7.2

Inside the house, everything was fine. She found joy and happiness in their daily life together.  

However, outside the house, their relationship became a problem. It was a relationship that couldn’t be revealed to others, one they couldn’t openly share with the world. Perhaps she was overthinking it, but it was also a relationship that couldn’t progress to marriage or be legally recognized.  

And the thought of how long such an unconventional relationship could last made her uneasy.  

“…….”  

In truth, she was fine with it. As a homebody freelancer with a narrow social circle, she had always lived somewhat detached from the world. But the two of them had jobs and were much more connected to society than she was. She worried that they might encounter awkward situations in their lives.  

She also felt an inexplicable guilt toward Juhan and Hyunho’s parents. Memories of Juhan’s parents, whom she had met during his graduation ceremonies, and the image of Hyunho’s mother from earlier that day, came to mind. Their parents seemed so normal and sensible….  

Would the two of them remain steadfast when faced with awkward situations in life? Or might they someday want to end this unconventional relationship?  

“Ah….”  

As her thoughts spiraled, she began to wonder if she should never have moved into this house in the first place.  

To her, Juhan and Hyunho were incredibly precious and special. They had been close since childhood, and she wanted to maintain that bond for a long time.  

But after she moved in and their relationship evolved into one that included intimacy, they had become closer, yet also more distant from society, leaving their relationship in a precarious state.  

“I shouldn’t have… m*sturbated.”  

In truth, their cohabitation wasn’t the real starting point—it was her own actions that had set things in motion….  

Lost in thought, she let out a sigh. Lying on the sofa, she idly searched the internet for various things: threesomes, cohabitation with three people, unconventional living arrangements…. None of the results were particularly helpful.  

Since their living arrangement—a woman living with two men—was bound to seem strange to others, she started to consider whether she should move back to her old apartment. 

But that place’s address had already been exposed…. Should I look for a new place?  

She opened a real estate app for the first time in a while to check the housing prices in the area, only to be shocked by how expensive everything was.  

“…….”  

Quietly, she turned off her phone and stared blankly into space.  

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, with her lost in thought. Before she knew it, evening had arrived, and the two of them returned from work.  

“Yebom.”  

Hearing Hyunho’s gentle voice, she and Chapssal ran to the entrance.  

“Oh, you two came back together?”  

“We ran into each other just outside.”  

Juhan, who followed behind, answered as he took off his shoes. Dressed sharply in a suit for a meeting earlier, he hugged her tightly. Bending down, he sniffed and touched her all over like a playful pervert. His clothes carried a faint scent of cologne mixed with the smell of the outside air.  

“Wash your hands before you touch Yebom.”  

Hyunho spoke to Juhan. Since she stayed home most of the time, it felt like she was being treated as a newborn vulnerable to germs.  

“Alright.”  

Juhan complied without argument and went to wash his hands, while Hyunho emerged from the bathroom and approached her.  

“Yebom.”  

Calling her name affectionately, he hugged her and gently swayed her in his arms. His rough, slightly damp hands slid under her low-cut pajamas to touch her bare back. Because of his job, he washed his hands frequently, leaving his palms as coarse as crocodile skin.  

“Oh, you must have been startled earlier.”  

He asked, as if he’d just remembered.  

“No, no. Did you talk to your mom? It’s been a while since she visited; shouldn’t you meet her in person?”  

“I thought about it, but her schedule didn’t allow it. Her flight time was tight, so we decided to meet next time.”  

“Wow, she must be really busy. That’s impressive….”  

As someone living a carefree life, she genuinely admired such dedication.  

“Ha ha, my mom has always been busy, as far back as I can remember.”  

“She gave you Korean beef, right? Let’s grill it.”  

Oh, come on…. 

Juhan headed straight for the fridge and took out the beef.  

“Sure.”  

Patient as ever, Hyunho gave a wry smile.  

The premium Korean beef gift set was absolutely delicious. The meat was so tender and soft that it practically melted in their mouths with just a light grilling. Ribeye, sirloin, short ribs…. Each bite elicited a gasp of delight.  

“This feels luxurious.”  

