By Zephyria 
Haon buried his face in his knees, swallowing his saliva until the sweetness vanished from his mouth. Then, he suddenly looked toward the door, his eyes widening. A forgotten question had surfaced from his foggy mind. Only now.
“How did you know my name…?”
He didn’t remember telling the man his name directly, but he had a faint memory of being surprised when the man called him by name.
He worried that it was far too late to ask how the man knew it now. Scratching his cheek, Haon stood up and looked around for a clock.
“Ah.”
Right, there was no clock.
Tapping his forehead, he checked the time on his phone instead. It was five-thirty in the afternoon. My god. He really had slept the entire day.
If Seong-gu hadn’t called, he probably would have slept until dawn. Even back in the countryside, once Haon fell asleep, he rarely woke up to ordinary noises. However, at the gosiwon, perhaps because the bed was uncomfortable, he often woke up in the early hours of the morning.
For the first time in the year and a half since moving to the city, he had slept soundly. Thanks to the plush bed, the sleep had felt even sweeter. He wanted to sleep a bit more, but he decided to go out, curious about what the man was doing. And because there was something he wanted to ask.
Just as he was about to leave the room, he stepped back to grab the bag he had placed in the corner. He had almost left behind the box of soy milk he brought for the man.
However, as he picked up the soy milk box, Haon paused and hesitantly set it back down.
“I wonder if he’ll drink it….”
Come to think of it, some people hated soy milk. Was it when he was working a part-time serving job at a wedding hall? During a break, while Haon was drinking soy milk he’d brought from home instead of a meal, a fellow part-time worker had told him that their stomach felt upset whenever they drank soy milk. Haon, who could eat anything, had found it fascinating that there were people who couldn’t drink soy milk.
After pondering for a moment, he put the box back in the bag for now. He should ask if the man drinks soy milk before giving it to him.
As he turned his head, his gaze drifted toward the window where a red glow was seeping in. The sky was dyed red. Haon stood for a moment, admiring the sunset sky.
It’s beautiful.
Having lived in a gosiwon without windows, seeing such an open view made his chest feel liberated.
At first, he had been scared because it was so high, but now he only thought it was wonderful. It was a house that suited the owner very well. At the same time, he felt it didn’t suit him at all.
After blankly watching the ripened sky, he slowly left the room. His light footsteps immediately became heavy the moment he opened the door.
Ah, I’m in trouble.
As he opened the door, the savory smell of food greeted Haon. He hadn’t expected the man to have prepared dinner already.
He had said with his own mouth that he would eat with him, but in truth, he had planned to say his stomach wasn’t feeling well today. For up to three days after a heat, anything put in his mouth tended to reflux before it even hit the stomach. He had agreed immediately because he thought he’d be able to eat a bit by tomorrow evening, but….
“Did you sleep well?”
Just then, the man’s voice reached him. He was standing up, leaning his arm against the back of the sofa and waving. It seemed he spent a lot of time lying on the living room sofa.
“You must be hungry.”
As if he had been waiting for Haon to wake up, the man went straight to the kitchen. He pulled out a chair at the dining table, telling Haon—who had slept through lunch—to sit down quickly. Haon found himself sitting at the table naturally, unable to utter a word of protest.
He had no choice. Food was already prepared on the large dining table.
“You said you eat everything, so I prepared Korean food for now.”
Seeing that the cutlery had been set in advance, it seemed he really had been waiting for Haon to wake up. Haon bit his lip as he looked at the neatly plated side dishes. While he was grateful to the man for preparing dinner so thoughtfully, the thought of having to eat all of this already made his stomach feel uneasy.
“Go ahead and eat first.”
The man, who had scooped rice for Haon, waited for the soup on the induction stove to boil. Haon gulped as he looked at the bowl filled to the brim with white rice.
“No, we should eat together….”
Wanting to delay eating as much as possible, he said he would wait until the man sat down. The man smiled, saying he’d be right there while scooping his own rice. Take your time, Haon muttered sincerely.
“You’re really good at cooking.”
Looking around the table with an uneasy heart, he spoke with sincerity. The side dishes all looked appetizing, as if they had been bought from a store. Moreover, there were so many varieties. When on earth did he prepare all this?
“Wow…. It looks like food from a restaurant.”
“It is from a restaurant.”
The man confessed after thoroughly enjoying Haon’s admiring reaction. All he had done was transfer the delivered food into plates and a pot.
“I was sleeping the whole time too. Instead, I’ll make you something truly delicious tomorrow.”
You don’t have to do that. Hiding his true feelings, Haon gave a vague nod. Seeing the man actively preparing a meal for him, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
“I’ll just bring this over.”
What is that now? Haon tensed up as he looked at the soup bowl the man was bringing out. It wasn’t the size of a typical soup bowl. The pot on the induction stove was also quite large. His worry grew, not knowing what was boiling inside.
Ah… perhaps.
