By Zephyria 
“Uh, Mister, are you okay? Your voice sounds….”
It’s nothing. I was in the middle of exercising. How about you?
“I was working on my class schedule.”
Any problems?
“I’m not sure; there’s a major professor who absolutely refuses to accept any extra students.”
The trivial conversation continued. He talked about how he was ordering plenty of delivery food without having to worry about his parents since they were traveling, how the spacious house felt like his own private kingdom while it was empty, and how he had become completely lazy during the break, but felt like he’d lose his mind once the semester started.
The man’s languid breaths mingled in between the gaps of the conversation. They weren’t grand responses, but Yoo Jiha knew he was listening intently. Just as he always did when listening to him.
The call wasn’t long. The room, which had been filled with his own voice, fell silent, and only the lingering afterglow of the man’s low, whisper-like laughter seeped in, embracing the depths of his heart. Yoo Jiha cupped his flushed face with both hands. Certain that he wouldn’t be able to fully let go of these feelings even after the break ended, he felt a sudden urge to cry.
As the semester began, each day took on a new color. One major class he had missed during registration caused him a headache, but fortunately, the professor accepted him, so his schedule worked out according to his original plan. Until just two months ago, attending school and taking classes had been a normal part of his daily routine, but it now felt strangely alien to be mixed among ordinary people who were ignorant of the Otherworld.
Originally, he had planned to return to Pilgyeongdang on the day his vacation ended, but he crossed the threshold a few days early. Realizing that distance would not fade his emotions, he figured it would be better to practice managing his heart within the daily life where the man existed. After all, it wasn’t as if he could spend his entire life far away from him.
“I’m hoooome….”
His luggage consisted of only one small suitcase. As he dragged the suitcase inside, the house felt strangely quiet. The garage was empty too. Did the younger ones have plans? Tilting his head in curiosity, Yoo Jiha stepped up onto the veranda and suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. A wave of dissonance washed over him.
It wasn’t hard to realize why. As if the house had been empty for a very long time, there was no trace of human presence at all.
“Teacher Yeo-song. Are you here?”
He called out carefully toward the inner gate, but there was no sign of Gong Ran-sa. He was someone who often left the house, but still….
He hadn’t heard anything about Jeil Heon going on a trip during the break. They had spoken on the phone just two days ago. Was he out?
However, even after unpacking and waiting, there was no sign of his return. After hesitating, Yoo Jiha finally attempted a call.
The call connected after a long while.
I picked up for Jeil Heon.
“Oh, Director?”
The owner of the voice coming through the phone was Kang Suk-young.
“Hello. This is Yoo Jiha from Exploration Division Team 7. I called because my Team leader isn’t home. Is he with you, Director?”
……Ah. We’re drinking together. Sunbae stepped away for a moment to smoke. I’ll send him home soon.
Before he could reply that there was no need for that, the call clicked shut. Hmm, I guess it’s nothing serious.
He tidied up the desserts he had bought from a local famous spot for Jeil Heon on the dining table. Since they were drinking, his return would be late, but knowing that, he still went out to wait on the wooden platform in the front yard.
Since Jeil Heon didn’t know how to video call, they had only exchanged voices during the break, so it had been a truly long time since he’d seen his face. He had mentally prepared himself to act natural, but just returning to his house made the pounding in his chest grow.
Before he could fully control that pounding, he heard the familiar sound of a car pulling in. He was surprised that he had returned almost immediately after the phone call. Just as he stood up awkwardly, Jeil Heon stopped his car not in the garage, but right in front of the main gate and rushed inside.
“……Jiha.”
Having entered in one breath, he stopped in his tracks after spotting Yoo Jiha from a distance. His shoulders seemed to tremble once violently as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees, prompting Yoo Jiha to take a worried step forward. He had already been concerned that something bad might have happened since the man’s voice had sounded rough over the phone.
However, Jeil Heon’s face as he looked up was no different from usual. Nor was the voice he spoke with tenderly.
“Did you have a good break?”
“I just rolled around at home. Did anything happen with you, Mister?”
