I’m Not That Obsessive

Chapter 61

“Ah, the car feels unusually heavy today.”

I glanced at the rearview mirror, showing off. Maybe because of all the gifts in the trunk, my shoulders straightened and my back stood tall naturally. As my expression followed my confident posture, Mitchell looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened. What could happen on such a good day?”

I spoke in a clear, articulate manner, as if reading from a Korean textbook. I’ve always been good at reading Korean textbooks since I was young.

Mitchell didn’t ask again, and by the time the awkwardness that had settled began to bother me, we arrived home.

While Mitchell went to shower, I finished my shower in almost 5 minutes and rushed to the kitchen.

I quickly set up the wine and glasses I had bought in advance and placed a baguette in the center. It was a substitute for the cake I hadn’t managed to buy. After forcibly sticking candles into the hard baguette, I neatly arranged the hot dogs, tuna, and salmon poke I had bought for dinner.

And the most important thing – the gifts!

I brought the gifts from the trunk. They seemed like a lot when I bought them, but looking at them now, it felt slightly disappointing. Maybe I should have bought a massage chair after all. I wanted to see Mitchell floundering, buried in the gifts I had prepared.

“What’s this?”

As I was staring at the gifts on the floor, Mitchell came out to the living room. I had been so busy preparing that I didn’t even notice Mitchell had finished his shower.

Fortunately, I had finished all the preparations, so I puffed out my bare chest. Wearing only shorts, I proudly introduced today.

“How is it? Do you like it? It’s my birthday today. These are all gifts for you.”

I watched Mitchell’s reaction with a satisfied smile. My worries about whether he would be shocked or burst into tears from emotion ebbed away like the tide.

“Your birthday? Then why are these gifts for me?”

His expression didn’t look good. Something seemed to displease him, and his face was rigid. It was similar to his expression on the day I had trespassed into his house. For some reason, it seemed like he might sweep his arm and overturn the table at any moment.

“You know, some people give gifts to their parents on their own birthdays. It’s like that.”

“Parents? Am I your parent?”

His expression twisted further. Mitchell, who had been on the verge of madness, now had a dirty look in his eyes, emitting a fierce light.

“No, not actual parents, but someone as precious as parents. I bought you gifts because you’re precious to me. Thank you for being with me, something like that…”

“If it’s your birthday, you should have told me in advance. Why did you buy gifts for me? Parents or whatever, you should have told me first…”

“Sheesh, you could just say thank you. Your personality is really crooked. It’s my birthday today. Don’t get angry.”

“Who said I’m angry? I’m just saying this because what you’re doing is so absurd. Who’s supposed to receive gifts?”

Mitchell’s face flushed red and blue. I could somewhat understand his feelings, which seemed to go beyond confusion to dejection.

“Looks like you were itching to give me gifts. But today, the gifts I prepared are supposed to be the main focus.”

I pointed to the shopping bags. The flashy wrapping paper seemed to reflect the shop owner’s taste well.

Mitchell briefly looked at the gifts before meeting my eyes again. Water droplets that hadn’t been properly dried fell from his hair, staining his gray briefs. He wore his underwear as naturally as if it were casual clothes.

“Happy birthday.”

Mitchell walked over and stood in front of me, offering a belated birthday wish. It was just one sentence, but it made me tingle more than receiving an expensive luxury gift. His eyes looked somehow moist.

“Thank you.”

I grinned widely in response. Smiling was the best way to smoothly handle the situation.

“Ha.”

As expected.

Mitchell’s rigid expression began to soften, following mine. I’m not sure if it was a dry laugh or what, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

I smiled even more brightly and widely as I seated Mitchell in a chair. After that, I blew out the candles and made a wish.

‘Please let me stay by Mitchell’s side for a long time. Ah, no, cancel, cancel. I will stay by Mitchell’s side for life. Know that.’

I don’t know to whom I was making this wish. But it was certainly a notification disguised as a wish.

Wishes are supposed to be notifications anyway. This way, the wish gets processed faster.

After eating the wine, sweet and sour poke, and hot dogs, my body started to heat up a little. As someone who firmly believed in soju, I couldn’t drink wine well. I hadn’t even finished three glasses, but I was already feeling tipsy.

