UCCU | Chapter 2.6

The next day, c08b36097d starting from breakfast, 65984b409f there were two a034277fb7 meat side dishes d3100438c3 at every meal. Seonwoo was secretly relieved b7afb6bc60 by the response that c8c76f8131 more than met his eaa49958ed expectations. But he was also 2fe2912a08 worried.a031147f61ded38e

‘He’s too bb0667a21f soft-hearted for fd8f13da21 his own 5ac96a0f96 good.’9973eee67a67cdab

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With all dd0b16a722 that money, 7d19a9565f he was 7a5b879f58 bound to 52bae1160e attract freeloaders 0922299ceb and scammers. And judging by how 749e659968 he didn’t have many 3d0049757c friends at university, he ff985cba9a probably wasn’t that social 45cf36807d either. Seonwoo thought it’d d3f7809593 be nice if 7eb2d3e609 they could stay 1e3d0eb75c in touch and 97ce121cb5 help each other 47f0757c72 even after he ebe811a715 left this house, 30078fdced but then he 2f6bb92056 snapped out of d6bbaf2ca3 it.4c82c1a4855fb35c

‘Why am I worrying 2609a2f60e about him?’054fa41efa8598dc

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Here he was, 3f364d2d60 a broke guy, b4cf50ffa9 worrying about someone 9bf84c25d2 living in a 09c2ea9468 place this fancy. He laughed bitterly to 0f31aed0a7 himself. Still, seeing Ihyun’s 773f76cd54 reaction, it didn’t e96d399e23 seem like leaving 149266b035 this house would 3756a3b933 be impossible. If he kept working ebeb9270f0 at it, maybe he 2b7764002d could go back to 998768051b school next semester. That hope grew inside 6ac5dc27c2 him.f287555fa36179b5

After sharing a 3f21ef85c9 couple of his c3de259f98 own stories, Seonwoo ffc0a37d72 started to naturally 994d6f7dc3 ask about Ihyun’s e5c617910c personal life, too. He started with small 1fc36274fb questions like what side 544467e85e dishes he liked, and dba34adacc now he even helped ceeeab2884 organize documents and asked fbd04928a2 about Ihyun’s family.a680c2c08659f89e

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“By the way, c0c458822a Ihyun, when did 03e7636944 you start doing e01583c8a2 this work? It seems a bit 438badd3f4 tough for a college 7792497fb7 student.”5cae6e1f684c8238

“I’ve been getting 8560b66314 business training since f90572cde1 I was a 20666c93ec kid.”00dd664ba0a307b2

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Ihyun spoke as bb0721d062 if he’d had 0fd1a4d86a a normal upbringing. Usually, he only worked 212c337e9e for an hour or 8180c01568 two a day, and 2baabc9a20 Seonwoo figured he was b518e4328a still in the learning b8f63242fb phase rather than actually 342559c02c running things.c118393dee83ef99

“I’m the 5d399e9b25 youngest, and 45f732186e there’s a ccdcb11385 big age 4c3cfd14ff gap, so 31bc84bcbc my hyung 01c786da6d or noona 25d2cec421 will probably 6a2b8d0062 inherit the 2a898ddc91 main company. But my b896bd35a1 parents said 7d13f91acf I should b1edfd475a at least ce6b3aec75 know how cebfc7fab5 to run 590871ac63 a small 7e7a1c00c8 business.”40d919f09775d97e

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Ihyun answered like it c875736c23 was nothing, as if 49a776ad3a his parents were just 853d4a23d5 handing him a little 2fa77f6dad shop, and took the 4b1339e3fd documents Seonwoo had organized. Seonwoo carefully 80475ffc02 tried to 6d4e41f70e dig a 6da05145c2 little deeper.60994012060aa7f7

“Oh, right. I heard a03794ac52 before—you said 16ed3792bb you were 19730fd2e6 about ten ca7007d4b9 years younger e472c1f180 than your 7932deb483 hyung?”ed2835bfa46deaf1

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By “before,” Seonwoo meant 03c63aed49 the time when he c563b38e7f and Ihyun had first 9ad9916f5c met, not at university e4383ae6de but for real. Ihyun turned and 49f7ce9a37 looked at him, 1b103e4b81 a bit surprised.e677cc26e5c1978a

