Chapter 9: The Peculiar Invitation

Despite the low timbre of the voice, the profound stillness of the surroundings made every word echo with startling clarity. It felt as though each syllable imprinted itself directly into my ears.

I turned around.

There, leaning over the second-floor railing, was Yoon Heesung, his gaze fixed upon me.

“Our houses are close, so come often.”

“Do you even know where my house is, to say something like that?”

I retorted with a baseless jab. Yoon Heesung, however, simply laughed as if I had uttered the most amusing joke.

“Of course I know. Why wouldn’t I?”

He waved at me.

“You absolutely have to come tomorrow. I’ll go to school too.”

Yoon Heesung truly seemed to be a profoundly lonely individual.

****

The following day, defying all my expectations, Yoon Heesung actually showed up at school.

“Oh?”

I let out a surprised, yet welcoming, gasp when I saw Yoon Heesung. He had somehow managed to find and settle into Im Namwoo’s old seat—a spot that had remained conspicuously empty since then.

While it was unlikely he had heard my quiet exclamation, Yoon Heesung happened to glance in my direction just then. He then offered a faint smile, almost like a greeting.

But that was the extent of it.

Yoon Heesung promptly slumped forward onto his desk.

‘Is he sick?’

As I set down my bag, opened my textbook, and even while solving problems, I found myself repeatedly glancing at Yoon Heesung. Yet, he remained steadfastly slumped over his desk.

The situation remained unchanged even after classes commenced. The first period, of all subjects, happened to be math. Our math teacher was notorious for nagging students with a sharp “Don’t you dare doze off” at the slightest dip of a head.

“Everyone, open your textbooks.”

Strangely, the math teacher didn’t even spare a glance for Yoon Heesung. They didn’t tell him to get up, perhaps assuming he was unwell. It was truly an anomaly.

An even greater oddity occurred during the next period.

‘Where did he go?’

The bell rang, yet Yoon Heesung had vanished without a trace. I had intended to eat lunch with him later, but he was gone. As if he had simply evaporated. My legs trembled uncontrollably as I waited for the class to end.

During the break, I scoured every corner of the school for Yoon Heesung, but not a single strand of his hair was anywhere to be seen.

Even by the time the final period concluded, Yoon Heesung had not returned.

Yet, an even more bewildering fact emerged. No one, not a single soul, pointed out Yoon Heesung’s empty seat. This included the classmates, naturally, but also the various teachers who rotated in for each period, and even our homeroom teacher. During the closing remarks, our homeroom teacher made no mention of Yoon Heesung whatsoever.

‘This must be why I never even realized Yoon Heesung had transferred here.’

He had merely shown his face for a brief morning appearance, like someone stepping out for a casual stroll, and then left, yet no one had said a word. It made me feel as though I understood Yoon Heesung’s place within this school, and a bitter taste filled my mouth, despite it not being my concern.

On the other hand, I found myself wrestling with a dilemma. The voice I had heard yesterday kept circling in my ears, almost like a lingering hallucination.

‘Our houses are close, so come often.’

Yoon Heesung, speaking from the second floor, his voice thick with an undeniable sense of longing.

‘You absolutely have to come tomorrow. I’ll go to school too.’

Yoon Heesung, who had so earnestly insisted I visit the villa, kept replaying in my mind…

My deliberation, however, did not last long.

Initially, I had planned to attend afternoon self-study and only skip the evening session. Ultimately, however, I couldn’t resist and found myself heading to the teacher’s office. The lies flowed from my lips with surprising ease.

“Teacher, I’ll be skipping afternoon self-study today. I plan to take online lectures at home.”

“Oh, you will? Lee Yunwoo, you’re a good student, so I’ll trust you and let you go.”

My steps, as if by instinct, led me not toward my home, but toward the villa.

While it was true I had decided to go today, a part of me felt I was being overly zealous. I wasn’t Yoon Heesung’s mother, after all. Yet, he had helped me on the field, and he had seemed so utterly lonely; surely, this small gesture was warranted.

Still, having visited once before, my demeanor was noticeably less somber as I stood before the villa. I stood before the grand, imposing structure, a faint tremor of tension still present, though less potent than yesterday’s.

“…It’s open?”

Unlike yesterday, the door stood ajar, and I cautiously pushed it open further before stepping inside. The second door, too, was unlocked. This was a stark contrast to yesterday, when every door had been securely locked, as if guarding against an intruder. Could it be that he had left it open knowing I would come? A foolish hope began to stir within me.

I immediately cut across the garden, making my way toward the annex where Yoon Heesung would be.

‘Surely, this one isn’t open too?’

Without even considering ringing the doorbell, I subtly turned the doorknob, just as Yoon Heesung had done yesterday. To my surprise, the annex door swung wide open, completely unobstructed.

‘He really must have left it open for me…’

I hastily stepped inside. A sense of urgency surged through me. As I quickly ascended the stairs leading to the second floor, a loud commotion erupted from above.

Who could be making such a ruckus while descending? As I looked up in astonishment, the source of the commotion was rapidly flowing down the stairs, almost tumbling.

