NOTICE: Please, PLEASE. If you happen to come across an error (whether it's spelling, grammar, etc...) or if there is something you don't understand (whether it's the plot or character POVs) please let me know. I will gladly be making corrections and clarifying any mishaps. Ofc, I am only human, so I can't truly see every little mistake I make, so I would appreciate it if you did point it out, thanks!
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These children are getting older day by day. Their sunken cheeks were swelling up, and their grimy faces became clean. This was all because Jaewoo had gradually taught them how to wash their faces clean with hot water. He also thoroughly washed their clothes spotless. Can you believe his house had a washing machine!?
Naturally, Jaewoo had finally discovered the names of the two kids. The oldest's name is Hyunwoo and the youngest is Woohee. Hyunwoo was a 5th-grade elementary school student with a serious personality while Woohee, a 1st grader, was a bright kid without any countermeasures. Jaewoo didn't particularly like children, but these two were just so cute, so he gradually started softening up to them.
At this point, Hyeonjin started noticing something was wrong. He wondered if someone was caring for his siblings, but in this harsh world, who would have the time to take care of them? Hyeonjin felt uneasy, so he took a day off from his part-time job and decided to stay home. It wasn't easy for him to get out of work, but if it was for his younger siblings, he had to do it. So for the first time in a long time, he laid down and continued sleeping next to his brothers.
In the morning, there was a fragrant smell of soybean paste and stew coming from somewhere. As Hyeonjin took note of this smell, his appetite suddenly sprang up. Hyeonjin grabbed his growling stomach while he watched his younger brothers sleep. Come to think of it, his siblings must eat breakfast, so why haven't they eaten yet? Hyeonjin sat up and looked for the rice, but there wasn't any.
He felt dread wash over him. So what had they been eating this entire time? When he opened the cupboard, he only saw a singular cup of ramen.
'I don't even check if my younger brothers are eating properly anymore.' Hyeonjin's shoulders drooped. He was working so hard just for his siblings to live comfortably, but he ended up letting them down. 'If I ever meet the person who is taking care of my siblings, I should properly thank them; give them a gift or something,' Hyeonjin thought as he rummaged through his pockets and pulled out some bills. 'What can I buy with this?' As he wondered, there was a slight knock on the door.
"The rice is done."
That familiar voice. Hearing him, the kids shifted and shuddered slightly. Hyeonjin quickly laid back down and pretended to be asleep.
"Hyunwoo, Woohee!"
When there was no answer, he called their names again. Hyeonjin's expression darkened. He tried staying calm, but soon got up and opened the door. Jaewoo held his hand, but he soon blew his eyes wide open.
"Why did you call my brothers' names?" Hyeonjin snarled. "Oh, um, Do you want to eat too?" You could hear the surprise in his voice, not expecting Hyeonjin to be here.
"Eat what rice?"
"Fermented bean paste stew with egg rolls, boiled lotus root, and some kimchi."
No, he wasn't asking what the side dishes were.
"Not that. Why do the kids eat your rice?"
"Why, are you hungry?" Jaewoo replied with a puzzled expression.
"No, thank you." He said, feeling exasperated.
Hyeonjin said through gritted teeth, "Did you forget what we said last time?"
"To shut up and stop bothering you?"
"Yes."
But how can someone not care when the kids are clearly so skinny? Jaewoo put on a sad expression. Contrary to his trashy personality, his puppy expression actually looked kind of cute. Hyeonjin almost banged his head against the wall at the thought.
'What am I thinking?'
Ugh, how can this trashy guy be cute? Then he slammed the door in his face and called his siblings' names.
"Hyunwoo."
"Yes."
Hyunwoo, who was desperately trying to pretend to be asleep, reluctantly opened his eyes.
"Woohee."
"Huh!" Woohee didn't know what was going on, so he still answered livelily.
Hyeonjin gave them a look.
"Brother told me to avoid the landlord, but I didn't listen."
"Mhm."
Hyeonjin didn't understand. Why are they being so friendly? Why are you eating together? Hyeonjin forced a stern expression on his face. He felt bad for leaving his brothers alone because of work, but he couldn't just let them be exposed to dangerous people.
"But, but..." Hyeonwoo spoke in a small voice, and then suddenly started shedding tears rapidly. Then, he started silently crying. Woohee, who was taken aback by his older brother's crying, also started crying. Hyeonjin didn't know what to do, so he eventually hugged them and tried to comfort them. He shouldn't have scolded them like that, after all, he's ultimately weak towards his brothers.
