Irresponsibility Chapter 3.6

Because that face looked quite scary, Yeoun’s body leaned back slightly.

“N, no.”

As he stuttered to explain that it was just because he ate something spicy, Baek Geonhyuk stared at Joo Yeoun with a serious expression.

“Really… i, it’s really not.”

“No.”

“……”

“No, you should.”

At the tone that seemed to be teaching him, Joo Yeoun blinked his large eyes.

“Ah… yeah. No.”

Perhaps it was just to point out the honorifics, because Baek Geonhyuk easily withdrew the gaze he had been staring with. While saying, “Yeah, I guess not.”

He seemed a little obsessed with informal speech. He would laugh every time he spoke, so I thought he was teasing me, but it also seemed like that wasn’t it.

“I’ll leave the medicine and water here. If your stomach hurts again while you’re sleeping, take it.”

Yeoun nodded his head as he watched Baek Geonhyuk place the medicine and a water bottle on the dining table.

“Tell me if your symptoms change.”

He nodded his head again. But because Baek Geonhyuk turned his head and stared at him, he moved his lips.

“Okay….”

Baek Geonhyuk’s mouth moved slightly. On his face, which was looking at Joo Yeoun with a smiling expression, another emotion gradually appeared.

“You were eating so well.”

It was a voice filled with disappointment.

Joo Yeoun blinked his eyes awkwardly. Honestly, he had expected Baek Geonhyuk to tease him. He thought he would joke, saying, “You said you were good with spicy food.” But he seemed to be genuinely worried about him. Over just a stomach ache….

Feeling his face flush, Yeoun drank some water. And he also tossed the medicine Baek Geonhyuk had dropped on his palm into his mouth. Perhaps thinking he wouldn’t be able to swallow it, he watched carefully until his Adam’s apple moved with a gulp.

“Want more water?”

When he shook his head at the question, Baek Geonhyuk took the cup from his hand. Joo Yeoun watched his back as he rinsed the cup and hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Ge, Geonhyuk-ah.”

Hmm? Baek Geonhyuk, who hummed in a low voice, shook the cup, placed it upside down on the drying rack, and looked at Joo Yeoun.

“Are you really… g, going to sleep with me?”

Baek Geonhyuk let out a chuckle. He looked for a moment at the face that was cautiously watching him, then deliberately put strength into his brow.

“I’ll let it slide just this once. There’s no next time. You’re definitely wearing couple pajamas.”

“……”

“Say ‘okay’.”

“Okay….”

The corners of Baek Geonhyuk’s mouth went up lightly.

Just like with ‘yes,’ when Joo Yeoun answered with ‘okay,’ he said it with all the strength drained from him. So it sounded closer to ‘hu-uhng,’ and every time, his mouth would tingle. Even knowing that he was deliberately draining the strength to avoid stuttering, that sound was a little, cute.

*

“Hey.”

At the word Joo Yeoun uttered, Baek Geonhyuk turned around. He made a strange expression, then chuckled.

“What.”

His answer was laced with laughter.

“A, a, are you coming e, early today too?”

“Should I come early?”

At Baek Geonhyuk’s sweet question, Joo Yeoun blinked his eyes blankly.

“Why are you a, asking me.”

“Cold.”

“Wh, what are you saying….”

Joo Yeoun looked at Baek Geonhyuk as if he were a strange person and turned away. A low laugh was heard from behind.

Baek Geonhyuk seemed to laugh a lot more than he thought.

After spending a few days with a different mindset, there were quite a few new things he had learned about him.

First, as he had confirmed, his name is Baek Geonhyuk.

His age… is twenty-four. He thought it didn’t suit him at all, but it was a number he had seen with his own eyes. Because Baek Geonhyuk had suddenly come out of the bathroom, he had only seen it in passing, but there was no way he could have seen it wrong.

Yeoun also learned that he went out and came back in the early morning. There were no other buildings around here, so it was completely dark at that time, and it was a bit suspicious for him to leave the house at that hour. But it was scary to ask, so he was pretending not to know.

Anyway, after going out at that time, Baek Geonhyuk comes home at 8 in the morning. And he would prepare breakfast for Yeoun. It was a breakfast of just putting the rice to cook, taking out the side dishes he had bought, and making fried eggs, but he took care of it without fail.

He also never forgets to stare intently at Yeoun’s face before he sits at the dining table. If Yeoun’s eyes were a little swollen, or if there were traces of sweat, he would ask various things.

Did you cry? Why. Did you have a fever. Are you sick. Were you cold. Words like that. He was still treating him like a patient.

The boiler that was only turned on in the master bedroom was also like that. The floor was always warm, day and night. He wondered who would turn on the boiler like this in April, but it actually wasn’t bad. It was still a little chilly at night.

Also, Baek Geonhyuk was very neat. Should I say he was good at organizing. Every object had its own place, and he always organized everything with precision.

So Yeoun also tried to put things back in their place when he used the kitchen or touched the remote control in the living room. But even so, Baek Geonhyuk would notice like a ghost and ask, ‘Did you watch TV? Is there anything interesting on these days.’

