Swallowed - Chapter 21

The rent must be well over a hundred, so it didn’t seem likely that he was paying for it himself. He had just turned twenty and wasn’t working a part-time job, so it didn’t make sense that he could afford it.

“I wasn’t planning on telling them.”

「What if your parents find out when they come over? What will you say?」

He’s still a kid, Seyoung thought. It was obvious his parents would oppose the idea, but it seemed he hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“Why would I need permission for who I let into my own home?”

「Your home?」

“My home.”

What is he talking about? Seyoung blinked in confusion, not understanding as they arrived at school. Checking the time, Jaeha saw they had some time to spare and led Seyoung toward the student hall. His plan was to get her to eat the porridge and take her medicine before the meeting.

「Did you pay for it?」

Since he wasn’t being clear, Seyoung ended up asking more questions. Jaeha, looking a little annoyed and troubled, eventually nodded.

“To be honest, I had a bit of a fight with my parents about my career path. My dad and brother told me to do what I want, but my mom was absolutely against it. She insisted I retake the college entrance exams, so I left on purpose, even though I could have commuted from home.”

Ah… Seyoung’s face darkened, but Jaeha gripped her hand tightly, telling her not to worry about it.

“In the end, I won, and I used my savings to get the place on a lease. My dad helped out a bit too.”

It was surprising that he had enough savings for a lease at just twenty, but considering how wealthy his family was, it made sense. And since his father helped, whatever was lacking wouldn’t have been an issue.

「If your mom finds out we’re living together, she’s going to go ballistic.」

“Why worry about that? And besides, how else are we going to do everything we want in four months if we don’t live together?”

「…….」

“I doubt even locking you up and staying with you 24/7 would be enough.”

Seyoung didn’t know what kind of expression to make, so she just stared ahead. Her hand felt numb from how tightly Jaeha was gripping it, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to let go or loosen his hold.

“Don’t even think about being apart from me. I’m going to tighten my hold on you so much that I’m not sure even consuming you to the bone would satisfy me.”

His last words were a bit frightening, and Seyoung shivered slightly. However, since she didn’t say anything, Jaeha didn’t pursue the topic further.

After seating Seyoung, he went to the convenience store to heat up the porridge. He also bought some hot dried pollack soup and laid everything out neatly on the table. His attentiveness as he handed her the spoon made a faint smile appear on Seyoung’s lips.

“You should eat too.”

She sang out softly, almost whispering, and Jaeha’s face instantly brightened. Seeing how happy he looked, Seyoung thought, How am I ever going to… She lightly rubbed her itchy throat.

After finishing the meal and taking the medicine, only five minutes remained until the meeting time. Jaeha’s phone was already buzzing with messages asking where he was. Unlike her, his phone was filled with inquiries, while Seyoung had only one message from Yu-jeong.

Holding hands, they ran to the open space in front of the central library, where someone whistled upon seeing them. Jaeha responded with a cheeky smile, while Seyoung pretended not to hear.

When they reached the bus, Jaeha reluctantly let go of her hand, his face full of regret. Seyoung smiled softly as she boarded the bus.

“Wow, Han Seyoung’s openly dating now, huh? I bet a lot of girls were aiming for Baek Jaeha. Who knew you’d claim him first?”

Even with the teasing from the Sunbae, Seyoung just smiled lightly and walked toward the back of the bus. She glanced out the window, but Jaeha was already out of sight. He had talked about wanting to ride the bus with her, but realistically, it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t a long trip to Gapyeong, so there was no need to feel regretful about riding separately.

Seyoung found an empty seat near Yu-jeong. Yu-jeong and Da-ram were sitting together in the back, with a few open seats here and there. With so many third and fourth-year students away for military service or exchange programs, the bus was never completely full.

“Hey! You’ve got a boyfriend now, so why are you sitting in the singles section?”

Seyoung’s eyes widened as Yu-jeong blocked her path to the back where she had been heading to sit next to Da-ram. When Seyoung silently questioned her, Yu-jeong smirked mischievously.

“They reserved this spot for couples! Your boyfriend is seriously bold. He actually asked to sit with you!”

Seyoung couldn’t believe it, but Yu-jeong was so excited to tease her. Just then, Seyoung felt a familiar hand touch her shoulder. She turned to see, as expected, Jaeha.

“They said I can sit here.”

He gestured with his chin toward the empty seat to the right. Too stunned to think about using her phone, Seyoung let Jaeha guide her to the seat. As soon as she sat by the window, someone whistled teasingly, and Yu-jeong burst into laughter.

Seyoung’s face flushed bright red. She had never imagined something like this would happen, nor had she ever expected to be the center of attention for such a reason. It was embarrassing.

「How did you manage this?」

“I asked the student council president. He gladly agreed since there are plenty of empty seats on the bus.”

「…….」

“He just said not to do anything inappropriate.”

Seyoung’s face flushed so deeply that it seemed impossible for it to turn any redder. Jaeha, finding her adorable, smiled. The sound of his quiet laughter tickled her ears, sending a strange sensation all the way down to her toes. When she looked at him with eyes welling up from embarrassment, Jaeha flashed her a smile.

