The Unbelievers

Chapter 21

“…Yes.”

Reluctantly answering, the door opened slightly. Yoo Siwoon spoke from outside, keeping the door ajar. His low voice sounded distant, as if it had been refracted once.

“Everything seems fine outside. No alarms went off either. What kind of sound was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“When did you hear it?”

“I said I don’t know.”

“…”

A voice pleading with its whole body, expressing sulkiness, anger, and displeasure, grumbled in response. Yoo Siwoon’s attitude of standing outside the door and talking inaudibly made Eunseong’s anger rise even more.

Eunseong abruptly got up from the bed. He quickly went after him. Running with quick steps, he suddenly brought his forehead close to the other’s nose. The man holding the door froze in surprise.

Having apparently checked outside, his ash-gray hair was wet from the rain, clinging in strands. His rain-soaked skin glistened. The tattoo he usually kept covered for Eunseong’s emotional education was now exposed. Even the wolf on his nape seemed to be frowning in surprise.

He didn’t avoid Eunseong’s sudden approach. He seemed to have noticed why Eunseong was upset. Instead of backing away, he was just enduring it. Enduring Eunseong standing so close to him.

“I don’t smell bad.”

“…I never said that.”

“You know, some people have told me that they like my smell, that we use the same soap. You’re the weird one, ahjussi.”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

“Then why are you acting like this? Looking at me like I’m a ghost, why? Why do you avoid me like I smell bad? You were fine standing next to Director Nam.”

“Wouldn’t anyone be surprised? If someone is sleeping and you’re standing next to them like that.”

Eunseong argued fiercely. Yoo Siwoon let out a low sigh and calmly explained his logic.

“You weren’t surprised because it was a person, but because it was me. You have mysophobia, and I was too close.”

“…”

Eunseong knew that wasn’t the real reason. When he couldn’t answer, Eunseong pressed on, saying, “See? I knew it. Why are you treating me like food waste?”

“Food waste? That’s a bit much.”

Yoo Siwoon quietly protested that he hadn’t acted that severely.

“Smell me. See if I really smell bad or not.”

Eunseong suddenly raised his heels, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him down towards himself. The man’s face was dragged down and buried in Eunseong’s neck. The man, still holding the doorknob, stiffened as a good scent, a moist flesh scent full of sweetness, wafted into his nostrils. Soft, tender flesh touched his lips.

Feeling the cool inhale on his skin, Eunseong’s shoulders trembled. The wolf was close, and it felt like he could kiss the wolf. Eunseong met the wolf’s eyes. Only then did he realize his excited action had gone too far.

Eunseong let go of his nape and stepped back.

“See… I don’t smell bad.”

“…”

“Do I smell?”

He shook his head.

“What was that sound you said you heard outside?”

He was asking with an unchanged expressionless face, trying not to provoke Eunseong, but his shaking eyes revealed his inner turmoil.

Eunseong looked up at him cautiously.

“…”

“You said you heard a strange sound outside.”

It seemed that for him, who valued security highly, identifying the source of the unfamiliar noise from outside was the priority.

Eunseong was in the middle of marveling anew at how handsome his cousin uncle was, seeing his face up close, and not understanding why his heart was fluttering because his cousin uncle was handsome.

Things that weren’t visible from afar were clearly visible up close. The wolf’s face was the same. He wanted to touch the wolf, which was frowning with a fierce gaze.

The eyes that had always seemed cold and stern were as delicate as if drawn with a fine brush. At 33 years old, he had always seemed old like an ahjussi, but up close, he didn’t look that old at all. Rather, his fresh appearance with raindrops clinging hazily to him made him look like a man in his twenties, not much older than Eunseong.

Eunseong’s heart suddenly fluttered. He felt strange staring at him like this. It felt like he was looking at him while wanting something. It was a flutter he had never felt before.

Flustered, Eunseong suddenly pushed against his chest, which had been standing still without doing anything. He stumbled backward, having been waiting for an answer.

“It, it must have been a bird sound.”

“…Really?”

“Really. It was a bird sound. There are… a lot of birds here. There are many trees, so there are many birds too.”

“It wasn’t a person’s voice?”

“No. I must have been mistaken. I heard wrong because it was raining too.”

Eunseong mumbled excuses, but that wasn’t enough. Yoo Siwoon took out his phone and called someone.

