The moment Tae entered the house, his voice echoed through the living room.
“What the fuck are you two doing leaving the doors open?”
The second he stepped inside, however, he stopped dead in his tracks. Yun, who had been following behind him, immediately lowered his gaze in embarrassment. On the sofa, Chairman Han and his wife were casually kissing without the slightest concern that someone had just walked into the room. Tae looked completely exhausted.
“Dad…”
“Can you two fucking stop?”
Neither of them looked embarrassed at all. Instead, Chairman Han lazily glanced toward Tae with an amused expression.
“Baby, when did you get home?”
The moment Yun heard the word “baby,” a quiet smile tugged at the corners of his lips. Tae noticed immediately.
“Don’t laugh.”
Then he glared at his father again. “And stop calling me baby.”
“I know you left the doors open on purpose.”
Chairman Han placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
“Why would I ever do that?”
Before Tae could continue arguing, his mother suddenly interrupted them.
“Can both of you stop already?”
Then her eyes landed on Yun, who was standing quietly behind Tae.
“And who’s this cute little guy?”
Yun straightened awkwardly after suddenly becoming the center of everyone’s attention.
Tae glanced toward him.
“He’s my friend, Yun.”
A warm smile appeared on her face as she walked closer.
“Hi, Yun. I’m Tae’s mother.” Yun quickly bowed politely.
“H-Hello, ma’am.”
The moment she heard that, she immediately frowned.
“Ma’am sounds too distant.”
“You can just speak comfortably with us.”
From the sofa, Chairman Han suddenly raised his hand.
“Exactly.”
“We’re not scary people.”
Tae instantly looked at him.
“…That’s a lie.”
Chairman Han ignored him completely before grinning at Yun.
“If you stay around Tae long enough, you’ll probably end up calling us Mother and Father anyway.”
“Dad.”
“What?”
“You’re scaring him.”
“I’m being friendly.”
Tae’s mother sighed softly before turning her attention back to Yun with a gentle smile.
“Don’t mind him.”
“He gets excited too easily.”
Yun looked between them in slight confusion, unable to understand how people he had met only today could already make him feel so strangely welcome.
Yet, despite himself, the warmth in their voices slowly eased the tension in his shoulders, and for the first time since entering the house, he felt as though he could breathe comfortably.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“…Okay.”
Chairman Han suddenly looked emotional.
“Did you hear that?”
“He said okay.”
Tae immediately grabbed Yun’s wrist.
“Enough.”
“That’s enough chatting.”
“We’re going to my room.”
Then he pulled Yun upstairs while his parents laughed behind them. As soon as Yun stepped inside Tae’s room, his eyes widened slightly.
The room was enormous, far larger than anything he had ever imagined, yet unlike the rest of the house, there was something strangely dark and quiet about it.
The walls were black, the furniture was black, and even the curtains were a deep, dark shade that seemed to absorb most of the light entering through the windows. Yun slowly looked around the room.
“Tae…”
“Your house is really big.”
“I’ve never seen a house this big before.”
Tae casually placed his bag down.
“Really?”
Yun nodded.
“I went to another big house once…”
“But it wasn’t as big as yours.”
Tae suddenly turned toward him.
“Wait.”
“You told me you’ve never been to a friend’s house before.”
Yun blinked.
“I haven’t.”
“Then where did you go?”
Yun lowered his gaze quietly for a moment before answering.
“When I was younger, my grandmother used to clean rich people’s houses. One day, she collapsed while she was working. The doctor told her to rest…So I went instead of her.”
For a moment, Tae remained silent.
“But I don’t do it anymore.”
Something about those words made Tae’s chest feel strangely heavy, and he looked at Yun for a moment longer than he intended before quietly turning away.
Soon, both of them sat beside each other to study.
The room gradually settled into silence, with only the faint rustling of pages and the occasional scratching of a pen against paper filling the quiet space.
After a while, Yun glanced around the dark room again.
“Tae…”
“Why is everything black?”
“And why do you always wear black clothes too?”
Tae leaned back lazily against his chair.
“I just like black.”
Then, after a short pause, he added in a quieter voice,
“Do you want to hear a secret?”
Yun nodded curiously.
Tae lowered his voice slightly.
“It represents another side of me.”
Yun blinked in confusion.
“…What?”
But Tae suddenly reached for the notebook and pulled it toward himself.
“Forget it.”
“Let’s study.”
Yun still looked confused, but after a moment, he simply nodded and returned his attention to the notebook. Soon, the room became quiet again, with nothing but the soft turning of pages breaking the silence.
After a few minutes, Tae slowly moved a little closer without even realizing it. Yun shifted slightly away while continuing to focus on the notebook. Again, Tae moved closer.
This time, Yun finally looked up.
“What is it, Tae?”
“…Yun.”
“Hm?”
“Can you explain this problem?”
Yun immediately pulled the notebook closer.
“This is easy, though.”
“It looks difficult to me.”
Yun sighed softly before starting to explain it anyway.
“Look carefully.”
He wrote the equation down slowly, making sure Tae could follow each step.
“Move the four first.”
As Yun continued explaining the problem, however, Tae gradually stopped paying attention to the notebook altogether.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on Yun.
He watched the way Yun’s lashes lowered whenever he concentrated, the slight movement of his lips as he explained each step, and the warmth that remained in his eyes even when he was completely focused on his work.
Without realizing it, Tae’s attention drifted away from the equation entirely.
Yun suddenly looked up.
“Tae?”
“Hm?”
“Are you even listening?”
“Yeah.”
But even as he answered, Tae’s gaze remained fixed on him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The quiet room seemed to grow even quieter, and the space between them suddenly felt much smaller than it had a few seconds ago.
Yun’s breathing slowed unconsciously as Tae leaned forward slightly, his eyes never leaving Yun’s face.
Neither of them moved away.
The distance between them gradually narrowed until...
Suddenly, the door opened.
“Tae..”
His mother stopped mid-sentence.
She blinked slowly as her eyes moved from Tae to Yun, then back to Tae again.
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