Chapter 111
“I wasn’t taking sides, I was just stating the facts.”
To begin with, Seo-jung had never asked Cha Yoon to take his side. But he knew how long the conversation would drag on if he brought this up. Even now, Cha Yoon was saying, “Again, you don’t believe me and take others’ side. I’m telling you, they were the ones being annoying.” There was no need to say more.
While Seo-jung kept his mouth shut, the conversation had already turned into a forum for Cha Yoon to express his disappointment.
“These days, even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough. You should at least be on my side so I can keep going.”
“…”
As the whining voice pierced his ears, Seo-jung’s fists clenched. The words “If it’s so hard, why don’t you just quit?” rose to the tip of his tongue. He felt this even more strongly because he knew why Cha Yoon was so dedicated to household chores.
But Seo-jung didn’t open his mouth. The answer he’d get was obvious anyway. Cha Yoon would probably spout something similar to what he’d been saying all along – asking if Seo-jung was trying to stop him from doing what he wanted most, and that hyung should just cheer him on.
After repeating similar situations several times, Seo-jung realized that his attempts to dissuade Cha Yoon not only failed to maintain the status quo but actually added fuel to the fire. It’s human nature to want to do something more when told not to do it.
So Seo-jung had only one thing to do. As he had initially decided, to leave Cha Yoon alone without reacting. To let the burning flames in his heart diminish and eventually extinguish, to let him break down on his own and let go of himself.
But what if Cha Yoon really gave up on him? Would I really be okay with that? The thoughts he thought were flowing in the right direction took a turn in a moment of carelessness and touched on his instincts.
Reflexively shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Seo-jung moved to leave. He realized that being alone with Cha Yoon was not a good choice with these truths popping up unexpectedly. However, after taking a couple of steps, Cha Yoon quickly followed and blocked Seo-jung’s path.
“Where are you going?”
Seo-jung, who had roughly suppressed his tangled emotions and true feelings, pointed to the closed door of the room.
“I’m going to my room now.”
“So suddenly? You’ve been out here all this time.”
“If I’m with others, you’ll come there and make things uncomfortable again. So I’m just going to go in.”
He couldn’t say that being alone with Cha Yoon kept shaking his carefully composed heart, that he wanted to do nothing but follow his emotions without caring about anything else, that selfish thoughts kept surfacing. So Seo-jung said what he thought the ‘Ki Seo-jung’ he had created would say. It wasn’t entirely untrue either.
It had happened just yesterday. When he was walking in the garden with Soo-ho, Cha Yoon followed them around under the pretext of watering the flowers. Not only that, when Seo-jung was sitting in the living room, Cha Yoon would linger nearby, wiping the leather sofa with a cloth, and when he was in the kitchen, Cha Yoon would stay there, unnecessarily organizing the refrigerator or doing dishes.
As he recalled Cha Yoon’s behavioral patterns repeated over the past three days, he heard a somewhat embarrassed voice.
“…No, when did I do that?”
Cha Yoon avoided eye contact and muttered.
“Did I misunderstand? Then should we go downstairs and be with the others…”
“What are you talking about? It’s not a misunderstanding. You’re right. I followed you around because I was worried about leaving you alone. Happy now? So don’t go.”
What? Please. As soon as Seo-jung turned towards the stairs, Cha Yoon grabbed him. Then, as always, he spoke rapidly. While listening to Cha Yoon’s fast-paced words, Seo-jung took in his pleading expression as he held onto him.
“…Alright. I won’t go.”
Seo-jung pulled his arm free from Cha Yoon’s grasp. Although it quickly slipped out of Cha Yoon’s hand, a warm sensation lingered on his forearm where he had been held. Seo-jung rubbed that spot. As if doing so would erase the remaining traces of Cha Yoon.
Cha Yoon, who had been anxiously waiting for Seo-jung’s answer, finally let out a long sigh of relief. Seo-jung looked at Cha Yoon who was clutching his chest, then averted his eyes. It seemed like he really needed to go back to his room now.
But just as he had made up his mind, Seo-jung had to stop in his tracks again. Once more, it was Cha Yoon blocking his path.
