Chapter 76: What Kind of House? (2)
TL: looloo
Schedule: 4/Week Mon-Thu
Illustrations: Here
Join the discord! Here
Before I could fully grasp the meaning of her words, I found myself being led by Heena into the car. Fortunately, I had dressed up a bit, thinking we might be going on a date, so I just threw on my coat and we were off.
Sitting in the back seat of the car as we started our journey, I stared nkly at Heena. She was smiling brightly beside me, holding my hand tightly.
Although I was momentarily confused, I soon realized that the ''house'' she mentioned was probably about living on her own. She had been subtly bringing up the topic of living independently for a while now, so I had thought it might be a possibility.
I had easily passed the university entrance exam. With my grades, failing would have been more of a challenge.
"Suddenly talking about a house? Are you really nning to live on your own?"
"Yeah~"
Her nonchnt affirmation surprised me briefly, but then I found myself making a fuss. Living on your own, after all, has its own charm!
"Really? But if you''re attending Seoyeon University, couldn''t youmute from home?"
"I could, but it''d take at least an hour."
"True, spending two hoursmuting back and forth does seem like a waste of time."
I would have justmuted from home, but for Heena, a girl, it could be dangerous to return homete, especially with the frequent drinking parties in university.
"So, did you go to look at ces yesterday?"
"Yeah. At first, we were checking out studio apartments near the university... I found them quite decent, but Dad didn''t like any of them."
"No way, how can you live in a building without proper security measures?"
Heena''s words prompted ament from the quiet driver. I understood the father''s concern. For a daughter like Heena, one must be thorough in checking out the ce.
At this, Heena gave a bitter smile and continued.
"Anyway, we kept looking, and then my uncle... well, my dad''s friend had an officetel building a bit farther away, so we decided on that. Dad also didn''t know his friend owned a building there until recently."
"Oh..."
The scale of this arrangement was beyond what I had imagined. So, her dad''s friend, who was a building owner, had a ce nearby and they decided to rent?
Friend discounts are insane. Maybe I should also rely on my friendster... No, what am I thinking?
"Actually, we only got the callte yesterday, so we''ve only seen photos. We''re going to see it for the first time now."
"So, it''s confirmed that you''re moving in?"
"Yeah. They''re currently working on the flooring, so I can''t move in right away. It''ll be ready around early February."
"Wow."
What more could I say? I was just awestruck. Then, it suddenly hit me that Mom had started talking about cooking from yesterday.
Moreover, Heena and I had often discussed living together in the past. Even though Heena spoke a lot about living on her own, I had always thought of it as something for the distant future.
Wait a minute.
Could it be?
---
Raei Trantions
---
After about 30 minutes in the car, we arrived at an officetel building that looked seriously expensive. Just from the entrance, one could tell the security was top-notch.
As Heena and I gaped in surprise, a bald, easy-going man approached us.
"Hey, it''s Myunghun! How have you been?"
"We just saw each otherst week."
Theyughed and greeted each other, then turned their attention to us, prompting us to bow our heads promptly.
"Hello."
"Long time no see, Uncle."
"Wow, Heena, long time indeed! You''ve grown so much! But who''s this?"
"He''s my boyfriend."
"Oh, the one Myunghun mentioned? Nice to meet you. I''m Byungchil. You can call me Uncle."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Han Yeonho."
"The kid''s got manners~ Let''s go upstairs!"
The uncle, speaking a charming mix of standard and regional dialect, felt incredibly friendly despite being a stranger. I followed him and Heena, chatting quietly.
"You two seem close?"
"He used to visit our house often. I haven''t seen him much since the college entrance exams."
Indeed, they seemed like close friends, judging by their heartyughter and conversation.
"Look at my Heena, I''ll only take the management fee from you. But you''ll have to buy the drinks from now on!"
"Got it, got it. But why are you changing the flooring?"
"Don''t even start! The previous tenant made a huge mess!"
We listened to their conversation as we entered the elevator, which took us to the seventh floor.
