Love in Close Quarter

Lunch

Day 8

The bright midday sun shone down as I made my way towards our shared house. I decided to come home for a bit before continuing my meeting with a client later that afternoon. After spending the last two days completely immersed in work outside the house, I felt like I was falling behind in getting to know the other residents, and my introverted nature made me hesitant to talk to someone I didn't know well.

I opened the door to our house and found it eerily quiet. I knew some of them had gone to work, but I was hoping to find at least two or three people staying home today. Unfortunately, I didn't find anyone at the moment, and I was hoping to have lunch with them to get to know them a little better and not be the person who comes and goes in this house unnoticed. I sighed...

I decided to sit and stay quiet in the dining room so I wouldn't have to spend any more energy going upstairs to my room on the second floor.

After being silent for about fifteen minutes, I headed to the refrigerator to find some ingredients for my lunch today. I cooked my lunch, set it up for myself at the dining table, and was ready to eat it...

"Enjoy your meal..." I said to the food in front of me at the moment. At the same time, I heard someone open the door and come in. The person who came in looked around and found me eating.

"You're home, finally..." Yuri said to me as he approached me. I let myself continue eating before answering him.

"Not really, I have to go back to the office later this afternoon." I knew that Yuri and Yohan were coming home together, but I didn't want to pry into their relationship. I would let it grow and develop on its own. After their argument a few days ago, I had seen them becoming more compatible with each other. Even though I didn't feel any chemistry between them when they were in front of me, or they were hiding it so I didn't notice it. But at least I could get to know them both better and my intention to come home for a bit was not in vain because I could spend time with them.

"Have you been here long?" Yohan asked me as he pulled out a dining chair and sat down in front of me while Yuri had been by my side.

"About 30 minutes..." I said, putting another spoonful of food into my mouth. Yohan glanced at the wall clock,

"We just went to the nearest supermarket about 30 minutes ago too...

"If we had bumped into each other, you wouldn't have been alone here...

"It's okay..." I replied again, although I actually felt a little sad that I had to go back to the office and there would be no one in this house.

"Did you make this bibimbap yourself?" Yuri asked, I nodded.

"I was just looking for something practical to eat, practical to make, practical to eat..." I didn't understand why they kept asking me questions. Were they afraid to be asked by me in return? I wouldn't ask too many questions because I was eating too, they could continue their conversation from before.

"We just bought groceries.." Yohan said to me, finally no more questions...

"Are you guys cooking again today?" I asked finally... they both nodded

"What are you going to make for me?" I asked again.

"Sundubu jjigae, Japchae, Gyeran mari,... " Yuri said

"Sounds delicious....

"Are you going to stay late again?" Yohan asked, I nodded again.

"If you want, we'll save some of our food for you....

"Thank you...

After I finished eating, we moved to a more comfortable place to talk. We chose the spacious backyard terrace with some trees there. The terrace is located at the back of the house but we need to climb some stairs so actually this terrace is located between the first and second floor (mezzanine). The autumn air greeted us as we opened the back door of the house and walked up the stairs to the outdoor chairs and table on the back terrace. We also brought latte coffee that we had made earlier in the kitchen and some snacks that we could enjoy while chatting.

"Have you seen the people in this house make their choices yet?" I asked them to break the silence

"As usual, some of them seem to have made up their minds and won't budge. But the majority, well, you know it, don't you.... " Yuri replied.

"Is there anyone who has changed quite dramatically?" I asked again.

"I haven't seen it..." Yuri replied, followed by my eyes glancing at Yohan who had been silent until now.

"Don't ask me, I don't pay too much attention to them," Yohan replied.

"I understand, you're just focusing on someone you like..." I replied.

"I don't think the word 'like' is quite right..."

"Here he goes again..." Yuri replied, knowing that Yohan has a strange habit of making sure every word matches his meaning or what he thinks so that sometimes, for people who are not used to it, it really stirs up trouble.

"Someone who is interesting to me..." Yohan replied again, I didn't want to provoke a heavier conversation by asking what the difference is between interesting and liking.

"Is liking a higher level than interesting?" Yuri asked, jing-jing it turned out that Yuri asked the question that was on my mind.

"I think so, interesting is like a first impression, I haven't processed anything, I just responded to it from my eyes..."

Along with Yohan's answer, we heard laughter from the direction of the entrance. We all watched as Seok-Hoon and Hana entered our house with a very strong chemistry because they didn't know we were in the house so they didn't hide anything. They looked very close and intimate, making the three of us silent and watching their every move. As if my question earlier 'Have you seen the people in this house make their choices yet?'

was answered with a real picture in front of our eyes.

"Are they always like that?" I asked.

"No, they weren't that clear before," Yuri replied.

"They don't realize we're here..." Yohan continued.

"I can't imagine how nervous they would be if they knew we were here and had been watching them all along... Does anyone want to go inside to catch them?" Yuri asked.

"I'm too lazy to go inside... But I have to go back to my office soon...

"Looks like you're the one who has to catch them," Yuri said again

As predicted, I had to pass them who were still busy chatting in the kitchen. They were surprised to see me in the house and even more surprised when they glanced at the back terrace where we were sitting. I'm sure they felt very embarrassed about their intense interaction even though there was no significant physical contact, but their closeness seemed to be known to everyone in the house before their time. I didn't pay too much attention to their expressions, I just said goodbye and walked past them towards the front door of the house.

Question: Did I also feel anxiety and discomfort when I caught them?