“Hey…! You’ll get hurt doing that.”

Startled, I scrambled up the stairs. My heart plummeted for a moment, yet Yoon Heesung dismissed my concern as if it were trivial, greeting me with a welcoming smile. Was it the faint blush on his cheeks that made his demeanor seem subtly different today? However, contrary to his somewhat shy appearance, Yoon Heesung’s question caught me quite off guard.

“Why did you come now?”

“…”

I was momentarily speechless. I stood blinking on the central landing of the stairs.

‘Why?’ Because you suddenly vanished, so I came looking for you. Wouldn’t I worry if you just went home without a word? I stammered out a vague excuse.

“You just disappeared. I came because I thought something might have happened. …Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“At least say something before you leave, why did you just go suddenly?”

“I just left. It was noisy, and all.”

Once again, Yoon Heesung’s reply was devoid of sincerity. A slight deflation settled over me as I spoke.

“And I said I was coming today. I told you yesterday. Don’t you remember?”

Wasn’t that why he had left the door open? Yoon Heesung seemed to welcome me now, yet simultaneously reacted as if an unexpected guest had arrived. He was the one who had invited me. He had held me back when I was leaving, insisting I come often since our homes were close. He had told me to definitely visit since he would be at school… A wave of disappointment washed over me.

“You said you might be late. That you’d come after self-study. So I thought you’d arrive even later.”

Yoon Heesung said this, then smiled.

“…”

It was a smile of a different sort than yesterday’s. Perhaps a little bland, or simple. In any case, with all tension gone, he looked just like a puppy. No, he still had a sharp, edgy aura, but somehow, just then, he was different.

While I stood there, mesmerized by this unfamiliar smile, Yoon Heesung asked,

“Are you staying today too? Shall we go upstairs?”

“…”

Ah, I understood now. Why Yoon Heesung had seemed like a fluffy, large puppy. The realization dawned on me belatedly.

Yoon Heesung looked like a puppy who had waited all day for its owner to return. I wasn’t sure if the analogy was fitting, but he truly looked like… a puppy who had been waiting only for me. If he was going to be like this, he could have at least acknowledged me at school. I had deliberately stayed quiet, thinking he was tired because he kept his head down, but it would have been nice if he had spoken to me first… I felt a bit hollow, but since nothing was wrong, I was relieved. I nodded quietly.

Then, suddenly, I realized again how incredibly quiet this place was. Come to think of it, Mother had said I couldn’t just enter the annex. She also mentioned that the madam and her son used a separate building.

It was strange. If he was so lonely, why did he live separately from his mother? I hesitated for a moment, fearing Yoon Heesung would simply say “just because,” then, as I climbed to his room and placed my bag on the table, I asked,

“But why do you live separately from the madam?”

“Everything I need is in the annex. I don’t have to go to the main house.”

“…”

That wasn’t what I meant. It felt like our conversation was subtly misaligned, but I let it go. He wasn’t exactly… a normal kid.

As I sat on the sofa, Yoon Heesung sat beside me. The cushion sinking beside me created a strange sensation. Perhaps misunderstanding my subtle expression, Yoon Heesung furrowed his delicate brow and explained,

“My mother uses the main house, and I use the annex. The employees mainly work in the main house, so their quarters are there too.”

So, that meant the main house contained the madam and other employees, including my mother. And it seemed they rarely came to the annex. They would only enter when Yoon Heesung permitted, quickly finish their tasks, and then leave.

“Even if they come, they only enter the first floor.”

“They’re not allowed on the second floor?”

“No. I manage the second floor.”

Yoon Heesung used the word ‘manage’ instead of ‘clean’ or ‘organize’. This aspect of him was truly… peculiar.

Listening to him, I grew curious about the purpose of the other annex. Since the main house was used by the madam, Yoon Heesung’s mother, what was the other annex for? There were three buildings in the villa, after all.

“Is the other annex for guests?”

I couldn’t think of any other use for it. But Yoon Heesung’s response was lukewarm.

“I don’t know… There’s no one to visit. Not many welcome people come here.”

He seemed uninterested in his own home. Then, as if he had just remembered something amusing to share, he blurted out,

“Ah. There’s a swimming pool in that other annex.”

“A swimming pool?”

“It’s small, so we don’t use it now. I used to play there often when I was little.”

Even someone seeing Yoon Heesung for the first time would clearly see what he was interested in.

“Want me to show you? But there’s no water.”

“No. It’s fine.”

Rather than a waterless swimming pool, I was more curious about Yoon Heesung’s childhood. Did he often visit here when he was little? This villa was built quite a while ago, so it might have been here for about ten years. Suddenly, I wanted to see Yoon Heesung when his cheeks were plump.

“Do you have any pictures? Pictures of you when you were little.”

“Why do you want to see that? I don’t have any here.”

“If you don’t have any, then…”

“Shall I find them?”

When Yoon Heesung seriously offered, I hesitated slightly. I considered brazenly asking him to find them, but then decided that would be strange. I was curious and wanted to see them, but no, it was fine.