3. Did You Just Say Living Together?
3. Did You Just Say Living Together?
Serin, who had stopped right in front of me, was gazing down at me intently.
She wasn't particularly answering me,
nor was she touching the tendons on my wrist like she usually did out of habit.
She was merely looking at me with a slightly hazy focus, as if organizing countless thoughts inside her head.
For a long while, just like that.
Unable to bear the frustrating silence, I was the one to speak up first.
"Why, were you planning on not seeing me tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is Monday.
Serin, who has no classes tomorrow, had nowhere else to be except here anyway.
And I had taken that for granted as well.
Come to think of it, we just hadn't said we liked each other; how was it any different from dating?
It was just that the absence of romantic feelings was quite significant.
"Of course I'm going to see you. But more than that."
Serin, returning to her usual tone, blinked a couple of times before continuing.
"Should I just live here too?"
"......You've finally gone crazy."
I couldn't even begin to guess what kind of thoughts she had gone through.
Naturally, I hadn't expected that question to pop out either.
What kind of thought process led to such a conclusion?
"Think about it. We've seen each other's faces for almost over 20 years, so what's going to change just because we cohabit?"
"Cohabitation is completely different. You have to adjust every single little thing, and you get that much more stress."
"Don't you and I already know everything about each other?"
"That's true, but no matter how you look at it, we're a man and a woman, aren't we?"
"Since when did you ever view me as a woman? Bullshit."
"Then can you still say that if I walk out of the bathroom completely butt-naked?"
"......."
Come to think of it, I had maintained a distance with Baek Serin that was right around more than friends, less than lovers.
To be precise, the physical distance.
Since entering middle school, we hadn't even properly held hands.
Back in elementary school, holding hands was a habit, but from a certain point onward, we began to be conscious of the eyes around us.
Apart from that, Baek Serin habitually felt the tendons on my wrist.
Saying that it was fine because it wasn't technically holding hands.
You could say it was the only physical contact we did without caring about the gazes of people around us.
Whether she was in a bad mood or a good mood. Always.
"Th-That's something you have to control yourself on."
"What's the problem with me walking around naked in my own house?"
"Hey──! This house was obtained with help from my parents too, you know."
"And my parents helped out with the house you're living in right now too."
"...Is that so?"
"It is."
Come to think of it, our relationship is truly tangled in every possible way.
Not only are our parents close, but their relationship is close enough that they even go on overseas trips together.
It was to the extent that if their child didn't return home until late at night, they would contact each other's houses first.
"Anyway, cohabitation is out of the question."
"Give me three reasons why."
"First, none of my clothes will survive."
"Why? Are you seriously telling me you're gonna change every day because you're conscious of me?"
"You crazy bitch, it's because you steal and wear my clothes every single day."
Even the clothes Baek Serin is wearing right now are my T-shirt.
To make matters worse, the clothes she stole and wore for a long time ended up stretched out only around the chest area,
and feeling that the money spent on those clothes was a waste, I even started going to the gym.
Well, to be honest, I didn't start gymming purely for such a trivial reason, though.
Then at one point, she tagged along saying she wanted to do it too,
but no matter how I looked at it, Baek Serin seemed to be forcing herself to go, so I told her I was quitting.
Of course, I signed up at a different gym and have been going secretly.
But if we live together, I'll get caught doing that too.
"What's the second reason...?"
"There's only one room."
"We can just sleep together on the bed──"
"You crazy bitch."
Ah, what on earth should I do with her?
No matter how hard I try not to be conscious of it, I'm still a fully grown adult male.
Looking at it objectively, Baek Serin's looks aren't inferior anywhere she goes either.
But sleeping in the same bed?
No matter how long we've been friends, my instincts would react before my reason.
We haven't been that physically close since becoming adults so I don't know what would happen, so this conclusion is purely driven by anxiety, but still.
Because that's what a man's instinct is.
"...What's the third one?"
She really insists on listening to all of them.
You really have to hand it to her when it comes to being stubborn.