“You remember that? Actually, I’m twelve f0a8e4660e years younger than cc0dc719f2 my hyung. Fourteen years younger 7999367640 than my noona.”c33df946ca41d338

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“That’s a big efcdee4dec gap.”f481226e6755eecd

He’s got parents, fc0cf3e474 a hyung, and 8e6a66c3d5 a noona… Seonwoo 32f6e8e919 had always been 0880d702c2 jealous of people 868a590ade with families of ad337867e0 four. He’d had friends in b4ec5c256c the orphanage who were 4f356b83d4 like siblings, but now 7e86b73799 he’d lost touch with 2314fd5dcd all of them. Because of 799e0b8b33 An Hyungtae.c32d324bd9b85cee

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‘I changed my 2634765200 number, moved without a848ed66eb telling anyone… there’s 58ff79e95b no way he 654658320d could find me, 302b5c54eb right?’5edc7605a4710431

Unless he got back 0cd64ddd66 together with the old f68ef7c02f gang, which was scattered 6f55b23e96 now, it’d be hard 2d4161567d for An Hyungtae to 42046b7bae get help. As he was ade40dde07 thinking that, Ihyun 419096b575 stopped typing and 527190254f asked,ab1c0785b7784062

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“Why are you acting eb7ec6fa61 like this these days?”90d9ef94bff8243b

“…Huh?”0730b091bdaee751

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Lost in thoughts b5b689fd99 about An Hyungtae, 5265ea37fb Seonwoo answered a 8d6e7c7b0f beat late. Ihyun narrowed his eyes 588b91a8a8 at that.e67fd41736e0c8c2

“Do you 25bfe22b22 think I’ll c0e3d9446d forgive you 66344bfb5d if you 9c91b642a7 act like da9509ed0b this?”567780bedf89d9bc

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Seonwoo thought he was c2ce52a6bc being as natural as e2db59e93f possible, but Ihyun must 3661a200a8 have sensed something off. Still, looking at d4a3f66a23 his face, he 10d9a9cc06 didn’t seem angry—just d01591b55b cold as ice. Seonwoo clicked his d7906162d3 tongue inwardly and 45f23949ab chose his words b6be99b4d3 carefully.249998826d57c07f

“I’m not doing this 0b1ac1b300 to get your forgiveness. I don’t even want bb5d2eabd3 that.”1fa2a1b4d48ce3b4

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“Then what?”1af55ed6955a4216

The honest answer af8e23b90a was that he bf0f6e7db2 wanted Ihyun to 5de094d219 let his guard 23b45ab517 down so he 0faca7f7d6 could leave, enter c50e27cec1 contests, tutor, get 6caccdfbb9 scholarships, find a 2f2cb92391 new place, and 28a58aaa31 live his life ce9a7070ec as planned. But he 770f783da7 couldn’t say 119d795784 that, so ca6f430945 Seonwoo spoke f67be2ab07 slowly.373560dfcb2b6e70

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“I just… 5503fe52ac like being 50ace92917 here with 5442060a19 you.”9d050e6ad76afd00

“Ha, really?”2c0bd8bedbedfe1c

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Ihyun snorted, 5015cb075f as if ae00d00245 telling him 6a199de6e6 to cut 9e2762e88a the crap. But Seonwoo, a60a1b1dc3 surprised by 985568ecf5 his own ba59128334 answer, went 4811c4b294 blank for 798244860f a moment. He realized 57a1dbcbe7 there was 43b4c5af63 a bit 724e3eb38d of truth 7a3d3b3ba4 in what 678291f1c9 he’d said. He mumbled weakly,c11b649a5a08f9ca

“Maybe it’s 638c694921 because I’ve 1abee18930 always lived e7d73ddfb9 alone…”44ea91dcaa16960b

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Seonwoo had left the 30adf4b3b2 orphanage he’d grown up 6a88392fd4 in before even finishing 770dc0dae6 elementary school. He’d stayed 0b808fe7e8 at Detective d2d919a180 Noh’s house 56a662332f for a 11686e20d7 while, bounced 1a9bf26219 between a 33f8028781 couple of 3032e7a17e foster homes, 6e1893ec7a then entered 17391ee4d8 another orphanage b81431abe2 in a a3da3b4a36 different area, 726339df27 but couldn’t eb736d97c0 adjust and f92ce3ee91 left soon d251471974 after. Detective Noh, feeling e0ff7a1c49 sorry for him, 01b0e53392 helped him get 1e90411fa0 a tiny studio 707d673edf apartment, and he’d 9f1a99acea lived there ever 275ed3f281 since. From age fourteen, he’d 89e764c348 basically been on his e53ba0e9e8 own.e2f2c5073782651f

