I Was Almost Free… Until He Walked In

It was absurd how he could be so brimming with confidence, but since he was someone with a source for that confidence, Haejin had no retort.

Moreover, there was his own history of falling in love at first sight.

As Haejin fell silent, tongue-tied by absurdity and panic at his words, Beomwoo looked at him and tilted his head to one side as if asking why.

“Then isn’t it settled? Even if nothing changes between us, I’m saying I’ll take responsibility, so I don’t know what you’re hesitating for.”

“……”

He wanted to refuse because he had nothing to give in return if Beomwoo invested in him without any feelings…….

Beomwoo, unaware of Haejin’s inner thoughts, waited for his consent.

Faced with Beomwoo’s demeanor, which seemed like he wouldn’t back down no matter what, Haejin pressed his lips together firmly.

It felt unfair to the current Beomwoo to only receive, and if they got entangled, it was obvious giving up his feelings would only become harder.

The temptation of being helped out of that house was immense, but Haejin had his own plans too.

Haejin hesitated for a moment but then shook his head firmly again.

“I know you really want to give me practical help, Beomwoo.”

“Even if there’s a purpose, you’re not forcing it either.”

“……”

“But I want to try on my own.”

“I think there’s a way I can do it, that’s why I’m doing this part-time job right now.”

Doing part-time work to get a one-room apartment with that money.

Truthfully, it wasn’t a perfect method to escape from there.

Leaving the house might be possible, but they could easily find him using the fact that they were his guardians.

But he had never tried to escape from them on his own before.

Although he was weak and had little willpower…… he still wanted to try.

As Haejin revealed his firm resolve to Beomwoo, Beomwoo, who had been pushing relentlessly no matter how Haejin refused, halted his momentum.

Instead, with a face that had something to say, he moved his lips and finally spoke.

“……I understand your intention.”

“It seems you have your own plans too.”

“……”

“But still, if you ever need help, please contact me.”

“I’ll help you anytime.”

Beomwoo, surprisingly yielding smoothly, as if he saw merit in Haejin’s words, yet again seized an opportunity.

Perhaps because Beomwoo had been pushing relentlessly no matter what Haejin said until now.

Just backing off this much made it feel like he had considered Haejin’s thoughts.

Whether his expectations were too low, Haejin’s heart softened.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

“……If something comes up where I need to ask.”

Of course…… it seemed unlikely he would ever contact Beomwoo to ask for help.

While it was true he wanted to resolve things on his own, whatever happened, and even if things went wrong, he likely wouldn’t need to ask Beomwoo.

Unless it was someone else.

The situation was being resolved quite a bit just by this much.

Haejin felt that just this much was significant progress, let his guard down, and smiled faintly.

****

“Getting a monthly salary in cash feels refreshing, like it’s new, since it’s unusual for someone to ask for it that way. You worked hard for a month.”

A month had already passed since he started his restaurant part-time job.

The boss handed Haejin a white envelope as he spoke.

Salaries were usually transferred to a bank account, but Haejin had asked the boss to give it to him in cash.

If the salary was deposited into an account, his aunt and uncle would find out how much he received, and it was obvious they would take it.

A salary.

Even in his past life, this was the first time he had worked and received proper compensation, so it felt new.

Although he had handled large sums after marrying Beomwoo in his past life, he had never touched physical money like this, so it felt even more novel.

Unable to suppress a smile, Haejin took the money envelope with both hands and bowed deeply.

“Thank you.”

“I wish you could work longer. It’s hard to find someone as sincere as you, Haejin-ssi……. If you change your mind, contact me. I’ll welcome you anytime.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely contact you.”

Restaurant work was as tough as one would expect from the decent hourly wage, but it was better than being in that house, and most of all, the people he worked with were good, so he didn’t feel stressed by the work itself.

Of course, there were occasionally difficult customers…… but they were resolved one way or another.

He even thought it would be okay to work longer if circumstances allowed, but his plan was to work intensely for a month and enter a one-room apartment before the money was taken, so he had no choice.

As Haejin secretly swallowed his regret, the boss looked at him and asked.

“By the way, do you have plans for the future? Working intensely for just a month and quitting, asking for cash…… it seems like you’re planning something.”

“Ah……. Well……, I’m planning to live on my own.”

“Ahh, right. It’s the age to want independence. But if it’s for living alone, is there a reason you need it in cash? Do they give discounts for cash payments for that sort of thing?”

“Well…….”

The reason was complicated, but he couldn’t explain everything, so he gave an evasive answer.

The boss nodded as if he understood.