“It’s me. Check the surroundings again. Review the CCTV footage. I think I heard some kind of sound. Let me know if there’s anything unusual. Thank you for your hard work.”

He gave orders to an employee and lowered his phone.

The situation had escalated because of his lie. Eunseong anxiously fidgeted with his fingers.

“We’ll check it out, so don’t worry and go back to sleep.”

“…I’m sorry for causing a disturbance at night.”

Yoo Siwoon stared blankly at the top of Eunseong’s head, who was looking down at his toes, and told him to go in and sleep.

∞ ∞ ∞

With frequent rain, the body became sluggish. As if lead weights were attached to each arm and leg, the limbs drooped and overall condition deteriorated.

Final exams were starting tomorrow. Eunseong, who had been sitting at his desk late into the night out of a sense of duty to at least pretend to study, only woke up the next morning when Director Nam knocked on the door.

It was a time when Yoo Siwoon, who substituted a cup of coffee for breakfast, might have already left for work. Startled awake, Eunseong quickly finished preparing for school. He even hurried anxiously, worried that he might not see Yoo Siwoon if he prepared too late.

As expected, Yoo Siwoon had already brewed his coffee and drunk about half of it.

On one side of the spacious island table were the drip coffee tools he used, and at Eunseong’s usual seat were an apple and a glass of milk.

“Good morning.”

Yoo Siwoon, who always drank his coffee standing up, nodded as he noticed Eunseong entering with one side of his hair sticking up.

“Did you wake up late?”

“Yes… it’s exam period. I was studying.”

Eunseong somehow couldn’t meet his eyes and sat down on the pulled-out chair. He yawned widely, his mouth stretching. Seeing this, the corners of Yoo Siwoon’s mouth turned up in a smile so small it was barely noticeable.

With sleepy eyes brimming with tears, Eunseong took a sip of milk.

The man drinking coffee flipped over the folded newspaper and read it. Eunseong, holding his milk cup, tried to check the newspaper headlines with a sidelong glance. Then he stared at the man’s face as he read the newspaper intently. The wolf he had seen on the night of the commotion had disappeared today, presumably because it wasn’t good for Eunseong’s emotional education.

Feeling the gaze, he raised his eyes. Eunseong’s and his eyes met in mid-air. One of his eyebrows raised slightly, as if to say ‘speak if you have something to say’. Eunseong shook his head. He took a sip of the milk he was preciously holding with both hands and put it down. The man, who had been quietly watching, wiped above his own lips with his hand.

“…”

“…”

He stared at Eunseong and again wiped above his own lips with his hand, though nothing was there. When Eunseong didn’t understand and just stared blankly, he lowered his hand that had been touching his lips, looking embarrassed.

Yoo Siwoon’s gaze returned to the newspaper. The coffee, with only a few sips left, was sloshing in the cup.

Eunseong didn’t know since when, but he had come to like this time. Although sometimes Director Nam would tactlessly barge in and hurry them, he still liked this peaceful and quiet morning routine with the not-so-talkative man so much that he looked forward to it from the day before.

Rain was falling steadily outside, but the humidity in the living room was dry, and the elegant scent of coffee vibrated in the air.

Eunseong drank milk, and the man drank coffee. When Eunseong crunched into the apple, the man flipped the newspaper. If protecting Eunseong was Yoo Siwoon’s given duty, he was fulfilling it well. Eunseong was in the midst of painfully realizing what it felt like to be protected by an adult.

Despite causing an unnecessary commotion, Yoo Siwoon didn’t say anything unpleasant, and there was no lecture. He didn’t even warn Eunseong not to enter his space carelessly. He completely shattered Eunseong’s expectation of getting scolded.

As if waiting for Eunseong to finish eating, he slowly drank his coffee, checked the watch on his wrist, and placed the empty cup in the sink.

“Well then, good luck on your exams.”

“…Yes. Have a good day. Are you going to be late today by any chance?”

“I’m not sure. Why?”

“There’s something I want to show you.”

“What is it?”

“Later. If you come home early in the evening, I’ll show you then.”

“…”

Yoo Siwoon was curious about what Eunseong wanted to show him, but he didn’t ask further due to lack of time. He gathered his newspaper and phone and left the dining room. Eunseong also put his finished milk cup in the sink and threw the apple core in the trash.