By Zephyria And so, after eating ramen, eggs, and drinking sikhye, they finished the ‘Sightseeing is secondary to a full stomach,’ and it was time for a full-fledged jjimjilbang exploration.
Perhaps because of his curiosity, he wasn’t even tired. Ki Jae-eon read a comic book for the first time in his life—devouring a whopping eight volumes in one sitting—and enjoyed everything from the sauna to the salt room without missing a thing. After sweating and experiencing all the fun, he came out to find that all the Teachers and children except him were tangled up and asleep.
Ki Jae-eon was also starting to feel sleepy. Haah, he even surprised himself when he yawned.
Today is full of amazing things.
Ki Jae-eon smiled slightly and went to a corner to lie down.
…I’m relaxed.
His eyelids felt heavy.
It’s an amazing place.*
The old linoleum and the clothes that many people had worn. But he liked this more than any hotel. What should he say… a space that smelled like people? He felt like he could just fall into a deep sleep without thinking about anything. Ki Jae-eon tossed and turned a few times before finding a comfortable position. Sleep came easily without even trying. Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, something like a blanket landed on top of him with a thud.
“……?”
“Sleep.”
The owner of the low voice was Kim Ju-won.
Then, he rustled around and took a spot next to him.
“Th, there’s no mat there…”
“I have a lot of body heat, so it doesn’t matter.”
He really did lie down on the bare floor.
“…Uh-huh.”
Just as he was about to close his eyes again.
“I’m sorry.”
He heard a voice that woke him up once again.
In the end, he opened his closed eyes.
Thanks to his faster dark adaptation than others, he could see Kim Ju-won’s broad back.
“I was pathetic.”
“……”
“No matter what excuses I make, I can’t undo the hurt I caused… but still.”
He couldn’t just go to sleep. Kim Ju-won trailed off and swallowed hard. The sound echoed loudly. Even though their bodies weren’t touching, he could clearly feel that Kim Ju-won was nervous.
“When I first summoned the Wish Eater… I really only intended to tame the Mystical Instrument. That’s how I made my wish. You might not believe it from your perspective, but I really didn’t ask for you, you… to be eliminated. It’s the truth.”
“……”
“But they said the Wish Eater could see into your heart. So, I kept thinking about it… back then, I was probably just afraid of losing my position. It’s embarrassing, but I thought I couldn’t compare to you.”
Kim Ju-won paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly continued.
“Honestly, I think I wanted you to leave the main office. Uh, I admit it was childish jealousy.”
“……”
“I don’t know how the Wish Eater interpreted that. Anyway, really, I…”
“……”
“Ki Jae-eon, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Kim Ju-won’s breathing was slightly shaky. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, then slowly offered a second apology, “I’m sorry.” It seemed that no matter how much they bathed together, ate ramen, and laughed and joked like fools, he couldn’t completely shake off his guilt towards Ki Jae-eon. Well, that’s how a person should be.
But what surprised Ki Jae-eon was his next words.
“And… you’re not a luxury.”
It’s okay to become ordinary. At the low voice, Ki Jae-eon’s fingertips, which had been unresponsive all along, twitched.
[Ordinary]
Ki Jae-eon silently stared at his back. The broad back was quietly catching its breath. Seeing that, strangely… a bit of mischief arose.
“Yo, you said I was a luxury.”
“……”
“You said you were going to ki, kill me.”
He spoke softly, but he didn’t feel bad.
In fact, the corners of Ki Jae-eon’s mouth were slightly raised as he spoke.
“Y, you said that, hyung.”
So, he even added the word “hyung,” which he didn’t use often.
“…That’s why hyung is watching your every move.”
Kim Ju-won mumbled as if he was embarrassed. It was a timidity that didn’t suit his large frame. He was like a bear that had been completely intimidated.
Keuk, he almost burst out laughing. Barely managing to hold it in, Ki Jae-eon bumped his head against his broad back. It was a way of conveying that he was okay and that he forgave him, instead of saying it in so many words.
A firm and warm back.
Ki Jae-eon bumped his head several times. He could feel the muscles twitching each time. But for some reason, Kim Ju-won didn’t avoid it. He didn’t scold him for acting disgustingly like a sissy. He was just quietly accepting his grumbling.
“How long are you going to watch my, my every move?”
“Well… for the time being.”
“Then write me a letter, write me one.”
“What?”
“The letters the kids, kids wrote me disappeared. Y, you write me one again, hyung.”
“……”
When there was no response, he playfully asked if this was also a luxury, and the muscles in his back moved greatly. Then, he heard a “Pfft-” sound of laughter. It was a bland laugh that seemed to say, “I give up.”