“Me? I spent it the same as always. If I’d known you were coming before the break ended, I would have tidied up the house.”
Jeil Heon’s hand, which had risen slightly into the air, dropped softly and gave Yoo Jiha’s back a light pat. ……He thought he was going to stroke his hair. The heart that had suddenly leaped with a thud settled down.
Feeling awkward alone, he took a step back. Come to think of it, there was no smell of alcohol on him at all.
“What did you drink with the Director?”
“Drink? I didn’t drink anything.”
Realizing that Kang Suk-young had lied, his heart sank in a different sense than before. Could it be, could it be that the two of them were… like that…? He had heard vaguely that Kang Suk-young wasn’t married…!
“Are, are you da-dating the Director?”
“……What?”
Jeil Heon’s expression changed strangely. If he used the first time he was called ‘Hyung’ as a baseline to create a unit called ‘1 Heon-hyung,’ he was currently about ‘0.7 Heon-hyung.’
Jeil Heon, whose lips were only faintly fluttering, managed to deny it.
“With him? Me? You know Suk-ja—I mean, Suk-young wants to hang me upside down.”
“W-well, that’s true, but….”
“Besides, things might have changed now that we’re older, but until 22 years ago, he didn’t even acknowledge men who were more handsome than himself.”
Well, he did have the kind of looks that would have monopolized the popularity of female students in middle and high school…. As Yoo Jiha chewed over Jeil Heon’s words in embarrassment, he caught a statement he couldn’t overlook.
“Do you know that you’re handsome, Mister?”
“Of course. You can’t not know if you’re handsome. If I didn’t know, would I have seduced you with my face?”
“…….”
He was aware of it and used his looks as a weapon. How annoying. Even while grumbling, as he faced him directly and took him in with his eyes, immersed in his voice, he felt the helpless, fluttering beat of his soul.
To erase this pounding, special measures would be necessary. In the daily life of returning to his side, Yoo Jiha resolved to use whatever means necessary.
Early the next morning, Gong Ran-sa also returned home.
“Did you go somewhere far? Yoga at the peak of Bukhansan again, like last time?”
「I practiced pibang for a few days to avoid misfortune.」
“Huh. Did something happen?”
「It has been resolved, so it is fine. Since you are here, the energy of the house is bright and clear, which is pleasant.」
“Huh?”
The short Gong Ran-sa, instead of standing on tiptoe, stretched his arm out like a rubber band and tapped the crown of Yoo Jiha’s head. Witnessing the arm suddenly lengthen before his eyes, he was so surprised he let out a small hiccup.
Anyway, referring to the dramas he had consumed in the meantime, the wounds of unrequited love were often overcome with a new love.
‘Though back when I got dumped by my girlfriend, I overcame it with the tteokbokki Noona bought me.’
Recalling the taste of the food he had eaten while sobbing, he ordered tteokbokki for a late-night snack for the first time in a while. Jeil Heon ate very little, but he always ate at least a bit of whatever Yoo Jiha offered, so there was a portion for him too.
He tentatively asked his friends if they had anyone to introduce him to, but there were no suitable results. It was because the blind date candidates were all around the same age. He didn’t feel like he had specifically developed a preference for older men, but after seeing and experiencing Jeil Heon up close, students his own age just seemed like children.
While munching on tteokbokki and searching for ways to find an older lover, the search algorithm guided Yoo Jiha.
“A dating app?”
Come to think of it, he had heard there were apps for the purpose of meeting people. There were quite a few types. After browsing through various ones, he downloaded one of them.
When answering the questions during sign-up, he replied that his ideal type was a tall, older working professional, and a list of recommended partners appeared. As he skimmed through them, a profile that only listed age and ‘office worker’ caught his eye. ……The simple introduction somehow reminded him of a man who didn’t say unnecessary words. If he used a dating app, he felt he would definitely do it like this.
[Hello.]
He regretted it as soon as he impulsively sent the chat. Of all things, there was no function to delete messages. He was browsing the other person’s profile in a multi-window when a dark shadow cast over his back.
“Who is it?”