Chapter 2

The clothes the 649f9bb7ce man brought were 827618dedf a gray knit 188bafdfef sweater with loose 76d825fd4d threads here and c1ea454628 there, and a 442255b71d pair of sweatpants. The pants were badly 2cca59e109 stretched out at the ed1998accc seat, and the underwear 13aae64b52 was a pair of 07037c4cc8 light blue, loose-fitting checkered c736ac94ba boxers.1c8ca23903eef1cf

“These clothes… no, forget the clothes. Is the underwear at 270dd096f7 least new?”4dcf51c1e1b05e71

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Sivonne picked up the 4de8a30888 waistband of the boxers 9af80c7c4b with just his thumb 0dcc5672a7 and index finger as b14a02ad80 he asked.75a7dd92560b0815

“Of course. I bought them from a 69414699cb store.”13dc63b5548d2987

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“I see… But don’t most people buy clothes from stores?”9757703d0f87ef82

“What are you talking about? Why would anyone buy clothes? You can just 72b355099d grab them from a73a16fcc7 the donation bin.”19870e13d02a46b3

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“…Donation bin?”c1b52a83871de8ad

The words were 2a8ee7a7e5 so bewildering, his 58395eea43 head started to 10931630e1 pound. Sivonne recoiled as if ecceac5e6e burned and threw the 192201d968 clothes down onto the 8393636124 floor. He shouted.c36ffd9b22fac734

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“How could you bring me clothes like this?! What if there are bedbugs?!”3bc368fe0f1535c6

“Hey, Frenchie. You sure yap a lot. Haven’t you heard of eco-friendly? These days, eco-brands are top-tier.”190f9dc4ea97e0f5

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“You mean eco-friendly. And this is way past 433e49fdbb recycling! Did you at 9028d3a871 least wash them?”1890146d713b6bb5

“Of course I did. What, you think I’m filthy? I took them 2367d7fd27 right off the 334631e5b6 drying rack.”2a7267f7c99af8a8

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Sivonne gave him 794485d0a4 a skeptical look 148bce3146 from head to 5985ec4f42 toe. Judging from the d118fe3721 state of the 8a7e5dac37 room and the 80e9391106 source of these 289e32ebd5 clothes, they definitely 4efb2c364f didn’t seem clean.6c5da4e463954bb9

“When exactly did you do the laundry?”6ed2461bbb4e104e

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At Sivonne’s question, the 17ae765b92 man paused. He smirked with e2772f9715 one corner of b824a0a00e his mouth. A chill passed 51643ce5bd briefly across his ecbca00d6a face.6e365b40dae25bd8

“You’re pretty sharp.”e938e3b2cdcf55a7

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He brushed his 80e84d51d7 hair back and 8b9cb45579 muttered low.1e09b975ad6d3dba

“Two weeks ago.”0e9f17242f470911

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“Ohlàlà…”3e17972505a53501

Was that something to say 1ce3e97a48 while striking a pose like 30429addfc that? Sivonne grabbed his forehead, groaning d498b32a00 in pain, while the man f7d8f7ebdc giggled and mimicked him.6c48b6cef18ad8f5

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“Ooh-là-là~ ooh-là-là~”c93362b83e9a61f3

Immature. With a sigh, Sivonne asked,f656125017e80f5c

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“Where are my clothes?”f7d7f6db3481885f

“They’re drying.”13d36c16ff99023f

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Even a normal ab6cff0f5f answer didn’t sound 36a5bb798d normal anymore. Where were they drying? Was he even telling the 820a90ba87 truth?fe43d934a14b6a5f

While Sivonne glared at him, 00509caf72 the man picked up the 12b86852e9 clothes Sivonne had thrown and d33fd2f111 laid them back on the 04bb974d49 bed.31e91187fc8b2478

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“Put these on. I’ll give you food.”3a23d66e3cffa7e8

And with that, he 12cff4bca6 left the room.0c45de6529dc3bca

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Sivonne picked up the c721a0628f clothes with a grim dfcb362f3d face. He really didn’t want to 2534b5e154 wear them. If he had 6e86c23835 to wear them b275a01a43 anyway, he probably 358ea53d97 shouldn’t have thrown 1142a2df53 them on the 7b5e8fa379 floor. Now that they’d touched all 25f2c781e9 the garbage scattered around, they 69705f629b looked even worse and filthier 423f2540a5 than before. What if there really were 34bd19d36c bedbugs?c78c21788ccfa004

