Hyun Woo

I couldn’t sleep the whole night — the sofa was hard and uncomfortable. Still, I had already informed my sister that I’d be staying at his place from now on, and asked her to let our father know. My parents were never much bothered anyway. My mother lived abroad with her new family after the divorce, and my father was always buried in business, caring only about my grades and achievements to protect his reputation. So when he asked about my parents, I laughed inside. The only person who cared even a little was my elder sister, and I was sure she would come up with some plan to convince my father.

“Hey, aren’t you waking up? It’s already 11 AM!” he shouted.

“Why are you yelling? Don’t you have a shift? What time is it?” I asked groggily.

“I don’t work on Sundays. Yesterday I just said that to shut you up,” he replied, bringing me tea. “So let’s have a serious talk, okay? You can’t stay here. This life isn’t for you. That game was just childish.”

“It may be childish for you, but I’ve studied in that school since kindergarten. Most of our classmates are childhood friends. We’ve grown up together. If I don’t keep the bet, they’ll ridicule me. What about my reputation, huh?”

“Your reputation? What are you, forty years old? Trust me, no one will remember this bet tomorrow,” he said lightly.

“Are you sure? Check this.” I showed him my phone. “See? They’re already asking me what chores I did for you today. It’s like I’ve lost to you completely.”

He sighed. “Your friends clearly have too much time. Fine, let’s do one thing. You stay here for a few days, tell them you’re working for me, then move out. After some days it’ll cool down. Does that sound good?”

“Why only a few days? If it’s two years, then it’s two years — whether here or outside,” I said firmly, sipping the tea.

“Alright, alright. Bet you won’t be able to stay here even for a week. Let’s see. But remember one thing — if you cause me even a bit of trouble, I’ll kick you out. Understood? And since you want to work for me so desperately, so be it. You’ll do everything: cleaning the dishes, the house, the bathrooms, cooking — all of it. Understood?”

“I’ll stay for two years, just watch. I never get defeated. These chores are nothing to me,” I lied through my teeth. I had never even fetched a glass of water for myself, let alone cooked or cleaned. But I had to endure this until my plan was complete. Once he had no friends left, once the people who cared about him were gone, I would abandon him and make him run behind me. Only then would I reveal my plan — it would be a sight to behold when he cried. “You want me to do anything more?” I asked, hoping he’d say no.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Water the plants daily and feed the cat without fail. I love them a lot. Dare you forget to take care of them, understood?” He was bossy, almost as if he thought he really was my master.

“Okay… but your cat doesn’t seem to like me much. She bit me yesterday.”

“She recognizes punks easily. Maybe that’s why,” he laughed.

“Is that so? Then I bet she bites you a lot,” I said with a sarcastic smile.

“So what’s the first task you’ll start with today?” he asked immediately.

“Come here,” he said, pointing to a piece of paper pinned to the fridge. “This is the weekly chores schedule. Today is Sunday, so we need to clean the house, bathrooms, and buy groceries. So, what are you starting with, hmm?” He looked at me without blinking.

“House cleaning, maybe,” I said without hesitation.

“We also have to wash the sheets since it’s sunny today.”

“Is it like all two years of work we need to do today?” I muttered while pulling the sheets off the bed.

“We have to wash these by hand,” he said, unfazed. “Do you know how to wash? There’s no washing machine. You must have seen it on television, I believe.”

“No, I haven’t. I don’t watch chores on television. But if you’d be kind enough to show me, master, I’ll do it,” I said with folded hands.

“Alright, watch this.” He began scrubbing the sheets with a brush, then pressing them with his legs, rinsing them in water, wringing them out, and finally hanging them to dry.

“Now you try this one. I’ve washed three sheets already — that should be enough. You’re a quick learner, right?”

I glared at him and started the process.

“Don’t use so much soap. I’ll go bankrupt,” he teased.

“Why don’t you just buy a washing machine? It’s not that expensive,” I shot back.

“Who’ll pay for the electricity? Plus, this is good exercise,” he mocked.

“It’s done. Go put it on the rope over there — that’s the sunniest spot. Once this is finished, let’s clean the house.”

By evening, the house — which already looked clean to me — had been scrubbed again. Every part of my body ached, even though he had done most of the work. How does he manage all this?

“Now it’s grocery shopping. You look done. Want to rest? I can go alone, no problem,” he mocked.

“I’m perfectly fine. Show me how you shop once, and I’ll handle it from next week. Let’s go,” I said firmly.

“We’ll have to take the public bus. Will you be able to handle that?”

“As long as I don’t have to drive the bus, I’m good,” I muttered irritably.

“You driving the bus? That’s something even I wouldn’t want,” he said, acting witty.

We finally boarded the bus. It was crowded — why were there so many people even on a Sunday? After what felt like forever, we reached the supermarket, which was quite far.

“Isn’t there a market nearby? Why come all this way?” I asked.

“This place is the cheapest, plus they have deals. See this watch?” He showed me the cheap watch on his wrist. “I won it last week in a draw here.” His eyes sparkled with pride. Can someone really be this happy over something so trivial?

“Okay, so it’s a fight here, huh? We have to go through all these ladies battling for the cheapest goods and earn our share. Ready?” he challenged, giving me a thumbs up.

“Okay…” I said, unsure what I was getting into.

It was chaos — a fierce battle of baskets and elbows. Finally, he managed to grab some vegetables, a sweater, fine cuts of meat, and cold drinks.

“Oh boy, we won! You’re not that bad for a first-timer,” he praised, giving me a high five.

It was nothing, but why did I feel like I had earned something when he said so?

“Here, have this one,” he handed me an unopened bottle.

“Why open a new one? Don’t you want to save it for later? You can give me the one you’re drinking,” I teased.

“But I drank directly from the bottle,” he said, flustered.

“So what? Is it like a first kiss, lol?” I took the bottle from him. “I don’t mind.”

“But I mind,” he snapped, angry. “Have this unopened one or don’t have it at all.”

“Stingy,” I muttered, but I took the bottle and drank anyway.

“Let’s go,” he said curtly.

“We have to take the bus again?” I groaned, exhausted.

“Yes. It won’t be crowded now, don’t worry,” he smiled.

And he was right. The bus was nearly empty, the weather soft with sunset and breeze. He leaned against the window, fast asleep, the wind brushing through his hair and revealing the two small moles on his left ear.

Those were the winds of change, unnoticed by him as he slept, but impossible for me to ignore. From that evening onwards, nothing would remain the same.