By Zephyria 
Sitting in his shabby rooftop room where he always ate and slept, opening five or six shopping bags, Song Hyun-soo suddenly felt like a strange mix of dream and reality.
Outside, snow was falling again, and the world was quiet. Only the sound of Yoon Joo-ho running water in the bathroom and the occasional short shuffle of bathroom slippers could be heard.
It felt like Santa had visited this small rooftop room on a snowy White Christmas.
Yoon Joo-ho is in my house.
He had shown up so suddenly, and I had been caught in the middle of masturbating, so I was completely flustered. But now that I had a moment to breathe and realized it, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I wanted to run out to the rooftop from the entrance and shout to the world.
Yoon Joo-ho is here, in this house!
Of course, I would never do such a thing, and I would keep it to myself.
My mouth felt like it was stretching to my ears, so I rubbed my lower jaw a couple of times and composed myself. I didn’t want to look too excited, as if Yoon Joo-ho had come to my house with gifts. At least, I shouldn’t look too excited.
As he reached for the third shopping bag, Song Hyun-soo paused and furrowed his brow.
Wait. Am I not wearing underwear right now?
Shit, that’s right. I just grabbed my pants and went out earlier!
The sound of running water from the bathroom had stopped. Song Hyun-soo scrambled to the mattress and rummaged under the covers for briefs. As he spotted black briefs and was about to grasp them with his fingertips.
“What are you doing?”
As always, his timing was like a ghost’s.
Having no choice, Song Hyun-soo pushed the briefs deep under the covers and awkwardly spun around halfway.
“Nothing. The covers were just too messy…”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had entered the room while drying his face with a towel, clicked his tongue as if finding it amusing.
Forgetting his shock about not wearing underwear, Song Hyun-soo couldn’t take his eyes off Yoon Joo-ho’s freshly washed face.
“I’ve been curious since earlier. What is that?”
Yoon Joo-ho, looking around the room while standing, pointed to the window with his chin and asked. Only then did Song Hyun-soo snap back to reality and wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. He hadn’t drooled, but he felt like he had to do that.
“Bubble wrap. Air cap.”
“I know that. Why did you put it on the window?”
“It’s for insulation. If you put it on like this, less cold air comes in from outside.”
The large window was meticulously covered with air cap, cut to size. He couldn’t help but recall the conversation he had with Jung-ho while putting it up.
“Let’s just stick it on, Jung-ho. We’re putting it on to stay warm, not to look pretty.”
“What if you end up bringing someone over? I should have listened to you… It’ll be too late to regret it then.”
I had promised at the time that I wasn’t thinking about dating for a while. That I wouldn’t bring anyone over. Who would have known that Yoon Joo-ho, not just anyone passing by, would end up coming to this room?
Thank you, Jung-ho. If I had done it sloppily myself, it would have looked really shabby. I’ll make you kimchi pot rice with two fried eggs next time.
“Does that really work?”
“Of course!”
“The wind is still seeping through.”
Yoon Joo-ho touched the window and turned back with a look of disbelief.
“It’s better than before.”
Hmm. Yoon Joo-ho made a sound that was perhaps a groan, perhaps a sigh, and then glanced at the desk.
“Looks like you’re still diligently practicing your writing?”
His gaze fixed on one of the few books standing side-by-side on the desk. It was Nietzsche’s Collected Works, which he had also gifted to Yoon Joo-ho.
“I think it’s having some effect. Though I haven’t slept much… these past few days.”
Song Hyun-soo said, rubbing the back of his neck, and Yoon Joo-ho turned his gaze this way.
These past few days. You mean you couldn’t sleep well while your senior was on a business trip. Do you understand what that means?
“I was like that too.”
“Yes… Yes??”
Song Hyun-soo, who had answered readily, shot his head up in surprise and asked again.
“I left the book here, you see.”
“……”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Does one use a filter that interprets things to their own liking when they’re in unrequited love?
Right now, to my ears, those words sound like ‘I couldn’t sleep. Because of you, because I was bothered by our fight.’
“That must be why your face has gotten even paler.”
Yoon Joo-ho swept his jawline broadly with his fingertips and shrugged. Then, towel in hand, he looked around the room anew.
The meager collection of worn clothes, and the padding Yoon Joo-ho had gifted him, hanging on the rack. The mattress, placed there without a frame. All the furniture, at least seven to eight years old since his old dorm, was uniformly worn out. As his gaze fell upon the furnishings, which were neither embarrassing nor particularly impressive, his ears burned. Song Hyun-soo pushed Yoon Joo-ho’s back roughly towards the mattress.
“Ah, don’t look so closely!”
“Did I look between your legs? What are you telling me not to look at closely?”
Yoon Joo-ho, pushed back onto the mattress, had the towel snatched from his hand. As Song Hyun-soo returned after tossing it into the washing machine, he rambled on about things he hadn’t been asked.
“It’s a bit old and cold, but the space is large for the rent, and I can use the rooftop alone. Properties like this are rare.”
