PEN Vol 3 Ch. 19

Shortly after they sat down, the commercials ended, and the movie began. Cheon Sejoo took off his cap, placed it on his lap, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and watched the movie.

The original work was a children’s cartoon, but the live-action film contained themes for adults. He wasn’t particularly engaged and was just staring blankly at the screen when he suddenly felt a blatant burning gaze from beside him.

Glancing over, he saw Sejin sneaking peeks at him while clutching an empty popcorn bucket. Cheon Sejoo reached out and picked up the bucket from Sejin’s arms. He brought it over to his side and placed it between his legs. He then felt Sejin fidgeting with the armrest between them. He seemed unable to concentrate. Bothered by this, Cheon Sejoo tilted his head slightly and whispered into Sejin’s ear,

“Boring?”

“…No.”

Sejin flinched, his shoulders shaking, and whispered, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. 

Sejin was surprisingly ticklish. Sometimes, finding his actions cute, Cheon Sejoo would touch his waist or stroke his shoulder, and Sejin would squirm and writhe like a caterpillar, disgusted. But now, even his breath seemed to tickle him. 

How can he be so sensitive? 

It was a shame he couldn’t see Sejin’s expression.

In the darkness of the movie theater, Cheon Sejoo could have teased Sejin a bit more, making him squirm, but he just chuckled and turned his head completely towards him. Sejin’s seemingly stiff face looked somewhat tense, perhaps bored. He whispered to Sejin,

“I’ll wake you up when it’s over. Sleep if you’re bored. Or you can just leave if you really hate it.”

“……”

Sejin didn’t answer. The side of his cheek where Cheon Sejoo’s breath had touched felt ticklish, so he turned his face forward, then, realizing Cheon Sejoo was waiting for his reply, he looked to the side again. 

Cheon Sejoo was staring straight ahead with his head slightly tilted towards Sejin. Reflections shimmered in his deep eyes when viewed from the side. Feeling a flutter in his stomach at the sight, Sejin brought his lips close to Cheon Sejoo’s ear.

“Are you enjoying it?”

Cheon Sejoo, who was watching the movie, nodded once without answering. Then he immediately turned his eyes to look at Sejin and whispered with a smile on his face,

“It’s filial piety viewing. Even if it’s boring, I have to pretend I’m enjoying it.” 

“……”

His playful voice sounded strangely sweet. Sejin’s face quickly turned sullen, and he bit his lips and pouted. Seeing his slightly puffed cheeks, Cheon Sejoo chuckled to himself and turned away again.

Watching his side profile, Sejin swallowed his frustration.

Cheon Sejoo was too kind and had a teasing side. 

Did he act like this to other men too? Had he ever whispered playful words into Kang Doyoon’s ear like this while watching a movie with him?

Sejin stared at Cheon Sejoo, suddenly irritated, then abruptly reached out his arm. He flipped up the armrest between them and forcibly rested his head on Cheon Sejoo’s shoulder, who looked back at him as if asking, What are you doing?

“It’s boring. I’m going to sleep.”

“…You’re heavy. Lean back against the seat and sleep.”

At the quietly whispered words, Cheon Sejoo shrugged, trying to push him away. Sejin’s head bobbed up and then down with a slight jolt, but he didn’t give up. Instead, he grabbed Cheon Sejoo’s arm tightly and said in a sullen voice,

“You always nag me about having nothing in my head. Just stay still, I’m sleepy since my head is light.”

“……”

Saying it that way seemed to leave Cheon Sejoo speechless, perhaps feeling guilty.

Sejin didn’t feel particularly pleasant about boasting about his own stupidity, but he was happy with what he’d gained. Sejin closed his eyes, leaning against Cheon Sejoo’s shoulder, who was sitting upright watching the movie.

However, he couldn’t fall asleep, distracted by the faint vanilla scent emanating from Cheon Sejoo, the bitter smell of cigarettes, and the warmth transmitted from his shoulder through his cheek. Sejin eventually opened his eyes quietly and stared at the same spot Cheon Sejoo was looking at.

On the giant screen, a fluffy teddy bear was wandering around with a somewhat melancholic expression. The only sound in the theater was the beating of his own heart.

Thus, the weekend passed with watching a movie and studying all day during the weekdays. Finally, the last Wednesday of July arrived, and Sejin busily cooked from the morning. In the afternoon, when Cheon Sejoo returned from work, they headed to Ehwagak together.

“A lunchbox?”

“Yeah.”

“You made a lot.”

“Someone needs to eat a lot.”

Cheon Sejoo chuckled at Sejin’s curt reply. The subject of “eats a lot” wasn’t Sejin, but Kim Hyunkyung. The nine-tiered lunchbox Sejin was carrying was filled with food for her, who was becoming increasingly thin.

Even though Cheon Sejoo had subtly hinted that she didn’t need to lose any more weight, Kim Hyunkyung was adamant. Of course, it was true that she had lost some fat, her jawline had become more defined, and she looked much more elegant and sophisticated than before. But now, her limbs were so thin that they seemed to be nothing but bone, and Sejin was worried.

Eventually, after pondering the cause of her continuous weight loss, Sejin concluded that it was probably because Ehwagak’s food didn’t suit her. Since then, he had been packing a lunchbox for her every time they visited Ehwagak. Glancing at the lunchbox cradled in Sejin’s arms, Cheon Sejoo asked,

“Did you do all the cooking when you lived together?”

