Irresponsibility Chapter 4.1

There are no eggs….

Yeoun muttered as he closed the refrigerator door. Then he wrote on the memo attached to the refrigerator.

[Eggs.]

After a moment of thought, he wrote something else.

[Letsby.]

The canned coffee Baek Geonhyuk bought wasn’t actually Letsby, but he would understand if Yeoun just said it like this.

Yeoun clipped the pen back onto the holder and flexed his hand open and closed. His hand had been feeling uncomfortable since the morning.

“……”

Yeoun glanced down at his hand, which looked fine on the outside, for a moment before opening the cupboard.

Since he had spoken to Baek Geonhyuk, the CCTVs that used to film the living room and kitchen had disappeared. So these days, he spent a little more time outside his room. Actions like opening the refrigerator or rummaging through the cupboards had also become more natural.

Yeoun took out a can of spicy tuna and placed it on the table, then came back with a bowl half-filled with rice. He couldn’t eat much in the morning, but he could manage about half a bowl for lunch.

After getting some seaweed from the cupboard, he sat down at the table and took the can in his hand. But the moment he hooked his finger through the pull-tab and tried to open the lid, his hand throbbed with pain.

“Ah….”

He paused for a moment, but when he tried again, he couldn’t put any strength into his hand.

Yeoun put the can down and massaged his hand. They said the bone had healed well, but pain would occasionally flare up in his hand. His mood sank rapidly.

“……”

After looking down at the table for a moment, Yeoun got up. He poured the untouched rice back into the rice cooker and put the can back in the cupboard. He also put away the unused spoon and chopsticks.

Then he returned to his room and collapsed onto the bed. He pressed his cheek against the pillow, breathing softly, then turned his head to the right. He could see his fingers.

He moved his index finger slightly, then moved his other fingers a little as well. The throbbing pain was still there.

Joo Yeoun furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. Lying completely still with his eyes closed, he eventually fell asleep.

He opened his eyes again when he heard a noise. He used to think Baek Geonhyuk moved so quietly, but these days, he could tell when he came home even from his room.

That’s the sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing. That’s the sound of the cupboard opening and closing…. Why is he opening the rice cooker?

Yeoun, who had been thinking while blinking slowly, groggily sat up. A yawn escaped as he swung his feet down from the bed.

“Were you sleeping?”

When he went outside, Baek Geonhyuk asked from the kitchen. Joo Yeoun nodded.

“Without even eating lunch.”

How did he know? Joo Yeoun stared at him blankly. Seeing his dazed, just-woken-up face, Baek Geonhyuk let out a small laugh.

“Are the store-bought side dishes not very good?”

“No….”

Joo Yeoun was originally not a picky eater. He couldn’t afford to buy side dishes when he was living alone, so he had no reason to be choosy. He also enjoyed eating things like canned food from time to time.

Ah, the canned food. Yeoun glanced at his right hand. His lips parted hesitantly. But because of what Baek Geonhyuk had said before, he had no choice but to speak up.

‘Next time you hide that you’re in pain, we’re sleeping together every night.’

Yeoun really did not want to sleep in the same bed with him.

“It, it hurts a little….”

At his words, spoken as he held out his right hand slightly, Baek Geonhyuk strode over and asked.

“How does it hurt?”

His gaze was fixed on the hand Yeoun held out in mid-air. When Yeoun explained that it was aching, he examined the hand a little more before asking.

“Can I touch it?”

“…Yeah.”

At the softly spoken permission, Baek Geonhyuk gently took hold of his fingertips. When his fingers flinched back reflexively, he looked at Yeoun’s face. After a brief hesitation, he carefully tried to bend the fingers.

Yeoun tried his best not to frown. It was not just because he was scared.

It just felt a bit strange. The fact that this large hand with prominent veins was touching his own hand as if it were a work of art.

“Did it hurt?”

Moreover, his attentive gaze did not miss the slight tremble of his own eyelashes. Joo Yeoun kept his mouth shut and just shook his head.

Baek Geonhyuk, who had been holding and feeling his fingers as gently as if to tickle him, slowly withdrew his hand. A light shiver ran through him as his rough, calloused fingertips brushed against the side of his fingers.

“Just a moment.” Baek Geonhyuk muttered lowly and headed to the house next door.

Left alone in the kitchen, Joo Yeoun looked at his own hand, which seemed exceptionally slender, for a moment before hiding it behind his back and leaning against the refrigerator. He tapped the back of his head against it for no reason, thump, thump, and directed his gaze toward the sliding door.

He had passed by the house next door, where the doctor supposedly lived, when he went to the hospital before, but he was too out of it at the time to see it properly. Does it have the same layout as this place? It doesn’t seem like he connected the two houses just to confine me. Was it originally like this?

As he was continuing his thoughts, Baek Geonhyuk came in. Since he was already looking that way, their eyes met immediately.

He stopped short. Baek Geonhyuk stopped in his tracks. Then, as if on guard, he approached slowly.

“You weren’t surprised?”

“Why?”

Yeoun blinked at the random question. Then Baek Geonhyuk raised the corners of his mouth slightly and shook his head.

“He said he’ll come by after work.”

“The, the doctor?”

