Living Together, Like This

The daily routine of cohabitation flowed smoothly.

Waking up together again made the reality of living in the same house strike him anew, and he felt somewhat flustered.

But as Beomwoo had said earlier, he perfectly maintained his boundaries.

He said they would live in the same house but avoid inconveniencing each other, and he truly did.

Beomwoo spent most of his time in the study, except during meals.

However, even though he was working, he was still human, so they occasionally bumped into each other in the living room or kitchen for bathroom breaks or other reasons.

Whenever that happened, Beomwoo would say, “I’ll go back in a moment,” and quickly leave, telling Haejin to relax.

He didn’t need to go that far.

Beyond being focused on work, it seemed like he deliberately stayed out to avoid making Haejin uncomfortable.

But it wasn’t as if they lived completely aloof from each other.

As he had mentioned when he moved in, they shared all three meals together, and if Haejin needed to go out, Beomwoo would either offer to go for him or accompany him.

It felt like he avoided encounters, yet whenever Haejin tried to do something, he actively helped.

They lived without inconveniencing each other, yet always mindful of one another…

It was a daily cohabitation life flowing with a strange tension.

A week had already passed since they began this peculiar cohabitation.

Fortunately, Jeong-yeon hadn’t shown up to harass him.

Jeong-yeon was someone who used illegal drugs and didn’t hesitate to commit crimes, so Haejin thought he might act more recklessly after missing his chance, but he remained quiet—whether he had given up or couldn’t approach because Beomwoo was by his side.

Thanks to that, their days were peaceful, but they couldn’t fully relax, unsure if they were in the eye of the storm.

“Does it suit your taste?”

Lost in thought, reminiscing about the past few days, Haejin was brought back by Beomwoo’s question from across the dining table.

Today too, Beomwoo had prepared breakfast.

Realizing he had been lost in thought with food in front of him, Haejin snapped back to reality and quickly answered.

“Ah, yes. It’s delicious.”

“That’s good to hear.”

When Haejin said it suited his taste, Beomwoo showed a faint expression of relief, as if he had been worried it might not taste good.

Since starting to live together, Beomwoo had prepared breakfast every day.

He hadn’t asked him to, but Beomwoo always woke up earlier than him to prepare it.

Feeling sorry for always being served, Haejin had tried to wake up first and prepare it himself a few times, but he often failed because Beomwoo woke up so early it was almost as if he were a short sleeper.

Anyway, as he had thought before when Beomwoo cooked for him, all his dishes suited his taste perfectly.

Haejin usually preferred light meals, and perhaps because it was breakfast, the food was just right—not heavy, satisfying, and tasty.

Come to think of it, all the restaurants Beomwoo had taken him to also suited his taste perfectly.

Since that was true in his past life too, he thought their tastes might simply be similar, nothing surprising.

But what was more intriguing was Beomwoo’s cooking skills.

Recalling his past life, he seemed like someone who wouldn’t need to step into the kitchen, so he wondered how he became so proficient, as if he had considerable experience.

It was a prejudice to think chaebols were incompetent at household chores and had never gotten their hands wet…

But based on what he had seen as his husband and his personality, which didn’t seem suited to such meticulous tasks, it felt even more unexpected.

As Haejin stuffed his cheeks like a squirrel, lost in thought again, Beomwoo, who had been watching him, tilted his head and observed him.

“But… is something wrong?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Your expression looks a bit subtle.”

Beomwoo stared at him and tapped his own face with his finger, as if pointing out that his expression was strange.

It seemed his expression had turned unpleasant while reminiscing about the past.

Haejin hadn’t been thinking anything particularly strange, but Beomwoo’s expression as he examined his face was quite serious.

Beomwoo scooped a spoonful of soup and muttered softly, “Is it too salty?”

He seemed to think Haejin was making an uncomfortable face because the food didn’t suit his taste but he was lying and saying it was delicious.

No, why that misunderstanding…?

He could understand other things, but to be misunderstood like that while thinking it was delicious to the point of finding it strange was embarrassing.

Besides, Haejin wasn’t so rude as to have such thoughts in front of food someone had prepared for him.

Unconsciously, he ended up honestly voicing his earlier thoughts.

“No! Nothing’s wrong… It’s just, like last time, you seem to know how to cook a lot of things.”

“Ah. So that’s what it was?”

Thinking this way might make it seem like he was looking down on Beomwoo, but it was better than being misunderstood.

So when Haejin answered honestly, Beomwoo reacted as if he hadn’t expected that reason, his face showing a mix of relief.

