The House He Prepared… Just for Me

“Here we are.”

The place Beomwoo brought Haejin to was a single-family house not too far away.

It wasn’t the kind of house chaebol families would live in.

But it was a neat house with a small yard, not located in a remote area either.

It seemed like a nice house.

But Haejin couldn’t figure out why Beomwoo had brought him here or where this even was.

It was a space he didn’t remember from his past life either.

Puzzled, Haejin looked back at him and asked.

“……Where is this place?”

“This is where Jung Haejin-ssi will live from now on.”

“Huh?”

This is…… the house I’ll live in?

Thinking about it, since he couldn’t return to that house, he did need a place to stay for a while.

But at most, he had only considered temporary lodgings like hotels or motels.

He hadn’t considered a regular house like this.

As Haejin stood there bewildered, Beomwoo went inside.

He turned on the living room light, and continued speaking.

“I didn’t know you’d be moving in this quickly, so the preparations are incomplete.”

“But it should be livable for now.”

“…….”

It was bewildering enough that it was a regular house.

Hearing that he had prepared it in advance, as if expecting Haejin to come, made it even more confusing.

It felt as if he had anticipated Haejin would ask him for help.

He had asked for help when cornered.

But seeing Beomwoo, who had even prepared a house as if he knew everything, was disconcerting.

He even felt a sense of having fallen into his trap.

As Haejin stood with a complicated expression, Beomwoo, as if reading his thoughts, stood in front of him and spoke again.

“Do you remember, at the playground last time, when I told Haejin-ssi I wanted to help you?”

At Beomwoo’s words, Haejin recalled that memory.

Back then, Beomwoo had said he would help him get out of that house, even without marriage.

That he wanted to help.

When Haejin nodded, indicating he remembered, Beomwoo continued.

“Since then, I thought Haejin-ssi would need a house to live in after leaving, so I prepared this.”

“Of course, it was prepared out of my own wish and arrogance, not with the intention of forcing you to come or anything.”

“So I hope you won’t take it the wrong way.”

“Ah……, yes…….”

Haejin had been thinking this and that about whether he had been ensnared.

But at Beomwoo’s words, he couldn’t say anything.

When you thought about it, Beomwoo hadn’t played tricks or done anything bad to him.

Today, Haejin was the one who asked for help.

Beomwoo had merely responded to his request.

Having a house to move into immediately was actually good for him.

Haejin decided not to think too badly of it.

He reasoned that it wasn’t strange for Beomwoo to be so confident.

He set aside his questions about the house.

Anyway…….

Even after setting aside questions about the house’s existence, the bewilderment remained due to the house’s scale.

Considering he was from a chaebol family and his usual spending habits, it would have been stranger if he had gotten a semi-basement or a small studio.

Given his nature and his position of wanting to make a good impression on Haejin, it seemed unlikely he’d get a studio or semi-basement.

But even so, it was…… an excessively nice house, to the point of being burdensome.

The yard he saw when entering, and the interior too.

By his standards, it seemed like three or four more people could live here without it being uncomfortable.

Honestly, for him, a space where he could just lie down after leaving that house would have been enough…….

It wasn’t like he was giving him the house, just telling him to stay here temporarily.

But the thought of living here alone was burdensome.

“But this house…… seems too much…… for me to live in.”

“What’s ‘too much’ about it?”

“And it’s originally a house I owned.”

“It’s not a house I newly bought for you to live in.”

“Still…….”

“If I went and bought a small, narrow house separately with money, wouldn’t that also be a burden on you?”

“……That’s true…….”

“Then you understand that this is the cheapest option for me too.”

“…….”

Beomwoo acted as if he had just given out one of the houses he owned, not a big deal.

He also said that it was better to provide an empty house he already owned than to spend money separately getting a smaller, shabbier house.

He explained that this was a much less burdensome path for him.

Thinking about it, someone of Beomwoo’s chaebol status had no reason to own a studio or a small house.

Even Haejin thought this was probably the smallest house Beomwoo owned.

It seemed pointless for him to express more burden here.

Haejin firmly closed his mouth, swallowed his words of burden, and began looking around the house again.

Although he felt burdened living in such an excessively nice place, it also meant it was that good.

Before his regression, he had lived with Beomwoo in a place much more excessive than this.

But that house felt uncomfortable, like wearing ill-fitting clothes, and never felt like home.

This current house also had its incongruities as something ‘his’ and exceeded his level.

But perhaps because it felt much more realistic than back then.

Or maybe because it was a house to live in alone, not with someone else, the feeling was different.

As Haejin’s eyes softened while looking around, Beomwoo took a black card from a pocket near his chest and handed it to Haejin.

“You probably couldn’t bring anything out in a hurry, so use this to buy what you need for now.”

“Ah, no!”

“I can’t accept that too…….”

“I’ll buy the necessary things myself!”

Having been provided with a place to stay, accepting this too would make him feel truly shameless.

So he firmly refused.

But Beomwoo hardened his expression seriously.

“I’m not giving this because you have no money and look pitiful.”

“If you use something under your name for payments and such, it would be too easy for your guardians to track your location.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to use mine.”

