By Zephyria 
Friday. For the first time in a while, Jae-gyeom slept in.
By the time he opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.
When Jae-gyeom woke up and went out to the living room, Jeong-ju and Yoon Tae-hee were sitting on the wooden veranda, heads pressed together, intently focused on something. Wondering what they were doing so early in the morning, he approached them to find Yoon Tae-hee holding a screwdriver, assembling something with Jeong-ju’s help.
Normally, Yoon Tae-hee would have been working at school by now, but he hadn’t gone in today. The entire school was closed for the anniversary of its founding. Because he could enjoy a three-day break including the weekend, Yoon Tae-hee had seemed to be in a great mood since yesterday.
Jae-gyeom asked, “What are you two doing?”
As if the assembly had just finished, Jeong-ju showed him the completed product. It was a small plastic board about the size of a palm, equipped with tiny wheels. Unable to gauge its purpose, Jae-gyeom looked bewildered.
“What is this?”
Instead of answering, Jeong-ju scooped up Yu Nam-saeng, who had been watching from the side, and placed him on the finished plastic board.
“Here, Kkaeng-al. Now you can run fast too.”
What Jeong-ju and Yoon Tae-hee had created was none other than a mini skateboard. Only then did Jae-gyeom understand its purpose, and his eyes widened. Ah, they had made a vehicle for Yu Nam-saeng!
“Uh-huh? What is this thing?”
However, Yu Nam-saeng, who had been placed on the skateboard unexpectedly, simply lay there flat on his stomach with a blank expression. Seeing this, Yoon Tae-hee crouched down in front of Yu Nam-saeng to explain.
“Just move your legs like you usually do. Or you can think of it as swimming in water. You’ll get the hang of it after a few tries. You’re probably not used to steering yet, so be careful not to bump into the walls or chair legs.”
Following Yoon Tae-hee’s explanation, a bewildered Yu Nam-saeng tried moving his legs. As his tiny feet rubbed against the floor, the skateboard carrying him zoomed forward.
“Ooh?”
Yu Nam-saeng’s expression was momentarily filled with surprise. But the wonder was short-lived; perhaps overwhelmed by the sensation of speed on land for the first time in his life, he seemed to shrink back slightly in panic.
“It’s a bit scary since it just shoots forward.”
At those words, Jae-gyeom stepped in. He walked a few steps toward the kitchen and plopped down on the floor. Then, like playing a game of ‘bori-bori-ssal,’ he spread his hands wide open.
“Try coming all the way here.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll catch you before you fall, so don’t worry.”
“But…”
“I said it’s okay. Trust me and come on.”
Watching from the side, Jeong-ju clapped his hands to cheer him on. Yoon Tae-hee also gave a beaming smile and added a “Fighting!”
Gaining courage thanks to them, Yu Nam-saeng moved his feet once more. Then, making his previous hesitation seem pointless, the skateboard carrying Yu Nam-saeng landed right in Jae-gyeom’s palms in one swift motion.
“You’re good at this. See, it’s not scary, right?”
Jae-gyeom, who had timed it perfectly to catch Yu Nam-saeng with both hands, spoke with a grin. He lifted Yu Nam-saeng up near his face.
“Now it’ll be easier for you to get around the house.”
Yu Nam-saeng, who had been blinking his eyes, finally broke into a wide smile.
“Yes!”
It was the brightest smile Jae-gyeom had ever seen.
Now completely excited, Yu Nam-saeng began to scurry all over the house as if he had grown wings.
Watching Yu Nam-saeng fly around, Jae-gyeom asked Jeong-ju, “How did you even think of making something like that?”
He felt proud of the little guy for getting around so well, and proud of the person who made it for him. As he gave Jeong-ju a light pat on the back in appreciation, Jeong-ju replied, “I didn’t do it; Tae-hee was the one who suggested making it.”
“Really?”
It was unexpected. Jae-gyeom turned his gaze toward Yoon Tae-hee.
“I saw a video on the internet. It was a video of a turtle riding a skateboard. Seeing that reminded me of the Nam-saeng in our house, and I thought he might be bored since the child spirit isn’t here.”
Yoon Tae-hee added with a smile, “It’s lonely when you’re bored. And when you’re lonely, you feel isolated.”
Jae-gyeom suddenly recalled his first meeting with Yoon Tae-hee. Just as he had recognized Jae-gyeom’s boredom and misfortune at a glance once upon a time, Yoon Tae-hee was always adept at noticing someone’s shadow. It was likely because he himself existed within that same shadow.
Jae-gyeom suddenly felt the urge to pat Yoon Tae-hee’s head. If Jeong-ju or Yu Nam-saeng hadn’t been there, he would have patted his head several times.
Just then, Yu Nam-saeng scurried over to Yoon Tae-hee and spoke.
“Young Master, thank you.”
Yoon Tae-hee replied with a gentle smile.
“You’re very welcome.”
