92.
No, Haseo wasn’t smiling from happiness. Upon closer inspection, the corners of his upturned mouth were trembling slightly. Behind that forced smile was a jumble of negative emotions. Fear, sadness, sorrow.
Realizing this, Choi Mujin didn’t feel like scolding Haseo for his impulsive behavior. Yes, after everything he’d been through, he might have become somewhat violent. Actually, it was just surprising, not particularly painful. He thought that for Haseo’s future, he should teach him how to protect himself. Though he would protect him as much as possible, one never knows what might happen.
While Mujin was thinking this, Haseo’s expression remained unchanged. Looking at his unchanging face, Mujin extended his hand to him.
“Haseo, let’s go home.”
He didn’t know why Haseo had suddenly returned. But Mujin had no intention of sending him elsewhere from here. If Haseo refused, he was prepared to take him by force. But Haseo nodded and took Mujin’s hand.
The car ride home was completely silent. Haseo just stared out the window, clutching the bag he had brought. Meanwhile, the car continued on its way, and they soon arrived home.
Lee Haseo had returned.
Haseo surveyed Mujin’s house, which he was seeing after a long time. The house had changed a lot from before. Originally, Mujin had OCD and always tried to keep everything perfect. It had improved somewhat since Haseo moved in, but it was probably his nature.
But how was the house now?
“What’s that?”
Haseo pointed at the row of liquor bottles on the table with an incredulous expression. Mujin looked at them, shrugged, and replied:
“My sleeping aid.”
Haseo could guess how Mujin had been living without even seeing it. Whether it was because Haseo had disappeared or for some other reason, what was clear was that Mujin had been struggling too. Realizing this, Haseo felt strange. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, he spoke to Mujin in a commanding tone:
“Clean it up right away.”
Mujin obediently did as Haseo ordered. He gathered the bottles from the table and pushed them to one side.
“You should remove the labels too. And go throw them away.”
“…I need to remove the labels too?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because he had delegated household chores to others, Mujin was clumsy with such tasks. Still, he followed Haseo’s instructions and peeled off the labels one by one before heading outside. After confirming this, Haseo went to the utility room and brought out a vacuum cleaner.
As he was diligently vacuuming the living room, which showed no signs of having been cleaned, and then picking up a duster, something felt off. There had been no word from Mujin, who should have returned by now. Haseo narrowed his eyes, glared at the front door, and then approached to press his ear against it. The door was thick, so he couldn’t hear the outside sounds properly, but he had a sense.
When he flung the door open, Mujin, who had been leaning against the wall beside it, looked at Haseo with an awkward expression. At his feet were boxes filled with liquor bottles. Haseo pointed at the boxes with a solemn expression.
“Why are these still here?”
“Hmm.”
Mujin smiled bitterly and rubbed his chin. After taking a moment to choose his words, he spoke:
“Want to go together?”
“What?”
Why would he want to go together when he could go alone?
“I don’t know the location.”
Mujin boldly spouted nonsense.
“Should I tell you where?”
“I’m naturally bad with directions. I think I need to go in person.”
“Fine. Then I’ll go.”
Though there were many bottles, they were all empty. Haseo easily lifted them. Making people do unnecessary things with such ridiculous excuses. Thinking this, he got on the elevator, and Mujin followed.
“Ah… I thought I’d learn the way.”
Only then did Haseo realize why Mujin was acting this way. He was afraid Haseo might disappear again, and he didn’t want that. Looking up at Mujin’s face, Mujin seemed to notice the gaze and slightly lifted the corners of his mouth. But it was a smile far from joy.
Just as Haseo had hidden his emotions behind a smile at the airport, so had Mujin. Mujin’s anxiety actually helped Haseo stay calm. The two went to the recycling room, disposed of the bottles, and returned home.
“I’m going to prepare dinner, help me.”
Again, Mujin did as Haseo instructed. He prepared vegetables and cooked rice. Meanwhile, Haseo made side dishes and doenjang stew. Living abroad wasn’t bad, but this was what he had missed all along. If he had asked Jesse, he could have gotten Korean ingredients, but he hadn’t had the luxury back then.
