Chapter 110
“Oh, wait a minute… Is today the day to throw out recyclables?”
“That’s right, it’s Friday. Later, we should gather all the glass bottles and PET bottles we’ve collected and throw them out.”
“Leave it!”
Da-bin and Min-ha, who were chatting, looked up with surprised expressions at the urgent voice. At the same time, their eyes met Cha Yoon’s, who was looking down at them. Cha Yoon, who had been on the second floor until just now, had somehow heard their conversation and approached the stair railing, leaning over to speak.
“I was planning to take them out in the evening anyway. So just leave it!”
“Won’t it be too much for you to move alone?”
“Not at all! I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry about it.”
‘I’ll do it, so don’t worry.’ This was a phrase that every X House resident had heard frequently from Cha Yoon recently, to the point where it was etched in their ears.
Da-bin and Min-ha silently looked into each other’s eyes. It seems he still doesn’t have enough likeability points, right? Looks like it. It’ll be hard for him to do it alone… But what can we do if he insists?
After their silent exchange, the two nodded at Cha Yoon as if to say they understood. He repeatedly warned them not to touch anything, as if he couldn’t believe their response, before finally backing away.
On the 19th day since moving into X House, Cha Yoon was having busier days than ever before. The decisive factor in his days flying by so busily was none other than Ki Seo-jung.
A few days ago, Cha Yoon had reached out to Seo-jung, who was lying in bed trying to sleep.
‘Tell me the new schedule.’
‘……’
‘The schedule on the previous timetable ends today, so from tomorrow, I won’t know when you’re going to work and when you’re off. I need to know your work schedule so I can plan my movements accordingly. Come on, give it to me quickly.’
‘I don’t have anything to give you.’
Unlike Cha Yoon, who was explaining in detail why he needed the schedule, Seo-jung answered very briefly. Cha Yoon immediately frowned at Seo-jung’s response.
‘What do you mean you don’t have anything to give? How can you say that?’
He started with arguments about how Seo-jung had given him the schedule when they were just roommates, so how could he not give it to someone who had a crush on him, and then moved on to sophistry about forgetting their agreement to play fair and how it was right to share for the public good. Seo-jung, who had been quietly listening to Cha Yoon’s speech for a while, spoke up when Cha Yoon paused briefly.
‘It’s not that I don’t want to give it to you, Cha Yoon. I don’t have a schedule to give you.’
‘……’
‘I’m on vacation for two weeks starting tomorrow.’
With Seo-jung’s bombshell announcement, Cha Yoon’s plan to finish all the housework while Seo-jung was at work and spend time with him after he returned completely fell apart.
Of course, it was good that Seo-jung would be staying at X House longer, which meant more time to see his face. The problem was that he wasn’t the only one who got more time to see Seo-jung’s face.
And this fact made Cha Yoon’s already busy daily routine even tighter. Just like now.
“You’re talking about the movie that just came out, right? It was fun.”
“Yes, that’s right. Sae-young, you saw it too?”
“Yeah, I watched it with Min-wook oppa when our schedules matched. Even though the runtime was long, there wasn’t a single boring moment. It was really well made.”
“Oh really? Now I’m even more curious since both of you say it was good.”
Cha Yoon, shifting his gaze to the three people sitting cozily together, gripped the mop handle tightly. Now that he had put out the urgent fire, he needed to get back to what he was doing.
He moved with the mop towards the sofa where Seo-jung, Min-wook, and Sae-young were sitting. Cha Yoon started moving his arms with his ears perked up. The interesting thing was that while his arms were moving mechanically and diligently, his feet were stuck to the floor, not moving even 1cm. He was focusing on cleaning one spot so intensively that it seemed like the marble floor might wear away.
“Next time, that director’s movie…”
Min-wook was the first to react among the three who were chatting. It was quite distracting when a large person entered their field of vision and kept repeating the same action while standing there.
Finally, Min-wook stopped talking and turned his attention to Cha Yoon.
“Cha Yoon, didn’t you already clean there earlier? Why do you keep rubbing the same spot? Stop that and sit down to rest a bit.”
Cha Yoon felt a bit upset at Min-wook’s gesture pointing to the empty seat next to Seo-jung. Did they think he didn’t want to sit and rest? He was the one who wanted to occupy that seat more than anyone else.
