Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Signs of Strain
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Thud.
The door closed, and a frigid silence settled in. In stark contrast to the warm aroma of porridge wafting through the air, the tension between the two was ice-cold.
Jeong Da-on ruffled his own hair before patting Baek Jae-ha on the shoulder.
"Have a seat first. You need to calm down too."
"......"
Without a word, Baek Jae-ha let Jeong Da-on lead him to the table and sat down.
"I'll get you something to drink."
It was absurd seeing the guest playing host while the actual owner lay tucked away in the bedroom, but there was no other choice. Jeong Da-on flung open the fridge.
And right then, he had no option but to clamp his mouth shut.
'The fridge... it's completely empty.'
Aside from water, drinks, and a few basic staples, there was nothing.
It was impossible to believe this belonged to someone in the food industry. Every ingredient was something long-lasting.
Things like milk or refrigerated meat with short shelf lives seemed never to have even been considered.
'Even these are cutting it close on expiration.'
The small tub of mayonnaise had barely any time left. It was anyone's guess when he'd last prepared a proper meal at home.
'I knew he was busy, but not to this extent.'
With a sense of profound dismay, Jeong Da-on closed the fridge door.
Song Woo-yeon always wore a smiling face in front of them, so no one had noticed he was overdoing it. And that wasn't all.
'Because he's Song Woo-yeon. I just vaguely assumed he'd be fine.'
Song Woo-yeon.
He knew the magical power those three syllables held.
Of course, he only had one body, the day had just twenty-four hours, and the mountain of tasks Song Woo-yeon tackled was endless. Still, because he was Song Woo-yeon, there was that ridiculous expectation that he'd somehow manage.
Jeong Da-on filled a glass with cold water and returned to the living room.
Only then did the overlooked details come into view.
'The place is spotless, but there's barely any trace of actual living.'
It felt like a perfectly staged model home.
Daily life inevitably brings a bit of mess, no matter what. But nothing like that was visible in Song Woo-yeon's home.
Jeong Da-on set the glass down in front of Baek Jae-ha.
Baek Jae-ha remained with his head bowed, lost in thought.
"Jae-ha."
When Jeong Da-on softly called his name, Baek Jae-ha flinched for a moment.
"You hurting bad?"
"......Yes."
"I was shocked too. First time seeing him like this."
Jeong Da-on sat naturally across from him, murmuring to himself.
"......He handles everything so effortlessly. I thought he was some kind of robot. Guess Woo-yeon really is human after all."
When they first met, he'd genuinely thought Song Woo-yeon was a robot.
Sure, he was the senior part-timer, but they were the same age. Whenever the two of them handled hall service together, Song Woo-yeon's brilliance stood out especially.
Orders rarely went wrong, and even while swamped with his own work, he'd catch and correct Jeong Da-on's mistakes.
Later, when Song Woo-yeon stepped away, they had to add two more servers just to keep up. It really drove home how he was handling the work of ten people single-handedly.
Impressive enough on its own, but who knew he was also the president of the franchise headquarters.
"He's always like that."
Baek Jae-ha, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
Jeong Da-on halted his reminiscing and focused on Baek Jae-ha in front of him.
"What'd you say?"
"Always. The Owner—no, Sis..."
Baek Jae-ha slowly lifted his head. His eyes were red-rimmed.
"She pushes through insane schedules with an injured arm, or brushes off a barrage of public backlash with a smile."
Baek Jae-ha's fingertips trembled. Unthinkingly, Jeong Da-on's gaze lingered on that frail shaking.
"And you saw it earlier too! She was clearly having a nightmare."
He buried his face in his palms, but his wretched expression showed plainly through the gaps between his fingers.
"Sweating like that in her sleep. Then wakes up acting like it's nothing, all casual."
"......"
"And when you ask what happened, she just says 'an old dream.'"
"That's... but."
"What do we even know about Sis? That she lost her parents young? That she's some genius? What else?"
Jeong Da-on found himself at a loss for words. He realized he didn't know much either.
Sure, he knew the public profile. But did he really know how the human Song Woo-yeon had lived?
"What happened back then that makes her scream like that in her sleep? Was today really her first nightmare? How many nights has she spent like that...?"
"Jae-ha, you..."
"And yet she pretends it's fine again. Acts like she has no intention of ever telling us she's struggling."
"You crying?"
Jeong Da-on tried to mask his bewilderment. Baek Jae-ha's eyes were glistening.
'The guy who quietly powered through even the brutal homework I piled on him?'