“Who said anything?”
“And this place has a Han River view, too. Like your place, senior.”
Song Hyun-soo said with a grin, pulling the third shopping bag towards him as he sat on the floor, and Yoon Joo-ho let out a soft laugh.
“You’re right. It does have a Han River view.”
Only then did Song Hyun-soo smile back.
“What happened with looking at houses?”
“Still no luck. I’m planning to look again tomorrow morning.”
“With Jung-ho?”
No, why is this man bringing up Jung-ho at every turn?
“Tomorrow, I’m going alone.”
“Want me to go with you?”
“You, senior?”
Song Hyun-soo asked as if it were absurd, then shook his head with a chuckle. He then looked at Yoon Joo-ho, who was perched on the mattress, with a smug expression.
“Senior, do you know there are different types of studio apartments?”
“……”
“The structure like mine is called a separate studio apartment.”
Yoon Joo-ho scowled, giving off a ‘What is this guy up to?’ vibe.
“High-end mansions in Cheongdam, super-tall mixed-use buildings. That might be your specialty, but what would a Crown Prince know about this fierce world of studio apartments? Most places don’t even have elevators. I don’t want to be cursed at for making you climb stairs, so I’ll just accept your kind offer.”
“Is that something to brag about so proudly?”
“Believe me. You’d get angry, senior. 100%.”
Just as he was about to open the third box he’d been fiddling with, Yoon Joo-ho pulled his phone out of his pants pocket.
“I’ll hire a professional, so just tell me the conditions. I’ll have them prepare about four or five places.”
“……Really?”
“What’s the budget?”
After hearing Song Hyun-soo’s answer, Yoon Joo-ho frowned.
“You were given how much money, so why is it only this much?”
“I told you I’d help you move into a new place for your family home. I signed a contract for a good place. It’s thanks to you, senior.”
Yoon Joo-ho stared at Song Hyun-soo’s proud smile, then clicked his tongue, looking displeased.
While Yoon Joo-ho was messaging the ‘professional,’ Song Hyun-soo opened the third box. It was a knitted wool hat. Gloves, a scarf, and a hat… Do I look that cold?
He twirled the hat, which had a large pom-pom at the end, this way and that when he heard a series of tapping sounds.
Casually, he looked up and saw Yoon Joo-ho tapping the spot next to him on the mattress.
“Wh-what?”
He retorted gruffly, aimlessly spinning the hat in his hand.
“You said the floor was cold. Come up and sit here.”
The desire to refuse and the desire to do as he was told clashed. But the clash was momentary. Song Hyun-soo crawled on his knees and sat down where Yoon Joo-ho had tapped.
“Give it here.”
Yoon Joo-ho took the hat, placed it on Song Hyun-soo’s head, and chuckled as it fell down to his shoulders.
“Is it that funny?”
It was the first time he had seen Yoon Joo-ho laugh for so long. As he laughed so much, Song Hyun-soo started to feel a bit annoyed.
“Ah, senior, why are you laughing after buying it? You try it on too, then.”
He unceremoniously jammed the hat onto Yoon Joo-ho’s head, who couldn’t stop laughing. The hat pressed down his hair, covering his face right above his eyes. Song Hyun-soo, who had been preparing to tease him, thinking that a man over thirty didn’t suit such a hat, could only bite his lip tightly.
“……”
Bastard, it suits him so damn well.
God is unfair. So damn unfair. To create a person whose only flaw is their personality.
As he sat there sulkily with a bitter expression, Yoon Joo-ho seemed to be making an effort to hold back his laughter. He took off the hat and gently tapped the back of Song Hyun-soo’s head.
“Alright, I won’t laugh. I didn’t laugh because it was funny.”
“If it’s not funny, why are you laughing? That’s even stranger.”
Yoon Joo-ho, still with a hint of laughter on his face, tidied Song Hyun-soo’s hair, which had been messed up by the hat.
“Sometimes you laugh even when it’s not funny. If you don’t understand, then you’re the fool.”
Glancing sideways at his face, Song Hyun-soo felt like he understood what he meant. It was the kind of look that seemed to find him cute sometimes.
“When you keep doing that, senior…”
When you look at me like that, how can I… How can I not have hope?
Song Hyun-soo, who was about to argue, clamped his mouth shut. He knew Yoon Joo-ho wouldn’t admit it even if he pressed him now. If he pushed, the coward would just try to run away again.
“What about me?”
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have said anything… Ah! I have something to give you too, senior!”
Song Hyun-soo, who had been grumbling, suddenly stood up as if called. Yoon Joo-ho’s curious gaze followed him.
“For me?”
You came over so suddenly, I didn’t even think about it.
He picked up the velvet pouch he had placed on top of the drawer. Returning to Yoon Joo-ho’s side, he sat down with a plop and proudly handed him the pouch.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
What came out of the small velvet pouch was Yoon Joo-ho’s watch.