Chapter 113: Dissolve: His Last Choice

Sitting in his shabby rooftop room where he always ate and slept, Song Hyunsoo opened up the five or six shopping bags piled around him and suddenly felt as if dreams and reality were strangely intertwined.

Outside the window, snow was falling heavily again, and the world was silent.

The only sounds were the water running from the bathroom sink and the occasional shuffle of bathroom slippers.

It was as if Santa himself had come to this tiny rooftop room on a white Christmas.

Yoon Jooho was in my house.

The visit had come suddenly, and having been caught in such an embarrassing moment left Song Hyunsoo’s mind in chaos, but after taking a deep breath and processing the fact, he found himself grinning uncontrollably.

He wanted to run out onto the rooftop outside the front door and shout to the world.

Here, in this house, Yoon Jooho is here!

Of course, he would never actually do that; it was just something he wanted to keep to himself.

Feeling his face soften, he rubbed his jaw a couple of times to compose his expression. He didn’t want to look too excited that Yoon Jooho had even brought gifts to his place. At the very least, he had to avoid looking overly thrilled.

Just as Song Hyunsoo reached out to the third shopping bag, he hesitated, furrowing his brow.

Wait a minute. Am I not wearing any underwear right now?

Damn, that’s right. I just threw on my pants and ran out earlier!

The sound of water from the bathroom had already stopped. Crawling toward the mattress, Song Hyunsoo rummaged under the blanket for his briefs.

He found the black briefs, and just as he was about to grab them, a voice came from behind.

“What are you doing?”

That ghostly timing.

With no choice, he shoved the briefs deep under the blanket and turned around awkwardly.

“Tidying up. The blanket was such a mess…”

Yoon Jooho entered the room, drying his face with a towel after washing up, and clicked his tongue lightly as if unimpressed.

Forgetting the shock of Song Hyunsoo not wearing underwear, Jooho stared at his face, freshly washed.

“I’ve been curious since earlier. What’s that?”

Standing and looking around the room, Yoon Jooho gestured toward the window with his chin.

“Bubble wrap. Air cap.”

“I know that. Why’d you put it on the window?”

“It’s for insulation. If you put it on like this, less cold air comes in.”

The large window was neatly covered with precisely cut air cap. Song Hyunsoo couldn’t help but recall the conversation he’d had with Jung Ho while putting it up.

“‘Let’s just slap it on, Jung Ho. We’re putting it on to stay warm, not to make it look pretty.’
‘What if someone comes over? I should’ve listened to you, Jung Ho… But it’s too late now to regret it.’”

He’d sworn off dating for the time being. Said no one would come over. Yet here was Yoon Jooho, of all people, in this room.

The window covered with air cap was probably a strange, inexplicable culture to Jooho. Thanks to Jung Ho’s neat handiwork, at least it didn’t look too shabby. He was grateful to the guy. Next time, he’d make Kimchi Pot Rice topped with two Egg Fries.

“Does this really work?”

“It makes a huge difference.”

“But I can feel the wind seeping through.”

Jooho touched near the window, turning with a face full of disbelief.

“That means it’s better than before.”

Hmm. Yoon Jooho let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh, then shifted his gaze to the desk.

“You’re still diligently copying?”

His eyes fixed on one of the few books on the desk, the Nietzsche collection he had gifted him.

“I think it’s effective. Though I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days…”

Song Hyunsoo rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, and Jooho gave him a look.

The past few days. You said you didn’t sleep well while your sunbae was away on a business trip. You know what I mean, right?

“I did too.”

“Huh… what??”

Song Hyunsoo answered without hesitation but quickly looked up in surprise.

“The book… I left it behind.”

“……”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

When you have a crush, you tend to filter things to suit yourself.

Right now, those words sounded like, “I couldn’t sleep because of you, because I feel bad about the fight we had.”

“So that’s why your face looked pale.”

Hearing this, Yoon Jooho brushed wide strokes along his jaw and shrugged. Then he glanced around the room again.

The small, worn hanger holding a few tattered clothes, and the padding Jooho had given him that somehow didn’t quite fit the rest. The bare mattress without a frame. The old furniture he’d been using for at least seven or eight years since the dorm.

He didn’t feel ashamed, but it wasn’t exactly a decent living arrangement. Each time Jooho’s gaze landed somewhere, Song Hyunsoo’s fingers twitched nervously.

Finally, Song Hyunsoo started shoving Jooho’s back toward the mattress.

“Ah, don’t look so closely!”

“Did I peek between your legs? Why tell me not to look closely?”

He grabbed the towel from Yoon Jooho, who slumped onto the mattress from being pushed, tossed it into the washing machine, and returned, spilling unsolicited words.

