At Jeong Haejun’s words, I swallowed hard without realizing it. The sound of me swallowing rang out louder than expected in the quiet car. Jeong Haejun let out a low laugh, perhaps having heard that embarrassing sound.

Before long, the car stopped in front of a house's garage. When Jeong Haejun reached out and pressed the bell next to the garage, the door slowly slid upward. Several cars were already parked inside the garage. Jeong Haejun parked his car in an empty space as if he were used to it.

“Get out.”

I followed Jeong Haejun as he spoke and stepped out of the car. I felt a bit intimidated even from the garage, which housed several foreign cars that even I, someone with no particular interest in cars, would recognize.

Taking a deep breath, I followed behind Jeong Haejun. He walked toward a door directly connected to the garage.

-Is that you, Haejun?

When he pressed the doorbell, a middle-aged woman’s voice rang out clearly.

“Yes.”

At Jeong Haejun’s sharp reply, the heavy door—which seemed like it wouldn't open for just anyone—swung open with a cheerful sound. I followed Jeong Haejun inside the door, feeling as if a new world had opened up.

“Welcome.”

We were greeted by a woman who looked very different from what one would imagine a middle-aged woman with a son the same age as Jeong Haejun to look like.

“……Ah, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yoon Yiwon.”

I belatedly bowed my head to the woman, whose skin glowed without a single wrinkle, the very definition of well-maintained.

“You’re a senior in the same department as Haejun?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you’ve done a lot of tutoring, so why are you so nervous?”

The woman burst into laughter and told me to relax, but just as she said, even though it wasn't my first time tutoring, strangely, my nerves didn't ease easily.

“Would you like to sit here and wait a moment? My son stepped out for a bit, but he’ll be back soon. What would you like to drink?”

“Just water is fine for me.”

“And Haejun?”

“I’ll have water too.”

Following her guidance, we sat side-by-side on the living room sofa. Sitting there, the living room looked even more like the exact image of a chaebol house I had only seen on TV.

I slowly turned my head to look around the house. The thought suddenly crossed my mind that even if someone gave me such a huge house for free, I wouldn't be able to live in it because of the cleaning. At that, I swallowed a laugh internally, thinking that I was just an inescapable commoner to the bone.

A moment later, Jeong Haejun’s aunt held out two glasses of water to us and sat on the sofa herself.

“I wanted to bring out some fruit, but the kitchen auntie has already gone home for the day.”

“Auntie, you know how to peel fruit, don't you?”

“You know it’s not to the standard of showing a guest.”

She laughed at Jeong Haejun’s remark and told him to stop with the embarrassing talk, then turned her head from him toward me.

“If you’re in the same department at Haejun’s school, you must have been a good student.”

“I just worked hard.”

“I heard you have a lot of tutoring experience.”

“Yes, I was doing it consistently before I went to the military. I was looking for a position again after being discharged, and Haejun introduced me.”

“Actually, we wanted Haejun to do it, but he says he has no talent for teaching.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Still, since Haejun introduced you, I trust you.”

I glanced slightly toward Jeong Haejun. He was drinking water and watching me as I talked with his aunt.

“Our Jeongseo is…”

And just as she uttered the name of the person who seemed to be her son and the one I would be tutoring, someone entered the house.

“Jeongseo, you’re back?”

My gaze naturally shifted toward the newly appeared figure. Someone who looked similar yet entirely different from Jeong Haejun was just entering the foyer. His features shared many similarities with Jeong Haejun, but overall, his lines were more delicate, giving off a vibe that was similar yet completely different.

“Jeong Haejun?”

“Long time no see.”

He, who noticed Jeong Haejun first, acknowledged him, and Jeong Haejun also raised his hand cynically, greeting his relative.

“Is today the day?”

The man asked, finally noticing me, a stranger.

“Yes, that’s why Mom told you to come early. This is your new tutor, say hello.”

The target of the man's question was ambiguous, but it was his mother who answered.

“Hello.”

I hesitated for a moment about whether to use formal language, then greeted him first in the comfortable tone I usually used with tutoring students.

“Yes, hello.”

A return greeting came immediately from the man. While greeting me, he scanned me with an inquisitive look, then glanced at Jeong Haejun and smiled.

I felt strange at the man's behavior and looked at Jeong Haejun. He was also meeting his relative’s eyes. The two exchanged glances that didn't seem like they were just sharing a silent greeting. My feeling grew increasingly strange.

“Then would you like to go up to the room with the teacher? Shall I give you something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Alright then. Would you like more water, Teacher?”

“I’m fine as well.”

“Mom, I’m going up.”

“Yes, okay. I’m counting on you.”

I bowed my head with a business-like smile at the greeting directed toward me and moved my feet. I was about to follow the man up the stairs when I suddenly remembered and turned back to look at Jeong Haejun. As if he had been watching me the whole time, our eyes met immediately. He was still in the same position on the sofa.

“I’ll wait for Hyung here.”

Just as I was thinking if he was staying longer because he had come to his aunt’s house after a long time, he spoke.

“Wait for me? You don't have to…”

“I’ll wait.”

Since his aunt was watching me from the side, it was hard to argue further. Since he wanted to wait of his own accord, there was no way to stop him, so I told him to do as he pleased and turned back to climb the stairs.

Like the first floor, there was a space that looked like a living room in the center of the second floor, with doors on both sides. There were three doors in total, all closed. Just as I was standing there wondering which one was the man's room, the door on the right opened and the man I had seen earlier appeared.

“This way.”

In that short time, the man, now dressed in more comfortable-looking clothes, closed the door as I entered the room.

“Please sit here. I’ll go get another chair.”

The man sat me in the chair in front of the desk and left the room. I looked around the room the man had left. The space was wide. The bed looked to be a double rather than a single. The neat white desk was also quite large, yet the room didn't feel cramped at all.

“Were you looking around the room?”

The man returned quickly. He was carrying a wooden chair, perhaps from the dining table downstairs.

“Do you want to sit here?”

“It’s okay, you sit there, Teacher.”

I tried to get up, thinking the wooden chair would be uncomfortable, but the man stopped me.

“What’s your name? I heard your mother mention it earlier, but I didn't catch it properly.”

“Choi Jeongseo. And yours, Teacher?”

“I’m Yoon Yiwon. I can speak comfortably, right?”

“Of course.”

Choi Jeongseo answered with a slight laugh, as if he found it funny that I was asking for permission now when I was already speaking comfortably.

“Since today is the first day, we won't have a lesson. I’ll just look at your CSAT scores and see how to set the difficulty level.”

“Before that, can I call you Hyung?”

Perhaps because he asked a similar question with a similar face, Jeong Haejun’s face suddenly came to mind at Choi Jeongseo’s request.

“Sure, call me whatever’s comfortable.”

Since we were both adults anyway, calling me Hyung seemed fine.

“Are you close with Jeong Haejun?”

Choi Jeongseo didn't seem particularly interested in the lesson. I hesitated for a moment, then turned my body completely toward Choi Jeongseo. I thought it might be better to get close first since it was the first day.

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

Worrying that he might think it strange if I said a senior who wasn't even close had introduced me, I naturally lied, but Choi Jeongseo asked once more, saying it was okay to be honest.

“It’s not easy to be close with Jeong Haejun’s personality.”

“……Is that so? I didn't really notice.”

I chose to stick to my story until the end. Choi Jeongseo said, “Is that so?” and nodded with a mysterious smile.

“Then, the lesson…”

“Don't worry about the lesson.”

“Huh?”

Telling a person who came to tutor not to worry about the lesson. I looked at Choi Jeongseo in surprise at the words that made me doubt my ears.