It was a text with a brief instruction. He didn’t even need to look at who it was from to know. A small smile settled at the corner of Munyeong’s lips as he looked down at the message. It seemed Yeon Haejeong was already done with work. Munyeong hurriedly set down his apron and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. While he was at it, he checked his reflection in the mirror. He looked disheveled, probably from working all day. On top of that, his hair had apparently grown out without him noticing — it was already covering more of his eyes. Munyeong’s expression fell a little at his rather sorry state. But then he caught himself wondering what on earth he was thinking, and slapped both his own cheeks with his palms.
He was too worked up. Feeling that firsthand, Munyeong let out a short sigh. He forced his eyes wide open as if to snap himself to his senses — and then the memory of that morning’s kiss surfaced and his face went hot all over again.
“…I’m losing it.”
Munyeong muttered under his breath and quickly reined in his expression. He splashed cold water on his face to cool it down and stepped out of the bathroom in a hurry. Another impatient text from Yeon Haejeong arrived and Munyeong rushed out of the apartment.
Stepping out of the towering high-rise, a cool evening breeze brushed his cheeks. It was the season where early winter was creeping in, and now that the sun had set, the air had turned crisp. Having left in a hurry, he’d forgotten to grab a jacket, so Munyeong huddled his shoulders and looked around — and spotted the familiar car. He jogged over with both arms folded against himself.
He walked up to the driver’s side window and knocked, tap tap, and the glass slowly lowered. Through it, Yeon Haejeong sat with his characteristic air of arrogance and glanced back at him sideways.
“If there’s something you need me to——”
“Get in.”
He’d assumed there was something specific he’d been called out to do, but Yeon Haejeong just tipped his chin toward the passenger seat.
“…W-where are we going?”
“Just get in already.”
“……Should I drive……?”
Munyeong asked tentatively, thinking it might be part of his duties, and Yeon Haejeong’s brow creased as he shot back immediately.
“I said just get in.”
Not wanting to make him say the same thing a third time and set him off, Munyeong quickly rounded the car to the passenger side. As he climbed in, a warm wave of heat enveloped him and he felt himself relax a little.
“Seatbelt.”
The moment he got in, Yeon Haejeong issued the short instruction. Munyeong clicked the seatbelt into place like an obedient puppy. The moment the buckle locked — click — he pressed the accelerator without delay. Unlike Munyeong, who drove with caution, Yeon Haejeong drove with the same straightforwardness as his personality — no hesitating, just going, switching lanes with practiced ease. He looked like a very capable driver.
Munyeong sat up straight and kept his eyes fixed ahead. Being in the passenger seat while someone else drove was a first for him, and it felt deeply unfamiliar. On top of that, with what had happened that morning still fresh, Munyeong was even more acutely conscious of Yeon Haejeong’s presence than usual — more frozen than he would normally be.
He wanted to ask where they were going, but his gaze was briefly caught by Yeon Haejeong’s profile as he focused on driving, and by the time he remembered he’d meant to ask, they had already arrived. He only found out the destination once the car had pulled to a stop.
“Get out.”
He instructed in an even voice. Munyeong stepped out of the car and looked at him with a bewildered expression.
“Where is this……”
“Where else.”
He added in a flat tone.
“Supermarket.”
“…….”
“There’s nothing to eat at home.”
“…….”
“We need to do groceries, don’t we.”
He cleared his throat — hmm — and said it as though justifying himself. Even though no one had called him out on anything.
“…Oh. Right.”
If I’d known it would be this, I would’ve at least changed into proper clothes. Munyeong had assumed he was being called out to carry things or something, and so he’d come in nothing but a thin shirt that practically resembled pajamas. The fabric was so thin it was nearly see-through, and Munyeong rubbed his arms self-consciously. Thinking it might be warmer inside, he started walking without even knowing where the entrance was. Just then, something fell over his shoulders. A warmth that wrapped around his whole body carried his scent along with it. A deep, settled fragrance hit his nose, and Yeon Haejeong’s indifferent voice drifted into his ear.
“Are you trying to get yourself sick.”