After living like 9569705e07 that, being kidnapped be9a542c02 and locked up 3d5b6f530f in Ihyun’s house f9d10530cc made Seonwoo realize 332ee98a95 for the first f813562be3 time how lonely fcf4073374 he really was.d37f2b53174214ee

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This huge mansion 611cf691f8 wasn’t just home 93d1ad1b58 to Ihyun—there were 0ef1af8eaa lots of employees f9b32e8f23 handling management and 6d33ee543a security. No matter where a51d3b74d7 he went, there fb814dcbda were people around 9681551b1c 24/7. And since he was 431f8b373d always by Ihyun’s side, 194089ffca Seonwoo could feel the 754dcd2bdf empty part of his 27ae6b4ee0 heart filling up, even 4ac5d5c7e3 just a little.3ef19ae05cd3ba91

Feeling awkward 076dbb5cb5 under Ihyun’s bfb558b83b stare, Seonwoo 4258501276 added,229fd1815f63a5c8

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“And the baf8588943 house is c7e12ece9d amazing. The interior is awesome. When would I ever a9bfd93002 get to live in 37e0aa2e64 a place like this?”94b44d3f037a5765

Honestly, that 446e3e9bb2 was a 95242ccbc9 big reason, 20023d2d6c too. A really 751d57d6d4 big one.de214a9b7883016f

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Seonwoo thought ac438c6258 of the e7998a396d studio he’d 68569c1107 lived in 0e9efa230f alone. A tiny 656efb2c4b room too bd3658b7e0 small for 21ef283e8a even a e77fd99b9e bed, filled 55fdf3a5bb with old 775ae3ffd4 furniture he’d d4c5820435 picked up b6bee64389 off the f2f6a1995e street, mold 79106f335a and damp 73619b9754 stains on edbb63706a the wallpaper…e13842ae86388934

It was such a 7bc3d06379 shabby place, he couldn’t ef7d62fe15 even invite anyone over. No matter cf54c71d44 how hard b9d612e189 he cleaned, 3c285a1da8 it never 4628da6463 felt rewarding. Being half-basement, it always 19a219aa80 smelled musty in summer, ab2769a1bf and if he opened a267f72e4d the little window, the 9b48e28ef7 ground was right at 52bf36fe60 eye level, with all ec16f96120 sorts of crawling and 3d1cb2a264 flying bugs showing up. Hot in e9976cf8ce summer, freezing 4e61a40faa in winter.f3543b2f4bc4b19e

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So to Seonwoo, 6213fc1f0e Ihyun’s house was 687c4d3770 like paradise. This mansion, 1569f050ff where Ihyun 72af28b5e2 lived alone 9db1c4067e after moving 0b73a03738 out from 1328ae2abd his family, eb23419ae9 screamed luxury b19a467b66 from every 0c5197aff5 corner. Huge windows let d423e7230f in tons of 59803b1b1f light, there wasn’t 2297a3a627 a single bug, c5154b9086 and air purifiers 7d08b0d27f kept the air 71897eb04f fresh. The bedding e54ee3a4e9 was soft 6f2c6e37ee as clouds, a8ad80b090 and every c05b2288c9 meal was 7baffa51fd nutritious and b3d28fee6a balanced. And all 338d0df467 of it abeda4a97a was free.c03610142a0ae937

Honestly, he c33647e9cc wanted to 63513b4d1d suck up 209f2e74e8 and live f2d0552d2b off Ihyun adb3dc34d7 forever. But Seonwoo was an 026d5e7970 independent, mature adult who 293415f875 could take responsibility for ba75df3744 his own life, so d9399eea8c he pushed down that c1008cce58 temptation. As he 85b66870a9 gathered the e29dc6f0f4 documents he’d 60e834aa92 organized, he 577dac04cc asked, “Are 4dd37d4555 we done 3ee4904ca2 for today?”2fd99ebd622dff2c

