Before dating your childhood friend, test them first chapter 14

“It definitely wasn’t there just yesterday… Could it be a bug?”

Coincidentally, it was around the same area Coco licked. The house was clean, so bugs shouldn’t be a problem, but here we are.

Though the idea of sleeping with a bug was a bit unsettling, Jiho shrugged it off, undressed, and went to wash up.

When he came out, Yejun was moving a pot to the dining table, having just finished preparing everything.

“Hurry up and eat. It’s getting cold.”

“Wow…”

Jiho mumbled, staring blankly at the table.

A luxurious breakfast was set up on the table. Steaming white rice, jangjorim, and kimchi stew. Apart from the jangjorim, everything else was freshly made and steaming.

Back when he lived with his family, this was a regular meal. But for Jiho, who had been living alone until yesterday, it felt different.

When eating alone at his place, it was mostly instant rice, ramen, or takeout. At first, eating out was enjoyable, but over time, he came to miss homemade meals.

He once tried to make homemade meals himself, but lacking cooking skills, the results never matched his expectations.

Plus, as a single-person household, buying ingredients often led to waste, making it more expensive than eating out.

Yet Yejun, unconcerned about such issues, had prepared a heartfelt meal from the morning. Jiho had expected something simple like bread or a fried egg when breakfast was mentioned.

“Aren’t you eating?”

As Jiho stood there, unable to take his eyes off the table, Yejun tilted his head, puzzled by Jiho’s hesitation.

Only then did Jiho remember that he didn’t have time to dawdle. He had to finish eating and leave within ten minutes to avoid being late.

After mentally planning his time, Jiho pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Why did you make so much for breakfast…?”

“You always say that. I made breakfast for you before too, remember?”

Yejun replied nonchalantly, referring to the time Jiho had breakfast at Yejun’s place.

Even on the day an embarrassing incident happened, Yejun had made ramen for him. There were also times when he made bean sprout soup or kimchi soup.

However, those were mornings after heavy drinking, so Jiho thought it was just for hangover relief. He didn’t realize Yejun ate like this regularly.

He knew Yejun liked cooking, but he was even more diligent than Jiho had imagined.

Feeling awkward, Jiho picked up his spoon. As he sipped the red broth, its warm and spicy taste cleared his head.

The seasoning was perfect, and the fully fermented kimchi gave the broth a rich flavor.

The stew, made with pork belly, was so packed with meat it seemed like half of it was pork, adding to its deliciousness.

Maybe it was the delicious food, but Jiho felt much more alert. He continued eating while glancing at Yejun across the table. Yejun didn’t show any signs of drowsiness.

“But didn’t you have a fifth-period class? You got up really early.”

According to Jiho, Yejun’s schedule was relaxed today. So there was no reason for him to be up this early. Jiho was amazed to see him wide awake at this hour.

Though they’d had breakfast together a few times, it was usually on days they had no choice but to get up early. He didn’t realize Yejun usually got up this early.

Even though they’d been close friends for a long time, Jiho felt like he was seeing a new side of Yejun.

When Jiho asked, surprised, Yejun smiled bashfully.

“Maybe because I was excited, I woke up early.”

“…Excited?”

“Since we’re living together now.”

Yejun said, his cheeks turning red. His shy smile looked like that of someone experiencing their first love.

What the heck… Why is his face turning red?

A sense of foreboding that Jiho had momentarily forgotten began to creep back.

When Jiho stopped eating and stared at him, Yejun continued.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

“…”

What is he talking about…?

Yejun’s answer was so unexpected that Jiho was at a loss for words.

It could mean he just wanted to live with a friend. But given how things had been lately, it was hard to take it at face value.

Worried that Yejun might cross a line again, Jiho’s palms began to sweat. When Jiho raised an eyebrow and looked at him seriously, Yejun spoke softly, lost in thought.

“You know how I couldn’t bring friends over when we were young. It was so frustrating that I invited friends over a lot after I started living on my own…”

Jiho remembered that Yejun’s parents didn’t like having others over.

While Jiho didn’t mind hanging out anywhere, Yejun always found it frustrating not being able to invite friends over.

As soon as he graduated high school, Yejun started living on his own.

