TGMND 33
by Springlila“Jeong Se-hyung, what are you doing over there?”
As soon as Yeo-woon opened the door, he saw Se-hyung standing stiffly like a scarecrow in front of the bathroom with one leg raised. Seon-young glanced back at him and shook his head in reply.
“He says he had become a statue while waiting for you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Take this.”
“Ah, what is this… Wow, did you buy udon too?”
“You’re the best, I love you, master. But what’s with the lemon?”
“I’ll be back in a moment. I have to give that to the neighbor next door.”
“…That?”
“It’s not a housewarming gift. The person next door spilled it.”
Yeo-woon handed over all the packed food to Seon-young and went out the door again. When he went to the next door with the door half open and rang the doorbell. A sound of footsteps was heard at the door, followed by the sound of the door unlocking and opening.
“Hello!”
“Eek!”
Yeo-woon pushed his foot into the open door as soon as he saw the man’s face. If he didn’t do this, he felt like he would be shut out. The man was so shocked that he even fell on his buttocks. It was funny because Yeo-woon remembered how surprised the man was when he fell like this the first time. The man got angry and pointed at Yeo-woon’s face.
“I’ll report you for trespassing into private property! I have CCTV installed even in the corridor, because of you!”
“Trespassing?”
“…Yeah!”
“I haven’t entered yet.”
In response to Yeo-woon’s calm words, the man furrowed his thick eyebrows deeply but soon seemed to relent. Yeo-woon, who had been merely staring at his lips, which were pursed in annoyance, without anything to say, pushed the door a little further open. Then, he squatted down in the hallway to the eye level of the fallen man. The man glared at Yeo-woon and asked.
“…Is it you?”
“What?”
“You’re the one who sent my report card to my house, right?”
What report card?
“Ha, because of you, I got scolded by my mom and had all my cards taken away! It’s really annoying. How did you get my report card, and how did you know my address? Do we go to the same school by any chance?”
It seemed like he was a college student because he was talking about grades. Of course, although they might be similar in age, Yeo-woon, who didn’t even know that the man lived here, shook his head sideways and denied his words. However, the man next door sighed openly while looking at Yeo-woon.
“Why do you keep following me? Let me at least hear the reason.”
“I’ve never followed you around…”
“You’ve been following me since the PC room earlier, you! What do you want from me? Money? Attention? Find your attention elsewhere, and if it’s money, take it and never come back.”
The harsh tone and fierce impression made Yeo-woon feel smaller and smaller as he listened to him. For some reason, whenever he stood in front of this man, his heart seemed to shrink to the size of a bean. Perhaps it was because of the first impression.
“… I moved in next door.”
“What?”
“Room 902. I just moved in.”
“… What?”
“Earlier, you spilled a lemon on the street and I picked it up…”
Yeo-woon dropped the six lemons he had in front of the man. The yellow fruits rolled around the shoe cabinet, eventually reaching the man’s feet. His mouth slightly agape as he blinked rapidly in confusion and urgently asked,
“I spilled these on the street?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then what did you do at the cafe before?”
“I came here to interview nearby, but all the other cafés were full.”
“You live here…?”
“You didn’t know?”
“…Don’t joke around. You’re saying this is all a coincidence?”
“Then maybe it’s fate?”
Following the man’s tone, Yeo-woon shrugged playfully.
“The reason you ran away screaming earlier was because you thought I was following you with malicious intent?”
The man’s ears were bright red, highlighted by the orange auxiliary light. It was unclear whether it was because of the lighting or embarrassment.
“I-I never…”
“…”
“I didn’t scream. Just leave now! I’m busy, I have to play a game.”
“A game? What game?”
The man who had been staring at Yeo-woon for a while burst out laughing. the man burst into a sarcastic laugh. Then, running his hand through his hair, he muttered irritably.
“Listen.”
“Yes?”
“Whether I play Tetris, Minesweeper, or… well, whatever, what does it have to do with you? There’s a limit to being nosy. It’s weird enough that you suddenly moved next door, but do you really have an interest in me? Are you gay?”
The man overreacted. Yeo-woon could tell by seeing that there was a game that felt different from all the normal games. A dating sim… he plays dating sims. It might be embarrassing for him to tell someone he’s not close to about that.
“I can ask about it, you’re very sensitive…”
“You really didn’t listen to a word.”
“Anyway, since we’re neighbors, let’s not embarrass each other and get along. And I really don’t know anything about the report card. Are you just not good at studying?”
“…Listen.”
At that moment, a hearty voice flowed out from Yeo-woon’s house.
“Master, the udon is all soggy!”
“Master, it’s so delicious!”
It seemed that the conversation about just giving lemons had gone on for too long. The man glanced toward Yeo-woon’s house, smiled, and grabbed the doorknob.
“If there’s been any misunderstanding, I’m really sorry, but please don’t follow me discreetly from behind in the future. It’s better to pretend you know me first. It really startles people.”
“…?”
He’s being so mean, but it was okay to greet him? Well, it would be ridiculous if neighbors didn’t even greet each other.
“Then have a good time with your slaves.”
The door slammed shut after the mocking voice. The wind blew against Yeo-woon’s face, splitting the bangs covering his forehead in half.
What? Slave…?
“Did you return the lemon?”
Slave 1 asked, mumbling his mouth.
“How’s the guy next door? Rude, huh?”
The guy next door? More than expected…
“Seeing him up close, he was quite handsome.”
“…What?”
“I thought he was scary, but he seems just shy.”
“… Lee Yeo-woon again.”
What did he do?
“As you said, his personality was a bit rude.”
“A bit? A little? Just a bit? Hey, he’s rude!”
“He seems to be a bit shy.”
“Lee Yeo-woon!”
“Do you think things will change if we become friends? He looked a little young, but he was very talkative. I did something that was misunderstood, too.”
“No, Yeo-woon. Think carefully. What if you get stabbed? Staring at people is really not safe. Okay?”
That was just a bit of cuteness, well… Yeo-woon listened to the advice of the slaves with one ear and let it go with the other while picking up a fresh chopstick. The sushi, from the perfectly cooked rice grains to the freshness of the fish, was simply perfect. Yeo-woon decided to become a regular customer at this restaurant from this moment.