"It's annoying to cook meals for two."
"...Hey, can't I just help you out with that?"
"Are you trying to poison someone? You seriously must never step foot in the kitchen."
Seriously, bringing someone into the kitchen who burns even a simple fried egg?
I'd rather just die.
They were so worried about that that Serin's parents once sent Serin over to my house.
Asking me to teach the kid how to cook. Saying it's a family trait so it couldn't be helped.
......Come to think of it now, it feels like an excuse to put us together.
If it's a family trait, it won't be fixed anyway.
"Hey, I'll try my best. Let's just live together."
"Does effort solve it? And why are you just moving forward on your own whim? Can you even handle it?"
"What am I supposed to handle?"
"Do you really think living with a man is that simple?"
"...I like it because it's you, though?"
"......Ah. Lie a little bit, please. I'm going crazy."
"Shut up."
...I clearly felt it with this.
It would be better to avoid bringing up topics about feelings as much as possible.
No matter how embarrassed Baek Serin gets,
if I toss out a question where she has no choice but to give a response like that, I'm the only one who loses.
If it were anyone else, they would have hesitated and dodged it out of embarrassment.
Because right now, she ultimately can't tell a lie.
Then I need to move on to realistic aspects....
"To get to your university from here, you have to transfer twice. And add a 10-minute walk on top of that."
"How do you know that? You've never been to my university."
How do I know? How else would I know?
She uses the internet at someone else's house without deleting her search history, so it was sitting right there.
The day before she first entered university, she threw such a fuss.
Recalling how she babbled next to me all day, draining my energy, my head still hurts.
"And the most important thing. Will your parents permit that?"
"They have to. Look who's asking."
"What, did your parents commit some sin against you or something?"
"Plenty. Why am I unable to cook?"
"......."
Does she think she didn't inherit those blessed physical proportions?
It's clear that all the nutrients meant for her brain went downward instead.
...To say that outright, Baek Serin actually has better grades than expected though.
I even learned studying from her.
Sigh. No matter how I look at it, she's not a person who should be blaming her parents.
"If you can win over my parents too, go ahead."
"...Are you confident you won't regret that?"
"Ha, as if that's as easy as it sounds? Still, a fully grown man and woman together......"
This girl didn't even listen to me to the end and just dialed the phone first.
Try all you want.
There's something my parents always habitually said.
Never bring another woman into the house, and never flirt with another woman.
That the thing you must be most careful of in this world is a woman.
"If you don't want to live under a woman's thumb..." they'd say.
Every time that happened, Father would get hit once.
.......
Wait a second.
'Another' woman?
"Ah, yes, Eomeonim, have you had lunch? Yes, yes..."
"......."
"Yes, of course I'm with Eunhyeon. So I have a favor to ask..."
"Hey, hey wait a minute, ask Appa instead of Omma."
"......Are you perhaps with Abeonim right now? Ah, yes. Yes."
I have a really bad feeling about this.
Since it was something I habitually let in one ear and out the other every time, all that remained engraved in my head was 'be careful of women'.
Can a sense of crisis grow this much just because a single word was attached in front of it?
...No, still, where on earth are there parents who would permit cohabitation......
"Ah. Please, please...."
"Hey, stay quiet for a second. ...Ah, yes, Abeonim. Yes, there's something I wanted to ask."
What is this that makes me feel so suffocated like this?
Why did I make such a complacent choice?
After talking so much about my parents up until now, why did I miss a simple thing like that?
"Would it be alright if I cohabited with Eunhyeon?"
"Please......."
"Ah... It's a no? Ah, yes......."
"Ha, Father. I love you. I respect you."
As expected, the only one I can trust is Father, a fellow man.
I miss Father's broad back today of all days.
Next time I see him, I should give him a massage or something.
"Ah, Eomeonim. Yes. Ah, it's a yes? Ahat, yes. Yes─"
"......What?"
"No, no, honestly, it's not like anything will really change just because we live together, right?"
"......."
