TWELVE 39

“Don’t you like them?”

Gi Seoin didn’t seem to notice my intent. I swallowed a sigh, fearing I might sound negative to him, and then spoke.

“It’s not a matter of liking them or not; they’re too… expensive.”

“Ah.”

Gi Seoin let out a casual exclamation similar to “Aha,” looked down at the items once, and then looked back at me.

“Just use them. They aren’t that expensive.”

“Not expensive? Is a lawyer’s salary really that high?”

“I can afford them even without a lawyer’s salary, so don’t worry about money. It’s a waste of time.”

…Wow. That was a line that could easily fit into the Top 5 most obnoxious things to ever come out of Gi Seoin’s mouth.

“No, no matter how much money you have, this is a luxury for me.”

“I bought them, so why is it a luxury? And…”

Gi Seoin looked a bit annoyed.

“What do you mean, a luxury for you? If it’s fine with me, then it’s fine for you too.”

“What kind of logic is that? I’m different from you. Even if you give me things like this, I can’t even pay you back…”

“Who told you to pay me back?”

Right, that was the problem. Gi Seoin wouldn’t understand.

“Even if I can’t pay you back exactly, if you give me 100, it’s only right that I return at least half.”

“Why is that right?”

“Because that way my mind is at ease.”

“Then just use them with an uneasy mind.”

“What?”

For a moment, Gi Seoin’s words didn’t transmit directly to my brain. Or rather, they were transmitted, but they were hard to accept.

“I said if you’re uncomfortable, use them while being uncomfortable.”

“You… you, are you serious right now?”

“There’s nothing else to be done. If you don’t use them, do I throw them away?”

“Why would you throw them away…! You can just refund them.”

“I can’t refund them.”

I wondered what kind of stubbornness this was now.

“Why can’t you refund them?”

“I have to maintain my purchase history to keep my department store VIP status.”

It was clearly an excuse he had just made up. I didn’t know anything about department store VIP purchase criteria, but I knew it was a problem that could be solved just by Gi Seoin buying things he actually needed. Just how much was the watch he wore? Anyway, it was a watch worth a staggering amount.

“Then refund them and buy something you need.”

“There’s nothing I need.”

Gi Seoin, who answered perfectly, stared at me intently. Was he glaring? It didn’t seem like that…

“They don’t sell Woo Seungkyung at the department store, do they?”

“…Wh-wh-what?”

What is really wrong with him?

“Did you eat something wrong?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Then, is something difficult going on? Is that why you’ve gone crazy?”

“Things are difficult because Woo Seungkyung is hurt, and if we’re talking about being crazy, I went crazy a long time ago.”

“You’re just throwing a tantrum for me to use those things, aren’t you?”

“If you know, then use them.”

I lost, I lost.

As a sign of defeat, since I couldn’t raise both arms, I raised one arm high. Gi Seoin nodded with a smugly satisfied face. Then, he started rummaging through the shopping bags that hadn’t been opened yet.

I didn’t know why on earth he bought so many clothes; it felt like I couldn’t wear them all even if I lived a lifetime. For reference, the number of clothes in my house, including all four seasons, barely amounted to 20. Someone once told me they practice something called minimalism by intentionally throwing things away, but I was a minimalist by birth.

I couldn’t even walk for the time being, so I couldn’t understand why he bought several pairs of shoes.

Honestly, they were all pretty and cool.

“But, if I wear this, wouldn’t it be like casting pearls before swine?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

After saying that, Gi Seoin suddenly stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. I froze right there…

“There are pigs who look good in pearl necklaces too.”

I hit the hand of Gi Seoin, who had immediately revived and tossed out a joke, quite hard. Gi Seoin laughed brightly.

Just like that, before we knew it, a mountain of shopping bags and a mountain of new items were piled up in front of us. Now there was only one shopping bag left that hadn’t been unpacked.

“This is…”

As soon as Gi Seoin took out the box, I knew what was inside without even seeing the contents.

“A phone?”

“We couldn’t find your phone. Use this.”

“Wow, this is…”

I was sincerely, tearfully grateful, but I felt like if I went back and looked for the lost phone, I might be able to find it. However, with my current mental state, there was a high probability I’d have a panic attack just by going near that house, so I had no choice but to accept it. Regardless of other items, I needed a phone immediately.

“Thank you, I’ll use it well.”

“Wait a moment.”

Gi Seoin turned on the phone, tapped the screen for a bit, and then handed it to me.

“I saved my number, and the speed dial is 0.”

Previously, Gi Seoin was speed dial 1. Speed dial 0 was my great-aunt, but I hadn’t been able to change it even after she passed away and her number was disconnected.

Come to think of it, the text messages I exchanged with my aunt remained on my old phone. My mood plummeted in an instant, but I smiled instead so as not to show it to Gi Seoin.

“It’s good. Thank you so much, Seoin.”

“If anything happens while I’m out, make sure to call me.”

“Got it. I’ll press 0.”

