CI 1.8

It bothered him that he had unconsciously thought of that person while drinking alone, but he decided not to think too deeply about it. After a long shower, the alcohol had worn off enough for him to move around fairly well. He finished the instant porridge left from yesterday, did all the laundry, and thoroughly cleaned his room, but it was still only the afternoon.

Why did the weekend have to be two days?

Son Yeo-il contemplated a question that would make most people jump. That was because Son Yeo-il’s room was too quiet. Only silence and the sound of Son Yeo-il’s breathing flowed out, making time seem to pass more slowly…

Hmm?

The moment he detected an unusual sound coming from beyond the window, Son Yeo-il shot up from his lying position. There was the sound of an engine revving, like a large car rolling in, followed by the sound of people bickering.

The rough and booming voices soon moved inside the building. 

“Hold it straight. It’s tilted on your side, no, fuck. I’ve never seen such a narrow staircase, something along those lines.”

No way.

The sound getting closer and closer, and the somehow familiar manner of speech were not good signs at all. Son Yeo-il looked down out the window with a bad premonition.

What the fuck…?

In front of the common entrance to the studio apartment building, there was a truck loaded with moving items, and behind the truck, a familiar pomaded crown was visible. Standing there was a man in a suit, incongruously with a bright red lollipop in his mouth.

That’s Boss Won, isn’t it?

Son Yeo-il’s heart pounded rapidly with anxiety. Though hoping to be wrong, he examined the man again, but those broad shoulders were unmistakably Boss Won’s.

“Oh my, this room is tiny as a booger. Will the bed even fit in here?”

“If the boss says put it in, we gotta squeeze it in somehow. Let’s see. If we put the head of the bed on this side…”

While Son Yeo-il was in panic, he heard the door of the room right next to his opening. It was incomprehensible why men who called Boss Won “boss” were bringing a bed into a room where someone had been living perfectly fine until yesterday.

Is this man actually moving into the room next to mine?

He couldn’t just sit still and take it. Calming himself down, Son Yeo-il picked up his phone. He was sure he had saved the number, but searching for “Boss Won,” “Won Hee-yeon,” and even “Crazy guy” or “Bastard” didn’t yield any results.

After searching for a while, the moment he discovered that the contact was saved as “Wife,” Son Yeo-il’s anger, which he had barely managed to suppress, flared up again.

No, fuck. He must have changed this, right? When did he mess with my phone?

Son Yeo-il first changed the contact name to “Boss Won” and sent him a message. 

[Boss Won.]

While contemplating what insults would make him feel better, Boss Won quickly replied. 

[Is it my birthday or what~ I’m deeply moved.]

Confused by the completely irrelevant response, Son Yeo-il wondered if he had messaged the wrong person. After replying with a “What?” Boss Won sent an even more outrageous message.

[We promised you’d contact me when you missed me…But what does sending a text like this mean? Yes~ I’m dying to see my baby too^^*]

Goosebumps rose all over his skin, and he almost screamed “Aaack!” Son Yeo-il pressed his throbbing forehead and irritably typed a message. 

[Don’t say weird things. What are you doing right now?]

[Right now? I’m whispering words of love.]

[That’s not what I meant. Where are you right now?]

[In~ your~ heart~]

Honestly, wouldn’t it be legal to hit someone who acted like this a few times? Feeling an impossible desire to beat up a man whose arms were as thick as his own waist, Son Yeo-il questioned him more directly. 

[Boss Won, are you perhaps moving into my building right now?]

Did that hit a nerve? Boss Won, who had been responding promptly, suddenly stopped replying. Son Yeo-il peeked out the window to spy on the area below the building.

He saw a head with pomaded hair slicked back in a circular fashion looking around, and suddenly the man lifted his head abruptly to look at the studio apartment building. Specifically, at the window where Son Yeo-il was.

Eek. Son Yeo-il was momentarily intimidated and hid behind the window, then realized he wasn’t the one who had done anything wrong. As his anger intensified, a message came from Boss Won. 

