Seventeen
Seventeen
"Oppa!"
"Yeah?"
Just as I finished getting ready and was about to head out, Se-na called me.
"Why?"
My gaze turned to her face.
It's a lovely face today, too.
"It's nothing, have a safe trip."
A bright smile formed.
The smile that Se-na beams with her pretty face has a kind of magic that naturally energizes anyone who sees it.
"Yeah. You work hard today, too."
I put on my bag and head down to the parking lot.
Beep beep.
I press the button on the smart key, and the door unlocks.
I toss my bag onto the passenger seat and start the engine.
Engine noise.
It breaks the silence of the interior, which is filled with a stillness devoid of even a single song.
I fasten my seatbelt and start driving, and Se-na, who I don't know when she came down, waves her hand.
"What the, why did you come down?"
"I'm on my way up after taking out the trash."
I thought she came out to see me off.
It's been a few days since I went clothes shopping with Se-na.
I thought some kind of mysterious change was happening between her and me.
She no longer walked around the house in her underwear.
Of course, in situations like running into each other while she's naked after a shower, it was still like before.
There's no more sitting on the sofa in just her panties like a succubus trying to seduce me.
As a man, I might find it a bit disappointing, but from the perspective of not being lovers, it's definitely a positive change.
Instead, unlike before when we were strangely bound by a contractual relationship.
Natural friendliness began to fill the space between her and me instead of exaggerated energy.
It seemed like she was deliberately showing a bright side before, but now that doesn't happen.
It could have looked a bit awkward.
Unlike when she used to push herself onto me in her underwear, now Se-na wears clothes normally and naturally clings to me.
Whether she's gently hugging me from behind.
Or sticking right next to me to watch me play games.
Or putting her hands on both my shoulders to ask for a favor.
That doesn't mean our partner relationship has ended.
When Se-na presses her body against me to seduce me and I get turned on.
If I pretend not to notice and touch her breasts, her eyes would immediately curve into crescents.
She still likes it when I use light profanity, but she doesn't call me "rabbit" to provoke my anger like before.
Instead, she expresses her feelings honestly.
"I like it."
"Do it inside."
"I think we should use a condom today."
As if we had become lovers.
Perhaps it feels like she noticed that I, who lived somewhat suppressed by my ex-girlfriend, have a fantasy about a woman who cherishes me.
But rather than deliberately fitting that fantasy, it feels closer to the feeling that I've finally become truly comfortable.
Her voice, which sometimes used to force out bright energy, now has almost no forced effort in it.
"I arrived really early today."
Before I knew it, the underground parking lot of the building where the agency is located came into view.
Perhaps because I arrived much earlier than usual, the underground parking lot, which should be almost full, is empty.
I park the car with peace of mind and head up, and I'm the first one to arrive at our office today.
'The cafe must be open.'
Then, shall I start a leisurely morning?
I put down my bag, leave my seat with only the computer turned on, and head to the elevator.
When I go up to the rooftop garden, only a few people from other companies who arrived early are smoking alone in the smoking area.
Fortunately, the cafe door is open, so I leisurely buy a morning Americano and a ham and cheese panini and put it in my mouth.
'Ah. If I could do this every day, coming out a bit earlier wouldn't be bad, right?'
Satisfying.
But it doesn't last long.
Just as I was marveling to myself and savoring the taste of the coffee with the panini.
Someone taps my back with their fingertips.
"Yeah?"
"What the, Jin-man. You came out early?"
"The roads weren't congested today."
"Oho. Lee Jin-man comes out at this time when the roads aren't congested. Note complete..."
Why is she noting that down?
Jeong Hae-in puts a cigarette in her mouth.
She leads me near the ashtray.
"This Saturday at 7 PM. You remember, right?"
"Yeah."
Ah.
Today is Friday.
Only then do I understand why the traffic wasn't jammed.
Even setting aside that it's Friday, the roads were exceptionally clear today.
"So, about that, can you give me a ride after work later?"
Hey, you woman.
We agreed to meet at the BBQ restaurant in the middle because of that.
"Give you a ride? You and I live on opposite sides, don't we?"
"My lease on that room is ending soon. I don't want to live in that neighborhood anymore, so I'm moving, and I want to go to the neighborhood you live in."
"To my neighborhood? It's going to be a pain in the ass to take the bus from there to here for work, you know?"
At my words, a smile forms on Hae-in's face.
I'm uneasy.
What is this bitch thinking?
"By any chance, if it's 200,000 won a month... can't we carpool for commuting?"
"As if."
She always asks for troublesome things when she smiles.
I'm already living with a woman at home, and now another woman in the car during commute hours?
Ah, of course, I don't see Jeong Hae-in as a woman or anything, but no way, no way.
I need time to be alone too.
"Why, you said your neighborhood is good to live in. And you could meet a pretty woman like me privately, why reject this opportunity?"
As if that pretty woman were herself.
Jeong Hae-in puts her hand on her chest and speaks to me with an exaggeratedly confident expression.
As if realizing what she just did.
She turns her gaze away and takes a deep drag of her cigarette.
"Can I throw up, by any chance?"
"Your vomit will fall on someone else. Don't do it."
"My mood is already contaminated by the filth someone spewed out, though?"
"Shut up."
