Chapter 51

“Who are you and why are you in this house?”

“Ah, um…”

Purple grape clusters rolled miserably near the shoe cabinet. Just like Naru’s feelings right now.

The person who confidently opened Gyu-yeon’s house door and walked in was his older brother, Gyu-seong. Yu Gyu-seong. Naru had seen him briefly before. He was sure he’d seen him at Gyu-yeon’s Cafe, but meeting him like this felt strangely new.

No, not just new—his heart was trembling.

Gyu-seong asked rigidly about Naru’s identity. From his perspective, Naru could look like a trespasser in Gyu-yeon’s home.

Naru couldn’t answer properly. He knew answering immediately would avoid suspicion, but he was too shocked to speak.

The more Naru hesitated with a dazed expression, the more Gyu-seong’s face twisted. His hand was already reaching to call the police.

What should I say? How should I answer?

Her eyes darting in confusion, Naru answered in a timid voice.

“I live with Gyu-yeon…”

“What did you just say? Living together? With Yoo Gyu-yeon?”

“Yes…”

Naru hung his head deeply as if he’d committed a crime. There was no need to act so submissively just because he lived with him, but the atmosphere made it hard to lift his face.

Gyu-seong looked at Naru with disbelief. His brother Gyu-yeon had too much pride to let just anyone into his home. He also had a mild germophobia and strongly disliked sharing space with others.

But that kind of person was supposedly living with someone else. It made no sense.

And on top of that, the person looked shabby, had sticky moisture from a bunch of grapes on one hand, and seemed sloppy in some way—how on earth…

When Gyu-seong’s gaze turned suspicious, Naru hunched his shoulders up. Receiving someone’s disapproving look always tasted bitter.

“Why are you—no, first, I’ll ask this. What do you do for a living?”

“M-me?”

“Yes, you.”

“…Song Naru.”

“Is that your answer?”

“Ah, well, not yet…”

It was an awkward question. Was the question “what do you do” always this hard to answer? Naru had nothing to say, so he only gave his full name. It was the only thing he could say with any confidence.

Gyu-seong widened his eyes at the absurd answer. Song Naru—just a name. He expected some job or at least an explanation of his relation to Gyu-yeon, so answering only that was suspicious.

Naru trailed off and avoided his gaze. He felt like crawling into a mouse hole. He both resented and felt ashamed of not being able to introduce herself confidently in front of others.

Seeing Naru sulking with his head bowed, Gyu-seong stopped himself from asking more. He figured if he prodded further he’d break into tears, so he left it.

“Where is Gyu-yeon?”

“He’s on a business trip.”

“Huh…”

Gyu-seong sighed at the answer and immediately took out his phone. He seemed to be calling Gyu-yeon. Glancing at Naru now and then while waiting for the ring, he launched into his speech the moment Gyu-yeon answered.

“Yu Gyu-yeon, where are you?”

-Hyung? I’m on a business trip right now. I’m busy, so gotta go,

“When you come up, see me first.”

-Hyung, I told you I’m busy.

“I’m at your place now, and I ran into the person living with you.”

Gyu-seong’s side of the conversation was laid bare. Even though the voice was familiar, Naru couldn’t lift her head and shivered. He felt apologetic toward Gyu-yeon on the other end of the line despite having done nothing wrong.

As soon as Gyu-seong mentioned seeing the person living with him, an awkward silence settled. Gyu-yeon seemed flustered too. Naru had to endure about five seconds of suffocating silence.

-I got it, talk to me. Hyung, don’t say anything now, just leave the house.

“You damn—fine. Contact me as soon as you come up.”

Fortunately, Gyu-yeon roughly sorted things out. His request for Gyu-seong to leave was full of mixed emotions. Naru desperately hoped he would return soon and kept an eye on Gyu-seong.

The short call ended and Gyu-seong turned away without further comment. His disapproving gaze toward Naru remained, but with a face that forced restraint, he opened the front door again.

Clack.

The door closed. Gyu-seong left the house without a sound as Gyu-yeon had asked. Even after he left, Naru sat dazed, blinking. He couldn’t grasp what had just happened and felt unable to compose herself.

Buzz. Buzz.

At that moment, Naru’s phone vibrated. Staring blankly at the screen, he saw Gyu-yeon’s name and pressed the green button to answer.

Bringing the phone to her ear, he heard Gyu-yeon’s urgent voice—urgent, yet trying to remain calm.

-Song Naru, hello? Naru.

“Yes, Gyu-yeon.”

