Irresponsibility Chapter 4.3

Baek Geonhyuk was holding the hot pack in his hand. He wondered when he had unwrapped it from his hand.

“Watch the movie.”

He said, as if telling him not to mind. Yeoun hesitantly turned his head back to the TV.

He could feel the towel being unwrapped completely. It was because the relatively cool air touched the skin that had been holding onto the warmth.

But other than that, there was not even a brushing sensation.

J Joo Yeoun slowly closed and opened his eyes. An image of the large hand carefully unwrapping the towel formed in his mind’s eye.

Perhaps it was due to the temperature difference, but the skin on his right hand felt tingly. Yeoun brought the hand that had been on the sofa and placed it on his knee. A gaze seemed to land on it. When he turned his head slightly, Baek Geonhyuk spoke as if he had been waiting.

“It’s a little red.”

“It’s p, probably normal after a hot pack.”

“Is that so?”

Baek Geonhyuk stared intently at Yeoun’s hand. He has his own hands, too, what could be so different, yet he scanned the reddened fingers and the back of the hand meticulously.

Yeoun, who had been fixing his gaze on his focused brow, turned his eyes to the TV when it seemed like he was about to raise his head. Having missed a bit of the scene, he lost interest in the movie and went straight back to his room.

*

Yeoun opened the cupboard. He took out one of the ramen packages with blue wrapping that were stacked neatly, and was about to break it in half when he paused.

These days, he can only eat half a packet of ramen. In the past, he could eat a whole packet of ramen with rice mixed in, and even eat a sausage on top of that.

It was a little upsetting that he couldn’t eat a lot anymore. The same went for the fact that he could now only eat mild-flavored ramen because spicy food gave him heartburn.

I’m hungry, though. Should I cook the whole thing?

Crinkle. Yeoun, who was fiddling with the ramen in his hand and contemplating, eventually broke the ramen in half. It would be a problem if he forced himself to eat and got indigestion again. It would be better to eat just a little and mix in rice if he was still hungry.

The first time he ate ramen in this house was on a weekend when Baek Geonhyuk didn’t go to work.

Around lunchtime, he had asked, “Want to eat ramen?” and when Yeoun nodded, he went out and came back. It took a little over an hour, and the box he brought back was full of ramen.

‘I didn’t know what kind of ramen you like.’

Joo Yeoun looked down at the large box on the floor, then squatted down and rummaged through it. It seemed like he had bought one of every kind of ramen available at the supermarket. Just one of each.

‘H, how m, many packets of ramen should I cook?’

‘Let’s see. Should we cook about four?’

We have rice and side dishes, too. He added. Yeoun had naturally expected that he wouldn’t eat just one packet of ramen. He ate his rice out of a large bowl, and sometimes ate three or four lunch boxes at a time.

‘Y, you bought all different kinds….’

‘Ah. I didn’t think of that.’

Despite being considerate, Baek Geonhyuk sometimes showed this kind of thoughtlessness.

‘I should probably cook yours separately.’

No, that’s not it. It seemed he was only thoughtless about his own matters. What he ate, where he slept. He didn’t seem to care much, and only showed immense interest in what Yeoun ate and where he slept.

‘Hmm. Isn’t this one a bit less spicy?’

Baek Geonhyuk sat down next to Joo Yeoun. Joo Yeoun glanced at the large hand rummaging through the ramen for a moment before speaking.

‘J, just cook it all together….’

And he picked up three packets of ramen as they came to hand from the box and gave them to Baek Geonhyuk. Because he had practically shoved them at him to avoid their hands touching, he placed the ramen not on his palm, but on the back of his hand. The three packets of ramen stacked quite stably on the wide back of his hand.

‘Are you giving these to me?’

Thanks. Baek Geonhyuk stood up just like that and walked away with the three packets of ramen balanced on the back of his hand, as if for show.

Cooking four different kinds of ramen resulted in noodles of various textures and a slightly peculiar taste, but it was edible enough.

However, one of the ramen must have been a bit spicy, because he got slight heartburn and had to take medicine. It wasn’t very severe, so he was going to endure it, but he had to take it because Baek Geonhyuk stood blocking the hallway and handed him the medicine and water.

The next day, he saw that the box that had been full of ramen was gone. He thought maybe he had organized it in the cupboard and opened it, but it wasn’t there either.

Where did it go, he wondered, then forgot about it until a few days ago when he suddenly craved ramen and wrote it on the memo. And then Baek Geonhyuk bought ramen. The mild kind.

It was a type he would have never eaten in the past, but when he tried it, it was just right. It didn’t give him heartburn, either.

Yeoun, who had been waiting quietly in front of the stove for the water to boil, quickly put the half-packet of noodles in once it boiled. He put in only half the soup powder as well, and sealed the remaining powder and noodles to put back in the cupboard.

After having ramen for lunch, he vacuumed. After meticulously vacuuming his room, the living room, and the kitchen, he stopped abruptly near the dining table.

Beyond the dining table was the area covered by the CCTV. After Baek Geonhyuk had granted his request to see the footage for himself a while ago, Joo Yeoun had been moving around trying to avoid the CCTV as much as possible.