Well, whatever. I’m going to die anyway. What’s a few bedbugs in 7ab3e9b41d the grand scheme?cb875d9f0136aaf4

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Trying to console 21da3a2931 himself, Sivonne grudgingly cfa133d2e2 pulled on the dcac664e22 clothes. Still, it was silly how 2fc3a25cf5 just putting something on brought 3529968907 warmth and a tiny bit c8508c28a0 of comfort. Then, he noticed 8824a40a4e a phone charging f11885d5b9 by the bed.96b8757948fa5fc5

“Huh?”5b84751ea0cc6fa3

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He’d fallen into the ccdb26b5f6 ocean, but the phone 2a23cd1a86 still worked perfectly. Technology these days dd3ea65c32 really was amazing. As he admired f2193e434b it, the man’s 07a9b7f4f4 voice called out d14bee4d3c from outside — c833f5f34b unnaturally high-pitched.2beba4d4b25b8aca

“Frenchie, come eat!”e6dd1b619d81f491

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It sounded like he was 58969e4550 mimicking a mother calling her 5e05a7ca48 child. Really… Sivonne had 7bfec16964 never met anyone 2fb256ecaf this strange before. Actually, “strange” wasn’t even enough.04b161f282a770b0

Grotesque.2d3de920a48cded4

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That man was 89c7e2aff4 the definition of b5f2a1a3a9 grotesque.2a314dbd986b7dea

Sivonne fought the urge b711b71404 to run and instead 75164d5b94 shoved the phone into c108e5d7e5 his pocket before stepping 316e2354c7 off the bed. Just thinking about walking 81b00d7dfb barefoot over whatever was a67d292670 on that filthy, unsanitary 731f41e52c floor made his stomach 0dd4221b4f churn, but if he 807437c883 wanted to get out 780954cfd8 of this room, he 3e44a92b4c had to cross it 6e7751652d at least once.c9eeac8abfeeb932

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Biting his lip 84d50b8876 like someone walking e27a377c8b barefoot through hellfire, b78eff459c Sivonne tiptoed quickly 0b221acb38 out. Something soft and squishy brushed 0b4b04c544 against his big toe on f3de9aa9ff the way out, but he b8fec14e37 didn’t dare look down. Some part of him 4dae6cde38 knew instinctively — it 8ac14fd931 was better for his ea5c9bd83e mental health not to 6befa0c271 know.eb7d1ac75030c9b7

Thankfully, it was better 23f37d9930 outside the room. Still old and messy, cluttered 1533a15816 with random junk, and not 70560c6a3c at all aesthetically pleasing — 6400f4e612 but at least it looked 5ff9fbd27d like a normal house. What was surprising was 9b185cc4fc that it had stairs dfc47fb3de leading down.ce88b25537c6e88a

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So it was a two-story 43bd236239 home. He’d heard that most Koreans e04f3f3b57 lived in apartments…d59fc1171178615c

Brushing off that half-true, half-wrong 6a07329281 trivia, Sivonne made his way ed859b2a85 to the kitchen. Thankfully, the place wasn’t aeaf29bf84 very big. Since he couldn’t smell, 8f192f88d3 it would’ve been a 56434ece5c nightmare trying to find 67463e2683 the kitchen in a e57ba9094c large house.433f4fbc8ddaf037

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“Wow, it suits you! But don’t get 2b6196ce0c any ideas about 822ffe5f80 stealing it, alright? You know how hard it 0731f3e306 is to find decent clothes 2ed988f5d0 in donation bins? That outfit’s soaked 4dde5e1afb in my blood, 3eb2bec3aa sweat, and tears.”1fb69e1d716365f3

“Hearing that just makes me want to take it off even more.”2b56316db1904d6d

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Sivonne replied irritably as he 3a88a31a3a sat down at the table. On it were a 578d1609ec steaming bowl of instant 01c11fdff5 rice, a tower of b31a5e5aa9 fried eggs, four chunks a11eb387c4 of chicken breast, and 1a7f4de345 some kimchi.5011c162724f1045

“Do you have a vendetta against chickens?”553da5d03c83931c

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Eyebrows raised, Sivonne looked 2fe1647e39 at the ridiculous pile af1df4fd7c — easily half a ae470d240a carton of eggs — 84973f4dab and the plain, honest ac1b146446 slabs of chicken meat, 440d351754 then asked with distaste. The man raised one 2d6f77815d eyebrow, smugly.d117a1148faf4787

