# Chapter 14
“Right now? No, wait, are you feeling okay first?”
-Yes. I’m fine. But I’m in front of your house right now.
What?!
I jumped up from my seat in surprise. At that moment, the mattress, unable to withstand the recoil, made a spine-chilling sound as the springs bounced with a “kee-gee-geek—”
-What was that sound?
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I looked at the mattress with a bitter expression, its center deeply sunken after reaching the end of its lifespan.
“Haah…”
As if my mind wasn’t complicated enough, now I had one more thing to worry about.
-Jaeo hyung?
“You’re at my house? I’ll come down right away.”
First, I needed to deal with the most urgent matter—Heerim. I hastily ended the call and put on my outer clothes. Jaeyeon, who had been meticulously cleaning even the cartilage off chicken bones, tilted her head.
“Huh? Where are you going this late at night?”
“Just meeting someone quickly.”
“What? Is it a girlfriend?”
“Come on, what are you saying? No, it’s not.”
I gave a sidelong glance at Jaeyeon, who kept spouting nonsense about dating despite knowing I didn’t even have female friends, and headed out the front door.
Heerim was standing under the streetlight at the bottom of the hill near our house. The broken streetlight flickered intermittently over his pretty face. Looking at the illegally dumped garbage piled next to Heerim, I felt a bit embarrassed. The place I lived was far from the city center, and most people living here were foreign workers and day laborers. Busy making ends meet day by day, none of them cared about the appearance of the neighborhood. Heerim didn’t match my living environment at all.
“Jaeo hyung!”
As I approached Heerim, dragging my slippers, he called out to me urgently. I walked toward him while examining his face. Thankfully, his complexion looked normal.
“How did you know where I live?”
“I saw it on the contract.”
Ah, right. That’s how it was. I’d asked a stupid question. I ran my palm down my face and looked at Heerim.
“So what brings you here?”
My tone came out sharp because I was already troubled inside, and now I was embarrassed to encounter Heerim in such a squalid place. Heerim, meeting my gaze, blinked his eyes a couple of times before hanging his head low.
“Was I… not supposed to come?”
Heerim sniffled with his head down. I was taken aback by his behavior, like a puppy scolded by its owner, and was momentarily at a loss for words.
“No, it’s not that you shouldn’t come, but it’s surprising. It’s late, and without any prior notice, you suddenly say you’re in front of my house…”
At my response, Heerim slowly raised his head and looked at me with moistened eyes.
“But why did you sigh earlier?”
“What? Me?”
Did I? I don’t remember that. When I made a puzzled face, Heerim pushed out his lips and spoke.
“During our call. You sighed.”
I tried to recall our phone conversation before I left home, watching Heerim who made no effort to hide his sullen appearance. Suddenly, I remembered sighing when looking at the broken mattress.
“No, that sigh wasn’t because of you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It was because the mattress spring popped during our call.”
“Is that true? You haven’t gotten tired of me, have you?”
There wasn’t even a question of liking or disliking between us in the first place… But I couldn’t say that to someone who had admitted to having no friends, so I tried to appear fine.
“I was a bit surprised, that’s all.”
“Thank goodness.”
Only then did Heerim slightly raise his drooping corners of his mouth to smile, but soon his face turned gloomy again.
“Now can you tell me why you came here?”
“I couldn’t properly thank you for saving me earlier today. Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been in big trouble.”
“…It was nothing.”
I wondered how much Heerim remembered. Having unintentionally shared a deep kiss with him, I subtly avoided Heerim’s gaze. In contrast, Heerim seemed completely unbothered. Judging by his behavior, he didn’t seem to properly remember what had happened.
“Then can I go back in now?”
I didn’t offer false politeness by asking if Heerim wanted to come in for a drink after coming all this way. I didn’t want to show him my small, shabby home with mold growing on the wallpaper. Standing here under the broken streetlight was uncomfortable enough—how could I show him my house? I just wanted him to leave this neighborhood quickly.
“Wait! I still have something to say.”