Jeong Da-on had plenty of tutoring experience under his belt, and even by his standards, Baek Jae-ha was one of the most tenacious students he could count on one hand.
Plus, Baek Jae-ha sometimes lacked basics in odd areas, so at first he'd thought the kid was slacking on purpose and chewed him out hard.
Turned out he genuinely didn't know, so he'd apologized later.
'I can be pretty harsh when I scold. High schoolers usually tear up a bit, but Jae-ha was always so composed.'
That had only fueled his suspicions that the kid was messing with him.
Anyway, tissues for Baek Jae-ha now.
"I told you. To me, Sis is my whole world."
"......"
Jeong Da-on had heard the gist of it.
How Song Woo-yeon had pulled Baek Jae-ha out of dire straits when he had no proper guardian.
That was why he followed her devotedly, like a chick after its mother bird.
"I knew Sis didn't see me that way. But still... I hate it..."
Even sitting there, Baek Jae-ha looked like he might crumple. Jeong Da-on instinctively stood and gripped his shoulders.
"Hey, hey! Why the tears! Woo-yeon treasures you so much. Right?"
Jeong Da-on hurriedly wiped Baek Jae-ha's damp cheek with his other hand.
"She treats you like gold. Makes you those exam lunches, even went as your guardian for college counseling. I don't do that for my own sibling!"
"......Really?"
"Yeah, yeah. Swear it."
Treating a one-year junior like a little kid was unusual, sure.
But since Baek Jae-ha seemed to be calming down bit by bit, Jeong Da-on kept going in the same vein.
"It's not just pity. Woo-yeon might not look it, but she's got a sharp edge—you know that."
"......"
"And her not telling us when she's struggling... sigh. It stings for us, but from her perspective, it might be natural."
Jeong Da-on gave a wry smile.
"You're her subordinate, and I'm basically a franchise owner. We're close personally, but there's business overlap professionally."
"I don't care about that stuff."
"Same here."
But they couldn't just bulldoze ahead because they were fine with it.
"Cut her some slack. She's gotten by on her own all this time."
"......"
"For her to suddenly start leaning on us? Not that easy."
Love is best understood by those who've received it, and leaning on others comes easier to those who've done it before.
"You're right."
Baek Jae-ha let out a deep sigh and wiped his tear-streaked face. Before long, his eyes gleamed not with sorrow, but with sharp intelligence.
"To hunt a beast, you strike when it's off guard."
"Huh?"
That wasn't at all the angle he'd meant.
He'd been talking about giving it time and waiting, so why had it turned so vicious? Before Jeong Da-on could puzzle it out, Baek Jae-ha flashed a grin.
If that smile looked exactly like the one belonging to the oblivious sleeper in the next room, was it just Jeong Da-on's imagination?
Jeong Da-on stopped thinking about it.
"Yeah. You got this!"
Keep it up, Song Woo-yeon.
You sowed these seeds yourself—you reap what you sow. Jeong Da-on nodded to himself, silently sending his condolences where they couldn't reach.
"Yawn~"
Refreshed.
When was the last time he'd woken up this invigorated? A solid night's sleep had left his body feeling light.
As he started to get out of bed, the tantalizing porridge scent tickled his nose, making his mouth water.
'Oh, right. Jae-ha made that porridge yesterday before leaving.'
A smile tugged at his lips unbidden. In the living room, a neatly wrapped bowl of porridge sat prettily.
Beside it was a memo in tidy handwriting:
「Don't skip breakfast. Eat up.
-Baek Jae-ha-」
The words were blunt, but the affection shone through.
"Who's looking after whose breakfast now?"
I chuckled softly. A one-year age gap might not seem like much, but mentally, he was still so young. His attempts at playing grown-up were just too cute.
"Well, thanks anyway."
I unwrapped it and warmed the porridge. One bite, and...
"Mm. Delicious."
No wonder. Who else had a new menu development team leader who cooked this well? It was the kind of taste that inspired instant pride.
Finishing the bowl left me nicely full.
A glance at the clock showed it was time to get ready to head out. Any longer lounging around, and he'd be late for today's recording.
I stood up.
And in doing so, I overlooked the writing on the back of Baek Jae-ha's memo.
Flutter.
The memo slipped off the table and flipped over. Revealing handwriting different from the front on the back:
「Sorry, Woo-yeon. Looks like I accidentally stirred something up.」
But regrettably,
Jeong Da-on's kind warning never reached Song Woo-yeon.