Chapter 58: The Uninvited Guest on the Rooftop

Even after racking his brain, no clear solution came to Seo Yeon-ho. He couldn’t possibly break the law by retrieving the suit without Han Tae-young’s knowledge.

‘Even if I concede a hundred times and contact him first.’

Yet, simply contacting him wasn’t the end of it. If Han Tae-young didn’t answer his calls, what on earth was he supposed to do then?

Seo Yeon-ho harbored these worries because Han Tae-young had completely ghosted him. Not knowing the reason for his disappearance, Seo Yeon-ho couldn’t be sure if he would even pick up the phone.

If Han Tae-young were merely busy with work or contemplating his mistakes, it wouldn’t be an issue. However, Han Tae-young was simply not that kind of person.

There was only one reason why the man, who had been annoyingly persistent, would cut off contact: tormenting Seo Yeon-ho had simply ceased to be entertaining for him.

While the disappearance of his tormentor’s interest was certainly welcome, Seo Yeon-ho couldn’t fully rejoice in the current circumstances. Han Tae-young was not the type to answer calls from someone who no longer piqued his interest.

‘Should I ask someone close to Han Tae-young for help?’ However, the only people Seo Yeon-ho knew in Han Tae-young’s orbit were Kim Jin-woo and Choo Gi-hoon—a paltry two individuals.

He had lost the business card Kim Jin-woo gave him, and Han Tae-young had interfered, preventing him from even getting Choo Gi-hoon’s number. To contact anyone in Han Tae-young’s circle, Seo Yeon-ho would have to go through another intermediary, which he found incredibly burdensome.

‘Should I brazenly call Choo Gi-hoon’s agency? Or ask Owner Yang of Moonlight to give me Kim Jin-woo’s contact information?’

He recoiled from the idea. Rather than doing that, he preferred to simply stake out Han Tae-young’s house. Sighing, he looked up, only to find the night sky as dark and starless as his own troubled heart.

‘I should go home.’

Seo Yeon-ho pressed the ‘end operation’ button and headed toward his studio apartment. Perhaps he had been too agitated that day to remember, and he might have actually brought the suit with him when he got out of the car.

Honestly, the possibility was slim. Still, Seo Yeon-ho drove his scooter with the desperate hope of a drowning man grasping at a straw. Though his eyes were fixed on the car ahead, his mind raced, trying to pinpoint where he might have tossed the garment bag. The thought that a garment bag couldn’t possibly go unnoticed in his tiny, single-room rooftop apartment made his stomach churn.

*Vroom, vroom.*

The scooter labored up the hill. A large SUV was parked in front of the villa where Seo Yeon-ho lived. It was clearly not owned by a resident, but Seo Yeon-ho was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice it.

Seo Yeon-ho sensed something amiss only when he found a kickboard lying sprawled on the stairs. The stairwell in this villa was cramped with the tenants’ miscellaneous belongings, but since everyone had lived there for a long time, they knew how to navigate around the clutter.

‘Did a delivery person trip and fall?’

To make matters worse, the sensor light wasn’t working. It was an environment where it wouldn’t be strange for a newcomer to trip over the accumulated items.

After righting the child’s kickboard on the floor, he began to ascend the dark stairs when a clatter echoed from above.

“Ah, damn it!”

He had thought an object had fallen by itself, but then he heard an expletive.

‘Is it a burglar?’

The sound came from the rooftop, so Seo Yeon-ho sprinted up the stairs. There was nothing worth stealing in his studio apartment. However, a burglar might be trying to infiltrate other floors through the rooftop, which quickened his pace.

*Bang!* He flung open the rooftop door.

A dark figure was loitering in front of his studio apartment. He had thought the intruder was trying to rob a lower floor from the rooftop, but it seemed they were surprisingly targeting Seo Yeon-ho’s place.

“What the—”

Startled by the door opening, the burglar turned around. Even at a glance, they were considerably larger than Seo Yeon-ho. Yet, Seo Yeon-ho paid no mind and lunged at the intruder.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”

The burglar yelled and swatted Seo Yeon-ho’s arm away. Seo Yeon-ho’s hand tingled as if he’d been struck by a bear’s paw. He had assumed it was just a bulky, flabby person, but it seemed the burglar was muscular and strong.

‘Damn it.’

Seo Yeon-ho scanned his surroundings for anything that could serve as a weapon. The burglar’s speed and power were considerable; if he charged in empty-handed, he wouldn’t subdue the burglar, but rather be subdued himself. And Seo Yeon-ho’s fears quickly became reality.

“I asked what the hell you’re doing!”

“…!”

Seo Yeon-ho was lifted by the burglar as if he were a cat and thrown onto the wooden platform. There was a loud thud, but it didn’t hurt. This was thanks to the landlord, who had laid out a camping mat on the platform where they dried chili peppers on the rooftop.

As Seo Yeon-ho tried to get up, the burglar climbed on top of him.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

“Gah!”

With his wrists held above his head in a ‘hands-up’ position, Seo Yeon-ho tried to thrust his hips to push the burglar off. However, the burglar was pressing down on Seo Yeon-ho’s thighs with their full weight, rendering his efforts minimal.

“Get off!”

