Chapter 24: The Price of Independence

“That selfish germaphobe bastard. As long as he’s clean, nothing else matters.”

Muttering to himself in a fit of rage, In-tae vigorously scrubbed the mattress with a wet wipe.

The milky white liquid clinging everywhere refused to wipe clean, instead spreading messily.

Didn’t that young master realize a mattress couldn’t simply be laundered? Impossible. Not that sharp-witted bastard.

Even if he were the type to disregard such trivialities—and In-tae was willing to concede that point a hundred times over—

“I explicitly told you to be careful!”

He never forgot his own words, so this behavior was nothing short of ‘utter disregard’ for In-tae. He had even turned his head towards the wall to shout, yet no answer came. Had he left? No, even that monster must have been utterly exhausted.

Was he asleep then? Even so, how could such an incredibly sensitive bastard not wake up to this noise? Or perhaps… was he hearing all of this and deliberately ignoring him?

A suspicion he had never entertained before began to bloom within him.

Could it be… that it had always been this way? Soon after moving in next door, In-tae had often tried talking to Jung Ban-ri through the wall. Though he never received a reply, In-tae never thought he was being ignored.

Unlike In-tae’s studio apartment, Jung Ban-ri’s home was a spacious three-room unit with a balcony. In-tae assumed that someone who disliked noise would likely use one of the inner rooms as a bedroom.

He figured the room adjacent to his own would be the least used, and thus, Jung Ban-ri wouldn’t have heard him.

Of course, for that to be true, it had been excessively… quiet.

Had he truly been pretending not to hear him all along?

“You monster!”

In a fit of pique, In-tae not only shouted at the wall but also swung his fist. He wished for a satisfying ‘thump!’ but the concrete wall merely stung his hand without making a sound.

Too embarrassed to groan aloud, In-tae grit his teeth and made a solemn vow.

‘I swear, I’m finally going to put an end to this damn unrequited love this time.’

***

‘First, I should at least start working.’

This was the conclusion In-tae reached after several hours of deliberation at his desk. Formulating a new future plan immediately was unfeasible.

Having already failed at university without much thought, he couldn’t afford to rush into another career path and make the same mistake.

If he were to drop out, the immediate concern would be financial independence. Only then would he have the time to truly consider his career path.

As he had been admitted through a special consideration program, his tuition was waived, but his rent and living expenses for the semester were all covered by student loans.

In essence, he had been living on borrowed money from the bank.

When In-tae declared his independence, Jung Ban-ri’s family had offered to help, but In-tae, in good conscience, refused. Simultaneously, with less conscience, he moved into the apartment right next to Jung Ban-ri’s.

‘You want to live on your own?’

A beautiful face, so much like Jung Ban-ri’s, widened in surprise. It was a look of pure bewilderment and concern.

This intense reaction, which In-tae hadn’t seen from Jung Ban-ri when he first mentioned it a few days prior, was somewhat welcome.

‘Then the butler can find the children a good place—’

‘No, no. Thank you, but I’m fine. I’m an adult now, and it’s time for me to be independent.’

‘Rent won’t be cheap.’

‘Then how about finding an apartment where you can live with the Young Master?’

‘Oh? Ban-ri is moving out too?’

‘Hmm. You must not have heard. Ban-ri wants to live on his own too.’

That cold-hearted bastard hadn’t said a word. In-tae shot Jung Ban-ri a look of betrayal, but the other simply continued his meal with an air of aloofness, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.

‘As the butler said, I think I’d feel a bit more at ease if the two of you lived together. What do you think, Ban-ri?’

It was only when Jung Ban-ri’s kind mother finally addressed him that—

‘Yes, I’ll do as you say.’

Jung Ban-ri replied politely, appearing like an obedient, good son. His answer was exactly what In-tae had expected. The perfect young master never went against his family’s wishes.

‘Well… I, uh, I think living together might be a bit uncomfortable.’

In-tae subtly interjected into their conversation.

If they hadn’t been intimate, In-tae might have readily accepted the proposals from Jung Ban-ri’s mother and the butler, thinking it a golden opportunity to live alone with him. However, he knew Jung Ban-ri too well for that.

It had been over half a year since they first shared a bed—or rather, since In-tae had half-perched himself on the bed to be intimate with him—yet he had never even seen Jung Ban-ri completely naked.

What’s more, during their most sensitive physical encounters, In-tae had come to realize that Jung Ban-ri disliked contact. The idea of living with such a person was simply absurd.

‘I also need to live on my own strength, so instead, I’ll find a place nearby. I still need to keep a close eye on that insensitive bastard, after all.’

He spoke as if considering Jung Ban-ri and his family, but in truth, he had ulterior motives. Being in the same school and living next door would allow them to share small moments of everyday life.

Even if he no longer tutored him—and thus, even if they no longer became intimate—how wonderful would that be?

Of course, reality was the exact opposite of his imagination. He had never once been able to visit Jung Ban-ri’s home, and for an entire semester, he had continued to receive tutoring, effectively encroaching on Jung Ban-ri’s time.

Not only that, but unable to give up his unrequited love, he ended up getting intimate with Jung Ban-ri during every tutoring session, thus exploiting his body as well.

‘I’m sorry. But I’m going to stop now, so please forgive me.’

In-tae apologized in his heart. Then, picking up his pen, he began to list his current expenses. Unsurprisingly, rent was the largest expenditure.

