There was something oddly cozy about the house Kim Jeong-baek lived in. It wasn’t especially bright, nor did it smell particularly nice, but somehow, it just felt that way. Maybe it was because the man, who had absolutely zero sense of design, had scattered animal-shaped decorations all over the place for the sake of his niece.
“Boss.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you coming over so often these days?”
“Me?”
Sitting cross-legged on the floor beneath the sofa, folding origami, Cha Eui-sung glanced up. Kim Jeong-baek looked visibly displeased. When Eui-sung casually tossed a freshly made fox face at him, Kim Jeong-baek recoiled in disgust.
“You’ve been coming here morning and night. What are you plotting now?”
“Plotting? Come on. A person can’t stay alone all the time.”
“Says the guy who deliberately pushed everyone in the neighborhood away just so he could be alone…”
“Thanks to that, now I’m here. Seo-ryong doesn’t seem to mind. So what’s it got to do with you, Kim Jeong-baek?”
Eui-sung folded a paper plane and launched it toward him. Kim Jeong-baek flinched, trying to dodge it, but it hit him square in the chest. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. But curiosity got the better of him, and he unfolded the plane—only to beam like a kid as soon as he read it, completely forgetting he’d just been grumbling.
“I will serve you with utmost dedication.”
“Slip it in quietly like adding water. I’ve already stirred the pot on that side, so we can’t afford to draw attention.”
It wasn’t like he had nothing to do, but the boredom was unbearable. Cha Eui-sung swept up the origami and glanced at the same message for the third time that day.
[Today we did a Science Imagination Drawing, and the teacher said mine was really good. I colored the head of the person being treated by a robot brown, and during the presentation, Jeong-seo unni said, “That’s Seo-ryong’s uncle!” Everyone laughed, but the teacher didn’t.]
It had already been a week since he started keeping his distance from Moon Tae-young. In that time, Cha Eui-sung had subtly inserted traces of himself into Moon Tae-young’s daily life through Seo-ryong.
Whether it was during class presentations, when he got caught passing notes, or even just chatting with friends near Moon Tae-young, Seo-ryong would casually mention his “little uncle.”
He hadn’t asked her to, but lately, it seemed Seo-ryong had also been telling people that Cha Eui-sung was always loafing around at home after school. Unfortunately, that, combined with Kim Jeong-baek’s constant attempts to kick him out, had given him a bit of a deadbeat image.
Not like he can run far in Cheongseri anyway. Just keep thinking about me.
Whatever unease Moon Tae-young felt that day would’ve lingered for at least a few days. It didn’t feel like the right time to go charging in or cling on desperately.
So, Cha Eui-sung had decided to give him space—enough time for him to hear updates, feel the absence, and let that initial confusion evolve into unrest, and eventually, into longing.
“Kim Jeong-baek.”
“Yeah?”
“When do you think a friendship turns into a romantic relationship?”
“…Huh? Out of nowhere? I guess… maybe when someone confesses?”
“What if there’s no confession?”
“First kiss?”
“People really do think alike.”
With a grunt, Cha Eui-sung got up, brushing himself off. It’s easy to miss what’s been around too long, but hard to ignore what’s suddenly gone. He’d been spending time with Moon Tae-young constantly, only to end up alone again—and the void it left behind was weirdly unsettling.
Now that the timing felt right, it was time to stop pestering Kim Jeong-baek. As he put on his shoes, a dismissive farewell rang out behind him, as if urging him to get lost already.
“I’m not coming back either, you asshole.”
Cha Eui-sung muttered under his breath.
Honestly, if it weren’t for the strange dream, he would’ve just stayed home. Like he said, being alone was always more comfortable for him.
But a few days ago, he had another one of those absurd dreams.
In it, Cha Eui-sung sat in a chair, hearing the time of his mother’s death. There was no last message, no voices—just that. That was all. Naturally, when he woke up, he didn’t feel much of anything.
But his mind got noisy. Of all places, this was her hometown—Cheongseri. Annoyed for no good reason, he’d started bothering Kim Jeong-baek nonstop from that day on.
Maybe it was a good thing he had a goal in the form of Moon Tae-young. Focusing on the future helped dull the pain of the past bit by bit.
Cha Eui-sung spent those days quietly, hoping that damn Demon King’s brat had been thoroughly shaken. Because if the guy was doing fine after everything, it’d piss him off. And no matter how much it was all for the mission, it wasn’t fair that he was the only one tormented by it.
He’d put in a hell of a lot of effort to get a foothold in that house.
***
From the afternoon on, Cha Eui-sung had been holed up in the bathroom. He kept fussing with his hair in front of the mirror, dissatisfied with how he looked. The color of his clothes felt off too, and every time he changed, nothing seemed to fit right.
