Even as he headed towards the club room, Wooyeon couldn’t shake off the remnants of the past. Even after leaving the classroom, crossing the campus, and even when he was standing in front of the club room, he thought of Junseong, in his school uniform, incessantly striking up conversations.
‘Isn’t there a smell somewhere?’
During middle school, the classroom with about thirty students felt like a prison to Wooyeon. Every time laughter echoed, an indescribable embarrassment overwhelmed him. Outwardly, he pretended nothing was wrong, but at his young age, he truly couldn’t be unaffected.
‘Doesn’t Seon Wooyeon smell like a pig?’
On that day, Junseong threw trash at Wooyeon. The act of pinching his nose and telling him to wash up garnered laughter from the surrounding guys. Wooyeon didn’t even have the smell of sweat, but torment didn’t need any reason.
‘You little pig, so filthy.’
Wooyeon showered as soon as he got home, washing up thoroughly enough to turn his skin red. After combing his hair three times and taking five showers, he applied the lotion he always used. He wanted to spray perfume as well, but he didn’t dare to enter his mother’s room.
‘Do I smell?’
At that time, while Dohyun, who used to give him private lessons, looked puzzled at Wooyeon’s question, he raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘What are you talking about’ and even pulled the chair Wooyeon was sitting on closer with one hand. In the narrowed space, Wooyeon unconsciously tensed.
‘Well, teacher has a really good sense of smell, and to me, you only have the scent of a baby.’
The man consistently used kind words. Even pointing to the lotion on the desk with his finger, claiming it had the same scent, was kind. Dohyun, with a gentle smile, asked in a soft voice,
“Does teacher smell?”
What smell? To him, there was always the fragrance of fabric softener that resembled sunshine. The mature and subtle scent couldn’t be compared to Wooyeon’s youthful one. When Wooyeon shook his head, he said as if it was obvious,
‘Yeon, you’re the same.’
Wooyeon still couldn’t forget the sensation of him caressing his hair. The comfort of his softly spoken words, while tidying up the back of his head was the same.
‘So, it’s okay.’
When Dohyun said that, it truly felt like everything was getting better. The feeling that if the teacher said so, it would be okay— that vague belief held onto sixteen-year-old Wooyeon, preventing him from falling apart.
“Is the class already over?”
Inside the club room, only Dohyun was left. Unlike before, when he studied for exams in the same way, Dohyun didn’t even look at Wooyeon and opened his mouth.
“The others went to buy drinks, so they’ll be back soon.”
Wooyeon stepped inside but lowered his gaze instead. Like four years ago, the thought crossed his mind that it would be nice if Dohyun could pat his head. Although Dohyun, being his senior, probably wouldn’t do that, at least for now, he wished he could be his teacher.
“Senior.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
His lips impulsively trembled. Senior instead of teacher. At that awkward call, Dohyun’s gaze turned toward him. Wooyeon mumbled as if talking to himself, in a small voice.
“Could you pat my head?”
It was an unintentional request. It wasn’t an unreasonable one, but even he thought it was out of the blue.
Between the awkward silence, the sounds of Garam and Seongyu approaching were heard, and it was when he was about to say it was a joke.
“…”
Dohyun approached unexpectedly and placed his hand on Wooyeon’s head. Gently, he wrapped his fingers around the back of his head and tousled his hair before slowly pulling away. The sensation of his long fingers entwined in his hair remained unchanged from the moment four years ago.
“They guys are coming.”
Wooyeon looked up at Dohyun without saying a word. If he reached out his hand now, they were close enough for it to seem like he could embrace him, pretending not to know. It felt like they had met like this before. Before he could even sense that strange feeling, Dohyun looked at Wooyeon.
“Did you finish your lecture?”
Thud, a sound of something settling was heard. It sounded like the door, which had been tightly closed, was creaking loudly. Dohyun looked elegant, but Wooyeon’s face blushed as he bowed his head. Thump, thump, the irregular beating of his heart echoed uncomfortably in his ears.
“Uh? Why are you out here?”
“I heard you guys coming.”
The teacher was always like this. He didn’t ask for more details but simply provided the comfort Wooyeon needed. It seemed like a line was drawn at first, but in the end, the actions were based on consideration. How much it stirred up Wooyeon, he didn’t even know.
“Wooyeon, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No… It’s just cold.”
Wooyeon turned the hood of his hat upside down and grabbed his collar. The warmth around his ears, for now, seemed like something he should hide. Fortunately, the large hat awkwardly covered his embarrassed face.
“In this weather? I bought an iced drink….”
Assured that everything was fine, Wooyeon tilted his head back as Garam handed him a plastic cup against his cheek. The cold sensation gradually cooled the warmth on his face. Thoughts of Junseong had long been erased from his mind.
***
Wooyeon’s home was not far from school, located in an apartment complex. The interior was adorned with fancy landscaping, and the fountain in the center was so large it resembled a swimming pool. Garam, who had widened her eyes when they got out of the taxi, looked astonished at the building with a penthouse at the top.
“Do you live here alone?”
“Well… yes.”
