The Man Next Door

 

“A new tenant is moving into the basement today.”

Eunkyo’s gaze, which had been focused on the cleanly scrubbed grinder as she poured fresh coffee beans into it early in the morning, shifted momentarily toward the counter.

Just then, Kim Haeda was stamping a regular customer’s coupon, and a trademark dimple appeared on his cheek. It seemed everyone, regardless of age or gender, was charmed by his annoyingly endearing smile.

“Into the basement storage room?”

Perhaps thanks to the new beans, a rich aroma quickly filled the café. Haeda, having just finished brewing an espresso shot, nodded as Eunkyo prepared a cup filled with ice.

“Yeah. So, you need to clear out all the stuff you’ve got down there.”

“That’s all trash. You know it’s Lee Dohyun’s stuff, right?”

“Still, you need to clean it up.”

“That’s unfair, Haeda. It’s not even mine. Why should I clean it?”

“It’s your ex-boyfriend’s stuff. Of course, you should.”

Haeda placed an iced coffee a customer ordered and a complimentary cookie on a plate, then walked to the pickup desk. He waved, wearing a harmless, enchanting smile, the kind that could charm any woman.

Eunkyo thought that if Kim Haeda hadn’t been the perfect male friend, or if he wasn’t her landlord offering her a ridiculously cheap rent, she might have been a little flustered by that smile.

Of course, that would never happen, not even in a million years.

“I’ll take out the trash and be right back.”

“What time is your appointment?”

“11:30.”

“Hurry up. And next time, tell them you’re not doing their ‘pro bono work’ or whatever. Don’t just give your services away for free.”

Haeda, pulling out rubber gloves, stood in front of the sink. He turned on the water and began washing cups.

“My professor called me directly after a long time. It’s a startup, so I should help them.”

“You’re too soft. At least get a good beef dinner out of it. Have you forgotten how wealthy Sunggeun’s family is?”

“How could I forget? I’ll make sure to get a proper meal.”

Smiling wryly, Eunkyo tied the trash bag tightly and went out into the blazing sun. After disposing of the bag in the designated area, she shielded her eyes with her hand and looked around.

Her back was already soaked with sweat from the intense June heat. The rainy season would start soon, but today, it was unbelievably humid and hot.

The alley, a typical residential street in Seoul, was packed with illegally parked cars. Eunkyo watched the children gathered at the playground across the street, trying to lift her spirits.

Seoul, ○○ District, 211-5

Kim Haeda had bought the building three years ago for the unbelievable reason that he’d fallen in love at first sight.

After six months of renovations, he opened a café on the first floor, rented the second-floor apartment to Eunkyo, and used the basement as a roasting room and storage.

And now, there’s a tenant in a place he’s neglected for three years? 

Could he really need money that badly?

Sighing, Eunkyo placed her hands on her hips.

‘When am I ever going to clean that place out?’

She quite liked this place. Of course, it hadn’t always been this way.

There was a man she had dated after graduating from university and while studying for her degree in Korean Literature.

He was a handsome man who always drew attention and a kind person loved by everyone. In short, he was too good for her.

She had a typical, comfortable relationship that lasted for three years with this kind of man. He had never been unfaithful, and she hadn’t tried to hold him back either. She wasn’t the type to be overly invested in a relationship. It was a permissive relationship that could easily be mistaken for indifference.

Was that why? One day, he suddenly ended things without any explanation.

Kim Haeda dismissed it as a “ghosting breakup.” He’d said there were many ways to break up, but ghosting and being traded¹in for someone else were things only the the lowest of the low would do, words that stabbed her in the heart.

One could say it was just heartbreak, but at the time, she had uncharacteristically difficult days.

Then, she was persuaded by Kim Haeda, who said that there was nothing better than “financial therapy” to get over heartbreak, and so they opened a café. She had a skilled business partner, and one of her short stories became a hit, which led to a more prosperous life.

In short, bravo capitalism, hooray for financial therapy.

Even so, she couldn’t always shake off the feeling of tightness in her chest whenever she thought of Lee Dohyun.

This was probably just resentment.

And the traces of that resentment were now filling the basement of this building. All the terrible memories Lee Dohyun had left were rotting away down there.

With her hands in her pockets, Eunkyo stood there and stared at the basement stairs when someone brushed past her from behind. It was a man with a strong scent of fabric softener.

