Swallow Hunting - Chapter 26.1
He had fallen into a light sleep. Hae-jun, who was lying curled up in the narrow space between the sofa and the table, woke up with a start at the sound of the keypad being pressed. Since it was his first day moving in and the surroundings were dark, he didn’t immediately recognize where he was.
The door opened and the sensor light at the entrance turned on. The sudden flood of light was dazzling, so he covered his eyes with his arm before slowly lowering it. The person who walked inside was familiar.
“CEO…?”
Hae-jun wondered if he was dreaming. Once he shook his head and patted his cheeks, his sleepiness vanished. The person who had opened the door and entered was indeed Lee Kang-ju.
“Why are you sleeping there?”
The sight of him curled up on the floor might have looked pitiful. Worried about his disheveled hair, Hae-jun combed through it with his fingers while hurriedly scrambling up onto the sofa.
“I didn’t know you were coming. Since there was no word from you.”
“I was busy.”
The clock hanging on the wall pointed to 2:00 AM. Lee Kang-ju was dressed in a suit, suggesting that his claim of working until now was not a lie.
Lee Kang-ju took off his jacket, placed it on the dining table, and sat on a round stool. Because the stool was quite high, Hae-jun’s heels hadn’t touched the ground when he sat there, but Lee Kang-ju’s feet were planted comfortably on the floor.
“I’m a bit hungry.”
Lee Kang-ju smiled faintly. Hae-jun, whose sleepiness hadn’t fully subsided, smiled back blankly before belatedly remembering the text he had sent. “Oh, right,” he thought, as he took the food out of the refrigerator.
“It might not taste that good because it’s cold. If you’re okay with it, let’s go there together next time. I’ll buy it for you.”
On the way home, Yohan had given him bottled water, beer, and snacks as a gift, so the refrigerator wasn’t empty. While warming up the food, Hae-jun took out a beer and handed it to Lee Kang-ju to complete the spread.
It was late to be drinking, but as the person who had been provided with a home, he felt it would be impolite to let Lee Kang-ju drink alone. After a bit of hesitation, Hae-jun took out a beer for himself as well and sat down across from Lee Kang-ju.
“Do you like the house?”
“Very much. This is my first time living in a place like this. When I look far out that way, I can even see the river.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried it might be too cramped.”
“Here? Oh, come on, ten people could live here.”
Compared to where he lived before, this place was a palace. Feeling happy, Hae-jun gave a soft, squinty-eyed smile.
Lee Kang-ju rested his chin on his hand and watched him. It felt as if he were observing him. He seemed to be looking for any hidden meaning behind that easy smile. Realizing it was just a habit with no particular meaning, he turned his head away.
The microwave made a “ding” sound. Hae-jun stood up quickly and muttered to himself, “It’s done,” as he brought the food over. Then, he placed the warmed dish and the utensils in front of Lee Kang-ju.
After Lee Kang-ju picked up his chopsticks first, Hae-jun also put a piece in his mouth. It had been wonderful when he ate it at the shop, but the sweet and sour pork was not tasty once it had gone cold. The batter was soggy, the texture was like paper with the fibers still in it, and it was even greasy from being soaked in oil.
Since he couldn’t spit out what was in his mouth, he chewed and swallowed it roughly before glancing up at Lee Kang-ju. Lee Kang-ju seemed to have a similar impression, as he put down his chopsticks and moistened his throat with beer.
“I should have just ordered delivery.”
“It’s fine. This is enough.”
“It’s because I feel bad toward you, CEO. If I had known it would get this tasteless, I wouldn’t have bought it.”
When he was with Yohan, he often ate leftovers from the day before, but perhaps because he was in front of Lee Kang-ju, he felt strangely diminished. Hae-jun turned on a food delivery app on his phone, hoping to make up for it. At that, Lee Kang-ju gently pressed down on the phone with his hand.
“I said it’s fine.”
Hae-jun lowered his hand gloomily. Lee Kang-ju said it was alright and took another bite. Because it felt like he was doing it on purpose, Hae-jun felt even more uncomfortable. He quickly took out the snacks Yohan had given him and moved the sweet and sour pork far away.
“I think this would be better.”
“You certainly know how to treat a guest.”
He couldn’t tell if it was a sneer or a compliment. Hae-jun smiled ambiguously and sipped his beer.
“What happened with the shop?”
“I quit. But I’m going to work during the day. Oh, not that kind of work, but delivery.”
“Delivery?”
“I’m learning from a friend. I have a friend named Yohan who does deliveries. I went around the neighborhood with him today and introduced myself to the shop owners.”
“Do you have a license?”
“I don’t have one yet, so I registered at an academy right away. They said the motorized bicycle license isn’t hard, so I should be able to get it quickly.”
He had also bought a workbook to prepare for the written exam. He planned to start attending tomorrow. The academy in the morning, practical training with Yohan in the afternoon, and waiting at home in the evening solely for Lee Kang-ju. They were going to be busy days.
“Do you need a lot of money?”
“Yes. I have some debt.”
“Besides the Lucid down payment?”
“……Yes.”
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