He continued driving at ease, as if he either hadn’t noticed the gaze on him—or had noticed and simply chose not to acknowledge it.
Kang-woo turned his head toward the window. The rain, now weakened, tapped against the glass with soft tuk-tuk sounds.
About ten minutes later, the car entered the parking garage of an officetel building. After smoothly finishing the parking maneuver, the man turned off the engine.
“Get out.”
The moment the command fell, Kang-woo quickly unbuckled his seatbelt. He got out of the car and hurried after the man as he walked toward the trunk.
“Please, give it to me.”
Kang-woo reached out and received the large bag. The man pulled out the remaining suitcase, shut the trunk, and began walking ahead.
Kang-woo followed behind with quick steps. Worried that the loud rattling of the suitcase wheels might be bothersome, he moved as carefully and quietly as possible.
From the moment they got out of the car to when they boarded the elevator, the man did not say a single word. In fact, even on the way here, there hadn’t been much conversation between them.
The man didn’t seem curious about anything. He knew Kang-woo was a minor, so it wouldn’t have been strange for him to at least ask something like whether he had run away from home. Yet he hadn’t asked a single question.
Was he simply someone who spoke very little by nature? Or did he really have so little interest in him that even basic curiosity didn’t arise?
For some reason, Kang-woo felt the latter was more likely.
The elevator, which had been steadily ascending, stopped on the 12th floor. The two of them walked down an L-shaped corridor and arrived at the unit located at the very end.
After unlocking the door with the digital lock, the man opened it and quietly held the doorknob as he waited. Taking that as a signal to go inside, Kang-woo carefully stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
He entered the apartment with a polite greeting. Although he had taken off his rain-soaked socks at the shop, he had no spare pair to change into, so he was still wearing his sneakers. His feet, which had been trapped inside them for a long time, felt damp.
As he stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do, the man strode into the bathroom and came back with a dry towel.
“Ah, thank you.”
Kang-woo carefully stepped onto the towel placed in front of him. The soft texture tickled his feet. After thoroughly drying them, he grabbed the handle of his suitcase and lifted it lightly.
Stepping into the living room, Kang-woo slowly looked around.
Black and white. His gaze swept across the simple space decorated in those two contrasting colors. Somehow, these achromatic tones suited the man far better than warm colors.
There was a large leather sofa big enough for more than four people, a square wooden table, and a wall-mounted TV. His gaze briefly lingered on the kitchen to the right, where an island home bar stood.
One bathroom and two rooms. The apartment had a structure without any unnecessary elements. The room at the far end seemed to be the master bedroom used for sleeping, while the room on the left had an unclear purpose.
Overall, his first impression was simple: clean.
Just like the shop, the place where the man lived had a distinctly tidy feel. But the degree of it felt somewhat excessive. As if the owner might leave at any moment.
The apartment felt so devoid of warmth that Kang-woo even wondered if it had been intentionally left that way.
“You can use this room.”
The man, who had stubbornly kept silent until now, finally opened his heavy mouth. The room he indicated was precisely the one whose purpose Kang-woo hadn’t been able to guess. Kang-woo slowly stepped inside the open doorway.
Click.
The light came on, revealing an extremely simple room. The only thing occupying one corner of the space was a single rectangular topper mattress. Because of that, it didn’t take long at all to look around.
“The bathroom’s over there. The water purifier is in the kitchen, and the temperature controller’s here. If you’re cold, adjust it yourself.”
His explanation was quick and concise. Immediately afterward, a pair of jet-black eyes fixed on Kang-woo.
“If there’s anything else you’re curious about—”
Kang-woo silently shook his head. This was more than enough. For someone who spoke so little, the explanation had been fairly kind, and he was grateful for it.
“Rest.”
Leaving that single word behind, the man turned and went straight into his own room without hesitation.
As the door closed, the tension drained from Kang-woo all at once. He pushed his suitcase and backpack into a corner and took off his outerwear.
Since it was already late, he decided to deal with the wet clothes tomorrow. For now, he was tired—he should just rest.
After turning off the light and leaning against the wall, the chill of the cold floor seeped into his hips. Drawn by a faint light slipping into the room, he lifted his head.
A round moon hanging beyond the window came into view.
At some point, the rain had completely stopped.
Everything felt unreal.
Leaving home and wandering the streets. Seeking out a strange man. And, on top of that, ending up spending the night in that man’s house—none of it felt real at all.
When he thought about it, nothing about this situation made sense.
What about that man had he trusted enough to rely on him? And what about himself had the man trusted enough to bring him all the way here?
“Haah…”
An impatient sigh slipped from his lips.
He was tired. It had only been a few hours since he left home, yet it felt as though several days had already passed. His head felt heavy, and his eyelids felt just as heavy.
His eyes blinked blankly before eventually dropping downward. With his head lowered, he stared quietly at the cream-colored floor patterned with wood grain, and a drowsy haze began to wash over him.
Slowly, sluggishly, he shifted his body and curled up sideways on the bare floor. He knew he would sleep more comfortably if he climbed onto the mattress, but he simply blinked blankly instead.
Perhaps because of the relief of finally having a place to lay his head, the tension left him—and sleep swallowed him whole.
***
When he opened his eyes, the sunlight pouring through the curtainless window was so bright that his face automatically scrunched into a frown.
