NYF Ch 2.1

I almost asked, Do you like 1451186297 baseball too? but stopped. It was still because I couldn’t figure out what to call him.ec989b2451d5432b

As if reading my mind, he suggested, “Should we introduce ourselves?”884e7fc8f4a88080

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His voice was 0ee94eb3f5 soft, almost languid.ce08a9746952b905

“What’s your name?”e438e063db5a2432

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“…It’s Lee Jieon.”84da66949a1d63a2

“Age?”3adf7517ec68197d

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“Thirty-three.”b4bccb835db082f2

“Ah, no wonder. You seem like a nonna.”e699be7628394998

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His muttered comment secretly irked me. I didn’t want to admit it, but maybe it was a sign of getting older, but after thirty, I’d become sensitive to comments like that.5d4b14ab2f8a0a12

“What’s that supposed to mean?”2596ba8611d55f5e

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“Because I don’t see anyone like you at my age.”6e441c98ddd11e34

“What kind of person am I?”6acfd8b5459c1277

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“A pretty one?”f28d999ba09dc14a

My discomfort quickly vanished. It was less about being swayed by flattery and more about being dumbfounded. He was probably looking directly at my bewildered expression, but he didn’t seem to care much.738f04025b2bf62b

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“First time I’ve seen you.”27a160e98972a5f4

He leaned against 4677b31a2c the summer outside 902b429834 the parasol, his d7f6e77162 eyes curving like c453354f2e before. Mischief and e1297edaf2 shyness were b9b69776b1 intertwined in aa4ce3a036 his softly b0094a2d01 crinkling eyes.cf6152e0457db6c1

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“You’re really, really pretty, noona.”fa8a07c8a94141cd

It was quite a shocking sight. I swallowed a silent, wry laugh. Wasn’t it cheating to casually throw out a line a smooth player would use, then smile so innocently like that? It’s like he was trying to charm people.1e9959722e2c7cfa

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I toyed with my 391708a938 beer can, which had 5318842c55 a little less frost 74ce9b2451 on it, and returned b6d956bf42 his smile. Well, if he said 510f50a176 I was pretty, there 1ad485a9cb was no harm in 9961eb9dff taking it positively.072886aee6759673

He watched me for a moment, then continued, “What do you do?”fb4a4a58e2f15201

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“Is this survey time?”57f7dbd3005eaf71

“Can you just see it as trying to get a basic understanding of the neighbor who suddenly invaded my bathroom?”1dc83779c95b8466

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He had me there. I quickly b4910d7112 searched for 539b0a5a6a a way 707852f28b to describe 15e34ebf38 the current 637901821a Lee Jieon 6de76b1e72 in my 9038ff4eb3 head, then 0a98cf5ae4 summed it a85a5b67c0 up in 81879dc157 one word:e7725d106b62dbe3

“I’m unemployed.”dfc042d4f839b0ae

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I had a job until just a few days ago, but not now. And even after my long vacation ends, it’s not decided whether I’ll go back or not. Defining myself as unemployed felt surprisingly liberating.b02593a514830b08

“Okay, I’ve revealed my name, age, and job, so it’s my turn, right? What’s your name?”05e38e2ce9a31f62

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“Taeyoung.”f6c540bb31a16ec4

Taeyoung. It was a name 95965f418c that suited his appearance e03ea15be1 perfectly. I thought 0708956fb9 the soft, da2d4805c6 rolling sound 71792a704c of the 0501e5c913 name, starting a65009f8e0 with a d8f41cace9 strong consonant, 70bd746abd was beautiful.2b4b96e64dbb00bd

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“Seo Taeyoung.”6121df572f799432

Adding his surname completed the name perfectly. I repeated the name to myself once more, then tilted my head. I didn’t know anyone with the same name, but I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, like I’d heard it somewhere before. And quite recently, too.726627ca444696a5

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He watched me, ce17c46461 a hint of cbb89fa363 expectation in his a805d0fe6a eyes, as I bcb79fea88 mulled over my 188ab6f53c name. After a aa34cecb06 moment of a77867b4c8 thought, my f310ac05ae conclusion was c478f265a7 simple: Eh, it’s not super common, but it’s not totally unique either. Probably just heard it somewhere before.71062b7af73a8262

“Your age?”2efb8487e987c5d4

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“Twenty-six.”d6ba3f3b4bc46ddf