[Why would I? When I have a perfectly good house…rather than moving…]

[If it’s not moving, what’s with all this stuff you’re bringing in?]

[I was thinking of setting up a little vacation home]

[So why are you doing this?]

Maybe he should just report him for stalking. As Son Yeo-il continued to reply in a stiff manner, Boss Won sent a long message as if defending himself. 

[Listen for a moment. With so many crazies in this world, how could I leave Attorney Son alone?]

[Why suddenly talk about crazies…Introducing yourself?]

Even as he fired back coldly, Son Yeo-il wondered if he’d gone too far, but the ever-confident Boss Won replied leisurely without showing any sign of being offended. 

[Come on, I’m a person with proper manners. Look at when we’re alone. I don’t even touch a fingertip if our Attorney Son says no.]

According to his expression, they were intimate enough to match bellies, but from the day they first had lunch, Boss Won had asked if he could hold Son Yeo-il’s hand before actually doing so. Despite his crude way of speaking, he didn’t seem like someone who would force anything upon another person.

Just as Son Yeo-il was about to admit, “That’s true,” getting entangled in his sophistry again, Boss Won added a significant remark. 

[There’s also a crazy guy living next door to my baby who doesn’t make any sense, and well, it’s best not to get involved with guys like that. How could I just leave this situation alone?]

It was true that the guy next door was crazy, but Son Yeo-il wondered how Boss Won knew that fact. At that moment, Son Yeo-il vaguely recalled returning home on Friday night after drinking in front of the convenience store. While drunk, Son Yeo-il was pressing the door lock buttons, relying on his homing instinct, the door of room 203 next door suddenly opened, and the neighbor poked his head out.

<Look, I told you not to drink in a shared residence! If I fail again this year, it’s all your fault, and I won’t just sit quietly…oh.]

He raised his voice with an irritated tone as if he had been waiting for the day Son Yeo-il would come home drunk. As he was yelling as if about ready to grab Son Yeo-il by the collar, he suddenly stopped speaking as if he had seen something terrifying. And then the voice that followed was:

<Huh? What’s this now.>

Son Yeo-il’s heart sank as he remembered Boss Won’s voice. He had wondered how he’d gotten home alone, but it seemed Boss Won had brought him back. The memories of Friday night weren’t a dream after all.

Searching his memory more diligently, he recalled scenes that would be problematic if they weren’t dreams. Things like nuzzling his face against that broad body, or babbling nonsense.

Aack! I don’t know. I don’t remember this. I don’t remember!

Feeling guilty, Son Yeo-il quickly changed the subject. 

[Even so, is it necessary to move in?]

[I told you I’m nor moving in.]

[If it’s not moving in, then why are you bringing in a bed?]

[It hurts to do it on the bare floor.]

[Do what? You just said you weren’t a wolf.]

[Huh? I didn’t say anything. What are you imagining? My baby has become quite flirtatious, I tell you.]

Feeling his insides boiling, Son Yeo-il put down his phone with a thud. There was no point in engaging further—it would only lead to more banter, and there was no way he could win against that man.

Ignore it. As long as I stay inside, it doesn’t matter who’s next door.

Son Yeo-il decided to tune out the sounds from outside and picked up a book. With his strong willpower, Son Yeo-il silently read his book throughout the situation: the “brothers” who came to help Boss Won move made thumping noises and giggled among themselves as they set up the bed; the young man from across the hallway, unable to bear the noise, irritably opened his door saying, “Could you please be quiet…!” only to come face to face with them and retreat with a suddenly polite “Thank you for your hard work!”

…Have they all gone now?

Things quieted down around five in the afternoon. After all that fuss about a vacation home, it seemed they had just brought in a bed and returned to their original home. Son Yeo-il recalled Boss Won’s house, which he had been forcibly trying to forget.

Although he hadn’t seen it properly as he was fleeing in a hurry, the interior was impressive and the garden was magnificent. According to Manager Kim’s whispered gossip, Boss Won owned multiple properties across the country, and the building housing the law firm was the smallest among his holdings.

