One Day, a Dark Shadow Fell on My Closet

11

At our house gate

Set and Yeon Ji-ho did not exchange a word while riding their bicycles home. To be precise, it was not Set who remained silent, but Yeon Ji-ho.

Set looked at Yeon Ji-ho, who sat on the sofa with a blank expression, with a worried gaze. However, Set did not know how to comfort someone warmly and kindly like Hadad. So, he merely lingered around Yeon Ji-ho.

“Oh, it’s raining.”

Yeon Ji-ho, who was sitting on the sofa with his knees drawn up, suddenly lifted his head and confirmed the rain pouring through the living room’s large window. As early summer approached, the raindrops were quite thick.

Only then did Yeon Ji-ho regain a bit of his senses. Hearing the sound of the rain pouring down, he realized he had been lost in thought since meeting Nam Jeong-hwan at the market.

“Hmm… Since it’s raining, should we make some pajeon?”

He also had squid he bought from the market. If he mixed it well with green onions and pancake mix and cooked it, it would turn into a delicious seafood pajeon.

Set, not knowing what pajeon was, nodded eagerly at the thought that Yeon Ji-ho was finally looking at him. Without realizing it, he followed Yeon Ji-ho into the kitchen.

“Eating pajeon while listening to the sound of rain through the living room window is just the best. We used to do that often when the whole family was around.”

Set paused for a moment at the word “family” that came from Yeon Ji-ho’s mouth. Although a few days had passed since he had been here, he had not seen Yeon Ji-ho’s family.

However, a few deductions led him to think that there was something odd about Yeon Ji-ho living alone. There were clear signs that someone had lived with him in each room. Set guessed that Yeon Ji-ho must now be living apart from his family.

“When my mom and dad were alive, they used to drink makgeolli together. Oh, makgeolli is a type of alcohol. I couldn’t drink back then because I was too young.”

Yeon Ji-ho first trimmed the green onions and cut them into appropriate lengths. Then, he took out a glass bowl and poured in the green onions, pancake mix, and water in the right proportions.

As he checked the consistency of the batter, Yeon Ji-ho began to share his story with Set, who was next to him. These were stories that had become quite mundane by now.

“In fact, I’ve been living alone for quite a while. I lost my parents, and since I was a loner at school, I didn’t want to go outside.”

“…A loner?”

“Yes. Oh, the kids I saw at the market earlier? I had a bad relationship with them.”

I’m not sure if I can even call it a bad relationship. Nam Jeong-hwan’s group had unilaterally bullied and ostracized Yeon Ji-ho.

Still, at that time, Yeon Ji-ho didn’t care much. After all, when he returned home, he had parents who loved him, so he thought everything would be fine as long as he graduated safely from school. It was after his parents passed away that Yeon Ji-ho’s resolve was shattered.

“I didn’t want to meet anyone. My hobby is reading novels, so being alone was more comfortable. That’s why I’m still holed up in this countryside; it’s a bit silly, isn’t it?”

Yeon Ji-ho chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. Set stared at him intently and then spoke.

“I also preferred being alone.”

“…Is that so?”

But in the last external narrative, it seemed like he wanted to be loved by someone. Instead of saying he read his inner thoughts in a novel, Yeon Ji-ho brought up another topic.

“Isn’t it lonely?”

“I had that feeling too. But it’s also true that being alone was more comfortable.”

Set knew. Trying hard to look good to those who didn’t like him wasn’t very pleasant.

So, at some point, he became alone. While Hadad, who was used to being loved by someone, was always surrounded by people, Set had lived alone his entire life.

Was that why? The moment Yeon Ji-ho said he was “alone,” Set felt a base pleasure deep within his heart.

Set always wanted to be loved by someone, but on the other hand, he felt he didn’t have anyone. Because if he were to love someone, there would only be that one person in his life worth saying he loved.

That would probably lead to obsession. A very persistent and sordid one…

So he hoped that the other person had also lived alone like him. He wished that there would be no one else to cling to, lonely and even lonelier, except for himself.

Set secretly laughed at himself for being pleased that Yeon Ji-ho had something in common with him. As someone who brought misfortune, he didn’t even have a genuine feeling of sympathy for someone else’s unhappiness.

“Oh, Set. Can you grab that frying pan over there and follow me? I have my hands full right now.”

Holding a glass bowl filled with pajeon batter and a spatula, Yeon Ji-ho headed toward the living room window. He set the glass bowl down for a moment, grabbed the handle of the large window, and pushed it back.

The window began to slowly open sideways, folding as it did. As the house was designed entirely by his father, who majored in architecture, the large window was a bit different from typical houses.

Even when the window was fully opened, the awning above prevented the rain from pouring directly into the house. Yeon Ji-ho placed a gas burner and frying pan near the window to prepare the pajeon.

Tap, tap. Sizzle…

The sound of igniting the gas burner broke through the sound of the rain. Set quietly watched the flame ignite on the gas burner, his body half bent over.

“Is this… magic?”

“No, no. It’s a portable burner. It’s used for cooking when camping or outdoors.”