“Holding hands should be fine, right?”

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers, firm yet gentle. The warmth from his hand seeped into her, as if trying to melt her coldness. Seyoung had no way to resist. All she could do was let herself melt into Jaeha, completely accepting him.

“How could he do this? Did you know that Jaeha doesn’t even have a passcode set on his door? He’s only using fingerprint recognition!”

“How he manages the security of his own home is his business.”

“Honey!”

When his wife, Hyun-seon, practically shouted his name, her husband, Kyung-duk, frowned, lowering the newspaper he’d been reading. It was a rare day when he didn’t have to go to work early. He had just finished lunch and was enjoying a leisurely cup of tea, but his wife, who had gone out early, returned in a foul mood. She was carrying a bundle of things—side dishes she had prepared at the crack of dawn. Seeing that she’d brought them back, it was clear she hadn’t been able to enter Jaeha’s place.

“That’s what you get for going without calling first.”

“I was just trying to stock up his fridge since he’s off at that academic seminar today. Don’t you remember? He declared he didn’t want to see me anymore! He acts like he was abandoned under a bridge and doesn’t have a mother.”

Hyun-seon was absolutely furious. She had gotten the door code from her older son, Je-seok, but when she arrived, she discovered there wasn’t even a code—only fingerprint access, which, of course, didn’t recognize her print.

She had even gone to the management office, claiming to be his mother, and had contacted the realtor to see if they had an emergency key, but these days that sort of thing was strictly off-limits.

“I feel so betrayed. I never had any trouble raising him, but ever since high school, it’s like he turned into a different person.”

“He’s just going through a phase.”

Though she returned home, her frustration festered, and she couldn’t hold back her anger. Now, looking at her husband, she redirected her fury at him. If he hadn’t allowed Jaeha to follow his own path, none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have moved out, and he wouldn’t have ended up in some strange college program instead of medical school.

“As a father, you should have guided him better. Look at his brother—he’s following the right path, but Jaeha is the odd one out.”

“He wanted to pursue his own interests. What good would forcing him to be a doctor do? That’s not how you become a doctor.”

“What? Are you belittling me because I’m not a doctor? How many years have I been living as a doctor’s wife and mother to a doctor son? You think I don’t understand?”

“If you understand, then why are you acting like this?”

“Jaeha is more than capable of becoming a doctor. You know that. You know how much he values justice and the sanctity of life.”

“Are we really going to fight about this again? Ugh, I should’ve just gone to work today.”

With a sigh, Kyung-duk folded his newspaper and tossed it onto the coffee table before standing up. His good mood was completely ruined. The couple had once had a harmonious relationship, but things changed drastically after Jaeha decided to pursue a non-medical path.

For Hyun-seon, there had been no other option for Jaeha besides medical school or dental school. His father was a hospital director, and his brother was a resident, so it was only natural for him to follow the same path. That was her goal, and it was her source of pride.

Since the days when she first joined a parents’ group when Jaeha was in kindergarten, Hyun-seon had been the most well-known and outspoken member. But that all began to crumble when he entered his second year of high school. Until then, he had never argued or resisted his parents’ wishes, but suddenly he claimed to have found something he wanted to do, going against everything she had envisioned.

What drove her even crazier was her husband’s attitude. He also wanted both of his sons to become doctors, yet he fully supported whatever decision Jaeha made. He even said he would allow it if Jaeha decided to drop out of college and travel the world. It was enough to drive her insane.

“I told you before—let Jaeha decide his own future. He’s an adult now. We’ve passed the point where parents should be meddling.”

“You ruined him before he even became an adult! You messed him up during the most crucial time of his life!”

“So now it’s my fault.”

Seeing the veins pop in Hyun-seon’s neck as she spoke, Kyung-duk sighed and relaxed. He knew full well that whenever it came to anything about Jaeha, her emotions would flare up. That’s why he had always tried to avoid this conversation. At this point, he regretted not going to work after all.

“I’m definitely going to make him retake the entrance exams!”

Oh, boy. With great effort, Kyung-duk resisted the urge to grab his head in frustration and instead headed into the bedroom to change his clothes.

“One son isn’t enough to satisfy your ambitions? What do you even think of your sons?”

Even though he agreed that Jaeha had been an obedient child, Kyung-duk knew that his early talk about becoming a doctor, like his father, was nothing more than a young boy’s fantasy. It was the kind of thing children say, like wanting to be a firefighter or president—not something deeply thought out.

And since he knew how difficult the path to becoming a doctor was, he had no intention of forcing his son down that road unless it was truly what he wanted. No one understood the challenges of that profession better than him.

Knowing that Jaeha would never give in just because his mother was pushing him, Kyung-duk hadn’t tried to intervene. He believed that if Jaeha truly wanted something, he would overcome these obstacles himself.

As he changed and prepared to leave, Kyung-duk couldn’t help but acknowledge that his wife’s desire to see their son was understandable. Even if they were on bad terms, she was still his mother, and it hurt that he hadn’t contacted either of them.

“I’m sure he’s doing fine, but we should at least see him. That little brat. School must be so fun that he can’t even bother to call.”