I posted a decent-looking advertisement online looking for a tutoring student. Since my school had a good reputation, I usually received calls quickly after posting such things before I enlisted. But strangely, this time, the only calls I got were from weird places like moneylenders.

Once you’ve tried tutoring, other part-time jobs honestly don't seem satisfying, so I intended to find another tutoring gig if possible. However, I hadn't expected there to be such a lack of contact, which frankly surprised me.

If it weren't for the loan texts and other useless weird messages, I would have wondered if there was something wrong with the phone itself, it was so excessively quiet. As expected, there wasn't a single call regarding tutoring.

I deleted the useless messages and opened my banking app. My balance was hitting rock bottom. I was in a situation where I couldn't even come up with the money for my studio apartment's rent.

After some thought, I typed in my mother's number. It was an eleven-digit number that wasn't even saved in my phone, but one I remembered by heart.

My parents divorced when I was in middle school. There were several reasons, but the biggest one was my father's infidelity. My mother wanted to take me with her, but she couldn't due to opposition from my father and grandmother.

My grandmother tried to prevent me from meeting my mother, but despite her efforts, my mother contacted me behind my father's back after the divorce. There were times she gave me pocket money or we met for a meal. However, around the time I started high school, her contact decreased after she remarried, and by now, it was fair to say we were out of touch.

As her contact became infrequent, I was the one who clung to it. I thought that even if my mother remarried, she would still remain the same mother who loved me. My mother was the first person I called as soon as I found out I had been accepted into university.

But I had to hang up before I could even deliver the happy news. I still couldn't forget her voice back then, sounding troubled as she mentioned she was at a family gathering.

After that, I rarely initiated contact with her either. Since I could understand her situation, I didn't resent her.

The problem was my father. After so stubbornly taking me away from my mother, he neglected me. I couldn't do anything with the pittance my grandmother gave me.

My father's womanizing was pathological. He threw all the meager money he earned from manual labor at construction sites into his new women. Naturally, I became like a stray duckling who didn't belong anywhere.

Occasionally, my grandmother would contact me, but that wasn't pleasant either, as the irrational things she had done to my mother during my childhood remained seared into my brain.

My finger hesitated over the call button for a long time. Since the last time I’d contacted her was before I enlisted, if I called her now, it would be the first time in nearly two years.

In the end, she was the only one I could think of at a time like this, and yet even that required such a difficult resolution. It was just as I took a deep breath and was about to press the call button. A call came in from an unknown number.

Instead of the familiar number of my mother, a completely strange number appeared on the black phone screen. Thinking it might finally be someone looking for a tutor, I quickly pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”

-Yiwon-hyung?

However, the voice that came through wasn't that of a stranger. I briefly pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at the screen again. The call was still active.

“...Jeong Haejun?”

I couldn't help but sound bewildered since I hadn't expected Jeong Haejun to actually contact me.

-Yes, it’s me.

Jeong Haejun’s clean voice came through the phone.

-What were you doing?

“Just... I was at home.”

-Then do you want to come out?

I doubted my ears. It was because Jeong Haejun asking me to come out sounded strange in itself.

-Do you not want to?

When I didn't answer, Jeong Haejun asked again.

“Huh? No, it’s not that I don’t want to.”

-Then come out. I’ll wait for you.

The call ended before I could even reply. It was because Jeong Haejun, who had said nothing but confusing things, had hung up. I started to feel rushed because of his words that he would wait for me.

I hurriedly left the house, shoving my feet into my sneakers. It was only as I was descending the stairs of my dilapidated villa that I realized Jeong Haejun hadn't told me the location, so I picked up my phone to call him. But luckily, there was no need for me to call because Jeong Haejun contacted me first.

-I forgot to tell you where I am.

“I was just about to call you. Where are you?”

-Near 〇〇 Station.

When Jeong Haejun named a subway station right near my house, I told him okay and ended the call.

“What’s going on?”

As I approached the subway station, I could tell at a glance where Jeong Haejun was without having to contact him again. It was thanks to his striking appearance and exceptional height. I immediately walked up to him and asked.

“You got here fast. Have you had dinner?”

Jeong Haejun didn't answer my question and instead asked something random. When I frowned at that, he took a step toward me, stood by my side, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“If you haven't, let's talk while we eat. I came because I have something to tell you, but I haven't had dinner yet.”

The hand wrapped around my shoulder felt heavy. He hadn't just placed it there. A subtle pressure from his grip clung persistently to my right shoulder.

“That’s okay, right?”

Jeong Haejun asked while already leading me down the alley.

“I parked my car nearby.”

Just as Jeong Haejun said, I saw a foreign car parked not far away.

“Get in.”

Jeong Haejun gestured for me to take the passenger seat and then walked around the hood toward the driver's side.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

Jeong Haejun asked after I opened the passenger door and got in.

“This was so sudden, nothing comes to mind.”

“What about things you don't like?”

“I’m not particularly picky.”

When I answered, Jeong Haejun nodded and turned the steering wheel, and the car began to move forward smoothly.

“But what did you suddenly want to talk about?”

“Can't we talk later? If I tell you everything now, we won't have anything to talk about while we eat.”

Jeong Haejun spoke while tapping the steering wheel with his finger. When the car stopped briefly at a red light, he turned on some music. These were ordinary actions, but he seemed to be in a good mood.

“What were you doing at home?”

“Just resting.”

“Don't you get bored just going between school and home?”

“Not really.”

Questions poured out of Jeong Haejun's mouth incessantly. I didn't understand the interest he was showing in me, but I continued to answer anyway.

“What’s the rent like around here?”

His voice didn't sound like he was looking down on anyone; it was purely filled with curiosity.

“...It's just cheap.”

Even so, I felt myself shrinking for no reason, so I gave a vague answer instead of a specific amount.

“It’s a redevelopment zone, isn't it?”

“Still, it’s such a dilapidated area.”

It was a headache-inducing topic. I didn't want to answer, so I just nodded.

“There aren't many people left living there, right?”

“Most have moved out.”

“Then you’ll have to find another place soon, Hyung.”

Jeong Haejun said it easily, but finding another place was absolutely not an easy task for me. First of all, the biggest problem was that there were no other places with rent as impossibly cheap as where I was living now.

“I’ll have to.”

Even to my own ears, my voice didn't sound good. Jeong Haejun must have felt it too, as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror. Sensing that gaze, I turned my eyes toward the window. The more our conversation continued, the less I understood why he had called me out.

“We’re here. Let’s get out.”

After a period of silence in the car, Jeong Haejun's voice rang out. Outside the window, I could see a restaurant with a luxurious interior. When I got out of the car, Jeong Haejun left the valet parking to someone else and walked toward me.

I followed behind Jeong Haejun as he walked ahead. His broad back, which didn't match his pretty face, filled my vision. The automatic doors, sensing movement, opened smoothly.

“You made a reservation for a private room, right?”

He hadn't mentioned his name or any other information, but as soon as the employee standing at the door saw Jeong Haejun's face, they asked warmly.

“Yes.”

“This way, please.”

The employee gestured toward the restaurant's hallway and spoke to Jeong Haejun. Jeong Haejun turned around and looked at me standing behind him.

“Come stand next to me.”

Then he signaled for me to come to his side with his eyes. Is he worried I'll run away? That was the only thought my mind could conjure.

Without knowing his intention, I went and stood next to Jeong Haejun, and once I was beside him, he followed behind the employee.

“This place is good.”

“....”

“The food is delicious, and the service is decent.”