Il-Jo quickly expanded his territory in my house. One day, he asked if he could wash the laundry in the laundry tub, and not only the laundry but also the clothes in the dressing room were arranged by color and length, and he diligently found out how I had forgotten to dry the clothes I had left in the laundry room.

 The next day he asked if he could throw away the wine bottles that were covered in dust on the balcony. Also, at some point, he asked if he could use the ingredients in the refrigerator, so I secretly expected his cooking skills and told him to use it as much as he want….

To be honest, I really couldn’t cook. So, after telling him to make only what he want to eat, I ate the food I bought or takeout from outside as usual. After two weeks with Il-Jo, I changed my mind.

Living with him isn’t as bad as I think. Even so, his presence was so faint that I didn’t even know he was in this house. Before I spoke to him, there was no needless conversation, and he hardly ever left the room except for cleaning. Even though I said that he could watch the TV in the living room. Il-Jo never turned on the TV first. Maybe it’s because of the feeling of debt to live on top of each other.

He devoted his energy and passion to the chores of the house. And I sometimes pack dinner for two for the guy who can’t afford to eat after work. So, the days of having dinner together at the table together increased more and more. Il-Jo still stays silent if I don’t initiate to talk to him, but it felt pretty good to have someone sitting opposite the table anyway.

I was adjusting to life with my cohabitation faster than I thought. It was a day like no other on the way home from work.

“Are there any fish you can’t eat?” I called Il-Jo and went into a sushi restaurant I frequent visits. When I got the call, Il-Jo gave the answer I expected.

“—fish? There’s nothing I can’t eat… why?”

“I’ll go buy dinner. Don’t cook.”

As soon as I hung up the phone, a thought occurred to me. Actually, it’s not that there no fish that he can’t eat, it’s that he don’t know yet. That’s a reasonable guess. He said he ate the avocado in the roll for the first time recently. As expected, Il-Jo was very pleased with the sushi I had brought.

The words of exclamation and thanks were more generous than usual. We sat happily facing each other at the table, but, as always, there was no conversation.

“… … .”

“… … .” I thought to myself as I chewed and swallowed the sushi. Come to think of it is it my fault , Il-Jo was still reluctant to speak to me first.

It’s only when he ask for permission to do household chores. But at the drinking party, he was able to communicate quite well… .

It seems that the problem was that I acted a little cold on the moving day. I don’t know if he think I’m reluctant to talk. In the end, I opened my mouth first.

“Can I ask you something?”

“…?” Il-Jo had already eaten half of the sushi. He lifted his head with food in his mouth and his cheeks bulged.

“Why did you call me that day?”

“Uh?”

“Honestly, I thought you were calling me to borrow money.”

He smiled as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. It’s been pointed out by several people, but I confuse what I really want to say as a joke.

So it seemed that Il-Jo was also confused.

Am I joking or not? Il-Jo looked at me for a long time and delayed the answer. Surprisingly, the guy doesn’t avert his gaze. The first thing that naturally turned to me was on my side. It was clearly visible that the neck of the guy was gulping over with a big swipe. After swallowing the food in his mouth, Il-Jo barely opened his mouth. “It’s not about money… .”

“I know.”

“You gave me your number.”

“am I?” I tried to remember. I don’t remember sharing cell phones with each other and taking pictures of each other’s numbers. “Oh, a business card?” I was wondering, Instead of answering, he nodded.

It’s really just giving a card. He’s a guy who hasn’t had a social life, so he’s mistaken like that. When I was in my own confusion, Il-Jo spoke again.

“I just remembered and called.” Like I just gave him a business card, I think Il-Jo just contacted me. I finished the meal vaguely convinced. And as soon as I put my chopsticks down, Il-Jo diligently cleaned up the messy debris on the table.

I thought it was the end, but this time I went to the sink and started dismantling the gas stove.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to clean this up… .”

I’ve never even thought about it in my life. The gas stove also needs cleaning.

“Leave it. After all, the helper aunt is coming.”

Il-jo, who was wiping the oil stains on the gas stove, put it down without a word. Then he comes back and sits quietly at the table again. The look in his eyes was asking ‘why?’ but I didn’t feel like explaining much.

It’s not that I wanted to have a friendly conversation after dinner, but it’s worse to act as if you’ve done everything after eating. But the flow of conversation had already stopped, and I couldn’t find anything to say.

I sighed. “Go in.”

“Well… .”

This time, in the seat where Il-Jo was sitting, he was dreaming for nothing. I think he had something to say, but that day, Il-Jo ended up not saying anything. And it wasn’t until the next day that I knew what he was trying to say to me. “Hey, the cleaning aunt, how much do you pay?” The moment I heard that, I quickly guessed where Il-Jo’s out of context question came from. Could you please ask for that money because you’ve been doing all of the chores? As if reading my inner thoughts from my raised eyebrows, Il-Jo was embarrassed and let out a stuttered excuses. “I can’t even give you a penny… I’m sorry. I’m not asking for anything. I’m just wondering if I should do it all… .” It was about pretending to be a bullshit. Clearly, even now, Il-Jo was providing more labor than just exploiting a modest monthly rent.

“Are you the type of person who doesn’t like to be in debt?” In response to my question, Il-Jo made a face like he did not understand. It was something I hadn’t really thought about.

“okay. I’ll tell her not to come starting tomorrow.”

“Ah really?” Perhaps he thought it was an overly quick decision, but Il-Jo was embarrassed even after he had asked for it.

I told the helper aunt on the phone right away. A person who had worked for three years without any major conflicts suddenly being told to quiting their job. And so far there have been no problems. Maybe we could just keep living like that.

Il-Jo does more housework than before because of the debt, and every time I get home from work, I pack dinner for two….

One day, instead of the dining table, we spread dinner on the table in the living room and watch TV together. While working two part-time jobs, Il-Jo swept and cleaned a house that was large enough for a large family to live in every day.

It must have been very difficult to manage various vases and objects in a glass window where dust could be seen sitting on it even if left alone for a day. Maybe that’s why, at first, every time I leave work, I have to leave my room open.

The days when the guy who had raised his head and said hello to him and his slept time gradually increased. Then, instead of fell asleep, I pulled out the food waste while pulling out the slippers and separated the garbage.

Now, on the other hand, I feel a sense of indebtedness. In this way, the sense of debt they had for each other appeared in the form of consideration. We continued to live together, balancing that tight balance. And, maybe, we could have lived a long time with each other taking care of each other like that.

Later, on the day when Il-Jo saved the money he earned from his part-time job to make a deposit and left this house, he said, ‘We’ve been doing well.’

Maybe one last time we had a drink together. Shaking off any conflicts that may have accumulated while living together with a glass of wine. And I’ll probably go to the house where Il-Jo moves.

He would have taken me to my car. It was a very different feeling from the day when Il-Jo came into my house, waving his hand on the way to parting.

That would have changed the way I thought about a human named Lee Il-jo. I could have stayed with a passing life like that. But the reason I couldn’t do that was because of Lee Il-joo himself.

“… what are you doing just now?” When I opened my eyes to the lukewarm and soft touch on my lips, he were looking at me with a shocked face from an overly close distance. The fluttering eyes confessed was obvious. He didn’t even try to lie, and was caught secretly kissing me while I was asleep.