“Mom....”
Hayeop was too ashamed to look her in the face. As he slowly approached, his shoes clattered around his feet. The sneakers Young Master had given him were far too big.
“My baby. My Hayeop.”
His mother wrapped her thin arms around him, and the smallness of her shoulders made his heart ache.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” His mother patted him on the back. He felt terribly guilty for having been ashamed of their circumstances in a moment of childish weakness. She had knelt because of him.
“I’m sorry you have such a pathetic mother.”
“No. I’m the pathetic one.”
Hayeop rubbed his tear-filled eyes with his fists. They came away damp. Struggling to smile, he spoke brightly.
“I guess you ate too much of the cold soybean noodles. You should’ve let them digest before you fell asleep.”
“I suppose so. My belly was full and my back was warm, so I drifted right off without even realizing it.”
“Come inside.” His mother tugged him by the shoulder. Come to think of it, where had Young Master gone?
Hayeop looked behind him. Young Master raised one hand slightly, then turned away with a languid smile, silently mouthing, “See you later.”
After taking her medicine, his mother gradually recovered. Hayeop carefully applied ointment to her back, made sure she slept soundly, and fed her plenty of good food. Before long, she even put on a little weight.
Thank goodness. If Young Master hadn’t been there, I truly wouldn’t have known what to do.
“....”
It was the first time anyone had stepped in to help him as though his troubles were their own. Young Master had once asked him where he came from. In truth, Hayeop had not known how to answer.
Twenty years old. Brief though his life had been, he had spent it wandering like a traveler.
After his grandmother died, his father came looking for him. Hayeop had not even known the man was still alive until they met at the funeral. His stepmother had come with him.
Are you Hayeop?
Everyone assumed stepmothers were wicked, but his had been a good person. “Aren’t you a sweet-looking thing?” she had said, stroking Hayeop’s head.
She fed the hungry boy and gave him a place to sleep, and eventually she gave birth to his little sister.
The baby was so pale, soft, and plump that she looked like a puppy. One day, his stepmother fell deeply asleep, exhausted from caring for her, so Hayeop gently tried to soothe the crying baby.
Shh. Soona, Mom’s sleeping. You have to be quiet.
When she would not stop crying, Hayeop carried his sister on his back. He took a leisurely walk around the neighborhood with her. He emptied his pocket money to buy the yogurt drink the baby wanted, showed her some ducklings, and returned late that night.
But then—
The instant he stepped inside, his stepmother slapped him across the face. Her expression was one of sheer terror.
He had not known. The possibility had never even crossed his mind, but apparently the entire neighborhood had been searching for them. In the blink of an eye, he had become a wicked boy who had kidnapped a little baby out of jealousy.
There was nothing he could do. He merely accepted that it had never been his place to stay.
He had wanted to dote on her. He had wanted to buy her ice cream and open yogurt drinks for her. He had wanted her to hurry up and grow... but he never got to see her grow any older.
And so, at sixteen, after graduating from middle school, Hayeop was sent to a factory.
It was a stocking factory.
The older factory girls were warmhearted and very kind. When they heard his story, they felt sorry for him and looked after him like a little brother. Hayeop quickly grew attached to them and made a life there.
Four years passed, and Hayeop turned twenty.
Then the owner stepped down and his son took over. The son kept leering at the women and pawing at them whenever he had the chance.
They all had difficult lives and could not afford to tell him no, so they could only frown and endure it. But seeing him torment women who were like real sisters to him made Hayeop’s blood boil.
And then—then it happened.
The break room had been empty. Hayeop heard a loud noise and went to investigate, only to find the owner’s son harassing one of the women, who was two years older than Hayeop.
Hayeop crept up behind the wretched bastard and struck him over the head.
....
That was when Hayeop first learned how easily a person could lose consciousness.
As he sat huddled miserably at the police station, he was terrified and anxious.
He had lived with his grandmother until he was thirteen, with his stepmother until he was sixteen, and at the factory until he was twenty. What sort of life awaited him now?
Hayeop.
That was when his mother appeared before him.
My child. My own flesh and blood. My baby.
Seeing him for the first time in fifteen years, she wailed and threw her arms around him. His father was a real bastard. He had never transferred Hayeop from his mother’s family register, so when the police contacted his legal guardian, they finally reached his mother in Seoul.
Wow, is this where you live, Mom?
Yes. The family who owns the house is away right now. You can spend the night here today.
Having only just arrived, Hayeop naturally had nowhere else to go, and his mother said he could stay for one night.