Click-.
Jeong Hae-in, having quickly finished her cigarette, heads to the elevator.
I crumple the panini wrapper, toss it into the ashtray, and follow her.
"Anyway, can't we make it work? I just need to go to your neighborhood. I'm planning to check out some real estate agencies."
Should I let a woman go around with a real estate agent alone?
Her personality isn't exactly normal, so I'm not worried, but my neighborhood is mostly apartment complexes, so she'll definitely need to ride in a car to get around.
......Ugh, so annoying.
"How are you going to get home? If you go to your neighborhood, it'll easily be 10 PM, won't it?"
"Hehe."
"Ugh, you scatterbrained idiot."
Still, she helped me a lot when I first connected my work to practical tasks, so I can't refuse.
And it feels wrong to blindly refuse the request of the only colleague left from my intake year.
"Then see you when we get off work later!"
I send her off without being able to clearly state my refusal.
I'm going to be a bit late getting home today.
Se-na.
Yes?
What are you doing?
I send a message to the roommate who occupies one of the rooms in my house.
A reply comes back quickly.
When I say I'll be home a bit late today, it takes a while for Se-na's reply to come back.
Well.
How long will it take to look at rooms?
This time, no reply comes back.
It's only when lunchtime approaches after I've started work that it comes back.
While eating lunch, I sent Se-na a message saying, 'Okay. Work hard.'
*
"Wow, it's been a while since I've ridden in this car, hasn't it?"
"You rode in it a few days ago."
"I wasn't in my right mind then, so it's void!"
Today, a person is sitting in the passenger seat that my work bag usually occupies.
When was the last time Jeong Hae-in rode in my car?
"Then, Mr. Driver, please take care of me~."
I don't answer Hae-in's words and focus on getting out of the parking lot, which is crowded with cars trying to leave.
Did Jeong Hae-in also not want to bother me while I'm driving?
She sits in the passenger seat, looking at her phone and waiting quietly for our arrival.
"Where should I drop you off?"
"Just drop me off in front of your house. There must be real estate agencies near your house too."
Tsk.
Asking to be dropped off in front of my house.
It's a bit awkward.
"My house is an apartment, you know? You're looking for a studio or a villa, right?"
"As long as it's not an officetel, it's fine."
That's not it, my neighborhood is just expensive.
I couldn't live here either if it weren't for my parents' support.
"Then let's go to the studio apartment area first."
"Oh, are you giving me a ride?"
It's also rude to interfere with this and that for someone who will be thirty soon.
She'll decide on her own.
I turn the car and park it in front of a real estate agency near the studio apartment area.
"Welcome."
"Hello. I'm here to look for a room for an office worker. Do you have any two-room places available for a 10 million won deposit and under 400,000 won rent, including maintenance fees?"
"Just a moment. Let me check the listings, could you please sit and wait?"
Two-room?
Is there anything at that price here?
"Ah, unfortunately, a 10 million won deposit is possible, but there's nothing under 400,000 won. For a two-room, you need at least 600,000 won."
"What? What the, you were super rich?"
"If you're looking for a spacious room, we have a few studio apartments over 8 pyeong that meet your criteria, would you like to take a look?"
That was my parents helping me, you jerk...
Because I was in front of the real estate agent, I couldn't bring myself to say that, so I just scratched the back of my head.
"Great! As long as the room is spacious."
I follow behind the real estate agent.
But maybe there weren't any rooms she liked.
After looking at all the rooms, Jeong Hae-in said she would think about it and just left the real estate agency.
"Why didn't you sign a contract? There were a few decent rooms in my eyes."
"Just because. Something didn't feel right."
Hae-in, who got into my car, has an expression of being deep in thought.
It was the moment I was about to shift gears, saying, "We can just go to the subway station, right?"
"Why don't we just eat dinner today?"
"What? What time is it now, where would we eat?"
"At your place."
For a moment, Se-na's face flashes through my mind.
"That's difficult."
It was late, and I hesitated for a moment because of the merit that I didn't have to go out tomorrow.
But what's not possible is not possible.
Even though she hasn't paid rent yet, Se-na was strictly a roommate living in my house.
Because I expressed my refusal, Hae-in tilts her head.
"Why?"
"That person in the photo you saw back then. She lives with me at my place. I'm taking care of her for a while."
I reveal the fact of cohabitation that I hadn't told anyone.
And a heavy silence settles in the car as I wait for the reaction.
"It's fine. We can just buy some for that younger sister too! Parties are always better with more people, right?"
But the reaction is unexpected.
"Actually, I was a little lazy to go all the way down there too. But since it's you, I thought I really had to buy it for you."
"Ah, really?"
"Then I'll ask."
I operate the touchscreen on the vehicle display to call Se-na.
I ignore the sound of her marveling next to me, saying, "So her name is Seo Se-na."
"Uh, yeah, Se-na. I'm heading over now, and I'm bringing one more person, is that okay?"
"My work colleague. She says she'll treat us to dinner, and she'll treat you too."
But the reaction is strange.
Whether she eats dinner or not, her voice, which should have responded immediately, is not heard.
Just as I was about to operate the vehicle's touchscreen, thinking the call might have been disconnected.
Se-na's heavy voice echoed through the car via the speaker.