Whether he was satisfied with my answer, Gi Seoin pulled up the corners of his mouth slightly and stood up. He became busy tidying up the mountain of packaging waste and the items. Part of me wanted to help, but since I would only be a hindrance if I stepped in now, I rolled the wheelchair over to the sofa.

The first thing I did was install a messenger app on the new phone.

Please, let it work…

The login screen appeared, and I typed the email address I always used into the ID window. Since it was a new number, verification was required. My heart rate gradually increased while completing all these processes.

“It worked…!”

I let out a small exclamation. My friends list was exactly the same. The first names I checked were Jang Cheolwoo, the people from Benwood, and Jeon Juseok.

On the first night of hospitalization, I borrowed Gi Seoin’s phone to send word to Benwood. It was a huge relief that the internet is so developed that I could find the phone number just by searching.

Anyway, I thought I wouldn’t be able to say anything even if I was fired for such a sudden sick leave, but the Benwood staff, including the President, had been steadily sending me messages of worry and encouragement. My nose tingled as I read through those sentiments. I sent a message of gratitude, saying I would recover quickly and return to work.

The next message to read was, in fact, the contact I should have checked first.

[Jeon Juseok]

Biting my lip, I tapped that name.

As expected, the chat window was a mess of all kinds of threats and various profanities. I glanced at Gi Seoin. He was preoccupied with tidying up. However, I didn’t want to make the call in a place where he could hear. In the end, I decided to postpone it until tomorrow when Gi Seoin goes to work. Just in case, I switched the phone to silent mode.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

Gi Seoin asked, standing in the living room which was now clean and back to its original state. I shook my head while forcing a smile.

“Anything is fine.”

Even if I didn’t have an appetite, I had to eat three meals a day because I had to take medicine.

Gi Seoin, who had become an expert at preparing my meals, quickly set the dining table. I thought I smelled something savory, and it was porridge.

“Did you cook this?”

“I asked the housekeeper in advance. I only heated it up.”

“Ah, right. You said the housekeeper comes to the house sometimes, didn’t you?”

Gi Seoin, who tilted his chin in affirmation, pushed my bowl a little closer.

“Try some.”

“Yeah. Thank you for the meal.”

The porridge was appropriately warm enough to eat immediately, and it was delicious enough to make me wonder if it was okay for it to be this good. If it was this kind of porridge, I felt like I wouldn’t get tired of it even if I ate it for three meals every day.

When I quickly emptied the bowl of porridge, Gi Seoin seemed pleased.

“You’re eating well.”

“It was really delicious. The housekeeper’s cooking skills are no joke, aren’t they?”

“That’s a relief. You have to eat the housekeeper’s food while you’re at my house.”

“Without you cooking?”

“Since it’s a recovery diet, I thought the housekeeper’s cooking would be better than what I make, so I asked her.”

It was welcome news that one of the burdens Gi Seoin had to deal with because of me had been reduced.

Even though I said there were no other options, it was truly not comfortable to have to receive Gi Seoin’s help without a set deadline. It was the same now. I felt sorry for Gi Seoin, who was silently clearing the table.

“It would have been better if I could at least do the dishes. I’m sorry.”

At that, Gi Seoin pulled his gaze from the table up to me.

“Would you feel sorry to the staff at a nursing home too? Just think of it as having come to a nursing home.”

“How can I do that? When you’re right here in front of me working hard.”

“The one working hard is you, with your limbs tied up.”

“…You’re really obnoxious today, Gi Seoin.”

“Then just sit there and badmouth me or something.”

Whether he didn’t hear me or was ignoring me, Gi Seoin turned and vanished with the empty bowl. This house was so wide that the kitchen and the dining area were separate. I intentionally went toward the kitchen to steal a peek at Gi Seoin before going out to the living room.

Even though all I did today was sit in a wheelchair, I felt strangely tired. Since I did nothing but sleep at the hospital, it seemed like my sleep had increased as well. Even though I was discharged, the fact that I was still a patient hadn’t changed, so it was justifiable to go to bed early. Then I should first wash… up.

“Ah…”

I clutched my head.

This is bad. I didn’t think of that.

While hospitalized, the maximum amount of washing allowed to me was washing my hair. Since I had surgery on both my shoulder and ankle, it was an unavoidable measure. It was uncomfortable, but at least I wiped my body with a wet towel every day. I could do this much by myself, and Gi Seoin helped me wash my hair.

Therefore, since I was unable to shower by myself… Gi Seoin’s help was indispensable.

But how?

A shower is only refreshing when you scrub every secret part clean. That’s how it’s supposed to be, too.

But how on earth was I supposed to ask Gi Seoin for that? It’s not like I could say, “Hey, scrub the area between my thighs a bit hard,” could I? Even if I didn’t say anything, that area would have to be washed anyway! Furthermore, I hadn’t been able to shower for a long time, so I was in the filthiest state of my life.

Just thinking about it made me shudder.

Should I just live filthily?

I was at the point of tears.