Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 122. The Aesthetics of Coaxing
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"Um, uh. At least something to drink..."
"No fridge."
Jang Chaeyeon spoke, and Yoo Daon let out a dry laugh as she set water bottles down in front of us.
Mineral water bottles, labels still intact.
The silver lining was that they weren't the large size, at least.
"Your place is really rundown. No, the building's fine. It's the inside that's rundown."
"Haha... I think so too."
Yoo Daon kept up her dry laugh in response to Song Arin's words, then glanced at me.
What? Wasn't she about to cry?
Were my eyes deceiving me?
"But hey, it's livable... You can wash up, eat meals..."
"We order in."
"Yeah..."
Yoo Daon replied in a crawling voice, then glanced at me again.
Why did she keep looking at me?
"Hey, say something."
So now I'm her colleague? Song Arin, who had been teaming up with Jang Chaeyeon to earnestly nag Yoo Daon, turned to look at me.
"Me?"
"Yeah. Huh? Is this how people live?"
I looked around at Song Arin's words.
A neatly made bed. A sofa that looked barely used.
"...Well."
How was I supposed to respond?
If I said something, it might cause a real scene for no reason, but saying nothing felt wrong too—this wasn't a place where a person lived.
"Um, uh... Daon."
"...Yes."
Yoo Daon sat still, looking up at me demurely like a child getting scolded.
"What do you usually do after work?"
Yoo Daon didn't work overtime. Actually, none of us did anymore.
Work had lightened up at some point, and with three more people to handle things, the workload distribution had become much easier.
So, we all clocked out on time now. Me, Jang Chaeyeon, Song Arin, and Yoo Daon.
"Uh... Just wander around the house..."
"Wander around?"
"Lie down..."
"...Lie down?"
"That's about it...?"
In other words, unless we were out drinking as a group, Yoo Daon spent her time alone at home wandering or lying down.
"...You'll lose your mind like that. How about finding a hobby?"
"A hobby, huh."
Yoo Daon rolled her eyes around at my words before looking back at me.
"What do you do for fun, Jaeheon?"
"Me?"
Good question.
"Well, I just lie down and scroll on my phone... Uh... Go for walks..."
No different.
"Ahem. Anyway. It's good to have a hobby. Exercise or... games or... booze or... No, skip the booze."
I shuddered, still feeling yesterday's soju lingering in my system, and continued.
"Anyway, next time, shall we go look at some furniture?"
"Furniture? The place is kinda like that, right?"
Yoo Daon muttered uneasily, and I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. It's a bit barren... Kinda rundown, I guess..."
Oh no.
I slowly looked at Yoo Daon.
"..."
"...Um, Daon."
I checked her expression.
She looked shocked.
"Um, Daon."
I'd messed up. Big time.
"...Daon...?"
Soon, Yoo Daon looked back at me.
"Ah, uh, um. ...Sorry."
Her shocked expression lasted only a moment before she squeezed her eyes shut, opened them, and smiled at me.
"Yeah, it is kinda like that. Too barren... Next time you come, I'll decorate the room nicer."
"No, Daon, that's not—"
"Ah, right... You won't come back to a place like this. I keep saying the wrong things..."
Yoo Daon covered her mouth, laughing as if delighted.
She was smiling, but she absolutely wasn't happy.
"...Um."
"...What."
I looked to the other two with pleading eyes, but Song Arin muttered sulkily while glaring at me, and Jang Chaeyeon wouldn't even meet my gaze.
Betrayal at a time like this?
"Um, Daon."
"Ah, uh. Sorry. Really..."
"Daon."
I said her name firmly and stared at her. She stiffened and met my eyes.
"...Let's step out for a bit."
"Ah, go ahead. Chaeyeon and Arin too..."
"No. Just me and Daon."
"...Huh?"
Yoo Daon looked blank, and Song Arin hurriedly pointed at herself and then Jang Chaeyeon.
"Me? With her? Stay here?"
"You don't have to stay... We'll be right back. Come on, Daon."
"Hey, hey!"
Ignoring Song Arin as she jumped up, I grabbed Yoo Daon's arm and headed out the door.
-Thud!
The apartment door shut, leaving just me and Yoo Daon in the hallway.
"Um, Jaeheon."
"Let's walk first."
Ignoring her, I started down the hallway.
"...Are you mad?"
"Me?"
At what, exactly?
She looked puzzled as she gazed at me, then hurriedly shook her head.
"No, not at all."
"Okay."
I walked alongside her.
