#93. Mistake
#93. Mistake
Living together with Na-eun...?
It'd be great, sure. It'd be great.
But I had no clue what kind of daily life would unfold.
Let me imagine it for a sec.
[Oppa~ Wake up~]
[Ah... I'm so fucking sleepy... Leave me alone...]
[Sheesh... What the hell were you doing up all night? Sleeping till now?]
[I was working... Just shoving it in every hole again, you know...]
[Without even fucking me and just eating other women...]
[Sorry...! If I wanted to earn chicken money for us, I had no choice...!]
If I had a normal job, I'd have considered it positively, but with the work I do, it felt kinda ambiguous.
Come to think of it, if Na-eun focused on her illustrator work, it might lead to an even messier situation than what I just imagined—twice as chaotic.
"Why? Don't you like it?"
Na-eun frowned, looking offended since I hadn't answered right away with a weird expression on my face.
I'd already exhausted myself soothing her from her earlier sulk, so I shook my head vigorously and forced a smile.
"No way~ What're you talking about~ I like it~ so~ much~ I was just imagining it~"
"Really? Have you ever imagined it, Oppa? How great it'd be living together with me?"
Isn't it basically the same as you coming over to my place to hang out and never leaving?
I'd heard somewhere before.
That marriage is when your girlfriend comes over to visit and doesn't go back home after a day, or even two days.
Cohabitation felt like a trial run for marriage.
"Yeah. It'd be great."
"I'd be living with Oppa? Then really... haa..."
Na-eun cupped her slightly flushed cheeks with both hands.
An ecstatic expression.
Like she was thinking of something delicious, she licked her lips once with her tongue.
"But it wouldn't be 'our house.'"
"Huh? If it's not a house, then what?"
"Ours."
"Ours?"
"The pens that cage beasts. When you do it."
...Na-eun-ah.
Two people living together, and it's a pen?
"Just call it a house. Why say 'pens'?"
"'Cause I'm gonna make sure you can't leave Oppa's house. Hehe."
Na-eun laughed while scooping tofu from the kimchi stew.
Steam rose gently.
Whoa... something's giving me chills down my spine...
I'd always thought 'cohabitation' just meant living together, but with 'pens' thrown in, it felt more like 'breeding.'
Just like [I Imprisoned Her]...
I couldn't shake off the eerie feeling, so I racked my brain for another topic.
"Ah! How're you planning to spend the end of the year?"
"First off... Oppa's birthday is the 21st, right?"
Ah... yeah, it is...
An event that always comes after End of Semester.
My birthday was only three days away.
"Then we'll have fun together on your birthday... and four days later is Christmas?"
Only now did it really hit me that End of Semester was here.
Double the happy events.
And with my 'girlfriend,' no less.
We guys always gathered on Christmas and just ragged on each other for being losers.
Now I didn't have to go to those shitty mosol meetups anymore.
Just that fact alone put me in a good mood, and a dumb grin slipped out.
"Oppa. You okay? Something hurt?"
Na-eun asked me, who was grinning like an idiot.
"Nah. Christmas is just too exciting."
I was already thrilled thinking about rubbing it in the guys-only chat.
These bastards ragged on me for being a mosol, but now I'd hit 'em with 'Look at me now' and couldn't hold back my big grin.
Gotta tease 'em while I can. No question.
"Yeah. So I'll hang out with Oppa a bit, then head down to my parents' house."
"Then when're you coming back?"
I'd love to spend New Year's with her too, but that might be tough?
"Probably early January? I usually stay about two weeks."
"I see..."
I wasn't planning to go to my parents' till Seollal.
Sure, after taking a leave of absence, we'd have more time together, but thinking about two weeks without her soon felt disappointing.
"Oppa. Why do you go from grinning to moping again? 'Cause I'm going to my parents'?"
"Yeah."
"Aww... I'll be back soon. And we're gonna live together anyway."
Not quite a firm yes yet.
"So even if you miss me, just hold out a little."
Not wanting to look like a whiny kid, I nodded and started clearing the empty dishes.
We'd eaten brunch at an odd hour, so we headed back to school.
Even with End of Semester, we had tons of stuff left in the Design Room.
Of course, we had to take home the completed and submitted Architectural Models too.
With so much luggage it was too much for one trip, people without cars like us often had to make two runs.
"Na-eun-ah. Got everything?"
I asked Na-eun as I stuffed a huge shopping bag full.
"Yup. But it's too heavy."
With a backpack on her back and eco-bags in both hands, Na-eun looked cute because of her small frame.
"But I can't carry it for you."
If I had a free hand, I would, but my nose was made of stone.
The weight on my shoulders felt like that godforsaken military loadout I wanted to forget.
"I know. Let's hurry. Us."
Taking the bus like this would've been a nuisance, so we grabbed a taxi.
"Drop me at my place first, Oppa—what're you up to after?"
"Work."
Finally, I could write the novel with a clear head.
Honestly, I barely remembered what state of mind I was in during manuscript deadline season.
"How's the illustrator character coming along?"
Right...
Suddenly, I recalled Na-eun drunkenly asking me for serialized updates.
I'd forgotten amid the stocking fuss, but I opened my mouth about that lingering question.
"...Na-eun-ah."
"Yeah?"
"Did you not like the Amy part either?"
"Honestly, Amy's buildup felt a bit weak."
Na-eun's expression started stiffening.
The question was too natural; she couldn't lie to me.
Her reaction, like I'd crossed a line, made me intuit my hypothesis was spot-on.
Bingo.
"...Han Na-eun."
"Yeah?"
She subtly shifted her gaze out the window.
"Go home and pick up when I call later."
It was just a left turn into her alley to her Officetel.
I didn't want to have that kind of talk with the driver listening, so I just let Na-eun off easily at her place.
She nodded, opened the door, and got out in front of her house.
"Pick up no matter what. Don't you dare not."
"...Got it."
We unloaded all the luggage from the trunk, and the taxi U-turned toward my place.
Left alone in the back seat, I crossed my arms and sank into thought.
When did Na-eun start reading my novel?
And why had she kept it from me this whole time?
It didn't make sense.
From her reactions so far, it seemed like after we started seriously dating...
I could understand being curious about what your boyfriend writes.
If Na-eun were a writer, I'd wanna read her stuff too.
And honestly, no way I'd scold her or dislike her for reading it.
Hell, she's a paying reader for my novel—what's not to like?
But if reading [I Imprisoned Her] made Na-eun scared or wary of me, that'd suck.
She might get turned off by my deeper, darker tastes than expected.
Hmm... we needed a proper talk.
"13,900 won."
At the driver's words, I tapped my card and hauled the luggage up to my room.
Ugh. Heavy.
Once home, before sorting stuff, I flopped onto the bed.
Checked my phone.
No contact from Na-eun yet.
About 20 minutes had passed, so she should've finished unpacking. I called her.
[Hello.]
[Yeah. Hello.]
[You sort your stuff okay?]
[Ah... yeah... You're probably still busy... Can we talk later after I finish up?]
Her tone dodged the conversation.
But I wanted to know why she was running away so hard.
My gut said she was hiding more than I thought.
[Nah. Let's talk now.]
I firmly shot down her suggestion and carefully picked my question.
[Na-eun-ah.]
Taking a breath, I asked calmly.
[When did you start reading my novel? Be honest.]
To show I wasn't mad, I deliberately used a gentle tone.
[Well... Oppa...]
Her words dripped with hesitation.
[...It's all your fault, Oppa!]
The call cut off.
I just stared at my phone screen in stunned silence.
...Hey. How long ago did I commission you for illustrations?
Isn't it too much to tell a regular customer 'it's all your fault'?