“Wow… you’re only coming now?”
Researchers are really busy jobs… A muttered monologue followed.
Jun-wan took off his shoes without responding. Kim Yu-shin, whom he glanced at quietly, appeared to have been lounging around the house all day. The way he nibbled at the banana also looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
What a carefree person. Jun-wan quietly swallowed a sigh. After looking around the space that hardly felt like his own home, he went up to the second floor.
He’d roughly heard an explanation from his mother. The luggage from Jun-wan’s officetel had also been moved here.
It was a needlessly large newlywed home. There were plenty of rooms and most were empty. Jun-wan’s mother had said wouldn’t it be nice to decorate the extra spaces as guest rooms, but who knows. Would there really be occasions for guests to come to this house?
He barely found the dressing room. Jun-wan, who entered inside, couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Was this a family home or a clothing store? Though it was just a room for changing clothes, it looked like an entire clothing store had been transplanted.
Jun-wan took off his jacket and started walking.
The clothes organized neatly by season and material looked like they’d been handled by someone skilled at organizing.
If calculating the dressing room’s share ratio, Kim Yu-shin’s belongings occupied about 80%. While Jun-wan’s clothes were mostly achromatic suits, Yu-shin’s clothes were diverse in both type and color.
Kim Yu-shin must have excessive material desires. Seeing just the abnormal state of the dressing room, Jun-wan arbitrarily concluded. After changing into comfortable clothes, he put the suit jacket and tie into the clothing care machine and ran it.
Jun-wan took out the gift watch and approached the display case occupying the center of the dressing room. Inside the glass case, countless watches and bracelets were positioned.
Obviously luxury brands. The expensive accessories were all Kim Yu-shin’s possessions.
For a child of a wealthy family no different from a chaebol, this level of luxury might be natural. However, Jun-wan, who valued practicality, didn’t like the excessively ornate jewelry box.
That said, he had no desire to criticize Yu-shin’s luxurious lifestyle. Wasn’t it just a difference in tendencies? What each person pursues is different. As long as it didn’t affect him, that was enough.
After finishing his shower, he went down to the first floor. The study filled only with familiar objects was a space where he could at least feel some stability. Jun-wan sat in the chair and scanned the familiar books and furniture.
As his tired body naturally relaxed, the chair back also reclined. Jun-wan slightly furrowed his brow while recalling the day’s events.
Caught by the president and professor, he’d blown the entire morning. It would have been nice if it ended there, but afterward every person he met poured questions on him, and even reporters who’d secretly infiltrated grated on Jun-wan’s nerves.
Though he’d expected a few days of commotion, the aftermath of marriage was fiercer than expected. Thanks to that, Jun-wan’s entire day’s schedule was thrown off and he even had to work overtime that wasn’t in the plan.
For someone who planned everything, the occurrence of variables itself was stress. Jun-wan held his forehead and breathed deeply, suppressing the rising irritation.
The study was perfect as a place to organize his thoughts alone. Jun-wan brought a recently acquired academic journal to read. As he read topics of interest, his agitated mind settled and he quickly became immersed.
Time flew by and before he knew it, it had become 1 AM.
Jun-wan stopped organizing the study and came out. While crossing the corridor without making footsteps, he stopped dead in front of the living room.
Kim Yu-shin was still awake. With all the lights turned off, he was sitting on the sofa earnestly watching something.
Animals were moving around on the large TV screen. It was an animated film that had been a huge hit a few years ago. He was completely absorbed as if watching the already long-passed trendy movie for the first time.
His large eyes didn’t blink even once, showing how much he was concentrating.
He’s not even a child. Is it something to be that absorbed in? Jun-wan found the sight pathetic.
“……”
He tried to ignore it and turn around, but somehow his feet wouldn’t move. Jun-wan returned toward the sofa and lightly tapped Yu-shin’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you sleeping?”
“After I finish this.”
“Who watches animated movies at dawn?”
Yu-shin slowly turned his head. His expression seemed to say, why are you interfering?
“Park Jun-wan ssi, you’re more of a fuddy-duddy than you look…”
“Yes, I’m a fuddy-duddy.”
Jun-wan arbitrarily pressed the remote’s power button. Yu-shin’s shallow provocation couldn’t work on him.
