[ Episode 51 ]
Two days had passed since the trip.
On the day we returned, I was quite concerned about Blue’s family situation, but when I received a text from her in the evening, I felt that things might be getting a bit better for her.
And today. Originally, it was supposed to be the day for a match, but due to the monsoon, the match was canceled. I went outside with an umbrella, waiting for someone.
To be honest, I was waiting for Blue.
At her request, I had stepped out for a while. Not knowing why she called me, I stood still, listening to the sound of rain falling on my umbrella.
“A!”
I turned my head at the voice calling from a distance. Blue, dressed in a simple T-shirt and a long skirt as usual, was approaching under her umbrella.
“Don’t run.”
Seeing her hurrying towards me, I gestured for her to slow down, worried she might slip on the wet ground. Blue, realizing her mistake, slowed her pace and walked towards me calmly.
“Hello. Did you wait long?”
“I just arrived. So, what’s the matter?”
Though I had grown more comfortable with Blue after the trip, I still didn’t know her well enough to understand all her intentions.
If it was about her family, I couldn’t really help, and she wasn’t the type to ask me for help with such matters. Seeing her looking up at me, I grew curious about why she had called me.
“I’m thinking of looking at some houses.”
“Houses?”
I had heard she was planning to move out on her own. I even heard she had a savings account prepared by her older brother. I assumed she’d been looking around for places, but I didn’t expect her to call me.
“Yes. I don’t know much about it, and you were the only person I could think of to ask for help.”
I didn’t know much about houses either. In the 20 years I’ve been in Korea, I’ve lived in less than three houses.
The studio apartment I’m currently living in is the one I’ve stayed in the longest.
Anyway, even though I didn’t know much about houses, I thought it would be better to look together than her going alone, so I decided to accept her request.
It wasn’t like I could refuse. It would be strange to come all the way here and then go back home without doing anything.
“Sure. Have you found any places?”
“There are a few, but I plan to check out two today.”
Even though she asked for help, it seemed like she just wanted me to accompany her and give a few pieces of advice. Although my advice might not be of much help, I thought it was still better than nothing.
Just in case, while we were moving, I searched on my smartphone for tips on looking for a new place.
While I was busy looking at the screen for information, I must have seemed unstable walking, so Blue grabbed my arm.
“?”
I looked at her, feeling the soft touch on my arm, and Blue spoke to me in a tone similar to scolding a child.
“You shouldn’t look at your phone while walking.”
“Ah. Sorry. I was just trying to find out something.”
“Is it important?”
She seemed to think that I might have something urgent and felt bad for calling me out.
“I was looking up information about houses. I don’t know much about it either, so I thought it’d be good to learn a bit more before we go.”
“Ah.” Blue let out a short exclamation and nodded.
“Can I watch too?”
“Sure. That’s fine.”
We shared earbuds and walked closely together under one umbrella since holding two umbrellas would have been inconvenient. As we walked side by side, we looked at videos related to housing on a video site.
“It seems that newly built houses often cover up things like leaks.”
Confirming our understanding by discussing the video content, I recalled my experience of moving houses, which was rare for me.
“We need to check the water pressure in the bathroom too. If the water pressure is weak, it’ll be really inconvenient later.”
Hearing me, Blue nodded with wide eyes, acknowledging the new information she had learned.
After watching the videos for a while, we were getting closer to the houses Blue had been eyeing.
“It should be around here.”
Even though I had lived in Seoul for quite a long time, this neighborhood was new to me, with many studio apartment buildings lined up.
“How’s your budget?”
“Let’s see.”
Blue took out her smartphone, opened the banking app, and showed me her balance. I nodded, amazed at the substantial savings her brother had accumulated over ten years.
“Can you move in right away?”
“It might be a bit short, but if we work hard, won’t it be okay?”
To put it positively, she was optimistic; to put it negatively, she was somewhat naïve.
However, I didn’t think negatively. Seeing her take a positive attitude, thinking only good things would come, I didn’t think it was necessary to consider if she was being too optimistic.
Soon, we arrived at the first house Blue had looked into.
It was a slightly larger officetel than the one I lived in, with two rooms. It looked reasonably spacious and comfortable, but we couldn’t decide on a house just because it was somewhat nice.
“How’s the size of the main bedroom?”
“It’s not bad.”
As we conversed while examining the house, the broker trailed behind us, chattering away.
Since the house was newly built, it was clean.
“The distance to the mart is also appropriate.”
“It’s suitable for living alone, but it might be a bit cramped for a couple.”
When the broker chimed in from behind us, both Blue and I turned our heads simultaneously. It was understandable that they would mistake us for a couple since we were looking at a house together, a man and a woman.
“No. We’re not a couple. Just…”
Blue trailed off, trying to explain our relationship.
Thinking about it, our relationship was indeed quite ambiguous.
We couldn’t say we were acquaintances through kids at kindergarten anymore since we no longer had any involvement with the kids. We’re not exactly friends either, not close or comfortable enough to be called that.