Wooyeon vaguely answered while swiping the card at the entrance. He had brought them here without much thought, as it was a relatively ordinary apartment. But now, seeing their reactions, he felt awkward. Perhaps living alone in an apartment looked a bit strange. At least he could have said he lived with his family.
As they climbed the elevator, they couldn’t help but express admiration continuously. They commented on how wide the elevator was or how having such height might induce acrophobia. Only Dohyun remained calm, but even he changed his expression when Wooyeon pressed the top floor button.
“Really, the house is amazing….”
Seongyu murmured as he looked at the floor indicator. He seemed so surprised that he couldn’t even recall the rude words he had said during the opening ceremony. When Wooyeon casually turned his eyes away, Seongyu apologized with a neat smile.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“Well… it’s not wrong.”
As long as he wasn’t cursing him from behind his back, Wooyeon didn’t care. Even if he did curse, as long as it didn’t reach his ears, it was fine. Even though he hadn’t seen Seongyu for a long time, he knew he wasn’t the type to gossip about such things.
“Please come in comfortably. There’s no one else.”
As soon as they entered the house, Wooyeon took out guest slippers. They were brand new, never used, as Wooyeon and his housekeeper were the only ones who ever came to his place. Garam put on the pretty slippers and simultaneously gasped for breath.
“Hey… is that the Han River?”
The Han River was right in front of their nose. They hadn’t even reached the living room, but the entire world was visible beyond the terrace. Although Wooyeon was already accustomed to it, it was a shocking sight for others.
“The view is amazing….”
Ignoring them, Wooyeon slowly walked away. Their reactions were too intense, and he couldn’t gauge what to say. He had planned to sit them on the sofa and think about it, but that wasn’t easy either.
“Is this… a model house or something?”
The spacious living room looked grand. With only a sofa, table, and TV, the living room had spacious areas that felt too large to call them ‘rooms.’ The ceiling was high, and there were stairs, and the entire living room wall was made of glass.
“How do you clean this?”
“There’s someone who takes care of the cleaning separately.”
Wooyeon answered with a somewhat resigned face. By now, it seemed better to leave an impression of living well. Of course, Wooyeon’s ‘well’ and their ‘well’ had a huge difference, but for now, it seemed appropriate.
“Is there also a second floor?”
Seongyu pointed to the staircase on the wall. Wooyeon had never been up there in the two months he had lived there.
“There is, but I don’t use it. There’s nothing there.”
“Even a bedroom?”
“No, only the bedroom and study.”
“Hey, Wooyeon. Is that a real tree?”
Suddenly, Garam chimed in. Wooyeon checked the tree on the terrace and answered without much certainty.
“I think so… maybe?”
“What about the grass? Is the grass real too?”
“Well… I don’t take care of it myself.”
“If it’s this spacious, it must be scary to live alone.”
“It’s not really scary.”
Wooyeon responded nonchalantly and placed his bag on the sofa. Being in a spacious place and living alone were things he had been accustomed to since childhood. The family home where all the employees had already left felt like a vast prison to Wooyeon.
“How much is the rent for a place like this? Is it even possible?”
“The deposit seems more expensive than our house, Noona.”
Hearing their whispered conversation, Wooyeon unintentionally let out a laugh. It looked a bit cute to see him seriously contemplating the monthly rent. When he covered his mouth with his fist, Garam belatedly displayed an embarrassed expression.
“Hey, Kim Dohyun, why are you so uninterested? Have you ever seen a house like this? Huh?”
Garam unnecessarily started bothering Dohyun, who was standing nearby. Since entering the house, Dohyun had only uttered one phrase (“Excuse me”) and now looked around with his usual expression, seemingly indifferent.
“It’s my first time seeing a penthouse…. I’ve been to bigger houses though.”
“Where is that?”
Wooyeon blurted out reflexively. He felt it might be a place he knew since Dohyun was talking about a large house. Dohyun raised the corners of his mouth slightly and, instead of revealing the location, changed the subject.
“Stop rummaging through other people’s houses and put your bag down. We gathered to study, right?”
“….”
“….”
They both had faces that clearly stated that they realized their mistake. It was clear they got carried away with exploring the house and forgot about the study session. Wooyeon secretly swallowed his disappointment and headed to the kitchen, saying he would bring some drinks.
“What… there are so many types.”
The refrigerator was filled with various ingredients. Wooyeon didn’t buy them; it was the housekeeper who regularly stocked them. Since the juice was likely in a glass bottle, and there were no labels, he couldn’t tell what was what.
Wooyeon first took out an orange-colored bottle. Thinking it was orange juice based on its color, he acted on this simple assumption. When he tried to take out a red bottle afterward, a familiar voice from behind him spoke.
“That one is carrot juice.”
There’s no way this man doesn’t know…
I’m reading while translating so no spoilers so SAMEEEEE oh my god it’s driving me crazy like one minute it’s like does he know? and the next I’m like okay maybe he doesn’t know and the cycle repeats ughhhdglhdvlflfsblsfj
I am sure he knows…
He knows he know he knows… Oh he knows 🎶
Thank you for translating this awesome novel. Your updates always made my day 💛
omggg thanks for saying that QAQ this comment made my day too<333