X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server“I’m hungry.”
Those were Seo Gi-hyeon’s first words once he had fully awakened.
“Jeong-woo. Let’s go eat.”
“First, let’s stop by the room for a moment.”
“Why?”
“I have something to say.”
“Can’t it wait until after we eat?”
“No. It can’t.”
They ascended the emergency staircase, a route they seldom used.
Seo Gi-hyeon had been silent throughout their walk to the room. However, as soon as they stepped inside, he launched into a heartfelt confession.
“You know how I usually sleep endlessly if no one wakes me up? So I tried not to sleep, but that room was just so comfortable—”
“Our room isn’t comfortable, so you can’t sleep at night?”
“……”
“Or is it that you can’t sleep well because you’re with me?”
I gazed down at the boy, who was a full head shorter than me. Though I had spoken calmly, with no intention of arguing, Seo Gi-hyeon’s expression immediately soured.
“No, it’s not.”
“Really? Because it seemed like you were sleeping quite comfortably in a stranger’s room.”
“…It’s not.”
“Right. Of course not.”
“What… For some reason, hearing you say that makes my conscience prickle even more.”
“That’s exactly why I said it. Now, sit down.”
Seeing my serious expression, he sat down in a dining chair and asked, “Are you mad?”
“No. Is there any reason for me to be mad?”
“You said you were coming, but then I couldn’t reach you.”
“I don’t really see that as something I absolutely *have* to get mad about.”
“That’s true, but you still went out of your way to come get me.”
“What’s so new about it? It’s not like this is the first or second time.”
Seo Gi-hyeon often ended up sleeping in someone else’s room. As he said, once he fell asleep, even for a nap, it would take several hours for him to wake up, so he would often lie down for a short break and then inadvertently drift off.
When I wasn’t around, Park Jun-sung and Jang Gi-jae would ruthlessly wake him up themselves. But whenever he fell asleep in another room, I was the one who went to retrieve him.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t entirely against my will. I didn’t *have* to go get him, but I only felt at ease if I did. I truly disliked the idea of Seo Gi-hyeon spending the night in another room.
“If you’re worried about bothering me, stop. Don’t suddenly start acting like this.”
“It’s not sudden; it’s that I was wrong for not thinking about it until now.”
“It’s sweet that you’re thinking of me, but honestly, you acting like this makes *me* more uncomfortable.”
Since beating around the bush would only lead to greater misunderstanding, I decided to ask him directly before things escalated further.
“You heard from Park Jun-sung, didn’t you? About me wanting to switch rooms.”
As soon as I spoke those exact words, his clear eyes widened instantly.
“It seems like you’ve been trying hard since then, but don’t. There’s no need for that.”
“Why is there no need for that?”
“Because I wasn’t serious. It was just a joke. You can make jokes like that, can’t you?”
Seo Gi-hyeon’s expression was more serious than I had ever seen it.
“I thought it was a joke at first, too.”
“If you knew, why didn’t you just keep believing that?”
“But you said you wanted to try it for even a day.”
In that moment, I found myself frowning without realizing it.
‘Wow. He even told him that?’
I had told Park Jun-sung to tell him everything without exception, yet it was astonishing that even after such a detailed account, something had been left out. It was my fault for trusting Park Jun-sung.
“I know the idea of switching rooms itself was a joke, but hearing that you said even *that*… it just felt a bit strange.”
“What felt strange?”
“You might have thought about wanting to be in a different room for even a day. It made me wonder how much you disliked sharing a room with me to even think something like that.”
“Ha.”
I knew Seo Gi-hyeon was surprisingly thoughtful. However, this time, his misunderstanding was far too profound.
“That was just a joke too. If I truly disliked it, I would have said so ages ago.”
“No. You wouldn’t have said anything even if you disliked it.”
“Because I’m kind?”
I was dumbfounded even as I asked. No matter how I thought about it, I wasn’t a particularly kind person.
“That’s the problem. Not saying those things. Even if you have a lot of complaints, you just endure them and move on. I don’t like you forcing yourself to accommodate me.”
“And it’s okay for you to force yourself to accommodate me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You also forced yourself to go to bed early and wake up early to match me. You forced yourself.”
“That’s because, logically, it’s the right thing to do. It was only waking up 30 minutes earlier.”
To others, it might have been ‘only 30 minutes,’ but for Seo Gi-hyeon, even that short time was never easy. The fact that he was arguing based on common sense suggested he had truly been agonizing over this.
“Anyway, I’ve never forced myself to accommodate you. So just do things the way you always have. Wake up at your usual time, and go to bed at your usual time. Please, don’t even bother tidying up.”
