56. The Damp Towel
I fell asleep the moment I took the medicine.
I slept in the living room. Since Siu is the owner of the house, it was only natural that he used the bed.
The last time I slept in Siu's bed, it was out of his consideration, but my mind was clear now.
No matter how many blankets Siu gave me to lay out, the floor was still a bit hard.
My back hurt a little—just a tiny bit—but I slept well.
It wasn't just "well"; I slept like a log.
I don't know what was in that medicine, but it must have had some sleep aid ingredients in it.
I slept so soundly that by the time I opened my eyes, Siu had already left for work.
It was already 12:00 PM. I had slept for nearly 12 hours straight.
If he had to go to work, he probably left around 8:00 AM.
I'm not sure if it was out of his consideration or if he tried to wake me and I just couldn't get up.
It was probably the latter.
He must have given up and left for work since I showed no signs of waking up.
Thinking about that, I felt a little sorry for Siu.
If it were me, I’d hesitate to leave even a friend alone in my house.
Talk about being a nuisance; this was the definition of one.
Where is Siu’s company, anyway? He said he moved because of work, so is it near his place?
Come to think of it, I never really heard the name of the company he works for; I only knew vaguely.
I checked my smartphone and saw a text from Siu.
It was a text that was so like him. Seeing it, a small laugh escaped my lips.
His message said to eat if I was hungry, but I didn't have the nerve to raid his emergency rations twice.
Besides, I ate late last night, so I wasn't even hungry yet.
I had gotten up, but I wasn't sure how to tidy up the bedding.
I was worried about where to put it.
Even if it’s a close friend’s house and not a stranger’s, it didn't feel right to go rummaging through every corner of his home.
I felt bad, but I left the task of moving the folded bedding to Siu.
I just folded it neatly and placed it in a visible spot in the corner of the living room.
Then, I stood up and stretched.
"Ughhh..."
It struck me again how great the lighting is in Siu’s place. To think the living room gets this much sunlight.
I don't have much knowledge about this, but is this what they call a south-facing house?
The sunlight pouring through the window was brightly illuminating the living room floor.
I slept so well even in this situation. It’s so bright in here.
The air, warmed by the sunlight, wrapped around Siu’s home comfortably.
Looking around the house again, it looked a bit big for one person—no, it was definitely big.
There are two rooms. And he lives alone.
I don't even have one room of my own.
I knew I shouldn't, but I opened the door to the 'Heavenly Room'.
As soon as I opened the door, figures and manga books were spread out on both sides.
I admired the figures once more.
I lowered my body as much as I could to look at the figures from an angle I couldn't see when someone else was around.
White, light blue. Black.
What the, this part isn't implemented.
I felt a momentary sense of shame, but my curiosity was satisfied.
I wonder how much all the figures placed on this one side alone cost.
At this size, just one of them must be worth well over 500,000 won.
"Sniff..."
After finishing my inspection, I went into the bathroom.
I looked up at the mirror and saw a disheveled person standing there.
"..."
My hair was sticking out in every direction, clearly showing its own opinion after a night of sleep.
My face looked haggard, strangely lacking energy from the cold.
I guess it’s okay to shower instead of eating.
Siu stopped me last time, but no one is here now. There’s no one to stop me.
Naturally, it’s a given to shower when going outside. I couldn't even shower before bed last night.
I can't go out looking like this.
I held the showerhead and turned the faucet.
Isn't it common sense to wait a while for hot water to come out?
That common sense was shattered today.
Hot water poured out immediately, so I quickly turned it to cold.
I must have turned it too fast, as it switched to ice-cold water.
"Eek...!"
Ice-cold water poured out, and a sound escaped my lips before I could stop it.
To think such a cringey sound would come out of my mouth.
'It’s a good thing Siu isn't home...'
I turned the showerhead away so the cold water wouldn't hit me and adjusted the temperature carefully, checking it with one finger.
After setting it to a very pleasant temperature, I placed it over the top of my head. The water flowed down my body.
It felt good.
I squeezed some body wash into my hand. Even so, using a shower puff felt unsanitary.
I tried to lather it up with my hands as much as possible, but it didn't foam well.
There wasn't much to lather, so I just rubbed it on myself diligently with my hands.
As I rinsed it off with water, the fragrant scent of the body wash spread softly through the bathroom.
Normally, I would have finished my shower here, but the bathtub had been catching my eye for a while.
It was just a small, one-person tub, but it was a bathtub that neither my studio apartment nor my parents' house had.
Soaking in hot water was only possible if I went to a public bathhouse.
When was the last time I went to a public bathhouse?
I can barely remember; all I can recall is holding my mother’s hand back in kindergarten.
