His boss was fairly old, and the way she looked at him was like a parent looking at a well-raised son, so Kang-woo didn’t find her particularly burdensome or uncomfortable. After talking for about twenty minutes, she told him to start work as soon as tomorrow.
“Get home safely, and I’ll be counting on you starting tomorrow, Kang-woo-ssi.”
“Yes. Thank you, boss. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kang-woo bowed to her several times before leaving the café.
He was happy. Finally, he would be able to earn money too. It wasn’t like he would be holding a large amount of money right away, but the feeling of taking his first step into society as a proper adult made his mind feel much lighter.
Of course, he knew there were still many things he would have to overcome in order to achieve true independence. Still, just knowing that he had laid the basic foundation filled him with a sense of pride.
Asking whether he could receive his wages in cash would probably be better done later, once he had become more accustomed to the job. Right now, he wasn’t in a position where he could open a new bank account.
Kang-woo hummed softly to himself. Unlike when he had been on his way to the interview, his steps on the way home felt light. It was as if the burden on his shoulders had eased considerably.
Maybe he should send Seok-ho hyung a text to tell him the good news. He unconsciously grabbed his phone, then abruptly stopped.
What was he going to accomplish by texting hyung? They were practically in the middle of a cold war right now. The moment he faced that reality, his energy deflated a little.
Kang-woo started trudging along again.
When he arrived at the officetel and opened the front door, an unexpected sight greeted him.
Seok-ho’s sneakers were sitting by the shoe cabinet. Kang-woo’s gaze naturally shifted to the clock in the living room.
It was only six o’clock. It seemed Seok-ho had finished work early and come home.
But the owner of the shoes was nowhere to be seen. The living room was dark. Thinking he might be in his room, Kang-woo turned his head, but the open doorway revealed nothing but darkness there as well.
What? Did he stop by for a moment and go out again?
With that question lingering in his mind, Kang-woo entered his own room—and spotted a familiar silhouette in the darkness.
Kang-woo froze for a moment before turning on the light.
Seok-ho was sitting stiffly on Kang-woo’s bed. His gaze was fixed somewhere on the floor. It didn’t seem like he was really looking at anything; it was more as if he had simply let his eyes fall there.
After hesitating briefly, Kang-woo carefully spoke.
“Why are you sitting here in the dark without even turning on the lights?”
“Where were you?”
Instead of answering his question, Seok-ho returned one of his own.
Only then did Kang-woo realize that Seok-ho’s mood was different from usual.
Seok-ho lifted his head. A sharp gaze struck Kang-woo’s face.
“I asked where you were.”
Kang-woo flinched without meaning to. It was the first time he had seen Seok-ho interrogate someone with such an edge in his voice.
“I went to a part-time job interview.”
He answered calmly, hiding his flustered feelings. There was no reason to hide the fact that he had gone for an interview. He had no doubt that it would be good news for Seok-ho as well.
“I passed the interview, so I’m starting at the café tomorrow. It’s close to home.”
Kang-woo deliberately spoke in an upbeat voice.
Since the day he confessed, this was the first time they had had a proper conversation. That was why he deliberately acted as if nothing was wrong.
He had finally seen Seok-ho’s face after a long time, and he didn’t want to create an awkward situation for no reason. Besides, he had assumed that if he told him he had found work, he would at least receive some encouragement.
“A part-time job?”
But Seok-ho’s reaction was strange.
The way he repeated the words sounded harsh. Kang-woo tensed instinctively, his back stiffening. In a tightly restrained voice, Seok-ho called his name.
“Kim Kang-woo.”
Taking a deep breath, Seok-ho pressed his fingers firmly against his temple before looking at Kang-woo.
“Are you protesting to me right now?”
“…Protesting?”
Kang-woo couldn’t understand what Seok-ho meant.
Protesting? What was that supposed to mean? What could he possibly be protesting about?
“Is this because I rejected your confession?”
For a moment, Kang-woo felt his words clog in his throat.
Seok-ho’s assumption made it painfully clear just how childish he thought Kang-woo was.
He knew that emotions weren’t something you could obtain just by throwing a tantrum. He was simply acting according to rational judgment.
He had thought about it deeply—agonized over it. And the conclusion he reached was that he didn’t want to become a burden to Seok-ho. Instead of only receiving, he wanted to help in some small way.
It wasn’t that he was doing this out of resentment because his confession had been rejected.
“Protesting? It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it? Why do you suddenly want to get a part-time job?”
“I just realized it’s time for me to find my own place. I can’t stay at home all day doing nothing. I’m an adult now—I should earn money.”
“What do you mean you do nothing? You work at home.”
“How much housework do I really do, though?”
Seok-ho let out another deep sigh.
Kang-woo was about to argue, but he studied Seok-ho’s face more closely.
Today, Seok-ho looked unusually tired. His skin seemed rougher than before, and there were dark circles under his eyes. Just as the question Are you sick? was about to leave Kang-woo’s throat, Seok-ho spoke first.
“You’ve been living quietly just fine all this time. Who told you to go out and earn money? I don’t want that.”
