CBB Chapter 2.3

“Oh no. Why is Woorak so bad at math? How can 0.3 be bigger than 0.5?”

Woorak scratched his neck. 

Isn’t it? 

He solved it confidently, didn’t he? If the number is less than zero, doesn’t it go into the minus? Have the things kids learn these days changed?

“When percentages are added, it becomes a mess.”

How did this guy even become a loan shark…? 

Heedo seemed to mutter it quietly to himself, but Woorak heard every word. Woorak threw his pencil.

“Hyung, is this really something a six-year-old learns?”

Heedo, who was staring blankly at the pencil that had been thrown to the floor, turned around with a stern face.

“Woorak, pick up the pencil. And hold out your hand. Didn’t hyung say he would spank you if you threw the pencil one more time?”

“Hyung’s the one who made the mistake first. How can a six-year-old solve this?!”

“Woorak, you’re only six years old in your heart right now. Your head is that of an adult, so you can definitely do it. Woorak’s mind might not return to normal, but how long are you going to stay here as a six-year-old? You need to study hard so you can also live as an adult too. It might be hard and annoying to study, but hyung is doing this for your sake, so just bear with it a little.”

Heedo softened his stern gaze and gently brushed Woorak’s hair, coaxing him. When Heedo acted like this, Woorak really feel like a real kid, and his face flushed.

‘This guy is embarrassing me.’

Why is he even trying so hard? 

He felt incredibly awkward in this situation. No one has ever taught him like this before. His grandmother was illiterate, and the teachers just gave up because they didn’t know what to do with him. 

His nose felt inexplicably tingly, so he took a deep breath, lowered his head, and picked up the pencil, then placed it on the desk. He was trying to set a serious mood, but Heedo whispered in his ear.

“Give me your hand.”

This isn’t working. He was keeping his fingers curled, but Heedo skillfully unfurled them with his thumb and index finger, held his hand, and smacked his palm with a long ruler. 

You bastard, how can you hit a kid so hard? 

He cursed inwardly, got up from his seat, and went to lie down on the mattress. He was in no mood to study.

“Woorak, come out. The lesson isn’t over yet. Who said you could go lie down?”

Woorak pulled the blanket over his head and dramatically made snoring sounds. Heedo sighed softly and closed the book.

“Okay, let’s rest for a bit. What do you want for lunch?”

The blanket mountain rippled, showing some hesitation, but he stubbornly remained silent.

“Then, shall we have some simple pancakes and salad……”

“Galbitang¹.”

A muffled voice echoed from within the blankets.

“What was that? I can’t hear you well.”

“I said galbitang! I had grass for breakfast, too. Doesn’t hyung know you have to raise kids by feeding them meat?”

Woorak threw off the blanket, sat up, and yelled, the veins in his neck bulging. His hair, which had grown a bit longer during his confinement, was sticking up due to static. Seeing that, Heedo laughed as if he couldn’t help it, came closer, smoothed down his hair, and kissed the top of his head. He cupped Woorak’s face in both hands and pressed his lips against his cheeks. 

Woorak pushed his face away with his fist, disgusted. He felt the urge to quit several times a day because of Heedo constantly doing this, calling him cute. Yelling, claiming he didn’t like it, and even pretending to accidentally slap him didn’t work. Seeing Heedo continue to cuddle him even after being hit, it seemed like he wasn’t afraid because Woorak was a child.

Their faces were so close that Woorak put Heedo in a headlock to get him off, which only made Heedo laugh like crazy, even enjoying it. Heedo, breaking free, wrapped his legs around Woorak’s torso and counterattacked, and they wrestled back and forth until Woorak felt like he was going to throw up, at which point he played dead to end it. 

The more they tumbled around, the more excited and happy Heedo became, making it impossible for Woorak to keep up. After checking Woorak’s upturned eyes as he played dead, Heedo got up with a disappointed face and ordered galbitang.

“Hyung, don’t you go to school?”

Heedo flinched and avoided his gaze. They’d been practically glued to each other almost all day for a week now, and Woorak felt suffocated. 

Because Heedo felt uncomfortable, he brought down a table, chairs, and other household items, increasing the clutter in the basement. It was convenient having him meticulously attend to him, but no, wait, if he looked closely, Heedo only pretended to take care of him, and Woorak actually ended up doing all the work. 

Even now, wasn’t he the one separating the meat from the ribs? Heedo couldn’t even use chopsticks, let alone a spoon, properly with his cast. He just watched him eat his rice for over an hour, and feeling frustrated, Woorak eventually started helping him, which led to them sharing utensils now. If they kept switching spoons every time he fed Heedo, he’d lose track of whose spoon was whose, so they just used one.

“……Hyung’s school is on break.”

Heedo said in a small voice. 

What month is it? 

He thought it was September before he came here. He’d heard that university students had long breaks, but it was still break time? This is a total party.

