By Zephyria 
“That’s so unfair… If you smelled the pheromones, you should’ve told me in advance.”
You didn’t know that either, and you followed him while imagining all sorts of things!
He grumbled a lot toward the annoying Cha Jeong-won.
Yet his footsteps felt light.
Aside from his pheromones being detected, he liked the side table Jeong-won had made for him.
To be completely honest, he liked that Cha Jeong-won had paid attention to him.
“No. This isn’t something to get so excited about.”
Even as he scolded himself, Haon bit his lip once.
“But isn’t this something anyone would be touched by?”
He arrived on the 5th floor with his confused feelings. He was walking down the familiar hallway when suddenly a door swung wide open and someone popped out into the corridor. Haon reflexively stopped walking.
The door swung open, pushing out a gust of wind. That wind brushed against Haon’s clothes.
When people meet in a narrow hallway, they usually step aside for each other, but the man who came out didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.
Haon reflexively tried to step aside, but the man took a step and blocked Haon’s path.
‘What the.’
Haon looked up. Only then could he see the face.
It was Cha Seo-jun.
Haon was momentarily stunned, then reflexively checked his own unit number. Then he checked the unit next door and realized.
Cha Seo-jun had come out of the unit next to his. Boxes were piled in front of the door.
A box wrapped tightly with tape, a large box stamped with a moving company logo, and something long wrapped in plastic. To anyone, it looked like someone had just moved in today.
“What are you doing here?”
When Haon asked, Cha Seo-jun raised the corner of his mouth instead of answering.
“I moved in today.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Haon scanned the boxes once more. And the words jumped out first.
“Your cousin lives on the 9th floor, so why did you come here? It’s cramped.”
Cha Seo-jun’s expression wavered for a moment, just a brief moment, then returned to its nonchalant state.
“I like it here.”
“What’s to like?”
“It’s close.”
Close? To whom.
Before Haon could question the meaning of those words, Cha Seo-jun took another step. He wasn’t even bracing his hand against the wall, but his size and presence alone seemed to block one side of the hallway.
“Hyung Haon, want to come in for some ramen?”
Haon blinked. It felt less like it came out of nowhere and more like it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
He himself had just said something similar. And he had been practically chased out, making those words seem hollow.
Cha Seo-jun tilted his head slightly. His tone became more playful.
“Or will you cook ramen for me, hyung?”
Haon unconsciously rubbed his lips, which were pouting out.
“I ate pork belly, so I’m not hungry.”
His muttering voice was smaller than he thought. It sounded like an excuse.
Cha Seo-jun didn’t miss Haon’s expression.
“You should still have ramen.”
“Why.”
“I have things to talk about too.”
Only then did Haon properly look at Cha Seo-jun’s face.
His voice was light, but his eyes were not. He just moved in today. Why is he acting so urgently?
Haon thought for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders once.
“Alright. Let’s eat.”
Cha Seo-jun’s face brightened. Haon found that reaction a bit funny, and before he could laugh louder, he continued.
“But it’s really strange. Why would you come here… Ah!”
Something occurred to him.
“Last week, when you said you were looking around, did you mean looking at apartments?”
On the day Haon’s siblings came, Cha Seo-jun was also there.
Remembering what Cha Seo-jun had said then, Haon asked, and he nodded brightly with a smile.
“That’s right. I looked around then and thought about how I’d furnish it in advance.”
Then he shifted his body to the side to show the inside.
“See. I haven’t unpacked yet, but I brought the furniture in advance.”
Hearing that, Haon peeked his head inside out of curiosity.
Since the landlord was renting to college students, he had prepared almost everything, including a washing machine and microwave, as full options. He also said if there was anything else needed, they could bring it in.
It seemed Cha Seo-jun had also brought in furniture that suited his taste.
Among them, Haon, looking at the bookshelf, made a sound. “Huh?”
A practical yet stylish-looking bookshelf—it looked familiar from somewhere.
Of course, it was bigger than that one.
“It’s similar to the one at Jeong-won sunbae’s place.”
“Ah… That’s right. I brought a smaller one though…”
Cha Seo-jun’s pupils rolled around confusedly.
“How did you know?”
“How did I know? I saw it, so I know.”
When Haon retorted as if it were no big deal, Cha Seo-jun tightly closed his mouth.
“Do you share furniture because you’re cousins?”
“Our parents work at that furniture company. To be precise, they run it.”
“Ah, really?”
That could be possible. Well, given their family background.
“But when did you go to Jeong-won hyung’s place?”
“I was just there today?”
Haon answered while taking a step back.
Since he had already looked inside the apartment, he didn’t go in further.
“Jeong-won sunbae also has a separate studio.”
It wasn’t a tone of hiding, being flustered, or even bragging about having been there. Cha Seo-jun made a confused expression.
“Come to think of it, you told me to go to the 9th floor.”
“Huh? Yeah. I thought, why would you come here when Jeong-won sunbae’s place is so spacious. But with all those boxes piled up like that, do you have space to cook ramen?”
The moment Cha Seo-jun was about to open his mouth, Haon decided first.
“Come to my place. It’s next door anyway.”
Cha Seo-jun didn’t object. He had moved next door to get closer to Haon in the first place, so the suggestion was good too.
“I made the right choice signing the contract here instead of the 9th floor.”