"Why did you do that, Hyunwoo?"
"Because..."
"Because?"
"Because it was so delicious." Hyeonjin didn't know how delicious it is to grab a side dish with warm rice, scoop a spoonful of stew, and eat it. Hyunwoo worked hard to prove that Jaewoo's rice was delicious. Soon Woohee started backing him up.
"I hate spinach, but I swear I ate spinach last time!"
That's how delicious the spinach was. Hyeonjin didn't know what Jaewoo was aiming for, but it seems to have captured the kids' appetites.
"You can't."
"Why, why not?"
Hyunwoo, who had never begged Hyeonjin until now, begged Hyeonjin.
"He even helped me wash up!" Beside him, Woohee eagerly added his own words.
"He washed our clothes too."
Why go through such a hassle? Why the hell? The more it got to this point, the more Hyeonjin's suspicion grew. He should talk to Jaewoo first, though.
So, after appeasing his siblings, he opened the door again just to see Jaewoo standing in the same position as before.
"Let's talk for a minute."
"Okay."
Jaewoo nodded his head and stood in the corner of the yard as there was nowhere else to talk in private. In the meantime, the fragrant smell of soybean paste stew spread continuously throughout the complex.
Hyeonjin got straight to the point, "Why are you doing this?"
Jaewoo only replied with a smile. 'Oh to spit on his smiling face.' However, Hyeonjin did not give up his composure so easily.
"I just want them to eat."
What nonsense? Hyeonjin had to swallow down the words that were begging to be spilled out.
"How much is it?"
"What?"
"The price, how much?"
Jaewoo was surely amazing. Asking for more money with just a little bit of food.
"I don't want any money," Jaewoo shook his head.
"How much?"
"I'm not taking any."
Hyeonjin then put his hand in his pocket and pulled out several crumpled bills and handed them to Jaewoo. Even if he waved his hand to say no, Hyeonjin forcibly held his hand and gave him the money. Jaewoo cried in slight pain.
'Because he won't accept it!' The little guy doesn't listen to anything Hyeonjin says. Hyeonjin was about to turn around, but Jaewoo grabbed his hand. Hyeonjin swapped Jaewoo's hand away as if a bug had landed on it.
'Wow, that kind of hurts.' Jaewoo thought but kept persisting. "Eat with me."
"I won't."
"You paid for the food."
Jaewoo pulled on Hyeonjin's hem this time. And called the kids peeking out through the crack in the door.
"Let's all eat!"
The children immediately came out and placed their spoons on the table left by the door.
"Bring one to your older brother too!"
"I'm not eating!"
He was sick of Jaewoo's clinging, so he kept swapping his hand away, but every time he did that, Jaewoo clung onto the hem again.
He forcibly dragged Hyeonjin to the floor and made him sit down. Meanwhile, the kids had already sat in a circle with the table in the middle.
It all happened very fast.
"Come on, let's eat!"
"Thank you for the food!"
The meal began with the loud voices of the grateful children. The soybean paste was a bit run down and cold during the scuffle, but it still tasted great. Jaewoo scooped a spoonful of soybean paste stew and added plenty of ingredients and some rice. Then, he chewed on the crunchy boiled lotus roots; it tasted great.
The children also inflated their cheeks with food and eagerly ate. Hyeonjin was the only one sitting at the front of the table without knowing what to do.
"Come, eat," Jaewoo suggested once again. Hyeonjin hesitated for a while before silently lifting the spoon. He scooped a spoonful of soybean paste stew and tried it.
The savory and salty taste swirled throughout his mouth. It was normal soybean paste stew, neither too tasty nor too bad. But the taste was so familiar that it brought tears to his eyes. It was the taste of the stew his parents used to make before they both disappeared. The taste of happy times.
Hyeonjin placed his hands over his eyes. His throat filled with past memories.
"What's wrong, is it not good?" Jaewoo looked at Hyeonjin with a questioning gaze. Hyeonjin wondered if it was only delicious in his mouth, so he sneakily took another bite, but there was nothing strange about the stew. The kids were also eating well.
"No, no, it's fine."
After barely answering, Hyeonjin lowered his hand and stared at Jaewoo. Looking at the way Jaewoo was acting recently, he felt a sense of incongruity. He had changed so drastically from the way he was before. Even now, only his appearance stayed the same, but inside, it feels like someone else had taken over.
