This time, it was Juni. I almost declined again, but I accepted without much resistance. He’d probably called several times already, and it felt wrong to ignore him completely. Still, I was starting to get Juni and ShutUp mixed up in my head. I needed to get a grip.
“Hello.”
I pressed the call button and spoke before Jun could say anything. Bin was quietly watching me. Feeling his gaze on me, my voice naturally dropped.
“I can’t really take a call right now.”
[Hyung, you’re at home.]
“……”
[If you’re home, what’s the problem?]
A low, incredulous scoff came through the line. When Jun got angry, his voice echoed like it was coming from a basement. If he usually sounded like a semi-basement, right now he was at least three floors underground.
“Well… I have a guest over. I’ll call you later.”
[Where did you go earlier during the day?]
“Huh…?”
Should I tell him I went to the ER? That felt like overkill. He wasn’t my guardian or anything.
“Nowhere. Why?”
[You were gone for over two hours. Didn’t answer your phone either. You said earlier you had something to tell me, so I waited.]
“Oh, that? It’s not urgent. Let’s talk about it on Monday.”
I tried to wrap up the call, but he didn’t seem willing to let it end.
[Is there something you’re not telling me?]
“Uh… no.”
[Really? Nothing?]
For some reason, the image of Jun standing warmly beside some man beyond the pharmacy’s glass window flashed through my mind. And the tteokbokki shop owner saying he always bought three or four servings at a time.
Maybe that was why. I didn’t particularly want to tell Jun everything either. There was no reason to interrogate each other about our private lives, no reason to lay everything bare. We were just role-playing, after all.
“There’s nothing.”
There was a long silence. Did the call drop? I checked the screen—no, the call timer was still running. I thought I heard a faint sigh.
“I’m hanging up.”
[Hyung.]
When I didn’t respond, Bin, who’d been watching from the side, asked who it was. Like before, I said it was a younger acquaintance, but Roban chimed in from below, “Younger? Not your real younger brother?”
[Who’s the guest? Sounds like someone I know.]
Flustered, I couldn’t keep the call going any longer. Sharp bastard.
“…Huh? No. Anyway, I’m hanging up.”
This time I didn’t wait for a reply and pressed end.
By the time the call ended, Roban’s lunchbox was completely empty. Saying he’d eaten well, he got up and carried the container to the sink. I’d noticed it before, but maybe because he used to work in a kitchen, the way he cleaned up and washed dishes afterward was as natural as running water. Now I understood why having him in my house didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable.
Roban even soaped up the empty lunchbox I’d planned to wash tomorrow. As he stood at the sink doing dishes, Bin asked, staring at the back of his head,
“Blue Tracksuit. When are you going home?”
“You first. I’ll leave when you leave.”
It just looked like the two of them were stubbornly holding their ground for no reason.
After finishing the dishes, Roban wiped his hands on his pants and said he’d step out to his place for a bit. When I told him to just go and rest, he didn’t respond—just slammed the door shut.
“Mr. Bin, you should head back and rest too. I think you came out suddenly because of me…”
“Can I sleep here?”
“Huh?”
“I sent the car back earlier… and I’m kind of tired right now.”
After everything he’d done for me all day, I couldn’t treat him coldly. I only had the blanket on the bed and one thin spare. After some deliberation, I decided I’d sleep on the sofa and give him the bed.
“Alright.”
Since I was meeting Hyesun at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Samseong Station, I didn’t need to wake up too early, so I didn’t bother arguing with him.
Bang bang—!
While I was tidying up, someone pounded hard on the front door. I checked the intercom. Sure enough, it was Roban. As I opened the door and asked why he was back, he pointed at Bin behind me.
“I’ll leave when he does. I’m bored, so let’s play this.”
“What is it?”
Blue Marble. I had no idea when he’d bought it—the outer box was so worn that parts of it were reinforced with yellow tape.
We didn’t memorize world capitals in history class—we learned them by building hotels on our land and going on space travel. As Roban proudly spread the board across the living room floor, Bin, who had been half-heartedly watching TV, looked over with interest.