Yeoun, who had glanced at the CCTV on the ceiling, started walking. He absolutely did not look back as he entered Baek Geonhyuk’s room.

He was about to finish meticulously vacuuming the room and come out, when his gaze suddenly turned to the bed.

The single-person cot was too small. Aren’t Baek Geonhyuk’s shoulders about this wide? Joo Yeoun spread his arms to estimate. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed too small for him to sleep in.

“……”

Joo Yeoun, who had been standing still, soon picked up the vacuum cleaner and left the room. His steps were hurried because he didn’t want to be caught on the CCTV for long.

That evening. Baek Geonhyuk, who had returned home, stared intently at Joo Yeoun sitting on the sofa. When Joo Yeoun glanced at him, he asked.

“Did you dance?”

What dance? At the out-of-the-blue question, Yeoun just blinked his eyes.

“In my room.”

“…No? I vacuumed, I vacuumed.”

“Oh, I see. I thought maybe you danced to please me.”

He didn’t know what he saw that made him think he danced. As he stared blankly, Baek Geonhyuk let out a small laugh.

“I guess I was so happy to see you that I saw wrong.”

“……”

What is he talking about? Joo Yeoun looked at Baek Geonhyuk as if he were a strange person. He often said things that were difficult to understand.

What else did I do in his room besides vacuuming? He thought, and then remembered staring at his bed for a long time.

“H, hey, you know….”

As he started to speak, he strode over and sat on the sofa. He could have listened from over there, so it was a bit disconcerting that he came so close, but that was all. Joo Yeoun did not shift to the end of the sofa.

“Ch, change the bed.”

“Should I?”

Baek Geonhyuk said readily. He had wondered what he would do if he refused, but it seemed the matter was being resolved more easily than he thought. Baek Geonhyuk must have found the bed uncomfortable too.

“Is it a bit hard? Should I change it to a soft one?”

“…Huuh?”

“What kind. Tell me your preference and I’ll look for it.”

Yeoun, who had been staring blankly, waved his hands in refusal.

“No. That’s not it. Let’s sw, switch rooms.”

In case Baek Geonhyuk didn’t understand this time either, Joo Yeoun pointed at the small room and the master bedroom with his finger. At that, Baek Geonhyuk asked for the reason.

“J, just because….”

Yeoun, who had been mumbling, opened his mouth again under the steady gaze.

“I, I think it would be g, good for you to use the big room.”

He added that he would use the small room, and that it seemed right, but Baek Geonhyuk was silent for some time.

“Yeoun-ah. Is there another reason you want that room?”

“…Huuh?”

Yeoun witnessed Baek Geonhyuk looking at him with a momentarily sharp gaze. His body froze solid.

“Checking the CCTV blind spots, too.”

He couldn’t help but swallow dryly at the muttered words. It seemed he had misunderstood something, and even though that wasn’t his intention at all, his sudden change in atmosphere made him tense.

Baek Geonhyuk tilted his head slightly and fixed his gaze on Joo Yeoun’s Adam’s apple. Then he moved only his pupils up to look at Joo Yeoun’s face again.

“It’s a bit concerning.”

Goosebumps rose on his skin as if a chilly wind had passed by. Yeoun grabbed his own arm and fiddled with it as he backed away. The edge of his bottom touched the armrest of the sofa.

A glance. Baek Geonhyuk, who had looked in that direction, spoke in a calm voice.

“Switching rooms is not allowed. If there’s anything else that’s inconvenient, let me know.”

“……”

“Alright?” Baek Geonhyuk said as if reasoning with a child. Then he leaned his upper body forward as if to study the expression of Joo Yeoun, who had his head lowered.

Joo Yeoun, who had been biting his lip tightly, shot up from his seat.

“Uh…. Yeoun-ah.”

Baek Geonhyuk looked at Joo Yeoun passing in front of him with a flustered expression, then awkwardly started to get up. He was standing there, watching quietly, when the white feet suddenly came to a halt. He carefully observed the thin shoulders rise high and then fall.

At that moment, Joo Yeoun whipped around and approached a few steps. It was a movement filled with so much emotion that he could feel the breeze.

“Hey.”

“……”

Baek Geonhyuk stopped short and stood up straight. As he straightened his back, Joo Yeoun looked straight up at him.

“Are you in, interrogating me?”

“…Huh?”

“Y, you have all the answers already decided. Why are you e, even asking me?”

You don’t even listen…. Joo Yeoun added and glared fiercely at Baek Geonhyuk. Baek Geonhyuk, who had been frozen, let out a low, “Ah.”

“Why did you want to switch rooms?”

At the belated question, the pale brow furrowed. Yeoun, who took a deep breath in and let it out with a whoosh, spoke with an air of forbearance.

“Because your bed seems too sm, small for you.”

“Ah….”

Seeing his face, which looked as if he hadn’t considered that at all, Joo Yeoun scrunched his brow even more.

“Hmm.”

Baek Geonhyuk paused for a moment. The words came out slowly, as if he were deliberating. “So,” he began, summarizing the situation.

“You suggested switching rooms because you were thinking of me, but I spoke like an asshole.”

“……”

It wasn’t quite to the point of being an asshole. Nevertheless, Joo Yeoun first nodded his head.