Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 24: Unease
As soon as Ha Giyeon stepped out of the car, he hurried away like he was escaping.
Once safely inside the front door, he headed for the stairs—only to run into the housekeeper coming out of the kitchen.
“You’re back, Giyeon?”
“Hello, ma’am.”
The woman looked at him with concern and cautiously asked,
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“I stayed over at a senior’s place.”
She smiled faintly with visible relief.
The image of the boy running off with only a thin jacket, clutching his backpack to his chest, had haunted her all night.
Abandoned in front of the house, he hadn’t shown the slightest hint of frustration or sorrow. Like it was nothing new, he’d accepted it immediately, slung on his backpack, and left without a word.
His steps were swift. Not a single pause.
She had a vague sense of what this house now meant to him.
Before climbing the stairs, Giyeon glanced cautiously around the house. His eyes held a flicker of unease, searching for someone.
“Madam left early for work. She said she’ll be back late.”
As the sound of the front door opening signaled Ha Dohoon and Secretary Kim’s return, the housekeeper quietly offered the information.
Only then did Giyeon breathe a little easier and offer a small smile as he headed up the stairs.
Good. I was worried she might still be here...
He’d been scared of running into her. Scared she might tell him to leave again just for coming back. Giyeon opened his bedroom door to change before heading to his part-time job.
“...?”
His eyes widened in shock.
Is... this even my room?
He slammed the door shut and checked the row of doors in the hallway.
The one at the far end—yes, that was his room. He slowly opened the door again, his face clouded with confusion.
“What the hell is going on...”
All of the furniture inside had been replaced. The desk, bed, wardrobe—even the arrangement was entirely different. It felt less like his belongings had been swapped out and more like the room had been remade for someone else.
Don’t tell me...
It wasn’t something he wanted to even consider right now.
Did they already find their real son...?
It wasn’t impossible. His actions had already changed things.
What if what he did yesterday annoyed her just enough to make her snap? What if she ordered a DNA test out of anger and found out he wasn’t her biological son? What if she’d thrown him out and remodeled the room for the real one?
His thoughts spiraled, spinning up an entire story that couldn’t possibly happen in a single day—but his worn-down mind couldn’t stop churning.
The negative thoughts swelled, fed by the mental exhaustion accumulated from school all the way home.
Even the books are all new...
The shelves had been restocked—not with children’s books or tattered volumes, but with high school-level self-study guides and literature. The workbooks he’d left on his desk were gone too.
Staring at the spotless desk, Giyeon reached out a trembling hand and opened the drawer. He hoped to find his things still inside—but at the same time, part of him hoped they were gone. That way, maybe he could just leave this house without hesitation.
“...Ha.”
When he saw his belongings still inside the drawers, he let out a long breath. The second drawer, and even the third—his things were still there, though a few were missing.
“Who would’ve done something like this...”
He couldn’t even begin to guess who would’ve replaced the furniture or why.
Any likely suspect? None came to mind. If someone had just taken everything out or thrown it away, that’d be one thing. Frankly, it felt more believable to imagine Secretary Kim changing the furniture to hide some embezzlement.
But in that case, he wouldn’t have kept my stuff.
The phone case he’d meant to give to Son Suhyeon was missing. No matter how much he searched the desk, it was gone. Annoyance surged at the idea of someone tossing his belongings without asking, but even that fizzled out quickly—after all, he’d bought it with money given by this house.
Nothing was going his way today.
Giyeon rubbed his face over and over with a bowed head.
“Um, Giyeon?”
Knock knock—at the sound of a knock, he looked up. He hadn’t closed the door properly, so he could see the housekeeper through the gap.
Straightening his expression, he opened the door.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize the door was open...”
“It’s fine. I didn’t close it properly anyway.”
“Um... are you heading out again today?”
“Yeah, I was just about to.”
At that, she held out a paper box.
“These are madeleines. Have them if you get hungry while studying.”
When he opened it, he found it full of neatly wrapped madeleines.
“Um... I can’t promise they’ll taste good.”
“Did you make them yourself?”
“I followed an internet recipe—not very well, though.”
“Wow... Thank you. They really look delicious.”
Giyeon packed the madeleines into his bag, but before the housekeeper left, he quickly called out to her.
“Ma’am, do you know who changed the furniture in my room?”
“Oh, Madam had someone come in this morning to replace everything.”
“My mother?”
The unexpected answer left Giyeon blinking in disbelief.
Why would she suddenly change his furniture? Last he remembered, she’d been in a horrible mood.
“Did she... go into my room herself?”
“She woke up earlier than usual today and... she was in your room.”
