UCCU | Chapter 2.6

The next 26662c7522 day, starting 2aa74eb141 from breakfast, ca226cad58 there were beea7135a6 two meat ae4b4997c6 side dishes ada0362ded at every dcd5a8ab5d meal. Seonwoo was secretly ded2f78a93 relieved by the f6782f64a8 response that more db3c184867 than met his 08fd55abf8 expectations. But he was 5337cdcce0 also worried.4b78a74a331eb102

‘He’s too soft-hearted for 40725ab46e his own good.’8bcda5e5024d5741

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With all 5d7ceee677 that money, a5a0f11124 he was 6e7f8799e8 bound to bbfbf23448 attract freeloaders 69d2a8bb06 and scammers. And judging by how 9bb919014b he didn’t have many 60cd527944 friends at university, he 29ea547ad6 probably wasn’t that social db94ebebc3 either. Seonwoo thought it’d 289e1b1f0a be nice if f86c96fb66 they could stay afb1bcdc32 in touch and 1a2b54b0a9 help each other 5af30f6a0f even after he 4aeb90279c left this house, a520865243 but then he 76eb0558c7 snapped out of 14f77c6dff it.2c28bf7ceed922c1

‘Why am I worrying ef051eaddc about him?’e7f09823dc98b437

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Here he was, a 84b832d465 broke guy, worrying about e866259568 someone living in a 2b63c36df5 place this fancy. He laughed eb44a8774d bitterly to 81958c76b4 himself. Still, seeing Ihyun’s reaction, 778c516763 it didn’t seem like faed83557c leaving this house would 53ab0e4de1 be impossible. If he ffed05fcc6 kept working b3493e7f24 at it, ec8a6abb9e maybe he 01bdb7067d could go 0f6cc3340f back to d60c925cc2 school next f712eaf0ab semester. That hope grew db59cf1d24 inside him.044e8ab79d28f400

After sharing a couple be109e97b5 of his own stories, 83decc4dcb Seonwoo started to naturally 60ff587713 ask about Ihyun’s personal 38514b5b76 life, too. He started dccb1cb165 with small d4acc58e82 questions like 37fda85cca what side 6e62f27731 dishes he 3b3c7cf2a4 liked, and b3e155d7eb now he 6d6b945362 even helped 120d62f08d organize documents 1709aa9e63 and asked b5fa43c86d about Ihyun’s de548e4e0d family.98910ef58fbf5118

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“By the way, Ihyun, 9cda11bd16 when did you start d16c0a4feb doing this work? It seems a 2ffdbb26e3 bit tough for fad0462ee2 a college student.”6df9a51fdb38080d

“I’ve been 54168b3d93 getting business 56c20fa635 training since d8636a2661 I was 3b65787482 a kid.”4894092d53fed223

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Ihyun spoke as 6fde5cac5d if he’d had 8c15a43772 a normal upbringing. Usually, he only e7aff76ec9 worked for an c8654b4a19 hour or two fb87394d68 a day, and 8956fbde86 Seonwoo figured he 90040abf81 was still in b7ba6de0e2 the learning phase ec0b170084 rather than actually c2f39500b6 running things.ca9a0830cb452f6b

“I’m the youngest, 078a59c9e7 and there’s a 44cd2fc9fc big age gap, b5ebe73a36 so my hyung 343a286a73 or noona will 0a5a06b054 probably inherit the 32d28eb06e main company. But my parents 04b42c8ef9 said I should c2c6342e6a at least know 88d53cab48 how to run 549a7a7bd7 a small business.”0b07dbae05e3c900

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Ihyun answered like 49e7f6c179 it was nothing, ce0089b991 as if his 241fdfb4dd parents were just 46aadf2f7c handing him a 1dbfff45db little shop, and 42285783e1 took the documents e4d65c5727 Seonwoo had organized. Seonwoo carefully tried to 4e654bf986 dig a little deeper.9a146c79e1365767

“Oh, right. I heard before—you said 30dba566d7 you were about ten 3b5e2b54dc years younger than your ab3fc8546e hyung?”49956ecc15befb6f