“Yeah. Mom’s always busy.”

“I see…”

Sejin nodded quietly. Contrary to his impression of someone who had never lifted a finger in the house, Sejin was proficient at housework. He was good at cleaning, and his cooking was top-notch. With such practical skills, it seemed that Kim Hyunkyung could endure being practically confined to Ehwagak without worrying about Sejin.

They continued their small talk until they arrived at Ehwagak, which was almost 6 p.m. Though it was evening, the summer sun was still blazing hot.

Cheon Sejoo parked the car in the cicada-filled parking lot and lit a cigarette under the shade of a tree, while Sejin went ahead to the dormitory with the lunchbox first. Watching his receding figure, Cheon Sejoo slowly tilted his head.

It was summer now.

In the blink of an eye, autumn would come, and after that season, just like when he first met Sejin, the cold winter would begin. By then, Cheon Sejoo would have to let Sejin go.

He felt a little regretful, but it was a planned separation. Since he had only agreed to care for Sejin until he became an adult, he had to be content with taking care of him as best he could for the remaining time. Cheon Sejoo had to send Sejin, a proper adult, out into the world healthy, just as planned.

However, even as he thought this, Cheon Sejoo couldn’t imagine his house without Sejin. Around this time next year, Cheon Sejoo would once again occupy that large house alone. A house where the air conditioner wouldn’t run if no one were there. A house with a refrigerator full of nothing but old side dishes and alcohol. A house where no sound could be heard from behind closed doors, a house filled with loneliness and solitude.

The fact that he would be left alone in such a house again in five months was somehow unpleasant. Cheon Sejoo scoffed, realizing he was being greedy for Sejin. It was funny. He wanted Sejin to be able to embrace life, but he had become the one clinging to him.

However, the parting couldn’t be postponed. Once this year passed, he had to part ways with Sejin.

A thin sigh dispersed amidst the shimmering heat. Cheon Sejoo, holding the cigarette burned almost to the filter between his fingers, left his spot and headed towards the Ehwagak staff dormitory. He threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray near the entrance, opened the door, and went inside.

“Manager Cheon, come quickly.”

Sejin, Kim Hyunkyung, and a few of her colleagues were sitting around a table in the dormitory’s living room. A delicious-looking nine-tiered lunchbox was spread out on the large coffee table. Kim Hyunkyung placed chopsticks next to Sejin’s for Cheon Sejoo and called him over.

“Hello.”

Bowing his head in greeting, Cheon Sejoo sat down next to Sejin. Sejin, seemingly displeased that the food meant for Kim Hyunkyung was being shared with others, sat with a sullen expression. But as Cheon Sejoo approached, he picked up the largest shrimp pancake and placed it on his plate.

“Oh my, what a filial son! What a filial son!”

Those eating covered their mouths and laughed at the sight. Even though Kim Hyunkyung and Cheon Sejoo harbored no romantic feelings for each other, the others treated the two, who were close in age, like a couple just starting out.

Because Cheon Sejoo continued to care for Sejin, they even treated him like Sejin’s new father. Though Kim Hyunkyung actually had her heart set on someone else, seemingly unaware of this fact, they laughed as they saw Cheon Sejoo and Sejin sitting side by side.

“Sejin must be happy to have such a handsome dad.”

“…”

Cheon Sejoo chuckled and shook his head at someone’s joke. Sejin glanced at him with a sullen face. His displeasure was evident. Of course, he was annoyed that they were linking Cheon Sejoo to his mother, not himself. 

Mom and Cheon Sejoo don’t suit each other at all. 

Sejin grumbled inwardly as he moved some side dishes to Kim Hyunkyung’s bowl with his chopsticks.

Kim Hyunkyung, her face bright as if she was wearing makeup despite it being her day off, looked at Sejin lovingly. Then, at Sejin’s insistence, she finally started eating.

“Mom’s full. You eat a lot.”

When Kim Hyunkyung put down her spoon after eating about half her rice, Sejin’s expression hardened. He placed a piece of braised short ribs on top of her rice bowl and threatened,

“If you don’t eat, I won’t eat either.”

“Oh dear, it must be tough not having a son. Hyunkyung, you should eat more.”

The staff burst into laughter at Sejin’s almost threatening words and urged Kim Hyunkyung on. Only after she picked up her chopsticks again did Sejin get up from his seat to get his third serving of rice. Cheon Sejoo spent that time with a smile on his face.

It was quite boisterous when he was with Sunhyuk and the other members of the processing team, but the atmosphere here was different. Unlike how Cheon Sejoo found Moon Sunhyuk, Gu Haewoong, and Seo Jinyoung endearing, here, he was the one being doted on by the Ehwagak staff.

They didn’t seem to know exactly who he worked for or what he did. They only seemed to think he was a good person with the title of “Manager” somewhere in the DG Group who had taken in Sejin, who would have been left out on the streets with nowhere to go.

The coolness he initially exuded and the wall they felt disappeared quickly. After the day he cut his hand and bled, the staff treated him comfortably.

Only after finishing the cup of coffee they had made for him was Cheon Sejoo able to leave the dormitory. 

While Sejin dawdled, gathering the empty lunch boxes after they finished eating and being told to hurry home and rest, Cheon Sejoo said his goodbyes and went out to the front of the dormitory to smoke.