Click—.
With the unlocking sound, the door opened, and Roban’s bare feet in slippers came into view on the floor.
As my body collapsed, I vaguely thought how cool it would feel if my face touched the marble entryway floor. But instead of the cold surface, what met my cheek was a chest where I could hear a steady thumping heartbeat.
“You’re basically a corpse.”
Roban held me, though my legs dragged across the floor as he hauled me toward the living room sofa. As my body was pulled along, the sugar scattered across the floor stretched all the way into the living room.
“Ah, what the—what’s this on my feet? Sand? Did you eat dirt or something?”
Brushing off the bottoms of his feet with his hand, Roban clicked his tongue the moment he saw the kitchen floor—the source of the mess. The helpless chuckle on his face said he didn’t even need to see it happen to know what kind of struggle I’d gone through overnight to turn the sugar into that disaster.
The cushion I usually kept on the sofa touched the back of my head. With my head slightly propped up, the pounding headache felt a little more bearable.
“Ugh… ugh.”
“Got it.”
Understanding me perfectly, Roban grabbed a cordless vacuum and began cleaning up the sugar on the floor. Then it sounded like he went out somewhere for a moment, and the surroundings grew quiet.
When I drifted into a brief sleep and woke again, a spicy bean sprout soup aroma filled the air. The bean sprout soup my mom used to make was a miracle cure for hangovers. Being with Mom really is the best—
“Get up. That’s enough.”
At the rough male voice, I opened my eyes. Instead of my parents’ house ceiling back in my hometown, I saw the ceiling of the apartment I’d moved into. For a second I wondered if even the smell was part of a dream, but the kitchen was thick with the scent of bean sprout soup.
“Eat this first, then go wash your face and sit down.”
At first I thought, Who is that? But through my blurry vision, the blue tracksuit stood out clearly, and I recognized him immediately.
What Roban placed in my hand were hangover relief pills and a drink. I memorized the names, thinking I should buy some in advance next time. Slowly, I got up and checked my condition; maybe because I’d slept a bit more, my head felt much clearer.
I went to the bathroom, washed my face, and looked at myself in the mirror.
“…Huh?”
There was a lump on my forehead. At first I thought the cheap mirror was distorting the image, but when I touched it, something really was swollen there—like straight out of a cartoon.
I wiped my face dry with a towel and came back out. Since I didn’t have a proper dining table, I saw Roban carrying the bowl of bean sprout soup over to the coffee table.
“Sit.”
Still rubbing the bump on my forehead, I sat beside him.
“You don’t have many side dishes at home. Do you mostly order delivery?”
“Yeah. Living alone, throwing food away becomes a chore. And where’d this kimchi come from? I don’t even have any.”
“I brought it from home.”
Steam rose from the red-pepper-seasoned bean sprout soup, looking spicy enough to clear my sinuses just by sight. I lifted the warm bowl and gulped down only the broth. It felt like a highway opened straight from my esophagus to my stomach—refreshingly clear.
“Ahh— Roban, you should quit selling adult products and open a hangover soup place. This tastes as good as my mom’s.”
“Of course it does. My family’s sold jokbal for generations. I can make bean sprout soup with my eyes closed.”
“Jokbal shop? What’s that got to do with bean sprout soup?”
“It’s served as a basic side dish. Thanks to me, customers who planned to drink one bottle ended up drinking two. Honestly, the regulars we got were all because of me, but my mom still nags me for not being able to boil jokbal properly. …But you ask questions and then don’t even listen?”
Whether Roban talked or not, I finished an entire bowl of soup and stood up, heading to the pot to ladle myself another serving.
“Mix some rice into it.”
“My stomach’s not fully settled yet. I’ll calm it down with the broth first. But seriously, you cooked this well.”
Sitting back at the coffee table, I started eating with a spoon this time, nodding again at how good it tasted. Roban just rested his chin on his hand and watched me.
“If you like it that much, what about me?”
“Don’t say weird stuff.”
“What? We even kissed in the game. Why don’t you like me?”
“Yeah. I don’t.”
“So ShutUp is okay, but I’m not? What kind of guy is ShutUp anyway? I heard he’s some weak-looking guy.”
By then my stomach had mostly settled, so I mixed rice into the soup and practically swallowed his words along with it. I focused on eating without answering, but since he kept asking about ShutUp, I gave a rough reply just to shut him up.
“No. He just looks normal.”
“Like me?”
Why was this kimchi mixed so well that it almost moved me emotionally? With a mouthful of rice, I gave a vague nod. As my chopsticks kept reaching for the kimchi, Roban said he’d made that fresh kimchi himself too, and then he asked about ShutUp again.
“So you actually meet him in real life, huh? Then… is he that guy?”
“Who?”
“The one saved as ‘Juni’ in your phone.”
The bean sprouts were long, and as I picked some up with my chopsticks to eat, my strength gave out and they slipped right back into the soup. I hadn’t even realized it while eating, but I’d basically admitted I knew ShutUp in real life too. Looking at him now, Roban was sharper than I thought.
“…You answered the call?”
“It was so loud I picked up. He asked what you were doing. I told him you passed out drunk.”
“And? Did he… say anything?”
“I was the one who said stuff. Told him Yoo Du-seon needs to sleep, so don’t call. Then he asked what kind of relationship we had. So I said we see each other day and night—”
“Hey! Why would you say that to him! You could’ve just said we’re neighbors!”
A few grains of rice flew out of my mouth as I yelled. One of them landed on Roban’s clothes, but he picked it off and shoved it right back into my mouth as I fumed.
“Why are you so mad? What, are you two dating? Don’t tell me Juni is ShutUp?”