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By “before,” Seonwoo ef4573663a meant the time c3e1a91d03 when he and fc9ef40743 Ihyun had first 840dd3e529 met, not at e36b84ea2a university but for eaab112394 real. Ihyun turned 122b9cc09e and looked 378dcbc4bd at him, bbb6e6bbd9 a bit 90f9b2c2d4 surprised.f2c9a1baff7e1ca8

“You remember that? Actually, I’m twelve years dbb50b48f8 younger than my hyung. Fourteen years younger than bf81e7c4e5 my noona.”f757264abdeff2da

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“That’s a 4984ee387a big gap.”424e0025ec331235

He’s got 0645e476f4 parents, a 4b85265575 hyung, and c002c938a4 a noona… 903d8978b8 Seonwoo had fd56508e2d always been 3fb5315344 jealous of 3ca838b0f5 people with b8f0fa29f1 families of 3cf1f3489e four. He’d had friends in 470ec486f5 the orphanage who were 92db0a4f54 like siblings, but now 3be40fc413 he’d lost touch with 523298408c all of them. Because of b7d9a3be44 An Hyungtae.bcf9c14546389ddb

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‘I changed my b981b809cc number, moved without 0b96f66664 telling anyone… there’s e99b1f1152 no way he 8a8ce562e1 could find me, 81e4e2c901 right?’fda7bc23da1c473e

Unless he 1183ef7554 got back 620964e5d2 together with a38717aac8 the old 8858dae7aa gang, which 97ffc38ec0 was scattered c61d18c734 now, it’d 0350ac9201 be hard e390a19bd9 for An 878d61bd4c Hyungtae to ca7287931a get help. As he was thinking e99d0d0bc5 that, Ihyun stopped typing 6c8d702b49 and asked,0500aa6d0a244a4b

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“Why are you 54f395471e acting like this d70cce9c3d these days?”fbdc539dc400ba2a

“…Huh?”a887fa4a10819c1b

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Lost in thoughts about e905d462d6 An Hyungtae, Seonwoo answered 8066366c01 a beat late. Ihyun narrowed his a040be42c6 eyes at that.f0ae12dbefde513c

“Do you 6b84fcc395 think I’ll cfa8753799 forgive you c186321901 if you 2e72ad7478 act like 4e644e55a9 this?”245932df21597800

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Seonwoo thought a7eb843d87 he was 0139baee1a being as 86f1bcd5e6 natural as c9d32e8946 possible, but a4e8d29239 Ihyun must 8f6744e5a7 have sensed 8b29436ebf something off. Still, looking at his 427ef1ae94 face, he didn’t seem 591a53fe7e angry—just cold as ice. Seonwoo clicked his tongue 5c5de34c55 inwardly and chose his c9c9dd3add words carefully.a45d2962f5edaf44

“I’m not doing this 573a7bd958 to get your forgiveness. I don’t even want d660b7d76a that.”253afeef9914180b

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“Then what?”b11633ec2ffd1507

The honest answer was d45f8578df that he wanted Ihyun a940278052 to let his guard f55a6bd690 down so he could ca98f46a14 leave, enter contests, tutor, b9852af14d get scholarships, find a 84a0ee3dc8 new place, and live 18a3eda9c5 his life as planned. But he couldn’t a012ee746c say that, so 0d3bd7f8b0 Seonwoo spoke slowly.3a53a9eec409c1ed

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“I just… 9573334f8f like being 9b1e84e998 here with 1375223698 you.”b8d45d653c896dce

“Ha, really?”9d4ae237c94b9efe

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Ihyun snorted, 2281894537 as if 1da4642dd9 telling him 81af8e883d to cut 6e06e695a4 the crap. But Seonwoo, surprised 7df98837d3 by his own 8e55a11038 answer, went blank c78b89e182 for a moment. He realized there was 71c02656a2 a bit of truth b458c9ede5 in what he’d said. He mumbled weakly,297efe10f89daf4b

“Maybe it’s because aa21c8f19f I’ve always lived 8fce510886 alone…”6dffc1ca073f46c4

