ACTSV chapter 10

* * *

In a moment, the words “Baek Jingyeom’s” slipped out instead of “mine.”

Jingyeom rolled his eyes, took out a suit, and turned around.

The smile that had been on Jinwoo’s face when he entered the house faded once more.

Jingyeom handed the suit to Jinwoo.

“Change into this.”

“But I don’t have to go now…”

“It’s always better to be prepared early. Should I go into the room? No, Jinwoo, you go in, change, and come out.”

Forced to change, Jinwoo even had to put on a tie.

Seeing him in a suit after being used to his T-shirt and jeans made him look like a different person.

They say the face completes the fashion, and Jinwoo truly suited the suit well. Despite the situation, the suit fit perfectly, neither too tight nor too loose.

As Jingyeom circled around him, marveling, Jinwoo’s body stiffened, and he moved only his eyes. Though he appreciated the attention, it felt awkward, making him tense up.

“It really suits you. Casual is nice, but wow… Jinwoo, you must be very popular.”

“…Not really.”

“You must be putting up a wall. I’m sure there are many at work keeping an eye on you. They might be secretly admiring you. If I worked with you, I’d keep looking at you too.”

With his tall stature, broad shoulders, and just enough muscle, the suit highlighted his lean figure. Standing straight, he looked like a model.

Even in the story, he’s mentioned as a pretty handsome guy several times, and it’s true.

While Jingyeom was quite beautifully handsome, Jinwoo looked like a different kind of handsome when compared with Tak Wonbeom and Sun Soohyuk.

Jingyeom, snapping out of his daze, shuddered and grabbed Jinwoo’s hand.

“Have a good day at work.”

“No, really, I don’t have to go now…”

“No, you have to go. I’ll manage lunch myself. You eat at work. Isn’t the cafeteria free there? Or do you pay? Anyway, go eat there. Now, go!”

He pushed Jinwoo towards the door. At first, Jinwoo resisted, but eventually, he walked on his own. In such a small house, it only took a few steps.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not a kid. You think I can’t manage the house?”

“Food…”

“I’ll make sure to eat well. I even know how to cook ramen.”

Cooking ramen isn’t much, but he said it to mean he could handle himself. He wanted to show he could eat alone.

Jinwoo, forced to go to work, couldn’t shake the uneasy expression. Even as he walked down the alley, he kept looking back.

Jingyeom waved from the rooftop until Jinwoo disappeared from sight.

Back inside, Jingyeom surveyed the surroundings. The living room was too tidy to need any touching. What seemed urgent were the shoe cabinet and the room.

“Baek Jingyeom, you terrible person…”

Though he was now himself, Baek Jingyeom truly was awful.

He noticed earlier that Jinwoo’s shoes were worn out. In contrast, the cabinet was filled with unworn shoes belonging to Baek Jingyeom.

He knew he was extravagant, but seeing it firsthand was excessive.

Deciding to sell what he could, Jingyeom laid out the shoes in the living room and sorted through the new ones. Over half were unused.

If he had used this money to help pay off debt, they could have moved a long time ago.

He knew he received more gifts than he bought, which made it more frustrating.

Even as he grumbled, Jingyeom moved busily. He was so focused on organizing that he didn’t even notice it was past lunchtime and he was hungry.

After sorting the shoe cabinet and piling up the things to sell, he moved to the room.

He planned to clear out more than half the items to create a space for Jinwoo to rest, whether in the living room or outside.

The bed was a super single, not enough for two, so he intended to clear the floor at least.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he sat down on the floor.

‘What if Baek Jingyeom comes back later?’

While some transmigrators returned to their original worlds, most stayed. It was partly because they built memories there and partly because they didn’t know how to return.

He didn’t know if he would be the former or the latter, but if Baek Jingyeom did come back…

“…Should I write a letter in advance? To say it wasn’t Jinwoo, but me who was here for a while…?”

If the scenario I dreaded were to happen, it was obvious who Baek Jingyeom would blame. Jinwoo would be in trouble without even knowing why. I didn’t want to see that.

Moreover, I already understood how Baek Jingyeom treated people through the cellphone messages I had observed.

Baek Jingyeom was a crazy and bad person.

I wanted to block everything out, but they were just unfortunate fish caught in Baek Jingyeom’s net. Since I wasn’t confident enough to meet and talk to them directly, I planned to send a message all at once later.