Saying that, he lightly pushed a box to keep the door from closing and followed Haon.
“You live with Hyun-gyu hyung, right?”
Listening to Cha Seo-jun’s words from behind, Haon washed his hands at the sink and took out the ramen.
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t it cramped?”
“It is cramped, but it’s not bad.”
Plus, since the two of them lived together, there were many things they saved on.
“Do you split the rent exactly half and half?”
“Yep.”
“What’s with Hyun-gyu hyung, making you split it half and half. He could just pay it all himself.”
Cha Seo-jun pouted. It was also a valid point.
Kim Hyun-gyu had introduced him to a lot of part-time jobs, but given his family circumstances, he didn’t really need to work part-time.
Kim Hyun-gyu, the well-off kid who could get plenty of support from home, said something like, ‘I can’t spend my youth without working part-time jobs’?
“I felt this last time too, but the place you two live in is quite tidy.”
“Are you in a position to judge others with your moving boxes piled up?”
When Haon tossed the remark, Cha Seo-jun laughed.
When he laughed, the corners of his eyes curved slightly. Somehow, it seemed to soften the heart of anyone watching.
Haon waved the ramen packet toward Cha Seo-jun.
“In honor of your move, it’s jjajang ramen instead of jjajangmyeon.”
Cha Seo-jun’s eyes widened, then he raised the corner of his mouth.
“Are you welcoming me?”
“Sit down.”
Haon brushed it off casually and put water in the pot.
While the water boiled, he took out the container of green onion kimchi and put some on a plate.
Haon had a pointless insistence that jjajang ramen must be accompanied by green onion kimchi.
Cha Seo-jun was sitting with his elbows on the table. His gaze didn’t leave Haon.
It didn’t feel particularly rude, but it was burdensome.
Haon pointlessly opened and closed the pot lid to kill time, then divided the noodles into bowls and placed them on the table.
“Eat.”
Cha Seo-jun smiled when he saw the green onion kimchi.
“Wow, even green onion kimchi? As expected, hyung has great sense.”
“Right?”
Even though it was nothing special, having his insistence acknowledged made him feel good.
Haon sat down with his bowl in front of him. Sitting facing each other made the small table look even smaller.
Cha Seo-jun nodded his head as soon as he took a bite.
“It’s delicious.”
Cha Seo-jun said that and took another big bite.
Haon also belatedly picked up his chopsticks. Once he started eating, he found himself eating well again.
Well, he had been eating pork belly and had to cut it off abruptly in the middle.
After a few bites, Lee So-yul suddenly came to mind.
The smile he saw earlier in the design lab, the indifferent gaze, and the still easily unreachable distance. It seemed like graduated people lived in a different time zone even within the school.
Strangely, that sense of distance overlapped with looking at Cha Seo-jun now.
The age difference.
Lee So-yul and Haon were three years apart. And Haon and Cha Seo-jun were also three years apart.
As soon as Haon realized that fact, he unconsciously ran his hand through Cha Seo-jun’s hair.
Really, out of the blue. He ruffled those soft strands.
Cha Seo-jun stopped with the ramen in his mouth.
He just blinked, then finally swallowed and asked.
“What was that, just now.”
Haon felt a bit awkward too, but decided to act even more brazenly.
“You look like someone I want to take good care of.”
Cha Seo-jun’s face instantly grew hot.
You could see his ears turning red first. He looked flustered, yet somehow it seemed like he might burst out laughing any moment.
“What are you talking about.”
Even so, Cha Seo-jun didn’t avoid Haon’s touch.
The fact that he didn’t fix his hair felt more like an answer. Like someone who, instead of immediately deciding whether they like or dislike something, eventually leans toward liking it.
“How’s school life? Is there anything you need help with?”
Cha Seo-jun put down his chopsticks and looked straight at Haon.
“You’ll do anything I ask?”
“Like what.”
When Haon answered immediately, Cha Seo-jun bit his lip for a moment, then spoke like someone who had made a decision.
“Then make me your assistant.”
Haon paused for a beat.
He was the one who asked if there was anything he could help with, but he didn’t expect Cha Seo-jun to ask for help for himself instead.
Cha Seo-jun’s expression was calm, but his eyes were excited.
Haon tapped the edge of his bowl once with the tip of his chopsticks. It made a small sound. Thanks to that sound, he returned to reality.
“You want me to make you my assistant?”
Cha Seo-jun added, as if he had been waiting.
“You’re busy, hyung. You have your graduation project, part-time jobs, all sorts of things. This is when you should use me.”
The words were so natural that Haon momentarily lost his smile.
Cha Seo-jun quietly watched Haon like that, then leaned in playfully again.
“We’re next door anyway. Commuting would be convenient.”
“What commuting.”
“Assistant commuting.”
Haon finally chuckled. Haon picked up a piece of green onion kimchi with his chopsticks and plopped it onto Cha Seo-jun’s bowl.
“Finish your ramen first, then we’ll talk.”
Cha Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the green onion kimchi.
“Is this a pass for the interview?”
“I decide if you pass.”
“Then I’ll show you my best.”
Cha Seo-jun said that and took another big bite of ramen. And he deliberately shook his messy hair once more.
Haon, watching Cha Seo-jun, muttered something that suddenly occurred to him.
“But did I ever tell you I work at a cafe part-time?”
77 – NOT 77