“What’s that?”
“Wow, you don’t know Blue Marble? If you don’t know this game, you didn’t even graduate elementary school. Bet you don’t know Australia’s capital either.”
“Canberra.”
“See? You don’t know anything. It’s Sydney.”
“What? It’s Canberra.”
“What kind of bullshit is that? Come here.”
Roban crooked his finger and beckoned Bin over, pointing at the board. Bin got off the sofa and studied it carefully, murmuring, “Hmm…” Eventually, the two of them even searched for Canada’s capital on their phones, and when the result came up, Roban fumed, claiming it was some kind of conspiracy.
“Wow, how is that possible?”
“See? Canberra.”
Roban lamented that Blue Marble had ruined his education. Though that didn’t seem like the real reason.
“Gentle, you knew too?”
“I told you not to call me Gentle.”
“Why is Du-seon ‘Gentle’?”
Roban shot me a quick glance. I subtly shook my head, so he didn’t answer. Instead, I explained.
“Well, our real estate office is called Dajeong Real Estate. So maybe that’s why? Right?”
“Mm.”
After scanning the board, Bin lifted his gaze and alternated looking between the two of us.
Wanting to break the awkward tension, I chimed in that it sounded fun and helped set things up. They’d packed everything so haphazardly that the money was mixed together like cabbage tossed in kimchi seasoning.
Sorting it all would be a job in itself. The bills were so small that when Roban or Bin held them in their big hands, they practically disappeared.
“But do we really have to play this? Du-seon, is it fun?”
“There’s not much else for the three of us to do.”
“If I win, I’m leaving first.”
A spark lit up in Bin’s previously indifferent eyes. He clearly had every intention of kicking someone out by any means necessary.
“I’m a pro, though. Won’t be easy.”
“You think you’ll beat someone who doesn’t even know Australia’s capital? As if.”
While the two of them sorted the money by denomination, I organized the key cards. Honestly, it was a bit of a hassle, but there wasn’t anything else to do. I figured I’d kill time and go to sleep if I got tired. It brought back old memories, too.
Just as we finished sorting and were about to divide the money, the doorbell rang.
“Huh? Who is it?”
We exchanged glances. As the homeowner, I was the most flustered. I checked the intercom… It was Jun.
Why is he here again?
As I went to open the door, I steeled myself—what I’d sent earlier were just vowels; it was GentleTouch, so there was nothing to be scared of.
When I opened the door, he stood there, eyes filled with venom.
“Huh? Why are you here?”
Jun didn’t answer. He pushed past the space between the door and me without hesitation. Since he stepped in face-to-face, our chests brushed, and embarrassed, I took a step back. That naturally left the front door wide open.
After slipping off his shoes and stepping inside, he stood crookedly in front of the living room, looking down at Roban and Bin.
“Tenant, why are you here?”
“Why? I’m not allowed to be?”
“You the owner or something?”
Jun had clearly aimed the remark at Bin, but Roban fired back as well. Ironically, the actual homeowner couldn’t say a word in this situation.
“Namgung Bin, go home.”
“You go home. I’m sleeping here.”
“Then I’m sleeping here too.”
“No!” “No!!”
At Roban’s words, both Bin and Jun shouted at the same time. Meanwhile, the actual homeowner remained silent as they negotiated among themselves about who would sleep over. With Jun’s arrival, the room that had finally quieted down grew noisy again.
“Stop fighting and let’s just play the game. Whoever wins can do whatever they want.”
At my suggestion, they all fell silent. Jun naturally took a seat as well. I handed him his share of game money.
“You know the rules, right? If you roll doubles, you get another turn. You can buy land after going around once. Build buildings on your next turn after buying.”
“Wait. I’m not sure. Explain again.”
At Roban’s explanation, Bin asked for clarification. Jun cut him off bluntly.
“It’s fine. Just start.”
I went first, and we proceeded clockwise—Jun, then Bin, then Roban. The living room remained peaceful at least until we’d each made a full lap and started buying land.
The real war began after Roban built two hotels on a single property.
Them playing this game is hilarious.