After turning the whole house upside down, the final look he settled on didn’t look all that different from usual. Giving up, Cha Eui-sung simply plopped down in front of Moon Tae-young’s house and waited.
So the Outer Gods’ method of invasion involves entrusting Earth’s destruction to a proxy… Then how did an Awakened under the System’s management end up as a proxy?
While waiting for the homeowner to return, Cha Eui-sung mentally reviewed the messages he’d read over the past few days. He had a strong feeling that once he made it past this hurdle, he’d finally get to face the System again.
This time, he had so many questions. The “King” was never one to answer anything he asked, but he did always leave enough clues to figure things out.
That meant some of the anxiety from ignorance would ease. Thinking about that made even this wait feel bearable.
“Cha Eui-sung?”
At last, a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
All the tangled-up, swirling thoughts in his mind vanished in an instant. Still crouching, Cha Eui-sung jerked his head up.
A quiet street bathed in sunset. Moon Tae-young stood in front of him, looking just like he had the last time they met.
“Just getting off work?”
“Yes, I am.”
He hadn’t known how to start, so he just greeted him—only to be met with a completely normal response. It was blunt, almost indifferent, but oddly enough, it sounded nice.
“It’s been a while.”
“…Has it?”
“It has. It’s been quite a while since I came here.”
It seemed Moon Tae-young had more or less regained his composure. His expression was calm. When Cha Eui-sung stood up, brushing off his knees, he even managed a professional smile.
“Did you come to see me?”
“Yeah.”
“Mm… That’s a problem. I’m a bit tired today.”
“Tired, huh.”
“Yes. I actually left work early just so I could rest.”
“……”
Still, the way his lips pressed together slightly made his smile falter a bit. And even now, the way his eyes flickered toward him from time to time—it hadn’t changed.
It’s not like a few days apart could make those feelings disappear.
It was the kind of emotion you could only notice if you were obsessively observant. No wonder it had been so hard to read him all this time—he never gave anything away.
But the fact that Cha Eui-sung could sense his lingering affection at all meant that it was still strong enough to break through the surface.
There was still a chance. Cha Eui-sung’s hand curled lightly into a fist.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
He looked around in silence, then spoke like he’d finally made up his mind.
“Go ahead.”
“Did you… clear away my spot? I was only there once, but…”
The unexpected question made Moon Tae-young’s face stiffen.
He had promised to leave it as is. As he mumbled, the smile on his face faded completely.
What is this?
Cha Eui-sung was glad to see the reaction he’d been waiting for, but at the same time, he felt a strange discomfort.
The image of the empty living room popped into his mind, and his mood plummeted. Without meaning to, a disappointed expression crept onto his face. His chest suddenly felt like it had dropped.
Moon Tae-young quietly observed the subtle changes in his expression.
“…Ha.”
Cha Eui-sung bit his lip a few times, then let out a dry laugh.
“Damn. If I knew it’d be like this, I would’ve just stayed quiet.”
“……”
“I don’t usually get worked up over things.”
“……”
“But I let myself fall for it.”
A faint tinge of resentment flickered in his eyes, reflecting the glow of the sunset. His lips, pressed tightly together, had turned red with frustration.
Moon Tae-young gave a small shake of his head, as if to tell him to calm down, and though Cha Eui-sung took a deep breath, the bitter look on his face remained.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have shown up out of the blue like this.”
“It’s okay. I…”
“If what happened that day made you uncomfortable, just forget it ever happened.”
“……”
“I wasn’t unhappy before that, so… maybe we could just go back to how things were…”
He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Cha Eui-sung turned his head, eyes fixed on some far-off point. His chest rose and fell sharply, like he was regretting even holding on this long out of leftover attachment.
Forget pride or dignity—this was someone who’d already halfway let his guard down. After seeing a face that vulnerable, there’s no way Moon Tae-young could coldly send him away.
As expected, Moon Tae-young let out a deep sigh. A long silence passed as he wrestled with his thoughts, and eventually, he spoke with the tone of someone who’d reached a reluctant decision.
“I never said I cleared it.”
“…Whew.”
“And I never thought about pretending it didn’t happen either.”
His voice had softened considerably.
Caught off guard, Cha Eui-sung looked up and locked eyes with him. His light brown gaze held a faint, unsteady hope as it turned toward Moon Tae-young.
It seemed like something he hadn’t intended to say. Moon Tae-young’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I just… thought you were avoiding me.”
“I don’t think I ever was.”
“You didn’t message either.”
“You know I don’t text much anyway.”
“And you didn’t work late even once?”
He probably hadn’t. He’d stayed late before just to wait for someone.
Moon Tae-young, not wanting to explain all that, silently opened the door. Despite the conflicted look on his face, he stepped back as if to say go on in first.
That was it. He’d made it past the threshold.
Cha Eui-sung pressed his sore, chewed-up lip with the back of his hand and quietly stepped into his house.