Wrinkling his nose, Haon leaned his upper body slightly toward the table. A familiar scent began to waft from the pot, which was making a bubbling sound. Just then, the man asked Haon if he liked chicken.
It must be Samgyetang. This time, Haon nodded firmly.
Perhaps because it was a dish his grandmother often made, he felt unusually glad, even though his appetite hadn’t fully returned.
“That’s a relief.”
The man, who had been watching Haon’s expression closely, spoke casually. He served a whole steaming chicken into large bowls. When Haon reached out and tried to stand up from his chair, the man pretended to go back to the kitchen and told him to just stay seated.
Haon eventually remained seated at the table. Unlike before, his expression wasn’t that dark. Consequently, the man looked as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“You’re welcome to eat more, but you don’t have to force yourself to finish it all.”
The man gestured for Haon to eat quickly and then picked up his utensils. Haon wondered inwardly as he looked at the man’s rice bowl, which contained a similar amount to his own. He must not eat as much as he looks. Seong-gu always scooped rice until it overflowed from the bowl.
“Do you prefer your food bland, Haon-ssi?”
The man, who had tasted the Samgyetang broth first, looked at Haon.
“Uh… yes.”
As if that settled it, the man nodded once. Following him, Haon carefully took a sip of the broth. He wondered why the man had asked, and realized the seasoning was indeed a bit bland.
“It’s delicious.”
Since the man seemed to be gauging his reaction, he spoke before being asked. It wasn’t just a polite remark; it really was delicious. Though the seasoning was light, the broth was rich and tasted healthy.
It’s exactly the taste my grandmother would love. Her cooking also had this kind of clean yet deep flavor. He thought the man was very good at cooking—no, at ordering.
The hot broth traveled down his tense esophagus and warmed his stomach. Thanks to that, the food went down well.
“Haon-ssi.”
The man spoke just as Haon was swallowing a small piece of shredded chicken breast he had been chewing for a while. The man had waited until Haon finished swallowing.
“Did you check if your pay came in?”
“No, not yet.”
“It should be there. Check it later.”
Haon thanked him once more and took a bit of rice to eat with the broth. In truth, he had sent a text to the manager before falling asleep during the day.
The man had said there was no need to contact them, but Haon had informed the manager in advance that he had to quit due to circumstances. The manager had replied with a short, “Yes.”
I wonder if the manager knew.
If the person who took him out of the dressing room was the hotel’s executive director, he might have told the manager. That’s probably why the manager didn’t make an issue of it and let him keep coming to work.
…Then what is the man’s relationship with the executive director? Since he said they met at a club, maybe they’re friends.
While shredding a chicken drumstick, he stole a glance at the man. The man was watching Haon’s utensils, which were only moving between the rice and soup bowls. When their eyes met, the man grinned and pushed the plate of rolled omelets toward him. It was exactly the side dish Haon had been about to reach for.
Well, there’s no real need to know what their relationship is.
To focus on the meal, he chewed and swallowed the food thoroughly. Anyway, the events of that day would fade from memory over time. So, there was no need to pay attention to it. Thanks to the man, he received his pay immediately, giving him some breathing room to look for a place to live. That was enough.
“Haon-ssi, do you want to watch a movie after eating?”
The man continued the conversation while watching Haon take a bite of the rolled omelet with a satisfied smile.
Haon was about to answer after swallowing the remaining food in his mouth, but he paused. Pursing his moist lips, he rolled his eyes and spoke in a small voice.
“But how did you… know my name…?”
The last part, “did you know,” was barely audible.
The man, seemingly caught off guard by the unexpected question, suddenly covered his mouth. Although his mouth was covered, his smile wasn’t hidden because his cheeks rose high. What was so funny?
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Thinking Haon might have been offended, the man apologized and lowered his hand, calming the corners of his mouth. “No, it’s just…” he trailed off, then lightly cleared his throat.
“I just thought you were asking quite early.”
When he added the explanation that he only laughed because of that, Haon became even more embarrassed and reached for his cheek again. Even he thought he had asked far too late.
“You told me, Haon-ssi. While you were sleeping.”
“While I was sleeping?”
He tilted his head, then quickly shut his mouth. It was because he realized instantly that the ‘sleep’ the man was referring to was not the ‘sleep’ he had just woken up from. The man also did not provide any further detailed explanation.
“What is your surname?”
“It’s Jeong. I’m Jeong Haon.”
“Ah, so it was Jeong.”
Muttering the three syllables of the name Jeong Haon, the man rested his chin on his hand and stared intently at Haon. As if he had something to say.
Aware of that gaze, Haon put down his spoon for a moment. As he racked his brain to see if he had missed something else, he had a sudden realization.
“What movie?”
He asked back, remembering that the man had suggested watching a movie after eating. At this, the man smiled, his eyes curving, and replied that he would look for one. Afterward, the two focused on their meal.