Woorak took two large spoonfuls of the galbitang without rice and fed Heedo a bite. He quickly shoved it in and pulled it out, worried Heedo would lick the spoon. He took another two more spoonfuls and gave him another bite. Heedo gave him a look that seemed to be a protest, but Woorak ignored him. 

You’re a picky eater.

“Hyung, but don’t you smell something?”

He sniffed and looked at Heedo, whose face instantly flushed crimson.

“That’s… I haven’t washed properly. Does it smell a lot?”

Woorak jumped up and sat away. He felt sick to his stomach.

“Seriously, hyung! Go wash up now!”

He yelled, pinching his nose, and Heedo stood up with a hurt expression. He struggled to take off his shirt with his clumsy, casted hand, but he could only twist his body and couldn’t get it off properly.

‘I should have just broken one arm.’

Woorak felt a bit of regret. He slurped down the rest of the galbitang and went in front of Heedo, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and pulled it off.

“Ah.”

An involuntary gasp escaped his lips, and he quickly forced his mouth shut. Heedo’s upper body was covered in bruises, and Woorak couldn’t bear to look any longer, subtly turning his head away. He wondered if he had hit him too hard, and it made him feel complicated for various reasons, including the fact that Heedo, a crybaby, wasn’t showing any signs of pain or retaliating. 

He didn’t really need to pull down Heedo’s pants, too, but with a troubled mind, he unknowingly hooked his fingers on the elastic waistband of Heedo’s pants and pulled them down, only to be met with a shocking sight that left his eyes bulging.

The bastard wasn’t wearing underwear. 

Perhaps because his thighs were pale, the pink sausage dangling between them looked exceptionally… fluffy. 

Woorak was pressing the corners of his eyes hard with his thumb and index finger when a shadow fell over his face. Heedo, who had come close, reached for the buttons of his pajamas with a shy expression.

“W-What are you doing?”

Woorak grabbed his front and roughly twisted his body roughly. Heedo fidgeted with his fingers, looking dejected.

“No… I thought you were going to help me wash up. I thought it would be nice if you joined me…”

What, you punk? 

The memory of his first bath here slammed into Woorak’s head like a hammer. Heedo had worried about him and offered to help him wash, even trying to follow him into the bathroom, but Woorak had forcefully pushed him out. It happened while he was washing. 

While in the midst of lathering up the soap, he’d suddenly caught Heedo’s gaze through the slightly open door, his eyes fixed on him. The creepiness he felt at that moment… It was a strange fear, as if Heedo was a hungry wolf looking at a sheep and about to drool over it. Just thinking about it gave Woorak goosebumps, and he wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.

“Are you cold, Woorak?”

“I just suddenly feel a bit… weird.”

“A hot shower will make you feel better. Let’s go in quickly.”

“No, I’m good. I’ll just cover myself with a blanket and lie down. You go ahead.”

“…Alright.”

Heedo hesitated, unable to move his feet, a look of longing expression on his face. Woorak, feeling suffocated, buttoned the top button he’d undone and laid down on his side on the mattress. 

He heard Heedo’s hesitant steps towards the bathroom. Sensing Heedo stopped at the door and looked back at him, he held his breath and only exhaled slowly after hearing the door close.

Even though it was just an act, pretending to be a child made his mind shrink along with his body. Firstly, since that guy was playing the role of an adult and something of a guardian, it wasn’t easy to treat him like a fool like before. Woorak felt, just slightly, a tiny bit, microscopically… suppressed emotionally.

That’s why even the slightest hint of something suspicious from Heedo got him really nervous. Seeing Heedo diligently play the role of teacher and older brother sometimes made him wonder if he was overthinking things, yet other times, like now, Heedo became incredibly suspicious.

He felt sleepy after eating. Just as he was drifting off, a loud clatter jolted him awake. The sound was coming from the bathroom. He ignored it and closed his eyes. Then, this time, there was an even louder banging sound. 

This is a trap. 

He had a strong feeling. If he went in now, he’d be caught red-handed and subjected to unspeakable humiliation. He burrowed under the blanket, stuffed his fingers in his ears, and hummed loudly to resist. Figuring Heedo would have given up by now, he removed his fingers, but the blanket slid down.

“Woorak-ah.”

“Aack, shi…”

Startled, Woorak bit his tongue. Heedo, who had approached silently, lifted the blanket and shoved his dripping face close. Flustered by this new strange behavior, Woorak rolled his eyes, and Heedo quickly teared up.

“Woorak, I tried to do it myself, but I keep falling… Look here, and here too. It hurts so much…”

He tried to burrow under the blanket, so Woorak pushed his face away.

“Hyung, the water’s dripping everywhere. Look how slippery it is. Go finish washing up.”

“What if I fall again?”

“You’re an adult. Just be patient and try your best.”

Woorak kicked Heedo’s raised knee off the mattress with his foot. Heedo, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows after falling, sat with his legs folded to the side like a mermaid and stared sadly at his casted hands.