Hit by a Pitched Ball Chapter 10

Taebeom’s arrival time wasn’t much different from the estimated time calculated based on distance. About 40 minutes later, when he messaged asking if he could park in the basement, Yunjae finally hurriedly asked for his license plate number.

Yunjae registered the visiting vehicle through the app and sat awkwardly on the sofa, glaring at the innocent intercom. He didn’t know what he was feeling. It wasn’t clear enough to call it uncomfortable, nor excited enough to call it anticipation.

What was clear was that the short time it took for Taebeom to come up felt incredibly long. A time that could only be short felt like eons.

Yunjae couldn’t hide his growing impatience and kept biting his lips. Since moving here, aside from Seongjun, there hadn’t been any real guests. It had been almost a year since anyone had crossed that threshold. His sociability was truly remarkable. Are all kids these days like this? A low sigh escaped Yunjae’s lips.

Just a few days ago, he’d been cursing Ha Taebeom on TV as unlucky—he couldn’t have imagined this. What if he went back to that day and told himself, “In a little while, Ha Taebeom is coming to your house”? Given his personality, he’d probably have gotten at least a sharp retort.

Just as reality was starting to fade, the doorbell rang with perfect timing. Startled by the sound breaking the silence, Yunjae flinched and froze, then sprang to his feet. Creaking like a broken machine, he hurried his steps and stood before the intercom.

In the curved screen, the top of a black cap was visible. His face was hard to make out, as he was looking down.

When there was no response, Taebeom lifted his head slightly. Only his smoothly defined jawline was visible beneath the brim. Taebeom wore a hat every time he came, as if teasing how flustered he’d been that day. He’d even purposely push it forward as if seeking praise. Yunjae shook his head as if conceding defeat.

Yunjae pressed down and smoothed his back hair with his hand before heading to the front door. Before grabbing the door lock handle and opening it, he took one deep breath.

It was an effort not to act awkward. Yunjae rubbed his stiff face with his palm to loosen it, then pushed the front door open. Ha Taebeom, who had been looking at his phone with his head down, looked up at the door that appeared at his feet.

The phone screen showed the call log. Taebeom shrugged, as if to say he’d been about to call, and smiled with a wrinkle in his nose.

“You just open the door without checking?”

“…There’s nothing really. I saw you there too.”

“I can come in, right?”

“Ah. Yes. Come in.”

You came to come in anyway. At the belated display of courtesy, a hollow laugh escaped. At the sound of laughter, Taebeom glanced back at Yunjae, moved only his feet to take off his shoes, and stepped inside. As he passed by, a faint scent of water came from Taebeom’s body. A subtle cotton scent was mixed in as well.

So he did wash up. Pretty fast. A stray thought passed through. Following him inside, Yunjae stole a glance at the broad back standing there. Dressed in a thin sweatshirt and jeans, Ha Taebeom took off the hat he’d been wearing and placed it on the dining table.

As Taebeom stood rooted to the spot, busy looking around the small house, Yunjae called him over to the sofa. At his call, Taebeom approached, roughly sweeping back his flattened hair, and plopped down on the sofa. The sofa he sat on looked particularly small. Yunjae bit the inside of his cheek to stifle a laugh.

Taebeom gave a suspicious glance at his awkwardly contorted face, rubbed the corner of his mouth, and asked, “Do you have beer?”

“Alcohol?”

“Why not?”

Having said something that revealed his intentions completely, yet smiling innocently as if nothing was wrong, Yunjae was momentarily speechless. He’d never expected him to so blatantly imply he wasn’t going home. But since he’d more or less anticipated it, he had no intention of making an issue of it.

More than anything, it was the middle of the season. In interviews, he’d said he didn’t drink during the season. His mouth closed in displeasure at the contradiction. A dormant disposition began to stir. A player drinking in the middle of the season?

“I sometimes have one can by myself. And I’m not starting tomorrow anyway.”

As if reading the words in his eyes, Taebeom quickly added an excuse. Even at his words, Yunjae showed little reaction, letting out a short sigh and getting up.

“You don’t look like it, but you act like such a boomer.”

