his eyes roughly 24 hours ago.
“……”
At the gaze looking up expressionlessly, Kwon Yunsu’s pride was hurt. He had a new realization. That even after suffering that humiliation, he’d obediently followed what the guy told him to do. And Lee Euishin let out a light sigh and tilted his head.
“Sit.”
“……”
Without answering, he threw a defiant gaze. Lee Euishin was still calm but looked a bit prickly and tired. Did he not sleep because of his guilty conscience? …Is that because of me? Since the situation was the same on this side, he didn’t feel sorry at all.
“Eat first and let’s talk. You haven’t eaten anything yesterday or today, have you?”
Does he at least know that what he did upsets people? Without the energy to get angry on an empty stomach, he did as told for now. When he put down his bag and sat at the table, what was set before his eyes came into proper view. It was a real breakfast table with a few simple seasoned vegetable dishes, braised soy sauce meat, a stir-fry dish, tteokgalbi, and even soup. When he looked with suspicious eyes, the guy picking up chopsticks answered with a tired face.
“I made it.”
“…All of this?”
“I couldn’t sleep so I made things one by one and it became morning.”
Crazy bastard. He’s lying.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You yesterday…”
“What I made yesterday was made the day before, and I threw it all out.”
He threw out food? He thought it was nonsense, but the other party was Lee Euishin. Moreover, blinded by anger, he hadn’t properly looked at what food had been set out yesterday morning. Lee Euishin said again.
“I threw it all out. Because there was no reward in making it.”
…He cooked all night two nights in a row, and because there was no one to eat with, he threw it all away? If I hadn’t come today…… Unable to gauge his sincerity, he stopped thinking.
He picked up a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of seaweed soup. Ugh, it was clean and delicious. This was the most unexpected of the sides Lee Euishin had shown lately. That he could cook pretty well.
“You knew how to do this kind of thing too?”
“Eating out doesn’t suit my taste so I know how to make most things. Korean food is my first time lately.”
“But why…”
Did you eat the below-average food I made so well?
“You wanted to do it.”
For me, you wanted to feed me food you made.
How many years will it take before Kwon Yunsu can read this context? Lee Euishin thought of the distant years ahead and pushed the tteokgalbi toward Kwon Yunsu. And making his words to eat and talk meaningless, he abruptly opened the floodgate. Because he was afraid Kwon Yunsu would dash out of the house again once he finished eating.
“I won’t do it anymore.”
It was a truly unpleasant feeling. Kwon Yunsu not coming home not to be with familiar people like family, friends, college peers, etc., but simply because he didn’t want to face him. Waiting for such a guy while guarding the house alone. It was different from what he’d anticipated in his head. Excluding taking brief naps, Lee Euishin had barely slept for two days.
“I won’t embarrass you. I’ll do everything except apologize to Shin Jaewoo, so don’t run away from home.”
Anyone listening would think he’d been gone for like ten days. It’s only been two measly days and though briefly, he came home yesterday too, so what running away from home? Kwon Yunsu grumbled inwardly.
“Why are you excluding apologizing to Shin Jaewoo? Do that too. What did he do wrong?”
And after slowly finishing his meal, he reached for a water glass and said. Lee Euishin, who’d been eating only soup without appetite, answered coolly.
“That bastard should be thrown in jail.”
“…Not you?”
“It won’t be good if he catches my eye, so tell him to get lost on his own.”
He was so dumbfounded he wasn’t even angry.
“I’ll bet my entire fortune that you’ll be kicked out of the club before Shin Jaewoo gets lost….”
“I don’t regret it.”
“……”
It sounded like a confident declaration.
Kwon Yunsu avoided the deeply staring gaze beyond the water glass. A strange illusion seemed to arise. Whether not regretting meant hitting Shin Jaewoo, or…
“Being sorry and regretting are different. Aren’t they?”
Or some other thing……
“…I’ll clean up.”
Unable to bear the suffocating gaze, Kwon Yunsu stood up holding his own bowl. You shouldn’t talk long with a puberty patient.
“It’s fine, leave it.”
Lee Euishin stood up abruptly and said.
“I’ll…”
Avoiding him striding closer and turning toward the sink, and his wrist being grabbed were almost simultaneous,
“…!”
And the next moment, startled by the sudden contact, he dropped the bowl.
Two solid porcelain bowls collided with each other and sharp fragments flew. In an instant, Lee Euishin’s upper body approached and the familiar shower cologne scent reached his nose. The top of his foot without socks stung slightly.
“Don’t move.”
Stroking his startled heart, Kwon Yunsu exhaled briefly. If there was something Lee Euishin said most effectively, it would be commands. While he stood frozen stupidly, the guy moved quickly. He pushed the large fragments to one side, wiped the floor with a towel, then sent Kwon Yunsu to the living room.
The wound on the top of his foot was minor enough that little blood came out. When he rubbed the beading blood with his finger, Lee Euishin approached and grabbed his hand.
“Stay still.”
In an instant the tissue was stained with blood and the area gradually widened. Lee Euishin pulled out new tissue and covered the top of his foot. The cut area seemed wider than expected. Kwon Yunsu lightly shook his foot.
“It’s fine. It’s not bleeding. In my room…”
“I.”
Lee Euishin was kneeling in front of Kwon Yunsu sitting on the sofa.
“…Then I’ll hold it down, so get ready for school.”
Isn’t this awkward? Because you looked surprised, I was even more surprised.
“Shut up.”
Can’t you move away a bit…?
“It’s not like you’ve only seen me being clumsy once or twice.”
When he shook his foot again as if scolding him for being surprised over such a thing, Lee Euishin grabbed his ankle with strong force. It was a nervous and serious face. The touch of cold hands sequentially wrapping his sole, ankle bone, and the top of his foot. This kind of thing really…… really isn’t good.
“It’s not being clumsy….”
Lee Euishin raised his head.