It felt like lying because it was closer to an escape than the ‘living alone’ the boss was imagining……, but since he hadn’t exactly lied, he didn’t say more.

He just smiled awkwardly.

The boss let out a regretful sigh.

“Aww……. Actually, if it was for another reason, I was planning to subtly ask you to work more. But if you’re going to another neighborhood and can’t work, that won’t work.”

“Ah…….”

“Anyway, whatever you do in the future, take care.”

It seemed he had planned to subtly ask for more work if there was an opportunity.

But hearing the reason, he seemed to think he couldn’t ask, patted Haejin on the shoulder, and wished him happiness in the future.

Looking at him, Haejin felt strangely emotional.

It was a touching feeling.

……There are clearly good adults in the world, so why had he never met any in his past life?

Since being left alone in this world, he had never met an adult who was kind to him.

His school teachers sighed deeply whenever they saw him because he couldn’t pay fees properly, his guardians were a given, and even Beomwoo’s parents after marriage were only cold and indifferent.

Everyone seemed bloodthirsty, trying to find fault with him.

But for the restaurant boss, whom he had only known for a month, to be more open and feel good towards him…… it was strange.

If there had been even a few more good people around him in his past life, perhaps he wouldn’t have been so lonely.

Anew, he realized how narrow his human relationships were in his past life and how small his world was.

Haejin carefully packed the money into his bag.

Parting with a good person was regrettable, but if he left that house and started anew…… he would surely see a wider world.

Imagining the near future, Haejin headed towards the house he didn’t want to go to, money in hand.

****

“Ha……. There’s more stuff than I thought.”

Haejin contacted one of the more decent goshiwons he had looked into during his part-time work and began packing his belongings bit by bit.

Fortunately, there was a vacancy, and it was a situation where he could move in immediately if he brought money and luggage.

Returning home, he started organizing his things one by one.

He thought he had nothing, but having lived here since he was young, he had more belongings than expected.

Since his guardians never bought him anything, he had developed a habit of not easily discarding things, thinking he might need them someday, so there was a lot.

Looking back now, after his past life, there were many things he wondered, ‘Why did I keep this?’

It was mostly unnecessary.

Turning the room upside down as if doing a deep clean, he separated things to throw away and things to keep, leaving the room in complete disarray.

Planning to go to the goshiwon as soon as tomorrow, he took out an unused travel bag and started packing.

At that moment, the door slammed open.

“Hey, Jung Haejin. Go out and buy something for a……. What’s this?”

His uncle, who usually showed no interest and never entered his room, suddenly barged in.

His uncle had come in to send him on an errand but frowned upon seeing the room in complete disarray.

Since cleaning was always Haejin’s responsibility and he usually kept things tidy, and his uncle wasn’t used to seeing messes, the room being dirty seemed strange to him.

Why at this moment……?

Even when sending him on errands, he usually didn’t enter the room, just called out loudly from outside for him to come out…….

He had been secretly preparing to leave this house, and now he had been seen.

His heart raced maddenly fast.

Had he been c-caught?

He desperately hoped his uncle hadn’t noticed, thinking the room was just dirty and looked odd.

But his uncle, looking around the messy room with an absurd expression, let out a hollow laugh, then widened his eyes sharply.

“Where are you trying to go, like a little rat?”

“Huh? Wh-where……. I was just cleaning.”

“Don’t lie. What part of this looks like a cleaning situation?”

“I was going to do it step by step. You have to take everything out to clean more thoroughly, so it’s like that.”

“Then what’s this bag?”

He tried to explain that for a deep clean, you take things out first, making it messier, but his uncle didn’t listen and pointed at the bag.

It was the bag where he had packed things to take, thinking he might leave as soon as tomorrow.

He never usually packed things into a travel bag like this, so the situation was suspicious to anyone.

As Haejin hurriedly tried to think of an excuse, his uncle strode over, picked up the bag, and turned it upside down.

With a clatter, the packed items inside fell out.

A few season-appropriate clothes and daily necessities spilled out.

Just looking at that, it seemed like luggage for a trip lasting several days.

He was still trying to think of an excuse, but this really left no room for escape.

His mind went blank.

His uncle, who had been laughing hollowly at the bag’s contents, was suddenly right at his feet.

When did he get here?

Startled, Haejin instinctively stepped back, but his uncle grabbed his forearm painfully tight, preventing him from running away.

It hurt, and he couldn’t break free by strength or situation.

As Haejin frowned, unable to think of a way to deny it, his uncle spoke to him.

“Take off your clothes.”

“……Huh?”

“I think you’re hiding more, so take off your clothes and show me.”

His uncle declared boldly that he was going to search his body.