SHADOW || JEONGCHEOL

1

"He's anti-social. Why do you even want to be friends with him?"

"Who is he friends with? Just his classmates, and he's not very friendly either. I know because I always stalk him."

"Heh, depression? He's just pretending. Seeking attention. Ever since he won the best MMA contestant last year, he's been more famous."

"Huh, he's an MMA fighter?"

"Did you just find out?"

"I don't believe it. He seems so passive. He never even smiles at me, cold like a plague. Damn, he's really arrogant!"

__________________________________________

JEONGHAN POV

I stood in front of the house, my eyes tracing the gray walls, wide windows, and the moderately large doors. For a moment, I sighed softly.

"Mom, you didn't need to do all this," I murmured to myself. I tried many times to stop her from giving me anything more, but she never listened.

Even after she's gone, she left me a new shelter.

Dragging my black luggage behind me, I prepared to step into the house. But just a few steps in, a woman's voice called out.

"Are you Mrs. Yoon's son?"

I turned around to see a woman about my age, possibly in her 40s.

A neighbor?

I nodded in response, and she smiled warmly.

"The villagers call me Mrs. Lee. Your late mother asked me to look after you when you moved here," she said.

I nodded again, taking in her words. There was no suspicion, just an understanding. I noticed she called me 'Hannie'-only Mom and my old family ever used that name.

Mom, I can take care of myself. Did you forget that I'm a detective?

"My son and I helped clean this house every week. Sorry if there are any shortcomings," she continued.

I forced a smile for Mrs. Lee. It's not that I didn't want to talk, but I wasn't in the mood today.

Heh, Jeonghan, you're never in the mood.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lee. Sorry for the trouble," I said flatly, hoping she'd understand the exhaustion in my voice, hinting that I wanted to rest.

Mrs. Lee just smiled sweetly. Without wasting more time, I stepped into the house.

As I took in the whole room, a thin smile crossed my lips. It was beautiful. Not too big, just average, but enough for me alone.

After all, what will I be doing later? Stuck in the room?

There were two bedrooms, and naturally, I took the master bedroom, since it had an attached bathroom. There was also another bathroom and toilet in the kitchen.

As I looked at the kitchen, I thought to myself. Will I cook later? I don't know. I'm not very good at it. Besides, I was always busy with work and rarely stayed home.

Well, that was before.

I stepped into the room and started unpacking my things. For a moment, I remembered something, and then I glanced at my watch. It was almost noon, and I hadn't taken my medicine yet.

Rolling my eyes, I muttered to myself. I reached into my bag, found the white plastic bottle, and took out a small pill. Then I grabbed a bottle of mineral water.