* * *

As the sweet, juicy flavor burst on his tongue, he swung his feet idly and turned his head, a thought suddenly coming to mind.

“Hey, Ki Beomhyeon.”

Meeting Jungin’s gaze, Beomhyeon watched as Jungin licked a trace of juice from his lips.

“Why aren’t you going to school?”

Sure, Jungin had his own reasons for not attending, but there was no reason for Beomhyeon to skip.

After all, he wasn’t being bullied or anything at school.

Beomhyeon, who had been staring at Jungin’s lips for quite some time, finally turned his head and replied.

“Because you’re not going.”

“What does that have to do with anything? What if I went abroad to study? Would you go too? Or if I joined the military, would you follow me there?”

“I would.”

Jungin blurted out those questions sarcastically, but Beomhyeon’s sincere nod left him frozen, stunned by the sudden shift in atmosphere.

Staring speechlessly, Jungin’s lips parted and closed uselessly as Beomhyeon twisted his lips into a smile and asked:

“Anyway, are you going to be okay?”

“What… what do you mean?”

“You have to go to the police station next week. Your brothers might show up. Are you alright seeing them?”

Although they could send the lawyer they’d hired instead, judging by their behavior, it was highly likely they’d show up in person. Jungin’s expression tightened at the thought.

He didn’t hate the idea of seeing them, but the notion filled him with nervous hesitation.

“Will you go with me?”

“Of course.”

“Then… I want to go. It’s my issue, so I should be there.”

Beomhyeon ruffled Jungin’s hair, touched by his newfound determination.

Talking about school had reminded him of something else.

“What do you want to do about school? If you don’t want to attend, there are plenty of other options.”

He could transfer Jungin, or even consider studying abroad or taking a high school equivalency exam.

“I’m a senior, though.”

“Missing one or two years won’t ruin your life. Don’t think about anything else. Just do whatever you want.”

“Then… I’ll think about it a bit more. Thanks, Ki Beomhyeon.”

“Sure.”

Jungin sincerely thanked him, then turned to watch Beomhyeon as he picked up some documents.

For some reason, his heart was pounding more frequently these days.

Pressing a hand over his softly beating heart, Jungin gulped down a glass of water to cool himself off.

Not wanting to waste the day lazing around, Jungin decided to work through a workbook.

But, after not studying for a while, the problems seemed harder than usual, and he let out a small groan of frustration as he glared at them.

“How was I supposed to plug this in again?”

He chewed on his mechanical pencil and rubbed his tired eyes before sighing.

“Ugh, my neck…”

After keeping his head bowed for so long, his neck was sore.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he stretched and surveyed his perfectly decorated room.

Despite the sudden, uninvited guest, this environment was far more luxurious than anything he’d known at the orphanage.

“I could just share a room with Beomhyeon…”

Even though this setup was thousands of times better than his past, he couldn’t help feeling wistful.

Startled by his own thoughts, Jungin shook his head vigorously and slapped his cheeks.

“Get it together, Choi Jungin.”

Over a month of living as Lee Jungin had spoiled his mindset. In the past, simply being able to shower with warm water and sleep in a bed made him happy, but now he felt dissatisfaction in such luxury.

Scolding himself for growing ungrateful, Jungin tapped his cheeks again to shake off the feeling.

“My comfort is making me arrogant.”

Jungin pulled out his phone and downloaded a familiar app.

He’d been thinking of looking for work anyway, so it seemed like a good time to search for job opportunities.

“It’s a bit far, though…”

After searching nearby, he sighed at the lack of suitable positions in this neighborhood full of large houses.

Convenience store or serving jobs were scarce.

Pursing his lips in frustration, he expanded his search radius and found a promising job listing.

“This looks doable.”

It was a clothing arrangement job for photo shoots starting this week.

Though the pay suggested it might be physically demanding, Jungin felt confident he could handle it, especially after his experience with manual labor during last year’s kimchi-packing job.

He quickly submitted his resume and was turning to his door at the sound of a knock.

• Young Master Jungin, dinner is ready. The Chairman will be arriving soon.

“Ah! I’m coming!”

Standing up, Jungin followed Mr. Choi and said to him:

“I’ll help set the table.”

“No need. You don’t have to.”

“I want to. You always make such delicious meals. At least let me set the spoons.”

With a playful smile, he linked arms with him, and his stomach growled at the savory smell wafting through the air.

“Is that seafood stew?”

“Yes. I added lots of shrimp because I know you like them. Make sure to eat plenty.”

“Yes!”

Mr. Choi laughed heartily at Jungin’s excitement.

Since his arrival, the house had been filled with liveliness.

“Ah, Father! Welcome back!”

“Hello, child. Did you have fun today?”

“Yes! Oh, did you hear? We’re having seafood stew for dinner! Mr. Choi added tons of shrimp because she knows I love them. Do you like shrimp too, Father?”

Jungin ran over to Chairman Ki with his usual endearing energy, his cheerful chatter even making the stoic Chairman’s expression soften.

“I do like shrimp.”

“Then I’ll peel them for you! I’m great at it—three seconds per shrimp. Want to see?”

“Haha, sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

After the death of the madam, the somber atmosphere had brightened thanks to Jungin.
Mr. Choi, who had been smiling while watching the two, stepped back when he felt someone approaching from behind.

“Why are you making the kid do things? Besides, you don’t even like shrimp that much, Father.”

“Well, if our little one peels it for me, I might just start liking it.”

In the past few days, Chairman Ki had found new joy in teasing his stern son, who was the spitting image of himself.

Seeing Beomhyeon’s scowling face, Mr. Choi couldn’t help but stifle a laugh and then turned toward the kitchen.

Over dinner, Jungin performed a little trick, peeling shrimp shells at a rate of one every three seconds, which earned him an allowance of 100,000 won from the chairman.

Stunned, he returned to his room, staring wide-eyed at the money clutched in both hands.

“Wow…”

Living at Beomhyeon’s house, he never really lacked anything.

But since he had left the hospital with nothing, he’d often felt uneasy about having no money.

And now, this unexpectedly large amount!

Jungin, smiling goofily as he considered saving the whole 100,000 won, suddenly remembered Beomhyeon, who had silently watched from the side when he received the money.

“Beomhyeon probably wants some too, right?”

After all, who doesn’t like money?

Though he’d been spoiled since coming here, Jungin suddenly felt guilty, as if he were stealing away Beomhyeon’s affection.

He picked up one of the two 50,000-won bills and set it on the desk.

“I’ll give it to him after I wash up.”

His hands reeked of shrimp from all the peeling.

Determined to clean up quickly, Jungin rushed into the bathroom.

After scrubbing his hands with plenty of soap, he hurriedly finished his bath.

Holding a workbook he had struggled with earlier, Jungin decided to ask Beomhyeon about a problem and left his room.

Knock, knock—

“Ki Beomhyeon, can I come in?”

* * *