* * *
Their sudden enthusiasm made me feel a little uneasy, but I nodded.
“Uh… sure. Then let’s head up together.”
Woo Jaehyun immediately followed me like a puppy, but Cha Rui seemed lost in thought, face serious as he turned back to look at the alley we’d come from.
“Hold on. You two go up first.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got something to take care of. Won’t be long.”
And with that, he disappeared.
Literally vanished.
Not even a blur.
I couldn’t even track where he’d gone.
What could he possibly have to do right now?
It was weird, but I gave in to Woo Jaehyun’s nagging and started walking into the building with just the two of us.
Cha Rui had been to my place before, so he should know the way.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Cha Rui said he’s eaten at your place before. When was that?”
Huh?
He said that?
I tilted my head, puzzled by his uncharacteristically open behavior.
That guy’s not the type to share stuff like that—especially not with Woo Jaehyun.
Were they closer than I thought?
“It was my dad’s birthday. He stopped by to pick up a handkerchief and ended up eating with us. We even took pictures.”
“Pictures… huh.”
After that, Woo Jaehyun stayed quiet all the way up the elevator, lost in thought.
His expression looked strangely annoyed, which bugged me a little—but that all disappeared the moment we stepped inside.
“Dad?”
My dad was in the living room, sweating buckets as he wiped down the floor.
He flinched, clearly surprised to see me back so early.
“I-Inho! You’re home earlier than usual.”
“I told you to rest! Were you cleaning again?”
I’d warned him this morning, but clearly he’d ignored it.
The whole place was gleaming like it had just been deep-cleaned.
I could only imagine how hard he’d been scrubbing while I was out.
Judging by his flustered face, if I’d shown up on time, he definitely would’ve pretended to be resting in bed.
“I really am better now. I just… couldn’t sit still all day…”
He glanced at me, trying to block my view of the kitchen.
But there was no hiding it with his small frame.
I didn’t even need to stand on my toes to see the chaos.
No wonder it smelled so good.
The kitchen was a total mess, crammed with ingredients we’d bought yesterday.
Apparently, on top of cleaning, he’d tried to prep dinner too—even though I said I’d handle it.
I was about to say something, but Dad quickly turned to Woo Jaehyun, clearly trying to distract me.
“S-So… you must be Hunter Woo Jaehyun?”
“Hello, sir.”
Naturally, the quick-witted guy stepped forward with a dazzling smile and shook Dad’s hand.
Just like last time at the shop, these two weirdly hit it off well.
Which was… extremely annoying.
“I heard you weren’t feeling well, but you seem to be doing better. I’m relieved.”
“Oh, of course! As you can see, I’m completely recovered. Yes. Perfectly.”
Dad spoke loudly and clearly, almost like he wanted me to hear every word.
With him being that emphatic, I couldn’t bring myself to say, “Why don’t you go in and rest?”
To be fair, he really did look better than he had this morning, so as his son, I had no choice but to back down.
They say no parent can win against their child, but somehow this situation felt completely reversed.
Suppressing a sigh, I lightly patted Woo Jaehyun on the shoulder.
“He helped out at the shop today. I thought I’d at least feed him before sending him home.”
“Oh my! That’s so kind of him.”
When I reluctantly nodded, Dad’s face lit up with a bright smile, clearly feeling relieved now.
He must’ve been going stir-crazy lying down all day.
I kind of understood how he felt, so I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at how lighthearted he looked.
“There’s actually one more person who’s supposed to come…”
Knock knock.
Before I could even finish picturing red hair in my head, a knock came from the front door.
It hadn’t even been three minutes since we got home.
I had no idea where he’d come from, but his timing was ridiculous.
“……”
And then, when Cha Rui stepped inside, I was so stunned that I couldn’t say anything.
Ridiculously, both of his hands were filled to the brim with housewarming gifts.
He must’ve seen it done somewhere — there were tissues, fruit baskets, all sorts of unnecessary variety.
From the looks of it, he must’ve swept through the nearest convenience store in a hurry.
Trying to act all cool now, but clearly still feeling guilty for showing up empty-handed on Dad’s birthday.
“Hunter Cha Rui?”
Dad’s face broke out into a delighted expression the moment he saw him.
Eyes wide, he rushed over and hugged Cha Rui tight.
And to be fair, it made sense.
Even though it was late, Cha Rui had gone to the guild and granted a pretty difficult favor.