Stepping out of the elevator, I noticed fewer rooms than expected for such arge building. We entered room 702, and I was immediately struck by the living room, noticeablyrger than the typical studio apartments I had seen online. Since it was still under construction, everyone kept their shoes on, so I did the same.
Just a few steps in, I saw a kitchen in one corner of the living room and a separate room.
This isn''t a studio apartment?
"Nice~"
"It''ll be ready by early February?"
"That''s right! It''s fully equipped, so you don''t need to bring much! But you might need to buy a bed separately."
"So, a desk and a bed. Heena, do you need anything?"
"I''ll buy what I need when the timees. No need to get everything in advance."
"Okay then. I''ll leave you two to look around while I talk with your uncle."
"Alright~"
Left alone in the room, Heena and I had the chance to talk freely.
"I thought it was a studio, but it''s not?"
"This is a studio too. Sometimes it''s just one room, or like this, with an additional separate room."
"Oh, I see."
Both were studios, but this was much better than I had vaguely imagined.
"Do you like it? It seems really nice."
"Of course, I like it~ Uncle is practically giving it to us for free. What do you think? I saw the photos earlier, we could put arge bed here"
Heena, excited about her uing independence, enthusiastically exined everything to me. I listened and looked around the apartment more carefully.
The kitchen was more spacious than I expected, and the inside room wasrge too. The living room wasn''t particrly big, but just having a separate space felt great. Additionally, there was a balcony, and the wide window overlooking it offered a stunning view.
I noticed upon entering: the security keypad was a given, and from themunal entrance to near the elevator outside the room, there seemed to be many CCTVs, tantly marked as recording. The attached management office was also impressivelyrge.
This would surely ease Uncle''s mind.
"And Yeonho."
"Hmm?"
Heena, who had been excitedly discussing where to ce the bed and desk, suddenly called out to me.
"You know we''ll have to go shopping together for the things we need, right?"
"Me too? I don''t mind."
"That''s the spirit~"
She beamed and hugged me tightly.
"You have to help choose things for ''our'' home."
The way she said ''our'' home felt like it was not just hers, but ours together.
"Uh... am I living here too?"
My question came out a bit stupidly, and Heena chuckled.
"Cohabitation? If you want, anytime!"
"Oh, it''s not a given?"
"Well~ To be honest, I''d like that."
She continued with a slightly regretful expression.
"It might be hard to focus on studies if the environment changes suddenly... And with sses, I might not be home much, so leaving you alone here would feel sorry..."
"That''s okay. I need to study too. Being alone might actually be better for concentration."
"Then you''ll wait for me at home?"
,,
"Isn''t that obvious?"
"Hehe, thank you~ But let''s see how things go. You''lle over often, won''t you?"
"Of course, I''lle every day."
"Hehe, I should reward those sweet words, shouldn''t I?"
Saying that, she kissed me repeatedly. I embraced her, epting her bold kisses, and slowly sorted my thoughts. Honestly, I was surprised she didn''t immediately suggest living together, but she seemed to be calmly assessing the situation.
I understood her point. Our schedules would differ, and she might have felt guilty about leaving me alone. Of course, she probably did want to live together, having wished for it for so long.
But anyway, it''s not too far, and I could easily stay here anytime. Like she said, we could decide based on how things go.
"Anyway, I really like this ce! I should thank Uncleter~"
"Indeed. I didn''t expect this quality."
"I hope our future honeymoon home feels like this. Right?"
"...What home?"
"Our honeymoon home~ If it''s just the two of us, one room is enough. We don''t need a big space; this size seems perfect."
In Heena''s mind, it seemed our post-marriage blueprint was already forming. She chattered happily about various things, her face filled with joy, as if walking through a field of flowers.
Listening to her future ns, my mind wandered a bit. After all, it wasn''t the first time Heena talked about such things.
Even if Heena started living here and I visited often, I figured it might get boring to just study all the time, especially since I wouldn''t be going to school anymore. I had plenty of time, but that didn''t mean I would study all day.