Back then, I was young, so I went to the women’s bath...
Ah, I can still go to the women’s bath now, can't I?
I let out a bitter laugh without realizing it.
Getting lost in memories is nice, but the bathtub in front of me was tempting me.
Seeing the white porcelain form with water droplets clinging to the inner and outer walls, I wanted to fill it to the brim with hot water.
'And if I soak my body in it, it would definitely feel good...'
My body was shivering from the cold, so if I could soak my whole body in hot water...
That would be paradise.
While staring blankly at the tub under the warm stream of water from the showerhead, I couldn't resist the temptation and started filling it up.
Hot water gushed from the faucet, filling the tub.
At the same time, white steam rose up.
'...The water bill.'
I felt a fleeting thought that I might be using someone else's house too freely, but that thought melted away the moment I submerged my body.
As I put my toes in first, the sensation of the water wrapping around my body. The water was hugging me.
I surrendered my body to the stability the water provided.
As I looked up at the ceiling while submerged, the bathroom was hazy like a hot spring with the thick steam.
"Huuu..."
I lay deep in the tub, almost as if I were lying down. It was dangerously close to getting water in my ears.
It was so hot that I could barely breathe, but it felt amazing.
The feeling of my hair floating in the water was a bit strange.
When I closed my eyes, the sound of the water splashing was exceptionally clear.
I came out after heating my body in the tub for a while.
Looking at my hands, the tips of my fingers were all wrinkled.
Seeing hands like this is... well, it’s not the first time, but still.
My face flushed hot in an instant. It was probably because I had been soaking for so long.
Since I had used the shower—no, the bathtub—for quite a while, I could call it a bath.
I finished my bath and came out of the bathroom. As my well-heated body suddenly cooled down, I felt chilly.
Sniffling, I shook the moisture out of my hair with a towel and dried it with a hair dryer.
I held the towel I used to dry my body and pondered for a moment where to put it, then hung it on the living room chair.
I didn't know where the laundry basket was, and it felt wrong to just throw a used towel anywhere.
I hadn't exactly asked for permission, but since he let me use the tub for the first time in a while...
'Thank you, Siu.'
I said it in my heart once and stepped out the front door.
Siu was heading home from work again today.
With his shoulders slumped in exhaustion.
It wasn't just that work was hard; there were other complex reasons.
He hadn't slept properly because Eunhae had come over last night. He ended up going to bed much later than usual.
Thanks to that, Siu worked in a daze all day long. He drank a cup of coffee when he got to work in the morning and another one during work, but it was of no use.
He told himself to focus, but he couldn't keep his mind together, staring blankly into space more times than he could count.
He couldn't sleep well just knowing that Eunhae was in the other room.
Even when morning came, Eunhae was still sleeping, clutching the blanket he had given her tightly.
She showed a clear determination not to let go of the blanket, as if it were her lifeline.
No matter how much he shook her to wake her up, she only hugged the blanket tighter and showed no signs of getting up, so he gave up and left for work.
'She’ll find her way out on her own.'
Siu knew well that there was no need to worry about her touching things in the house even if he left her alone.
Before he knew it, he was at his front door.
Siu pressed the door lock keypad with a limp wrist.
Imagining the absurd thought of whether Eunhae might still be there when he opened the door.
'She must have left ages ago.'
Still, he couldn't help the lingering hope that rose up.
When he opened the door, naturally, all the lights were off, and the house was silent.
He threw his bag aside as soon as he returned.
Siu turned on the lights in the house, comforting himself that today had been a hard day.
On his way to his room as usual...
He felt a sense of incongruity in his field of vision.
A towel he didn't remember using was hanging on the chair.
Siu was the type to put used towels directly into the laundry basket, so he felt something was off and approached the chair where the towel was hanging.
'What is this towel...?'
And naturally, he picked up the towel.
It was slightly damp.
He thought hard about whether he had hung it there because there was no place to dry laundry, but he had no such memory.
The towel he used for his shower before leaving this morning was definitely put in the laundry basket before he left.
And he had washed everything he used before that.
'Where on earth did this come from...?'
Siu brought the towel to his nose and sniffed it.
Sniff, sniff.
He smelled the familiar scent of body wash.
The body wash he was using.
Only then did Siu understand the situation.
Then, a laugh leaked out.
He wasn't laughing because it was funny; one corner of his mouth just curled up awkwardly.
Siu muttered to himself, holding the towel in his hand.
"You... crazy bastard."
He threw the towel he was holding into the laundry basket.
'I told you not to shower...'
Siu headed to the bathroom, dragging his body that felt particularly heavy today.
He thought he might as well soak in the tub for the first time in a while.