Then one night became another. One day it was too hot for him to leave. Another day, a sudden downpour came. And on another, he simply wanted to remain beside his mother for one more day.
...And then Jung Yoonwon appeared before him.
Will you make them for me too?
Young Master’s gentle voice echoed through his mind.
Hayeop hated poverty. He wanted only to be happy that his mother was recovering, but he also had to worry about the money they would owe afterward. He had been terrified that the hospital bill would be enormous, only to hear something unexpected: Young Master had paid the entire bill.
How could Hayeop ever express the full extent of his gratitude? He owned so little, while Young Master already possessed things far finer and prettier than anything Hayeop could offer.
Then something occurred to him.
Ah, cold soybean noodles. He said he wanted some.
Hayeop stopped by the market and found a rice shop.
“Want the cheapest ones?”
The shopkeeper asked because Hayeop usually bought the misshapen soybeans being cleared out at a discount, since he was only going to grind them anyway. This time, however, Hayeop shook his head.
“No, give me the best ones. The cleanest and biggest you have.”
On his way home, he looked up at the rooftop from a distance and saw the white blanket hanging out to dry. This was the time of day when Madam invited a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman over for a facial.
She won’t come out for at least an hour, will she?
Hayeop slipped into the kitchen and carefully locked the door. Then he moved about in secret. Having made the dish once before, he had already gotten the hang of it and quickly prepared a bowl. Carrying it with great care, he crept to Young Master’s room and knocked softly on the door.
“Young Master.”
“Yes, come in.”
Hayeop quietly opened the door. Young Master was sitting at his desk. He removed his glasses and turned to look at him. Overcome with shyness, Hayeop curled his toes.
“What’s that?”
Young Master set down the book he had been reading and gave him a questioning look.
“It’s cold soybean noodles.”
Hayeop lowered his eyes in embarrassment. Puzzlement appeared in Yoonwon’s gaze, as though he were asking what Hayeop expected him to do with them.
“Ah....”
Hayeop was suddenly mortified. Young Master had only asked him to make the noodles to comfort him. Hayeop had made such a fool of himself.
“I’m sorry. You were studying.”
Hayeop turned as if to flee, but Young Master rose from his chair and crossed the room in several long strides.
“No, give them to me.”
“I-I’m sorry. You didn’t really mean it.”
He hurried to leave the room so Young Master could return to his studies, but a long arm shot past him and slammed the door shut.
“You really don’t listen.”
The bowl was promptly taken from Hayeop’s hands. Bewildered, he looked up at Yoonwon. He did not have to force himself to eat it.
“I told you to give it to me.”
Young Master lifted the bowl to his mouth and tasted it. His hand was so large that the entire bowl fit within his grasp. He swallowed some broth, then slurped up the noodles.
“Mm.”
Hayeop watched Yoonwon nervously. His heart thumped wildly. Would it suit Young Master’s taste?
“It’s nice and nutty.”
A satisfied smile soon spread across Yoonwon’s face.
“I’m eating all of this.”
With that, he placed the bowl of noodles on his desk.
“My little parasite is quite the cook, isn’t he?”
“I picked the healthiest soybeans I could find. Not a single spoiled one.”
Hayeop blushed furiously. Yoonwon’s kindness left him not knowing what to do with himself. It seemed the rumors were true after all: Young Master was handsome, tall, brilliant, and kind.
O-of course, inviting a woman over while his parents were away—a woman who was not even his girlfriend—and kissing her while saying filthy things had made him seem like a real Casanova.
But even Yoonwon’s teasing remarks about him being a parasite and whatnot had begun to sound affectionate.
“There are lots of other things I’m good at making.”
Though Yoonwon had not asked, Hayeop quietly began boasting.
“The first thing I ever made was glass noodle stir-fry. People say it’s hard to get the flavor right even though it looks easy, but I was told mine was delicious. They even said I was ready to get married.”
“Mm,” Young Master rumbled deep in his throat.
“Who said that?”
“My mother.”
“It’s true. She said I could even open a restaurant.” When Hayeop added the explanation as though defending himself, Young Master merely smiled.
“You’d be good at anything, my little parasite.”
Emotion swelled in Hayeop’s chest. That’s right. I’m someone who can be good at anything. It was nothing like what his father had told him—that his life had been fucked from the moment he was born.
“Do you... think so?”
Hayeop lowered his head shyly, his plump cheeks rising. He felt as though his feet might lift from the floor at any moment and carry him floating up among the clouds.
Mom was right. Our Young Master really is incredibly kind and handsome, with such a warm heart...!