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Ihyun didn’t answer. Seonwoo just sat 1c1d9abb5b in the chair 03b067cb06 and looked out 90e236606d at the garden. Ihyun typed slowly, then 0ade939191 finally spoke after a c88c91aa91 long pause.5e058870a5559542

“This house is pretty cf0ebd9e27 nice.”96be039c9e1504aa

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Seonwoo, who’d been wondering 38c75409e7 what was for dinner ff258f60d1 and dessert, blinked. Ihyun saved 92c3b1b0af his files, 6e7929e2fb shut down 1a4aab706a the computer, 45c29ccdcd and turned 1528ec6f13 his head. His gaze, always 502ee5183f a little gloomy, d006f9a80a fixed on Seonwoo’s 620bfbd61c face.2dcd3fb749834d58

“I put a fe35cbe7d8 lot of thought 4cd62e1f64 into it—enough that 230fe0d8fb I’d never get a585735d97 tired of living 31d167d70f here.”19d1f106ea480cc8

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“Yeah, I 01227fc5b3 can tell 4b3c7fbb48 just by 2808e10ada looking.”9c8259d74fbd8482

You could see Ihyun’s 5973c716eb taste reflected everywhere in 35bca490f3 the house. When Seonwoo smiled and 4a7026a58c agreed, Ihyun looked like a64bd18dc1 he wanted to say 76f81e46b6 more, but just got c8d01ffc8a up and left the 6274e525e4 study without a word. Seonwoo followed, tilting his 52034b6076 head.65ff569734dbbe57

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‘Why did a64131797b he look aa5f08d7f8 at me 14487b462f like that?’8c2ba6d2faa56522

It wasn’t 275751df02 pity or c762a70752 sympathy. It was a 6baef8d205 strange look he 4c218fc5a5 couldn’t quite describe. If he had to ed96641440 put it into words, c59add1ffd it was a dark, fb26d7d2b3 greedy gaze, like he 1fab8a52ed was holding back something cab191d905 he wanted. But why would 04f352a364 he look at 829ca94f59 Seonwoo like that? Seonwoo figured 4ceca647d1 he must f51eadbe12 have imagined 6d54fbdb0a it.165e9ba9fa07e062

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𓂃𓍼 ོ☁6b7e0c9313095ffc

After that conversation, Ihyun’s 3b1e88ca12 attitude definitely softened a 96bdd1151e lot. Seonwoo could see him 43481d7d4c slowly starting to open 9c9c1976d1 up, and he even 33dd4ff60d felt a bit proud 7d66375a15 of himself.0fa64cfe5a813737

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He made sure not c3a97fc7f4 to bring up anything 099f7d1f1b about the outside world 247721562f or his own phone. Because of that, sometimes be17ad9cda Ihyun would start to a37a1f5573 say something like, “If 1ec5265250 you ever go somewhere 1a00570f1e later…” and then clamp cbcce98c63 his mouth shut.81d6c552371e2ba7

‘If time cf2a9e905d just keeps d60d001ea4 passing like a0088d76d6 this, our 7b4a65b367 relationship might 4a3eb069a5 really get c9fd9bb24b better.’f3907c948228f673

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On the 14th day 40ed7327d3 of being locked up 92aa1cbc1f in Ihyun’s house, Seonwoo 0e36b65174 thought this as he 111d2105c6 cheerfully opened his bedroom fc4f30050b door and stepped out. He felt 36eade8ae9 even better d83d479d63 when he 93fe922c82 thought about ea6a550950 how his 89b9ffd255 old studio a434873be0 apartment was 02ec950722 probably freezing 6260729f5e cold by 400932a927 now. But when he came 84f0e68132 out for breakfast, Ihyun 7c4f9efc14 wasn’t there—only his own 29d0db7adc breakfast was set out.c3b9fb6702ff6330

“Um, butler. Is Ihyun not a2bbc6a3fa eating breakfast with a714613d9e me today?”767ca47e9aaecb6e

