Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 17: Just One Night

Ha Giyeon quickly around the back of the house.

The second floor of the enormous estate.

Among the many windows that had all gone dark, one window alone still had a light on. He approached the window, switched on his flashlight, and shone it up toward himself. As if to say, I'm here.

Not long after, the window opened, and the housekeeper appeared. She looked around outside the window, spotted Giyeon, and then held something up in her hand.

A black bag.

It was Giyeon’s school backpack. She tossed it over the wall in his direction. Giyeon threw himself toward the incoming bag and caught it in his arms.

Got it...!

The bag was heavier than expected. Hugging it to his chest, Giyeon grinned and lifted it over his head in triumph. The housekeeper responded with a wave. Not wanting to be seen by any of the family, Giyeon quickly slipped away from the property.

Not long after he left, the housekeeper called him.

"Did you get the bag okay?"

"I caught it perfectly. Thank you so much, really."

"It’s nothing, really. I packed everything you mentioned and a few other things I thought you might need... But are you sure it’s okay to go to a friend’s place at this hour? As long as you're sure..."

"It’s not far, so it’s fine! Thank you again!"

He thanked her several times before finally hanging up. He couldn’t burden her any further. He felt bad enough that she hadn’t even had a chance to rest yet. And if his mother or brother saw her helping him, it could bring trouble down on her.

"Where should I go now..."

Giyeon shouldered his heavy backpack and walked into the city.

If he were an adult, it might be different. But as a minor, the only place he could spend the night was on the streets.

"Should I sleep at the park..."

It would’ve been fine in the summer, but with the lingering cold, a night on a park bench could leave his lips numb—or worse. And if he was unlucky, the police might catch him and call his house.

Maybe I should try the restroom.

A public restroom at least offered shelter from the cold.

Still, thinking back to the time before his regression, that wasn’t such a good option either. Back then, he used to lend money—more like get it stolen—from an older guy he knew, and when he had nothing left, he’d spend the night in the restroom. One time, he got unlucky and ran into some thug who beat the crap out of him.

Just thinking about it made him want to avoid that place.

As he walked, trying to figure out where to go, his stomach growled.

"...Maybe I should eat first."

He hadn’t eaten dinner and had been running around nonstop—of course he was starving.

Giyeon made his way to a convenience store. At least it was a place he could kill some time.

Maybe a meal box would be better?

He scanned the sparsely stocked shelf, weighing his options. Would cup ramen and a triangle kimbap be more filling, or would a single lunchbox be better? He wouldn’t eat again until school lunch, so he needed to pick something that would digest slowly.

"A lunchbox is probably the better choice..."

He sensed someone standing nearby but ignored it and reached for a lunchbox.

“...!”

At that exact moment, the person next to him also reached out—and their hands bumped. Giyeon immediately withdrew his hand and turned his head. And in that moment, his eyes widened.

“Son Suhyeon-sunbae?”

“Huh...?”

Son Suhyeon stood there, just as wide-eyed. For a beat, the two of them just stared at each other, speechless.

The one who recovered first was Giyeon.

“Ah, hello.”

The greeting popped out automatically, and even he thought it was ridiculous. Had it even been ten minutes since they parted ways after their secondhand transaction? And now here he was, greeting the guy again like nothing happened.

Suhyeon returned the greeting reflexively, but his confusion was obvious. Giyeon stepped back a bit and gestured with his hand.

“You go ahead and take it.”

“It’s fine. I was just browsing.”

He picked up a different lunchbox and headed to the register, and Giyeon, holding the one left behind, followed after ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) him.

“That’ll be 4,800 won.”

After paying, he turned toward a small table near the window. Suhyeon was already seated there, heating his food in the microwave.

There were only three seats facing the window. Giyeon set his bag down one seat apart and waited to use the microwave.

Whirr. The microwave hummed as it spun.

For some reason, that slow rotation made Giyeon feel like he and Suhyeon were alone in a closed space.

They’d worked together for ten days, yet things were still awkward. Outside of work talk, they hadn’t exchanged a single personal word. And now, they’d also had a secondhand transaction.

First school uniforms, now a job, and a phone sale—their ties had all been work-related. This was the third time.

...Better just stay quiet.

