Why was he here instead of sitting at the table eating his scrambled eggs? Seo-eul put a hand over his chest.He held his breath for a moment, afraid he might hiccup, exhaled, then inhaled again. Even so, his heart was thudding so hard he could feel it through his shirt. He only managed to part his lips soundlessly before Sa-heon, who had been quietly watching him, spoke first—cutting in before Seo-eul could say anything.“Why are you so startled?”“……”Was that a real question? Seo-eul shot him a look instead of answering, but it did nothing. Sa-heon, standing there like some guardian statue at the doorway, tilted his head as if he genuinely didn’t know what the problem was. His face looked blank at first glance, but Seo-eul had known him too long not to read the difference.Seo Sa-heon was sulking.Though for the life of him, Seo-eul couldn’t figure out why.“The shrimp’s already cold, Seo-eul-ah.”Maybe he’d noticed that look, because Sa-heon added the remark quietly.That figured. Seo-eul had shut himself in the bathroom far longer than he’d meant to. Still, he wasn’t the type to eat for pleasure anyway—he ate to refuel, not to enjoy. Shrimp was shrimp whether hot or cold. As long as it wasn’t spoiled, it was fine.If not for Sa-heon, he probably never would have learned to cook at all. Left to his own devices, he would have survived on instant meals and supplements because it was more efficient. Sa-heon knew that perfectly well.Something about the way he was acting felt off. After a beat of silence, Seo-eul asked carefully, half-wondering,“…You didn’t eat yet?”“I told you I don’t like eating alone.”“……”“Let’s reheat it. There was focaccia too—want some?”Something was strange. That faint itch at the back of his neck had been bothering him since earlier, an odd sense that something was out of place.But Sa-heon, tugging Seo-eul out of the bathroom and leading him to the kitchen, looked perfectly normal. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t so strange. Sa-heon had always been like this—always by his side.Like the opening line of a book that never changed, the fact of Seo Sa-heon’s constant presence had worn smooth with time.The broken sense of distance between them was nothing new. Neither of them had ever really tried to fix it. Whether he waited for Seo-eul to wake up or stood outside the bathroom door, it wasn’t anything new.And yet—why did it feel uneasy now?Seo-eul glanced at him carefully. Sa-heon reheated the food, sliced the focaccia neatly on the cutting board, and sat across from him with a familiar smile.“What? You just realized I’m good-looking?”…Was he serious?Seo-eul frowned and stabbed a shrimp with his fork instead of replying. Sa-heon didn’t press; he began eating quietly.Judging by the speed, he really had been hungry. Seo-eul chewed and swallowed slowly, already thinking about coffee even though he’d barely eaten.“Finish it, Lee Seo-eul.”Sa-heon said it flatly, reading his mind again, and Seo-eul couldn’t bring himself to put the fork down. Sometimes it was exhausting how well they knew each other. He poked idly at the yellow scramble.I should just hurry up, eat, and get ready to go out.Hopefully I’ll find a decent place today.***“Oh dear, you don’t like this one either? Young man, you’re really thorough.”…So much for that hope. Seo-eul already looked half-dead inside. This was the seventh rejection, and the elderly real-estate agent was clearly worn out.He had been confident about this listing too. Now, flipping through his tablet in despair, the man ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) muttered to himself that he didn’t know what to show next. Watching him dab sweat from his brow, Seo-eul turned a sharp glare toward the real culprit standing beside him.Sa-heon clearly felt that glare—and only shrugged.A bold, innocent gesture, as if he had nothing to feel guilty about.“Haa…”Right. This was all his fault. Seo-eul exhaled heavily. It had started the moment Sa-heon insisted on tagging along. Not only had he followed him down to the parking lot “to see him off,” but when Seo-eul hesitated over which agency to visit, Sa-heon had pounced on the moment.Seo-eul had planned to just pick the first office that came up in the navigation search, but Sa-heon’s insistence that he couldn’t possibly go alone had bulldozed right over him.He realized what a mistake that was by the third apartment.“The location’s bad. There are three schools nearby. Do you have any idea how many grade-school kids will be living upstairs and downstairs? You’ll go insane from the noise.”“W-well, I could put down mats… maybe they’re quiet kids.”“It’s a family with three kids, and they could be rolling excavator trucks across the floor. And during vacations? They’ll be home all day.”The thought alone made Seo-eul’s face go pale. Even the agent, knowing the area’s dense with schools, couldn’t disagree and fell silent.And it went on like that. The fourth place, a high-end officetel, was rejected because of “bad security.” The fifth, a standalone house, because “maintenance is a nightmare—grass grows too fast, you’d have to trim it every season, replant flowers every time the weather changes.”Why was finding a place so hard?Even spots that seemed fine to Seo-eul turned into disasters once they passed through Sa-heon’s scrutiny.Because it was new construction. Because the water pressure was weak. Because there was only one elevator. Because there might be insect eggs under the sink. Because of the mold behind the air-conditioner, the position of the windows, even the “energy” when you opened the front door. Everything was grounds for rejection. By the time they reached the end, Seo-eul’s eyes had gone blank.Maybe he should’ve kicked Sa-heon out of the passenger seat at the start.Or better yet, never mentioned house-hunting at all.Too late now. Regret didn’t help, but he couldn’t stop tracing the chain of mistakes. The last penthouse they’d viewed had been shot down simply for being “too far from the current place.”Completely drained, Seo-eul gave up even glaring and walked toward the agent instead. The man was probably the real victim in all this.“Sorry, we’re being way too picky.”The older man’s fingers froze on the tablet at the soft apology.He had been too focused on scrolling for the next property to notice Seo-eul moving closer. When he looked up, the customer was bowing slightly, gaze steady and polite.Worried eyes.Well, no wonder—the seventh rejection.After spending the whole morning running around for a duo who dismissed everything from one to ten, the agent was ready to collapse. When they first arrived, he’d suspected they were some kind of location-scouting crew since they said money wasn’t an issue, but their car, their watches, their clothes—all too personal for that.One thing was clear: if this customer had come alone, the lease would’ve been signed before evening.“Oh, no, it’s fine. When you’re picking a place to actually live in, you should be careful. It’s not like you’re nitpicking for no reason, so I can’t complain…”His tone naturally softened.A home wasn’t a toy, and it wasn’t cheap. Taking time to compare many options was the sensible thing.And after watching them all morning, he could even understand why the masked man beside him was being so particular. The guy seemed… strangely detached about money. Unlike the other one, who pored over ownership documents and price charts, this one acted like deposit or purchase—what difference did it make?It wasn’t ignorance—more like indifference. Even the agent had paused at that.With rental scams all over these days, wasn’t that attitude a bit reckless?Out of concern, he explained that a lease contract usually renewed every two years. The young man blinked once, then laughed, saying he knew that much. Then, glancing toward his companion, he added in a low voice that this was a sudden move, so it didn’t matter whether it was lease or purchase.The agent’s expression turned uncertain.Still—how could anyone be that uninterested?Whatever the reason, most people had at least a flicker of excitement or worry when choosing a new home. But this man didn’t. All the nerves and fuss belonged to the other one. He himself looked like he was browsing someone else’s house—calm, detached, almost serene.As if anywhere would be fine.When the agent looked up again, their eyes met immediately, as though the man had been waiting for it. The figure in the long-brimmed cap and mask smiled faintly and stepped a little closer. Even with half his face hidden, the beauty of it was obvious.He looked familiar somehow… though the agent couldn’t quite remember where he’d seen him before.

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