-My brother just came to the house—well, so. You were very surprised, weren’t you.

Gyu-yeon is kind. Though he acts prickly on the surface, his heart is warmer than anyone else’s.

Gyu-yeon’s gentle question steadied Naru. He didn’t want to answer in a droopy voice here; he hated the thought of him working the whole trip feeling uneasy.

Clearing his throat so sound wouldn’t carry, Naru replied in his usual bright voice.

“I wasn’t scared!”

-Not scared my foot. I’ll finish up soon and come, so stay put at home.

“Take your time. I’m okay.”

-I’m not okay. I’m worried. Don’t run away because you got scared by Hyung—stay home. Got it?

“Okay…”

Gyu-yeon suddenly warned him not to run away. He seemed to be worried about the time Naru had run off before. Naru, who had been faintly smiling, answered briefly and hung up.

After hanging up, silence settled in the house. Naru sat on the sofa, hugging his knees. The more he thought about earlier, the more his chest ached.

Despite his hollow eyes, his hands didn’t stop. Holding his phone, Naru repeatedly searched “how to find a job” and pouted.

Every posting required at least a high school diploma or a college degree. Naru had never attended school in his life. Looking at it now, it felt like he’d never lived like a normal person.

“Why am I so pathetic…”

Naru gripped his head with his fist until it hurt and squeezed his eyes shut. He resented and pitied himself for being nothing.

He was an adult, yet he had to live like a fool because he was a Beastkin from another world and had been locked in a basement—it felt unjust.

Until now he had wanted a job simply to stay by Gyu-yeon’s side, but after facing Gyu-seong, Naru found a clear purpose.

He wanted to be confident enough not to be ashamed beside Gyu-yeon. How nice it would be to have a respectable job like others and introduce herself with confidence.

It was the first real life goal he’d had since facing this new world.

Meanwhile, Gyu-yeon, who was on a business trip in the provinces, was wringing his hands worrying about Naru being alone at home. He’d felt uneasy even when leaving, but after Gyu-seong’s call his mind became unbearably tangled.

When he called Naru and heard his voice, he sounded okay. But he couldn’t know for sure without seeing him.

“Let’s skip the Cafe for now and just check the farm today.”

“What? We’d have to come back here anyway to check the Cafe.”

“Something urgent came up. If it’s too much trouble then I’ll come myself later.”

“Boss, you really have an urgent matter…”

As Gyu-yeon strode into the farm and spoke in a brusque tone, Seo-yeon looked at him in surprise. Gyu-yeon hated doing the same job twice; for him to postpone work and offer to take the annoying task on himself suggested something serious.

Jeong-su, who had come along with Seo-yeon, exchanged a look with her—one that said they’d seen it all. Gyu-yeon didn’t pay them any mind and busied himself inspecting the farm. He just wanted to finish quickly and get back home.

That day, Gyu-yeon couldn’t focus on work for the first time. He usually kept work and personal life strictly separate, but this time that was harder than usual.

Seoyeon, seeing him like this for the first time, tried to be considerate and focus on the work. Jeong-su did the same.

“I think a deal would be okay. The farm’s fine and the blueberry condition is very good.”

“Yeah, seems so. Then let’s do that…”

Jeong-su, who had tasted the blueberries, nodded in satisfaction. He asked Gyu-yeon if the deal was okay, but Gyu-yeon didn’t answer immediately. As Jeongsu prepared to ask again, Seoyeon subtly nudged his side.

Gyu-yeon answered half a beat late and hurriedly exchanged documents with the farm owner. It would have been a mess if Seoyeon and Jeongsu hadn’t come along.

Having finished work in a flurry, Gyu-yeon immediately got into the car. Seoyeon hurriedly grabbed Jeongsu as he tried to hop in.

“Boss, we’ll go separately. You go ahead.”

“I’ll give you a ride—what did you come in?”

“Oh! We’ll check the Cafe and then head there. We’ll take pictures and show you.”

“You don’t have to go that far,”

“Ah, go quickly. We’ll see you when you come up to Seoul. Stay sharp until then!”

Seoyeon, who had shut the driver’s door for him, tapped the window as if urging him to leave. Gyu-yeon, uncharacteristically apologetic, looked at Seo-yeon and Jeong-su, thanked them, and stepped on the accelerator.

Since his staff had been considerate, he needed to hurry to Seoul to meet his brother and sort out this absurd situation.

Above all, taking care of Naru came first. Worried and conflicted, Gyu-yeon pressed the accelerator harder.