Technically, as a repeat exam student, that''s what I should be doing, but Heena had consistently offered advice and encouraged self-awareness, so I knew it wouldn''t work out as simply as I thought. After all, there''s only so much time one can concentrate in a day.
So, what should I do? Maybe start a part-time job? Working 3 or 4 days a week for short hours seemed manageable.
The only part-time job I had experienced so far was at Jung Yoonsung''s snack bar, but if I could handle that without running away, I felt confident I was at least an A-grade worker.
Of course, that doesn''t mean I wanted to work at that snack bar again. I''d be too tired to study after a shift there.
Maybe I should ask my friends if they know of any good opportunities. Heena seemed worried about leaving me alone, so starting a part-time job might be a good idea.
As I was wrapping up my thoughts, Heena began to talk, "Still, it''s a bit disappointing if we have a baby and there''s only one room..." I gently stroked her hair to stop her from continuing.
The future she was envisioning was a bit too much for me to keep up with.
---
Raei Trantions
---
After finishing the house tour and having dinner with Uncle, Heena''s father''s friend, we returned home. I had told him "Thank you for the meal, sir," but he insisted I just call him Uncle.
I also heard some fierce stories about what would happen if I made Heena cry. The bald uncle''s stern face while saying this was genuinely scary.
Anyway, when I got home, my family had just finished dinner, so I helped Mom with the dishes and told her about my day. I mentioned how wealthy Heena''s uncle''s friend was and how amazing the house he offered was.
Then I brought up a question that had been bothering me.
"Mom, did you know Heena was nning to live on her own?"
"Yes."
"Wow... It feels like I''m always thest to know. Is teaching me to cook also because Heena wants to live together with me?"
I asked with half certainty, but Mom''s answer was unexpected.
"She didn''t mention that."
"Really?"
"Yes. It came up in a conversation with Heena on KakaoTalk."
Then why did she talk about me not being able to study well alone, or that I should learn to cook to feed Heena properly?
"So why are you teaching me to cook?"
"If Heena lives on her own, won''t you go there?"
"I will."
"Then you''ll be visiting often, right? You should feed Heena well. You''ve always been receiving help from her; it''s time you did something in return."
Her reasoning was so sound that I had no rebuttal. Heena had always been teaching me, buying me food, and looking after me.
Regardless of being a repeat exam student, I knew I had to reciprocate Heena''s kindness; it was only right.
"And like that, you''ll end up staying over there for a day or two, and before you know it, you''ll be living together."
"Wow... that''s quite usible. But why hasn''t Jeongwoo moved out yet? Shouldn''t he start living with Yoonjung noona... oh, never mind. Their ce isn''t really fit for two."
While speaking, I suddenly remembered Yoonjung noona''s cramped studio apartment that I had visited a couple of times. It really wasn''t suitable for two people.
Shaking my head, I brought the conversation back on track.
"Then why did you ask if I study well alone?"
"I was curious because you''ll be going there often. If not, I was thinking of enrolling you in a study hall or something."
She was just worried about me. Right. When I was wearing a cast, everyone, including Mom, was concerned about my mental state. Even now, she seemed to care in her subtle way.
"Do you still talk often with Heena?"
"More than all three of you boysbined."
"......"
Sorry about that...
Despite seeing each other daily at home, I internally apologized for the fact that all three of us sons didn''tmunicate as much. Our family has always been like this, and it felt a bit embarrassing to start being overlymunicative now.
After finishing the dishes and wrapping up the conversation with Mom, I returned to my room. Checking my phone, I saw a message from Heena.
[ Heena: The move-in date will probably be February 10th! That day is our shopping date! Got it? Don''t make any other ns that week! ]
I replied affirmatively to her message and started to roughly n out the uing days in my mind. My uing birthday didn''t have anything special nned, and after that, it was Heena''s move-in day, which was also close to her birthday.
As this thought struck me, I quickly got up from the bed and moved to theputer. I had a rough idea of what to do, but I needed more urate knowledge.
I couldn''t afford to look clueless in front of Heena.