My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 61

“Hey! Lee Jaemin!”

 

The moment the door opened, a sharp shout came from inside, contrasting sharply with the peaceful scenery outside.

 

“Didn’t I tell you to get your work done on time?”

 

“Ah, I said I’d do it later. Who said I wasn’t going to?”

 

“That’s why I’m telling you to do it now! I’m the one who gets reprimanded because of you!”

 

A middle-aged woman and a man who looked to be in his twenties were going at each other like a spear and a shield.

 

Despite the commotion, the others sat at their desks as if this were an everyday occurrence, typing away at their computers.

 

Only the young woman with glasses sitting at the very front halfheartedly tried to stop the two, without even taking her eyes off her computer screen.

 

“Let’s stop. I heard the trainees are coming today, so don’t you think you should—”

 

Ding.

 

A cheerful bell rang, and everyone turned their attention toward them at once.

 

“Hello.”

 

Joohoon bowed politely first in greeting. The woman who had been trying to stop the two just moments ago squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again and standing from her seat.

 

“Ah, I heard about you. You’re the trainees who were supposed to arrive today.”

 

“Hello.”

 

Yoohee quickly greeted them as well, but the atmosphere in the room instantly turned cold, as though someone who wasn’t supposed to be there had just walked in.

 

“Great atmosphere. We’re really lucky.”

 

Ppiyak, inside the cage, chimed in.

 

“Ah, welcome. You must’ve had a long trip getting all the way here.”

 

A middle-aged man sitting toward the back then dragged his chair back and stood up. Despite his kind-looking face, his arms, exposed beneath his short sleeves, were covered in impressive muscles.

 

“I’m Lee Haeseop, the team leader here. You two certainly look the part.”

 

Haeseop, the center’s team leader, approached and held out his hand. After shaking Joohoon’s hand first, Yoohee quickly placed Ppiyak’s cage on top of her suitcase and accepted his handshake.

 

“A pet?”

 

Haeseop glanced at the cage as he asked. Yoohee nodded.

 

“Yes, a chick.”

 

“Oh, a chick. As it happens, we raise chickens at home too. What a coincidence.”

 

For a moment, Ppiyak’s feathers inside the cage stood on end, but Haeseop laughed heartily as though he had just made a delightful joke.

 

“So, do you two have somewhere to stay?”

 

“No…… We were told you’d arrange somewhere for us.”

 

“Ah, I see. It’s our first time taking in trainees, so that’s why. Then come stay at our place.”

 

Haeseop said it without hesitation.

 

At that, the brown-haired man who had been arguing with the woman moments earlier abruptly stood up in surprise.

 

“At our house? You never said anything about that.”

 

The middle-aged woman beside him immediately snapped at him.

 

“Quiet. Do we have a hotel here? Or a pension?”

 

“You should at least tell me! Why are you deciding things without discussing them with me?”

 

Yoohee and Joohoon stood awkwardly as Haeseop chuckled and ushered them outside.

 

“Let’s go unpack your things first. You can look around little by little afterward.”

 

They headed to Haeseop’s house in his van. It was close enough to walk, but they had luggage, so they took the car.

 

“Sorry you had to see all that noise on your first day.”

 

“No…… It’s okay.”

 

“You know that brown-haired kid you saw earlier? He’s my son. He’s a little lazy, but he’s not a bad kid, so get along with him.”

 

Haeseop’s family all worked at the center together.

 

The brown-haired young man was his son, Lee Jaemin, while the middle-aged woman who had been arguing with him was his wife, Kim Youngsook.

 

“We’re already here. Pretty close, right? You can walk to and from work from now on.”

 

After driving over one hill and a little farther, they soon arrived at Haeseop’s house.

 

Click.

 

After unfastening her seatbelt and getting out, Yoohee watched as Haeseop effortlessly lifted their suitcases from the trunk with his considerable strength.

 

“Let’s get along well from now on.”

 

“Please take good care of us.”

 

“Thank you for having us.”

 

Joohoon and Yoohee bowed once more, and Haeseop opened the front gate with a warm, friendly smile.

 

“Sure, sure. Come on in. Oh, come to think of it, have you eaten? If I’d known, I would’ve had my wife come along too. Ah—I should’ve thought of that.”

 

Haeseop began praising Youngsook’s bibim-guksu, saying it was a specialty of hers. The cozy atmosphere naturally brought a smile to Yoohee’s face, but once Haeseop stepped into the yard, he suddenly nodded as though he had just remembered something.

