Episode 18

 

Sitting cross-legged on the living room rug of Kang Se-heon’s empty house, Yoon Tae-seo had two main concerns. Firstly, he had briefly woken up when Kang Se-heon left, but since then, he had fully awakened only in the late afternoon as the sun was setting. It was quite bewildering how he had slept so deeply, but the serene atmosphere of the quiet space seemed to make time slip away unnoticed, and the initially unfamiliar bed had contributed to a sense of stability.

 

Secondly, there was the still unlit phone lying untouched. Tae-seo, who had been staring silently at the dark screen of his phone, roughly ruffled his own hair.

 

“I don’t know what to do.”

 

Although he had taken immediate action, a way to resolve it did not come to mind. It would have been better to comfortably possess the childhood Yoon Tae-seo  if possible. Then, he wouldn’t have tormented Seo Da-rae by taking Kang In-hyuk, and naturally, such an incident wouldn’t have occurred.

 

“Why do I have to be the one fixing everything?”

 

When the perpetrator himself didn’t even exist. It felt so unfair, it was driving him crazy, but there was no other way. Yesterday, he had recklessly fled from his parents, but this hadn’t been a fundamental solution.  If he went to school tomorrow, a secretary could appear in front of him.  If that happened, he couldn’t avoid it, and he couldn’t just refuse to go.

 

As Tae-seo pondered over his dilemma, he eventually picked up his phone as  if he had made up his mind. Simply turning off the phone was not a solution to buy him time. As he powered it on, the logos of the company that manufactured the phone and the network provider appeared on the screen one after another.

 

“This… “

 

He hadn’t realized until now since he had just been using it, but it was a phone made by KH. That meant this device could have been released with Kang Se-heon’s confirmation. As Tae-seo thought of Kang Se-heon, he clenched his hungry stomach.

 

“Should I go buy some sushi?”

 

He left without a word when I said it in the morning…

 

“No, let’s not get our hopes up.”

 

Tae-seo, who had only thought of quietly staying holed up in his room while he was around, picked up his phone once the loading was finished. As he roughly skimmed through quite a few missed calls and messages, Tae-seo glanced at his father’s contact. He didn’t have the courage to make a call. So, he went into the messaging app and, after some hesitation, expressed his thoughts in writing.

 

At the final send, Tae-seo couldn’t move his thumb easily. It wasn’t easy to just press it once. He wasn’t sure  if sending this would make him understood or  if it would provoke even more anger. Or his father could track down his phone’s location and come to get him. As negative thoughts flowed through his mind, Tae-seo’s expression noticeably darkened.

 

Getting scolded is fine, but I don’t want to die…

 

That’s when it happened. Tae-seo’s body jolted at the sudden sound of the door opening. Turning his head, Tae-seo, who had been startled, locked eyes with Kang Se-heon as he entered, mouth slightly agape, then glanced at his phone. He seemed to have touched the phone in surprise earlier, and sure enough, a message had been sent.

 

“Oh…”

 

Tae-seo put down his phone. Since he was going to send it anyway, it was better that he hesitated for a moment. As Tae-seo stood up from his seat, he met Kang Se-heon’s gaze.

 

“You’re here?”

 

“Why are you sitting there instead of the perfectly fine sofa?”

 

“The rug is really soft and comfortable.”

 

“Seems like you’ve changed after all.”

 

“What?”

 

Not understanding Kang Se-heon’s muttered words, Tae-seo asked again, but received no response.

 

“Let’s eat.”

 

As Kang Se-heon went straight into the kitchen, Tae-seo followed, wearing a puzzled expression. However, he held his breath in surprise when he saw the familiar logo on the paper bag placed on the dining table.

 

“You really bought it.”

 

“Sweetie, don’t just stand there, eat. Sushi should be eaten when it’s fresh.”

 

Kang Se-heon, reverting to the term of endearment Tae-seo had used to call him in the morning, loosened his tie.

 

“I’ll go ahead and eat.”

 

Without waiting for Tae-seo’s response, he went straight into the dressing room. Left alone, Tae-seo still couldn’t shake off his astonishment.

 

“Why is he acting like this?”

 

It seems like he’s someone who talks tough but ends up doing everything. Tae-seo’s mood quickly improved as he took out the lunchbox from the paper bag. Seeing neatly arranged sushi inside the lunchbox made his mouth water. Placing the paper bag next to the chair, Tae-seo picked up his chopsticks. But just as he was about to pick up a piece, he hesitated and glanced at the dressing room where Kang Se-heon had disappeared. Can he really eat first?

 

Not knowing when he’ll come out,  if he waits quietly, he wants to eat the sushi, but  if he just eats, it might seem rude. With a look of anticipation, wondering when Kang Se-heon would come out, Tae-seo put a piece of sushi in his mouth, a compromise of his own, eating sushi while waiting.

“Wow…”

 

Tae-seo turned his head as if mesmerized by the sushi. He had thought it was a joke when Kang Se-heon said to eat it while it’s fresh, but it turned out to be true. There was no hint of fishy smell, and even though he hadn’t chewed it much after putting it in his mouth, it had already melted away.

