MW 27

“…….”

“Get out of that house.”

So he already knew……. that I was living at Dohae’s place.

A hot flush of shame crept up the back of my neck. I’d hoped Jaeha wouldn’t find out, but it ended up like this anyway.

“I told you I’d help. Let’s live together.”

“No.”

Yijae said, lifting his head, his eyes welling up with tears. The sight of Jaeha’s face, one eye narrowed, filled his vision.

“So you’re going to keep living like that? Getting beaten up by Gu Dohae?”

“We just… had a little fight. He’s not usually like this.”

Even as he said it, he knew how ridiculous it sounded, but it was the only way to make Jaeha understand. Yijae forced a smile onto his lips.

As if to say there’s no need to worry, as if to say he was fine now.

“And you’re making me uncomfortable, sunbae-nim. I’m truly grateful for how kind you’ve been to me… but I’d rather you not worry about me anymore.”

“Seo Yijae.”

“I… have somewhere to be, so I’ll be going now.”

Afraid that Jaeha would grab him again, Yijae quickly exited the club room. Once the door closed, he ran without stopping through the long hallway and all the way to the school’s main gate, where he sat down at a bus stop and burst into tears.

“Heuk……”

His heart ached. Not because it was pounding like it would explode, but because the look on Jaeha’s face seemed like he was truly disappointed. The fact that he had last seen that crestfallen face was just too painful.

He desperately tried to ignore the stares of others, crying his eyes out as if he would die if he didn’t.

A short while later, Yijae, who had boarded the bus heading towards Hidden, leaned against the window and watched the raindrops fall, patter, patter. He felt like crying, but he had cried so much that no more tears would come out. Was the sky crying for him instead? The rain began to pour harder.

Yijae transferred buses twice and finally got off at a stop near the shop. It was still raining, but there was neither an umbrella nor a convenience store in sight where he could buy one.

“Let’s just run for it.”

There was still over an hour until Hidden opened, so he figured it would be fine if he just washed up quickly in the restroom. Clutching his bag strap, Yijae ran through the rain to the building where the shop was located.

“Hah, hah.”

He’d done a lot of running today. The throbbing pain made him wonder if he’d even be able to walk properly tomorrow. He bent over, massaging his legs.

Just as Yijae was about to roughly dry his hair and enter the shop, he stopped in his tracks as he saw a familiar sports car parking in front of the building.

“Hello, Sajang-nim.”

“Seo Yijae? What happened to your neck.”

My neck? Yijae brought a hand to his neck, only to discover that the collar of his turtleneck had been stretched out and pulled down, and he hurriedly tried to hide it. But it was too late; Seungmin had already seen the strangulation marks.

“Are you getting beat up somewhere?”

“Th-that’s… Sajang-nim.”

How am I supposed to explain this. Yijae fiddled with his trembling hands and parted his lips. Spotting Yijae’s deathly pale face and bloodless lips, Seungmin let out a sigh and said.

“Follow me.”

“Pardon?”

“You can’t go to the shop in that state. I said, follow me.”

Seungmin gestured with his chin and started walking. The place he was heading to was none other than the elevator connected to his home.

Is he telling me to go to his place now?

“You coming?”

“I-I’m coming…!”

Yijae tugged at the hem of his soaking wet t-shirt and followed him.

Ding. The elevator doors opened with a sound, and when he held a card key up to the front door, it opened automatically.

“Come in.”

Yijae was a little surprised by the luxurious interior, which was just like the building’s exterior. It wasn’t cluttered with things, but the neatly decorated home in black and white was incredibly spacious and clean.

“Put your bag down and wait here. I’ll get you a change of clothes.”

“Ah, no. It’s al, right.”

“They’re clothes I can’t wear anymore because they’re too small anyway.”

After saying that, he disappeared into the dressing room and soon came out with a black turtleneck and pants, holding them out to Yijae.

“The bathroom is over there. There should be shampoo and other things you need inside, so just use whatever. Need anything else?”

“No……”

“Alright.”

