Swallowed - Chapter 28

After seeing Jaeha off, Seyoung leaned against the shoe cabinet. She spun around, gazing into the house. It felt strange being alone in Baek Jaeha’s space without him.

Even until the moment right before he left, Jaeha had been clinging to her and nibbling, leaving her feeling completely disheveled. She felt hot inside, as if her whole body had been warmed, and the lingering heat refused to die down. Not wanting that warmth to fade, Seyoung grabbed her phone and returned to bed. Pulling the blanket over herself, she felt a faint sense of being embraced by Jaeha.

She put on some soft music and opened her messenger app, only to find a message already waiting. Jaeha had said he would contact her on his way home, but it was faster than she expected.

“I’m at the subway now. It’s crowded since it’s the weekend.”

Seyoung chuckled at the tired emoji that came with the message. It was one she hadn’t seen before and made her wonder when he had bought it. When she replied, “Cute,” Jaeha sent an even cuter emoji—a bunny with oversized ears showering hearts everywhere. The abundance of hearts was almost dizzying.

“By the way, what do you want for dinner? I can pick something up if you want.”

“I’m still full from earlier; I don’t think I need anything.”

“That was lunch though. How about chicken?”

“Are you telling me to eat alone?”

“Do you really think I can’t eat chicken with you after dinner? I could eat two whole chickens by myself!”

An emoji of someone dancing with chicken drumsticks in both hands arrived along with his message. Seyoung couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Jaeha’s sense of humor. Why did he even have emojis like that?

“Alright. I like wings.”

“Got it. But are you seriously telling the wings you like them before telling me?”

Seyoung, caught off guard, hesitated to reply right away, and Jaeha sent another emoji. This time, the bunny that had been showering hearts earlier was now sobbing, tears streaming down like waterfalls. The sight was so pitiful that it tugged at her heartstrings.

She quickly glanced at her emoji options. Since she had never purchased any, only the default ones were available. While there were a few hearts, none seemed right, so she ended up browsing the purchase page. Throughout the process, she couldn’t stop her lips from twitching in amusement.

Seyoung spent about ten minutes deciding. What amused her was how patiently Jaeha waited. After much deliberation, she finally sent an emoji.

***

“Seriously, Han Seyoung…”

Jaeha received the message just as he arrived at the subway station near his house. He was getting ready to disembark when his phone chimed, and he quickly checked the message. After all that deliberation, the emoji Seyoung sent left Jaeha feeling deflated. A helpless laugh escaped his lips.

All he had wanted was for her to say she liked him, but what arrived was… an emoji. And it was…

“Am I just some cutesy dog to her?”

The emoji showed a puppy being affectionately hugged. To make it worse, it even had “Aww, so cute~” written in Korean. Jaeha stared at the emoji, even pressing it to see it move, the excessive display of affection making him chuckle bitterly. The people exiting the subway around him passed him by as he stood there.

Jaeha opened the emoji list and saw that Seyoung had emojis that said “I like you~” and ones with hearts in their eyes. Yet, she chose the cutesy one instead. It felt like she was saying their relationship was like a doting owner and a puppy in heat. As he stared at it, another message came through.

“I can’t resist you.”

As if she knew Jaeha would be disappointed, the next emoji said, “I miss you~.” Jaeha smiled and sent a quick reply, along with an emoji of someone running toward her.

Well, he hadn’t expected to hear her true feelings all at once. No need to be greedy. Jaeha reassured himself as he started walking again.

“I’m home.”

Entering the house after punching in the door code, he was met with a lively scene. It looked like quite a few people had already gathered, with several pairs of shoes at the entrance.

“Hey, Baek Jaeha! Congrats on getting into school.”

His cousin, Young-ah, approached and raised her hand for a high-five. Jaeha smiled and smacked her hand, the sound echoing cheerfully. True to their family genes, Young-ah was nearly 180cm tall despite being female. She had played tennis when she was younger, so her strength was no joke. Jaeha rubbed his stinging hand as they walked further into the house.

“You’ve gotten even stronger, haven’t you?”

“I’ve been playing tennis again. My body felt too sluggish.”

“Let’s play a game sometime.”

“Sure, but I’m not going easy on you.”

“Go easy, will you? Is Uncle here already?”

“He’s inside, already having a drink. So you’ve started living on your own? Impressive! How did you get permission for that? Aunt’s not the type to agree easily.”