 

“Did they just catch this?”

 

It seemed as  if they had caught it and placed it directly on the rice. From the appropriate amount of wasabi to the rice that supported it, a happy smile formed on Tae-seo’s lips. The nervous Yoon Tae-seo, who had been trembling just before sending a message to his father, had disappeared.

 

“Is it good?”

 

Tae-seo nodded as he took another piece into his mouth, before even finishing the first piece of sushi. As he did, the end of the sushi, sticking out between his lips, also shook. Kang Se-heon, who had changed clothes and come out, chuckled as he looked at Tae-seo’s reddened lips.

 

“What did you have for breakfast?”

 

Kang Se-heon asked as he picked up his chopsticks. Tae-seo diligently chewed the food in his mouth. Even though sushi is said to be fine without much chewing, he still considered it polite to answer quickly as a sign of gratitude to the person who bought the sushi.

 

“I didn’t eat anything.”

 

“Why didn’t you eat? Don’t you know how to cook? You could have eaten outside. Oh, did you not go out because you don’t know the passcode?”

 

That could be it. Tae-seo expressed relief that he hadn’t thought of going out.

 

“I woke up late. I was sitting to wake up, and then you came.”

 

“You really sleep a lot.”

 

As he picked out the next piece of sushi to eat, Tae-seo said, “It’s not like that, but I really slept well today. Maybe the bed is really comfortable.”

 

“Wouldn’t hotel beds be even better?”

 

“I woke up there because of a friend’s call.”

 

“That’s why you sleep a lot.”

 

“Do I?”

 

He tilted his head in confusion, seeming surprised because he didn’t usually sleep much, except recently. But as he picked up the next piece of sushi, he focused as  if he had forgotten everything he was just thinking about. Kang Se-heon chuckled in disbelief as he saw Tae-seo eating sushi with a happy face.

 

“It’s lucky the meeting got canceled.  If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have bought sushi for you.”

 

“I guess I’m lucky to eat it today.”

 

Tae-seo said exactly what Kang Se-heon had thought earlier. Now, Tae-seo was diligently feeding himself sushi, perhaps feeling it was a waste of time to make eye contact with Kang Se-heon. Seeing this, Kang Se-heon pushed his lunchbox towards Tae-seo.

 

“Aren’t you going to eat it?”

 

“I should have bought three, but I only bought two to take responsibility.”

 

Tae-seo waved it off, but Kang Se-heon had already put down his chopsticks.

 

“Even though you woke up late today, are you going to keep sleeping in the future?”

 

“I have to go to school tomorrow. And I have assignments to do… Oh.”

 

Tae-seo lowered his eyebrows as he belatedly remembered his situation. It was easy enough to buy a few clothes to wear during his stay here, but he needed a  laptop to do his assignments. Relying solely on the computer lab at school had its limitations.

 

 Laptops don’t come cheap, and to solve this…

 

“Do you happen to have a spare  laptop?”

 

“I rescued someone who fell into the water, and in return, they asked for a laptop instead of a bag.”

 

“There were also a lot of books.”

 

“… If you make too many demands like that, you’ll have to pay for  room and board.”

 

Tae-seo laughed as if impressed. That evening, with permission to use it, Tae-seo received a state-of-the-art laptop.

 

***

 

The next day, Tae-seo was pulled into a café by Park Han-soo, who immediately grabbed his arm upon arriving at school. Park Han-soo said he knew how to buy coffee, so Tae-seo ordered, and Park Han-soo swiftly went to order and brought it back.

 

“What happened to you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Tae-seo answered while humming with a straw in his mouth.

 

“A secretary came to see me over the weekend. They asked  if I could get in touch with you.”

 

He showed Tae-seo his wallet, where he hadn’t put away the business card he had received. Tae-seo glanced at the secretary’s name and nodded in confirmation.

 

“I left home.”

 

“What?”

 

Due to Park Han-soo’s loud voice, people around them turned to look. Seeing Tae-seo shaking his head as  if pitiful, Park Han-soo cleared his throat.

 

“Why did you leave home? It’s not like you’re going through puberty, what rebellion is this running away.”

 

“There were reasons.”

 

“What reasons could you possibly have? Did you suddenly want to experience the lives of common people…?”

 

Tae-seo shook his head. While not as luxurious as his own home, Kang Se-heon’s house was nice too. Considering the land value, it could be roughly similar.

 

“Because I fell in love and want to live with that person.”

 

“You don’t have a partner like that.”

 

“Oh, I said Kang In-hyuk doesn’t like you.”

 

Despite the situation, Tae-seo found it annoying that Park Han-soo brought up Kang In-hyuk’s name and stood up from his seat. It was almost time for class.

 

“No, why did you leave?”

 

“Because I’m afraid I might die.”

 

Tae-seo replied in a low voice. Park Han-soo asked again, saying he couldn’t hear, but Tae-seo remained silent.

 

He had only recently become Yoon Tae-seo, and he fled because he was afraid of dying. He didn’t even know what would happen to his own body, but he was scared that even his soul might disappear and vanish.

 

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