– Now I can say it, I really thought something was wrong with your eyes. How could you get fooled by his pretended kindness? Yeah, even his gaze felt odd.
“Mom, you have never actually met him.”
– Do I have to see him in person to know? Anyway, good riddance. After all you are at an important age right now… Don’t waste your time dating a weird guy and find a nice one.”
Na-Yool had no idea why her mother was abruptly bringing up marriage. Despite her efforts to draw her away from the topic to which she stuck to like a magnet, Na-Yool eventually gave up and hurriedly ended the call.
“Your mother has good eyes. Unlike you.”
Na-Yool’s face immediately sulked.
“Did you hear everything?”
“Her pronunciation is exceptionally good.”
“Haa……” Na-Yool sighed and stared out the window. She now had nothing left to be ashamed of in front of this man.
“Originally, my mom and I are a little… it gets a bit noisy when we talk. So does my sister…”
“Cute.”
“…What’s wrong with you?”
“Your mother is cute too.”
“Did you have the wrong medicine or what…”
“What was that about getting an officetel?” Si-Jin abruptly asked as he waited for the left turn signal. Na-Yool replied while typing a message to her mother.
“I have recently been looking at houses.”
“Is it uncomfortable?”
“What?”
“My house, is it uncomfortable?”
Na-Yool blankly blinked her eyes at her phone screen as though she had forgotten what she was replying to her mother, then turned her head towards Si-Jin. He was looking straight ahead with such an expressionless face, you could hardly believe he had chuckled at her phone conversation some minutes ago.
“…I am doing fine but…”
“But?”
“I cannot shamelessly live in someone else’s home forever, can I?”
“……”
“We have not dated for that long yet, how brazen to…”
Na-Yool’s voice faded out. It was because for a moment Si-Jin’s expression was odd. It literally was weird. And then.
“Sure.”
He sounded a little annoyed. Na-Yool confusedly pondered over which of her words had triggered him. The awkward meaning of ‘doing fine’? ‘Someone else’s home’? But it is not hers, so it is not wrong either way… The fact that she is shamelessly living under his care, then? Well, it is not an obvious process. The fact that they just started dating? True as well. That she is brazen? At least she knows herself well… While she was lost in thoughts, the car stopped. Na-Yool only pulled out of her trance once Si-Jin had parked the car. He was unfastening his security belt.
Na-Yool mindlessly unfastened hers as she casually inquired:
“Mr. President, you are going to work tomorrow right?”
“Why?”
“I’ve contacted a few agencies, and I might have to go look at houses tomorrow.”
“I won’t be working.”
“…Was it not also the case last week?”
It was an unconventional move coming from someone always working 7 days a week. Even though last week was justified… Na-Yool’s throat tightened at the mere thought of it. What a nuisance she had caused to this busy man.
“I will take you tomorrow.”
“It’s fine.”
“I will take you.”
“I really—”
“Because you’re unreliable.”
Where did that suddenly come from? A confused look popped on Na-Yool’s face.
“…Do you mean to visit houses together with me?”
“You look exactly like the kind to get scammed.”
Na-Yool scoffed in disbelief.
“I have been living on my own since I was 20. I do not get scammed that easily.”
“Whatever.”
“What the…”
“Anyways, I’m going with you.”
“…But you are busy. I don’t want to bother you.”
“No, nothing to do. I’m all free.”
Na-Yool stared at Si-Jin with an intense “Do you think I would believe that?” look on her face. He shrugged his shoulders in answer. For some reason, Na-Yool was overcome by an uneasy feeling of foreboding.
Chapter 32 – Saturday morning 11:57 a.m.
“Meh.”
…Yep, as expected. Na-Yool raised her eyes full of skepticism to look at Si-Jin. Sporting a mighty face of coolness and apathy, such comments were all he could spit out. Na-Yool sensed that the real estate agent had started to walk on eggshells. Such was the case every time Si-Jin unabashedly opened a new door.
“The wallpaper smells like tobacco.”
Like this.
“Oh, if you move in, the owner will re-do all the papering—”
“Even if they re-do the papering, the formaldehyde saturated in the air and walls won’t go anywhere.” [T/N: Tobacco is known for being a great source of formaldehyde, a chemical used in building materials which is not great for your health.]
“……”
The real estate agent and Na-Yool’s mouths shut in union. Si-Jin looked around the fairly clean house with knitted eyebrows and added:
“Which means the person has to live every day while inhaling carcinogens left behind by some stranger.”
“But still, re-doing the wallpapers should—”
“Also, the view is the worst. It’s too close to the opposite building.”
“It is across the street.”
“Exactly. Too close.”
“…I said, it’s a whole street away.”
“They can see what you are doing from the other side.”
“Who would do that?”
“Other pervert scums.”
It was rich coming from him. Speechless, Na-Yool turned her head and smiled awkwardly as she made eye contact with the real estate agent.
Si-Jin did not seem to mind at all that there was a third person there.
“Believe me, they will wait with anticipation for when you take off your clothes after a day of work.”
“…Forget it. This place is a bit far from the station, so maybe the previous house…”
It was already the 4th house, and Si-Jin’s nitpicking at every little thing was endless. It is not close to the station. The back of the toilet is dirty. The water is not cool enough. The wallpaper smells like tobacco. The floor is sticky. The sunlight is blocked. The wallpaper is tacky… and now, complaining about the (non existing) peeping toms from the opposing building.
In fact, the houses did not appeal much to Na-Yool either. But this attitude, right in front of the real estate agent…
Did Si-Jin come to get in her way? The thought was on Na-Yool’s mind since visiting the 2nd house. It was hard to think otherwise. However, it was also true that she did not see what need Si-Jin could have to prevent her from finding a house, so Na-Yool was increasingly confused. Was he not the kind of person for whom his own life and his own space were more important than anything else? He should rather appreciate that the guest who had imposed herself in his home left quickly.
If it was not for Lee Sang-Hoon… She understood that Si-Jin could not leave her alone knowing her circumstances, and appreciated his show of kindness and care. But this was not right. Nothing good would come out of dragging out this situation of one-sidedly receiving his help.
In her humble dating history, it was a first for Na-Yool. She was anxious, and could not easily extricate herself from her feelings.
“That house was dirty.”
“It was not that dirty. I can call the residential cleaning service and ask them to clean it. The wallpapering is new… and the location is good too.”
“Did you see behind the toilet?”
Sincere disgust transpired through Si-Jin’s expression. Na-Yool could not help but frown, picturing the scene.
“Why would I look there? There will be water stains anyway…”
“It doesn’t even bother you?”
“I can just tell the cleaning company.”
Na-Yool was looking at houses she could move into as quickly as possible. There were not many offers nearby, and it was difficult to find something she liked because the deadline was tight.
“With you nagging at this and that, when will I get to—”
“Even if the nagging delays you, leave after finding a good place. Did someone kick you out?”
Si-Jin casually placated. Na-Yool shook her head.
“I just want to move as soon as I can. When I think of my belongings still in that apartment, and of that guy standing in front of the door…”
“……”
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