Haejin was relieved Beomwoo didn’t take his words badly.

Beomwoo, finding it somewhat absurd upon reflection, chuckled softly and muttered like a joke.

“Having money doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.”

“I-I didn’t think that…”

“Come to think of it, when media portray chaebol families, they show maids and people living without getting their hands wet. Watching dramas that depict them that way is absurd and even funny. Is that the perception of chaebols?”

Haejin grew flustered, wondering if he had upset him belatedly, but fortunately, Beomwoo understood why he might think that way.

…It was a relief he understood, but Haejin hadn’t thought Beomwoo couldn’t cook because of media portrayals.

It was because he had seen him in his past life after they married.

But telling him he hadn’t seen him cook during their marriage would likely make him seem crazy.

Thus, Haejin awkwardly raised the corner of his mouth and said, “Is that so…?”

Beomwoo, as if confessing, opened his mouth.

“Actually, it’s not entirely unfair to call it a prejudice; my family isn’t much different from how the media portrays it. We had maids since I was young, and I can count on one hand the times I saw my parents make something in the kitchen themselves.”

“So you didn’t have many opportunities to cook either?”

“I cooked for myself when I studied abroad. I found it quite interesting and even studied it.”

Studying abroad…

Haejin knew Beomwoo had studied abroad; he graduated from a world-renowned university.

But he hadn’t heard much about how Beomwoo lived while studying abroad.

In his past life, their conversations had occasionally drifted to such topics, but Beomwoo wasn’t one to talk much about himself, so it usually passed naturally.

Back then, they didn’t have enough emotional exchange for such trivial conversations.

Even when they talked, private topics were rare.

He especially wasn’t the type to boast about his past.

In his past life, Haejin had been curious about his past and wanted to ask at times but lacked the courage.

He feared Beomwoo would find him annoying for asking unnecessary things.

But why now?

He felt he could ask this life’s Beomwoo.

Since he had brought it up first.

Haejin hesitated before cautiously asking.

“So, there was no one to cook for you there?”

“I could have hired someone to cook or eat out, but I didn’t want to. Servants often relayed conversations, and in Korea, I was looked after extensively whether I wanted it or not.”

“Ah…”

“In Korea, not just cooking but many actions were restricted, and my duties were strictly defined. So, when I was there, I wanted to live freely and independently. Probably similar to how people feel when they start living alone normally.”

When Haejin mustered the courage to ask, Beomwoo gradually shared stories from his time studying abroad.

He said he could have hired people to live comfortably overseas as in Korea but wanted to try new experiences.

As he spoke, recalling the past, Beomwoo’s face showed weariness and boredom.

Honestly, Haejin couldn’t fully relate.

He had lived with his adoptive parents and had to prepare someone’s meals mechanically every morning.

If someone took care of him like today, he would only feel grateful.

Thus, hearing his words, he thought, ‘Must be nice to complain like that,’ but recalling Beomwoo from his past life, he could somewhat understand.

In his past life, the Beomwoo he saw was rather aloof and cold toward his parents, while his mother’s obsession with him was almost frightening.

When he first met his mother-in-law, he thought many parents were excessively doting on their children.

Plus, Beomwoo was outstanding in many ways and had many admirers, so such obsession was possible.

But over time, whenever he saw them, it felt like twisted love.

Her actions toward Beomwoo seemed less about loving her son and more about… creating a perfect machine solely for work.

This thought grew stronger after hearing stories from Beomwoo about his strained relationships with his brothers and his mother.

As Haejin recalled his mother, Beomwoo relaxed his stiffened expression slightly and continued.

“Breaking away from that and doing things myself one by one gave me a sense of achievement and an inexplicable relief. So even though I can’t cook often, I quite enjoy it.”

“Ah…”

Haejin let out a small sigh at his words.

He thought only he felt that way, but it seemed Beomwoo had felt similarly.

Perhaps because he viewed his mother so negatively, she seemed obsessed with Beomwoo as if he were a trophy son or merely for money.

Did Beomwoo also realize this and try to break away by living alone without servants while studying abroad?

Was that why he felt relief in that life…?

Though it was just his own speculation, he dared to guess.

While innate temperament played a part, could Beomwoo’s independence and coldness toward relying on others be due to his family?

The past him and the Beomwoo before him seemed like different people, but as he developed feelings for the man before him, he even tried to understand his past self.

Of course, understanding didn’t grant immunity for his actions when he received the infertility diagnosis in his past life, but the resentment he felt before was gradually subsiding.