“If I had this in my world, I could have provided quality meals even during the war.”

“Should I pack one for you when you go back?”

Since he was running a pension, he had plenty of portable gas burners. Not enough to supply for a war, but still.

However, at Yeon Ji-ho’s words about packing one for him, Set’s eyebrows furrowed into a mountain shape. In an instant, his expression soured, and Yeon Ji-ho blinked, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“…No. It’s fine. I don’t need it.”

“Oh, okay…”

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Yeon Ji-ho had said it out of a desire to give him everything he could when he left, but perhaps he had offended him. He glanced at Set while pouring oil onto the frying pan.

Soon, the pajeon batter was poured onto the heated frying pan, making a delicious sizzling sound. Yeon Ji-ho pressed it down to spread it as thinly as possible and waited for one side of the pajeon to cook completely.

“Is there nothing for me to do?”

“Something to do? It’s just flipping it over, so there’s not really much to do…”

“Then I’ll flip it.”

“Excuse me?”

Set’s search for a task began again. He had already moved close to Yeon Ji-ho and snatched the frying pan handle from his hand. Then he stared intently at the pajeon resting on the frying pan.

Of course, Yeon Ji-ho was extremely anxious. Flipping a pajeon was a skill that was very difficult for a beginner to master in one go. Just as Yeon Ji-ho was about to hurriedly hand him the spatula, it happened.

Swoosh.

The pajeon flew through the air. There was no other way to describe it but to say it flew.

To Yeon Ji-ho’s perception, the pajeon seemed to be airborne for almost 10 seconds. It rose that high and then safely landed back on the frying pan. And the way it landed…

“Wow… wow!”

The well-cooked side of the pajeon was perfectly golden brown. Even after floating in the air for so long, it remained completely intact.

“What is this? Where have you done this before?!”

“No. Did I… do well?”

“Insane. It’s rare for someone to succeed on the first try like this! I failed immediately when I tried to follow my dad at first.”

“…Really?”

“Awesome, awesome. I’ll have to call Set every time I flip a pajeon. Wow, wow.”

Yeon Ji-ho kept giving Set a thumbs up. Set, not even knowing what that gesture meant, awkwardly followed along as Yeon Ji-ho smiled brightly.

He felt a joy he hadn’t even felt when he first manifested his sword energy while flipping the pajeon. No, to be precise, it wasn’t just the success of flipping the pajeon; it was because Yeon Ji-ho looked at him with sparkling eyes as if what he had done was something amazing that made his heart warm.

Finally, the well-cooked pajeon was placed on a large plate. Set, holding chopsticks in his large hand, asked Yeon Ji-ho.

“How do you eat this?”

“You can tear it like this and eat it. If chopsticks are too hard, should I get you a fork?”

Yeon Ji-ho demonstrated by tearing off a piece of pajeon with his chopsticks. Set carefully observed Yeon Ji-ho’s fingers, then suddenly set down the chopsticks in front of him.

“No, just feed me.”

“Uh. Uh…”

Set’s heart was actually pounding hard as he said that. Was it okay for him to say something like this? But just a moment ago, he had successfully flipped the pajeon, and Yeon Ji-ho had also said not to do anything he didn’t want to.

So, so maybe it was okay to accept this much.

“Right, it’s tastier when you tear it apart. Oh, go ahead.”

Yeon Ji-ho dipped a small piece of the torn pajeon into the soy sauce he had prepared and held it out in front of Set’s mouth. Set closed his eyes tightly and put it in his mouth.

“…It’s delicious.”

“How’s the texture? Is it crispy?”

“Yes. It makes a sound every time I chew.”

After that, Set completely abandoned his chopsticks. Instead, he eagerly accepted the pieces of pajeon that Yeon Ji-ho tore for him like a bird. Occasionally, he would step in to grab the frying pan handle only when it was time to flip the pajeon.

By the time Yeon Ji-ho and Set had eaten more than four pieces of pajeon together, a car sound was heard somewhere near the house, aside from the sounds they were making.

Vroom…!

It was a noise so loud that it didn’t sound like a typical car. Yeon Ji-ho frowned as he sensed that the rude-sounding car was approaching the pension’s parking lot.

“I’ll be right back.”

There were no guests with separate reservations, so who could it be?

However, as soon as Yeon Ji-ho stood up, Set naturally stood up as well. When Yeon Ji-ho stepped out through the open large window instead of the front door he had left open…

“Ah, damn it. It suddenly started raining and it’s a mess.”

“Hey, it’s fine. This pension is really nice. Let’s just sleep here.”

“Is the owner not here?!”

What a noisy group. Two men and two women. It seemed they had changed their plans due to the rain.

Since there was a bit of distance to the parking lot, they could hear their voices, but their figures were still not visible. Yeon Ji-ho barely slipped on a single slipper and took out a black umbrella. Set awkwardly followed suit, wearing the large slippers he had bought at the market today, and stood right next to Yeon Ji-ho.

And then they faced each other.

“Who are you?”

“How much is it for a night here…? What? Yeon Ji-ho?”

Nam Jeong-hwan, that bastard who only knows how to bark.