 

“I almost forgot, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

 

When Yoohee looked up at him, Haeseop had a slightly sheepish expression on his face.

 

“There’s only one room. Is that okay?”

 

“There’s…… how many rooms?”

 

Yoohee almost dropped the cage she was holding.

 

Perhaps thinking they were simply embarrassed, Haeseop smiled and patted Joohoon on the shoulder.

 

“You’re both grown adults, so what’s the problem? You two are a pair, right? I could tell at a glance. You look great together, too.”

 

He then opened the door to a separate annex prepared on one side of the house.

 

“You can stay in the room here. It won’t be too cramped for the two of you. There’s even a bathroom attached.”

 

“B-but……”

 

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re both like my own son and daughter. I won’t bother you, so make yourselves comfortable.”

 

No……

 

“Unpack your things and get some rest. I should call Youngsook and ask her how to make her bibim-guksu. Just trust me, I’ll make you an amazing meal. I’ll call you when it’s ready, so stay here for now.”

 

Haeseop gave them a hearty smile and walked across the wooden floor into the house.

 

Yoohee couldn’t bring herself to stop him, but at the same time, she couldn’t exactly bring herself to enter the room either. Just as the suffocating silence was beginning to stretch on—

 

[Constellation ‘Mala-Flavored Churu’ applauds, saying, “Team Leader, what a stroke of luck!”]

 

[Constellation ‘Mother of Failure’ happily agrees with Constallation ‘Mala-Flavored Churu’.]

 

[Constellation ‘Mother of Failure’ discreetly checks your reaction.]

 

The constellations’ reactions brought Yoohee back to her senses.

 

What’s done is done.

 

Joohoon must have been just as surprised, and it wasn’t as though they could keep standing there holding their suitcases forever. They needed to come up with some sort of solution.

 

“I-I didn’t expect things to turn out like this…… But maybe the room is bigger than we think.”

 

With that thought, Yoohee entered the room with Ppiyak.

 

The room was actually quite spacious. If she had to estimate, it was probably around 26 square meters. There was only a small wardrobe and a chest of drawers, making it look even more spacious.

 

It certainly wasn’t too small for two people, but……

 

The problem is that we’re sharing a room in the first place!

 

“……I didn’t expect this either.”

 

Joohoon rubbed his chin, looking troubled as well.

 

Yoohee had slept in the same bed as Joohoon back at the academy, but one day and one month were two completely different things.

 

In the end, Joohoon came up with an alternative.

 

“When Jaemin gets back, I’ll ask if I can share his room.”

 

“Would that really be okay?”

 

It was a reasonable solution. But considering Joohoon’s personality, sharing a room with someone he had never met before would probably be uncomfortable for him, too.

 

“It’s fine. I think…… that would be better.”

 

Joohoon answered with a smile. Yoohee had no choice but to smile along with him.

 

She had been close to Joohoon since childhood, but that was simply because they had been friends. Now that she had become aware of her feelings toward him as a man, she needed more time before getting any closer.

 

Unlike her, Joohoon still wanted to preserve their relationship as it was.

 

“Okay. I understand.”

 

They brought their luggage into the room and opened Ppiyak’s cage.

 

After finally stepping onto the floor outside his cage for the first time in four long hours, Ppiyak shook himself all over and scanned his surroundings.

 

“So this is it. The place I’ll be living from now on.”

 

Yoohee gave the exhausted Ppiyak some snacks and spoke softly.

 

“There’s a yard, too, so you can run around as much as you want.”

 

“Hmph, what am I, a kid?”

 

Ppiyak turned his head away indifferently after accepting the snack, but contrary to his words, he was already toddling toward the yard on his thin little legs.

 

***

 

“No.”

 

A little while later, Jaemin returned home with Youngsook and flatly refused.

 

Joohoon couldn’t hide his flustered expression at the curt rejection.

 

“I-I know it’s an imposition, but could you please think about it one more time……”

 

“No. I absolutely hate sharing a room with anyone.”

 

“Ah……”

 

I’m going to get indigestion at this rate.

 

They had been eating watermelon on the wooden veranda after lunch. When Jaemin rejected the idea once again, the peaceful atmosphere from moments ago instantly became tense.

 

“I’m not even going to go near the annex, so don’t worry about having to accommodate us. Whether you two roast beans over lightning, grill squid, or even fall for each other…… Ah!”