Cozy Obsession

The name was written so plainly, without even a single heart emoji, that Heemin let out a quiet chuckle the moment he saw it.
He thought about changing it to Gangster Uncle, but then he remembered how furious Iheon got when he was called "uncle" before.
Since his screen was probably being mirrored in real-time, it would only be a matter of time before he got caught. So instead, he settled on something more formal—"President Cha Iheon."
Just saving it as Cha Iheon made him feel like he was dealing with some soft, well-mannered university student of the same age, so he needed a clear distinction.
"But why aren’t there any other contacts saved? Aunt Eunkyung, Minseok hyung, Secretary Jung, Dr. Hwang...?"
His contact list contained only one name—Cha Iheon’s.
Even in reality, his list had been sparse, just his mom, three sisters, and one friend, but this? This was practically social exile.
"If you have something to say, go through me."
"But what if there’s an emergency? It would be good to have them saved just in case—"
Before Heemin could finish, Iheon cut in with a cold tone.
"You’ve managed just fine without them until now, haven’t you? I didn’t buy that phone so you could waste time chatting with other people."
"Ah... okay."
It wasn’t exactly wrong, and he didn’t want to upset him further, so he quickly backed down.
Lately, Iheon had been acting indifferent, but at his core, he still had that obsessive tendency to monopolize ‘Seo Heemin.’
Even if he could tolerate Aunt Ahn, seeing other men’s numbers stored in Seo Heemin’s phone would probably rub him the wrong way. No matter how much he trusted them as his subordinates.
"Hyung, look here."
Wanting to lighten the mood, Heemin opened the camera app and stretched his arm up to take a selfie. He wanted to snap a quick picture before the light turned green, but Iheon covered his face with his palm and grumbled.
"I’m good. Take one by yourself."
"Ah, come on! We should take at least one to celebrate my new phone. Let’s take one together, okay?"
His best friend had bombarded him with so many photos—both selfies and secretly taken candids—that his gallery was overflowing.
But Cha Iheon, now in his thirties, seemed like the kind of guy who barely acknowledged his camera app even existed.
So this time, Heemin had to take the initiative.
He wasn’t as skilled as that bastard when it came to taking selfies, but he couldn’t just let this moment pass without leaving anything behind.
"Okay, one, two, three."
Click.
The photo captured Iheon glaring at the camera with a frozen expression while Heemin beamed brightly, making a V-sign with his fingers.
The atmosphere wasn’t at all friendly—this was a solid B-cut, maybe even a C-cut—but still, it was their first photo together.
"It might be blurry since it’s dark. Let’s take a few more."
If he wanted to use these for practice sketches later, the more references, the better.
Using the excuse of "just in case the photos were shaky," Heemin rapidly pressed the shutter button.
Unlike himself, who kept changing expressions and poses, Iheon remained motionless, like a still-life painting.
Zero effort.
"Enough. Sit properly. We’re leaving."
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Iheon turned his eyes back to the road. The car, which had been at a standstill, smoothly rolled forward onto the main street.
Click. Click.
He wasn’t really into photography.
But since he had finally gotten his hands on a phone after so long, he suddenly wanted to capture every fleeting moment.
He snapped pictures of Iheon, who refused to even glance at the camera, and the softly glowing city lights reflecting on the river outside.
When all of this was over, the thought that he wouldn’t be able to take these photos with him back to reality made him feel strangely wistful.
While Heemin was busy taking pictures, the car had entered a tree-lined forest road.
After winding through hills and curves, they arrived at an entrance—not to a traditional hanok restaurant, but to a modern, two-story building.
The sleek architecture, hidden at the end of a steep mountain road, seemed completely out of place.
A large sign on the exterior wall displayed the restaurant’s name in Italian.
Pizzeria di Brandi.
...Wait. A pizzeria?
"Did we come all the way here just to eat pizza? We could’ve just had it delivered."
He had been sure they were heading to the high-end Korean restaurant where Seo Heemin had been taken in Silence.
He had been expecting to see the courtyard with elegantly sprawling pine trees, staff in hanbok, and neat brass bowls filled with exquisite royal cuisine...
But pizza?
That was unexpected.