“Seo Yeon-ho?”

Seo Yeon-ho, who had been struggling to escape the burglar, froze. It was only natural to be surprised when the burglar called his name.

‘How do they know my name?’

He suspected they might have rummaged through his mail, when the burglar scoffed.

“This is absurd. You ghosted me without a word, and now you’ve forgotten my face, haven’t you?”

‘Is it someone I know?’

Only then did Seo Yeon-ho examine the burglar’s face closely. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to vaguely make out the burglar’s features.

“…Han Tae-young?”

Seo Yeon-ho muttered, still uncertain.

“Why the question mark? Do you really think there’s anyone in the world as handsome as me?”

There was no mistaking it, hearing such a conceited remark delivered so casually. The burglar who had invaded the rooftop was undeniably Han Tae-young.

“…You lunatic.”

“Did I say something wrong? You were the one who abruptly tried to grab my collar, yet you’re calling me a lunatic?”

“Just get off me quickly. I told you before, didn’t I? You’re heavy.”

Seo Yeon-ho tried to squirm his hips again, just as he had when he mistook Han Tae-young for a burglar, but then his body stiffened. A long, thick mass of flesh, different from a thigh, was rubbing against his body.

“Instead of changing the subject, why don’t you apologize for attacking me first?”

Seeing Han Tae-young babbling like a child, demanding an apology, the tension that had surged within Seo Yeon-ho plummeted. With a sigh, Seo Yeon-ho spoke, feeling a strong sense of self-reproach.

“You brought this upon yourself. Why were you lurking around someone’s house in the middle of the night like a thief?”

“A thief?”

Han Tae-young looked utterly flabbergasted.

“Have some conscience. What is there to steal in this dump that you’d worry about a thief?”

Han Tae-young must have been cursed to make enemies every time he spoke. Otherwise, he wouldn’t utter such words that made Seo Yeon-ho want to sew his mouth shut.

“And if there’s someone in front of your house, you should think a guest has arrived, not immediately jump to ‘burglar’.”

“There’s no one who would come as a guest.”

“Bullshit. You’re just being stubborn to win.”

“Then don’t believe me.”

Seo Yeon-ho cut him off sharply, not wanting to explain in detail.

Han Tae-young gazed down at Seo Yeon-ho in silence, then leaned his face so close their noses almost touched. His eyes were like those of a detective interrogating a criminal.

“Really? No one?”

“Yes.”

“Before? Never had a guest since you lived here?”

“No.”

Seo Yeon-ho regretted his answer immediately. Han Tae-young, who had been wearing a serious expression, suddenly broke into a wide smile.

“Then I’m your first guest, aren’t I?”

Seo Yeon-ho turned his head away. Seeing Han Tae-young’s delight made his heart prickle as if he had developed a cardiovascular disease.

‘Don’t I know what kind of person Han Tae-young is? I don’t know why he’s grinning, but he’s definitely not happy for a good reason where I’m concerned.’

Seo Yeon-ho reined in his burgeoning feelings and said, “You barged in uninvited. What kind of guest is that?”

“If someone comes to see you, they’re a guest. What else would a guest be?”

Han Tae-young was completely unfazed by Seo Yeon-ho’s rebuff. So, Seo Yeon-ho brought up a topic unrelated to their conversation.

“Please move away. Your breath smells terrible.”

It was a childish and low-level attack. But it was undeniably effective.

“Don’t talk nonsense! I gargled before coming up. How could my breath smell?”

Han Tae-young bristled at the outrageous slander. However, unable to shake off a hint of unease, he breathed into his palm, *Haa, haa*. Seo Yeon-ho seized the opportunity to slip out from under Han Tae-young’s body.

“Damn it.”

Han Tae-young, realizing he had been tricked only after seeing Seo Yeon-ho a distance away, slammed his fist onto the platform.

“You call yourself a guest, yet you’re smashing everything?”

“When did I ever say you were a guest?”

Leaving the fuming Han Tae-young behind, Seo Yeon-ho turned on his phone’s flashlight. He intended to put back the various items Han Tae-young had knocked over.

“I’ll do it, ack!”

Han Tae-young hastily got up and let out a yelp, as if he had tripped over a flowerpot. Seo Yeon-ho watched the large man hopping on one foot, exasperated.

“Damn it, is this a garbage dump? Why is everything an obstacle wherever I step?”

“Don’t disparage someone’s perfectly good home as a garbage dump. Why blame others for your lack of attention?”

Truthfully, the rooftop was indeed cluttered, but Seo Yeon-ho still didn’t want to side with Han Tae-young.

“Hey, it hurts. I think I broke my shin.”

Han Tae-young slumped onto the platform as if collapsing. Seo Yeon-ho thought he was exaggerating and continued tidying the rooftop without a word.

“It really hurts! What if I fractured a bone? Are you listening? Why are you so heartless? I’m in pain, and you won’t even look at me?”

Han Tae-young kept whining so much that Seo Yeon-ho could no longer ignore him. And as if in response to Han Tae-young’s tantrum, a dog also began barking, making it imperative to silence Han Tae-young at this point.

Seo Yeon-ho crouched in front of Han Tae-young.

“Roll up your pants. Let’s see if it’s bruised.”