Kang-woo slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Because he had slept curled up on the hard floor instead of the soft mattress, the muscles throughout his body felt stiff and sore.
With hazy eyes, he looked around the unfamiliar space. The surroundings were exactly the same as before he had fallen asleep—quiet and devoid of noise. There were no sounds of movement outside either.
What time was it?
He couldn’t tell the exact time, but it was obvious that it was well past his usual waking hour.
If he had been following his normal routine, Kang-woo would have already arrived at school before the sun even rose.
But today was different.
He had woken up late.
Yet Kang-woo didn’t panic.
Instead of jumping up in alarm about being late, he slowly crawled onto the mattress to escape the cold floor. As soon as the soft surface pressed against his back, his body relaxed further. He pulled the blanket—cool from the lingering chill—up to just below his neck.
I don’t want to go to school.
He had said those words hundreds of times out loud, but today was the first time he had actually acted on them.
Even though he was doing something bad, his heart was surprisingly calm.
By now, his father must have realized that he had run away from home. The school had probably contacted him already. His teacher and his father wouldn’t be the only ones looking for him.
Baek Kyung-wook.
Whenever he thought about him, Kang-woo felt his chest tighten. His stomach churned, and unease began to rise.
In truth, more than anything else, Kyung-wook was the one weighing most heavily on his mind.
If Kyung-wook found out that he had run away from home to avoid living with him… how would he react?
To clear his head before it could sink deeper into those thoughts, Kang-woo shook it from side to side.
Let’s not think about anything right now.
He pushed his worries far away and decided to fall back into a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky. Right before falling asleep he had been thinking about Baek Kyung-wook and had worried he might have nightmares, but fortunately nothing like that had happened.
After lying there for a while longer, almost fused together with the blanket, Kang-woo slowly pushed himself up.
Silencing his footsteps, he walked toward the door. He gently turned the handle and cracked it open, peeking his head out.
Perhaps blackout curtains had been drawn—the apartment was dim and shadowy.
After glancing around cautiously, Kang-woo carefully stepped into the living room. The master bedroom door remained tightly closed. Even when he sharpened his hearing, no sound came from the other side.
It seemed the man was still in a deep sleep.
First, the living room felt too dark, so he pulled open the curtains by the window. Bright daylight immediately flooded the room. He squinted for a moment before opening his eyes again.
Standing in front of the large window, Kang-woo quietly took in the view outside.
It was mid-autumn, and the park displayed a vivid spread of red and yellow leaves. Combined with the calm lake beside it, the scenery felt incredibly peaceful.
Grrr…
Startled, he flinched and pressed a hand to his stomach. From within, it was sending an urgent signal demanding that something—anything—be put inside.
Surely the man in the room hadn’t heard that thunderous noise.
Feeling embarrassed, Kang-woo lowered his gaze to his flattened stomach.
Come to think of it… what time was it?
His eyes drifted to the digital clock hanging on the wall.
13:28.
No wonder he was hungry. It was lunchtime.
After hesitating for a moment, Kang-woo walked over to the refrigerator. He opened the door and looked inside.
It was more neatly organized than he had expected.
Though, in truth, it was probably more accurate to say it looked clean simply because there wasn’t much inside.
There weren’t many usable ingredients, but fortunately everything was fresh.
Staring into the refrigerator for a moment in thought, Kang-woo soon began picking out a few ingredients.
***
Not many people knew this, but cooking could be considered Kang-woo’s hidden hobby.
Since he was young, his father had always been busy with business, often away from home. Then even his mother—who had lovingly taken care of Kang-woo in his father’s absence—passed away due to a chronic illness.
The person who filled the empty space left by his parents was the housekeeper who had practically volunteered to act as his nanny.
The housekeeper adored Kang-woo as if he were her own child. Kang-woo, who had needed somewhere to attach his affection, followed her like she was his mother.
He trailed behind her constantly as she did housework. He slept on her back, ate the meals she prepared, and grew up under her care. To young Kang-woo, nothing in the world was warmer than her embrace.
Having experienced all kinds of work over many years, there seemed to be nothing she couldn’t do.
If his father had seen them, he would have thrown them away long ago—but she carefully mended worn socks and torn clothes by hand. Sometimes she even knitted scarves or gloves and gave them to Kang-woo as gifts.
She was very skillful with her hands, but her cooking was especially good.
The housekeeper could whip up delicious food in no time at all.
From the moment Kang-woo grew tall enough for his head to reach her waist, he would watch her cook with curious eyes. And once he grew a little older, he sometimes stood beside her and learned her cooking methods.
Kang-woo loved those moments.
Moments where he could focus entirely on cooking with her, free from any worries.
He loved the gentle, quiet voice she used when explaining how to cut ingredients for certain dishes or how to balance the seasoning.
Of course, everything was a secret from his father.
If his father found out that Kang-woo was going in and out of the kitchen, it was obvious what kind of lecture he would receive—since the man firmly believed the kitchen was forbidden territory for men.
Before leaving home, should he have said goodbye to the housekeeper?
No.
If he had, he would never have been able to leave that house for good.
It was better that he hadn’t said anything.
Comforting himself with that thought, Kang-woo tried his best to shake off the heavy emotions weighing on his chest.
