Midday Guest Chapter 47

The conversation was about to head in a strange direction. The grip of his hand holding Yiwon’s folded arm grew suspiciously firm. Before the atmosphere could veer completely off course, Yiwon knew he had to distance himself.

Yiwon twisted his body and broke free from Cha Seokjoo. Taking a few steps back, he flung open the sliding door of the guest room.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll bring the ramen.”

He was about to dash toward the kitchen without looking back. Right then, a person appeared beyond the main gate of Haeundang and stepped into the yard.

“Yiwon.”

“…Sunbae?”

Park Junseo stepped into the house without even waiting for Yiwon’s permission. He acted like someone who had made a prior appointment to visit at this exact time. Approaching right below the wooden veranda, Park Junseo spoke with a smile.

“You were home. Do you have a moment?”

“What brings you here so suddenly?”

“Should I even call this ‘business’? I came to have a meal with you. I have something to say to you as well.”

“A meal?”

“Yeah. If you haven’t eaten, let’s eat together. We can go to a rice set restaurant, or just somewhere nearby.”

“…Uh.”

Standing in front of the guest room, Yiwon was momentarily flustered. He hadn’t dreamed in his wildest thoughts that Park Junseo would barge into Haeundang unannounced and ask to share a meal.

“I have plans for dinner.”

Even though it was an event that had materialized only a minute ago, eating cup ramen was still a plan in its own right. However, upon hearing Yiwon’s answer, Park Junseo’s expression crumbled. It wasn’t the kind of reaction expected from someone who had shown up uninvited and suggested a meal.

“…Is that so?”

“Yes….”

Yiwon let his voice trail off and sank into thought. There was a point where the image of Park Junseo waiting in front of the laundry shop with a cup of coffee and his current appearance overlapped strangely. For instance, his habit of visiting without context and the way communication strangely failed to connect.

“Ah, I should have contacted you before coming.”

“……”

“I made a mistake. Sorry.”

Park Junseo bowed his head with a sheepish laugh. Scratching the back of his head, he examined Yiwon’s attire with a puzzled look.

For someone who claimed to have dinner plans, Yiwon’s hair was sticking up like he had just woken up, and he was dressed in clothes meant for indoors.

When Park Junseo slowly raised his head, the expression had vanished from his face.

“What time is the dinner appointment?”

“It’s very soon….”

“…I see.”

Park Junseo was making a persistent effort to keep the conversation going.

“If you’re heading out now, want to go together? I was planning to head toward downtown anyway.”

“I have some tidying up to do first. It would be more comfortable for you to go ahead.”

“Will it take long? I can wait if it’s just a moment….”

It was then.

Cha Seokjoo opened the guest room door and stepped out. The man who usually left the room in impeccably neat attire was dressed loosely today. A T-shirt and shorts. While not identical to Yiwon’s, he stood on the wooden veranda wearing clothes that shared a similar vibe.

Park Junseo’s voice trailed off. And then it disappeared entirely. After a brief scan of Cha Seokjoo appearing on the veranda, Park Junseo began to show a look of wary hostility. After their encounter at the office opening ceremony, this was already their second confrontation.

“……”

“……”

Cha Seokjoo and Park Junseo simply stared at each other without a word. They might have exchanged greetings as people who had seen each other around, but there was no such gesture. It was Yiwon who felt caught in the middle.

Park Junseo’s gaze was demanding an explanation.

Jung Yiwon, why are you coming out of the guest room?

The questioning look didn’t let up easily. Park Junseo, standing alone in the yard, fixed his gaze on Yiwon’s neck. Then his eyes scanned Yiwon’s lips. The red marks that weren’t usually there and the lips that were more swollen than usual drew his attention unnaturally.

Suddenly, someone stepped in to block Park Junseo’s view of Yiwon.

It was Cha Seokjoo.

“He said he has things to tidy up.”

“……”

“Was that such a difficult thing to understand?”

At Cha Seokjoo’s words, Park Junseo stepped forward.

“This is none of your business.”

“Why is it none of my business? The appointment he’s talking about is the one he made with me.”

“…What?”

Park Junseo’s features distorted grotesquely. It looked as if a fight might break out at any second.

“Director, wait a moment.”

Yiwon hurriedly stepped in to restrain Cha Seokjoo. Or rather, he tried to. But he had no choice but to be pushed back by Cha Seokjoo’s arm.

“…Director.”

“What.”

Yiwon shook his head silently. At that, Cha Seokjoo added more words with a look of dissatisfaction.

“It’s not like I’m some neighborhood thug or gangster. I won’t touch him. I have no intention of touching him.”

