PEN Vol 2 Ch. 25

Strange man.

That was exactly Kwon Sejin’s one-line assessment of Cheon Sejoo.

However, Cheon Sejoo was the kind of person who required more explanation than just that one line. Returning to the cart with both his hands holding a carton of milk, Sejin stared at Cheon Sejoo, who was standing near the refrigerator, carefully selecting some ham.

First of all, Cheon Sejoo was ridiculously handsome.

Dressed casually in a baseball cap that was pulled low, a thick hoodie, jogger pants, and sneakers, he looked like one of those celebrities who appeared on shows boasting about their lives as rich bachelors flaunting their spacious homes.

His side profile, with his straight, prominent nose, was just as striking as the latest hot actor in some big movie as he posed next to the premium ham. His height was impressive too—the brim of his cap came right up with the top of the refrigerator.

“Um, excuse me, hi.”

Just as Cheon Sejoo was frowning in concentration, trying to choose between two types of ham, a woman in casual clothes, likely out for a stroll, approached him.

She looked regretful as if lamenting her decision to dress so simply when unexpectedly encountering such a handsome man, but she wasn’t about to miss the chance. She handed him her phone with a determined expression.

It was something Sejin had seen countless times every time they went out to places like supermarkets or department stores together. Having witnessed women asking for his number almost 50 times, Sejin could predict exactly how Cheon Sejoo would respond.

First, Cheon Sejoo would adjust his cap and smile gently. Then, looking more approachable than usual, he would glance at Sejin with an uncharacteristically warm expression and say something like this:

“Sorry, I’m here with my son…”

“O-Oh my gosh! You’re married! Wow, you look so young. Ah, I’m really sorry! But you’re really handsome. And your son is so handsome too…! Have a great day. I’m really sorry!”

What does he mean by “I’m here with my son”?

Does that imply he would have given her his number if “his son” hadn’t been with him?

Sejin shook his head with a displeased expression, feeling slightly annoyed as he watched Cheon Sejoo from a distance.

Anyway, secondly, Cheon Sejoo was extremely natural at lying.

At first, Sejin used to react with disgust and annoyance when Sejoo would casually refer to him as his “son” without even flinching, but by now, he didn’t even bother reacting. After all, if Cheon Sejoo didn’t lie about having a son, women like her would try to strike up conversations with him endlessly, and they would eventually spend longer time in the supermarket than necessary which was only a loss for Sejin.

In the end, the woman who got embarrassed by Sejoo’s lie apologized again, even complimenting Sejin as she walked away. Sejin walked over, placed the milk in the cart, and looked through what was inside.

He noticed that not much else seemed to have been added since he left. Just as he realized this, Cheon Sejoo finally made a decision and grabbed a pack of pink sausages from the lowest shelf of the refrigerator.

Third, Cheon Sejoo liked cheap food.

Despite spending every visit contemplating the expensive ham, he always ended up buying the same stuff.

Cheap, stringy sausages made with less than 50% pork, pink sausages that had more flour than meat, and watery milk that was more like milk-flavored water—those were the kinds of things Cheon Sejoo always chose.

Sejin stared at the sausage Cheon Sejoo had just placed in the cart, then reached up and grabbed a premium ham with 99% pork content from the top of the shelf. Though Cheon Sejoo always ate more of this when it was grilled, for some reason, he kept putting that other one in the cart. Especially when he had plenty of money.

“Make me some gochujang jjigae^[1] tonight.”

As Cheon Sejoo pushed the cart and began and slowly walk forward, he made a sudden request. Sejin, wondering if there were still potatoes left, nodded while mentally going over what ingredients they still had at home.

Fourth, Cheon Sejoo had an odd taste in food.

He liked everything to be roughly cut in big chunks—tofu, potatoes, and pumpkin. The more haphazardly prepared the ingredients, the more he seemed to enjoy it.

Sejin hadn’t learned this by choice. One evening, he forgot to prepare dinner as he was busy cleaning and doing his study workbook, so he hastily threw together a soybean paste stew with large, uneven pieces of vegetables. Even though the seasoning was the same as usual, Cheon Sejoo ate far more of it than he normally did.

Sejin had to refill his bowl twice that night, which made it impossible for Sejin not to notice.

Cheon Sejoo liked his curry with large pieces of vegetables, sausages with no cuts in them, and his rice a bit dry. When he thought about it, it was as if Sejoo had grown up only eating bulk meals from a school cafeteria. He liked food that was roughly prepared.

Looking at him, with his refined appearance and demeanor, one would think he grew up in a wealthy family, but his food preferences suggested otherwise.

“Hello.”

When the person in front of them left, Cheon Sejoo greeted the cashier with a friendly smile as he placed their items on the checkout counter. Nobody could ignore a greeting from a handsome man.

The cashier, who had assumed Sejoo and Sejin were brothers after seeing them shop together often, greeted them both with a warm smile.

“Hello. It’s been a while since you’ve come by.”

“I’ve been busy with work. Oh, and can I get two packs of cigarettes as well?”

“You really should quit smoking!”

“I know. It’s just not easy.”

With a charming smile, Cheon Sejoo replied playfully, making the cashier laugh as she scanned the cigarettes. Sejin quietly observed them as he packed the scanned items into the shopping bag one by one.

