Date
Jung Na-yeon opened the master bedroom door to find Hyun-soo tossing under the covers. The way he rubbed his eyes and sat up made him look for all the world like a cat.
“Oh my, so you were alive after all?”
“Of course I’m alive… Haaawn~!”
Watching Hyun-soo stretch as he answered, Jung Na-yeon leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.
“Seeing you perfectly fine after three rounds, I’ve got to give it to you—your stamina’s the real deal.”
She smiled faintly, walked over to the bedroom curtains, and yanked them open. Morning sunlight poured in.
“Breakfast is all ready. Doenjang stew, pan-fried tofu, steamed egg. I made all your favorites, so hurry up and get out here.”
She tugged at Hyun-soo’s blanket as she spoke.
“Oh, for real?”
“Yeah, and wash your face before you come. Your breath is no joke.”
“I don’t have bad breath.”
“You do, a lot~!”
Jung Na-yeon scrunched her nose and fanned her hand, but she didn’t forget to run her fingers once through his messy hair.
She returned to the kitchen, scooping rice into bowls as she stood by the table.
“Ah, right. I got a text from my husband earlier. He said he’s sorry he can’t come home because of a business trip.”
Jung Na-yeon spoke calmly as she pressed the rice down with the scoop.
“He sends ‘sorry’ after not showing his face for over two months. Like that’s what being a husband is.”
A bitter smile lingered at the corner of her mouth before she straightened at the sound of Hyun-soo’s footsteps coming out after washing up.
“Sit here. Eat before the soup gets cold.”
“Looks delicious. Like I always say, Na-yeon’s home cooking is the best.”
“Tch…”
Hyun-soo’s words weren’t unwelcome to her at all.
Jung Na-yeon tapped the doenjang stew bowl in front of Hyun-soo’s seat with her finger. It was the place that had naturally become his over the past month. She sat across from him, picked up her spoon, and looked at his face.
“It’s Monday today—got anything planned? Going to lie around all day again?”
“Today? Slurp…”
Hyun-soo asked back as he spooned up the stew.
She began to nag as she scooped some steamed egg into his rice bowl.
“I told you yesterday. Look for a job. If my man is lounging around the house every day, I’ve got nothing to say for myself either.”
This time Jung Na-yeon let the words “my man” slip out naturally. The shyness from last night had turned into familiarity overnight.
“Should I look for a job?”
Jung Na-yeon stopped her spoon mid-bite of stew. Her eyes went wide the moment the words left Hyun-soo’s mouth.
“What, for real? I’ve said it a hundred times and you never listened, so why are you suddenly a gentle lamb today?”
“I can’t just freeload forever.”
She scanned him with suspicious eyes.
“Did I feed you something wrong last night? Or did doing it three times clear your head?”
She snorted a laugh and pushed the pan-fried tofu toward him.
“But seriously look into it. I’m not kidding.”
Jung Na-yeon set down her spoon and put on a serious expression.
“You said you have 4.75 million won, right? After rent and phone bills and this and that, that’s three months. If you’re broke after three months, are you going to come down here again for free meals? Ah, you’re already freeloading every day.”
She laughed at her own words and took a spoonful of rice.
“Even a part-time job is fine. Café or convenience store, whatever. Being unemployed at your age is a bit much, Hyun-soo.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Hyun-soo nodded as he ate the steamed egg.
“An older sister I know runs a café near Hongdae, and she said she’s looking for kitchen help. Hourly wage is twelve thousand won, five days a week. Want me to get in touch if you’re interested?”
“That sounds pretty good?”
Five days a week and over ten thousand won an hour—not bad at all.
Jung Na-yeon gauged his reaction as she scooped another spoonful of steamed egg for him.
“Or is there something you want to do? Anything’s fine, just tell me.”
Her voice softened. It sat somewhere between nagging and worry.
“Honestly, I’d like it if you were home every day. Eating my food, watching TV together, holding me at night.”
Jung Na-yeon said as she blew on her soup.
“But we don’t know how long this will last. That guy could come back suddenly, and this situation of ours can’t go on forever.”
Her spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl.
“If you earn money, I can feel at ease too. If my man can hold his head high, so can I.”
She looked up at him and smiled.
“Just eat for now. The soup’s getting cold.”
“I’ll look into it myself.”
Jung Na-yeon held her spoon in her mouth and stared at Hyun-soo. She lowered it and narrowed her eyes.
“‘I’ll look into it myself.’ Do you know how many times I’ve heard that?”
She held up her fingers.
“First time was when we were eating doenjang stew, second with spicy braised chicken, third with galbi. Every time we eat, you say the exact same thing.”
“Did I?”
“You did.”
Jung Na-yeon chewed the tofu and shot him a look.
“I know you only get obedient in front of food.”
“It’s delicious.”
Hyun-soo grinned cheekily.
