The Cleanup
Once we confirmed Jo Hee-ran was dead, the first thing we did was tear through the landlord couple’s apartment.
“Holy shit, these fucking bastards! How the hell do they have this much food? They were sitting on all this and still tried to squeeze us for rent?”
What really caught us off guard was just how much food they had stockpiled. Even after we’d already cleaned out everything on the second floor, the sheer quantity sitting here was no joke.
“An Ga-hee. How much food did Kang Tae-ik demand for rent?”
“Not that much. Two packs of ramen, tops? He probably took about the same from that Ha Min-gi asshole.”
“That’s far more reasonable than I expected.”
“How much did you think he’d take?”
“A lot more than that.”
An Ga-hee snorted at my answer.
“Kang Tae-ik wasn’t that much of a dumbass. No way he’d demand that much. Most people didn’t even have that kind of food to begin with, and if he’d pushed for more, people would’ve just rushed him.”
“He was a dumbass, though, wasn’t he?”
“Pfft—okay, yeah, he was a dumbass. Just not that kind of dumbass. Why the hell would you kick out tenants who are actually handing over food?”
“Fair point. So where did all this food come from, then?”
The three of us stood there for a moment, turning it over. Then So-hye’s face went pale. I spoke carefully.
“Do you have an idea?”
“……It’s just a guess, but… maybe Kang Tae-ik forced Jo Hee-ran to sell her body.”
“What kind of husband makes his own wife work as a whore?”
“Considering the kind of man he was, it’s entirely possible.”
Everyone nodded at that.
“That bastard was garbage, sure. But was he really that much of a human piece of shit?”
“No one knows for certain. But if we start from what So-hye said, everything lines up. Think about it—doesn’t it seem strange? While Kang Tae-ik was coming after us, why didn’t Jo Hee-ran show up to help him?”
“…Now that you mention it…”
An Ga-hee’s eyes went wide; she clapped her hands in agreement.
“Even if she’d decided to ditch Kang Tae-ik and run, there should at least be some sign she packed. There’s nothing.”
“…You’re right. If she’d been trying to escape and fell, we should’ve heard her scream. Since we didn’t, she really must’ve meant to kill herself.”
Maybe it was the sheer bleakness of the theory, but the mood suddenly sank.
“Well, it’s only our speculation. Only the two of them will ever know the truth. So let’s get back to work.”
“Yeah. I need to move around a little right now.”
We split up again, hunting down anything useful and hauling it into the living room.
“This should be enough, right?”
“Yes. Plenty.”
Once everything was sorted, we were about to carry it all back down to the second floor when a thought hit me.
Wouldn’t it be better to just live here?
The place we were currently staying barely had any food left—we’d already moved everything to the supermarket. No point in lugging a bunch of gear around for nothing.
On top of that, the fourth floor was far more defensible than the second. The beds we were using now felt filthy, and the rooms were cramped as hell.
The entire fourth floor, by contrast, was a single residence. And since the couple had apparently slept separately, there were three beds.
The one in the living room was probably a sofa substitute… or something they kept just for sex. Wouldn’t want to do it in their own beds, after all.
By every measure, using this place was the smarter move.
“What do you two think?”
I laid out the reasoning. Both women nodded.
“I think it’s a good idea.”
“I agree, but… can you really trust me? We’ve only known each other for a day.”
“What? An Ga-hee, of course you’ll keep living in your own place.”
Her face crumpled.
“What the hell. Got my hopes up for nothing.”
“Like you said yourself, we haven’t spent enough time together to trust each other yet. Let’s take it slow and build some rapport.”
“Just because you’ve spent a lot of time with someone doesn’t mean you can trust them. And just because you haven’t doesn’t mean you can’t.”
“If So-hye said that, maybe. Coming from you, Ga-hee, it’s a little hard to take seriously.”
So-hye’s cheeks flushed faintly. She slipped her hand into mine and smiled, looking pleased.
“Well, I’ve always been a shameless bitch. That’s why I said what I said up on the roof, right? More importantly—can you two stop rubbing it in my face?”
“S-sorry.”
“Nah, nothing to apologize for. Fine. Whatever. If that’s how you want it, I can’t force it. After the shit I pulled earlier, I guess this is just my karma.”
An Ga-hee slapped her knees a couple of times and let out a long sigh.
“Then let’s start by grabbing the gear from the second floor. You’ll help, right, Ga-hee?”
“Yeah, yeah. Fuck. If I want to earn some trust, I gotta help, don’t I~”
We headed back down to the second floor, pulled out the backpacks we’d stashed, gathered everything left in the apartment, and carried it up to the fourth.
Our modest little move finished, I dropped onto a bed. The two women settled in on either side of me.
“Let’s rest a bit.”
“Sounds good.”
I closed my eyes and savored the quiet. Then a low rumble of a stomach broke the silence.
“Wasn’t me.”
I turned right; An Ga-hee denied it. I turned left and found So-hye covering her face with both hands, ears bright red.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t eaten once since we went out. Timing’s a little awkward, but we should eat something.”
“You know the rule—jjajangmyeon on moving day.”
An Ga-hee sat up first, already making demands.
“No jjajangmyeon, but we do have Chapagetti.”
“I’ll take it. Grateful as hell.”
“I’ll cook!”
So-hye shot her hand up and stood. Both of us stared at her; her face went red again.
