* * *
The small house felt cramped with three men in it.
As Soohyuk settled in the room, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on Jingyeom, who was visible through the open door.
Jinwoo, noticing this, didn’t bother hiding his displeasure.
Though he was well aware of the help Soohyuk had provided and had reluctantly allowed him in, Jinwoo couldn’t help but wish he could kick him out immediately.
‘He’s going to bore a hole through him.’
Jinwoo couldn’t stop thinking about the week Jingyeom and Soohyuk had spent together.
Soohyuk suddenly showing up and asking for food made it all the more frustrating—it was the first time he’d done something like this.
Caught between the two, Jingyeom tried his best to ignore Soohyuk’s gaze, focusing instead on helping with breakfast preparations.
When Jinwoo began chopping vegetables, Jingyeom turned his head to silently beg Soohyuk to stop staring at him.
But Soohyuk only mouthed the word “darling” with a big smile, clearly pleased with himself.
Jingyeom nearly laughed out loud but quickly clamped his mouth shut.
He glared at Soohyuk, hoping no one else would notice.
“Jingyeom, taste this,” Jinwoo called.
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
As expected, Jinwoo’s cooking was delicious.
Even though Jingyeom hadn’t eaten Jinwoo’s food in a while, his body seemed to remember the taste.
‘This must be what family feels like.’
The sense of comfort that comes with food made by family was undeniable.
Soon, they gathered around the table, now overcrowded with dishes.
When it was just Jinwoo and Jingyeom, the table always felt full, but now, with one more person, plates were spilling off the edges.
“It’s not much, but enjoy,” Jinwoo said, watching Soohyuk as he scanned the spread.
Jinwoo still found Soohyuk’s presence annoying but figured it was better to feed him and send him on his way quickly.
“There’s plenty! You guys eat well,” Soohyuk replied, somewhat surprised.
The meal was more impressive than he’d expected.
During their time together, Soohyuk had always made sure Jingyeom’s meals were balanced and suited to his health, even hiring a nutritionist to craft his diet.
Yet this meal carried a heartfelt sincerity that was unmistakable.
It was Jinwoo’s care in every bite.
‘I need to step up my game,’ Soohyuk thought.
Although he and Jingyeom were officially a couple, their relationship had started as a stubborn challenge on his part.
Soohyuk had thought his feelings for Jingyeom were strong, but seeing Jinwoo’s dedication, he realized how different their approaches were.
Still, he was confident his feelings were just as intense, even if expressed differently.
Looking at Jinwoo instead of Jingyeom, Soohyuk said, “Thank you for the food.”
“…Sure,” Jinwoo replied, slightly surprised.
Sitting between them, Jingyeom relaxed at the lightened mood and smiled as he picked up his spoon. “Let’s eat, guys! Jinwoo, this is delicious as always.”
The meal wasn’t quiet.
Jinwoo asked if Jingyeom planned to continue working part-time, and Soohyuk jumped in, joining forces to persuade him to take a break.
Despite Jingyeom’s insistence that he wouldn’t quit, the two teamed up to wear him down.
Finally, Jingyeom slammed his spoon down and yelled, “Fine! If I feel unwell, get bad test results, or get hurt—anything happens to my body—I’ll quit immediately, no arguments! Happy?”
The combined persistence of Soohyuk and Jinwoo worked like a charm.
When it came to Jingyeom, the two were unexpectedly on the same wavelength.
Soohyuk, who had claimed he only came for breakfast, ended up staying for lunch and dinner before leaving.
Despite Jinwoo’s constant side-eye, Soohyuk shamelessly stuck around, even rifling through Jingyeom’s wardrobe.
Clothes that showed even a hint of skin were packed into a bag and set aside, replaced with items Soohyuk had bought for him.
Jinwoo didn’t complain about this.
In fact, he helped Soohyuk sort through the clothes, agreeing that some pieces weren’t ideal.
Jingyeom, on the other hand, sulked at the loss of items he’d hoped to sell.
“Why can’t I sell them?” he asked later.
“Do you want other guys wearing clothes you’ve had on?” Soohyuk shot back.
Aside from Soohyuk’s occasional attempts to cling to Jingyeom when Jinwoo wasn’t looking, the day passed without major incidents.
A few days later, Jingyeom was stopped by his boss as he prepared to leave work.
He quickly reviewed his performance in his head, wondering if he’d made a mistake, but he hadn’t had any major slip-ups since getting the hang of things.
To his surprise, the boss offered him a full-time position.
The mention of a salary increase left Jingyeom momentarily speechless.
It wasn’t just his work ethic—the boss explained that Jingyeom’s presence had significantly boosted business.
Located near offices, schools, and residential areas, the café had become famous for its handsome part-timer, attracting more customers and increasing sales.
‘A full-time position, huh…’
Jingyeom considered it. His health had improved, so working full-time didn’t seem unreasonable.
The higher pay was tempting, too.
‘Earning over two million won a month isn’t bad. It’s busy when we have a lot of customers, but that’s true for any job.’
The idea of being a proper employee rather than just a part-timer also appealed to him.