Giyeon briefly considered saying something in the silence but ultimately kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Suhyeon. The guy had bought him a new gym uniform, shared his lunch, and been quietly considerate at work. He was kind.

But that didn’t make him someone easy to talk to.

He might feel uncomfortable...

More than anything—

What even counts as normal conversation?

The things he used to talk about with his older brother and his friends didn’t really qualify. Those were more like venting and mockery.

Even before the regression, people called me boring.

He could handle customers when he worked part-time or the factory bosses when he got beat up, but when it came to people his own age or school seniors, he had no clue how to hold a normal conversation.

“Hey.”

“Yes...?”

Suhyeon’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. The lunchbox had already been removed from the microwave.

“Ah, thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

His face flushing slightly, Giyeon warmed his own lunchbox. While it turned, he searched his phone for possible places to stay.

“It’s late... aren’t you going home?”

Suhyeon spoke again. This time, it wasn’t about work—it was personal.

Giyeon blinked, then slowly replied.

“Well... the door’s locked...”

“You don’t have a key?”

“No...”

It wasn’t a lie. The door lock worked by fingerprint or passcode, but there was a secondary lock that only opened with a key—which he didn’t have. If the parents said not to open it, then it stayed shut. They were the homeowners.

Suhyeon looked confused.

“Why...”

Beep.

Just then, the microwave dinged, and Giyeon turned toward it.

Suhyeon hesitated, lips parting like he might press further—but then he closed his mouth.

Thank god...

If he’d asked more, Giyeon wouldn’t have known how to answer. He took the lunchbox to the table and began eating. Suhyeon, who’d been sitting a seat away, finally began eating his own. The only sound between them now was chewing—but unlike earlier, the atmosphere had softened. In that space, Giyeon blurted something out, carried by impulse.

“Do you usually eat here at this hour?”

“...I usually get off work around this time. It’s just convenient.”

“That makes sense.”

Back then, this was pretty much where all his meals happened too. People who lived alone might say they cooked, but that only worked when they had money. To save water, electricity, and gas, the best meals were triangle kimbap and bread from a convenience store. Sometimes, he’d splurge on a lunchbox.

“You eat here often too, huh.”

“It’s easy.”

He scooped up a large bite.

In the silence that followed, Giyeon swallowed and nervously opened his mouth.

“Um... you can just speak casually to me. We’ll be seeing each other at work, and I think it’ll be more comfortable...”

“...”

“But if it’s uncomfortable, that’s fine too...”

Suhyeon didn’t respond. Seeing that, Giyeon regretted bringing it up and focused on his food.

Shouldn’t have said anything.

He finished eating quickly, cleaned up, and sat back down. He should’ve taken his time to linger in the convenience store, but talking with Suhyeon had made him unconsciously fall back into his habit of rushing through meals.

He pulled out his power bank from his bag and plugged in his phone.

Where should I go...

Was he really going to end up sleeping on a bench?

Gripping his head, Giyeon glanced toward Suhyeon, reflected faintly in the glass window. Other than his older brother and his friends, Suhyeon was the only person he knew. His eyes drifted that way without meaning to. He hated bothering others—but if he stayed stubborn, he really might freeze to death.

He hesitated, then forced the words out.

“Um... sunbae...”

“...?”

Suhyeon looked over from where he was cleaning up his tray. Giyeon lowered his head slightly, unable to meet his eyes.

“If it’s not too rude... could you maybe let me stay over just for tonight?”

“...Huh?”

Giyeon flinched at the way Suhyeon’s brow furrowed. Of course he’d be surprised—Giyeon had always kept things strictly professional, and now he was saying this.

Just as he expected, Suhyeon replied.

“That might be difficult.”

Of course.

Giyeon couldn’t meet his eyes and quickly waved his hands.

“No, it’s fine. I’m really sorry for asking out of the blue.”

He probably had parents at home—it was a stupid thing to ask. Giyeon mentally scolded himself, bowed his head, and hurried to grab his bag. If he stayed any longer, the embarrassment might kill him. He rushed out of the convenience store and walked blindly in any direction.

Then or now... I still have nowhere to go.

The dark streets and biting air brought back memories from before the regression.

A stranger no one would notice, even if he died. It was all horribly familiar.

Guess I’ll find an abandoned building or something.

That’d be better than a park bench in this freezing wind.

And then...