“It’s pretty old and cold, but the rent is reasonable for the size, and I get to use the rooftop alone. There aren’t many places like this.”

“Who said otherwise?”

“And it’s got a Han River View too, like your place.”

Yoon Jooho nodded and chuckled.

“A Han River View is a Han River View.”

Song Hyunsoo smiled back and settled down in front of the shopping bags again.

“How’s the house hunting going?”

“No luck yet. I’m going to look again tomorrow morning.”

“With Jung Ho?”

“No, I’m going alone tomorrow.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“My sunbae?”

Song Hyunsoo shook his head with a small smirk, as if dismissing the idea. Then he looked at Jooho, who was perched on the mattress with a smug expression.

“Did you know there are different types of onerooms?”

“……”

“This one’s called a separated oneroom, like mine.”

Jooho frowned like he was thinking, ‘What the hell is this guy doing?’

“You might be an expert when it comes to high-end mansions in Cheongdam-dong or luxury high-rise complexes, but what do you, Prince, know about the fierce world of onerooms? Most of these places don’t even have elevators. I don’t want to get yelled at for climbing stairs back and forth, so I’ll just appreciate the thought.”

“Is that really something to brag about?”

“Trust me. You’d definitely get mad.”

Just as he reached for the third box, Yoon Jooho pulled his phone out of his pants pocket.

“I’ll ask an expert. Tell me your conditions. I’ll have them prepare about four or five places for you.”

“…Really?”

“What’s your budget?”

Hearing Song Hyunsoo’s answer, Yoon Jooho frowned.

“The deposit is this much; why do you only have that much money?”

“I told you I’m going to help my family move back home. I signed a good contract. Thanks to you, sunbae.”

Looking proudly at him, Song Hyunsoo smiled, but Yoon Jooho clicked his tongue as if not quite pleased.

While Yoon Jooho messaged the ‘expert,’ Song Hyunsoo opened the third box. A knitted wool hat. Gloves, scarf, and now a hat… do I really look that cold?

He turned the hat over in his hands, which had a big pom-pom on top, when he suddenly heard tapping sounds, “tuk tuk,” repeatedly.

Without thinking, he looked up and saw Yoon Jooho tapping the spot next to him on the mattress.

“What? What is it?”

Turning the hat around in his hand, he replied brusquely.

“The floor is cold. Come sit here.”

The desire to refuse and the urge to just go along with it collided inside him. But the conflict was brief. Crawling over, Song Hyunsoo sat down right where Jooho had tapped.

“Give it here.”

Yoon Jooho took the hat and placed it on Song Hyunsoo’s head, laughing as it slipped down over his shoulders.

“Is it really that funny?”

It was the first time Yoon Jooho had laughed that long. Seeing him laugh so much, Song Hyunsoo started feeling a bit sulky.

“Hey, you bought it but why are you laughing? You should try it on too.”

He shoved the hat, still laughing, roughly onto Jooho’s head. Hair sticking out and the hat pushed down over his eyes, the face of a man in his thirties clearly didn’t suit this kind of hat. Song Hyunsoo was ready to tease him but ended up speechless, overwhelmed by defeat.

“……”

Damn it, it actually looks great on you.

God is unfair. So damn unfair. To create a guy who only has his personality to tease him.

As Song Hyunsoo sulked silently, Yoon Jooho seemed to be making an effort to hold back his laughter. Removing the hat, he lightly ruffled Song Hyunsoo’s hair.

“Alright, I won’t laugh. I’m not laughing because it’s funny.”

“If it’s not funny, why are you laughing? That’s even weirder.”

Yoon Jooho, still smiling faintly, fixed Song Hyunsoo’s messy hair caused by the hat.

“There are times when you laugh even when it’s not funny. If you don’t know why, that means you’re the fool.”

He glanced sideways at his face and thought he understood what he meant. It was one of those looks that sometimes gazed at you as if you were cute.

“You keep doing that, sunbae, so I…”

Am I supposed to give up? Like I shouldn’t hold onto hope?

About to argue, Song Hyunsoo just shut his mouth. It was obvious that no matter how much he pressed, Jooho wouldn’t admit it. The coward would just try to run away again if pushed.

“Whatever.”

“Enough. I shouldn’t say anything… Ah! I have something to give you too!”

Grumbling, Song Hyunsoo jumped up as if bounced out of a spring. Yoon Jooho’s curious gaze followed his back.

“To me?”

He hadn’t thought about it with Jooho suddenly barging in.

He picked up the velvet pouch he had neatly placed on top of the drawer. Returning to sit next to Yoon Jooho, he handed it over with a proud smile.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Inside the small velvet pouch was Yoon Jooho’s watch.