“Fine, whatever. If you say you’ll handle it, what more can I do?”
She sighed and scooped rice. Her mouth itched to nag more, but she didn’t want to ruin the morning atmosphere. She picked up some kkakdugi and placed it next to his rice as she spoke.
“But seriously look into it. If I have to say it one more time, I’m really going to get mad, okay?”
Her voice was firm, but the hand placing the kkakdugi was still affectionate.
“I have to go to the mart this afternoon. The fridge is out of side-dish ingredients.”
“Already?”
“Because someone eats so well.”
“I don’t know who that is, but they’re amazing.”
“Super amazing.”
Jung Na-yeon smiled as if she couldn’t help herself.
“If you’re going to be home alone, run a load of laundry. See the pile on top of the washing machine? Mine and yours are mixed, so just throw them in together.”
“That’s easy enough.”
“Honestly…”
This natural way of dividing household chores felt truly natural. A conversation unimaginable a month ago between tenant and landlady.
“Ah, and.”
Jung Na-yeon picked up her water glass and looked at him.
“The cherry blossoms will be blooming soon. Let’s go to Yeouido. I went alone last year, but this year I want to go together.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly. In ten years of marriage with her husband, she had never once gone to see the cherry blossoms together. Jung Na-yeon took a sip of water and started gathering the dishes on the table.
“You do the dishes. I did it three times last night, so you can handle this much.”
“If I do more, will you do more for me?”
“What?”
“Hehehe…”
Jung Na-yeon shot him a glare.
While Jung Na-yeon went to the mart, Hyun-soo ran the laundry and did the dishes. For freeloading around the house, this much was only natural.
Maybe I should try loading and unloading packages again after so long? For daily pay, that’s the best.
Hyun-soo had done package loading and unloading when he was short on money. It was a really tough part-time job, but good for daily wages. More than anything, his body was already used to it, so he had no worries.
The washing machine switched to spin cycle, the humming sound filling the entire first floor. As the pile of dishes in the sink dwindled and the dry tabletop became clean, the kitchen still carried Jung Na-yeon’s scent even without her there. On Hyun-soo’s smartphone screen, day-labor jobs for loading and unloading at the Logistics Center had come up. Daily pay one hundred fifty to one hundred eighty thousand won.
Time passed, and with the sound of the front door opening came the rustle of plastic bags.
“I’m back. Thought I was going to die from how heavy it was.”
Jung Na-yeon said as she kicked off her shoes, three shopping bags hanging from both hands and her arms.
“Welcome back.”
“Yeah.”
The moment she stepped into the kitchen and confirmed the clean sink and the sound of the running washing machine, she blinked.
“Oh my, you really did it? Dishes and laundry?”
“Of course. I said I would. I’m a man who does what he says.”
“Hmmph~”
Jung Na-yeon let out a sultry little breath and eyed him. As she set the shopping bags on the table, she snuck a peek at Hyun-soo’s smartphone screen.
“Loading and unloading? Packages?”
Her eyebrows rose. She stopped putting tofu in the fridge and turned toward him.
“Hey, you trying to wreck your body? Do you know how hard loading and unloading is? If your back goes out, the hospital bills will cost more than the daily wage.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still looking at that?”
Jung Na-yeon clicked her tongue and started putting away the groceries. Even as she shoved the onion net into the bottom of the fridge, her mouth didn’t stop.
“I told you about the café job this morning. Near Hongdae. Decent hourly wage, and it’s kitchen so you don’t have to deal with people. Perfect for your personality.”
After emptying the last bag and folding it into the drawer, she came and stood next to him.
“Daily-wage work uses your body as capital, and you won’t last long at that. An older brother I know did loading and unloading and got a slipped disc, spent half a year laid up.”
Jung Na-yeon said as she wrapped her hand around his forearm.
“It’s not like you need money urgently right now. With 4.75 million you can last three months, so find a proper part-time job in the meantime. Should I contact my sister?”
She looked up into his eyes, waiting for an answer. Her cheeks were flushed from shopping.
“Trying to get my head on straight. This is the best way to clear my head. I’m not going to do it long-term.”
Jung Na-yeon’s hand slowly slid off his forearm. She pressed her lips together and stared at his face for a long while. She never expected the man who for a month had only said “let’s eat,” “let’s go out,” “hold me” to say he was going to get his head on straight.
“Get my head on straight…”
Jung Na-yeon murmured the words as if repeating them. Her gaze wavered complicatedly before settling.
“Fine, if that’s how you feel, I’ve got nothing to say.”
She closed the fridge door and leaned her back against it.
“I believe you when you say you won’t do it long. But Hyun-soo. Really don’t overdo it. If you come home from early-morning loading and unloading and mess up your body, I’ll worry.”
Her voice was half nagging, half worry. The fingertips of her crossed arms pinched her own arm as if gripping it.