Fifth, Cheon Sejoo was surprisingly polite.

Considering the way he teased and snarked at Sejin, it might be hard to believe, but it was true.

Cheon Sejoo was naturally courteous, especially when dealing with older people, which is why people generally found him likable.

It was a stark contrast to the way he appeared on first impression—swaggering, rough, dressed in a thug-like clothes and cocky demeanor. Thinking back to how Cheon Sejoo had looked when they first met was enough to make Sejin shudder.

At that time, Sejin thought this polite side of him was just a silly act, a way to manipulate others. But over time, Sejin realized this was just who Cheon Sejoo was. There were many sides to him that Sejin still didn’t fully know.

“Want me to carry that? This one feels lighter.”

On their way home, walking side by side with their shopping bags, Cheon Sejoo turned to asked Sejin with the offer. In February, with the weather finally warming up after a long time, Sejin accepted Cheon Sejoo’s suggestion to walk to the grocery store from home. It seemed like Sejoo was now worried about having to walk another 15 minutes back home.

Sixth, Cheon Sejoo could be surprisingly caring.

As long as the other person didn’t lash out or make mistakes first, he behaved like someone who had affection ingrained in him. He was especially like that when it was just the two of them alone.

Sejin found that uncomfortable.

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, every time Cheon Sejoo acted affectionate to him, it made his stomach churn.

“I can carry it just fine.”

“If you carry heavy stuff, you won’t grow any taller.”

“…”

At his teasing, Sejin shot Cheon Sejoo with a cold glare.

After the growing pains last year, Sejin had shot up in height. He was now past 173 cm, no longer stuck at 168 cm. Cheon Sejoo, who seemed to think Sejin had grown enough, often teased him about his height. However, from Sejin’s perspective, it was still too early to make such judgments.

His father, whose name he preferred not to remember, was over 180 cm tall. His mother, Kim Hyunkyung, was 167 cm, which was relatively tall for a woman, and Sejin had heard that his uncle was 178 cm tall. That meant there was still potential for Sejin to grow taller. There was no way his family’s genes would leave him stuck at 173 cm.

Ignoring Cheon Sejoo’s comment, Sejin quickened his pace, walking past him. As they headed toward home, Sejin could hear Cheon Sejoo following behind, laughing softly.

His voice tickled Sejin’s ears.

Annoyed by the sound of his laughter, Sejin walked even faster.

It was the start of an ordinary weekend.

Ever since Sejin became a “paid housekeeper” at Cheon Sejoo’s house, his daily life has changed a little. Unlike when he was forced to do it, being paid gave him a bit more motivation to study, and he also put more effort into the housework.

And, strangely enough, he found himself becoming more curious about Cheon Sejoo.

For the first few days after becoming a housekeeper, Sejin had been full of questions about the man who had offered him this strange arrangement. Even though he had accepted Cheon Sejoo’s logic, it made it hard for Sejin to fully come to terms with everything considering how their relationship started off.

He doesn’t seem like it, but… could this man actually be a pushover?

That was the first thought that crossed Sejin’s mind.

From that point on, Sejin’s curiosity about Cheon Sejoo grew. He wanted to know more about the man who was a handsome, sly, polite man, who lived in a big, luxurious house, drove an expensive foreign car, but oddly enough, liked to eat cheap, simple, and poorly cooked food.

Later that evening, after finishing dinner, Sejin washed the dishes, came out to the living room, and started working on his 9th-grade math workbook. Cheon Sejoo, meanwhile, was lying on the sofa next to the table where Sejin was sitting, staring at the TV that was on mute.

Glancing over, Sejin noticed that a cartoon, the kind only kids would watch, was playing on the TV. Without any sound, it was impossible to follow the story, yet Cheon Sejoo’s eyes never left the flashing screen.  

Conscious of him, Sejin stole a few more glances at Cheon Sejoo.

As usual at home, Cheon Sejoo always dressed comfortably in loose clothes. Today, he wore a thin t-shirt and soft, flowing cotton pants. His bare feet, not even wearing socks, were rested neatly on the sofa, and just like that first time Sejin had noticed them, they stood out once again—elegantly pale, with a faint blue vein visible beneath his skin.

His ankles, peeking out from under the hem of his pants were slender, and the line that ran from them up to his calves was delicate enough to be called beautiful. The way his strong thighs led up to his hip bones, which slightly protruded above the waistband of his pants, was pleasing to the eye.

As his T-shirt rode up, exposing his lower abdomen, Sejin saw that his skin was dazzlingly pale, though littered with small scars that were still visible even against his lean muscles.

Why does he have so many scars on his stomach?

Is being a loan shark a dangerous job?

Sejin pondered deeply as his gaze lingered on the inside of Cheon Sejoo’s t-shirt. As he was doing so, Sejoo suddenly turned his head and looked at him, as if he had felt Sejin’s gaze.

Meeting Cheon Sejoo’s cold, dark eyes, Sejin belatedly realized that he had been staring at him for too long.

“…”

For some reason, Sejin felt embarrassed. His cheeks flushed slightly as he shut his mouth, and Cheon Sejoo, noticing this, looked him over with a suspicious expression.

“You’re slacking off. Get back to studying, ‘Mr. 21st Place.’ If you don’t focus, I’m cutting your hourly wage.”