Had we spent too much time at Jang Chaeyeon's recovering from the hangover? The sun hadn't fully set yet, but quite some time had passed.
"Daon."
Only after entering a quiet stretch did I turn to look at her.
"...Yes."
Yoo Daon stared straight at me.
"...Uh, what I said about your place being rundown—"
"Ah, no. I get it."
Yoo Daon waved her hands frantically, cutting me off.
"So, uh, I'm always clumsy about stuff like this."
"Daon."
"Lately, even more so..."
-Drip.
Suddenly, tears fell from her eyes.
"Ah, sorry, sorry..."
Once they started, they poured out like a broken faucet.
"No, no need to cry. Geez... Just like last time... I always... end up being no help to you, Jaeheon..."
She kept wiping her tears with her sleeve, muttering awkwardly.
"I'm just... no good, huh?"
"..."
What was I supposed to do here?
Someone, please tell me.
A memory from when I was young flashed by.
Whenever I failed at something and felt down, that kid would hug me and repeat the same words over and over.
'It's okay.'
'You can do better next time.'
'I'll be here with you until then.'
I pulled Yoo Daon close, wrapping her in a hug.
"Uh, wha—huh? Huh?"
Yoo Daon mumbled like a broken record.
"It's okay."
I stroked her back and spoke quietly.
"You're doing great, Daon."
"..."
"Without you, I'd be dead by now."
I'd have died over and over without her.
And I didn't want to see her tearing herself down like this.
"It's okay."
"...Hic..."
Finally, she sobbed aloud, clutching at my chest, and I stroked her back repeatedly, lost in thought.
Time passes, and now here I was, comforting someone else.
*
After crying for quite a while, Yoo Daon lifted her head and looked at me.
"S-Sorry."
Her voice trembled, probably from all the crying.
"It's okay."
"Ah, no... I..."
"Enough."
At my word, Yoo Daon clamped her mouth shut and met my eyes.
"We can furnish the place together. When we have time, want to go look at furniture?"
"F-For real?"
"Why would I lie about something like this?"
Yoo Daon let out a small laugh.
"Sure, sounds good."
"Then it's settled. For a housewarming gift, I'll get you a fridge."
"Uh, no need to..."
"Think of it as my bonus splurge."
"..."
Her nose tip reddened as she nodded. I took her back inside.
"...Whew..."
"...Haa..."
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin were there, drenched in sweat.
"What did you two do?"
"What did we do?"
Song Arin glared at me with fierce eyes, and Jang Chaeyeon pointed confidently toward the living room.
"Cleanup."
The once-empty living room now had a dining table and chairs, with a TV in front of the sofa.
"Bought 'em."
"Only money left anyway."
"..."
Yoo Daon stared blankly at the table and chairs for a moment, then smiled brightly at the two.
"Wow, you got these for me?"
"..."
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin exchanged glances, shrugged, and Song Arin replied.
"You were gonna go buy furniture with him anyway, right?"
"Oh, how'd you know?"
"Because it'd be you."
"..."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon spoke in perfect sync, like they'd rehearsed.
Yoo Daon stared at Song Arin, who smirked with one corner of her mouth and continued.
"So, we helped out. Buying everything together would've been a hassle."
"...Thank you."
Yoo Daon murmured quietly, gazed at them, then looked up at me.
"...Still, with your help, it'll be even easier!"
She beamed as if nothing had happened.
"At least we can still get a fridge! Next time, let's go look together!"
"Ah, sure."
"...Man, I'm hungry."
"Me too."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon rubbed their stomachs and grumbled. Only then did I realize the sun had set.
"Ah. Time's short... Order in?"
"Good idea. What?"
"Spicy for me."
"No booze."
Jang Chaeyeon pouted at my words.
"Chicken?"
"Oh, nice."
"I'm in too!"
"...If you say so."
Everyone but one agreed unanimously, and we ordered delivery for the first time in a while.
"...Jaeheon."
After eating, as Yoo Daon and I headed out to toss the trash, she looked at me and spoke.
"Yeah."
"...I feel really happy right now."
"For real?"
"Yes. Truly."
Yoo Daon smiled radiantly.
It felt a bit different from her usual smile.
"Let's head back quick. Who knows what schemes those two are plotting without us."
"Schemes? We got you a table and TV."
"That's the scheme."
What was she even talking about?
*
"...What."
"Whoa. For real..."
My reaction to Song Arin's place was just that.
"Kinda ordinary?"
"That's an insult, right?"
Song Arin shot me a fierce glare.