As I was about to leave, Heerim hastily reached out and grabbed my sleeve.
“Hyung, are you going to quit your part-time job?”
“Ah…”
It seemed he had heard about my conversation with the Director. Heerim’s face now reflected not just sullenness but sorrow. Having not yet made a decision on this matter, I was at a loss for how to respond.
“Is it because I suddenly kissed you? That… I couldn’t help it.”
“Aaaah! Be quiet, please be quiet!”
Damn. So he did remember!
Thankfully, the streetlight was broken. Otherwise, I would have had to show Heerim my face, flushed with embarrassment. In this narrow alley with houses packed tightly together, I quickly looked around, worried someone might have heard Heerim’s words, but all I could see was a stray cat rummaging through garbage bags. I sighed softly and carefully removed Heerim’s hand that was holding onto me.
“Heerim. To be honest, I didn’t plan to work there for long. Even if I don’t quit right now, I’ll quit in three months.”
“B-but.”
Heerim tried to grab me again, but when I took a step back, he limply dropped his hand.
“I wish you wouldn’t quit…”
“If it’s for making friends, it doesn’t have to be me specifically, right?”
“No. I need you, hyung.”
Shaking his head, Heerim spoke firmly. The look in his eyes as he said he needed me was straight and firm, without backing down. His pupils, lighter in color than most people’s, fixed on me. Just meeting his gaze made me feel bound to him. My heart sank with an unidentifiable pressure. It was like facing a wild predator. Was this Heerim’s true nature?
Just then, the broken streetlight flickered again. Deep shadows fell across his usually smiling face. That alone made Heerim feel intimidating.
“Finding you was such incredible luck that at first, I thought I was mistaken.”
Heerim took a step toward me. The intermittently flickering light created a strange tension between us. Heerim continued to close the distance between us without stopping.
“Someone like me couldn’t possibly have such luck twice, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“But it happened.”
As I slowly backed away, my back hit the streetlight pole. I felt cornered.
“The moment you kissed me, I felt like I was reborn into the world.”
“N-no. What…?”
“It’s true. It was truly the first time. It felt like you pulled me up to the surface when I was sinking in deep water. And I felt so good… I couldn’t hold back.”
What is he saying? Is he confessing to me right now?
Heerim’s words were pure rambling. I screamed internally at statements I couldn’t comprehend at all. Something had gone terribly wrong.
“You were my first, Jaeo hyung.”
“H-Heerim. Are you still sick? Did you hit your head when you collapsed?”
“I’m not talking nonsense. Hyung, I really…”
Heerim, about to say something, closed his mouth. Taking advantage of this pause, I slipped my body sideways between the streetlight and Heerim.
“Hyung. Don’t quit.”
A tender vulnerability appeared over Heerim’s firm face. I looked at him silently. Heerim was the main cause of the complexity in my mind.
I disliked things that disrupted my daily life. Always focused solely on my own interests, most “unexpected things” had a negative impact on me.
And Heerim was an unexpected “uninvited guest” who had intruded into my daily life.
“I’m sorry, Heerim.”
I steadied my wavering heart. For my own sake, I needed to quit the “Earth Peace Research Institute.” My life was already difficult enough without adding unexpected worries and concerns.
As I was about to turn my back on Heerim, he stepped forward quickly and blocked my path. Facing Heerim in the darkness made me newly aware of our difference in build.
“No, Jaeo hyung. Don’t go.”
He grabbed my hand firmly. Suddenly, some kind of tingling sensation ran up my fingers. It was different from static electricity. Something more strange and ticklish. Startled by this unfamiliar feeling, I was rubbing my forearm when I heard Heerim mumbling softly above my head.
“See that? You’re resonating with me.”
“…?”
He took a deep breath and exhaled. His slightly trembling breath touched my face.
“Don’t go.”
It was strange. Despite the darkness around us, Heerim’s hair seemed to be sparkling. I stared blankly up at him, at the sparkle that looked as if stardust had been sprinkled on it. Heerim gripped my hand more firmly and continued.
“You’re my Guide, hyung.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
