The third match ended with another loss. I muted the headset, dropped the controller, and leaned back in my chair.
The room felt smaller now.
I stared at the ceiling again, listening—no sound from the hallway. Yuna's room was quiet.
I grabbed my phone and scrolled through old notifications. Group chats. Job boards. A few uninteresting DMs.
Then one caught my eye:
[Soo-ah 🐰]
"So you really came back, huh?"
I stared at the message for a second, a breath catching in my throat.
She hadn't messaged me in years.
Not for birthdays. Not for holidays. We didn't leave on bad terms—just stopped talking somewhere around college. She went to a university on the coast. I stayed in the city.
But here she was again, like she never left.
I tapped.
Me:
"Who told you?"
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Sunbae saw you at the 7-Eleven near your old apartment. Said you looked like a ghost."
Me:
"Sounds accurate."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"So? What, just slipped back into town like a stray cat and didn't even message me?"
Me:
"Didn't think you'd care."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"I don't. Just bored enough to pretend."
I smiled. That was always her tone—half-joking, a little mean, but never cruel.
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Still eating garbage convenience store food at 2am?"
Me:
"Not anymore. I've got… home cooking now."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Oh? 👀 Who's cooking for you?"
Me:
"My dad's wife."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Ah. The infamous stepmother. Heard she's your age?"
Me:
"Close."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Hot?"
I paused.
Me:
"I'm not answering that."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Answer enough."
I stood, stretched, walked toward the window. The streets were dead quiet now. One distant car passed. Nothing else moved.
My phone buzzed again.
Soo-ah 🐰:
"You busy now?"
Me:
"Not really."
Soo-ah 🐰:
"Wanna call for a bit?"
I hesitated, then typed:Me:
"Sure."
When I answered, her voice came through instantly. Calm. Familiar. Like I'd never left.
"Still sound the same," she said.
"So do you."
"I always do," she said lightly. "It's part of my charm."
I laughed. "You haven't changed much."
"Neither have you," she said. Then, softer, "Though your voice is deeper."
There was a beat of quiet.
"I missed that," she added quickly. "Not like… in a weird way. Just. It's nice."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I let it hang.
We talked for a while. About school. About people we used to know. A few funny memories—her trying to ride a bike in junior high and falling into a bush. My failed attempt to kiss a girl behind the gym and ending up with a bloody nose from her headbutt.
She laughed so hard at that she had to mute herself.
I hadn't laughed like that in weeks.
After a while, the tone softened.
"You okay, really?" she asked. "Coming home, all that?"
I hesitated. "I don't know yet."
"What's it like living with her?"
I paused again. "Complicated."
She didn't press.
"Just don't lose yourself in someone else's house," she said after a moment. "Even if they smile and feed you and make it feel easy."
Her voice got quieter. "You used to always do that. Let other people decide your pace."
That hit harder than I expected.
"I'm trying not to," I said quietly.
"Good."
We didn't talk much longer after that. She said she had work in the morning. I didn't ask what kind. She didn't offer.
"Text me sometime," she said before hanging up.
"I will."
The call ended. The room felt a little less heavy. Not light—just less loaded.
I set the phone down and sat on the bed.
I didn't think about Yuna for a few minutes.
That surprised me.
After the call ended, I didn't move for a while.
The room was dim except for the soft blue glow from the screen. My phone rested on my thigh. Soo-ah's last words echoed quietly in my head:
"Don't lose yourself in someone else's house."
I knew what she meant. She always saw more than she let on. Even when we were kids, she could read me too easily.
I pulled the phone back up, thumbed over her name for a second, then backed out.
Scrolled to Junho. Tapped call.
He picked up halfway through the first ring.
"Back already?" he said. "What, stepmom show up in lingerie or something?"
"Shut up," I muttered, but my voice didn't have much bite.
Junho chuckled. "So. What is it?"
"Soo-ah messaged me."
"Whoa. Blast from the past. She's still in town?"
"Yeah. Just talked for a while."
"And?"
"And it was… weird. Not in a bad way. Just familiar. Like I didn't realize how much I missed normal until I heard her talk again."
"Normal's overrated. That girl had a thing for you in high school, remember?"
I blinked. "She did not."
"She definitely did," he said. "I was there, dude. I saw the way she looked at you during that school trip when your dumb ass fell asleep on the bus and she gave you her hoodie."
"That was because it was cold."
"Yeah, and girls love giving guys clothes when they're cold. That's not a thing unless they want you smelling like them."
I shook my head, but a small smile pulled at my lips.
"She said something," I added. "Told me not to lose myself here. With… everything."
"Smart girl."
Junho got quiet for a moment, then said, "So what are you doing there, really?"
"I told you. I needed a break."
"Yeah, but come on. You could've crashed at my place or with someone from uni. You went back to your dad's house knowing his thirty-something wife was living there alone. You sure that wasn't part of the appeal?"
I didn't respond.
He sighed. "Sorry. That was a dick thing to say."
"No," I said quietly. "You're not wrong. I didn't come here because of her, but now that I'm here... it's like she's everywhere. Even when she's not trying. Especially when she's not trying."
"That's exactly the kind of woman who gets under your skin."
"I'm not doing anything, Junho. I'm not crossing any lines."
"Not yet."
I closed my eyes, leaned back into the wall. "I don't want this to be a thing."
"But it already is, isn't it?"
There was silence between us for a while. I could hear faint traffic on his end, probably from his apartment window.
"You know what I think?" he finally said.
"What."
"You're in the middle of a fire and pretending it's just warm air. That kind of heat doesn't stay quiet forever. It either burns everything down or forces you out."
"Nice metaphor," I said.
"I've been reading more."
"You liar."
He laughed. "Look, just—don't forget who you are. And don't forget you've got people outside that house. If it starts swallowing you, step back."
I exhaled slowly. "Yeah."
"You okay?"
"I will be."
"Text me if you need a distraction. Or if she starts walking around in just a towel. I want details."
"Goodnight, Junho."
"Night, man."