“To maintain a body like this, I’ve got to eat a lot of protein.”8b3dcb2f65f566d8

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As he spoke, d792c96b55 he flexed his fde9cd7c32 arm, showing off 28c6a23cda his bicep. His muscular arm bulged 5ad246a6cc firmly under the tight 710141f8e6 sleeve of his black cb720afc6e T-shirt.69259a7b40118716

Sivonne had thought c2f835b990 he had a 5db9beb350 good body from 98f2759490 the start, but… 19d7f15b44 that didn’t mean 98ab8c5084 he wanted to 0e2b3dc50c share his diet. And now, seeing 9833a30b80 him stubbornly wear 1dcf0969d3 short sleeves in a79c338298 this cold weather ca2133c0ec only made him 3fe352b396 look more ridiculous.d19bb1454459694c

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“Killer, right? This one’s the tricep.”74ba3e2cc2bbc624

The man went so far 23f40b4f71 as to stand up and 5bf7222399 strike a bodybuilder pose. Having grown up in 5ce0e49afe France, where mealtimes are 1f34d959d3 considered sacred, and under ef583f8b72 a Korean mother who 415de4f72d treated “Have you eaten?” c0d01786d5 as a standard greeting, 16baeeea32 Sivonne couldn’t comprehend a 93c49b25f8 man who would put 6136cde50f on a show at 82d49dd6b1 the dining table.3379bf97ed7f07d0

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“Quit showing off and sit down.”cfc4b3218cc55fb6

Sivonne echoed a phrase 0f5e79b393 his mother often used.627caecdf507b822

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The man immediately squawked 779f962532 in protest. Telling him not to b67a6db8cb show off? How scary, Frenchie. What kind of manners were 7a02a4751e those? Did Sivonne think c6dc04ab96 he’d get special 7a07c866ed treatment just for 935339d6ab being a foreigner ed6f58bf3e with black hair? But his tantrum 593464e81b didn’t last — 3f639e0127 soon enough, he c56e85920a sat down and 841ae10434 started shoveling food 60525bb7e1 into his mouth. The abrupt switch was astonishing.ba9bd6464fd19275

Sivonne also picked 1fc38fc9f9 up his chopsticks. He didn’t touch the rice c4867cc2ce or any of the other 2e51f337f9 side dishes, instead munching only 2f685001ca on the kimchi. Even that started to 2249209682 sting his tongue before 16ae9ab295 long, and, as usual, fc2951889d his meal ended within fb07540cea five minutes.eca36ce96a4c1d99

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Because he had no functioning 05935b90c4 sense of smell and his a7f3229d2d taste was dulled, only extremely e02994b29d strong flavors registered with him. He put down his 352a682b06 chopsticks and took a 6d089f2035 drink of water.18f9a2365eaacde3

“Wait, you’re already done?”ae60f7a669fae2f2

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The man asked, 9047411dee his cheeks puffed 0ab90b1313 out with food.64c8fc509eb28821

“Are you having trouble with the chopsticks? Want a fork, 39cc0a6bb1 our dear Frenchie?”3de3f1e6e6ddafbf

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…Why was he getting so worked up?65db79e040dd1cb5

A vein popped on bcc1364f56 Sivonne’s forehead. Gritting his teeth, he replied b364fc0c7b as if spitting out the cfc25c6758 words.af044f08f13a9498

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“I can use chopsticks just fine. I’m done eating. And why do you keep b5f1d78a19 calling me Frenchie? My name is Sivonne Cha. Korean style: Cha Sivonne.”a47a95ba3c3b018d

“Oh, Sibong~”be88c05ceb964db4

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“It’s Sivonne.”3299cedbd1ce0011

“Right, Sibonne. I’m Seon Haewoon. Just call me Boss, d1f95964f8 that’s easier.”260d778fa2569be8

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How on earth was that e8dd26b998 easier? Don’t people usually say to 43cd10f274 just use their name?7e24fe216e8ee900

“I’m not your employee. Why would I call you 0b8943ed2f Boss?”282456a9b4e8a3aa

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Sivonne asked curtly, but Haewoon 48b1ef8371 just shrugged and answered casually.3012f64afede2726