After that, I would reset my phone to make it clean again. Despite putting it on silent, the constant messages made me not even want to look at it.

I decided to write the letter to Baek Jingyeom after finishing tidying up the room and got back to work.

It took four hours to finish tidying up.

Exhausted, I sat on the bed, and my stomach growled. I had been so focused that I didn’t realize I was hungry.

The growling echoed in the quiet house, and Jingyeom clicked his tongue briefly. This stomach seemed to know no shame. Why did it always make such loud noises?

When Jingyeom came out to the living room, he hesitated for a moment, seeing there was no place to step.

Although I thought I had organized things, moving the items from the room to the living room had turned it into a mess. I guess I wasn’t good at tidying up.

“…What should I do?”

Looking back, there was just enough space for Jinwoo to lie down, but everywhere else was piled with stuff. I had thought I was organizing well, but seeing it like this, it was a mess.

“…Jinwoo will help.”

Although I did it for Jinwoo, he would end up helping anyway.

Usually, when someone can’t do something alone, they should seek help from others. Humans are social animals, after all. It’s best to do what one can do.

Thinking so, Jingyeom opened the fridge. It was full of side dishes. There was no rice in the rice cooker. Jinwoo hadn’t cooked any because he was hospitalized.

After thinking for a while, Jingyeom rummaged through the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.

Since I didn’t eat instant food often, there wasn’t even a pack of ramen in the house. There was rice, but not knowing how to cook it, I closed it again.

Rubbing his stomach, Jingyeom picked up the wallet he had found while organizing. Inside were a few ten-thousand won bills and an ID.

There was also a check card in Jinwoo’s name.

“…It should be okay to use it, right?”

Debating whether to buy instant rice or something else, I also grabbed the keys hanging by the door.

Stepping outside, I locked the door. I tugged at the doorknob a few times to make sure it was securely locked.

It was already five o’clock.

Wanting to return before Jinwoo got off work, I hurried, but at that moment, I heard the sound of someone stepping on the metal stairs.

Looking towards the stairs, I saw dark black hair peeking out.

It was Jinwoo.

His face was scrunched up as if in a bad mood, but upon seeing Jingyeom outside, his expression relaxed. The change was so sudden that Jingyeom didn’t notice it at first.

Jinwoo, who had come up, tilted his head, wondering why Jingyeom was outside. Then he noticed the wallet and house key in Jingyeom’s hands.

“Hyung, where are you going?”

“To buy some instant rice… What? You’re already off work?”

Jingyeom, still puzzled, looked at Jinwoo with wide eyes.

Most office workers finish at six, so seeing him come home at five was both surprising and welcoming.

The feeling of being alone at home was so strange that I kept glancing around while organizing.

When I was with Jinwoo in the hospital room, it was fine, but being alone in an unfamiliar place felt odd. I had been secretly hoping he would come back soon.

Feeling happy, Jingyeom ran to him. Even though I had to tilt my head back to look up at him, it was fine.

“Did you leave early because of a training session today?”

“Yeah, I just attended the meeting and came back right after. Why instant rice? Ah… there must not have been any cooked rice at home.”

Only then did he remember there was no rice in the cooker or fridge.

When cooking rice, Jinwoo usually made about six servings, divided it into individual portions in glass containers, and put them in the fridge.

That way, Jingyeom could microwave a portion whenever he was hungry.

Jinwoo sighed softly, realizing he hadn’t thought that far. This meant Jingyeom hadn’t eaten lunch either.

“You must be hungry…”

“I’m a bit hungry. I was going to the mart. Want to come with me?”

“Yeah. But first… there’s something we need to handle. Let’s do that and then go.”

He wanted to fill Jingyeom’s hungry stomach right away, but he couldn’t.

Because of the uninvited guests who had come along.

“It’s really inconvenient coming here; there’s never any parking. They should move.”

“He said no.”

“Make him move by force.”

“You said you’d come today. Shut up, you’re noisy.”

A familiar voice reached Jingyeom’s ears. Two large men appeared from the staircase, one after another.

Jingyeom wondered why they were here, but then thought they must have followed Jinwoo.

It was strange to see all the main characters gathered in one place again, and Jingyeom wondered what would happen next.

Thinking he could observe it all again today, he smiled slightly and looked at Wonbeom and Soohyuk with sparkling eyes.

* * *

*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*