Stranger

Chapter 2 Exploration

I look around to check for the time, but there is no clock here. I subsequently notice a phone left on the table. It is unfamiliar, but it is mine. As I turn on the screen, it is 8 a.m.

The bedroom door is still closed. I didn’t hear the sound of him leaving the house, so I checked the entrance. His shoes are still there which means he’s still home.

After taking a shower and brushing my teeth, I get hungry. I can endure the hunger, so I decided to not have breakfast now.

Because there’s really nothing for me to do, I turn on the TV and then; it is almost 1 p.m. already. I don’t see any sign of Yeon Woojeong coming out of his room, so I take out a lunch box from the freezer. After finishing it, I’m back to having nothing to do and I stare at the closed door. Was it a book room? Yeon Woojeong never said to not enter anywhere.

I open the bookroom door. There’s nothing to cover the window here, so the sunlight fills the room. It is so bright even without turning on the light, so I just enter it and stand before the bookshelf.

There are a lot of kinds of books here. Perhaps because he is a prosecutor, there are books related to law or trial, and books on various topics, such as classic novels which I heard the titles of when I was in school, history, and economy that are put randomly.

I catch a sight of the title ‘All About Car,’ so I take out the book that is not too thick. However, there is a glass filled with liquid drawn on the cover. I lose interest as soon as I find out that it is tea, not a car, so I put it back. Why would he read this? There is only water in his home, though. (TN: both car and tea has the same word ‘차’ so actually it is read as All About Tea)

The book is not an object that is close to me. Reading takes time, so it eventually becomes a luxury for me. The food for the heart can not fill the stomach. I wonder if Yeon Woojeong has read all of these books. I try to imagine him sitting in an extremely mushy chair while reading a book. Unexpectedly, it fits him.

“What are you looking at?”

My shoulders shake at the sudden voice. I turn my back and crease my forehead.

Yeon Woojeong, who still has dopey eyes, his hair is just like a magpie’s nest. I’m really shocked that a human’s hair can stand jaggedly like that.

“Did you sleep without drying your hair?”

“I dried my hair.”

“But why is your hair like that?”

“It’s normally like this.”

Yeon Woojeong yawns while walking inside. He is wearing a large T-shirt and pants covering his feet. He stands next to me and looks at the bookshelf. I barely turn my gaze from the wrecked hair.

“Did you read all the books here?”

“Yeah.”

It is surprising that he has read all the books even though there are not only a couple or dozens of books. I pull out one of the books in front of me that looks boring. Lev Tolstoy, ‘Resurrection’. Yeon Woojeong glances at that, then furrows his brows and laughs.

“Ah, it was really hard reading that.”

“Why?”

“It was hard and not fun. I couldn’t understand it even though I’ve already read it twice, so I read it once more, and then finally I understood it.”

“Why did you read it again if you didn’t understand it?”

“It’s pissing me off if I can’t understand it even though I‘ve read it.”

That pissed you off? I put back the book. As we talk, his dopey eyes gradually turn clear. His sleepy eyes are…… somewhat making me out of my mind, but his eyes now are the usual him.

“Then, what was the most entertaining?”

“Erm… this one.”

Yeon Woojeong takes out a book. I often hear it, but I never read it. ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. It’s a manhwa from the cover. When I turn my head, he taps on someone’s face in the cover with his finger.

“If anything is fun, that’s all.”

“There are more that don’t look fun, though.”

“Actually… they are perfect to read when I can’t fall asleep.”

He takes a thick book then buries himself in the chair. He opens the book and puts it on top of his face. After straightening his feet, he puts his right foot on top of his left foot and crosses his arms on top of his stomach. That looks so natural and comfortable. The hems of his pants are slightly lifted up and show his ankle bones. I stare absentmindedly at the reddish skin, then turn my gaze to the bookshelf.

There is another ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ under ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. The one below is a novel. Each novel and manhwa has ten volumes. I take out and open the first volume of the novel. The words don’t really entice me.

“How is it? Is that readable?”

“Don’t know.”

“Try to read it once. Well, it doesn’t have to be that one. Read one and make one target. Something like I’ll eat something tasty after I finish this book, or I’ll do this and that until I finish this book…”

He stretches himself and walks out. I should leave this house after I read all ten volumes. I can’t leave this house until I read all the books here. Thinking of such silly thoughts, I put the book on the bookshelf and leave the room.

“Do you want to eat?”

“I ate.”

“Then I’m the only one who needs to eat.”