Hearing the sharpness in his voice made Kang-woo’s wavering resolve harden again.
“Even if you don’t want it, I do.”
Kang-woo refused to yield.
“I don’t want to keep relying on you forever.”
But Seok-ho didn’t look like he had any intention of understanding him.
“You’re at an age where it’s normal for someone beside you to help you. Everyone lives like that. I’m saying it’s fine even if I support you financially, so why would you deliberately choose to do something difficult for no reason?”
“I’m an adult now, hyung. I have a conscience too—I should at least do something. And I don’t think I need to ask your permission for every little thing like this.”
What Seok-ho was doing was excessive interference.
In reality, he wasn’t even Kang-woo’s real older brother. It was true that Kang-woo was indebted to him due to circumstances, but that didn’t mean he had to get Seok-ho’s permission for everything he did.
He had the right to make his own choices and decisions.
“I can’t rely on you forever. I’ll earn money and contribute to the living expenses. I won’t be able to do it right away, but I’ll gradually repay everything you’ve given me too.”
Kang-woo calmly explained his plans for the future.
“And… hyung probably isn’t completely comfortable with me anymore either, so I’ll try to leave this house as soon as possible.”
He carefully chose his words so they wouldn’t sound offensive.
As he said earlier, Kang-woo had no intention of fighting with Seok-ho. He was simply stating the facts. The fact that he couldn’t rely on Seok-ho forever, and the fact that Seok-ho might feel uncomfortable around him now—weren’t both true?
But Seok-ho’s expression twisted even further after hearing him.
“So that’s your real goal. Save money and leave the house. That’s why you insist—insist—on getting a part-time job even when I’m telling you not to?”
Seok-ho spoke through clenched teeth.
Kang-woo couldn’t understand which part of this bothered him so much. He simply couldn’t comprehend Seok-ho’s negative attitude.
“Strictly speaking, this isn’t really my house.”
“Then if that’s the case, go back to your own house instead. Don’t wander around outside for no reason and make people worry.”
Seok-ho’s voice was cold.
Kang-woo felt his entire body stiffen. Seok-ho had never told him to go back home before. But today, for the first time, he had said it out loud.
“…I don’t want to. I’m never going back home.”
Kang-woo replied stubbornly, staring at the floor.
He could feel Seok-ho’s cold gaze. The atmosphere between them sharpened, like a blade honed to its edge lying between them.
“If you leave here, where will you go? Do you even have somewhere to go?”
“I’ll start looking now.”
Ha.
Seeing Seok-ho let out an incredulous laugh made a surge of emotion rise in Kang-woo, along with a spark of defiance.
“Don’t worry. I won’t suddenly come running back to you asking to stay again. I don’t want that either.”
“Kim Kang-woo.”
Seok-ho called his name in a chilling tone. His pitch-black eyes, filled with coldness, stabbed painfully at Kang-woo’s cheek.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?!”
As the conversation dragged on, the emotions Kang-woo had been desperately suppressing began to boil over. His voice rose, his chest heaving violently.
“Lower your voice, Kim Kang-woo.”
“……”
“Right now, I’m your guardian.”
“I don’t need a guardian. I’m an adult now.”
“What do you think you can even do if you leave here? It’s obvious you’ll have trouble even getting a proper meal. How could I just let you go?”
After scolding him, Seok-ho declared firmly,
“Kim Kang-woo. You’re not leaving this place.”
Kang-woo felt confused. He couldn’t understand this forceful attitude from Seok-ho.
“…Why?”
They weren’t even family by blood. Why was he going this far for him?
To Seok-ho, Kang-woo was nothing more than an outsider living under his roof.
“Why? You really don’t know?”
Seok-ho started to say something, then paused. He pressed his teeth together tightly before continuing.
“You’re not ready for that yet.”
“That’s why I said I’ll work part-time and save money.”
“No. I won’t allow it.”
“What right do you have?”
“You collapsed outside before. It’s one thing because you were right in front of me that day—but can you guarantee that won’t happen again?”
Even so, this was too much overprotection.
“I’m fine now. That was the first time something like that ever happened, and it won’t happen again.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Hyung!”
“Kim Kang-woo.”
When Kang-woo called him in a pleading voice, Seok-ho growled lowly.
“Don’t talk back anymore.”
Sweat began to gather in Kang-woo’s palms.
It was the first time Seok-ho had ever been this stubborn over something so unreasonable. Seeing this unfamiliar side of him made Kang-woo feel flustered, but this time he couldn’t back down either.
“No.”
Kang-woo answered stubbornly, then challenged him again.
“You’re not my parent.”
“I’m not trying to be your parent.”
“Then why are you doing this to me…?!”
Kang-woo shouted. He had reached his limit too.
“What do you expect me to do? You tell me not to like you. But leaving the house isn’t allowed either. Working isn’t allowed either. Why is everything I do just not allowed to you?”
Everything was forbidden.Â
Then what was he supposed to do? Stay by Seok-ho’s side forever, quietly nursing his one-sided love and suffering alone?
