Second Half Chapter 34

…No, well. He could at least make a cup of coffee for Aaron. With that guy’s appetite, cereal wouldn’t even come close to filling him up, so he could probably grill a couple of chicken breasts for him too. But the problem was that the simplest words wouldn’t come out. He tried to pry his lips apart, which felt as if they were glued shut, but instead, he just blinked his eyes aimlessly and inadvertently let his gaze land on the first thing in his field of vision.

Of all things, it had to be Aaron’s chest. Realizing his mistake, Jerim tried to look away quickly, but he had already seen everything there was to see.

‘His physique is still incredible.’

They say there are differences in natural build depending on race, but how did this guy get blessed with a body so perfectly optimized for a football player—and a striker at that?

The frame itself was large like an American football player’s, but there was absolutely no unnecessary fat, and muscles were attached only where needed and in the exact right amounts. Thanks to that, Aaron’s strength was maintaining a perfect upper-and-lower body balance, ensuring he was never pushed around in a physical scuffle.

His muscular forearms bulged and subsided repeatedly every time Aaron lifted his spoon. When he wore a black dress shirt—the team uniform—the muscles were clearly defined enough to reveal their shape subtly, and his black tattoos added to the sense of intimidation. Latin phrases, an image of the Virgin Mary, a cathedral, waves, clouds, and even a large ship. Knowing that guy’s personality, he probably didn’t engrave meaningless patterns.

After observing that much, Jerim realized he was analyzing Aaron’s body quite rationally, and that his own lower half was perfectly fine.

All this time, he had been terrified that seeing the guy’s bare body might cause “an incident,” so he had showered separately and changed clothes in a rush with his eyes fixed firmly on the wall like a punished child—but it turned out to be all useless worrying. A look of relief washed over Jerim’s face. Watching him, Aaron raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you staring at a person’s body so intensely?”

“Ha, haha, ah, sheesh. As I thought, there’s no need to go looking for trouble. Yeah, of course.”

He couldn’t believe how happy he was to confirm that only Aaron’s face was his type, and that he wasn’t some pervert who got excited looking at a naked body. Now, the need to hold out until the very end and enter the shower only after enduring malicious suspicions—like whether his “thing” had been snapped in half and shrunk—had vanished. Humming a tune, Jerim took four packs of chicken breast, eggs, and oatmeal out of the fridge.

However, the moment Aaron stood up to clear his finished cereal bowl, Jerim spotted his lower half, clad only in underwear, and let out another shriek.

“Why the hell are you stripping off your pants too?”

“What am I supposed to do when my clothes and shoes are all soaked and gone because I was serving my drunken Captain yesterday?”

“Don’t talk like that. It sounds weird! Wait. I’ll give you some of my clothes.”

“They won’t fit.”

“Shut up. Then I’ll give you a bathrobe or something, so just wear it.”

Since he already had a disgustingly large dick and was wearing skin-tight drawers, the silhouette was fully revealed. Jerim set down the ingredients and scurried off to the dressing room. He pulled on the first top he grabbed and rummaged through the corner of a drawer until the item he was looking for appeared.

Since he wasn’t the type to bother wearing a robe after washing up, it was something he had received as a housewarming gift a long time ago and had never used. Tossing the robe—which smelled faintly of musty dust—to Aaron, Jerim cleared his throat.

“Here. And, sor…”

“Sor?”

“Sor, ha… I’m sorry… and thanks. For last night…”

It was too important a thing to just skip over under the excuse that the words wouldn’t come out of his throat. He had been taught to always convey apologies and gratitude right away, and since he had received a huge favor from a guy he hated being indebted to, it was only right to pay his respects.

Now, another response that scrapes at my insides will come back. Still, let’s back down this once. Since I’m the one who committed a “sin.” It was just as he braced himself.

“Don’t mention it.”

Aaron replied with a clean, smiling face. He accepted the robe without any particular protest and put it on quietly. Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Jerim stared blankly at Aaron’s face before whipping his back around. Then, tapping his ears which felt strangely ticklish with his palms, he spoke.

“Give me your clothes. I’ll wash them for you. Grill the chicken breasts while I go start the laundry.”

