A Painful Obsession - Chapter 26

“Brother.”

“I don’t have any impure intentions, so there’s no need to make that face.”

“Are you asking me to live with you?”

“That word… I don’t really like it.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ina knew he was sincere when he said he had no ulterior motives. They had been dating for six months. She was seeing Taeyun, but the most they had ever done was hold hands and kiss. Their relationship had never progressed beyond that.

But living together would be something entirely different.

Sharing a roof. Sharing the same space. Even if they slept in separate rooms, anything could happen.

“Besides, you’ll have to pay your tuition for the second semester soon, right? And there’s rent, and living expenses.”

Just as he said, the money she had to pay was overwhelming. There was simply too much. To cover it all, Ina would have to work nonstop throughout the entire semester.

“You can just put the deposit toward your tuition.”

“…”

“I’ll only take the monthly rent. Honestly, I don’t even want to take that, but if I didn’t, you’d refuse, right? And I figured this way would make you feel more comfortable.”

Ina couldn’t think of anything to say.

Everything he said was true.

If she tried to find a new place, she would need an even larger deposit. This would mean dipping into the tuition fees she had carefully saved. During term time, with all the studying, she wouldn’t be able to work extra hours at her part-time job either.

“Just think of it simply. I have a spare room, and you need one. So think of it as sharing a place. Simple. Okay?”

“What if people think something strange?”

“My place is a bit far from the school anyway. There’s no one around who would think anything strange. And nobody comes over to my place, so there’s no chance of getting caught.”

Ina’s eyes wavered.

It was an incredibly tempting offer.

She felt ashamed for even considering it, but perhaps it would be all right if she paid him rent as he suggested. If she could put the deposit towards her tuition fees instead, it would help her so much.

When she hesitated without answering, Taeyun added quietly,

“I won’t even touch a single fingertip. I promise.”

As if he knew exactly what she was worried about.

Ina stared at him, her brows slightly furrowed.

Taeyun let out a soft snort of laughter and pressed his index finger against the crease between her brows.

“What, you don’t trust me?”

“They say all men are wolves.”

“That’s unfair. Think about it carefully. If I’d really planned to pounce on you, it wouldn’t matter whether it was my house or somewhere else, right?”

He was completely sincere.

When Ina tried to stifle her laughter, Taeyun made a pained expression.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time because I was worried you might see it the wrong way. If you had found a place, I was just going to leave it alone, but there aren’t any decent places available. And since it kept bothering me…”

“Brother.”

“So let’s move your things. And if I ever try to pounce on you after drinking or something, just kick me. Right in the weak spot!”

“Pfft.”

In the end, Ina burst out laughing.

Just seeing her laugh so brightly right in front of him was already difficult enough.

‘There’s no way you’d know how miserable this makes me feel.’

Taeyun let out a long breath, silently engraving the character for patience in his mind.

***

“Wow.”

Ina’s eyes widened.

Until now, she had refused his suggestion of “Do you want to come see my place?” several times. But the first time she actually saw his home, it was far beyond anything she had imagined.

“This is the room you’ll use. My room is further inside, and the bathroom is right across from yours, so you can use that. The kitchen is just past the living room.”

The room he showed her was completely empty. Yet it was far better than the tiny studio she had been living in.

She had assumed that he came from a wealthy family, but she hadn’t realized just how wealthy they were.

The size of the house alone left her speechless.

“Brother, do you live here alone?”

“Yeah. Your room was just sitting empty, so there’s nothing in it yet.”

“Ah… I brought my blanket!”

When Ina said it brightly, Taeyun laughed softly, as if she were adorable.

“Come out with me for a bit. We should at least buy some basic furniture.”

“No, it’s okay. I have everything I need!”

“There’s nothing in the room. What do you mean you have everything you need?”

“My old place didn’t have anything either. I can just live like this. I’ll spread out my blanket…”

Even as she said it, she felt slightly embarrassed.

Still, her old studio had at least one small drawer and a cabinet for storing blankets.

They were extremely old, though.

Rolling her eyes nervously, Ina trailed off.

“Let’s just go out and buy a few things. Honestly, you never listen the first time someone tells you something.”

“W-What are we going to buy?”

“Don’t ask. Just come with me. If you go out with me, you’ll see.”