"Yes, yeees─ Thank you, Eomeonim. Have a good day."
Putting down her smartphone just like that, Baek Serin flashed a full victorious smile.
And having tasted the exact opposite despair, I could only let out a hollow chuckle.
Pfft, bursting into a brief laugh, Baek Serin initiated conversation with a triumphant voice.
"Hey, do you really hate living with me that much?"
"There are way more bad points than good points to living together, though?"
"No, why on earth?"
Is she seriously saying that right now?
Where on earth is there a good point?
Clutching at straws, I reached out my arm toward my phone that I had set far away.
Even if my parents approved, there's no way Serin's parents would approve too.
Besides, if the guy's side calls, that carries a completely different weight.
"Why? Are you gonna call too?"
"I have to. I definitely have to."
"Dumbass. As if anything will change if you do."
This will be the last moment you'll be able to flash that victorious smile.
Ha, seriously, what kind of parents would hear some guy say he wants to live with their daughter,
and respond, 'Sure, I give you my daughter,' and grant permission?
Without hesitation, I called Serin's Abeonim.
As a fellow man, this is something absolutely unacceptable.
My daughter cohabiting with another man?
No matter how gentle-natured Serin's Abeonim is, steam would be coming out of his head!
"Ah, yes, Abeonim. The thing is......"
『 I already heard. You're cohabiting, right? 』
"......Haha, as expected, that won't do, right?"
『 Why not? You're the only guy I can entrust my daughter to. Take good care of her. 』
......No, wait a second, Abeonim.
No matter how you look at it, isn't it far too early to conclude this?
"...No, Abeonim. Still, I'm a fully grown man, aren't you approving this way too easily?"
『 ...Adapting early to living under a woman's thumb makes life easier later on. Ah, the wife is coming so I'm hanging up now. 』
"Ah, Abeonim, Abeonim─?!"
Ttu, ttu, ttu──
"......."
What in the world kind of situation is this?
Serin's Abeonim. Where on earth did the memories of us playing Go together go?
And where did the memories of us sneaking off to the PC bang behind Eomeonim's back to make stars go?
Ah...... I feel so betrayed.
"Pfft, pfft. You look ridiculously hilarious right now, you know that?"
"Shut up. I don't permit it."
"Are you dodging the subject right now?"
"Ha, then give me three reasons why we absolutely have to cohabit."
It can't go on like this.
Even if I end up being a petty person who refuses to accept a dirty and hideous defeat,
cohabitation is an absolute no-go.
Maybe if there were two rooms,
but to live face-to-face with her every single day here when there's only one room in the first place?
"First. I fucking like you so damn much."
"Please describe how on earth that's a reason."
"Dumbass, wanting to be together with the person you like is only natural."
"......."
First of all, spitting out curses right off the bat makes it a fail.
I really have to fix that mouth of hers somehow.
"...What is the second reason?"
"I don't have to commute back and forth every day."
"That makes things convenient for you, not for me."
"What are you talking about? You told me to explain a reason, you never told me to explain a benefit."
"Ah, fuck."
Agh, this dumbass, seriously. If you're gonna speak, speak properly.
At this rate, I'm gonna turn into a potty-mouth too. She's a pure lump of foolishness, seriously.
"Haaa... What's the third one?"
"......You said so yourself. That you needed time."
"...What about that?"
.......
I'm feeling uneasy.
The fact that Baek Serin's snappy tone somehow turned quiet
makes sirens blare inside my head over and over like a crisis signal.
While her face remains facing me, only her light-brown pupils subtly shift sideways as if avoiding my gaze.
Her light-pink lips, slightly pouting,
repeat opening and closing softly.
After a short moment passes,
Baek Serin's voice leaked out after a brief hesitation.
"......If we cohabit, we can save that time."
"......."
......Ah.
I'm driving myself crazy.
I really need to watch my mouth from now on.
I think I understand why my father lives so under my mother's thumb.
...Don't tell me this is a family trait too?
Getting caught by a slip of the tongue?