Chapter 8.2

Chapter 8.2

When she finally woke up, darkness had already settled outside. Lifting her heavy eyelids, she felt a tinge of self-reproach.

‘I really need to change.’

Noticing the sweat she had shed while sleeping, she felt a bit embarrassed and quickly got to work. She decided to wash the pillow covers and blanket, retrieving a thin blanket from the closet in the back room, which seemed to be one Min-gyu used to use. It smelled faintly of fabric softener, suggesting it had been washed and stored away. She changed the covers, spread the blanket, and then headed to the bathroom.

By the time she finished her longer-than-usual shower, he was already home. Feeling refreshed, Yeon-ha wrapped her damp hair in a towel and peeked out of the room at the sound of movement.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah.”

He was in the kitchen, organizing the refrigerator, suggesting he had just arrived. Regardless of whether Yeon-ha ate them or not, Min-gyu regularly restocked the fridge with side dishes, various food items, and meal kits.

“We could just eat what’s already here. Why do you keep buying more?”

Yeon-ha approached him. As he closed the refrigerator, he glanced at her.

“What did you do today?”

Min-gyu had never asked before, probably because he knew she was usually sleeping. Yeon-ha hesitated before responding. “Well, I ate, went out to the yard for a bit, and used my phone.” Min-gyu watched her small, hesitant face. Of course, she didn’t mention looking for part-time jobs.

“Why didn’t you mention washing the dishes and cleaning?”

She blinked in surprise at his unexpected comment. He ran a hand through his hair, clearly displeased.

“I told you not to do anything around the house. Just rest.”

Yeon-ha fell silent, feeling that her efforts didn’t really count as housework. She had only washed her own dishes and vacuumed once. She tilted her head in confusion.

“You already changed your clothes?”

At her slightly raised voice, Min-gyu’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Yeah, finished work early, came home for a bit, then went back out.”

“Oh…”

“You were sleeping soundly.”

Yeon-ha glanced at him again. He was now wearing a fresh black T-shirt and dark jeans. He must have gone out to buy groceries. As he walked past her into the room, she followed to dry her hair. Min-gyu spoke up from ahead of her.

“Why did you change the bedding?”

“Oh, it was getting warm. I thought it was time for a change.”

He nodded easily, but Yeon-ha noticed he looked unusually tired today.

“I’ll buy new bedding tomorrow. I meant to do it, but I forgot.”

“Isn’t this one fine?”

“No, we need new ones.”

Feeling guilty about making him spend money, Yeon-ha voiced her concern, but Min-gyu firmly cut her off. He then stood in front of the bed, hesitating for a moment. Yeon-ha turned back to her tasks, throwing the towel into the laundry basket and starting to dry her hair with the blow dryer.

Min-gyu was acting a bit differently. He loitered around her, went out of the room and came back, and unnecessarily smoothed the bedspread, casting glances at her. It was hard to put a finger on it, but he seemed oddly restless.

Then, he abruptly left the room altogether. After drying her hair, Yeon-ha turned off the blow dryer and got up. She walked into the living room, not expecting much, when he called out to her.

“Try these on.”

“Huh?”

She looked at him curiously. He was sitting against the wall with several large shopping bags beside him. What’s all this?

“Hurry.”

Min-gyu gestured her over and opened one of the boxes himself, revealing a pair of brand-new white sneakers.

‘Sneakers?’

Surprised, Yeon-ha remained still, so he sat her down and put the shoes on her himself, even thoughtfully providing a pair of thin socks. Now, she was wearing new sneakers with her ankle-length pajama pants. He looked at her seriously.

“How are they? Do they fit?”

“Yes.”

Yeon-ha nodded. He told her to walk around a bit, so she did, pacing back and forth in the living room. The shoes fit perfectly and felt comfortable.

“They’re nice.”

Seeing her light steps, his expression finally relaxed a bit.