Gwak Joon replaced his greeting with just a nod. He started walking without even telling Daemyung to follow him. Daemyung followed him without a word. They turned left after the hardware store. There was an apartment complex at the end of the residential area. Gwak Joon seemed to be heading there.

They didn’t talk at all in the ten-or-so minutes they were walking. Daemyung just followed Gwak Joon. Fortunately, he was used to him being so quiet. At first, he was worried that he disliked him. After finding out that it was just Gwak Joon’s personality, he no longer found it an inconvenience. It wasn’t like he didn’t talk at all. He was someone who talked more than anyone when it was necessary.

“Were your parents okay?”

He seemed to be asking about the fact that he was sleeping over.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s good.”

Before they entered the apartment complex, they visited a fried chicken store. There, Daemyung saw a big pot with boiling oil. A kind-looking old man shook the oil off the fried chicken and droplets of oil fell into the pot. Daemyung gulped when he saw that. He suddenly remembered that he was hungry.

They bought three fried chickens before going. They entered an apartment that said ‘201’. They met a grandma holding a baby on the elevator. Daemyung smiled at the baby and the baby smiled back at him.

The elevator stopped on the third floor. Daemyung waved at the baby...