“But then you’ll be bothered.”
“I won’t be bothered. I’ve never been bothered until now.”
“Never once?”
“No. Not once.”
Of course, there might have been a time or two, but it was so long ago that I couldn’t remember. Seo Gi-hyeon still looked unconvinced.
“And honestly, I’d rather be bothered than have you worrying about things like that.”
“How is that better? I don’t want to be a bothersome person.”
“Who said you’re bothersome? I’m saying I’d rather make breakfast or clean up myself.”
“……That’s the same thing.”
“Even if it is, no one would think that way. No one thinks of you like that.”
I laughed, calling his idea absurd, and he gave me a suspicious look in return.
“You’re the most likely person to think that, though.”
“Whether it’s likely or not, I’m not bothered by you. I don’t think that way at all, so stop doing pointless things.”
“Pointless things, you say…”
“Stop thinking about how you can avoid bothering Im Jeong-woo. And stop blaming yourself for having bothered me all this time.”
Seo Gi-hyeon, who had been about to say something, pressed his lips together tightly.
“Speaking of which, the club and the statistics class aren’t difficult because of you, so stop with the strange misunderstandings.”
“But Park Jun-sung clearly—”
“Don’t even mention that name right now. I already feel like punching that bastard.”
“……Fighting is bad, but I agree with you on that.”
His words suggested that his mood had improved somewhat.
“I was greedy about taking classes with you, which is why I ended up taking a class above my level. The class itself is difficult, not that taking it with you is difficult. Do you understand?”
“I understand, but,”
“But?”
“Did you really want to take classes with me?”
Why was he asking something so obvious at this moment? He knew better than anyone that I had tried to take all my subjects with him, yet Seo Gi-hyeon still insisted on hearing the words. When I finally told him yes, after his persistent questioning, he broke into a wide smile.
“Then what about the club? Why don’t you want to join the club with me?”
“The club…”
Explaining the classes was one thing, but explaining the club was rather complicated. The reason itself wasn’t complicated, but my feelings about explaining it were. I didn’t want to say that I was afraid of getting too used to being together.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to do it with you; I just didn’t think club activities were absolutely necessary. But the hyungs keep inviting me, and it feels a bit awkward to refuse. I was planning to join after this semester. So I was thinking of going sometime soon.”
“Really?”
It was a lie, of course.
“When is ‘sometime soon’? Next week? The week after?”
“Whenever you decide.”
When I spoke as if resigning myself, Seo Gi-hyeon immediately said, “Next week.” I had expected as much.
“Anyway, there’s nothing else, right? Everything Park Jun-sung and I talked about was a joke, so let’s go back to how things were before.”
Seo Gi-hyeon nodded at once.
“Listen carefully. I have no intention of not being roommates with you now. Where would my guardian go?”
“Whoa. You actually remembered that?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… I’m touched.”
The fully cheered-up boy’s round eyes curved into crescent moons.
“Honestly, I thought I was going to die from how hard it was.”
“If it was hard enough to die, why go to such lengths?”
“Hmm… Because I don’t like you forcing yourself to accommodate me, but at the same time, I didn’t want to use a different room?”
“Right. You tried hard.”
I playfully ruffled his hair, and he beamed, asking for more. He stretched his neck out and pushed his head forward, just like a puppy.
“I’m hungry.”
“You are.”
“Now I’m *really*, *really* hungry.”
More time had passed than I realized. Dinner had just begun when I went to pick up Seo Gi-hyeon, and after all the back and forth and our conversation, another 30 minutes had flown by. There was still enough time to eat if we went down now, but the boy, who claimed to be truly starving, showed no signs of moving.
“I have no energy.”
“That’s because you’re hungry.”
“I feel like I’m going to collapse. ……I can’t move.”
Seo Gi-hyeon, now one with the table, slumped his body like a corpse. There was no way he couldn’t move just from missing one meal, yet he lay sprawled, feigning pain as if to demonstrate his effort.
Slowly, I got up and rummaged through the freezer. When I pulled out a flat box from the bottom compartment, a playful smirk tugged at his lips.
“I can’t live without Im Jeong-woo.”
In the end, unable to overcome our shared laziness, we split a frozen pizza.
After that, Seo Gi-hyeon added another habitual, teasing phrase to his repertoire.
“Jeong-woo.”
“What.”
“Let’s date.”
“……”
“Even if you don’t like the idea, at least think about it.”
“……”
Whenever I looked at him with a bewildered expression, he would invariably end with a thoroughly pouting tone.
“It’d be even better if we got married.”
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore Looking For My Child's Father. Start reading now!
Read : Looking For My Child's Father
