♪♩♬—.
Maybe that’s why. The ringtone from my phone sounded louder than usual, making me flinch and hunch my shoulders.
“Huh? Sang-cheol.”
[Not opening the real estate office today? I stopped by while passing through, but it’s locked.]
“I’m in front of the office right now. Wait.”
[Nah. I already got in a taxi. Let’s all meet up with Han-woo next time.]
“Okay, next time you come—.”
Thud.
Just as I was about to joke, “Bring me a Melona,” Jun walked past and tossed something beside me. He could’ve set it on the sofa table, but he deliberately threw it onto the seat next to me as if making a point. After hanging up, I checked the contents of the shopping bag he’d tossed.
“Ah, this. What color did you say to exchange it for?”
“Black.”
Jun passed behind me and headed toward the kitchen. Since I felt awkward just sitting there, I stood up and started toward the entrance.
“Drink this before you go.”
I was already full from coffee and didn’t need anything else, but loud blender noises filled the room as he mixed something. I returned to my seat and waited quietly with my hands folded on my knees.
After a moment, Jun held out a cold cup filled with something bright green. Just looking at it, it seemed bitter—and unappetizing.
“I’m not really into stuff like this… Your mom told you to drink it, so you’re dumping it on me instead, right?”
“No. My mom passed away.”
The atmosphere instantly turned strange. For a second, I was reminded of that kid at the playground who got shaken down. The situation was different, but hearing something like that made me feel the same kind of pity. From now on, I decided I wouldn’t ask about anyone’s parents.
I took a sip, then quickly pulled the cup away at Jun’s answer and forced myself to swallow.
“Sorry for bringing it up without meaning to.”
“It’s just the truth.”
I watched the line of his neck as he slowly drank. Every time he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably. That huge amount disappeared in just a few gulps. Not wanting to lose, I tried drinking at a similar pace, but more than two swallows was impossible.
“Ugh… bitter.”
Without a word, Jun pulled something out from under the sofa table and slid it toward me. When I opened it, there were small candies inside. I was trying to pick one when Jun’s hand entered my view. He chose a pink one and brought it toward my lips.
“This one tastes the best. I only pick this flavor.”
I raised my hand to take it while saying thanks, but his hand moved even closer to my mouth.
“Say ah.”
I was about to say, I’ll eat it myself, and just as I parted my lips to speak, his fingertips were already brushing them and the candy slipped into my mouth. From the color, I thought it’d be strawberry, but when I rolled it around on my tongue, it was cherry.
“Ah, I thought it was strawberry. It’s cherry. I kinda want to spit it out.”
“Then spit it out.”
I spotted tissues far away and tried to stand, but Jun held his palm out right in front of my lips. Holding the candy between my lips, I looked at his face, and he gave a small nod.
I hesitated, wondering if this was okay, but like he said, I pushed the candy out with my tongue. The wet candy dropped into his palm with a soft tap. And as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Jun lowered his head and popped the candy straight into his own mouth. I didn’t even have time to stop him.
“Hey… Why are you eating that?”
“It tastes good.”
He casually rolled the candy around with his tongue.
It shocked me how he could eat something covered in my saliva without a second thought. I smacked my lips, tasting the lingering cherry flavor in my mouth. Thinking his mouth now held the same taste made the feeling strangely complicated.
“What’s the point of being older than me? Your taste buds are like an elementary schooler’s.”
“That’s not something the person who keeps a stash of candy should say.”
As we kept talking like this, I suddenly realized I was speaking to him in exactly the same tone as Gentle from the game. There was no way he’d figure out we were the same person just because I used casual speech… right? The thought made me feel like I needed to be more careful.
As he rolled the candy in his mouth, one cheek puffed out slightly. He was looking at something on his phone when I told him I’d get going and that I’d handle the exchange after opening the office.
“Where should we eat lunch?”
“We just had the morning set together earlier.”
“That was breakfast. Lunch. Go exchange that and wait. I’ll come by around one.”
Still rolling the candy in his mouth, Jun met my eyes—and suddenly crunch, he bit down on it.
He lifted a hand in a casual wave, and I returned the gesture before hurrying toward the entrance. On the way, I noticed several tightly closed doors opposite the dressing room. They were a different color from the others, and the doorknobs were old-fashioned round ones instead of modern handles.
He’s got some unique tastes.
I’d thought something would definitely happen if I stayed with Jun, but it turned out more ordinary than expected. I even thought he might say something weird like he was hard or whatever, but all we did was ride together and eat a morning set like ordinary brothers.
I took the elevator down and was about to leave the building when someone called out from the side.
“Du-seon, I thought you weren’t opening the real estate office today. Why are you coming out from there?”
“Ah. I had something to take care of.”
I subtly hid the shopping bag behind me so Namgung Bin wouldn’t see it. It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong, but my remaining pride wouldn’t allow me to admit I was running errands for a landlord five years younger than me.
“Oh, boss!”
Right then, the tteokbokki shop owner came over to greet me. While answering her questions about nearby one-room rentals, Bin slipped back inside the building.
“It’d be nice if the place had some options included.”
“What kind? Washer, fridge, air conditioner?”
“That much would be good.”