From that day on, Yu Nam-saeng traversed the living room on his skateboard. He would follow the family members around, and when it was mealtime, he would zoom under the dining table on his skateboard even without being called. When someone returned from going out, he was the first to greet them at the entrance. Sometimes, he was faster than a human.
Since he was still clumsy at controlling his speed, he often bumped into walls or fell off the skateboard, but every time, the family members would flip Yu Nam-saeng back over from where he had landed on the floor.
“You have to be careful. Are you okay?”
Yu Nam-saeng replied with a hehe laugh, “I’m perfectly fine! My head is as strong as a pebble!”
Jae-gyeom chuckled and placed Yu Nam-saeng back on the skateboard. It seemed he needed more practice to get the knack of it, but since he was overflowing with motivation, he would likely master it soon.
When Jae-gyeom finished washing his face and brushing his teeth and stepped out of the bathroom, Yoon Tae-hee was out in the yard. Looking out, he saw Yoon Tae-hee holding the handle of a long hose, watering the flowers and trees.
Yoon Tae-hee had recently taken up gardening as a hobby.
Originally, tending to the yard had been Mesan’s job, but after Mesan left, Yoon Tae-hee began managing the yard without anyone asking him to. He read several related books and occasionally went downtown to buy necessary gardening supplies.
He trimmed the lawn, checked the flowers and trees to remove withered leaves, pruned branches, and dragged the hose to water them. After some trial and error, he now looked quite accustomed to the task.
Jae-gyeom sat on the wooden deck and watched Yoon Tae-hee’s back as he tended to the garden. The deck was warm under the sunlight.
Wearing wide-legged grey cotton training pants, a white short-sleeved t-shirt, and slippers, Yoon Tae-hee looked as relaxed as his attire. He wore a wide-brimmed bucket hat to keep the sun from burning his face and wore cotton work gloves on his hands. Whenever he moved, the movement of his shoulder blades and the outline of his back muscles were clearly visible through the t-shirt.
“…”
Jae-gyeom suddenly stood up. He approached Yoon Tae-hee, who was transplanting seedlings. Then, after checking the surroundings to see if anyone was watching, he suddenly bit Yoon Tae-hee’s shoulder firmly.
“Ah.”
At the unexpected attack, Yoon Tae-hee’s shoulder jerked up with a short cry. While in pain, Yoon Tae-hee turned his head to look at Jae-gyeom. Jae-gyeom played innocent, acting as if nothing had happened.
In response, Yoon Tae-hee simply rubbed his shoulder. Once the sensation subsided, he rolled up his sleeve to check the bite mark, then returned to his work without a word. It was an attitude of acceptance.
Since it wasn’t just once or twice, he had become used to it.
Whenever they were alone, Jae-gyeom often bit Yoon Tae-hee’s arm or shoulder like this. Once, when Yoon Tae-hee asked why, Jae-gyeom had given a poor excuse:
‘I don’t know. I just want to bite.’
It wasn’t that he wanted Yoon Tae-hee to be in pain, but he felt a contradictory and strange impulse to bite him firmly. Since it was purely an impulse, no specific reason came to mind.
Though he didn’t know the reason, because Jae-gyeom said he wanted to, Yoon Tae-hee stopped asking why and accepted Jae-gyeom’s behavior from then on. It hurt quite a bit, but he didn’t dislike it. In fact, he liked it. He simply guessed that Jae-gyeom felt something similar to how he himself wanted to bite Jae-gyeom’s forehead.
“What are those seedlings? I haven’t seen those flowers before.”
“They’re called thyme.”
“Thyme?”
“Yes. In Korean, it’s called ‘Baekrihyang’ because its scent is said to travel a hundred li.”
“Ah.”
Jae-gyeom crouched beside Yoon Tae-hee and watched him carefully transplant the flowers. Then, for no reason, he tugged the hat Yoon Tae-hee was wearing backward. Because the hat had a string, it didn’t fall off, but it flipped back, messing up his hair. Despite the continuous interference, Yoon Tae-hee only smiled without saying anything.
Jae-gyeom said while tidying up Yoon Tae-hee’s messy hair, “Your hair has grown a lot.”
“Yeah. Come to think of it, I haven’t been to a hair salon once since I’ve been here.”
Yoon Tae-hee’s hair had grown long enough to cover his eyes. The back reached his nape, and if gathered in a hand, it was long enough to be tied with a hair tie. During his time as an exorcist, Yoon Tae-hee had gone to the salon every two weeks to trim his hair, but since coming down here, he had been living in a much more relaxed manner.
“Go get a haircut when you have time.”
“Why? Do you want my hair short?”
“No. Long is pretty too. I just thought it might be uncomfortable.”
Yoon Tae-hee, who had been hoeing, stopped his hand, lifted his head, and stared intently at Jae-gyeom. At that, Jae-gyeom asked, “What?”
With his cheeks now dipping into dimples, Yoon Tae-hee asked, “Am I pretty?”