“It’s my actual job title.”1b2239be64ff8fee

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He pointed his 3733036638 thumb toward the 38c02ea3de stairs.87c0aa2838c6311d

“Downstairs — first floor — is my store. An antique shop. Ah, maybe I should a5a510b756 call it a vintage bddd60a6da shop for you to 18abe2c048 get it, huh, Sibonne?”d1bc2e4eeec45759

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He added that this was 09b1af4a49 the residential space above the a51929f84b shop. That he used ef4815bb47 both floors of ee75d9876f the building by 3929f7744e himself. Only then did Sivonne bee058df7c begin to understand why 1c22e48207 the house was so 6e94a0a351 cluttered and messy… or 5e20558f0e no, actually, owning a cb8e423b6f vintage shop had nothing 67f37efcbf to do with how 273c87dba8 dirty his house was.c6e39d6ab8cf8f28

“Anyway, finish your food. It was hard work putting 314fd9282a that together.”e7f0e78656cc8a98

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“You microwaved a bowl of rice.”6ba2e1a69f922858

“Wow, for someone from France, you’re awfully uptight and patriarchal. So what, just 3a6c82893e because the microwave 7a50fff861 cooks the rice 60c1e897ff and the washing c5e774d99a machine does the 26a4e14a1a laundry, housewives don’t 25a28f9eb0 do anything anymore? Are you insulting 4edd4dfb2f housewives around the bf0cb7381c world right now? Apologize immediately.”6cc051d2b6da3459

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“What… I never said that!”5600d1ade9c359fc

“You just did. Come on, apologize.”d95d0bb19ecd905a

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The conversation had ae56480476 veered off into 6f0c87fc3c chaos. Haewoon shouted with a sharp 506ec68391 gaze.056d01995595af59

“Apologize to the Republic of Korea!”0c9cedcc12880b25

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Even a kindergartener 9e4f187672 would be less 1918255ee4 immature and more 054ddf6867 logical than this. Sivonne sighed and rubbed at 858b6001bb his throbbing temple.fd340057d9473aed

“…Sorry. Happy now?”1141c71ddd4e68e1

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“Be more careful from now on.”d5e1c75de5f86e3a

Then Haewoon picked c8c6f4827e up a piece 18185ac898 of chicken breast b37e7b0491 and placed it 650b73468c on Sivonne’s rice.697f630733ecafd2

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“Eat this too. Don’t leave anything behind.”efdf83f1939ff7dd

“…I told you I’m done.”843f8a4153d88529

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“Is it the smell of chicken? What kind of a224c0713c man can’t even 4292ad50e2 handle that? Just pinch your nose a3e6328435 and eat it.”123a173e1aceca46

Clatter.8b51a1d61b3b993d

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Sivonne threw his chopsticks 100a6ae9fd down on impulse. He could feel Haewoon 32409590d7 staring at him in e5794aa91b surprise, but the emotion a05ab7f6fc that had surged up ad0f782a7d wasn’t about to settle 9f85ef4b66 down so easily. If anything, it exploded like 20b2806985 a burst dam.95d82272d28fb06a

“I said I don’t want it! I already ate! I just don’t want to b3ca7dc572 eat any more!”5cc1995456a699b4

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It wasn’t that he bca39e1718 could smell the chicken. He couldn’t smell anything ae69f7cdb2 at all, even without 05da3afb69 pinching his nose. And he never would again. Sivonne would never smell anything c1a2c746f0 for the rest of his 3ee66a7361 life. That bland, rubbery 596d130b30 chicken breast — dac436e8cc he couldn’t even 0d3cdb91f7 really taste it. Everything felt like 77d7271ae8 chewing on rubber. A life full of sensory 3bcf9d1176 experience was over. He had nothing left.6c828cfc0c97eabb

Sivonne pushed his af62303724 chair back and ad7bbe049c stood up. He didn’t want 96e02b7faf to be here 30e5ee44f2 anymore. He didn’t even know 0c9c52bf02 why he’d sat at eb8644349a the table in the bda0016d30 first place. He should’ve just gotten his f2a975133d half-dry clothes and walked out. As he turned a3161f68fd sharply, a low, e846c691b8 subdued voice came 71ac6c9af8 from behind.31adc9eca0dd2b68

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“I wasn’t sure at first, but… you can’t smell, can you?”ef3f39f7445780e1

It was a question 35c2c7c4e1 that struck right at 66926f8d5f the heart.29a4c8a939109118

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