“I still need to unpack…”

“What are you unpacking? There’s nothing here to unpack into. Are you planning to live with your suitcase open?”

Seriously.

Ever since they first met, he had always had a way of hitting the exact point.

When Ina pressed her lips together and shot him a not-quite-angry glare, Taeyun strode over and grabbed her hand.

“This is the kind of thing the landlord is supposed to provide. If it’s monthly rent and not a deposit lease, the landlord handles everything.”

“No, that’s…”

“So stop arguing and just come with me. Okay?”

Taeyun curled his lips into a mischievous grin.

Then he took her with him and left the house.

***

“All done.”

Taeyun stepped down from the chair with a satisfied smile.

A large window now had soft, fluttering white curtains hanging from it. Taeyun gently adjusted them with his hands.

“Do you like it?”

Ina couldn’t answer.

‘Can I really accept all of this?’

She was overwhelmed with gratitude.

At the same time, she felt sorry.

In front of the large, curtained window stood a single bed. Beside it was a chest of drawers. Near the door were a small wardrobe and a dressing table, placed neatly side by side.

Soft, plush bedding covered the bed.

Taeyun had chosen everything in the room personally.

“I feel better now. To be honest, I was worried about you living alone, and I didn’t really like the condition of your place.”

He had been unable to suggest that they live together because he was afraid she might misunderstand.

Her studio apartment was in terrible condition.

There was mold in the corners, and he had always been bothered by the security of the block of flats.

The streetlight in the alleyway outside her building had been broken for months and remained unattended.

He had held himself back, afraid that his sincere concern might hurt her feelings.

Now that he had invited her into his home, however, he finally felt relieved.

“Just live comfortably. Don’t feel burdened.”

“Ah…”

Ina couldn’t even bring herself to say thank you.

Taeyun had chosen the furniture, carefully observing her reactions as he did so.

Even when she didn’t express her preferences, he picked up on them immediately, reading her feelings from the slightest change in her expression.

She tried to protest, saying it was fine and that it was too expensive, but it seemed that Taeyun had already made up his mind before they left. He didn’t listen to a word she said.

“When the second semester schedule comes out, let’s go to school together. The campus is quite far from here anyway, so it’ll be much more convenient if you come with me. Public transport around here is kind of inconvenient.”

“Brother.”

“Why are you making that face again?”

Taeyun already knew why she looked the way she did.

Without her saying anything, he could read her feelings.

Having spent most of her life hiding her emotions, she was grateful that she was able to show this much at all.

“Well…”

Taeyun pulled her hand and drew her into his arms.

Holding her tightly, he buried his face in her shoulder and whispered softly,

“You don’t need to feel sorry, and you don’t need to feel grateful. I only brought you here for my own peace of mind. So don’t feel burdened. Just accept it. I’ll do everything I can for you.”

The sincerity in his words made tears surge up suddenly.

Biting her lip tightly, Ina squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Is it really okay for me to accept all of this?’

Her heart throbbed as emotions welled up inside her.

“Thank you. Truly.”

Ina nodded slightly and wrapped her arms around his waist.

***

Several months had already passed since she began living with Taeyun.

During that time, the semester had started, and the two of them spent their days going to school together, living through one happy day after another.

“Tell me. Is there anywhere you want to go?”

Taeyun asked Ina.

Her birthday was coming up soon.

Last year, when he had asked, her birthday had already passed, so he hadn’t been able to celebrate it. That had bothered him ever since, and this year he wanted to do something for her no matter what.

“A birthday… Well. I’m not even sure that’s really the day I was born.”

Ina gave a bitter smile.

The day she left the orphanage after getting accepted into college, Yeonsuk had given her an old swaddling cloth and a tiny baby jacket.

They were the clothes Ina had been wearing when she was abandoned in front of the orphanage.

“This was the note that came with you. That’s why your name became Yoon Ina.”

She saw that a date, time and name had been written down on the faded piece of paper that Yeonsuk had given her.

Next to these were the words: “It’s shameless of me, but please take care of her.”

Ina had always hated her name.

It sounded so beautiful, completely at odds with her miserable life.

‘If you were going to abandon me, why even bother giving me a name?’

However, unlike Ina, Yeonsuk had always cooked seaweed soup for her on the date specified in the note.

Ina had never once thought of it as her real birthday.