“We’re not dating, and Juni isn’t ShutUp.”
“He’s not? The way you link so intensely with ShutUp, I thought Gentle was into that kind of thing. Remember? The two of you in that cabin were really going at it.”
“Stop it. I’m eating. It’s not like that.”
Roban snickered, saying we’d have to wait and see whether it really wasn’t like that. I should’ve slammed my spoon down and stopped eating at that point, but my appetite clearly had other plans.
When I finished mixing more rice and the broth ran low, Roban stood up, brought over a smaller bowl filled with more soup, and poured it in for me. He told me to eat slowly and set a glass of water beside me.
Checking the time, it was nearly 2 p.m. My hangover was fading and the headache seemed to be disappearing, but then yesterday’s upsetting events came back to mind, and a migraine-like heaviness started pressing down on my head again.
I worried that something in my brain might break and I’d suddenly turn into an idiot. Seeing that I was almost done eating, Roban handed me his phone.
“Look. This is that Goddess girl’s SNS from yesterday.”
“It’s just a black screen. What am I supposed to see?”
“In the comments, someone wrote, ‘If you need anything besides Relax, tell me. Oppa will get it for you,’ and she replied saying thanks. This guy might be Kang Chung-man.”
The content did seem suspicious, but the name looked nothing like Kang Chung-man. ‘CandyBoy’? As Roban leaned in close, our cheeks almost touching, I instinctively leaned my head away in the opposite direction.
Roban tapped the screen with his finger and opened CandyBoy’s SNS page. There wasn’t much there.
“It’s just a hunch, but worth poking at.”
“How?”
“If he’s a man, you send a message he can’t ignore.”
Roban typed out: “Pheromone perfume that charms women, male enhancement supplements, compatibility-improving toys, Aneros, 50% special sale for registered members.” Then he added the shopping mall link and customer service number before sending the DM.
Aneros….
I’d completely forgotten. Roban had told me to buy one before, and I’d said I would. If he was using it as bait, maybe it was something a lot of men liked.
“If he doesn’t bite on at least one of these, he’s not a man.”
“If he bites on even one, doesn’t that make him a sucker?”
“He’s a sucker, so he’ll bite.”
If Kang Chung-man actually signed up and we got his real phone number, we planned to contact him through that. And if he even ordered something and we got his address, that would be jackpot.
“…Ha. I’m not letting this slide.”
Roban stood at the kitchen sink, grabbing a scrubber to wash the dishes. It didn’t feel like he was doing chores out of kindness—it seemed instinctive. Cooking soup, setting out food, washing dishes… everything flowed naturally, like water running downhill.
A guest who didn’t feel like a guest. Before I knew it, Roban finished the dishes and approached, wiping his hands dry.
Ding-dong—.
“Huh?”
At the sound of the doorbell, I looked toward the entrance. It was a weekday afternoon, and no one should’ve been visiting at this hour. Thinking it might be someone coming to preach, I tried to ignore it.
Ding-dong—.
But the bell rang again. Wondering who it was, I checked the intercom screen—and froze.
“…W-what? Why is he here?”
“Is that Juni?”
Roban stepped closer to me, looking at the screen together as he asked.
How did Juni even get to my place? I shot Roban a questioning look, and he casually said he’d told him the address. “He got here fast,” he added, already walking toward the door instead of me, the actual homeowner.
I realized what was happening a beat too late and tried to grab Roban, but it was already too late. He pressed the door lock and opened it. I froze awkwardly in place.
The moment Jun stepped inside through the open doorway, my thoughts stopped as if time itself had frozen. At that point, I almost felt like, Whatever happens, happens. Still, I clung to a last thread of hope—that nothing serious would come of this…
Jun said nothing as he took off his shoes and set something down near the entrance. Then he walked straight past Roban and came toward me. With his long strides, he crossed the distance in just a few steps and stopped in front of me.
When I lifted my gaze to look at him, Jun jerked his chin toward Roban behind him.
“What’s this?”
It wasn’t like we’d been caught cheating or anything. I forced my hazy mind to focus. I had to keep it together.
“Uh… yeah. This is Roban. He lives next door.”
At my introduction, Roban approached and stepped between Jun and me, holding out his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
Even though Roban offered a handshake, Jun only stared at the hand, treating him like he didn’t exist. Ignoring the outstretched hand completely, Jun moved closer to me again.
I saw Jun raise his hand suddenly. Startled by the unexpected touch, I flinched—but his cool fingers gently poked a spot on my forehead.
“Ah!”
“What happened here?”
He’d pressed exactly on the bump and asked. I hid the truth, worried he’d look down on me even more if I told him.
“I guess I hit something while half-asleep.”
At my answer, Jun scanned the inside of my place. Seeing there wasn’t really anywhere I could’ve hit my head, he looked down at me with suspicion.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
“I wasn’t in any state to.”
“How much did you freaking drink? You still smell like alcohol.”
Afraid the smell would come out if I opened my mouth again, I kept it shut. Maybe my silence annoyed him, because Jun started scolding me—asking how much I’d poured down my throat to drink until I passed out, whether I’d lost my mind. My hangover still wasn’t fully gone, and his nagging made my head ring painfully.
“Juni, stop nagging. I’ve got a headache…”
As I pressed one side of my head, Roban, who had been listening, stepped between us again.
“Don’t be too hard on him. He’s got his reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“Well, that—”
Before Roban could answer, I shoved him hard, cutting him off. He stumbled backward from the sudden push and got forced into the bathroom. Telling him he might as well use it while he was in there, I shut the bathroom door.