Young-ah had only heard today that Jaeha had started living on his own. She had assumed he would be at home, but when she asked around, she found out he had moved near school. It was unbelievable. She couldn’t imagine Aunt letting him live alone, especially since it wasn’t far away.

“No parent can win against their child.”

“You’re really saying that yourself? Still, I’m jealous. I wanted to live on my own, too.”

Young-ah was in her fourth year of university, preparing to start her career. While she had traveled a lot, she had never had the chance to live alone. In fact, no one in the Baek family had lived on their own during university.

“You’ve changed a bit, haven’t you?”

“I’m in college now. I’m an adult.”

“Oh, really?”

Young-ah ruffled her younger cousin’s hair, or at least tried to, but Jaeha quickly dodged out of the way. Her eyes narrowed. She felt a little disappointed that Jaeha had grown so much, now taller than her. She couldn’t even put him in a headlock anymore. Feeling strangely annoyed, she smacked him on the back, causing Jaeha to yelp in exaggerated pain.

“Your hand is a weapon, no joke. That really hurt.”

“It was supposed to. Come on, let’s go inside. The adults are waiting.”

Jaeha glared at Young-ah while rubbing his back. When they went inside, the dining table was already covered with food, and his father and uncle were sharing drinks. Upon seeing him, Hyunseon, his aunt, approached with a bright smile.

“Jaeha!”

“What’s going on? Is today a special occasion?”

“Does it always have to be a special occasion for me to see your face? How could you not call your mother even once?” Hyunseon’s words were sharp.

“I’ve been too busy adjusting to school,” Jaeha replied nonchalantly.

Hyunseon shot a glare at Jaeha, but before she could say more, he went over to greet his father, leaving her unable to hold him back. Her heart ached, but her son remained cold and distant. Seeing her aunt’s eyes narrow in frustration, Young-ah chuckled quietly to herself. No matter how strong-willed a mother might be, like Jaeha said, no parent could win against their child.

“Father, I’m home. Uncle, it’s been a while,” Jaeha said as he greeted them.

“Ah, Jaeha! Come over and sit down,” his uncle called out, holding up a bottle of liquor.

Jaeha moved over and found an empty glass, accepting the drink without hesitation. His uncle laughed heartily as Jaeha downed it.

“How’s school? No plans to take another year off?” his uncle asked.

“I’m enjoying it, and I’m satisfied. I got into the school I wanted, so why would I want to do that?” Jaeha replied confidently.

“Well, isn’t that something. I know the president of Korea University, and he mentioned that the Global Studies department isn’t particularly famous.”

“It’s got a bright future ahead. There are plenty of opportunities to go abroad, too.”

Impressed with Jaeha’s smooth response, his father raised his glass in silence. Meanwhile, Hyunseon, who had been fuming nearby, finally lost her patience and approached them.

“Brother-in-law, you need to talk some sense into Jaeha. I have no idea what’s gotten into him.”

Jaeha chuckled at his mother’s persistence. This was precisely why he didn’t enjoy coming home. But no matter what she said, he wasn’t bothered by it. If he cared, he would’ve applied to medical school as she wanted from the start. Jaeha had always been the type who, once set on something, never hesitated or wavered.

“If he’s happy, what can we do? It’s not like he’s being reckless or wasting time. He’ll figure it out,” his uncle replied with a laugh.

Seeing Jaeha agreeing with his uncle, Hyunseon could only clutch her head in frustration.

At that moment, Jaeseok and his cousin Youngjun came out from another room and greeted Jaeha warmly. As everyone gathered at the table to eat, Hyunseon had no more chances to express her discontent. She was still upset that she hadn’t been able to get into Jaeha’s place the other day, but her son didn’t seem to care at all.

“Tell us some stories about university,” someone asked.

“It’s only been a week, so there’s not much to tell. Oh, I did attend an academic seminar. Actually, I just got back from it today, so I’m a bit tired.”

“University students go to seminars?”

“Well, it was called an academic seminar, but it was more of a bonding trip for all the students. Even the professors joined in. It was a good chance to get to know people and hear some advice.”

“Sounds nice. Your department seems pretty close-knit.”

“Yeah, it is. Everyone, even the Sunbaes, are really tight.”

“Wow, in my department, we didn’t even know each other’s faces. So, have you met anyone interesting? A week is plenty of time to start dating.”

Jaeha smirked and picked up his chopsticks, but that slight reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Young-ah, who pounced on it.

“Well, well, Baek Jaeha. You start university, and you’re already getting into a relationship?”