Sure, there was a hiccup in the middle, but at the end of the day, he’d saved his son’s life — of course Dad would react that way.
Woo Jaehyun, who was standing off to the side with a flat expression, had also flown all the way to North Korea for me, but Dad didn’t know all those details.
“I grabbed what I could on short notice. Hope that’s okay.”
“Oh my! I should’ve been the one to come and thank you first…”
Dad’s eyes were now brimming with tears as he gently stroked the back of Cha Rui’s hand.
Then suddenly, like he’d been shocked, he jumped up in place.
“Oh no, what am I doing?! You must be hungry. Food will be ready in just a moment, so please hang tight.”
“Wait, no—”
“Good thing I prepped everything ahead of time.”
Before I could even stop him, Dad dashed into the kitchen.
I hadn’t seen him look this excited in a while.
I’d planned to take care of the cooking today, but it was clear there’d be no chance of that now.
Knowing how much joy Dad got from serving guests, I didn’t have the heart to argue with him.
While Cha Rui sat calmly at the table, Woo Jaehyun had been zoning out, staring at something for a while now.
I was wondering what he was so focused on when I noticed — it was the chandelier hanging in the living room.
“You into that kind of thing?”
“……”
…Crap. I forgot to take that down again.
“Sir, this seasoned veggie dish is incredible.”
“Is it? Glad it suits your taste.”
Honestly, I’d been a little worried that Dad might feel uncomfortable around the two of them.
But all that worry turned out to be for nothing — the meal carried on in a warm, cheerful atmosphere.
With every bite, Woo Jaehyun casually praised Dad’s cooking, and Dad, clearly pleased, took the compliments in stride.
Who knows when he had time to cook all of this between cleaning — the table was full of time-consuming dishes like japchae and braised short ribs.
Maybe that’s why even Cha Rui, who usually didn’t eat much, was steadily picking away with his chopsticks.
Watching them both eat with such enthusiasm made me realize where the phrase “just watching you eat makes me full” came from.
“I was actually worried about sending Inho home alone today, so thank you both.”
Dad beamed at them proudly, diligently refilling their empty bowls.
While I was glad he was happy, it was kind of embarrassing watching him dote like a lovesick parent.
It felt like seeing one of those parents who bring hamburgers to school to thank the teacher — endearing, but seriously cringeworthy.
I’d never been in that kind of situation before, but now I understood the feeling all too well.
By the time Dad started showing off his prized ring, the one I’d been dreading, I had no choice but to flee.
“I’m gonna go change real quick.”
I’d been stirring tteokbokki all day, and my sleeves were stained — perfect excuse to escape the compliment prison and retreat to my room.
“Maybe I should change really, really slowly…”
The moment the door closed, I yanked off my hoodie and started rummaging through the drawers.
While digging for a similar plain shirt, the door suddenly slammed open.
“Yikes!”
Startled, I turned to see Cha Rui holding the doorknob, his mouth slightly open.
His eyes trailed over me slowly, and then he gave a subtle flinch before turning away.
“Ah… sorry.”
Wait, isn’t this the part where you, I don’t know… leave the room?
But Cha Rui just stood there, staring at the now-closed door.
I was so flustered, I instinctively covered my chest with the shirt — but then stopped and questioned myself.
We’d run into each other like this before — back in the deserted island dungeon.
I’d been shirtless then too, and we’d talked normally, no big deal.
But unlike that time, now we were clearly hyper-aware of each other.
“……”
Even now, my heart was pounding like crazy just looking at his back.
It wasn’t just surprise — this wasn’t the first time I’d felt like this.
Whenever our hands brushed or even barely touched, “Seo Inho’s” body reacted before I could even process it.
At first, I thought I was imagining it.
But now, every time my heart dropped with a thud, I found myself completely confused about how I was supposed to interpret it.
“Woo Jaehyun seems to have a lot to talk about with your dad.”
“Oh… I see.”
Cha Rui kept his eyes on the door until I was fully dressed.
I almost wished he’d just stared openly and said, “We’re both guys, who cares?” — that would’ve made things less awkward than this.
I quickly adjusted my clothes and tapped the drawer to show I was done.
Maybe it was because we hadn’t been alone together in a while, but the conversation we had at the pool suddenly came back to me — along with a resolution I’d been putting off.
“Hey, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
Since things had come to this anyway, maybe now wasn’t such a bad time to ask.
* * *