Hadn’t he explained sufficiently why he wanted to go to his room? Seo-jung looked at Cha Yoon standing in front of him with incomprehension. At that look, Cha Yoon cautiously revealed his inner thoughts.
“Are you really going to your room? Won’t you be really bored alone in there? I know because I’m always alone.”
“…”
“The weather’s nice and cool now, it’s good to sit on the terrace…”
Cha Yoon trailed off, glancing at Seo-jung as if gauging his reaction. Unable to follow Seo-jung into the room because he hadn’t finished his chores, he was trying to lure him to where he was.
“So instead of going to your room, why don’t you go out to the terrace and look at the view or something?”
“No, I’ll just go in. I’m feeling a bit sleepy after lunch, so I want to take a nap.”
But Seo-jung ignored Cha Yoon’s subtle expression of wanting to spend time with him. It was right to minimize their time together as much as possible, not just for Cha Yoon’s sake but for his own as well.
“…If you’re sleepy, you should sleep. Okay, go in and sleep quickly then. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for dinner.”
“Don’t overdo it, Cha Yoon. Finish up quickly and get some rest too.”
When Seo-jung cited fatigue, Cha Yoon stopped insisting and backed off. Although his eyes were full of lingering attachment, his words at least conveyed this. Seo-jung ignored Cha Yoon’s reluctance as he passed by, still standing in front of him despite his words.
A moment later, the sound of a door closing was heard. Left completely alone, Cha Yoon replayed the image of Seo-jung’s back as he walked away without looking back, then ran his hand through his bangs.
“Let’s go out and water the plants.”
As if chiding himself for having idle thoughts, Cha Yoon soon headed out to the terrace.
***
“Cha Yoon, the food was great again today.”
Min-wook, rubbing his belly, said to Cha Yoon, who had become the official chef of the X House.
“It was really delicious. I never thought I’d eat cedar plank steamed food at home.”
“You bought that steamer yourself, right? I’ve never seen such a large steamer in a regular home before.”
“Yeah… I bought it.”
Cha Yoon nodded vaguely at Ji-yoon’s question. Even as more compliments from the X House contestants followed, Cha Yoon, the person in question, didn’t pay any attention.
It was natural. His cooking was strictly for Seo-jung’s sake from the beginning. So the words of others besides Ki Seo-jung, the intended recipient of the food, couldn’t hold any meaning for him.
Cha Yoon rolled his eyes to look at Seo-jung. Unlike the other contestants who kept talking, he was quietly listening to the conversation. Waiting for praise from Ki Seo-jung, Cha Yoon couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up.
“What about you, hyung?”
“What about me?”
“How was the cedar plank steamed dish today?”
Cha Yoon pointed to the light wooden steamer on the table. Seo-jung followed Cha Yoon’s finger with his eyes and soon let out an “Ah” sound.
“It was delicious.”
I enjoyed it, Cha Yoon. At this response, Cha Yoon closed his mouth. The answer was too simple and formal. It was somewhat different from Seo-jung’s reactions that he had seen at the dinner table for the past few days.
What’s going on? He clearly said he preferred plain food over spicy ones. I deliberately used only ingredients he likes, but did it not suit his taste?
Seo-jung’s praise, which could be heard only three times a day, was one of the driving forces that made Cha Yoon endure his hard days. Tonight’s dinner was no exception. He had prepared it diligently looking forward to just that one thing, but with the situation turning out like this, Cha Yoon couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. No, to be honest, he was more than a little disappointed.
Feeling upset and looking for a place to vent, Cha Yoon stared at Soo-ho, who was giving him a thumbs up with a bright face, but soon regained his senses and turned away. He shouldn’t do this anymore. In the end, his target became the steamer used to make dinner. Damn, it’s just so fucking big… Just as he was cursing the innocent steamer…
A notification sound rang from the pockets of the residents around the table.
“Oh, looks like something came in.”
At that voice, Cha Yoon also checked his phone.
Before departing for Jeju Island, the third official date will take place!
The third official date is a ‘Male Contestant’s Designated Date’. Each male resident will be given one date card. Please send a date request message to the person you want to spend time with on your given date card.
However, for the third official date, all restrictions are removed. Contestants can send messages not only to NEW but also to X.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
