Everyday Life
"See you later, then. Rahee asked me to go running."
"……Um, would it be all right if I came too?"
"Don't you have work?"
"Not really. There isn't much I need to do on my own……."
"Even so. Someone has to stay at the gym."
"Chang-soo should be back any minute……."
"Then if he's here by the time I'm done changing, we'll all go together. If he isn't, nothing we can do."
"Okay!"
I gave Go Yewon's softly smiling cheek a light pinch, stepped out of the office, and headed for the locker room. When I came back out in fresh clothes, Rahee was loosening up, rolling her shoulders and stretching this way and that—but look as I might, Chang-soo was nowhere in sight.
"Looks like Yewon won't be coming."
"Why not?"
"She asked to come running with us a little while ago."
"Her? She must really like you, Shinwoo. She absolutely hates running."
"Yeah? Anyway, I was going to wait so we could go once Chang-soo got here, but that doesn't look likely."
"Well, there'll be another chance."
"Probably. Shall we head out?"
"Yes. Just a moment."
I took the bag she held out, flyers packed in behind it, slung it over my shoulder, and spoke as I watched her hoist the banner.
"Chang-soo said he got us permission to hand out flyers, but I still don't know where."
"Then let's leave the apartment clusters to Chang-soo and take the other side."
"Did they already pick a spot for the banner?"
"Yes. They assigned us one."
I unrolled the banner once more to check it, saw the permit stamp pressed in clear as day, nodded, and rolled it back up in my arms.
"I'll carry it."
"It's fine. We'll hang the banner first, then run."
"Okay. Give it here."
"……Nothing but brute strength."
"You ought to start getting used to this, Shinwoo. I'll carry things like that. Don't waste your strength where it doesn't matter."
"All right, all right. But the way you said that felt a little pointed. So where am I supposed to use it?"
"……Ah, no. That isn't what I meant……."
"You wouldn't even hold out if I used any more."
"That's not true……. I, I wasn't trying to……."
"I know."
"Honestly……."
Rahee snatched the banner out of my arms in one motion, flustered by the teasing, and I let out a quiet laugh. We left the gym, I followed her to the place she had in mind, and as I looked over the spot where the banner was supposed to hang, I scratched my head and muttered.
"……Now that we're here, there's nowhere to hand these out."
"I know. Maybe we should try the shopping street. I've never done this kind of thing either……."
"I'd feel bad leaving it all to Chang-soo, though."
"Then should we go back to the gym and ask him where we ought to hand them out?"
"Let's. Calling him won't help when we don't know our way around this neighborhood anyway."
"Then let's work out in the meantime. You skipped yesterday, so today you should really focus……."
"Ah, come on."
"No. I feel awful that I couldn't look after you yesterday."
"……Suddenly I don't feel like moving."
"Hurry."
I grumbled, and Rahee only smiled that soft little smile, so I figured I didn't have much choice. Her face was so bright and clear that I smiled back in spite of myself and went on tying off the banner's knots.
"This side's done."
"Yes. This side too."
"Yeah. The spot seems pretty good."
"It is. People don't come just because they saw one of these, anyway."
"True. Still, just letting them know a gym like this exists is plenty."
"Yes."
I brushed off my hands and quietly drew an arm around Rahee's shoulders as she came over. As if she had been waiting for it, she nestled into me and leaned her head against my shoulder. She seemed to have slipped into some sentimental mood.
"……Since I met you, Shinwoo…… I can feel things changing, one by one. Little by little, for the better……."
"Getting sentimental all of a sudden. We'll change a lot more from here. But more than changing, I just want us to enjoy ourselves."
"……Yes. Hold me."
"Yeah."
I quietly took in the warmth of her body. Maybe Rahee was starting to find goals of her own. Small things, if you wanted to call them small, but goals and dreams like that mattered. Only then did the real estate office come back to me, and I hurried to speak.
"On the way back, let's stop by a realtor."
"Oh, right. There's one over there. But they said they'd return the deposit just like that?"
"Yeah. I called while you were in the shower, and they told me to clear out right away."
"That's strange. Landlords usually hate it when you leave before the lease is up……."
"They almost never let you out early. But they said there's a line of people waiting to get into our building."
"……Don't tell me. Because of you?"
"……Looks like it. The landlord already knows a Multimale lives there."
"They don't know it's you, though?"
"Nope. Funny, right?"
"Yes. When they find out later, they're going to be stunned."
"I thought about telling them straight, but they only gave me a week. On top of that, they're putting a place that went for a hundred and fifty thousand up at two-thirty. Figured at that point I didn't owe them any extra courtesy."
"……What are you going to do? Can you even manage it in that time?"
"Doesn't look like it. I don't have much to move, so the move itself isn't the problem."
"Even so, a week is too much."
"That's what I said."
"……Then, Shinwoo. What about staying at Hyunji's……?"
She whispered it with a worried look, and I nodded quietly as I answered. I hated imposing on anyone, but I hadn't known I'd have to clear out this fast.
"If I really can't find a place, I might have no choice."
"Hyunji would be thrilled."
"Still, I'd feel bad."
"……Then would you come to my place?"
"And what are you going to do about how cramped it is? You've already got a ton of stuff. Add mine and there won't be anywhere left to sit."
"Cramped? If I tidy up, there'll still be room for you……."
Then she glanced at my face, flushed, and went on murmuring, and for a second I was speechless.
"……A-and even if it's small……. W-we'll just be in bed the whole time anyway……."
"Well, well. And who said they'd do that for you?"
"……Ah……. D-did you not want to……?"