Since the clothes he wore yesterday must be all soaked too, they should be washed together. As for the shoes, he’d have to drop them off at the cleaners later, Aaron’s included. Calculating that it would take a good two hours for the washing machine and dryer to finish, he gestured toward the ingredients he had taken out earlier. Just as he was about to leave, Aaron’s puzzled voice rang out from behind him.

“You eat four packs all by yourself?”

“Two of them are yours. If you don’t want them, whatever.”

“As you command.”

It was a response that fell somewhat playfully. Not only that, but at the tone of him kindly asking, “Jerim, you sprinkle pepper, right?” Jerim got swept right along and answered, “Yeah. There’s basil powder in the cupboard, so you sprinkle that.” He felt like something was strange, yet he couldn’t pin down exactly what was off.

When he returned after putting the laundry in the machine, Aaron was grilling the meat with practiced movements. In another pan, a yellow omelet was cooking, giving off a savory aroma. He must have rummaged through the fridge in the meantime, as onions, carrots, and bell peppers that had been wilting were finely chopped and mixed in. A transparent glass bowl held a salad made by tossing in all the remaining vegetables.

‘He’s fast. Is he a Snail Bride or something?’

Jerim stood admiring the half-naked, 6.4-foot Spanish male Snail Bride for a moment, then poured water over the oatmeal, added an egg, and boiled it down. Even if the appearance looked like food waste, there was nothing better than this for a hangover. When he scooped a ladle of the finished oatmeal egg porridge for Aaron, the guy emptied the bowl without a single complaint.

A meal that would have ended with just oatmeal egg porridge and dry chicken breast if he were alone became quite luxurious thanks to Aaron. His mood turned rather generous as the taste wasn’t bad, so Jerim personally made a cup of coffee for Aaron and then took out the red ginseng extract for the first time in a long while. Dust had settled white on the lid, but the expiration date hadn’t passed yet. Though it was slightly pushing it.

Since it came to mind, he should eat it. If his mother hadn’t urged him, it would have rotted away until he threw it out. When he brought it to the table and opened the lid, the guy who had even eaten the oatmeal egg porridge quietly scowled and covered his nose as much as he could.

“What is that? As soon as you open the lid, a rotten smell…”

“It’s not a rotten smell, it’s a healthy smell. Hey, you have a spoonful too. This is expensive stuff, you know?”

Jerim, who took the first bite, wrinkled his nose at the bitterness filling his mouth and scooped a portion for Aaron with another spoon.

Looking at the thick, reddish-brown contents suspiciously, Aaron reluctantly opened his mouth as Jerim shook the spoon, saying his arm was going to fall off. And as soon as he took it like a baby bird, he gagged.

“Ugh…”

“Uh-huh, swallow it.”

“The taste is fucking awful, like a spoonful of honey mixed into fermented hundred-year-old tree bark…”

“Things that are good for the body are usually bitter. I’ll give you a whole box as a gift this time, so take it with you.”

“Jerim, are you perhaps determined to poison me?”

“Didn’t you just see me eat it right in front of your eyes? This punk ignores a person’s kindness.”

He definitely wasn’t trying to clear out a product nearing its expiration date like a clearance sale. But Aaron, seemingly finding it hard to even speak further, covered his mouth and bolted toward the bathroom. It looked like he was going to brush his teeth.

This time, I really didn’t intend to mess with him… Jerim scratched his head awkwardly and stood up to wash his mouth out as well.

After finishing their late first meal and both finishing a round of tooth brushing, the washing machine happened to finish its cycle. Jerim put the clothes into the dryer and ambled out to the living room. Just as he was wondering how to kill time until everything was dry, Aaron pulled a PlayStation out from under the TV. Seeing as his manner of taking the thing out was natural, he must have looked at it while he was awake alone.

“You’re making yourself right at home, aren’t you?”

“There’s nothing to do anyway. Let’s play together.”

As he said, there was nothing as appropriate for killing time as gaming, so Jerim accepted the controller while half-lying on the sofa. Since Jerim’s legs took up more than half the sofa, Aaron had no choice but to sit on the floor and lean his back against the bottom of the sofa.

Sitting in a position where the guest and host were reversed, the two turned on the football game famous for its annual releases.