“Fine, you do it. I was gonna, but if someone else wants to, hell yes.”
“So-hye, are you sure? You look starving.”
“I-I’m fine! I’ll be right back! You two just talk!”
She bolted for the kitchen. The moment she was gone, An Ga-hee slid closer and sat beside me.
“What about my food share?”
“You’ve done a lot today, so I’ll give you a generous cut. You’ll be satisfied.”
She smirked and waved a hand.
“Forget it. Don’t give me a separate share. Just call me whenever you eat. That’s enough. Trust’s the important part, right?”
“You keep talking about trust, but aren’t you just dumping all the annoying work on us?”
“You figured that out the second I said it?”
“You’re wrapping it in the language of trust, but I already know you’re planning to freeload.”
An Ga-hee’s mouth fell open; she let out a helpless laugh.
“Jesus, I really can’t bullshit you. Still, it’s not a bad deal for you. If you cut off the food, I starve, right?”
“You could always skim some food on the side. Everyone digs themselves a little escape hatch.”
Especially someone with her personality—she absolutely would.
“…Yeah. I won’t deny it. So what are you gonna do?”
“It’s pretty damn cheeky, but I’ll accept it. If I turn you down now, you’ll get all sulky.”
“Thanks a bunch~”
“Don’t mention it.”
She shook her head like she was already tired of me.
“Were you always like this?”
“Why? Weird?”
“A little off. You used to feel a lot more vicious.”
“This is my real personality. Back then I was just under too much stress… Hey, isn’t it kind of rude to call someone vicious to their face?”
“It’s the truth. What am I supposed to do about that?”
“You fucking bastard.”
While she was still grumbling, the distinctive black-bean smell of Chapagetti started drifting through the air.
“I’m starving.”
“Same.”
We forgot to keep talking and just breathed it in. The smell was that good.
“It’s ready! Come eat!”
At So-hye’s call we got up and headed straight for the table. Bowls heaped with glossy brown noodles—oil made them shine, and the sight was almost beautiful.
“Thanks for the food!”
An Ga-hee dropped into a chair and grabbed her chopsticks immediately. I sat and started slurping noodles right after her.
Slurp—
There was no need to describe the taste. Chapagetti had its own distinct flavor—different from regular jjajangmyeon, with a charm all its own.
“Aren’t you eating, So-hye?”
“Come on… hurry up an’ eat!”
An Ga-hee spoke with both cheeks stuffed full of noodles. Normally sly, now she was acting like a kid.
“Just a second. I found this in the fridge.”
So-hye beamed and set another dish on the table. Neatly arranged kimchi filled it.
“Kimchi?”
“Yeah. Looks like Jo Hee-ran made it. Does it feel weird? I can throw it out if you want.”
“No way, no way! Who knows how much more kimchi we’ll ever get to eat? And this isn’t factory stuff—someone made it by hand!”
She was right. We might never see it again. Hell, this could be humanity’s last kimchi.
“Exactly. We have to eat this.”
“Didn’t you hate Jo Hee-ran?”
“She’s already dead. I’m generous to dead people.”
“Ah. Right. Of course.”
Even my sarcasm didn’t faze her; An Ga-hee just kept stuffing kimchi into her mouth. Crunching loudly, she twisted and squirmed in her seat.
Slurp—
“Damn, this is actually incredible! If I’d known, I would’ve kept her alive somehow!”
She wasn’t wrong—Jo Hee-ran’s kimchi skills were no joke. I didn’t know much about kimchi, but comparing this to factory stuff would have been an insult.
“Ah… that hit the spot.”
When the meal was over I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes. It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed this kind of leisure.
“I’ll clear the dishes.”
“Make An Ga-hee do it.”
“What? Why me?”
“You need to build trust.”
“Ah, fuck.”
So-hye laughed softly and shook her head.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it.”
She rose, carried every dish away, finished the washing, and even came back with tea she’d steeped.
“Have some of this and rest.”
“Thank you.”
“Thanks.”
A fragrant scent. We sipped the tea and savored the quiet. Blood-soaked fights were fine, but this had its own kind of pleasure.
“Wow. Cooks well, makes good tea, and she’s devoted on top of it. Completely different from me. Straight-up ideal housewife.”
“Agreed.”
“N-no, I’m not…”
An Ga-hee finished her tea and stood.
“Well, meal’s over. I should head out.”
“Going downstairs?”
“Yeah. Those bastards are gone now, so I need to clean my room. Can’t keep living like that forever.”
“I hope to see a much cleaner version of you tomorrow.”
“That was already the plan.”
She slipped on her shoes and threw the front door wide open.
“I’m off. See you tomorrow.”
“Don’t stay up too late. You might miss breakfast.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Before stepping out, An Ga-hee curled one corner of her mouth and pressed herself against me.
“Hey. I don’t know how you’ll take this, but… I’m a virgin.”
“What?”
“Mwah. See you!”
With that, An Ga-hee left. I stared at the closed door and rubbed my cheek.
Should I be happy about that… or annoyed?
It was such an obvious little scheme that I had no idea how to react. While I was still standing there half-dazed, So-hye suddenly took my hand.
“S-Seong-won!”
“Yes, So-hye? What is it?”
“T-today…”
She exhaled sharply, then said it.
“I-I’ll do it for you!”
Face and ears burning scarlet. There was no need to wonder what she meant.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“…Okay!”
How far would we go today?