He went inside the café, so he must be a customer…

The refreshing scent, so out of place for the humid summer, pulled her out of her brooding thoughts.

The tall man, tall enough to hide Kim Haeda from view, stood at the counter. He scanned over the menu and then peered around, almost like he was looking for someone.

She briefly considered going in to help Haeda but changed her mind.

Her senior’s messages, reminding her that she absolutely shouldn’t be late, were flooding her chat window.

Eunkyo waved to Haeda, who met her gaze, and went up the stairs to the second floor.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

“Thank you, Eunkyo. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be in real trouble,” 

Sunggeun said, grinning as he placed a cold yogurt drink in front of Eunkyo, who was looking around the recording studio with curiosity. Then, he even put a straw in the drink for her.

“It’s nothing much. The professor asked me, and anyone could have written a script like this.”

“Still, it’s not easy to get help from a famous writer like you.”

“Don’t flatter me too much. It really was nothing. But…when are we going to record?”

“Ah, the friend who’s going to do the narration just arrived. He’s also recommended by the professor. But he’s a sculpture major? Strange, isn’t it?”

“It is. A sculpture major and narration don’t really seem to go together.”

“You’ll see. He’s quite unexpected.”

Sunggeun got up after checking his messages. At that moment, the door to the recording studio opened and someone entered.

“Sorry I’m late, hyung².”

“Ah, no worries. You must have had a hard time getting here. It’s hot outside, right?”

“I drove here, so it’s alright.”

Despite doing the narration for free, the man’s voice was incredibly low yet resonated strangely.

Eunkyo deliberately kept her eyes fixed on the script, hoping he would just walk past without acknowledging her. But the man, after greeting each of the engineers in the recording studio, finally stopped in front of her.

“Hello, sunbae-nim³.”

Even though they’d never been to the same school, and didn’t know each other, he was calling her sunbae. Flustered, she smiled awkwardly and looked up. A pair of softly curved dark eyes were staring down at her, like they were etching her image into their gaze.

Eunkyo felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

“Hello… I’m Jung Eunkyo.”

“I’m Lee Jaeheon, sunbae.”

“Ah… It’s been so long since I graduated, so just call me by my name.”

“Still, how can I do that, sunbae-nim?”

The man smiled brightly and held out his hand to shake hers. She shook his hand, which was unusually cold, and felt puzzled.

What was this strange feeling?

It was as if she had seen his smile somewhere before… While he had a slightly sharp impression, his face was breathtakingly handsome. No matter how much she tried to recall, she couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone so handsome before, not even among celebrities.

“Shall we start recording right away?”

If not for the prodding of one of the engineers, she would have undoubtedly continued staring at his face.

The man, who had been leaning down to meet her gaze, placed the disposable cup he was holding on the table. His fingers, were rough yet smooth from working with clay, and his large hands had a rugged kind of sexiness.

Eunkyo was inwardly flustered.

Drops of water had condensed on the transparent plastic cup, and it ran down and pooled on the table.

When she saw the Café Haeda logo printed on the cup holder, she understood the source of the unease she had been feeling.

The strong, fresh fabric softener scent, so out of place for the summer heat.

‘Could it be… the man from earlier?’

Letting out a disbelieving chuckle, she then involuntarily crumpled the script in her hand as Lee Jaeheon’s voice echoed through the speakers.

The first line of the promotional narration was a quote from a poem by Park Joon⁴. The man’s voice, reading the words in a low, calm, but not dry tone, made the fine hairs on her body stand on end. It was a kind of thrill, similar to catharsis.

She looked up at the man beyond the glass wall. Their eyes seemed to meet, but it must have been her imagination. He wouldn’t be able to see out from the inside.

The cold air from the air conditioner, the hushed whispers and faint gasps of admiration from the people around her, and the subtle tension that prickled her skin… Just as she felt breathless, the PD raised his hand.

“Let’s try that one more time. We’ll start from the third paragraph, at the word ‘hopefully.'”

At that, the man in the recording booth scratched his temple with an awkward expression, then nodded looking innocent and fresh.

Eunkyo took a deep, discreet breath and unclenched her hand, which had been gripping the script. She then carefully folded the damp, crumpled surface of the paper to hide it.