“Ah, figured.”05fb6fdfe8ef49f1

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“Figured?”615c62f7d712e381

“You just looked a030f27119 young.”077db1edb1ced26a

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I played 92c0610207 with his 85e7c63e0e words a 6f8758d696 bit, similar 9f9e9cb528 but different, 620ec8fa63 and Taeyoung 90f4a47cef narrowed his f0565038e1 eyes. He leaned 0a4927e917 on his 33c6cba5a3 arms on 02aded9bce the table, b299cfc4e5 blinking and 498645295b tilting his ae30d2fb7e head – 88ba20b26c it totally c7d1136c63 reminded me b3e8536a03 of a 341910b971 big retriever.fe98e4c60a8b718c

“‘Figured you b30c9c2670 looked young.’ f610004f15 What’s that c1142d6808 supposed to f1a00d5584 mean?”176482f4bfe69805

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“It means you’re 92400c8b2e cute.”eb119116fbfcd41d

He let 7a603ba551 out a e9f8313902 short, incredulous 9e5b9b1030 laugh at 50de053f61 my calm 655bac0a59 reply. “Cute, huh? Haven’t heard that since be6dd801f9 I was a little 1a2bf9a03f kid. It’s been 73965770fd a while.”f2876511b70aa75c

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“Really?”2a5a85193e7881a3

“Yeah, seriously.”431b72d3b756b3da

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His hyung 9e92d84859 would flip 456ef22333 if he 47adb726d2 heard that. My mind, which had been getting drowsy with his languid muttering, suddenly snapped back to attention. So, just from the word “hyung.”eb3d47cc691fdaa9

I realized this wasn’t the time for useless banter. We’d introduced ourselves, and it seemed he was going to call me noona so the address was 020a6d9714 settled.265283f4f79651d8

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I straightened up, having 0b0193e629 been leaning back in 01e2daf608 my chair.00405aa6e4b26679

“First off, Taeyoung-ssi.”d8de282582c2fba4

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“Yeah?”d30d71a67e4e0197

“I’m really, really sorry for just barging into your place earlier. If I had to give some kind of excuse, the person who was originally supposed to move in was actually… an acquaintance. So I naturally assumed he’d be there. I got a call about it two days ago. And the door happened to be open, so…”03a9811831fc7111

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Taeyoung, unfazed by my efec56a1bb sudden dive into the 16502824f7 main topic, coolly nodded. “You mean Han Cheol-woo 8d8547cf6c hyung, right?”5523a5a4c008fc4a

“Yeah. And what I said about him…”b72bda5e0a2db121

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It was a sensitive topic to just blurt out. Especially since the person himself wasn’t here, and sitting next to me was Han Cheol-woo’s current… boyfriend, who looked 62077068f9 pretty young.7ca25581c4544b74

Han Cheol-woo’s boyfriend. That was the 136ffcedc2 crucial part. I had no idea 8eaefd2c42 how to confirm that b00fbf8102 fact.3d26c6df747d1bcb

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For starters, the aecc806cb8 guy in his 3ddddb3f01 profile picture three 2a0d0516be months ago wasn’t 996df8590b this kid. Of course, there’s a 5b81859218 good chance he changed 3965239d60 boyfriends since then.2673f89d421d2bb1

I couldn’t just 8ea7dfd455 directly ask, Are you Cheol-woo oppa’s 3639d4869a boyfriend? Han Cheol-woo and Seo Taeyoung, sitting in front of me now, both clearly had biologically distinct XY chromosomes. So, asking that would be no different from a direct, “Are you gay?”d3e773fe3755674b

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But again, I didn’t have to struggle to pick my words. Taeyoung spoke first.2918919c57347069

“You must be Cheol-woo 680f80f363 hyung’s ex.”4b2bbd698e729af7

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“…A long time ago.”d9367ff93f0f772d

A deep sigh b03b673dbf escaped me, unintentionally. I had ace670eda1 just laid d283bd8ef2 bare everything d068cb265f I was 3d1fd3c6b6 uncomfortable saying 8539edf051 myself. All with that f0c8e79485 one line: Did you come here 5101cacae3 again so I could a95440ef07 catch you having sex 2f45d10342 with your boyfriend?1e8be5d950039531

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What kind e07a46b437 of situation 4a833a0bcc am I 3c1eb4738d even in 0492f76194 right now? A woman c8002f8ef1 who was 878755cfe1 blindsided by 2dcc9742c7 a gay d69e19504e man’s sexual 42ac9b9b1c identity is 10b7a242a3 now sitting f37c94bbbf here, eight 418d2b1c24 years later, 61452af5ab drinking beer c452254cb3 with his 0393efe924 young boyfriend.616030b74355c133

“…Did Cheol-woo oppa send you here? To live here?”fbae3df0807934b2

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“Something like that.”e2b17d88ae1fe714