"You don’t like it?"
"No! I love it!"
Since he had eaten chueotang for lunch, he actually preferred something greasy instead of another soup or stew.
Something like a devil’s cheese pizza topped with cheddar, camembert cream cheese, gouda, and mozzarella.
He quickly shook his hands to make it clear he wasn’t the least bit disappointed. Only then did Iheon cut the engine and step out of the car.
Heemin hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and followed.
It was amazing that he even knew about a place like this—somewhere that sold food he had assumed he’d never touch, much like tteokbokki.
And the fact that he had driven him all the way here on purpose? That was something else entirely.
For someone like Iheon, who was having his first meal out with ‘Seo Heemin’ in his early twenties, it seemed like he had put in quite a bit of effort.
He trotted after him, sticking close by as they climbed the steps.
As he glanced at Iheon’s expressionless profile, Heemin quietly called out.
"Hyung."
"What?"
"Today’s not my birthday."
"I know."
"Then why are you being so nice? It’s scary."
Receiving a gift, going out for a nice meal—this was supposed to be just another ordinary, uneventful day. Yet, it felt like a special occasion, as if it only happened once a year. And that scared him.
A protagonist in a novel like this wasn’t supposed to have good things happen back-to-back. Hardships and crises were supposed to follow him like fate.
He had wished for Iheon to be gentle, but this was too sudden.
A sliver of doubt crept in—was this some kind of scheme? Was he trying to bring back the thirty-year-old ‘Seo Heemin’?
Had he been watching him all this time with the same suspicion?
It was an unexpected moment, but he suddenly felt an unexpected kinship with him.
Maybe now, he could understand a little better why Iheon refused to let go of his doubts, no matter how much effort was put into breaking them.
Whether Iheon knew how uneasy he was feeling or not, he spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Am I scary?"
"It’s not that you’re scary... It’s just weird. You’re acting different from usual, so it feels awkward."
"If you don’t want to be scared, then stop causing trouble. Today, because of you, I almost lost my—ugh."
Iheon ran a hand over his forehead and let out a deep sigh, staring down at him with an exhausted expression.
Heemin had thought the atmosphere was lighthearted—that he was actually in a good mood. But maybe that was just his own wishful thinking.
It seemed like Iheon had given up on scolding or ignoring him because he knew it wouldn’t work. Instead, he was trying to pacify him with a phone and pizza, keeping him in check so he wouldn’t do anything reckless.
Though Heemin was planning to do something reckless tomorrow, at least for tonight, he felt wrongly accused.
All he had planned to do was quietly sketch and wait for him until 9:30. How was he supposed to know Kwak Yoonseong would suddenly show up?
If anything, it was Iheon’s actions that had backed Kwak Yoonseong into a corner, forcing him to barge in.
He wasn’t expecting some dramatic line like "I just wanted to see you happy," but for some reason, he still felt disappointed.
Even if he understood Iheon’s perspective, the excitement that had built up inside him fizzled out instantly.
Suddenly, pizza didn’t seem so appealing anymore.
Heemin came to an abrupt halt and, without thinking, shot back at him /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ with sharp words.
"Today’s trouble wasn’t mine, it was Kwak Yoonseong’s. Did something go wrong again because of me? Did my debt get even bigger this time?"
"It’s not that."
"Then why is it my fault?"
"..."
"What exactly did I do wrong that made you almost lose your mind? Tell me. Come on."
His lips jutted out in frustration as he pressed for an answer.
Iheon let out another heavy sigh before replying in an even, quiet voice.
"I almost crashed into multiple cars on the way here. Because I was too anxious, not knowing what you might do next."
He had assumed Secretary Jung had driven him here. But it seemed Iheon had been in such a rush that he had grabbed the wheel himself.
Even though there were surveillance cameras in the house that allowed him to monitor everything in real-time, that clearly hadn’t been enough to reassure him.
No matter how much he said he wanted revenge, Kwak Yoonseong was still ‘Seo Heemin’s’ last remaining family.
He must have been terrified that Heemin would let his guard down, get swayed by sweet words, and try to escape with him.
Heemin gazed into his storm-ravaged eyes and quietly asked.