“Because you’re really good at driving!”
After asking the question, Seok-ho showed no particular reaction once he heard the answer. He simply continued focusing quietly on driving.
Kang-woo felt relieved inside. If the conversation had continued, it felt like nonsense might have started spilling out of his mouth.
After that, the two of them stopped by a rest area and had a simple dinner. The menu was udon.
The appetite that had peaked at lunchtime hit rock bottom once night came.
Kang-woo barely touched his food, picking at it half-heartedly. He simply wasn’t in the mood to eat.
Noticing that Kang-woo had left more than half of it, Seok-ho silently took the bowl. Then he picked up the chopsticks and began eating the remaining noodles.
Startled, Kang-woo quickly stopped him.
“I was eating that. Is it really okay?”
“What’s the problem with that?”
As if it truly didn’t matter at all, Seok-ho calmly finished the leftover udon.
And by the time the black car arrived at the officetel, the sun had already fully set.
The walk they took together—from the elevator to the front door—had never felt as long as it did that day.
“Change your clothes and shower first.”
“Yes.”
After nodding at Seok-ho, who had yielded the shower order, Kang-woo closed the door behind him. Only then did he finally release the trembling breath he had been holding in.
Clutching the scarf that Seok-ho had refused to take back, he slowly slid down and sat on the floor. His face felt incredibly hot. As if he had a fever.
Recalling the past, Kang-woo got up from the bed and walked toward the desk.
Since that day, he hadn’t gone outside even once—so the scarf remained unused.
When he grabbed it, the soft texture tickled his palm. He buried his nose into it. Surprisingly, the scent of Seok-ho lingering on the fabric brought a sense of peace to the storm raging in his mind.
But it only lasted a moment.
With his eyes closed, he took a deep breath—then suddenly realized how suspicious his own behavior was and hurriedly pulled the scarf away from his nose.
Kang-woo repeated this behavior several times a day.
After finishing all the housework, whenever he had a bit of spare time, Seok-ho’s face would take over his mind.
Those dark eyes that had been looking at him. The cold wind that had tousled his hair.
That brief moment had been perfectly preserved in Kang-woo’s mind, replaying with crystal clarity down to the smallest movement. And before he knew it, he would be fiddling with the scarf again. Then suddenly he would snap back to reality and force himself to calm down.
An unrequited first love with no hope.
In truth, maybe this was just admiration. Something like the one-sided fan affection people feel toward celebrities. Since this was the first time he had ever experienced emotions toward someone he admired, maybe he was simply exaggerating them.
Eventually, Kang-woo comforted himself with that explanation.
He neatly placed the scarf on one side of the desk and glanced around for no real reason.
If he stayed still, his mind would only keep getting swallowed by thoughts of one person. It seemed better to shift his attention elsewhere and focus on something else.
He pulled out a chair and sat down, then took a book from the shelf.
Opening it to the bookmarked page—a Chinese restaurant magnet flyer he had been using as a bookmark—the black letters immediately greeted him.
Before he knew it, the book he had been slowly savoring, Demian, was nearing its end.
After reading a few lines, he could vividly picture Demian delivering Mrs. Eva’s kiss to Sinclair.
And then intrusive thoughts began interfering with his concentration.
This was a passage that shouldn’t be read only on the surface—you had to examine the meaning hidden within it. But right now, that was impossible. Only the part about the kiss stood out sharply in his vision.
He had once heard something somewhere. That there was one surefire way to determine whether you liked someone or not.
Imagine yourself kissing them.
Now that he thought about it, he’d heard it from Baek Kyung-wook and his group when they were loudly talking about it. Of course, they had used far more vulgar and explicit words while discussing the topic.
Back then, he had quietly frowned in discomfort. He never expected to remember that conversation like this.
Anyway, Kang-woo decided to imagine kissing Seok-ho. He convinced himself it probably wouldn’t go that far—surely he didn’t like hyung that much.
Closing the book, he shut his eyes.
Instantly, Seok-ho appeared before him. Sharp eyes. A tall nose. And if those thin lips overlapped with his own…
“…I’m insane.”
It had been pointless to expect otherwise.
Kang-woo collapsed face-first onto the desk. He didn’t even care that his cheek was getting squashed against the cold wooden surface. Cooling his burning face was more important.
No matter how much he tried to deny it by calling it admiration or fan affection, it was useless. Now he knew for certain.
Kang-woo had fallen in love. And the person he had fallen for was the hyung he was living with.
The ridiculous part was that Kang-woo didn’t even properly know how old he was. They had never really sat down and talked openly about themselves, so things had simply drifted along like that.
“Haa… Get a grip, Kim Kang-woo.”
A long sigh slipped out between his lips.
This wasn’t right. Seok-ho wasn’t someone he should be harboring impure thoughts about. After all, Seok-ho had taken him in with open generosity when he had nowhere to go—practically a complete stranger.
How could someone suddenly come to like a person this much?
No… maybe it wasn’t actually “sudden.” Perhaps he had already been drawn to Seok-ho from the moment he first saw him. After all, Seok-ho had subdued Baek Kyung-wook—someone Kang-woo himself could do nothing against—without even resorting to violence.
If he thought about it, there had been plenty of moments that could count as the starting point.
Looking back, Seok-ho had gradually become Kang-woo’s safe place.
When Kang-woo had suddenly sought him out for help.
When they had run into each other outside and Seok-ho had comforted him while he cried.
