PEN Vol 1 Ch. 19

Having taken care of the urgent matters, there was no need for him to rush back to the office.

Cheon Sejoo spent the next day practically glued to his bed. He stayed there as if it were his grave, lying flat on his back as though the blanket and mattress were his coffin, not moving an inch. He only moved to go to the gym in the early morning, then slept again. When he finally went out into the living room in the afternoon, the whole house was silent. Sejin had probably gone to school.

Cheon Sejoo lazily grabbed some fruit from the fridge, ate it absentmindedly, and crawled back into bed. He wasted his time as if he had nothing to do but sleep. While he was napping, he suddenly heard a rattling noise from somewhere. Opening his eyes slowly, Cheon Sejoo briefly thought it might be an intruder and reached for a jackknife on the bedside table. But then he remembered that he had a roommate now, so he left the bedroom empty-handed.

Rubbing his eyes, he saw someone lurking around the kitchen. Running a hand slowly over his sleep-filled face, Sejoo watched him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was doing. Then, in a voice still hoarse with sleep, he asked.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Sejin quickly turned around. His hair was slightly damp, as if he had just washed it, and his face looked even paler and softer than yesterday. He was so beautiful that it left Cheon Sejoo momentarily speechless. He was practically glowing.

The T-shirt and shorts that Cheon Sejoo had lent him were far too large. The slightly oversized shirt hung down past Sejin’s elbows, and the shorts completely covered his knees. For a moment, Sejoo was reminded of how Doyoon had looked wearing his clothes, and he felt a sudden need to buy Sejin some new ones. For some reason, it didn’t feel right to have Sejin dressed like that, in a way that made him look so much like Doyoon.

The T-shirt and shorts that Cheon Sejoo had lent him were far too large. The oversized shirt hung down past Sejin’s elbows, and the shorts completely covered his knees. For a moment, Sejoo was reminded of how Do-yoon had looked wearing his clothes, and he felt a sudden need to buy Sejin some new clothes. For some reason, it didn’t feel right to have Sejin dressed like that, in a way that resembled Do-yoon.

“I was thinking… maybe I could make some side dishes.”

 Sejin mumbled hesitantly.

It was exactly as Kim Hyunkyung had said. Though prickly and sensitive, Kwon Sejin had a soft nature. At first, it was just temporary help, and he probably didn’t feel any obligation to repay the favor he received, especially since he thought of Cheon Sejoo as someone who had scammed his mother. But now, it was clear that he felt it was too shameless of him to live off someone else’s house without doing anything in return. Despite his earlier bold claims that he wouldn’t do anything, it seemed he now felt guilty for just taking without giving.

As Cheon Sejoo stood there lost in thought, Kwon Sejin pointed to the kitchen counter as if he had more to say.

Did we have something like that at home?

Did he buy it on his way back from school?

The sight of the cleanly washed radish on the kitchen counter was strangely out of place. As Sejoo continued to stare at it, Sejin asked again.

“I was going to make a braised radish, but there’s no red pepper powder…?”

Of course, there wouldn’t be any.

Cheon Sejoo wasn’t someone who knew how to cook, nor had he ever thought about making food at home. Occasionally, he’d get some side dishes from Moon Sunhyuk or eat the food Chae Beomjun brought from Ehwagak, but that was about it. The induction stove on the 41st floor had never really been used for its intended purpose. The microwave, perhaps, but nothing else.

When Cheon Sejoo shook his head, Sejin frowned slightly. Watching his clear expression, Cheon Sejoo opened the fridge and took out a beer. If there was one thing that was never in short supply, it was beer or alcohol.

“So, what kind of side dishes do you know how to make?”

With a crisp click, the sound of the can opening filled the air, and the smell of beer wafted out. Cheon Sejoo downed the entire can of beer in one go, as if he was drinking water, and leaned against the island counter.

Gulp. Gulp.

As the alcohol hit his system and cleared his mind, he opened his eyes to see Sejin looking at him with one corner of his mouth slightly curled, as if he were staring at an alcoholic. But when their eyes met, Sejin quickly looked away. He then glanced down at the large radish and spoke.

“I can make most things. But you don’t have any ingredients. No red pepper powder, no anchovies, no salt, no sugar.”

“What else do you need? I’ll get them.”

“Vinegar, soy sauce, dashida^[1]….”

“Kelp?”

As he spoke while pulling out a bottle of water from the fridge, Sejin narrowed his eyes at him. He looked at Cheon Sejoo as if he were unreliable, then gestured toward the front door.

“Don’t go alone. Just come with me. I’ll pick out what we need.”

“Alright. But you want to go now?”

“We need to go now if we want to have dinner.”

When Sejin responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Cheon Sejoo frowned slightly. Although there was a grocery store nearby, Cheon Sejoo preferred to stop by the department store since they were going out anyway. He had decided he should buy some new clothes for Sejin, who only had one set of clothes.

However, that meant he would need to drive, and he had just had a beer. They could take a taxi, but he didn’t particularly feel like going to that extent. After a moment of contemplation, Cheon Sejoo went back to his bedroom and picked up his phone. He ordered some sundae soup^[2] for dinner and then, in a tone that suggested he was merely informing Sejin of the plan, he spoke.