But saying we were just acquaintances didn’t feel right either, considering we’ve traveled together and knew a bit about each other.
Anyway, our relationship was hard to define.
“Haven’t you two married yet?”
As Blue hesitated to explain, it seemed the broker now mistook us for an engaged couple about to marry. I couldn’t think of an appropriate explanation either.
We didn’t have to explain, but we both felt awkward leaving it ambiguous. It felt wrong to draw a line and define our relationship.
“No. We haven’t married yet.”
Deciding to just let the broker’s misunderstanding slide, I gave Blue an apologetic glance with my eyes.
After looking around the house, we stepped outside, and there was a slightly awkward atmosphere between us.
“I didn’t know how else to explain…”
“I didn’t either, but I didn’t expect you to just agree there…”
Feeling like I might’ve disrespected Blue, she also turned red, perhaps recalling the ambiguous atmosphere during our house tour.
“How was the house?”
“It was suitable for living alone, but I wasn’t quite content with it.”
No matter how pretty or well-designed a house is, there’s a moment when you think, “This is it.”
And usually, those houses are expensive.
“Let’s look at some more places. We have time, and it doesn’t cost anything to look at houses.”
“Can we look at a few more than planned then?”
It seemed she didn’t want to trouble me too much and so initially decided on seeing just two places. While it didn’t cost money, looking at houses turned out to be more tiring than expected.
Though I couldn’t tell her, my physical abilities were far beyond that of an average Earthling. With no match today, I had time to spare, and I decided to help Blue as much as I could.
“Sure. Since we’re here, let’s look at places that exceed your budget too.”
It seemed my joke hit the mark, as Blue smiled, and sharing an umbrella, we headed to the next house.
After visiting a few more houses, there were places that felt quite suitable.
At some point, I started looking at the houses from the perspective of a resident, even wishing I could move in.
And as a man and a woman of similar age looking at houses together, most brokers mistook us for either newlyweds or a couple about to marry. Initially, I just let them think what they wanted, but later, Blue, probably tired of explaining, just accepted the label of being my wife.
And surprisingly, it was then that we first came to know each other’s ages.
“Not much of an age difference.”
Of course, my age was arbitrarily set for living on Earth and wasn’t real, but judging by Yubin and Yura’s reactions, I apparently look that age.
According to Earth’s standards, I was 25, and Blue was 28. Despite her youthful appearance, which made me a bit surprised when I heard her age. Although 28 isn’t particularly old, there are people at that age who look younger than they are.
Blue had also been considering me to be in my early twenties, hence her slight surprise when she found out our age difference was only three years.
“You can speak comfortably since I’m younger.”
“No. How could I…”
Even to the casual observer, she seemed accustomed to using polite speech, and imagining her speaking casually, given our recent acquaintance, wasn’t quite possible.
Moreover, had she intended to be less formal with me, given my evidently younger appearance, she would have inquired about my age to clarify the senior-junior dynamic earlier.
“Would you prefer I call you ‘Noona’?”
The term ‘Noona’ didn’t come naturally to me. In my life, the older women I’ve known were not ones I could refer to as ‘Noona’—not because they were elderly, but because most were my superiors at work.
For instance, there’s Esmeralda, the team leader of Team 1, and Angelique, the team leader of Team 2 among others. There weren’t many older women in my life I’d call ‘Noona.’
“Calling me as you do now is fine, please feel at ease.”
Though we both suggested that the other decides what’s comfortable, we agreed to maintain our current dynamic for the time being.
After looking at some houses, it was already getting dark.
Due to the heavy clouds, we couldn’t see the sun setting directly, but the sky was noticeably darker.
“Is this the last house for today?”
“There’s one more, but…”
“But?”
As she started to put off her words, I interjected, seeking clarification, and she continued.
“It’s above the budget.”
“Let’s at least take a look. It’s free to preview.”
Earlier, I’d jokingly suggested we look at houses beyond her budget, and it appeared she did indeed consider some, though she hadn’t planned on actually visiting them. Under the circumstances, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to view them.
So, we headed to the house Blue was interested in. It was a top-floor apartment in a high-rise, spacious, and the high ceiling made it look incredibly large. The design was well thought out, and the colors along with the scenery outside the windows were magnificent, making it understandable why Blue considered it despite the budget.
“How much is this one?”
When I asked about the price, whispering as if to avoid letting the broker know we couldn’t afford it, Blue told me.
Upon hearing the price, it was clear it exceeded her prepared budget.
“It’s just that I’d like to live in a house like this someday, but it’s okay.”
It seems she’s ambitious but not obsessive over this house. Even I, who doesn’t know much about houses, could clearly tell this was a good one.
If I were to buy a house like this…
At that moment, something crossed my mind.
Just two months ago, when Yubin and I had just started dating, a conversation I had with Luche resurfaced.
And smiling, I stopped Blue, who was about to leave, and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“This house. There might be a way to afford it.”
“Huh?”
Blue had no idea what I meant and looked at me with a puzzled expression.