Thanks to Hyunho—or rather, thanks to his mother—they were living in luxury.  

“Luxurious? Ha ha ha.”  

“Why are you acting like you’ve never had beef before? You didn’t eat it much because you didn’t like it.”  

Juhan looked at her incredulously. He was right; she hadn’t been a big fan of beef.  

“I thought I didn’t like it, but this tastes amazing. Maybe it’s different because it’s premium quality; it’s so tender.”  

“I’ve never given you anything that wasn’t premium.”  

“Yebom seems to like the tender sirloin.”  

“Maybe. I’ve been feeling weak lately, so maybe my body’s craving meat….”  

It was a proper feast for her body.  

“Why are you feeling weak?”  

Why else….  

She stared at Juhan silently. Handsome as ever, he raised his eyebrows with shameless confidence.  

“Let’s go out for beef more often, Yebom. I’ll buy you the best.”  

“Mm-hmm.”  

She exchanged a smile with the ever-kind Hyunho.  

After eating their fill, they sat down on the living room sofa to relax. She turned on the TV, flipping through channels in search of something to watch. Juhan, sitting beside her, draped his arm over her shoulder and subtly leaned into her, prompting her hand to move the remote faster.  

Her stomach was full, digestion hadn’t even started yet, and if they started now, the night would feel far too long. Having just nourished herself, she didn’t want to exhaust all her energy.  

“There was a movie I wanted to watch.”  

She needed to buy some time, even if it was just the length of a movie.  

“What movie?”  

“What was it called? I saved a screenshot.”  

She did have something she genuinely wanted to watch. She grabbed her phone and unlocked it, only to see the real estate app she had been browsing earlier. Panicking, she glanced at Juhan, who was sitting close enough to see her screen.  

“What’s this? Were you looking for a new place?”  

“Uh, well….”  

“A new place?”  

Walking into the living room, Hyunho asked curiously.  

“I was just browsing.”  

“Why? Don’t you like this house?”  

Juhan’s question left her momentarily speechless before she shook her head. There was nothing wrong with this house; it was more than she deserved.  

“No, it’s not that…. I just thought maybe I should move out.”  

She hadn’t planned to bring this up now, but the situation left her with no choice. As expected, both of them reacted with surprise.  

“What?”  

“Yebom.”  

Hyunho also moved closer and sat down in front of her.  

“What do you mean by moving to another house?” 

Juhan frowned, his face darkening.  

“It’s fine for the two of you to live together, but now that I’m living here too… it just feels like, to others, this might seem a bit… strange.”  

“If it’s because of my mother, don’t worry about it at all, Yebom. My mother doesn’t care about her children’s affairs. She won’t come over unannounced like today ever again.” 

Hyunho said calmly. Yebom, flustered, waved her hands.  

“No, no. There’s nothing wrong with parents visiting their children’s homes. It’s completely normal.”  

The idea that Hyunho’s mother might deliberately avoid visiting because of her was ridiculous.  

“It’s not because of your mother, and it’s not that her coming here is a problem. It’s just that… our cohabitation arrangement seems like a problem. People might find it strange.”  

“Why does other people’s opinion matter? Let them think what they want. I couldn’t care less.” Juhan said in his usual blunt manner.  

“But Yebom might care. That’s why she was looking for a new place, wasn’t she?”  

“Mm….”  

“If you want, we could get another unit in this building—maybe the one across, above, or below us. We could go back and forth between two homes, or even leave one empty just to keep up appearances. But let’s keep living together here.”  

“What? No, no way!”  

Her eyes widened in shock at the unexpected suggestion. Buying another unit in this luxury apartment complex, just to create the illusion of living separately? This was one of the most expensive neighborhoods, with the priciest apartments. She shook her head in disbelief.  

“Getting another place wouldn’t be a big deal, but why go through all that trouble? How many people would even come here to see how we live? I think separating the homes like that would be meaningless.” 

Juhan said.  

“…….”  

His words left her speechless for a moment. 

“We’re going to keep living like this anyway.”

He said definitively, and something about his tone made her feel uneasy.