So, with just doenjang stew, rolled omelet, and fried canned ham as sides, it was delicious. Since he wanted vegetable side dishes too, they needed to go grocery shopping. After finishing two bowls of rice, Haseo left the dishes to Mujin and finally turned to the suitcase he had brought from the airport.
As he was opening the suitcase and organizing items one by one, Mujin, who had quickly finished the dishes, sat beside him.
“Use any room you want. You can stay in your original place, or move somewhere else.”
The place where Haseo originally stayed was the smallest of the guest rooms. Still, it had an attached bathroom, making it convenient.
“Can I use that room?”
This time, he wanted to try a different room.
“My room?”
“Yes.”
“Together?”
“No. Alone.”
Would Mujin really permit it? Haseo stopped organizing his belongings and looked at him.
“Sure. Use it.”
“Can I really?”
“Why not?”
Mujin answered nonchalantly. It was a room Haseo had rarely entered except for cleaning. But with permission coming so easily, he felt strange again. How far would he allow me?
“Should I move my stuff out?”
“What stuff?”
“Like clothes in the closet. You might not like me going in and out to get them.”
Right. That could be an issue.
“Please do.”
At Haseo’s words, Mujin immediately got up and went to his room. Then he began moving his belongings to the room Haseo had been using. While blankly watching this, Haseo’s eyes suddenly fell on the tablet PC on the living room table. He picked it up without Mujin’s permission.
“I want this too.”
“You need it? Should I buy you one?”
“No. I want this one.”
Haseo knew that Mujin checked the CCTV installed in the house using the tablet. That’s why he wanted it. Mujin hesitated briefly but soon gave an affirmative answer.
“Take it. I can buy a new one.”
Mujin acted like he would give Haseo anything. While Mujin was moving, Haseo leaned back on the sofa and turned on the tablet. Through the app, he watched Mujin moving around.
“It’s like being a pervert.”
The only space in the house without CCTV was the bathroom. All other spaces had surveillance devices, making it easy to check who was doing what. Until now, Mujin had been watching his movements like this. For a moment, Haseo tightened his grip on the tablet. He considered throwing it but decided against it.
Now it was in Haseo’s hands, and he could watch everything Mujin did at home.
“It won’t be entertaining to watch.”
Though Mujin said this, Haseo had no intention of returning the tablet. If it’s not entertaining, why did you monitor me? Haseo snorted.
“I’ve moved everything.”
Mujin had only moved the clothes in the closet and the ledgers on the wall. That meant all other items were still there. After placing the tablet on the desk and lying on the bed, a familiar scent tickled Haseo’s nose.
It was Mujin’s body scent. He always had a cool, refreshing scent. Smelling it reminded Haseo of pine trees at times, and metal at others. What kind of cologne did he use?
‘This feels strange.’
Still, liking the scent, Haseo buried his face in the pillow and remained still for a while. It seemed he fell asleep like that. When he opened his eyes, it was already morning. He hadn’t been able to sleep properly since going to Finland. Haseo swept back his disheveled hair and leisurely stepped out of the room.
In the living room, Mujin was browsing a newly acquired tablet. That was quick.
As Haseo quietly watched, Mujin noticed him and asked:
“You’re up? What about breakfast?”
“Sundae-guk. I want to eat sundae-guk.”
“Sundae-guk. Got it.”
Mujin was surprisingly accommodating to Haseo.
“Wash up and come out.”
Haseo nodded and went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Afterward, he hastily wet his messy hair and changed clothes. He was far from neat, but Mujin didn’t say anything. He simply took Haseo and drove quietly. The 24-hour sundae-guk restaurant they arrived at was quite crowded.
“It’s a delicious place.”
They went in and ordered two bowls of sundae-guk and some boiled pork. As Mujin had promised, the sundae-guk was very delicious. The slightly spicy broth made it even better. Haseo picked up a few pieces of sundae to eat and then added rice to the broth. While doing so, he said what he had wanted to say:
“Today, I want to visit Grandmother.”
Mujin hesitated briefly but nodded.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