This was X House. A place like an animal kingdom where any resident could flirt with another resident. In such a dangerous space, Ki Seo-jung was good prey. Unlike himself, Seo-jung was someone whose charm doubled when you conversed with him, in addition to his captivating appearance.
Cha Yoon observed Min-wook and Sae-young sitting opposite Seo-jung in turn. So far, neither of them seemed to have romantic feelings for Seo-jung, but human hearts could change at any moment.
Especially Sae-young, sitting there looking at Min-wook, hadn’t she chosen Seo-jung on their second official date? Knowing all this, Cha Yoon couldn’t relax. That’s why he needed to stand guard next to Seo-jung and watch for anyone showing strange signs. He would have definitely done so if circumstances allowed.
But this wasn’t allowed for the current Cha Yoon. He had already been given the enormous task of restoring his likeability points. So this was the method he chose. Doing housework around Seo-jung. Of course, it wasn’t as perfect a defense as being right next to him, but this way he could be wary of people showing interest in Seo-jung while also increasing his likeability points, so it was killing two birds with one stone in a way.
Suppressing the urge to run and occupy the empty seat next to Seo-jung, Cha Yoon looked at Seo-jung and opened his mouth.
“…I’m just the type who cleans thoroughly. So please, absolutely don’t mind me, just talk comfortably. I’m really, really okay.”
Seo-jung swallowed a dry laugh. The way Cha Yoon made eye contact with him and emphasized his words twice sounded exactly like “I’m not okay at all right now, so please pay attention to me.” Especially that expression. Cha Yoon’s trademark pitiful look with his eyes downcast reinforced Seo-jung’s suspicion.
Meanwhile, Min-wook, who had been rubbing his chin as if in thought, spoke up.
“Let’s clear out so Cha Yoon can clean comfortably.”
“Should we? I was thinking Cha Yoon oppa might be uncomfortable cleaning because of us.”
As if to show that Seo-jung wasn’t the only one who noticed that expression, Min-wook and Sae-young hurriedly stood up.
“Ah, should we go to that new cafe on the main street?”
“I was just about to say I’m craving coffee right now. Sounds good, let’s go.”
Unlike the two who were even pretending to high-five, Cha Yoon quickly made a sour face as if he had never looked pitiful. A new cafe? Doesn’t that mean they’re going to take Seo-jung and completely disappear from his sight? It was like a bolt from the blue for Cha Yoon, who still had a mountain of things to do in X House.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? I told you not to mind me, didn’t I?”
“Come on, how can we not mind? We’ll go, so clean comfortably.”
No, that’s not how I meant for you to mind me! How am I supposed to clean comfortably when Ki Seo-jung is out of my sight?
Cha Yoon’s expression became even more grim with frustration. Just as he was about to blurt out that if they want to leave, they should leave alone, Sae-young’s voice continued.
“Why is Seo-jung oppa still sitting? Aren’t you coming to the cafe?”
What? Hyung’s not going? Cha Yoon turned his head at Sae-young’s voice. Seo-jung ignored the burning gaze fixed on his cheek and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m just going to rest at home.”
“Why aren’t you coming? The coffee there looks really delicious, let’s go together.”
“You go with Sae-young and enjoy my share too.”
“But delicious things should be enjoyed together…”
“Ah, why is this oppa like this? Seo-jung oppa said he wants to rest alone. Stop being clingy and let’s go quickly!”
We’re going, Cha Yoon oppa, good work! Sae-young greeted and pushed Min-wook’s shoulder, who was reluctant to leave. Soon the two disappeared down the stairs. Now only Cha Yoon and Seo-jung were left in the second-floor living room that had been quite bustling.
Seo-jung, who had been looking at the stairs for a moment, soon turned his head to look at Cha Yoon.
“Why do you keep following people around and being annoying?”
“When did I do that?”
Cha Yoon protested as if wronged.
“If you think about it, it wasn’t me who was being annoying, it was those people. I was the victim here.”
Isn’t that right? They were the ones who added to his work when he already had a mountain of housework to do. It might sound ridiculous to others, but that was Cha Yoon’s thought. Above all, the point that bothered him most was this:
“And why do you take other people’s side in front of me instead of mine? I’ll always take your side no matter who you fight with. So you should take my side too.”
Cha Yoon grumbled. Seo-jung swallowed a sigh at the sight of Cha Yoon pouting and looking sulky. He’s not a child, so why is he suddenly talking about taking sides here?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