I was the first friend to visit him after he moved out. That’s probably why Yejun often invited friends to his place to hang out instead of going out.

“Just having people in my space wasn’t enough. I wanted to live with someone, and it’s even better than I imagined.”

“Oh…”

Jiho let out a small sigh at Yejun’s follow-up.

So that’s what he meant… It wasn’t anything special, just an innocent wish to live with a friend.

They say suppressed desires from childhood can explode in adulthood. Like adults collecting toys, which is called ‘kidults’. Maybe this is something similar.

His words had made Jiho tense up for no reason. Feeling relieved, Jiho tried to manage Yejun’s expectations.

“We’ve only been living together for a day. They say roommates often end up fighting because their personalities clash. It might not be as great as you think.”

Even in close relationships, unexpected conflicts could arise, leading to fights and disappointment. Especially when living together, differences and disappointments were inevitable.

Jiho and Yejun hardly ever fought. So Jiho didn’t think he would be disappointed in Yejun, but… Everyone probably starts with that mindset.

Jiho pointed out the possibility to lower Yejun’s expectations, but Yejun’s response was different.

“I’ll just adjust to you, Jiho.”

He looked very confident. It was almost as if he was guaranteeing that there would never be a fight.

Since Yejun usually let things slide when it seemed like a fight might happen, it seemed like he would continue doing that in the future.

That’s not easy to do. Most fights with close friends happen because of pride. Knowing this made me often feel grateful and apologetic. Jiho responded with a small laugh.

“It’s not easy, you know. Even families fight.”

“You underestimate me, Jiho. I’ve been waiting for years. I won’t let something like this slip by.”

“……”

Yejun’s gentle smile left Jiho speechless, biting his lower lip.

No way… Is he seriously talking about how much he wants a roommate?

Even if nothing had happened between us before, his tone could easily be misunderstood.

At this point, it seemed like it wasn’t just me being overly sensitive; there was something off about his behavior and words.

Jiho slightly furrowed his brows, and Yejun glanced at the clock on the wall and spoke.

“It’s getting late. Shouldn’t you be going soon?”

“Huh…?”

Jiho, startled by Yejun’s words, checked the time. He had planned to finish eating and leave in ten minutes, but time had flown by before he even finished his meal. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late.

For Jiho, who was aiming for a scholarship, even being late once was a big deal.

In a rush, he stuffed his mouth with food and quickly stood up, pushing the chair back. The chair scraped loudly against the floor.

“I’m off.”

Jiho hurried to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, grabbed his pre-packed crossbody bag, and went to the entrance to put on his white running shoes.

Yejun slowly got up to see him off at the shoe rack. Leaning against the door frame, he said,

“Have a good day.”

Jiho looked back at him.

Even though he needed to leave quickly to avoid being late, he couldn’t help but feel concerned about Yejun, making it hard to walk away.

As Jiho stood still, staring, Yejun tilted his head as if to ask what was wrong.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, Ahn Yejun…”

“Yeah?”

Jiho, about to leave the house, paused and called out to Yejun with a serious expression. Yejun responded lightly, as usual.

“It’s just…”

Jiho started to say something but then closed his mouth again.

He wanted to tell Yejun to draw a clear line.

It wasn’t necessary, but because of what happened between them, Jiho was conscious of him, and Yejun kept behaving in ways that could easily be misunderstood.

He wanted to say, “If you don’t really like me, don’t act in a way that could cause misunderstandings.”

But when he tried to say it, the words just wouldn’t come out.

Saying it would be like admitting that he was overly conscious of Yejun.

Admitting that wouldn’t help anything.

Wasn’t it him who suggested they move on as if nothing happened?

Ignoring his complicated feelings, Jiho brought up something else.

“I’ll walk Coco during the day, so leave her to me.”

“You set the mood just to say that? Got it, now go on.”

Yejun laughed softly, as if he found it amusing.

Jiho looked at him for a moment, then pushed open the front door and left.

As he stepped out, a gentle breeze wrapped around his body.

He still felt uneasy, but surely… it must be a misunderstanding on his part.

It had to be.

Lost in thought while looking at the blue sky, Jiho finally started walking.