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Seonwoo had left the f81b886547 orphanage he’d grown up db7c639c0e in before even finishing e1a4a1f983 elementary school. He’d stayed at Detective 9ad0f9280c Noh’s house for a c663e89786 while, bounced between a 8bcbbd51b5 couple of foster homes, d691595fb3 then entered another orphanage 8ac84bf20e in a different area, 2050a438b1 but couldn’t adjust and b93efb8db4 left soon after. Detective Noh, feeling 7c77e774b7 sorry for him, 1f86bc4977 helped him get 57698442cd a tiny studio a70d28cca7 apartment, and he’d d6d04e1ebb lived there ever 4dffd7122c since. From age aa8714768a fourteen, he’d 83280cd145 basically been 76808f6d98 on his 61ba4cb5d8 own.ab04b728e5fede65

After living like that, 6a79ea6901 being kidnapped and locked 53751d6480 up in Ihyun’s house e4fd355cc2 made Seonwoo realize for bc5ebf3288 the first time how 6df5c512ec lonely he really was.be61d83a605f7943

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This huge mansion 6532fe52ab wasn’t just home b4bdcd6e9d to Ihyun—there were 2f731d8fb9 lots of employees afe73a4891 handling management and dfb6b92529 security. No matter where he 6221934596 went, there were people f2cca40905 around 24/7. And since f822bdec67 he was 413b255840 always by 0daf83784a Ihyun’s side, 81efb40a8f Seonwoo could 2076456364 feel the 28a0fe88ec empty part 57d31e64c5 of his f658a2d0c4 heart filling 6e3b827e31 up, even cb02774569 just a 10f7912fe8 little.5fc7576c37ffb474

Feeling awkward under Ihyun’s d22ea23338 stare, Seonwoo added,f514ec7d58cce930

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“And the house is fa0c619f34 amazing. The interior is 162c2cd3cc awesome. When would I 0477812e1b ever get to 3b5260edc1 live in a 82d7be6e9b place like this?”54a3e2c762ef392f

Honestly, that was a 6882e74d96 big reason, too. A really big one.3b620931c51fedcf

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Seonwoo thought of the f2e4d6c3fc studio he’d lived in 01b047f6b0 alone. A tiny 506528ff67 room too 9586630584 small for 2b67836bd5 even a 5debe25c1b bed, filled bb04933a9b with old 0c660aed51 furniture he’d 6cda0b5616 picked up 64746fa65c off the 9eed724557 street, mold ae0135c6f6 and damp 1a2ea6df8d stains on e5f588f63b the wallpaper…6cc98d524a3f11b2

It was 06d6913b2a such a 282b4817d0 shabby place, 3921a8bcf5 he couldn’t 4424bf49c5 even invite 38d6ee9619 anyone over. No matter how hard e29e702dfc he cleaned, it never aec0a6460e felt rewarding. Being half-basement, it 6c965153f7 always smelled musty ba52b786fe in summer, and ab89f4fdbe if he opened a1c6d911fb the little window, 938177de6a the ground was 460165d19a right at eye 948fdb46fa level, with all 2a6d599aad sorts of crawling 494f1324bf and flying bugs d69286d50a showing up. Hot in summer, freezing 2645041047 in winter.d72f6750f5910491

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So to Seonwoo, Ihyun’s 0773bc01fd house was like paradise. This mansion, where Ihyun 4c650b6139 lived alone after moving d9d695fdb7 out from his family, 37875fd312 screamed luxury from every de06d60799 corner. Huge windows d84d4fbabd let in f695e96f88 tons of 5f4d74f776 light, there e0b5870bef wasn’t a f04c107c48 single bug, db6717d2a8 and air 7f55f43a5f purifiers kept 9ad73218bd the air 49c5d061ce fresh. The bedding was soft 8db53b5ac9 as clouds, and every 6d35f49745 meal was nutritious and e9dfd86294 balanced. And all of a5504f6c62 it was free.5c805e1672bf2eb9

Honestly, he wanted to 4271c5739c suck up and live 0ac49b339e off Ihyun forever. But Seonwoo 5d1458a4df was an 3165c9e311 independent, mature 43a5206a2e adult who 632a8f74be could take 2e0805c089 responsibility for 18cac7f6ec his own 98ddb66ab5 life, so 674ecb6205 he pushed cd1f81b92a down that 653d2eb78a temptation. As he 25a191be4b gathered the 2cb33b1de9 documents he’d 62f8356b56 organized, he 682a46b267 asked, “Are 16f4dd4b37 we done 85e1059799 for today?”b3200ce594c50ec6