That characteristic voice, laced with a hint of petulance.
“Look at the state of your clothes.”
“…….”
“Your chest is showing.”
With irritated eyes, he pulled his own jacket snugly closed around Munyeong. Having his chest showing wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about, but… the way Yeon Haejeong was grumbling about it while clearly flustered himself made Munyeong’s face go warm.
“Nipples out and everything, for god’s sake.”
He muttered to himself grumpily and went ahead and buttoned it up himself. Munyeong had no choice but to awkwardly wear his dress jacket that was twice the size of his own body. He’d known the shirt was thin, but he hadn’t realized it was that see-through — so he pulled the jacket tighter around himself and said quietly:
“…Th-thank you.”
“You’re such a handful, honestly.”
He clicked his tongue — tsk tsk — and started walking ahead. Munyeong snapped back to himself at the way he walked away so fast and hurried to follow. Come on. The low, quiet voice came with it.
As it turned out, the place they’d entered was a premium supermarket inside a department store. It only sold products that were two to three times more expensive than your average discount supermarket. Munyeong pushed a cart and looked around, but everything on the shelves had a certain air of luxury to it. So different from the ordinary places he knew, Munyeong couldn’t help but feel out of place. And having Yeon Haejeong walking alongside him with that impassive face — that, too, was unfamiliar enough to leave him unsure what to do with himself.
The silence hanging between them without a single word made it even more uncomfortable. Munyeong pushed the cart along slowly and gently opened his mouth.
“…What do you want for dinner?”
“When did you work in food service?”
The question came back as a question. Munyeong hesitated for a moment at the unexpected response.
“…Right after I left the facility.”
His voice quieted on its own at the topic of the past.
“…I’d been wondering about that.”
“…Hm?”
“Graduating.”
“…….”
“Why didn’t you graduate?”
Seemingly remembering what Munyeong had said about only finishing middle school, he brought it up out of nowhere. He was tossing ingredients from the shelves into the cart one after another without even comparing prices, asking as if it were nothing.
“…Something came up.”
He’d thought a vague brush-off would do it, but Yeon Haejeong kept pressing, as if he wasn’t even interested — yet persistently.
At that time, Yeon Haejeong had stopped coming to school after the accident, so it was only natural he wouldn’t know what had happened afterward. But Munyeong couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth here — that it was because of that incident. And he had no desire whatsoever to bring up that incident in front of Yeon Haejeong.
“……There was an incident. Among the kids at the facility…. Hey, do you like japchae? I know how to make it……”
Munyeong told a lie he wasn’t even good at and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. Holding up a bag of glass noodles nearly the size of his torso, smiling awkwardly as he asked — Yeon Haejeong’s sharp instincts fired up, but the unspoken wish that he’d just let it go came through clearly, so he deliberately played dumb and let it slide.
“…I don’t particularly like it or dislike it.”
“Oh…. Then something else——”
“But I could try it.”
Yeon Haejeong cut off Munyeong’s words and snatched the glass noodles out of his hands and pushed them into the cart. At his attitude — pretending he didn’t care while going along with Munyeong’s suggestion anyway — Munyeong smiled faintly.
And then, all of a sudden, he caught sight of Yeon Haejeong’s dress shoes as they walked. The way his foot would extend forward and then pause slightly — and Munyeong realized then that Yeon Haejeong had been matching his pace to Munyeong’s, which was inherently slow. Even walking side by side required consideration from the other person. Munyeong was learning that for the first time, and he looked quietly up at Yeon Haejeong, who kept his expression carefully neutral. This was a problem.
He kept giving him reasons he couldn’t help but fall deeper.
But it wasn’t a feeling of pure, simple excitement. Because Munyeong knew his place all too well — just as Yeon Haejeong had said. To be indebted to him, living off his generosity, and on top of that to dare feel his heart flutter — it was a truly absurd thing. Wanting more was always out of the question. He had nothing to his name and was already in debt, yet here he was, getting carried away — it was pathetic. The feelings that had found their opening surged without rest. Knowing nothing of his own place.