After his short reply, he headed to the living room, sat on the sofa, and began looking through some documents on the table. Yijae was watching him, seeing how busy he was, when he was startled by Seungmin’s gaze turning toward him and hastily went into the bathroom Seungmin had pointed out.

“Haa……”

After taking off his wet clothes, he stood in front of the mirror and examined his own face, which looked drained of energy even to him. He tried to raise the corners of his mouth into a smile, but it only made him look even more depressed.

“I’m such an idiot.”

At the offer of help, at the gentle voice, at the suggestion that they live together, he had almost spilled everything without realizing it.

But how could he tell him everything? Yijae didn’t want Jaeha to know about the rock-bottom life he had lived at Dohae’s house for the past five years.

It might be a useless sense of pride, but he didn’t want to show him that pathetic side of himself.

And he felt that if he, a person born of misfortune, got involved with Jaeha, that misfortune would transfer to him. He didn’t want to be a burden to someone he liked.

Even family, people who shared the same blood, grew tired of continuous misfortune and blamed each other. So, it was a better choice not to even start, rather than see it through to the end.

With a weary face, Yijae stroked his cheek, stepped into the shower stall, and let the cold stream of water wash over him. The chill, which felt like it was seeping into his very bones, finally seemed to clear his head a little.

After a quick shower, Yijae changed his clothes and rolled up the pant legs and sleeves of the ridiculously large garments. It seemed Seungmin had given him a turtleneck on purpose because of the marks on his neck, but it didn’t seem like it would be of much use if it kept slipping down like this.

Towel-drying his damp hair and gathering his wet clothes, Yijae came out and asked Seungmin, who was still reading the documents.

“Um, Sajang-nim, where should I put this……”

He didn’t know where to put the used towel. There was no laundry basket, and it was too damp to hang back up.

“Just leave it anywhere. I’ll clean it up later… You look a little funny, you know?”

“…….”

Seungmin, who had been focused on the documents, straightened his head and spoke, looking at Yijae who looked like a child wearing his father’s clothes. Resting his chin on one hand, Seungmin fixed his gaze on Yijae, looking him up and down.

“Do you even eat?”

“…….”

Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten. His daily routine was just attending classes, working and munching on a few leftover fruits, then going home to wash up and sleep. Seeing Yijae tilt his head and furrow his brow, he clicked his tongue, tsk.

“You can come to the shop at this time from now on, right?”

He usually spent the remaining time studying or doing assignments at the library, but he could leave earlier. Watching Yijae’s head nod obediently, Seungmin parted his lips.

“Then come here and eat before you head to work.”

“Eat?”

Eat here before going? At that moment, Yijae unknowingly swallowed his saliva as a delicious smell wafted to his nose.

“Are you a parrot? It’s just that there are always leftover side dishes when I eat alone.”

Putting down the document he was reading, Seungmin walked over to Yijae and took the wet towel and clothes from his hands. Then, he went into the laundry room right next door and put the clothes in the washing machine. Seungmin then led the bewildered Yijae to the kitchen.

“Eat.”

“……Thank you for the food.”

Though a little flustered, Yijae looked down at the neatly prepared meal in front of him and slowly picked up his spoon. He first took a spoonful of rice, dipped it in the soup, and put it in his mouth. The warmth of the food made his heart feel a pang. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had a warm meal. He belatedly realized that even he himself thought he hadn’t been taking care of himself.

He forced himself to diligently move his mouth and finished a bowl of rice. Feeling embarrassed that he had focused so much on eating without any conversation, he parted his lips. Then, it suddenly occurred to him why Seungmin wasn’t asking him anything. Yijae looked at him, who was still eating, and asked cautiously.

“But Sajang-nim, why don’t you ask…?”

Even without a subject, Seungmin knew what he was talking about. He quietly put down his chopsticks and stared at Yijae.

“Do you want to tell me?”

“No……”

“Then don’t.”

“…….”

“Everyone has their own reasons and situations, so I have no intention of forcing you to talk about something you don’t want to. Tell me when you’re comfortable.”