“...!”
His blood ran cold.
Now that he thought about it, the style and design of the furniture matched her taste exactly.
Which made even less sense.
Why would she remodel the room of a child she’d found disrespectful enough to lock out? Unless...
Was this a warning?
A silent threat—that she could change or erase his room at any time if he didn’t fall in line.
Giyeon clenched his fists. The workbooks and books he’d bought with his own money were gone.
A memory from before the regression surfaced. She hadn’t just gone into his room back then—she’d emptied it completely without even checking inside first.
She had never even seen what his room looked like.
“Are you feeling unwell, Giyeon? Your face looks pale.”
The housekeeper stared at him with concern.
“N-no, I’m fine.”
“If you need medicine, just let me know. I’ll bring it.”
He offered a small, awkward smile and shook his head. Taking medicine on an empty stomach wouldn’t help anyway, and he doubted it would work.
He reached for the drawer to close it.
“...Huh?”
That’s when he noticed something strange.
The bankbook and personal seal that had been inside the plastic case were now scattered inside the drawer. Alarmed, he snatched the bankbook.
Who touched this...
Did his mother... open it?
Even if she had, there wasn’t anything incriminating—just records of part-time deposits. She’d never cared what he did anyway.
Right... she’s always been indifferent.
But—she’d stopped him from leaving today. She’d changed his room.
A creeping dread overtook him.
He’d been far too careless. Leaving the bankbook just lying around had been a mistake.
“Let me know if you’re not feeling well, okay?”
“Heh... yeah. I will...”
He forced a smile.
After the housekeeper left, he combed through the room again, checking to see what else was gone. Most of the things he’d bought himself were missing—but so were the gifts he’d once received from his parents.
“Guess they tossed the necktie and sneakers too.”
The tie had been from his mother, the sneakers from his father. More like they were extras handed to him when Ha Dohoon got his real gifts, but still—he had received them.
“Thrown out, huh... what a waste.”
He’d never used either of them. Not because he was saving them, but because he simply couldn’t. He didn’t know how to tie a tie. The sneakers didn’t fit.
Still, because they were from his parents, he hadn’t sold them on the secondhand market.
Maybe I should’ve just sold them.
Before the regression, he would’ve panicked trying to find them.
But now... he understood.
Those gifts meant nothing.
After the regression, he had taken the necktie and sneakers with him when he left home—his parents were gone, and that was all he had left. He’d held on, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they’d come looking for him again.
But the more he held on, the more pathetic he’d felt.
The necktie didn’t match the cheap room he lived in. He didn’t own clothes to wear it with. The sneakers didn’t fit, and they were too bright, too clean—completely out of place next to his worn shoes.
In the end, he’d disposed of them himself.
Even though he was desperate for money, he couldn’t bring himself to sell them.
So he burned them.
And as he watched the gifts curl and blacken in the flames, he imagined himself burning with them—until there was nothing left but smoke and ash.
***
Late evening.
The café had finally quieted down, the usual hum replaced by soft pop music drifting through the air.
“Giyeon, are you feeling okay? You look a bit pale...”
It was the third time someone had said that today, but Giyeon just shook his head with a smile.
“I’m really fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“If you’re not well, you can leave early. Don’t push yourself.”
He saw the manager off and let his strained smile drop the moment she was gone. He headed to the sink to start washing the last of the cups.
He’d eaten a few madeleines earlier, but still had no appetite. Tonight, he just wanted to fall asleep as soon as he got home.
Turning on the faucet—
“Move.”
The words were cold, but the hand on his shoulder was gentle.
It was Son Suhyeon.
He nudged Giyeon aside and picked up the cup instead.
“I can do it—”
“It’s fine. Just go sit down over there.”
At Suhyeon’s firm tone, Giyeon did as told and sat at the table he pointed to. It was late, so the café was nearly empty.
Before long, Suhyeon finished the dishes, then came over carrying a tray. He sat across from Giyeon and set it down—on it were two cups of warm jujube tea and a plate with sandwiches.
“The boss said to eat these before heading home.”
“Ah... but I’m not really hungry, so you can have—”
Grrrgle...
A loud growl echoed through the quiet café.
Giyeon’s face turned bright red. Suhyeon’s lips twitched, barely suppressing a laugh—and that just made Giyeon more embarrassed.
“Just eat.”
“...Okay.”
Suhyeon handed him one of the sandwiches, wrapped neatly in a napkin so he could eat it easily with one hand. Giyeon lowered his head and took a bite.
It was delicious. Incredibly so.
“...”
As he watched Giyeon chew, Suhyeon finally opened his mouth.