He thought he knew because he was watching the CCTV, but it didn’t seem to be necessarily the case. Even if he touched an object in a place the CCTV couldn’t reach, he would always know.

“Here….”

Yeoun slightly moved the rice bowl that he had washed and placed upside down on the drying rack. It seemed to be in almost the same spot Baek Geonhyuk had put it in the morning.

These days, he mostly prepares and eats lunch by himself.

Today, he was planning to make sliced raw fish bibimbap with the leftover sliced raw fish from yesterday, but when he opened the refrigerator, there was no sliced raw fish and no sweet and sour chili paste. It wasn’t hot yet, so it would have been fine for a day, but it seemed Baek Geonhyuk had thrown it all away. So, disappointedly, he added some fried eggs and side dishes and ate mixed rice.

He didn’t have much of an appetite in the morning either, so he had wondered if his appetite had only come back for a moment yesterday, but he ate lunch deliciously. It seemed that he just didn’t have an appetite because it was morning.

After taking the medicine one more time, his stomach was now comfortable. Joo Yeoun lightly touched his flat stomach even though he had eaten, and then opened the refrigerator door.

He saw cans of coffee lined up in a row.

‘It seems like college students drink coffee every day.’

Baek Geonhyuk was doing other work now, so he probably wasn’t a college student.

But the more he thought about it, the more questions he had. The doctor called him team leader. He seemed a bit young to be a team leader, but when he thought of Baek Geonhyuk’s huge forearms, it somehow became convincing. Since it was an unknown group, it was possible that they determined the hierarchy by strength rather than age.

“Sh, should I drink coffee….”

Yeoun pondered for a moment, then picked up a can of coffee that was a knockoff of Let’s Be. And as he turned around, the sliding door by the entrance opened with a rattle.

“Aack-!”

A scream of surprise burst out.

“Oh oh, it’s me. Me. The doctor.”

The doctor waved his hand with a flustered expression.

“I heard you were sick yesterday. I came to see if you were okay.”

“…Yes. I’m, I’m fine.”

Joo Yeoun answered, pressing down on his pounding chest.

Lee Hyungyu looked at Joo Yeoun, who was standing hunched over, and made a troubled expression. At that moment, a large figure appeared behind him.

“What is it, Yeoun-ah.”

It was Baek Geonhyuk. His gaze passed over Lee Hyungyu’s head and landed on Joo Yeoun. At the gaze that was checking his complexion, Joo Yeoun shook his head.

“I was j, just surprised….”

“Did you not knock?”

Baek Geonhyuk furrowed his brow and looked at Lee Hyungyu. At the chilly gaze, Lee Hyungyu was at a loss for words. Who was the one who had made Joo Yeoun faint twice by flinging open the door without knocking.

“Startling a kid.”

Baek Geonhyuk, clicking his tongue, passed by Lee Hyungyu. Without even a glance at the dumbfounded person, he gave his attention to the can of coffee held in the pale hand.

“You drink coffee?”

When Joo Yeoun nodded his head gently, Baek Geonhyuk raised the corners of his mouth and asked.

“And you ate lunch?”

“Yeah….”

“What did you eat.”

Baek Geonhyuk asked, looking back at the kitchen. Even though he said there was no need to clean up, Joo Yeoun always makes sure to do the dishes. He saw that the bowls placed upside down on the drying rack had water droplets on them and turned his head again.

“Bibimbap…. b, but is there no g, gochujang?”

“I’ll buy some. Ah. You shouldn’t eat too much of it.”

“I k, know too.”

A hint of awkwardness appeared on the pale face that had let out a sullen reply. Baek Geonhyuk chuckled and carefully examined his complexion as he asked.

“Your stomach is okay, right.”

When Joo Yeoun nodded his head, Baek Geonhyuk said, “Alright,” and turned away. It seemed like he was about to leave just like that, so Joo Yeoun urgently opened his mouth.

“Hey.”

Hmm? Baek Geonhyuk turned around. At the same time, it seemed like a sound like air escaping, hweek, was heard.

“S, soy sauce and se, se, se….”

“Yes. Seasoning?”

“Yeah….”

At the low voice asking, Yeoun nodded his head. Baek Geonhyuk answered, “Alright,” but a strange sound was heard again. It sounded like a sharp intake of breath, heob.

Joo Yeoun peeked his head out from beside the large build that was blocking his front. The doctor, still standing by the doorway, was making a very strange expression. It was an expression that was impossible to tell whether he was surprised, horrified, or worried.

“Mr. Joo Yeoun… are you okay?”

“Yeah. He says he’s fine.”

Yeoun looked back and forth between the doctor and Baek Geonhyuk. The doctor uses honorifics to Baek Geonhyuk, and Baek Geonhyuk uses informal speech. He became curious again about how old the doctor was. He wondered if it was possible, but was he younger than him…?

It was when he vaguely felt that his jumbled questions were wrong.

“You did just say ‘hey’ to the team leader, right?”