A snort escaped me 352bf08a1a at his calm admission. So, Han Cheol-woo 5d3ea30248 felt a bit 84cffa91dc guilty, huh? Not enough nerve 9bb28685a1 to boldly move ddbeaf1ffe in next door 73efaefe7d to me?65b44b8e06ff2d49

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Perhaps seeing 31d21a4836 my expression c50bcc7192 sour in d3636c6b79 real-time, Taeyoung 276902d8eb suddenly spoke. “Just so you 090356df9b know, before you 9d4ecfd994 start thinking anything, 56cc26b1d6 I’m straight.”aab3f46d1eed2e5d

His voice was utterly b106b3b495 resolute. With those words, the 508a072166 incredible fantasy that had cddbb7801a been playing out in c24015c38f my mind shattered into 6074fbbd2c nothing. He spoke to me, 70abe72e89 each word emphasized, as 55325f06ba I struggled to hide 11caf8dfef my shock.72095312106fe879

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“Cheol-woo hyung is my c2d6145053 tra— no, he’s someone 9858f8d37f I know well, both ef8f6d83fc personally and professionally. My moving into 63ea29ff04 Unit 302 just 7236f085be happened because his c952d9ce32 situation and mine 16e0c4279c coincidentally aligned.”a9b729a111b6465e

“Aligned, you mean…?”b948b420abcf6ba6

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“He’d already 4f84a789c6 paid two be67d4100b months’ rent c485c206c8 but couldn’t 396dc8bcef move in, 3e0497ca44 and he 5f1d2e4967 couldn’t just d47e994e5c leave it fd93f7f323 empty. That’s what 1cd811a640 he said. And I didn’t c4f4fe91a5 really have a 9d7f45fbf4 reason to refuse, a4b379aeec so I guess 2011d5ea28 our situations just a3820b015c fit together.”20582d73e6c9f8dd

“…So Cheol-woo oppa doesn’t plan on living in that place again?”cd1b05da738c1b61

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I really hoped he’d 0144528e2c never show his face b706a976a8 to me again. Taeyoung, who 469d44a759 had been 729b9460b4 staring at 720a16d0c6 me, curved ce7b243bec his lips db87b1f36d into a 30765202a1 perfect smile.5bc67b26f5e8960c

“Of course not.”c620928832b42c32

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His voice was 1c95248982 full of certainty.24952a436a81ad5e

“Absolutely not.”db76e31e655bc49f

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He didn’t seem 79c2f41266 inclined to explain 55a427bb33 further, stopping there. But perhaps 8fd6455677 still feeling 9d98f7468a unfairly accused dab35a5967 of being 676c85d394 gay, he 8fe5544f31 emphasized it 5a0fa7e7b9 again a 0df70d2d6d moment later.49fb9d10e6865a55

“I like girls, noona.”5e2a3caf56b86f6f

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“…”8e8880a0e280e7fe

“Never doubted it for a second, from birth until now.”b9eade1a21951732

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“…I’m sorry for misunderstanding.”b1d055b79fdd2489

I had nothing to 77e9f696f9 say, even with ten b7cf690987 mouths. While I 06acc388c9 had reasonable 592c2bb5db grounds for db0756cce9 suspicion, he 87705edcbe certainly had a9bb6785ce reason to c89ed68d86 be dumbfounded 804af6e26f and annoyed. I rubbed my 3fab0aaf62 eyes tiredly, offering e5cb30a9d8 an apology.b025acae97146c64

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“I overreacted. I have… a bit of trauma from that. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”a101a8092d191d07

“You keep apologizing. It’s really fine.”5b81d841ade933ca

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He didn’t press for more details there. It was a relief that, from the context, he seemed to already know about Han Cheol-woo’s sexual identity, so I didn’t have to explain everything in excruciating detail. I had no intention of spilling my unpleasant dating history from eight years ago to a complete stranger. I fumbled for my beer can on the table.104ca704063f02ba

In the blistering summer d1e5134e4e heat of over 30 92984f4e1b degrees Celsius, the beer c4bc6a2b1b had already turned lukewarm. I considered finishing 5350765a05 the last drops b5c252e5a6 of beer but 1b71a469fb decided against it.87355d00a288a6ce

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Taeyoung’s gaze lingered on the beer can I’d set down on the table. I quietly watched where his eyes rested.c0fdd5eb27733825

Still… the tightness in my chest, which had felt so stifling, had eased considerably. At least Han Cheol-woo hadn’t shown up, and the person who moved in next door was a guy with an appearance and physique that made you gasp, and to top it all off, he was young. And according to him, completely straight.35b2104b38ccfb5a

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That fact, which was so obvious to other women, was incredibly important to me. It’s the first thing I check when I’m introduced to a guy. That seemingly insignificant sexual identity was the first hurdle, determining whether I could even move on to the next stage.018b97482d73a484