When he had carried Kang-woo to the officetel and made sure he received medical treatment after he collapsed.
And just a few days ago—when he had taken him to the cold yet comforting sea.
Within the space Seok-ho had allowed him, Kang-woo felt safety and comfort. So what was the point of worrying about it like this? Maybe it would be easier if he simply accepted that Seok-ho was someone he couldn’t help but like. After all, he was the only person Kang-woo could rely on right now.
Ding-dong.
While he was lost in thought, the sudden sound of the doorbell dragged his mind back to reality.
Who could it be?
Kang-woo walked out to the living room and approached the intercom. On the screen stood a middle-aged man wearing glasses.
“Who is it?”
When Kang-woo asked cautiously, his voice tinged with suspicion, the man replied with a question of his own.
“Is this Mr. Kwon Seok-ho’s residence?”
“Yes, it is.”
“You have registered mail.”
Ah—someone from the post office. Relaxing his guard, Kang-woo hurried to the entrance and opened the door.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello.”
The mail carrier waiting outside greeted him kindly, handing over the mail and extending a handheld device.
“This is registered mail addressed to Mr. Kwon Seok-ho. Please sign here.”
“Can I write my name?”
“Yes, you can sign with your name.”
Kang-woo took the stylus and wrote his signature in the designated space before handing it back.
“Thank you.”
“Yes, have a good day.”
Having completed the delivery, the mail carrier quickly headed off to his next destination.
Closing the door and returning inside, Kang-woo examined the document envelope in his hand. The first thing that caught his eye was the logo of Baekyeon Hospital.
Baekyeon Hospital was a place Kang-woo was familiar with as well. He used to go there frequently to receive prescriptions for suppressants. Of course, Baekyeon Hospital was a general hospital with many different departments.
Why would the hospital send registered mail to Seok-ho hyung?
At the same time curiosity arose, a creeping sense of worry followed.
Could he be sick? He smokes often—maybe his lungs aren’t in good condition.
He wanted to know what was inside, but since it wasn’t addressed to him, he couldn’t just open it. In the end, Kang-woo suppressed his curiosity and placed the envelope neatly on Seok-ho’s desk.
I’ll just ask him later, he thought.
That evening, Seok-ho returned home from work.
“You’re back.”
“Yeah.”
After greeting him lightly as he stepped through the door, Kang-woo trailed behind him.
“Oh, right. Hyung, you got registered mail earlier. I put it on your desk.”
Remembering the mail from earlier, he mentioned it. Seok-ho simply nodded without saying much.
“What kind of document is it? It said ‘Baekyeon Hospital’ on the envelope.”
Unable to resist his curiosity, Kang-woo asked.
“Health checkup results.”
Seok-ho replied casually as he walked into the room. He placed his car keys on the side table and took off his outer coat.
Despite the cold weather, Seok-ho always insisted on wearing short-sleeved T-shirts when going to his workshop. Because of that, his thick arms were fully exposed. Prominent veins rose beneath his skin, running down past his wrists and along the backs of his hands.
“Ah.”
So it was a health checkup report.
Kang-woo let out a small exclamation.
Part of it was relief at satisfying his curiosity. Part of it was admiration for Seok-ho’s body.
Even though his initial curiosity had been answered, his interest didn’t stop there. Now he wanted to know what the results said inside.
“Aren’t you going to open it? You said it’s your health checkup results. You should check how they turned out.”
“I’ll look at it later. It’s not urgent.”
But what if it was urgent? What if there was something wrong with his health?
Unaware of Kang-woo’s worry, the person concerned himself didn’t seem particularly interested in the results.
Telling him to open it right now might be too intrusive.
While Kang-woo stood there awkwardly debating internally, Seok-ho turned to look at him. Those dark eyes—impossible to tell what they contained—rested heavily on his face.
…Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?
Momentarily unable to grasp the situation, Kang-woo simply met his gaze instead of looking away. Seok-ho looked at Kang-woo’s somewhat blank expression and let out a quiet chuckle.
Even that small, meaningless laugh was enough to make Kang-woo’s timid heart pound wildly. Still, he managed to keep his expression under control and avoided exposing his emotions.
“I’m changing. Get out.”
After a prolonged staring contest, Seok-ho finally spoke—essentially kicking him out. Only then did Kang-woo realize he had been disturbing him.
“Oh—right, you need to change. I’ll go.”
In the end, Kang-woo obediently retreated, hurriedly leaving the room.
***
“What’s that?”
Kang-woo stood in the kitchen holding a bowl in one hand and a ladle in the other, waiting for the contents of the pot to boil.
Suddenly a voice sounded right beside him. Startled, Kang-woo turned around. At some point, Seok-ho had approached so close he was practically beside him.
When did he get this close?
It seemed Kang-woo had been spacing out again.
Get it together.
Resolving himself internally, Kang-woo lifted the lid to show him.
“It’s spicy braised chicken stew.”
Seok-ho leaned forward to look inside.
“Ah,” he murmured.
Naturally, their eyes met. They were standing very close.
Kang-woo immediately lowered his gaze and turned his head away.
Did I avoid his eyes too obviously? Maybe I should’ve just kept looking at him. Did I seem strange?
A dozen thoughts flashed through his mind at once.
Having a one-sided crush on someone you live under the same roof with was an endless series of awkward moments. Ever since realizing his feelings, it had become difficult for Kang-woo to look directly at Seok-ho from such a close distance.