Yeon Woojeong takes a lunch box from the freezer and warms it. While the microwave is operating, he touches a machine on the sink. Soon, the coffee aroma fills in.

“What about coffee?”

“I don’t drink it.”

He puts his lips on the white cup. While he sips the coffee, the microwave lets out a sound noticing it’s done. Yeon Woojeong doesn’t take it out and leans his body in the sink, engrossed in drinking the coffee. The microwave lets out a sound again. I hate to hear that sound so I take out the lunch box and as I put it on the table, Yeon Woojeong smirks and sits on the chair.

The portion of the lunch box is small, but it seems like it’s proper for him. Looking at how he eats the food less passionately than when he drinks the coffee, I ask him.

“About the food, can I make it on my own?”

“You know how to make it?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this bad?”

When I nod, Yeon Woojeong looks at me and the lunch box alternately.

“Just do as you wish. You don’t need to ask for my permission. But, is this bad? This is a balanced diet and delicious.”

If it’s not good, then it’s not good, it’s weird of him to ask for confirmation. As I give no answer, he shrugs his shoulders and continues to eat.

I stand leisurely in the kitchen entrance because I have nothing to do and Yeon Woojeong’s gaze returns to me. He slowly chews on his food while staring intently at me, then he raises up his eyebrows.

“You, what’s your name?”

Furrowing my brows, I have no memory of telling him my name. I ponder for a while if it’s okay to tell him my name, but if a prosecutor digs something up, I don’t think he won’t find it out.

“Kim Jiho.”

“Kim Jiho… it suits you well.”

“Your name doesn’t suit you, Mr. Yeon. Awfully.”

“Awfully? Is it that bad?”

Yeon Woojeong bursts into laughter and takes a sip of the coffee. How come the coffee lessens faster than the food?

“It was popular back then. Woojeong, Heemang, Sarang…”

I can’t believe that kind of name was popular back then. It seems like the parents of that time were out of their minds. Yeon Woojeong should be grateful that his name is the most normal among those three names.

“Your name is beautiful. Just like you.”

I said it doesn’t suit him, not that it doesn’t beautiful. Besides, it’s weird that he keeps associating ‘beautiful’ with me and it annoys me. As my forehead creases, he smiles again with that ridiculing smile.

Because it’s ridiculous to keep watching him eating, I return to the living room and sit on the sofa. After eating for a long time, Yeon Woojeong gets up to clean the empty lunch box and opens the compartment under the sink. At a glance, it is a dishwasher. He puts the spoon then sits next to me.

He takes the remote control and turns on the television and then quickly lays down. Because it’s an extra-long sofa, he doesn’t reach me even though he lays down. He is really like a sloth. The channels that keep changing stop at a news channel. Yeon Woojeong throws the remote control near his head and fixes his gaze on the TV.

I almost never have stayed in one place, on top of that doing something this quiet and peaceful with someone, so this is strange. However, Yeon Woojeong lays comfortable and looks so nonchalant. Is it because this is his house? Or is it because he is a shameless person? If not, maybe because this kind of thing often happens.

While thinking of numerous possibilities, I observe the movement of his eyelids that keeps getting slow. Yeon Woojeong soon falls asleep again. He did come back at dawn, but considering the time he came out of his bed, it looks like he is not a very diligent person.

I take the remote control, lower the volume, and change the channel, then put the remote control down when I reach a documentary channel. A baby elephant collapses, and the mom next to it taps on the baby elephant’s foot. It is a scene of death.

The camera zoomed in on the elephant mom. Something like tears flows down, but I don’t know if that is really tears. I don’t really feel like watching, so I turn off the TV and turn my head. It is quiet now, and I can clearly hear the peaceful breath out of Yeon Woojeong.

The word beautiful is… doesn’t suit him as well. His face is just like a sculpture. It is not like the plaster figure I saw in the school art room, and I can’t find such a face even in the statue I pass by, but it is because his forehead, nose, and face are finely shaped. When he opens his eyes, I don’t feel like I can easily get closer to him. But when he closes his eyes like now, his face makes me want to leave the trace of my hand there.

Clenching my fingers, I lay my head in the direction of Yeon Woojeong’s head. I’m the type who rarely takes a nap. Not only that I don’t have time to spare, sometimes I feel like sleeping is a waste of time.

My eyelids are heavy. I try to breathe in synchronization with the breathing sound next to my head. The noise inside my head subsides. The sleep that welcomes me is terrifically sweet.