How cramped would a person who lives in such a house feel sitting in a chicken coop like this studio? No matter how much money he has, why get a room he won’t even use…

As Son Yeo-il was thinking grumpily, suddenly a strange sound began to come from the next room. “Hmm, hmm hmm~ hmm hmm~.”

Though it was small and indistinct—whether humming or moaning—it was a sound that grated on one’s nerves all the more because of it. Unfortunately, the soundproofing in the studio apartment was terrible, so everything was clearly audible. Sure enough, a message notification sound followed. When Son Yeo-il checked the screen, he was shocked.

What Boss Won had sent was a photo of the next-door room. On a bed so large it barely fit in the narrow studio, red rose petals were scattered in the shape of a heart on white sheets pulled taut like hotel bedding. Another message arrived right after.

[♨♡♡You’re invited to Room 203’s housewarming♡♡♨]

Son Yeo-il cursed again with indescribable disgust. 

[Are you crazy?]

[Right? This atmosphere is less housewarming and more like, what, a honeymoon? Come over, I’ll warm up the bed for you^^]

[No thanks.]

[Huh? Which do you dislike more, the housewarming or the honeymoon?]

Son Yeo-il was beginning to understand Boss Won’s attack patterns a little. If he answered “I dislike the honeymoon more,” the obvious reply would be “Then come over for a housewarming.” 

[I dislike both.]

At this firm response, Boss Won sent no reply. Just as the phone went quiet, singing could be heard from next door again. “Ah-ha~ Trampling on a man’s pure heart~”

It sounded like trot music, but it wasn’t clear whether these were the original lyrics or if Boss Won had modified them right on the spot. Son Yeo-il picked up the novel he’d been reading earlier, determined to ignore the noise from the other side of the wall. But before he could even open the book, Boss Won’s song progressed toward its climax.

“Chang ja-ga-jang~ How can you eat it all up~ and then throw it away~ How can you knock a man~ down~ and then heung-heu-heung~”

Unable to bear the lyrics’ content any longer, Son Yeo-il pounded the wall facing Boss Won’s room with his fist. Boss Won immediately sent a message. 

[Do it again. It’s so romantic. Like Morse code.]

From behind the wall came the sound of tapping: tok, todotok. Son Yeo-il snickered despite himself, then quickly composed his expression even though no one was watching. 

[Please be quiet. The soundproofing is terrible here. Everyone in the neighborhood will hear you.]

[Even the way you say “everyone in the neighborhood” is so cute~ How about some jajangmyeon between neighborhood residents?? Moving day means jajangmyeon, right?]

[I told you I’m not coming to your room.]

[Then should I order to my darling’s room?]

Son Yeo-il silently glared at his phone screen. As if seeing that expression, Boss Won quickly changed his approach and took a step back. 

[Nah, it’s such nice weather, today’s a day for dining out, right? I’ve sent Hong-shik home already, so today I ought to give my baby a ride in oppa’s car~~]

Son Yeo-il wondered what the “oppa” thing was all about, but the moment he heard those words, hunger struck. Having eaten nothing but instant porridge yesterday and today, he couldn’t help it.

Given how carelessly he usually ate, the old Son Yeo-il wouldn’t have minded, but over the past week, his stomach had become accustomed to the local delicacies that man had bought him. Honestly, he was tempted by Boss Won’s offer.

But dinner with a stalker who had moved in next door on his own? Unacceptable. There was no point making excuses about danger—what other motive could there be for his moving in next door? If they ate together, he would somehow try to squeeze into the room, and then there would be trouble again. 

[I don’t want to go out.]

After giving a flat refusal, there was no response for a while. Given the lukewarm reaction, it seemed even he was growing tired of the pestering. Peace had finally arrived. While feeling victorious, Son Yeo-il also had a moment of realization. Wait, does this mean I can’t go out now? What about dinner?

There wasn’t much to eat at home. Given that he could hear the humming through the wall, if he tried to sneak out, Won Hee-yeon would likely follow right behind. So should he just starve? It seemed too harsh to go hungry just because he’d been aloof. Should I order delivery?