NTH 16

Jeha let out a small chuckle at that.

“You didn’t answer why you always wear the same clothes.”

“Oh, these are just from a three-for-ten-thousand-won T-shirt bundle I stole. The jeans were a buy-one-get-one deal too. They’re my only summer clothes, so I rotate them, but I don’t just wear the same thing every day without washing.”

“You stole them…”

“Yeah. To be honest, I often just wash the T-shirts. I don’t have a washing machine, so I hand-wash everything, and jeans take forever to dry.”

“I see.”

The reason for wearing the same clothes turned out to be nothing special. With a face like that, wouldn’t he look like an idol trainee if he just wore nicer clothes? Jeha entertained the fleeting, silly thought before asking again.

“So, what’s the debt you owe Mr. Cheon?”

“Well… the place I’m living in now actually belongs to Mr. Cheon.”

“You mean that place near Haengseong Station?”

“Yeah. He knew I was sleeping wherever I could and offered to rent me his place for cheap.”

“Sorry, but didn’t you say that place leaks when it rains? I remember you mentioning mold.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“…”

Jeha barely restrained himself from asking why, of all places, Mr. Cheon would lend him such a dump, or if a so-called president didn’t have a better property. But since it was Nana’s home, he thought such remarks might come off as rude.

“It’s still okay outside of the rainy season. It’s better than when I was wandering around looking for a place to sleep every day.”

“Even so, the neighborhood’s safety… When I dropped you off, it looked dark and kind of dangerous.”

“It’s the last slum in Seoul, but a lot of people moved out after the redevelopment was confirmed. That’s why it’s so dark. The place I’m staying at is one Mr. Cheon bought for redevelopment investment. I’ll have to move out once construction starts.”

Jeha recalled how the sanpaku-eyed figures in his past lives exploited their victims. Beyond money or material things, there were two other things they took from them.

“Do you, by any chance, like that sanp… I mean, Mr. Cheon? Like, admire him or look up to him?”

At Jeha’s calm question, Nana’s face twisted in shock. “What? Why’s the conversation going there all of a sudden? You think I’m too obedient to Mr. Cheon or something?”

“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering.”

“You’d only think that because you haven’t seen Mr. Cheon’s face. I feel like my life’s in danger every time I’m around him. Imagine a snake turning into a human—that’s what he’s like. I’m telling you, he even has a snake tattoo on the back of his neck. His blood might even be as cold as a snake’s.”

Jeha felt a bit relieved by Nana’s grumbling complaints. Though uncertain, if Nana and Mr. Cheon were repeating a cycle of bad karma from past lives, it seemed that in this life, Mr. Cheon hadn’t yet taken Nana’s “heart.”

But what about the last thing?

“Has Mr. Cheon ever touched you without your permission or anything like that?”

“Touched what?”

“Like… your body.”

“Oh, no, he hasn’t done that. But if I end up working under him as an errand boy, I’m worried about what he might make me do.”

“I see.”

“That’s why I’m desperately looking for a job. If I can’t even pay rent, he’ll add it to my debt, and the interest will pile up endlessly. If it comes to that, I might have to resort to stealing again.”

At that moment, something clicked in Jeha’s mind—an absurd idea he wouldn’t have entertained under normal circumstances.

But if he let this guy slip away now, Jeha would be left waiting anxiously for another improbable chance encounter.

Kwon Jeha wasn’t the type to wait indefinitely for something uncertain.

“About that job thing,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“If you’re okay with it, want me to hook you up with something?”

Nana, who had been struggling to scoop mango from the middle of the parfait cup, snapped his head up at Jeha’s words. His face full of anticipation, he asked, “Really? For real?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not even registered in the family registry—would that be okay? And I didn’t go to school, so I don’t know anything. Think of me as the dumbest idiot you’ve ever met. Is that still okay?”

“You don’t need to be smart. Can you do household chores, like laundry or cleaning?”

“I can! I’m good at it! What kind of house is it?”

Nana’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Jeha still wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. But he had to admit he couldn’t come up with a better plan at the moment.

“Are there kids or anything? I’m good with kids, but the mom might be wary of a young guy. Since they won’t remember my face, they’ll think a different person is showing up every day.”

Jeha shook his head at Nana’s concern. “There are no kids in that house. No women either.”

Swallowing the urge to say that no woman would be scared of a delicate, pale guy like him, Jeha continued, and Nana looked puzzled.

“So it’s a house with just guys?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, so they’re bad at housework because it’s all guys? How many people live there?”

“One. Just me, since I live alone.”

“What? Wait… You mean work at your house?”

“You don’t like it? I guess being a housekeeper might not be your thing.”

“No! I’m totally fine with it! Whether it’s working on a fishing boat or cleaning pigsties, I’d take any job I can get—being picky is a luxury. But do you really need someone?”

“Why, you think I’m making up a job just to save you?”

“It does cross my mind. You keep being nice to a thief who stole your stuff, so I’m wondering if you’re just a really compassionate person.”

He’s more perceptive than he looks. Jeha, sipping his iced Americano with an expression that said he had nothing to lose, was quietly stared at by Nana, who quickly continued, “But it’s also a job I don’t want to pass up. If you give me the chance, I’ll work really hard. I’m good at cleaning, laundry, and I can cook too.”

“Alright. I’ll draw up a contract and pay you generously. So don’t work for Mr. Cheon.”

“Got it. Um… thanks, really.”

Nana, uncharacteristically, lowered his eyes and gave a slight smile. At that moment, Jeha felt a sharp pain, as if someone were clawing at his heart.

“If it’s decided, get up. There’s somewhere we need to go.”

Ignoring the inexplicable pain, Jeha urged Nana to move. Nana’s eyes widened as he asked, “Huh? Where?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

*

Since it was the sports festival, there were no classes, so Jeha left the office with Nana in tow.

As they descended to the first floor and walked toward the parking lot behind the faculty building, a rustling sound came from a patch of bushes.

“Look at that! There’s a cat!” Nana exclaimed, excitedly tapping Jeha’s arm.

Jeha replied nonchalantly, “That’s Queen and Tsar.”

“Huh? You know their names? Do they have an owner?”

“No. They’re just stray cats that roam the campus. They’re so aloof they never let people near them, so the students call them that.”

“They’re cute. I want to see them up close.”

“No chance. Those cats won’t come near people, no matter how tempting the food is. They’ll bolt if anyone gets too close.”

“I bet they’ll come to me. Queen, Tsar, come here.”

“I’m telling you, they won’t…”

Jeha stopped mid-sentence.

Queen and Tsar, who had been staring at Nana, tilted their heads cautiously and began walking toward them.

“There, there, good kitties. You guys are so cute. Sorry, I don’t have anything to give you right now. Next time, I’ll make this professor mister buy a bunch of cat treats.”

Nana crouched down and petted the cats. Surprised, Jeha furrowed his brow slightly, staring at the cats lying calmly in front of Nana like stuffed toys.

In the nine months since he’d started working here, Jeha had never seen these cats near people. Students had tried everything—cat treats, toys, you name it—but always failed to touch them.

As they guided the cats to a safe spot and headed toward the car, Jeha asked Nana, “Do you usually like cats?”

“It’s less that I like cats and more that cats like me.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s been like that since I was a kid. Whenever I walked around, neighborhood cats would follow me.”

“Just cats?”

“No. Dogs too, and even birds.”