I told her there should be two or three places in the back area and suggested we call first; if they hadn’t moved out yet, we could take a look before she opened her shop. As we talked, I unlocked the office door. When I pushed the entrance open, something bumped against my foot.
“Huh? What’s this?”
A delivery box. I hadn’t ordered anything online lately, so I wondered what had arrived late and carried it inside. I set it on my work desk and checked the listing system to see which properties were still available.
Thankfully, the ones I’d mentioned earlier were still open, so I called the owner to ask if we could view them now.
“Ah, yes. Your cat might run out? Got it. I’ll be careful.”
“Boss, the place we’re going to see allows cats? I have two myself.”
“Yes. The one-room behind here allows it. Let’s check the two places that answered first.”
I stood up and headed out with her. After showing both places, she ended up liking the one where a cat was already living, so she said she’d talk to her current landlord first and let me know.
“Then think about your moving date and contact me again.”
“Okay. The distance between the house and the shop is exhausting. Thanks for your help.”
I completely agreed with her. If I could, I’d move into one of these one-rooms myself. Somehow, the one-rooms in this area were more expensive than my two-bedroom apartment. Having a car like Jun’s would make things easier, but the maintenance costs made that impossible for me.
With a sigh, I returned to my desk and checked for any new listings. While staring at the monitor, I noticed Jun’s car parked outside the office start moving.
“If he’s got the energy to drive around like that, he could at least change his own clothes.”
After roughly checking the property status, I got up. I had an errand from Jun to take care of. Just then, the hardware store owner organizing items outside greeted me.
“Hey, looks like there was a package in front of your shop.”
“Yes, I saw it. I brought it inside.”
After hearing my answer, he nodded and went back into his store.
I’d considered going during lunch since it felt like a hassle, but it seemed better to go now while the morning was quiet. Running a real estate office here had taught me plenty of shortcuts, so I arrived at the department store through a side path. As soon as I entered the shop on the first floor, my eyes met one of the staff at the counter.
“I’m here to exchange this.”
“Yes, may I have it?”
The employee took the shopping bag, pulled out the clothes, and searched inside for something else.
“Do you have the receipt?”
“Uh… just a moment.”
I hurriedly called Jun, but he didn’t answer. With no choice, I forced an awkward smile and took the bag back, saying I’d return with the receipt later.
“Go ahead and process the exchange. I know who it belongs to.”
A man who looked like the store manager approached. He took the clothes I was about to put back into the bag and checked the tag.
“This belongs to customer Seomun Jun, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
I wondered how much he must’ve bought here for the staff to recognize him instantly. Without me even mentioning the color, they brought out a black one and placed it into the shopping bag.
“It was part of a special order, so I remember it. I sometimes accompany him as a personal shopper. He said other colors were fine at the time, but it seems he prefers black after all.”
“Thank you.”
As I was about to leave with the bag, he followed me out. Thinking he was just seeing me off, I bowed slightly again and tried to walk past, but he hesitated.
“Um… could we talk for a moment?”
“…Yes? Sure.”
What is this about?
Since it was still a slow time, I followed him into a guest-room-like space. When he offered coffee, I said I’d already had some, so he poured me a glass of fresh fruit juice instead. I’d been drinking blended things all day.
“It’s just that… customer Seomun Jun hasn’t visited much lately. Do you happen to know how he’s been?”
“I don’t really know either. I just happened to run an errand for him…”
“Then I’ll ask directly. What exactly is your relationship with our Jun?”
“Excuse me?”
The question caught me off guard in more ways than one. Not only was he suspicious of my relationship with Jun, but our Jun? I almost wanted to ask him the same thing—what kind of relationship did he have?
“That’s… a strange question. I already said I’m just here on an errand.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I thought you might know him personally. Usually something like this could be handled with a single phone call, so it’s not the kind of thing he’d ask someone else to do. Perhaps I’m just being overly sensitive.”
Listening to words that hinted at his personal feelings—even though we’d just met—made the pulp in the juice feel like it was stuck in my throat. I didn’t know what to say in this situation, so I just kept drinking.
My phone rang then. The caller was Jun. He must’ve seen the missed call and returned it.
For some reason, I had a strange premonition that if I answered right now, I’d end up stuck in some bizarre love triangle. I muted the ringtone and stood up.
“I should get going. Something urgent came up.”
“Then could you pass this along? You’re delivering the shopping bag anyway, right?”
What he handed me was a small box. It wasn’t like a bomb could fit inside something this tiny—and definitely not a pair of semen-stained underwear—so I couldn’t refuse.
Still, I worried a little about what that rude guy might say if I showed up carrying something else for him too. I tried to hand the box back out of the shopping bag, but the manager suddenly got a call and stood up.
“I have to get back to work. I’ll leave it to you.”
I stared at him helplessly, my hand still fumbling inside the bag. “Ah, wait—” I called out, but the door closed, swallowing my words completely.
It felt exactly like when parents fight and refuse to talk to each other, sending messages through their kid instead—Tell your dad to eat, Tell your mom the soup’s too salty. I should’ve been suspicious from the start when Jun asked me to exchange something at a department store only ten minutes away on foot.
What the hell… Did I just get used again?
The whole way back to the office from the department store, the hand gripping the shopping bag felt uncomfortably heavy.
