It wasn’t my money anyway, but this wasn’t a money problem. I shook my head.
“I’ll gratefully accept just the sentiment.”
“Why? You don’t want to live with me?”
“It’s not that… It’s just a bit sudden.”
“Then don’t reject it right now, think about it slowly and carefully. We’re not strangers anymore. If I’m having a hard time, you help me, and if you’re having a hard time, I help you—that’s natural.”
It was a valid point, but I felt uneasy. Was it because we said today was Day 1? Why is he acting so burdensome? He didn’t seem like that kind of personality.
Or could he be hoping for something from me? Something he could gain.
“Lee Jiwoo.”
“Yeah, tell me. Anything’s fine.”
“Why couldn’t I reach you all that time? Your phone kept being off too.”
It was strange to have no contact and then suddenly act like this. What I said with hyungnim also bothered me.
Lee Jiwoo claimed that hyungnim was misunderstanding. He said no matter how much he tried to explain, hyungnim wouldn’t listen, but hyungnim’s words were the complete opposite. I didn’t even know who to believe. It was even more confusing because neither seemed trustworthy.
“I was overseas.”
If he’d lied or been evasive, I would have thought it was even stranger, but he told the truth again. I widened my eyes, pretending to be surprised.
“Overseas? Suddenly?”
“Yeah, hyung asked to meet, so I went, but it seems he never intended to meet from the start. In the end, he never showed up.”
“Ah… But why was your phone off?”
“I didn’t turn it off—I dropped it and it broke. It fell in water a few times too.”
What the hell did he do there to torment his phone so spectacularly? I couldn’t tell if it was true or a lie, but either way, it didn’t really matter.
“I thought you suddenly didn’t like me anymore and we’d never see each other again.”
“Were you sad about that?”
Lee Jiwoo tilted his head to the side to look at me and asked. I quietly met his gaze and then nodded.
“Yes, more than sad… I just felt a bit lonely. It wasn’t extremely bad or anything.”
“I was so lonely too while I couldn’t see you. I felt like I was losing my mind, to the point where I couldn’t even properly take care of my phone.”
“Then you should have at least borrowed a phone to contact me.”
Anyway, he’s so smooth with his words. When I grumbled, Lee Jiwoo laughed.
“Next time I’ll definitely do that. Ah, and I’m sorry. I went to ask hyung about you, but in the end I found out nothing.”
“It can’t be helped. It’s not your fault or anything.”
We finished the dishes while talking about this and that. I even wiped the sink and dishes with a dry cloth because it felt like there shouldn’t be any moisture.
“Want to shower together?”
As soon as I thought it was about time to wash up and change into comfortable clothes, Lee Jiwoo suddenly asked. Compared to the big thing that was about to happen, showering together was nothing, but I needed time alone to prepare my mind and meditate.
“You shower first, Lee Jiwoo. Can I look around the house in the meantime? Are there any places I shouldn’t go?”
“No. You can go anywhere. Just think of it as your own house and be comfortable. Even if you lie on the living room floor and crawl around, there’s no one who’ll say anything to you. Want to see my room?”
Lee Jiwoo took me with him as he walked. On the way, one side of the corridor was a full-length window. Looking carefully, the outside was external space, but it was a separate area completely isolated from the outside.
In other words, if the building was square, the very center was a courtyard form, completely open to see the sky. It was dark so I couldn’t see well, but even at a glance it was incredibly spacious.
I worried it might feel stuffy without windows, but it was a needless concern. On the other hand, the structure of the house felt too defensive, which also felt a bit strange.
Does he value privacy? He’s not even a celebrity… Ah, maybe it’s because of his panic disorder.
Lee Jiwoo’s room was at the very end of the corridor. When he opened the door, unlike the enormous living room, a small room appeared. Even though it was small, it was much bigger than my room, but compared to the scale of the house, it was extremely small.
What was more bewildering was that the only thing in that room was a bed. There was no closet, no desk, and not even a phone charger or outlet visible.
“Make yourself comfortable. You can go outside too. Just don’t go over the front gate.”