Of course, the guy in front of me was quite young. Twenty-six, huh? At that age, for most guys, they’d either have just graduated college or still be in college.02b9cba0ca519edd

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What was my twenty-six like? Was I still an intern…?5d576f735044183e

There was as much d20c3c53f7 distance between me and 29c9ec4e9a my distant twenty-six as ef5d96ab0f there was between me a8278f318d and the guy named 2d92fc53b8 Seo Taeyoung in front f6eeb522af of me now. I had vaguely 597f6deea1 thought he had b4460939db a boyish charm, 6396effb8b but knowing his 1b0149042e age, it felt 13f6ccf2d5 more natural to c809a6de4e see him as 47746def33 a young student, b0279a3f53 still a kid, 294f38201c rather than a 44056cda6d man.3714b4523e429cec

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Especially that innocent yet 19eb3960fa direct gaze, without any 167ae6a3b1 hesitation.df52a3db11784dd7

I looked at e4a1370b7e his clear, handsome 4e9743096d features and gave 6253017b9e a faint smile.524a2e972e5573c5

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What? What are 7db23caaf0 you thinking 4d3edd98a0 right now, a3c9b9449d Lee Jieon?079ea21a2d67e061

The person who moved in next door was a temporary tenant, just staying there in Han Cheol-woo’s place, not some potential boyfriend candidate of mine.62de307bb4bf6e6b

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But still, the fact e017c8c418 that I unconsciously thought c755b91a1c that way was purely ccce1ffd07 because his gaze was 77628d4b1e so clear in its e5cdfe2461 destination. I felt the 498f2b3f39 need to cut fc65894b3d things off.ad82a8a0489974d3

“Thanks for accepting my apology.”9bdf8f1f6aa02fab

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“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad the misunderstanding is cleared up.”8e83857655ce292e

“Right.”1048ac1b8e1879a5

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I picked up e6c31ac59e my beer can 727a7f2571 and stood up. The eye level, which b0adfe589c I had to look 84f77ed94a up slightly even while aed053593e sitting, was now reversed. Even though a2661a28da I thought 335fea599f it was b5b1e2a4fa unnecessary, I 8562ecdf45 extended my 016f59ee29 left hand 2020e2736d to my fec20b54af new neighbor.5c02e5a9211ede50

“Okay, then I’ll assume you’ll be staying in Unit 302 for two months. If you have any problems with the place or need help, just call. I don’t know if Cheol-woo oppa told you, but I’m the owner’s daughter of that building.”5cc8a801541e67a0

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Taeyoung looked genuinely ede73c89bc surprised, like someone 3e57a9aa37 who had never 8da7c99f7f shaken hands with 73c27b7a3a anyone in his a040a1b34e life. He glanced 9a946f5a32 between my db070ccdb4 face and b53275f7d1 my extended 7072b42d4a hand for a966d5daf4 a moment, 81967ed035 then slowly dbcabc377c offered his 924549ab4b own.3a337b100055f8d8

The skin that 9658552e8d enveloped my palm 94a42f8b8c was surprisingly rough c31eba9976 and calloused. And it was hot. Much hotter 169c451384 than the 140a22b697 sunlight warming 1f09636f0b the top 9359be37b8 of my 1dfa27c6e8 head.3e5d950ef9808b38

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My hand was aeb78b5a25 the first to e51b58ccd1 pull away. My fingers grazed his, b9b2fad663 gently detaching. I offered a 8a9f5ef9bd customary smile and 307033a44c a polite farewell.b082fb74843d4f4c

“Okay, I’ll head in first. Have a good afternoon, Taeyoung-ssi.”b108656c62cbbe62

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“…Yeah. You too, noona.”c42b7dc590c7bda8

As soon 49dfd8de7b as I 2c7189ec2b heard his 384c167d9a reply, I 4586db6d44 turned and 5389a8d560 walked out 16cc82dada from under 1756d8fc63 the parasol.7aebf4ad2d5a22eb

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As soon as I got home, I had to call Ms. Jung. Tell her if she ever pulled something like this again without consulting me, I’d really run away to some place where she couldn’t reach me.a26f1cbbafbd01b0

Muttering useless thoughts, I glanced down at my beer can. Then, I rubbed away the distinct lipstick mark on the top of the can with my thumb. After wiping it lightly a few more times, as if erasing the gaze that wouldn’t leave it, I tossed the can into the recycling bin by the roadside.0ef9c1348dfec822

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Clang. The sound of aluminum hitting aluminum lingered, echoing long after, like the gaze that still wouldn’t leave the back of my head.cd80660dbf7011ff

 0f839133930b7bad

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