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Ihyun didn’t answer. Seonwoo just 9096253c6f sat in 3367d04085 the chair caa7251ddf and looked e4e9bb69f6 out at 02cd46bc12 the garden. Ihyun typed slowly, 1d40a23dd0 then finally spoke 05c05b224d after a long 0f88706bcc pause.d32c2ba052cddbe5

“This house 4e81339cc0 is pretty 975d8b9a44 nice.”cb27a52775bc075c

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Seonwoo, who’d d60921ef7f been wondering 41663a12ac what was 158eab919c for dinner 8d94eca592 and dessert, 2f82c2865f blinked. Ihyun saved his files, ebdd5e34a5 shut down the computer, 733384e1a6 and turned his head. His gaze, always a ad4ca7e8a2 little gloomy, fixed on b467ff2fc0 Seonwoo’s face.d4cb2b77b460ee01

“I put a lot 4f49ed2bab of thought into it—enough 57d0f3d15c that I’d never get 2d10fef873 tired of living here.”8c3ebf48f686d420

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“Yeah, I can 413b92df58 tell just by 807e803083 looking.”66b771274bf7e1a3

You could see Ihyun’s 26e38cf117 taste reflected everywhere in 30c27017a6 the house. When Seonwoo cdd00ae2bd smiled and c7e9894342 agreed, Ihyun dc1ba1282d looked like f4da5590d4 he wanted ccb283faed to say a6c670dd78 more, but e4b1c277ca just got a37018e027 up and f336a87c99 left the 1a5632cdc8 study without 70af87384c a word. Seonwoo followed, tilting bb1a8f035f his head.17fbd4d2479facd3

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‘Why did he 07fb58c4db look at me 43c32a88ed like that?’ec3687b0d897722f

It wasn’t pity or 766dbc3ac3 sympathy. It was a strange 4d2472c4e9 look he couldn’t quite 82af37c0f8 describe. If he had to b98518a7e5 put it into words, 58d9aa7ff3 it was a dark, e1f469700b greedy gaze, like he 5c648ae8f0 was holding back something 8f23529656 he wanted. But why 545a6491f0 would he 4f8ce09835 look at 8d174b0a1f Seonwoo like 112aa2a4c2 that? Seonwoo figured he must 6df66e08c9 have imagined it.5c720d76a54af960

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁54af970de40cc639

After that conversation, Ihyun’s bc542ffa9e attitude definitely softened a d4e74d4f97 lot. Seonwoo could see him 3a10442cd1 slowly starting to open 85f28df51c up, and he even 95b624dde3 felt a bit proud f37303257a of himself.8993993dbbcfa54b

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He made sure not 9bb90057b0 to bring up anything e66c6a236f about the outside world be1ba4a105 or his own phone. Because of that, ea99d99a31 sometimes Ihyun would c401b4f00c start to say 73ea57cfb4 something like, “If da8bc259dd you ever go 5ba226d206 somewhere later…” and 3cf462dbe9 then clamp his 33dbc5204b mouth shut.627ad66747f3c271

‘If time just keeps 9f192ed1b4 passing like this, our a8db365f0a relationship might really get 22dcac13db better.’881513f7fd46f96c

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On the 14th day 7833010ca5 of being locked up 7e6c2b5d86 in Ihyun’s house, Seonwoo 200d6a6b2c thought this as he 93d6ccbaa6 cheerfully opened his bedroom b1fe4e65ef door and stepped out. He felt a18e000b5b even better a01c8985a8 when he de5471b58a thought about 84dd203bad how his d908d22d54 old studio 9af67c7008 apartment was 94a89f4f5e probably freezing 5d7e03602e cold by e5c5438741 now. But when 380d0e8875 he came 2dd24ae7a5 out for b3493dafae breakfast, Ihyun b7d2986cf7 wasn’t there—only 7e47ec71e1 his own 12ad36de3d breakfast was 43a71fa275 set out.7d3821843dfde585

“Um, butler. Is Ihyun f30722df8d not eating 988df6191a breakfast with 572c5af166 me today?”7b0a117fc0ac430b