The monthly rent for this officetel was higher than the market rate in the surrounding area. It was the newest building nearby, and its size was considerable compared to other studio apartments in university towns.

Perhaps due to the price, the other rooms on this floor remained vacant. Yet, In-tae couldn’t give up the apartment next to Jung Ban-ri’s.

…And even now, he still didn’t want to leave this place immediately.

The surging lingering feelings, making a mockery of his resolve to abandon his unrequited love, felt ridiculous. However, since this would be the last time, he decided to cut himself some slack.

Dropping out, changing his life, and growing apart were all predetermined steps. Every separation required preparation and a grace period.

Of course. Besides, the time he had spent with him was longer than the time they had spent apart, so if things changed abruptly, he might experience withdrawal symptoms… though Jung Ban-ri certainly wouldn’t.

To avoid getting lost in unnecessary sentimentality, he immediately turned on his laptop. He accessed a part-time job site and searched for available positions nearby.

As expected for a university town, tutoring opportunities were the most abundant. Tutoring was appealing because it offered a way to earn a significant amount of money quickly.

Since In-tae enjoyed people, it was also a somewhat rewarding job for him.

However, tutoring required proof of enrollment. This would reveal that he was a medical student, specifically from Korea University’s medical school… and honestly, his skills weren’t quite at that level.

‘For now, I’ll skip tutoring…’

He then looked into other part-time jobs. Those with high hourly wages typically involved physical labor, such as delivery or loading/unloading packages.

He was confident in his physical stamina, but… In-tae subtly wiggled his injured ankle.

There was no pain or discomfort. After a moment of hesitation, In-tae immediately shook his head.

“After all the trouble of getting my ankle fixed, I can’t let it get injured again.”

After excluding all jobs that would strain his ankle, what remained were service industries like restaurants, cafes, and retail stores.

Even after narrowing them down to the best conditions, the hourly wage was lower compared to tutoring or physical labor.

It might barely be enough to cover rent. A sense of disappointment washed over him, but there was no other option. He would just have to cut other expenses further. Managing his unsettled feelings, he tried to find the positives.

‘Some places let you take home leftover food, so I could save on food costs. And if I learn how to make drinks or food, I can use that skill for a long time. Then, I could buy good ingredients, cook, and eat with Jung Ban-ri—’

In-tae, who had been indulging in a chain of pleasant daydreams, suddenly shook his head vigorously. He then quietly muttered to himself, frustrated.

“More than financial independence… I need to become independent from Jung Ban-ri first.”

***

“Korea University… medical student?”

The employee conducting the interview sharply looked up. This was a bad sign. Similar incidents had occurred at the two other places he had interviewed before this restaurant, forcing him into an unwanted spotlight.

“Boss, he’s a medical student from Korea University!”

“What? Why would a medical student want to serve here?”

The expected question immediately flew at him. He already knew that any answer would lead to a string of follow-up questions, like a chain of sausages.

‘Wouldn’t tutoring be better?’, ‘With so many working hours, will you have time to study?’, ‘You’re taking a leave of absence from medical school? Why?’

In-tae offered an awkward smile and vaguely explained it as personal circumstances.

“Wow, we’ll have to brag about him to our customers.”

The joke didn’t sound like a joke. The owner of a previous store he interviewed at had suddenly introduced him to customers as a medical student. The same questions had been repeated.

When he heard truly incomprehensible remarks from overly bold drunkards, he somehow felt as if he was tarnishing the honor of his classmates.

“…I’m truly sorry, but I need a little more time to think about it. I wasn’t aware that a minimum of one year was required.”

In the end, he cautiously declined the part-time job. The minimum work period he had learned during the interview was already a bit of a burden.

Fortunately, the conversation ended amicably. The interviewing employee even followed him out to the street to see him off.

“I knew you wouldn’t take it from the start.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t look like someone who needs money, you know.”

The employee’s gaze swept over In-tae from head to toe.

His attire today was a neat shirt and slacks, nothing particularly flashy. Of course, he knew most of his clothes were gifts from Jung Ban-ri’s family and likely expensive, but they seemed to be even pricier than he had imagined.

“If you sold just that one T-shirt, it would cover three months’ wages for our store.”

“…My friend gave it to me.”

“Wow, your girlfriend must be a chaebol? To give you clothes like that.”

In-tae smiled awkwardly and fled the scene. Returning home, he clutched his head.

“Ah. What do I do? I can’t exactly lie.”

Clothes that didn’t fit his current situation were truly daunting. The medical student title, expensive designer clothes… In-tae, holding his head and crossing off part-time job listings, made a decision.

‘In that case, I have to strip it all away.’

He changed his job search criteria to ‘education irrelevant.’ He could almost hear the hourly wage plummeting. At this rate, moving out seemed inevitable.

It hadn’t even been a day since he declared independence from Jung Ban-ri, yet his face was the first thing to come to mind—a severe case indeed.

Then, suddenly, his gaze fixed on one listing. He felt as if his eyes had lit up, just like when he first discovered the university in Jeju.

[PC Room Night Shift Hiring]

Within walking distance from home, 1.5 times the hourly wage, unlimited ramen, free time during slow periods. And what’s more… it was a ‘night’ shift.

‘This is it.’

The best way to slowly distance himself from Jung Ban-ri. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. Even if he longed for him every night, there would be nothing he could do.