“Ah……?”

Beomwoo insisted he was giving the card for another reason, to avoid tracking.

He strongly recommended using his card.

He had sometimes seen in movies people on the run using burner phones or cash to avoid tracking.

But in Haejin’s mind, that seemed unrelated to him.

“My aunt and uncle aren’t people with that kind of capability…….”

“This is probably the first time Haejin-ssi has left like this, so we don’t know how they might come looking for you, right?”

“That’s……”

Haejin tried to refuse indirectly, saying it wasn’t necessary to go that far.

But Beomwoo was adamant.

Since this was the first time he had left that house to become independent, we don’t know how they might act.

It’s right to be as careful as possible.

No matter how much he thought about it, they didn’t seem like people who would go that far.

But what Beomwoo said wasn’t wrong either.

And if he dismissed it as unnecessary and then they really did track his card and messed things up, it would ruin Beomwoo’s plans.

Having already been caught by his uncle today, he couldn’t be more stubborn.

As Haejin couldn’t counter any further, Beomwoo, seeming to notice, extended the card again and raised one eyebrow.

“Are you going to make me hold this forever?”

“…….”

“My arm hurts.”

As if holding one card with those sturdy arms would hurt.

Urged to take it quickly, Haejin accepted the card from him with a somehow unfair feeling.

Even though he was in a situation where he could live off someone else’s money after receiving his help, he didn’t know why he kept feeling like he was losing.

He had no choice but to accept the card for living expenses from him.

But he could pay back the amount he used later, or just use as little as possible…….

Since he was naturally frugal, he could probably manage by being even more careful.

As Haejin thought about minimizing the help he received, Beomwoo, completely unaware of such thoughts, became triumphant.

“Since it’s better not to leave records, I’ll bring a new phone tomorrow too.”

“Huh?”

“A phone too?”

“Phones can also be tracked.”

“As I said, from now on, things mustn’t go wrong, so please do that.”

“…….”

A credit card, and now a phone to avoid tracking…….

It felt like things that only happen in movies were happening to him.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed excessive.

But if he refused out of not wanting to burden Beomwoo and they really did track the phone, it would end up causing him harm.

So he had no choice but to nod.

Receiving so much from him in an instant felt like his soul was being sucked out.

As Haejin stood dazed, Beomwoo took a step back as if that was enough and spoke.

“You must be tired today, so rest.”

“I should be going now.”

Beomwoo said to rest for today and prepared to leave.

A lot had happened today, and it was late.

Haejin nodded blankly.

But come to think of it, what Beomwoo had agreed to help with wasn’t just finding him a place to live.

It was to help him escape their abuse.

Somehow, if he let Beomwoo leave like this, he felt like he would just stay here comfortably while Beomwoo solved all the problems.

He had asked for help, but he didn’t intend to dump everything on him.

Haejin stopped him as he was about to turn away.

“U-um, Beomwoo-ssi.”

“Actually, since this is my matter……, if there’s anything I can do, I want to do it too.”

Haejin expressed his will to actively participate in this matter.

He hadn’t joined hands with him with a light heart, thinking he would just receive help.

As Haejin held his wrist tightly and met his gaze directly, Beomwoo looked back at him and silently stared into his eyes.

He already found it difficult to make eye contact normally.

The gaze meeting his was strange, creating a tense moment.

Beomwoo spoke to him.

“Will you even marry me if I said it was necessary?”

“Huh……?”

“That……”

He was prepared to do whatever was asked diligently…….

When the forgotten topic of marriage came up, Haejin froze as if pause had been pressed.

Unable to hide his agitated face, he bit his lip.

Beomwoo spoke calmly, as if he had expected this.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you when the time comes if it’s necessary, so it’s not something for you to be concerned about.”

“…….”

“Let’s meet next time.”

He was brushing it off as if it were a joke.

But knowing he truly desired marriage with him made it impossible to dismiss it as a mischievous joke.

Knowing this wasn’t someone who would make such frivolous jokes made it worse.

This time, as Haejin couldn’t stop him, Beomwoo bowed slightly and left the house.

Left alone in the spacious house, Haejin stood like a stone statue, quietly watching the spot where he had left.

Belatedly coming to his senses, he muttered to himself.

“……I know it’s because of the inheritance.”

In this life, him helping him and saying things like that was ultimately to achieve the goal of inheriting the fortune.

He knew from his past life, to the bone, that the inside was empty despite the fancy shell.

He knew Beomwoo didn’t like him or have any feelings for him…….

Yet, like a huge wave had swept over him, his heart swayed violently towards him again.

It might be partly because he hadn’t completely let go of his feelings for him from the start.

But today, because he had gotten him out of that house and been his support, his heart seemed to lean towards him even more severely.

……Honestly, in his entire past life, no one had ever helped him to this extent.

Because it was the first time since his parents passed away that he felt someone was on his side…….

But since it wasn’t the pure goodwill or feelings he desired, he shouldn’t waver.

Haejin thought his heart was too fickle and would be hard to guard.

He tried to steady himself by muttering like a parrot, imprinting the words ‘because of the miscarriage’ into his mind.