“I ordered sundae soup for dinner, so eat that. We’ll go tomorrow after you get back from school. I can’t drive right now.”

“…Then I’ll just go to the grocery store by myself. I saw one right out front.”

“No, we’re going to the department store tomorrow.”

Sejin’s face scrunched up again, clearly annoyed by Cheon Sejoo’s indifferent response.

“The grocery store is much cheaper, so why go to a department store? I said I’d go by myself.”

Perhaps it was because he was young, he couldn’t let anything slide without commenting. Cheon Sejoo glanced down at Sejin, with eyes that looked seemingly exhausted. This is why I never dated anyone younger, he thought and said something he didn’t even mean.

“I break out in hives when I eat stuff from the grocery store. Don’t even think about putting cheap food in my mouth.”

Even he, himself found his own words distasteful, and Sejin reacted predictably, his temper flaring up. Sejin sighed heavily, giving Cheon Sejoo a look that screamed how pathetic he found him. In response, Cheon Sejoo just smiled lightly and went to lie down on the sofa.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

The next day, Cheon Sejoo encountered an unexpected person in his house.

It was 9 a.m., and since it wasn’t a day to go to the gym, he had woken up late. After finishing a call with Moon Sunhyuk and checking on the progress of some work, Cheon Sejoo headed to the bathroom in the living room for a shower, already undressed. Just as he turned the doorknob and was about to go inside, he heard a faint clicking sound from somewhere.

He stopped, holding his breath, and leaned back to look around the hallway. His sharp gaze searched for any signs of an intruder. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. However, he was certain he had heard the sound of a door closing just now.

Narrowing his eyes, Cheon Sejoo turned his gaze toward the direction of Sejin’s room. He had given Kwon Sejin a transportation card so he could go to school. And yesterday, when he met Sejin at home, it had been quite late in the afternoon.

Since it was around the time when he would have expected Sejin to be back from school, Cheon Sejoo hadn’t doubted that he had gone to and returned from school. However, Sejin had already skipped school once during his brief stay here, and if he stayed holed up in his room, Cheon Sejoo might not even notice him at all in this spacious house.

With a sense of dread, Sejoo went into the bathroom, threw on a robe, and headed toward Sejin’s room. Even as he did, he hoped he had just misheard….

“What are you doing here?”

As soon as he threw open the door to Sejin’s room, he locked eyes with Kwon Sejin, who was standing in front of him, holding his breath. It was obvious that Sejin had been about to step out into the hallway but had ducked back inside to hide upon seeing Cheon Sejoo. Realizing the situation instantly, Cheon Sejoo let out a hollow laugh and ran a hand through his hair. He rolled his tongue in his mouth, trying to suppress his disbelief, before accusingly asking Sejin.

“You f*cking didn’t go to school, did you?”

“…I did go.”

“Go, my as*! Even if you just checked in for attendance, you wouldn’t be able to get home at this time. Did you fly there and come back?”

“……”

When Cheon Sejoo pressed him with his questions, Sejin looked like he was about to respond but then clamped his mouth shut, choosing to remain silent. Cheon Sejoo stared down at Sejin’s sullen face in disbelief before shaking his head in resignation. It was obvious now that Sejin hadn’t skipped school because of the lack of bus fare—he simply didn’t want to go.

This is insane. He doesn’t even realize what’s important.

A flood of nagging words that he wanted to spew at Sejin rose in Sejoo’s throat. He felt like he could sit Sejin down and lecture him for ten hours straight. But he held back. He knew that lecturing an 18-year-old boy in the throes of adolescence would do nothing but tire himself out, with no real effect. However, there was one thing he couldn’t resist asking.

“You didn’t go yesterday either, did you?”

“……”

This time, Sejin turned his head away, deliberately avoiding Cheon Sejoo’s gaze. It was clear that he had no intention of answering.

Cheon Sejoo let out a suppressed sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

This is raising my blood pressure…

But no matter what he said now, it would only lead to another pointless argument.

Let’s stay calm…

Perhaps there was a group at school that bullied Kwon Sejin, so that was why he didn’t want to go. Thinking this way, the frustration that had boiled up inside him and rose to the top of his head began to cool down. Finally, having successfully avoided scolding him, Cheon Sejoo managed to speak to Sejin with a relatively calm expression.

“Good timing.”

Good timing? What’s good about this?

“Since you’re home, let’s go to the department store now.”

Cheon Sejoo really wanted to ask him outright if he was skipping school because of some bullies or just because he didn’t want to go. To be honest, considering Sejin’s defiant personality, it probably wasn’t the former.

In any case, skipping a day or two—or really, if you counted last week, four days—well, almost a whole week of school wasn’t going to cause the world to end. Thus, Cheon Sejoo decided to give Sejin the benefit of the doubt, thinking he needed time to adjust to his new environment.

“I’ll take a quick shower, so wait here.”

At his words, Sejin looked up at Cheon Sejoo with an expression that seemed to say, You’re not going to get angry again? Then he quietly nodded and replied, “Okay.”

How much cuter would he be if he acted this well-behaved all the time, Cheon Sejoo thought as he turned around and headed back to the bathroom.