The living room, cut off from light and sound, was visited by the deep quiet befitting dawn. Yu-shin put down the cushion he’d been hugging as if he had no choice.
The two went up the stairs together. Yu-shin quietly looked up at Jun-wan’s back as he walked ahead. The shoulder line extending at right angles and the back muscles visible through the thin shirt were newly adult-like.
I thought he’d treat me like I was invisible, but he seems to be a person with deeper responsibility than expected.
Yu-shin laughed quietly. The sensitive man immediately stopped and turned around. He quickly hid his laugh and shook his head saying it was nothing. Slow steps began treading the wooden stairs again.
Jun-wan entered the bedroom for the first time. As soon as he opened the door, the pink mother-of-pearl cabinet was the first thing to catch his eye.
The treasure bestowed by His Majesty had such a presence that it scattered brilliant light even in the darkness. The affectionate pair of mandarin ducks placed neatly on top made the viewer feel troubled.
“The bedroom’s pretty nice, right?”
Yu-shin already acted familiar as if it was his own home. Leaving Jun-wan standing still at the doorway, he boldly stepped inside.
“The bed is too…”
As soon as Jun-wan saw the bed, he let out a breath close to a sigh. The room size comparable to a decent officetel or the pink mother-of-pearl cabinet weren’t the problem now. The bed was severely outrageous, more than enough to surpass all of that. Jun-wan glared at the fluttery canopy.
“What about the bed?”
“Is this Kim Yu-shin ssi’s taste?”
“Ah, is it because of the canopy? It’s just decoration…”
Isn’t this much normal? Yu-shin asked back shamelessly. His face was so brazenly innocent that Jun-wan lost his words.
“I chose the bed. The same one I used at the main house. I’m actually pretty particular about where I sleep. If I use an uncomfortable bed, I can’t sleep well.”
“Can’t we at least take off those wing-like curtains?”
“That won’t do. Without the canopy, I can’t sleep.”
Yu-shin flatly refused. Jun-wan still hadn’t stepped inside the bedroom and was just standing still with his arms crossed. He simply couldn’t understand Yu-shin’s taste. His furrowed brow indirectly revealed how complicated his feelings were right now.
“Just try lying down. Once you lie down, you won’t even notice the other stuff, right?”
At Yu-shin’s repeated urging, Jun-wan had no choice but to step forward. As soon as he lay on the bed, irritation rose. The bed swallowed his body. While stably supporting his waist, it cozily melted his entire body.
This was a bed that made people lazy. No one would be able to easily escape once they lay here.
Yu-shin also lay on the side. As if curious about his impression, he stared intently at Jun-wan while resting his head on his hand.
“Do you like it?”
Jun-wan answered with a sigh instead. Strength naturally entered his eyes.
“Does my opinion matter? When the setup is already finished.”
“It matters. We have to use this bed together every night.”
Yu-shin casually uttered meaningful words. While tilting his head slightly and adding an eye smile.
If someone with a black heart had heard it, they could have misconstrued those words and pinned Kim Yu-shin down. However, Jun-wan just ran his tongue over his rough cheek lining.
His icy gaze turned to Yu-shin’s left hand. The fingers supporting his small head looked empty.
“Ring.”
“Huh?”
“Where’s your wedding ring?”
At those words, Yu-shin lay down with his head on the pillow and spread out his left hand. His large eyes rolled slowly as if recalling the memory.
“Ah… I took it off earlier while washing. I forgot to put it back on.”
“Do you think I’m wearing it because it’s comfortable?”
A blunt remark popped out on its own. However, Yu-shin seemed to have developed immunity to Jun-wan’s tone and didn’t particularly care.
Yu-shin, who turned on his side, slipped his empty hand deep into the stacked pillows.
“I’ll put it on tomorrow.”
“Putting off tasks for later is not a good habit.”
“It’s not like the ring has legs. Surely what I left behind won’t disappear?”
Jun-wan gave him a side-eye. Though he didn’t say anything, his reproaching gaze was painfully sharp. Yu-shin rubbed his cheek against the pillow, making a big show of being bothered.
“It’s in the bathroom. I’m too lazy to move right now.”