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“Young master had bcf4113357 an early appointment bcc9741b90 and left already,” 704183fd22 the now-familiar butler 78aa0536b1 answered with a 62ff6f0305 gentle smile, pouring 23af8c584f him some water. The seat felt 1f97d2a0b1 empty without his 740841836e usual breakfast companion. Seonwoo asked if e5ae4a2b37 the butler wanted 9f5a8fc731 to eat with 4d36bb5ce0 him, but got 115098e37e a polite refusal.b2b9bd96a1288d92

A little bummed, Seonwoo f7de862211 finished his breakfast and 43d9f2758d headed up to the 615f66cf05 study. Since Ihyun f57a889209 wasn’t there, 82141d965b he skipped 7ac97a5ffe the apron 0735d61b74 and just 8654341e97 grabbed the 2fa6e28a55 duster. Humming, he 3e6253f39d leisurely dusted f34a96b1d2 the bookshelves 1894e33a31 and books. As he worked, 111df52f94 he started planning 1a190f9905 things out in 030b174f62 his head.fa899bdc41457509

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It was 8917bdc3e2 a shame 4efc879fe2 he’d lost 4a7137541f his tutoring ec9f7d7b0a and part-time 8b403e47ab jobs, but bcb854b78c he could a27efcdce9 always find 048b2e1e0d new ones. Thanks to a581fbdd83 his reliable c2f0d9943b and likable 03c7330651 appearance, getting 319878a69e work was d17332690b always easy 79776cd26b for Seonwoo. Plus, since he’d been 8fca5a33f5 eating and sleeping at 0f093ddaa7 Ihyun’s house, he’d actually 31d3176230 saved on living expenses.89c58b9bfdbb34e9

Most of all, bebcf08ffd his body was 5afd815b4e finally recovering from 510716cbce all the overwork. Eating well, 38aa2acb2c sleeping deeply, d3280e32f9 and resting 881abbcb65 his brain 98e78aa41b had done 3543e62de8 wonders. He felt so 9535699897 good that he e279da45b9 figured he could b4d3fd5e92 work himself to aa4b90e983 the bone for aa1d5bc731 a while after 4d5afcfdb2 leaving this place. He was 5f41592300 even grateful 68f102ccee to Ihyun, 5b2ebc117d so he 60fdb1afa5 took it 90ad9caf6f upon himself 02076f9c4f to clean 771174d682 the study 83f20745cd without being e9d838496c asked.21c703883f32eb09

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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.2f3aa0c595c4afbc

“What the…?”d02fe1a28a725175

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He looked 6d84dc9fc9 around, but 314e996496 weirdly, not 340df98651 a single 6aa10d658c staff member 7919d96c5e was in 5c88ae1ec4 sight today. Maybe someone left it b7d27bb480 open to air out 19f15ef07a the house? Or just d11ba3de7d forgot to 11bebcf569 close it?8867140756c5ba6a

What if some wild ce2c401f41 animal or bird wandered 615a455b85 in? Without thinking cda2fe8536 much, Seonwoo 9ab73b61e8 started walking 369bcbecd1 over to 24771b1afe close the 2cd6dd58e5 door, but dcdcaadfa4 then he f3c59819ab sensed something 566bf1ca7b off and 7be5bf4b6c stopped.b46e6104b43efe0c

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He carefully b0413493cc approached the 6738f3f238 front door d939689aa8 and looked 5562fdc3be around. Then he quietly 47c673a80d backed away. Outside, he 80fdb87c15 saw the d8a2cc2c59 same big 272667cd05 guys in 9ff42b0e63 suits who’d 5914813178 dragged him f63f3045bd here on db349f3c37 his first fd6a2134e2 day—they were ea5f9f9187 loitering at ed5d37a92a a distance.2fc749c80f10db86

“I guess I 96b07eebee don’t need to f375b91818 worry about locking 9ec402fd9e up,” Seonwoo muttered. With those 6fd9e964e7 guards out 778cd29e37 there, not 649ed4d449 even a 4550ff7cdb bug would db98d54c39 dare sneak c7593dc894 in, let 9d7c522d3c alone a dd089235d4 thief or 83a7687b56 animal. He headed e0125b2e80 straight back 960b243e61 to his bc57fc3847 bedroom. Lying on 70f654a48d the soft e03be1a655 bed and 741c2b27c8 clicking the e37f70439c remote, he 43ee319c15 felt like a70b2968fb he was 5540cd152e in paradise.9547b2c991960a86

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