In short, he was saying the man wasn’t even worth dealing with.

Park Junseo clenched the fists that had been hanging limply. Looking up at Cha Seokjoo from the yard, Park Junseo’s lips pressed into a tight line. Thanks to the action of gritting his teeth, his jaw muscles bulged and then settled.

Yiwon feared something might happen. He gently pulled down Cha Seokjoo’s wrist and stepped into the yard toward Park Junseo.

“Sunbae, today is really not a good time. I think it would be better to see you next time….”

“……”

“Sunbae.”

“Right. I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, please get home safely.”

Park Junseo raised his head and looked at the wooden veranda. With unfocused eyes, he scanned the two people above in turn. Yiwon first, and Cha Seokjoo beside him last.

Then, with heavy footsteps, he walked out of the main gate of Haeundang. Park Junseo moved further and further away. Today, there was no waving.

Yiwon pushed Cha Seokjoo’s back toward the kitchen and spoke.

“Let’s go.”

“I can’t exactly lock this one up somewhere.”

Right on cue, a growling sound rang out very loudly. Cha Seokjoo’s disapproving gaze continued to fly toward him.

“I’m hungry.”

“……”

“Let’s go. To eat ramen.”

Yiwon wrapped his arm around Cha Seokjoo’s waist. Only then did Cha Seokjoo’s gaze shift from the gate back to Yiwon.

They started with ramen, fried up some dumplings and kimchi pancakes, and then fell asleep. They say there’s no better tonic than eating well and sleeping well. Yiwon truly realized the truth of those words.

He slept so deeply that he didn’t hear the crickets chirping at night or the cicadas starting up at dawn. He didn’t even dream.

Yiwon looked at Cha Seokjoo with eyes that wouldn’t even open properly because he had slept too much. The man had already washed and changed into a suit, finishing his preparations to go out.

“Where are you going?”

“A meeting.”

“…Ah, I guess you’re heading to work.”

“Something like that. Sleep more.”

“Ugh, I think I should. I’m so sleepy.”

“If you wake up, come over for coffee in the afternoon.”

“Yes….”

He buried his nose in the blanket and closed his eyes languidly. There was a nice scent. Forcing his stiff eyes open, he saw Cha Seokjoo tightening his tie.

“Oh, right. The clothes you left behind last time.”

“Hmm?”

“The stained black suit, I dropped it off at the laundry. I’ll pick it up for you later this afternoon.”

“I didn’t leave it behind to order you around.”

I left it because I lost my mind while we were kissing.

Laughter leaked out at the unspoken follow-up. While Yiwon recalled that moment, Cha Seokjoo took his wallet from his pocket. A stack of fifty-thousand-won bills piled up on the table.

“Use this to pay.”

“Ah, you don’t have to give me money. The laundry fee doesn’t cost nearly this much.”

“It’s problematic if I look like someone who leeches off his young lover.”

I don’t think anyone would see it that way. Yiwon spoke while looking up at Cha Seokjoo from the floor.

“You can pay me back with something else later.”

“Pay back with what else? If not money, then my body?”

“……”

“I’m confident in my sexual skills. How many times over should I pay you back, Boss?”

A meal, or a drive to somewhere far away. Yiwon, who had been thinking of trivial things, shook his head as he sat up in the bedding. He had been caught completely off guard by a roleplay that started just like that yesterday…. It seemed this scenario would meet an even more disastrous ending than yesterday’s.

“Have a good day.”

“Look at you, chasing a guest away now.”

“It’s because you keep saying strange things.”

Cha Seokjoo ruffled Yiwon’s hair with his large hand as he passed. Shrinking back at the ticklish sensation, Yiwon rolled around on the floor. The scent of Cha Seokjoo wafted up from the blanket.

“Don’t come out. Stay lying down.”

“…Ye-es.”

He answered obediently and closed his eyes. He had no intention of getting up anyway.

Cha Seokjoo had left Haeundang, but his scent still lingered around Yiwon. Like a pervert, Yiwon buried his nose in the blanket and sniffed before falling into a light sleep soon after.

When he opened his eyes again, two hours had passed.

He told me to come for coffee in the afternoon.

Yiwon lounged around until the clock passed noon. Then he finally got up and woke himself up by showering in cool water.

Looking in the mirror, Yiwon gasped and held his breath. His neck, shoulders, and even the thin skin on the inside of his arms were mottled with bruises.

What should I do about all this?

Cha Seokjoo was the type to leave many marks to begin with, but yesterday he had been particularly mischievous. Below the collarbone, it was hard to find any white skin amidst the red hues.