Stranger

After lunch, I came back to cram school and studied, then went to my part-time job, and by the time I went home, it was time for dinner. After dinner, I did the laundry I’d been putting off. Even after the move, Yeon Woojeong hired a cleaning company, but I decided to do the easy laundry myself. It wasn’t hard to do, since it was all about running the washing machine and hanging it on the drying rack. Yeon Woojeong didn’t stop me, but he then started helping out around the house.

Back in the living room, I looked at the growing beans in the cultivator and sighed. Did he do this on purpose? Yeon Woojeong wasn’t the kind of person who would forget and repeat the same thing. But if he did it on purpose, why?

This was nothing big, but it bothered me. I was looking forward to growing the sprouts and showing him the finished product. I decided to change the beans later.

I did my homework for the day and checked the time. From what I remembered, he didn’t say he would be late, but it was already 10 o’clock. Sometimes, when things got too hectic, he would be late to contact me. It was when I picked up my phone, thinking I should call him first. I heard the sound of the door opening and rose to my feet. It felt good to get good timing like this once in a while.

I went to the front door. Yeon Woojeong walked in, smiling.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome. Mr. Yeon.”

“Mhm?”

“Why did you do that to the sprouts?”

I pointed to the cultivator in the corner of the living room, and Yeon Woojeong’s gaze went there for a moment.

“Oh, sorry.”

Yeon Woojeong apologized dryly, not looking sorry at all, and walked past me. What is it? I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, and then followed Yeon Woojeong into his room and stood at the door.

“I’m asking you why.”

He pulled down his tie and looked back at me. Unreadable eyes scanned me for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders with a look I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“Just because.”

… What?

Yeon Woojeong turned his back to me and took off his suit jacket. I blinked absentmindedly. I was taken aback and couldn’t think for a moment.

What is it? I thought he definitely had his reasons. It was impossible for him to interrupt what I was doing without reasons. Maybe he was looking at the sprouts and forgot to cover them with a cloth, but just because?

I couldn’t understand him. But I wanted to understand all of him.

“Why?”

So, I asked again, but Yeon Woojeong remained silent. He very slowly unbuttoned his shirt as if he were trying to make me explode inside. I couldn’t hold back and furrowed my brow.

“Why are you throwing a tantrum?”

I made up my mind to ask nicely at lunch, but my resolve was shattered. Hearing my question, Yeon Woojeong raised an eyebrow and looked back at me.

“Tantrum?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s right, I’m throwing a tantrum.”

It left me even more confused because he readily admitted it. Really, what is it? There was no reason for that to happen.

Still unable to relax my brow, I chased Yeon Woojeong’s hand with my eyes. He turned toward me again and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. As I watched the firm, white chest being exposed, his closed lips slowly parted in my vision.

“You ran away in my dream…”

I looked up. Black eyes that were staring intently at me came into view.

“It pissed me off.”

I relaxed my frown. I felt drained somehow.

“I want you to grow that thing for the rest of your life.”

“…”

“What? Do you think it’s unfair? Get used to it.”

He didn’t look angry. Yeon Woojeong was rather talking, smiling shamelessly, then turned around and took off his shirt. He was acting so confident. After eyeing the protruding shoulder blades and contracting muscles, I turned around in silence and entered my room.

I made eye contact with a teddy bear on the desk as soon as I entered. Yeon Woojeong gave it to me on White Day. While its mouth was smiling, its eyeballs were black and glowing, giving it an eerie look when I saw it at night. I walked over and hit the teddy bear on the head.

I felt like I understood Yeon Woojeong, but at the same time not. Regardless, it was my fault that he had such a dream. Was he in fear? Was he annoyed? So all he did was…

Ruining the bean sprouts. Unbelievable.

I imagined Yeon Woojeong kicking the cultivator with his foot, leaving the black cloth down roughly, and turning around. I squeezed the teddy bear’s hand. I felt a lump in my throat. It also felt like I was getting dizzy, my palms were itchy, and my ears felt hot.

How should I express this feeling? I’m sure all the people in this world are fool. I can’t believe there’s no word to explain my feeling at the moment.

But why shouldn’t sprouts get sunlight? Out of curiosity, I picked up my phone and googled it. The instructions said not to let them see sunlight, but after I googled it, I found that sunlight doesn’t cause sprouts to grow weirdly.

After letting out a sigh, I left my room and went back into Yeon Woojeong’s room. I approached Yeon Woojeong, who had completely changed his clothes, hugged him around the waist and put my face on his shoulder. Without saying anything, Yeon Woojeong put his hands on my back and stroked it.

“Mr. Yeon. Apparently sprouts just get a little hard when they are exposed to sunlight. It’s no problem.”

“…”

“It’s fine even they are not soft. I’ll eat them. And I’ll continue to grow them.”

I wished Yeon Woojeong didn’t have that kind of dream. It would end once he woke up, but I wanted him to be comfortable in his dreams.

Since I had already run away, verbal promises would be meaningless. So I would show it. The view with me in it every morning. It wouldn’t be bad to grow sprouts for the rest of my life like Yeon Woojeong said. That would be one of my life goals. Nothing big, nothing spectacular.

Yeon Woojeong sighed and laughed. He tugged at the nape of my neck. I saw laughter in his eyes.

“Why would you eat that?”

“It’s okay. They’re more nutritious.”

“You don’t like vegetables, though.”

“I like them.”

“Look at you lying.”

He grabbed my arm and led me to the bed. Yeon Woojeong laid me down and put his arm under my head. Then he laid down facing me.

“What did you eat for dinner?”

“Food at home.”

He put his hand inside my t-shirt and rubbed my stomach.

“Are you full?”

“Why?”

“I was thinking about going out and getting something to eat.”

“You didn’t have dinner?”

“I have. I’m just asking if you want to go to a café. We can also take a walk. The weather is good today.”

“I like that.”

As I hurriedly stood up, he smiled and leisurely got to his feet. “I have to change again,” he mumbled. I looked at him and suddenly I wanted to kiss him. While I was hesitating, Yeon Woojeong saw me and bobbed his eyebrows. I ended up kissing him briefly on the mouth, and when I pulled away, he laughed and tugged at the nape of my neck.