Yeah. After answering, he tilted his head as if trying to see the hand Yeoun had hidden behind his back. When Yeoun feigned ignorance and didn’t show his hand, his gaze moved to Yeoun’s face.

“You’re doing a good job telling me when you’re in pain.”

The lips that uttered the low voice curved smoothly. His emotionless eyes also formed a gentle arc.

Joo Yeoun glanced at that face and then averted his gaze. It felt quite uncomfortable to be praised for whining. While he was feigning indifference, Baek Geonhyuk let out a short laugh and walked toward the sink.

“You didn’t have lunch, so let’s have dinner now.”

“Yeah….”

“You have to eat a lot.”

“Yeah….”

Baek Geonhyuk, who had turned back for a moment, stared intently at Joo Yeoun. His gaze was not on his face, but seemed to be directed slightly above it.

“You’d be startled if I touched your head, right?”

“……”

Was he going to touch it, or was he going to hit it? Just in case, Joo Yeoun moved behind the dining table.

He stood holding the back of a chair and followed Baek Geonhyuk with his eyes as he set the table for dinner. The rice bowl in his hand looked so small.

“If you’re full, you can leave some.”

Yeoun looked down at the rice bowl placed in front of him and nodded.

Other side dishes were placed on the table one by one. Suddenly, he remembered the canned food he couldn’t eat earlier in the day.

Letting go of the chair back he had been holding for so long that it had become lukewarm, Yeoun headed to the sink. As he took the can out of the cupboard, he heard a small laugh. When he whipped his head around, Baek Geonhyuk had his back to him, getting the spoon and chopsticks.

Did I hear wrong? Joo Yeoun blinked, then took the can in his hand, went to the table, and sat down. Soon, Baek Geonhyuk also sat down across from him.

It felt a bit awkward trying to open the can with his left hand instead of his right, which he couldn’t put much strength into. He managed to grab the pull-tab and lift it, but the angle seemed all wrong. As he was trying to readjust his grip, a large hand suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

“Be careful with your hand,” Baek Geonhyuk said as he took the can.

Soon, the opened can was placed in front of his rice bowl. Joo Yeoun hesitated for a moment, then scooped out some of the spicy tuna with his spoon, placed it on his rice, and put the whole spoonful into his mouth.

As he tasted the salty and stimulating flavor, he was suddenly struck with hunger. It was only natural to be hungry since he had skipped lunch. To eat some of the other side dishes, Yeoun picked up his chopsticks.

And then, he grimaced slightly. Just trying to part the chopsticks in his hand made his hand throb, and the pain seemed worse than in the morning. In the end, unable to pick anything up, the chopsticks returned to the table.

But then, a pair of chopsticks suddenly extended from the opposite side.

Looking down at the soy-braised beef placed on his rice, Yeoun raised his head. When their eyes met, Baek Geonhyuk tilted his head slightly. His expression seemed to ask if there was a problem.

“Th, this kind of thing is a bit….”

“A bit?”

Joo Yeoun opened and closed his mouth. To say it was gross felt rude to the person who had been considerate enough to give it to him.

His gaze, which had been moving about in embarrassment, fell on the large hand holding the chopsticks. The hand that had so carefully touched his own.

“……”

Yeoun picked up his spoon and put the rice topped with the braised beef into his mouth. As he ate without a word, Baek Geonhyuk also withdrew his gaze.

His chopsticks passed over Yeoun’s rice a few more times. It is really strange for someone he is not even close to, to be putting side dishes on his rice. Joo Yeoun thought as he chewed on what Baek Geonhyuk had placed for him.

…It was delicious, though. Because he expertly picked out only the side dishes I wanted to eat and placed them on the white rice.

The chopsticks that had been continuously placing side dishes only stopped after Yeoun put his spoon down.

“Are you full?”

Baek Geonhyuk asked, glancing at the rice bowl that still had some rice left. When Joo Yeoun nodded, he nodded as well and started eating his own meal.

*

Lee Hyeonkyu froze the moment he opened the sliding door.

It was because of the sight of the two people sitting side by side on the sofa. At the sound of the door opening, Joo Yeoun looked this way with wide eyes, and Baek Geonhyuk gave him an indifferent glance.

“…Looks like you were watching TV together.”

It was not as if Joo Yeoun had decided he had to sit side by side with Baek Geonhyuk on the sofa and watch TV.

He had simply sat on the sofa because he was told the doctor would be here soon, and Baek Geonhyuk turned on the TV, and since something was playing, his eyes had just been drawn to it.

“Let me see your hand.”

As he held out his hand to the doctor, Baek Geonhyuk’s gaze followed. As if trying to get a closer look, Baek Geonhyuk even hunched his back and leaned forward.

“It’s probably because you haven’t been getting physical therapy. You need to get it consistently.”

“Yes….”

He had been worried that there might be a serious problem, but it seemed that was not the case, which was a relief.

Yeoun silently received the treatment. It was a treatment he had received a few times, so there was nothing new about it.

But Baek Geonhyuk kept adding comments, as if he were seeing it for the first time.

“Ah, that looks hot.”

Has the temperature been checked? Isn’t it hotter than before? His finger just twitched, isn’t it hurting?

“……”

Joo Yeoun, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut to endure the heat, finally spoke up.