As if I might run away, Lee Jiwoo left with strange words and went to wash up. He told me to be comfortable, but I couldn’t relax.
I was uncomfortable even sitting on the edge of the bed that was arranged with sharp corners like a hotel bed. After standing alone awkwardly, I eventually quietly left the room.
When I followed Lee Jiwoo down the corridor, I’d seen two closed doors. When I arrived at one of them and opened the door, a large dressing room appeared.
Like wealthy houses I’d seen on television, expensive-looking watches, jewelry, sunglasses, ties, and so on were displayed in showcases. I unknowingly clasped my hands behind my back and casually looked around before going outside.
And when I opened the next door, a dark-colored wooden desk and a bookshelf filling the wall appeared. Is this like a study? Most of the books were foreign publications, so I couldn’t even make out what the titles were.
Like the other places, there wasn’t a speck of dust on the desk. As I circled the desk, looking at the laptop and touching it with my fingertips for no reason, suddenly a drawer caught my eye.
I stared at the drawer that was closed with a key still inserted, then glanced at the open door I’d entered through. I didn’t know where the bathroom was and couldn’t hear any washing sounds, but he couldn’t have finished already.
Wasting time being nervous would only be more of a loss. Without hesitation, I opened the drawer and looked inside. Inside, like the bookshelf, foreign books and papers printed in English were stacked.
Colored ballpoint pens, fountain pens, markers… And there was even something like a receipt… There didn’t seem to be anything I could gain information from, so I pushed it back in and pulled the drawer below.
“……”
There was a black notebook with a pen stuck in it. I worried it might be empty or have foreign languages written in it, but fortunately it was in Korean. It was probably written by Lee Jiwoo.
[Gang Munsuk, 51 years old. 571 Heolleung-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Lake Villa. Husband deceased, one son. Suhyup Bank 580 million collateral loan. Son Kim Jongwoo studying in New Zealand. Insufficient funds, gambling addiction, likes red lipstick. What does “there’s no same red in the world” mean? In 2024, Kim San’s wife borrowed money and ran away without paying back. Too thoughtful and noisy.]
“……”
What is this? I frowned heavily and turned to the next page.
[Park Cheoljung. Went AWOL during military service and went to the brig. 25 years old but lies and says he’s 35. Did hyung get fooled too? Isn’t he an idiot? Why would he fall for this? Kim Gwanwoo is right there, so it’s questionable why he couldn’t catch the forged ID. Does he just not care?]
[Park Yul. 18 years old. Jaewon High School. Now even minors… Has a record of accidentally hitting a friend too hard during a fight in middle school and killing them. Actually it wasn’t an accident but intentional, but nobody knows. Lost 80 million won on an illegal gambling site. Has a one-sided crush on a girl. Kim Sua?]
The next page, and the page after that were the same. It seemed to be personal information, but the content was too ambiguous.
“…Could this be that? The list of secrets?”
My heart started pounding like crazy. No way, I’m finding this this quickly? And if it’s a secret, he’s leaving it this carelessly? Is this right? Or not?
No, who is this person named Jang Jaehoon, and why is there even writing about how he likes corn noodles in malatang? There was even content about how he extremely hates bok choy.
“What the hell is this…”
Setting aside what the content said, what on earth was I supposed to do with this? Should I steal the notebook? Or should I at least take pictures with my phone? It would probably be better to take pictures since it might be noticed if it disappears, right?
“I’m going crazy.”
I hastily took my phone out of my pocket. I didn’t expect to discover this so quickly, so I had nothing prepared. I vaguely just naturally thought I’d fail, but who knew discovering it would also be a problem.
“Ca-camera sound…”
I was rushing to take pictures when I hesitated. If I take a picture, it’ll make a sound, right? What if Lee Jiwoo hears it? But how long has it been since Lee Jiwoo went to wash up? Isn’t it about time for him to come out? Should I put it back for now and go back to the room? If I get caught, it’ll all be for nothing.
Even while agonizing intensely, I quickly installed a camera app.