“If you look closely, I probably do look like it.”

“Then come a little closer so I can see properly.”

At Taebeom’s sly remark, Yunjae hesitated for a moment, swallowed dryly, and continued calmly.

“…Anything is fine, right?”

Taebeom snickered, finding Yunjae’s reaction amusing. He rested his arms on his knees and leisurely propped his chin up. As he slightly bent his back, well-developed muscles stood out beneath the thin fabric. It was honestly an admirable physique. Almost admiring it, Yunjae quickly turned his gaze away as he opened the refrigerator door.

“What do you have?”

“I mostly drink domestic…”

“How do you live? Your fridge is completely empty.”

A large shadow fell over Yunjae as he stood in front of the refrigerator. The moment Yunjae’s startled gaze shifted to Taebeom, he covered Yunjae’s eyes with the hand that had been holding the refrigerator door. A soft chuckle fell from above. As Yunjae twisted his head, Taebeom obediently removed his hand.

Ha Taebeom, pressed close behind, looked into the fridge over Yunjae’s shoulder without much effort. Admiration turned into a sigh. Not in a particularly good mood, Yunjae clicked his tongue and pointed indifferently at the neatly arranged beers.

“I don’t bother cooking because it’s a hassle. Living alone, everything just goes to waste. It’s easier to buy or order delivery.”

“Can I order something?”

At Yunjae’s answer, Taebeom nodded appropriately, tilted his head to the side, and met his eyes. His tone made it hard to refuse. So you really have no intention of going home, huh. Yunjae narrowed his eyes and smiled. His head shook involuntarily.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll order.”

As Taebeom moved to pull out his phone, seeming to understand that the head shake wasn’t a refusal, Yunjae hurriedly blocked him. Then Taebeom blocked that hand in turn.

“It’s fine. I’ll order. I’m not the kind of person who shows up at this hour and asks for a meal too. Do you want some too, hyung? Chicken? Jokbal? Bossam. Ah, what else is available for delivery right now?”

Taking the beer Yunjae handed him, Taebeom sat on the sofa. For someone who’d just played a game, he didn’t look particularly tired—Yunjae glanced at him with renewed surprise and answered that anything was fine, then stealthily opened a delivery app.

“Is it okay for you to eat right now?”

“What wouldn’t be okay? I heard hyung does work that doesn’t require going to the office too?”

He knew whose mouth he’d heard that from, but having it mentioned so bluntly made his face feel hot. Sweeping the back of his neck with his palm and averting his gaze, Yunjae wore an awkward expression.

“That’s true, but I still work during normal working hours.”

“You didn’t that day.”

The follow-up question wasn’t really a question. Yunjae looked at Taebeom, who casually mentioned that day, with slightly surprised eyes. His heart sank. His awkwardly twitching lips ultimately let out no words and closed firmly again. If he put it that way, he had no comeback.

Then he heard a soft chuckle from right beside him. Turning his eyes, he saw a face full of playfulness. A face that suited his age perfectly, innocent. Yunjae’s mouth suddenly felt dry; his throat bobbed as he swallowed. He snatched the beer he hadn’t intended to drink and hastily gulped it down.

“What are you ordering?”

“I said I’ll order. Or order with this. Is the card registered?”

Pulling out a card tucked behind the phone with the delivery app open, Taebeom unhesitatingly tossed the phone onto the living room table.

“You want me to register it?”

“Yes.”

“You make dangerous statements easily.”

Despite Yunjae declining, saying it was fine, Taebeom ultimately pressed the card into Yunjae’s hand and drained the remaining beer in one go. Considering the delivery time, Yunjae chose food that would arrive relatively quickly.

“Is pizza okay?”

“Sure, right?”

“Are you really okay with it?”

“Are you planning to poison me?”

Taebeom quipped jokingly and said flatly, “I don’t go that hard.” Relieved by that answer, Yunjae completed the order.

Glancing at Yunjae as he put down his phone, Taebeom asked if he could turn on the TV. Yunjae nodded and found the remote to hand over. Immediately, dazzling light flooded the dark space that had relied only on the lighting.