'It can't be that.' Hyeonjin muttered to himself.
"Hmm, okay? Then eat a lot." Jaewoo, exclaimed excitedly when Hyeonjin replied and pushed more soybean paste stew in his direction. He took another bite and chewed on a spoonful of rice. It's been a long time since he had lost his appetite but Hyeonjin militantly ate.
"Eat the side dishes too."
The children, who had been eating while watching, were relieved and started to eat as usual. Just like that, the bowl of rice had disappeared. Hyeonjin's stomach, which had been full for the first time in a while, kept begging for more rice. He tried to think that he ate well because he didn't want to cause any more trouble, but Jaewoo moved quickly. Jaewoo took the empty bowl and built and mountain of rice on it again.
"You're eating well. Eat more. More."
Hyeonjin, who was about to say it was okay, shut his mouth again at the giant rice bowl in front of him. The second bowl with the side dishes was soon cleaned empty. At this time, the kids had finished eating, so they went to go brush their teeth and get ready for school. Jaewoo went to go help them.
He knew he had no shame, so Hyeonjin kept eating the rice. It was only after he ate three full bowls that he started feeling full. As his stomach bloated, sleepiness overcame him.
"We're going!"
"We'll be back brother!"
The kids left to go to school and it was only Jaewoo and Hyeonjin left. Jaewoo gave Hyeonjin a small smile and said, "Would you like more rice?"
Was this a ghost that had nothing to eat in their previous life? Hyeonjin didn't know why he was trying to feed him so much. Are you trying to do something? Hyeonjin thought half-awake. Suddenly, his mind stopped thinking altogether.
"Oh!"
Jaewoo let out a sigh of relief as he caught the falling Hyeonjin. He touched his forehead to see if he was sick, but there was no fever. He just seemed to be sleeping. After hesitating for a moment, Jaewoo lifted Hyeonjin with much trouble and took him to his room.
He wanted him to sleep in a warm place and the rented room, which was originally a storage room, had no heating. It's likely that they used a heated blanket, but it wasn't as good as Jaewoo's heated room.
Jaewoo removed the heated blanket and gently laid Hyeonjin on a neatly placed blanket. In fact, Jaewoo's room was made on top of heated floors. The burning briquettes in the kitchen were what made the floor warm. Fortunately, Jaewoo knew how to use it.
This was because his grandmother in his previous life owned a house similar to this. There were always burn marks on the yellow linoleum, but among them, the warmest seat was always reserved for her beloved grandson. Back in those times, he used to curl on top of the futon and relinquish the warmth.
Jaewoo sighed. He doesn't remember much of his past life or how he came to be here, but this memory came into his mind clearly.
Anyway, what's needed right now is for the floor to be heated, something that cannot be compared to a heated blanket. This was the heat that made the entire room warm.
Jaewoo went to the warehouse and picked up briquettes with some tongs. Then he put the briquettes in the round hole inside the kitchen.
"Stay warm." He muttered and lit a small fire.
After washing the dishes and walking towards his room, the floor finally started warming up.
"That's good!"
'Now all Hyeonjin's has to do is eat a good dinner.' Jaewoo thought as he pondered over the dinner menu. What should he make that will make him hear the words "I ate well?" While thinking, he remembered the pork he had in the freezer.
Stir-fried beef. The king of sweet and spicy meat dishes!
"That should be good enough."
Last time I had tried to feed him this, but to no avail, so it must be fate. Jaewoo hummed as he began to cook. Come to think of it, the structure of this house was rather strange. There is a refrigerator and a gas stove, and it seems to have begun modernizing. But on the other hand, there is a hole in the corner where you can light a fire inside the stone slabs. Why was the floor heater not given up even as the original Jaewoo's grandmother gave up everything else? Was this of sentimental value?
Jaewoo shook his head at the thought. What is the use of thinking this now? For now, he should be thinking about feeding Hyeonjin. Wasn't that the goal all along? Get along with him and avoid danger.
Bang! He hit the cutting board with his knife.
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End of Chapter 1 (Part 2)
*Jaewoo just existing*
Hyeonjin: I want to spit on his stupid smile. I want to bang my head against the wall. I want to swap him like a bug. I want to-
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Note: More chapters coming soon! Thank you for waiting! :)) By the way, the comic is on hiatus right now, so this gives me the opportunity to catch up and I'll try my best to do so!