"As if. I'd love it. I just thought it was hard on you."
I caught her hand, drew her to a stop, and lowered my voice.
"Does it hurt?"
"……Ah……."
"Tell me. When I touched you this morning, you were swollen tight. Is it all right to move around?"
"……I-I'm fine……. It did feel strange when I got up……. But when I washed and looked, it was all right……."
"Today's off-limits."
"What?"
"We're not doing it today."
"Wh-why not……. It really doesn't hurt……."
"I told you, didn't I? Your body is mine. If I hadn't noticed, it really might have festered."
"I-it isn't like that. I love that you treasure me, Shinwoo……. B-but women aren't that fragile down there……."
"Really?"
"Ahn……."
I pressed, barely more than a brush over the leggings between her legs, and her pretty face fell apart for an instant. Not from pain. Pleasure had hit her so suddenly she couldn't hold her expression.
"……It doesn't hurt?"
"N-no……. You just startled me……. It really doesn't hurt……."
Not that I could peel her clothes off and check out here. Was my semen really that potent? Guess I can't even finish outside so carelessly anymore. I nearly let a sigh slip. Pulling out was still the only halfway decent option I had. Hyunji's remark about it being a tonic flickered through my head. Was the stuff actually some kind of living medicine? Surely she hadn't caught on to something. That would get awkward. I didn't believe she had—but I'd have to sound her out later.
"……Still, let's rest today."
"Okay……."
"We'll see how you are through tomorrow. Got it?"
"……Yes……."
"Well, it's partly my fault too. The second your period ended you got all vacant and giddy, and I fell for it completely."
She flushed, embarrassed by that, but when she answered her voice was firm.
"……It is absolutely not your fault, Shinwoo……."
"No. I failed to take care of what's mine, so it's my fault."
I took her hand and held it. The run was already over, and enough time had passed that her body had cooled; her hand was a little cold, though it soon began to warm under mine. She fidgeted with her fingers as if shy, and a quiet laugh escaped me.
"Holding hands embarrasses you more than being held?"
"……A little. My hands are kind of rough……."
"They are not. Soft as a baby's."
"……Your hands feel nice too."
"Then while we look at places, pick one you like. We probably won't be able to go inside."
"Okay……. I think it'll be fun."
But contrary to her hopes, my face was grim when we came out of the office. The prices had blown far past anything I'd imagined. My plan of sweetly house-hunting with Rahee was already in ruins. Unlike my gloom, though, her face was bright with expectation, and I pinched her cheek and sighed.
"……A hundred and fifty thousand doesn't even come close. This area is outrageous. What is this, Gangnam?"
"I know. They're asking over five hundred thousand for a deposit lease……?"
"Right? I can't even swing a partial one. All that talk about deposit prices falling was garbage. I ought to report the whole thing as fake news."
"……So what are you going to do?"
She looked like a child in the moment before a present. I let out a short laugh and murmured. I could tell she wanted me at her place more than at Hyunji's.
"First let's go around and check what places are actually going for. We were going to look with Hyunji anyway."
"I should call too and say I really need to move out right away."
"Even if you tell them you're leaving, call now and they'll probably only let you out in three months. Just getting out before the next tenant shows up is lucky enough."
"That's true……."
Of course I would have liked to buy into a silver-town complex, the sort Ju Hayeong had suggested, but getting out of that place was the right call for now. I'd spoken with them out front and could tell they weren't dangerous people, yet if they set their minds to it they could be on my doorstep in a heartbeat. Everyone had said it was dangerous, and it had sunk in deeper after the warning from Kim Do-hoon, a Multimale like me. If it really came to nothing, I'd have to give up the deposit lease and drop down to monthly rent.
Monthly rent just feels like throwing money away…….
Subsidies or not, rent still felt like cash walking out the door. For now I'd keep thinking while I checked prices around here. There was also that loan reserved for Multimales; using it might change the math. Tomorrow was Friday, which wasn't ideal. I'd go to the bank next Monday or Tuesday.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too. Living all together would be fun, wouldn't it?"
"Yes. I miss Hyunji too. I heard she's been having a hard time lately."
"Yeah. I saw her the day before yesterday. Still cute as ever."
"I see. I feel terrible that I couldn't go see her performance."
"The gym's just getting on its feet. You can't. Just stay here. I'll apologize to Hyunji for you."
"Okay……. And, um, I'd like to talk with the café owner sometime too."
"Right. Let's set something up soon. We'll invite Yewon too."
"Yes."
I squeezed the hand of Rahee, who smiled at me without a shadow anywhere on her face, and we started back toward the gym. But the moment we returned, as if that bright smile had never happened, her drill came down on me again, and I put my body through it.
"……Haa……."
"Was it hard?"
"How could it not be?"
"Even so, Shinwoo, from now on you only touch the weights when I'm there. It's dangerous now."
"I know. I got a scare earlier too."
"People get hurt that way all the time. From now on, do bench and the Smith machine with me."
"Yeah."
The bench had already crept past a hundred and fifty pounds, and it was starting to wear on me. Sets that used to be ten reps had dropped to five. It was roughly my own body weight, so of course the strength wasn't there. A respectable load, which was why it felt that way. Rahee marveled and called even this impressive, but if I was honest, what I felt was closer to disappointment. So while she stepped into the office, I had quietly loaded on another twenty-odd pounds, tried to press close to a hundred and seventy-five, and promptly lost my balance.
……It did give me a chill.
The bar had started to tip toward my neck. Rahee caught it in one grab, the jolt passed, and afterward I got quite the scolding.