After telling his boss he’d think it over during the weekend, Jingyeom headed home, feeling more inclined toward accepting the offer.
On his way home, Jingyeom skipped the bus and walked, deciding to stretch his legs.
As he sat down on the porch to ease the stiffness, his gaze drifted to the storage shed—a place he hadn’t thought much about before.
They had cleaned the house over the weekend, but when Jingyeom had offered to tackle the shed, Jinwoo told him not to bother.
At the time, he hadn’t questioned it.
Now, curiosity tugged at him.
Standing, he approached the shed and unlocked it using the familiar code: 1203.
‘At this rate, I’ll start thinking every lock in the world uses this combination.’
Inside, he found neatly arranged shelves lined with identical boxes, each labeled for easy reference.
‘This is so organized.’
Still, something about one particular box caught his attention.
It wasn’t hidden or different from the others, yet he felt inexplicably drawn to it.
Unable to resist, Jingyeom pulled it out and opened it, curiosity gnawing at him.
Jinwoo returned home after work to find Jingyeom asleep on the bed.
Seeing him like that, Jinwoo figured he must be exhausted and decided not to wake him.
Although Jingyeom would need to get up later to take his medication, Jinwoo thought it would be best to let him rest for now.
He quietly gathered a change of clothes and moved carefully so as not to disturb him.
Jinwoo ate dinner, cleaned up, and went about his usual evening routine.
Until he found the photograph.
“…Why is this here?”
When he entered the room to wake Jingyeom for his medicine, Jinwoo noticed a photo sitting on the desk.
His face went pale.
“That should be in the album…”
The picture showed two children, about three or four years old, posing in front of a fountain.
Before Baek Jingyeom fell ill, the two often went out on weekends and took many pictures, enough to fill an entire album.
It was a treasured collection of memories capturing Baek Jingyeom as he grew up.
With trembling hands, Jinwoo picked up the photograph.
“…He must have seen it.”
The fact that a photo meant to be in the album was out here could only mean Jingyeom had looked at it.
At the sound of movement, Jinwoo turned his head.
Jingyeom, who he thought was still asleep, was slowly sitting up.
Hurriedly, Jinwoo hid the photograph behind his back.
“…You’re back?”
Jingyeom’s voice was hoarse.
“Yeah. Are you feeling okay? Your voice doesn’t sound great.”
“No, I think it’s just because I just woke up. Ahem.”
Clearing his throat a few times, Jingyeom got out of bed.
“Did you eat?”
“Yeah, I did. If you haven’t, I can make something for you.”
“I ate before I went to sleep.”
Jingyeom walked into the living room, sipping water as he casually mentioned that his boss had offered him a permanent position.
“So I’m thinking of accepting it.”
“Are you sure? It’s not a fixed schedule, and the two-shift rotation might be tough.”
“It’s not like I’d be working late nights, so I think it’ll be fine.”
Though Jingyeom seemed like his usual self, Jinwoo couldn’t shake his unease.
Jingyeom must have seen the album and realized that Jinwoo had lied.
So why wasn’t he saying anything about it?
As Jinwoo kept stealing glances at him, Jingyeom smiled faintly.
“Are you just going to stay like that?”
“What?”
“That arm—are you planning to stay like that?”
“Oh…”
Realizing he was still awkwardly holding the photo behind his back, Jinwoo fumbled with what to do.
It was obvious Jingyeom had noticed; after all, he was the one who placed the photo on the desk.
Patting the space beside him on the bed, Jingyeom gestured for Jinwoo to sit.
Reluctantly, Jinwoo sat down and brought his hand forward, revealing the now slightly crumpled photo.
“You must’ve had your reasons.”
“…”
“I always wondered what I looked like as a kid, so seeing this made me happy. I really did grow up looking the same, huh?”
Jingyeom took the photo from Jinwoo and smoothed out the creases.
“Jeong Sanho always said I look like my mom. He was right. It makes me wonder—how did Dad even meet Mom?”
“…”
“There are a lot of photos from when we were little, but not many from after that. Did those really get lost, or did we just stop taking them?”
“…”
“Never mind. If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t ask anymore. But I didn’t think it was right for the album to stay buried in the storage room, so I brought it out. It’s over there.”
Jingyeom pointed to the bookshelf, where two albums now sat on the bottom shelf.
They contained photos not only of the two of them but also of Baek Jingyeom’s parents.
And among them, a single photo seemed to be of Jinwoo’s parents.
Looking at the albums on the shelf, Jinwoo covered his face with one hand.
His trembling hand revealed how tense he was.
When Jingyeom had found the albums in storage, he had hesitated, wondering if he should leave them buried.
He could guess why Jinwoo had lied about losing them.
‘He must’ve been afraid I’d recover my memories if I saw the photos.’
Jingyeom had only wanted Jinwoo to be happy, but he realized his actions might have given Jinwoo false hope, only to bring him pain.
It felt as though everything he had tried to protect was crumbling.
Still, he decided to take them out.
Letting them remain hidden would only keep Jinwoo preoccupied.
Even if it was hard now, it might ease the burden later.
* * *
Ok
Good