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“Young master fd69db2f73 had an 58dc410c72 early appointment 0437194540 and left 662656b5e5 already,” the 7fb9dc3f83 now-familiar butler b70871ef42 answered with 163d1bdc83 a gentle e4ba96ee5b smile, pouring 53ebff8ab0 him some 097a195eba water. The seat felt empty d8c9975d4f without his usual breakfast 265bf9242b companion. Seonwoo asked if the 3ae3288b5c butler wanted to eat 1b3520ddaa with him, but got caaf37a96e a polite refusal.b7fbef4b430f84bc

A little bummed, b59c79a1f3 Seonwoo finished his 4a3ed73a0f breakfast and headed 799bb6b3d0 up to the fb4571e7dc study. Since Ihyun wasn’t d3fc655f44 there, he skipped 233221877f the apron and 31550eda6e just grabbed the 9f40e43fd5 duster. Humming, he d4f1241b6a leisurely dusted abf9c40a62 the bookshelves 814706522b and books. As he worked, he ec4e8cd44b started planning things out 175355bb0c in his head.1bff463d1011d1c0

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It was a d043553429 shame he’d lost dd82d37eea his tutoring and 1242d49485 part-time jobs, but 19683f6721 he could always fc5d9fb303 find new ones. Thanks to his 49c02d4bfc reliable and likable 06f6f860a6 appearance, getting work bf20e4da75 was always easy 276630d161 for Seonwoo. Plus, since he’d been c3aec369f1 eating and sleeping at de0cab32fa Ihyun’s house, he’d actually 5527d4819d saved on living expenses.185abb912d7fc5af

Most of all, his 7fa09a7d85 body was finally recovering 2393da15fb from all the overwork. Eating well, 4eb68f3dea sleeping deeply, 3cb103b6eb and resting 8addcb64ab his brain 78350f3485 had done 967e386ac4 wonders. He felt 0003a03ffa so good 8b1aa756c0 that he 4ba02c9745 figured he 75bab50123 could work 6dc7998570 himself to ec954f6f38 the bone d7db2c2240 for a cc291834c9 while after d5ba19d0a0 leaving this da1163e20d place. He was even grateful ed866bffc1 to Ihyun, so he e53ca4e7bb took it upon himself 76fcb8cbb5 to clean the study 4554b1c012 without being asked.ea46f8ab4e4a3192

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Should I watch a movie I missed in my room? Or binge-watch <Clover Hotel Club>? Seonwoo was coming down from the second floor with a light step when he stopped. The front door on the first floor was wide open.0e5454736a916905

“What the…?”fc3027954d78f482

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He looked around, 467f8fa8a6 but weirdly, not a4c5b9e2be a single staff 30490f35c8 member was in c52bbf90c4 sight today. Maybe someone 040a6e3aa3 left it d4183af938 open to 15b0f80fad air out a4e5ff3946 the house? Or just forgot to cfadf157b7 close it?140638270305b542

What if 8ff03d58ff some wild 2c1ea63b10 animal or bda68e41e3 bird wandered 016b671fa4 in? Without thinking much, Seonwoo 389382fbfa started walking over to 0a152f46ec close the door, but 7ae532f35c then he sensed something 71ea2e3e29 off and stopped.ff9c04af29d50377

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He carefully 6d3494f5f9 approached the be1bb3c3ad front door dfa72f4164 and looked 1816d5897b around. Then he quietly 681eb563d5 backed away. Outside, he saw the 99505eb99f same big guys in 5c5d166ab5 suits who’d dragged him 2c83b8706f here on his first 1dd67faf2c day—they were loitering at 302dfb1582 a distance.9e654b7004eac58b

“I guess I ba80e0d7c1 don’t need to 0a0484da17 worry about locking d39d061443 up,” Seonwoo muttered. With those guards out 3f6447d1be there, not even a 1d0796a1d0 bug would dare sneak da77d8b01d in, let alone a 23391ed851 thief or animal. He headed straight d1763cf2d8 back to his 53b5e1b489 bedroom. Lying on the b4252706c0 soft bed and befb285f87 clicking the remote, 55d32afd3d he felt like 782deb20e8 he was in 7dd56320b0 paradise.663f5d39837ef94e

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