“Alright, I’ll write you one in block letters, you punk.”
The two bickered for a long time before falling asleep.
It was a deep sleep, so deep that they didn’t even know when they had fallen asleep. When they opened their eyes again, their whole bodies were hot. Why is it so hot? He wondered and slowly raised his body. With a flutter, dozens of blankets that had been piled on top of him fell off at once. Why are there so many… He looked around with a dazed mind, and the front was packed.
“……?”
It was the children.
They were sitting around Ki Jae-eon and Kim Ju-won, who were asleep in a nest-like shape, as if guarding them, doing their own things. Some were reading comic books, some were looking at their phones, and some were even eating sikhye and eggs from the morning. When they accidentally made eye contact, they greeted him brightly, “Oh? Hyung, hi.”
“Guys, Jae-eon hyung woke up!”
Starting with that, everyone said something. Good morning! Did you sleep well? Wow, Kim Ju-won is still sleeping. It quickly became noisy. It was no different from their daily life at the main office.
Staring blankly at the scene, Ki Jae-eon blinked his swollen eyes and mumbled.
“Ugh, full……”
It was all thanks to eating and sleeping so well.
It was around the time he had finished his refreshing morning bath and came out. Ki Jae-eon, who was taking out clothes from his locker, found two missed calls on his phone. It was his mother.
‘Come to think of it, I didn’t call yesterday.’
Ki Jae-eon hesitated for a moment. Ryu Seong-hee, the fortune teller. Knowing how strenuous and busy his mother’s schedule was, he was very hesitant to call her carelessly. She must be dealing with reserved customers right now. Hmm, his fingers twitched several times. Should he just call at night? But still, he saw the missed call record…… In the end, he carefully pressed the call button. He was going to hang up if she didn’t answer after three rings.
But.
-[“Hello.”]
The call didn’t even ring once. It was almost as if she was waiting for it.
“Ah, uh, yes……”
Ki Jae-eon was rather flustered.
-[“……….”]
The other party was silent for a moment. It seemed like she was choosing her words. Then soon, [“Were you busy?”] she asked carefully. She was asking about the reason he didn’t answer the phone yesterday.
“Ah, th, that’s-.”
As he was wondering how to explain what happened yesterday, [“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not scolding you,”] a hurried additional explanation followed from the other side of the phone.
-[“Jae-eon, Mom is just asking because she’s curious. You’re an adult, so there might be some things you don’t want to talk about. Yes, I know. I might be intruding by showing interest now. I understand enough. But Mom…… No. No, it’s not. What if I get greedy? Yeah, it’s okay, if it’s burdensome……”]
Her words, rambling unlike his mother, made Ki Jae-eon realize that she was seriously misunderstanding something.
“Uh, Mother. That’s not it… I, I left it in the locker, so I didn’t get it.”
-[“……….”]
Silence followed again. Then.
-[“Lo……cker?”]
She asked back in a slightly trembling voice.
“Ah, yes. I, I’m at the sauna right now……”
Thump, thump! A loud noise was heard from the other side of the phone. It sounded like something was falling over. Ugh- his ears rang, so he briefly moved the phone slightly away from his ear. Because the phone was further away, he couldn’t hear his mother’s voice well. It seemed like a slightly rough curse word passed by, but his mother would never do that, so he must have misheard.
-[“Jae-eon? Jae-eon!”]
“Ah, ah, yes.”
-[“Okay…… S, Sauna? Are you talking about that public bathhouse? Why? Don’t tell me they kicked you out of the main office? Good heavens! This damn- Haa. Oh my god, Heavenly Land!”]
“That’s not……”
-[“Then instead of going to such a place, you should have called your mother right away! Ah- no, no. I’m not getting angry at you. Mom got a little excited and made a mistake. Don’t worry. Your mother will take care of it right away. Honey, are you okay. You must have been very surprised. How could you spend a day in such… such an unclean place!”]
“Ah… Uh, Mother……”
-[“Did you hurt yourself? Did you eat well? Sleep? Ha, no, that was a foolish question. There’s no way you could have slept well in such a place.”]
He slept too well, what to do about this.
-[“How dare they kick you out to such a place. It’s like a lie… To wag their tongues like that in front of me. Your mother was careless. Kim Yeong, I thought so highly of him. I’ve been properly had!”]
A greatly enraged voice was heard from the other side of the phone. Worried that something big might happen to Kim Yeong if this continued, Ki Jae-eon hurriedly opened his mouth. Mother, that’s not it. He calmly explained the whole story, except for the part where Kim Ju-won summoned the Wish Eater.
“S, so I have nowhere to go right now.”
To his last words, his mother……
[“Call out the address.”]
She only said one word.