In contrast, Mitchell looked fine. Unlike when he pretended to be drunk on beer, he wasn’t doing that this time.

“Open your gifts.”

We hadn’t opened the gifts because we ate first. I picked up one of the four shopping bags and placed it on Mitchell’s lap, and only then did he pick up one item. I watched his hands unwrapping as I had another glass of wine.

‘Tomorrow’s filming at 11 AM. Okay. Can sleep in.’

Even as the world spun round and round, I was a true professional for remembering Mitchell’s schedule for tomorrow.

“Geon-woo.”

“Yeah?”

When Mitchell called me from beside, I leisurely raised my gaze from the wine glass. While I had another glass, Mitchell had already opened several gifts. His hands were indeed fast.

“Did you buy the rest from the same place too?”

All the paper bags were identical. I nodded and found the vibrating massager to hand to Mitchell.

“Except for this, I bought everything else from the same place.”

“Red Shop? Why did you go there? Were you scammed?”

“What scam? Some reliable gentleman, no, some pure gentleman recommended it. I said, ‘I have a gay friend, can you recommend something?’ and he told me right away.”

“……”

“Ah, don’t worry. I wore a hat, so they didn’t know it was me. Besides, I’m not that famous. Even if I caught a serial killer, more people wouldn’t know me. Americans can’t distinguish Asian faces well either. Well, it’s the same for us too.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Then what?”

“…Want to go to the second house?”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Yeah. We can use it right now.”

“Well, sure. I was curious about it, but strangely, I’ve never been there.”

“Let’s go.”

“Wait a moment. I need to relieve myself.”

I smiled playfully. Then I went straight to the bathroom to urinate and wash my face. In the mirror, my eyes were unfocused and my cheeks were flushed. After washing my face a few more times with cold water, the effects of alcohol subsided a bit. But my heated cheeks remained the same.

Hesitantly, I glanced down at my pants. Reflected in the mirror, surprisingly, there was a redness both front and back.

Why is my body like this?

“Hmm… whatever.”

Thinking that surely Mitchell wouldn’t look at my behind today, I chose to believe what I wanted to. After giving my shy behind a few slaps to wake it up, I pulled up my pants.

When I came out, Mitchell was standing by the entrance with a bag. Surprisingly, he was still in his underwear. With a duffle bag as big as his torso slung over one shoulder, he wore only triangle briefs and slippers.

Even if this is his own property, he has no sense of shame. I quietly applauded Mitchell’s free-spiritedness in my mind.

I thought about putting on a t-shirt, but with Mitchell in that state, I felt like a young master from a noble family just wearing pants. It seemed fine to go like this.

“I packed some things to use there. We’ll be going back and forth often from now on. Pack your stuff too.”

“Oh, wait a moment.”

Since the iron gate was completely closed, there would be no outsiders coming in. Planning to use the second house like the main house, I went into the bedroom as Mitchell said.

There was no need to move important items like passports or wallets, and any usable belongings of mine had already burned. Everything I used here was Mitchell’s. I couldn’t see anything particular to take.

Still, going empty-handed seemed a bit insincere, so I grabbed a blanket.

“Blankets are important.”

Mitchell approved of my choice.

We walked through the forest path towards the second house. It was on the opposite side from the old cabin and a bit deeper in, surrounded by nothing but dense forest.

And then I saw it.

That house with only its frame hanging on glass windows.

“Mitchell, is that really fully built?”

Isn’t a house usually a space that separates the inside from the outside? But the house before my eyes was completely see-through like a shower booth. It was because all four sides were made of glass.

Even without opening the door and entering, you could see where the bed was, where the table was, and where the shower was. It even had a kitchen of sorts.

“I built it to my taste. I don’t like feeling confined. I can check on you from the house even if you wander around in the forest.”

“Ah… If that’s the case, why didn’t you make the two-story house like this too? What on earth… is this?”

Even though it’s unlikely I’d sleep alone without Mitchell, if such a situation were to occur, I felt I couldn’t come here alone. Even a 24-hour observation reality show would be less embarrassing than this.

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Why? It’s just us anyway.”

“Even so…”

We opened the glass door and went inside. Naturally, it was quite thick, reinforced glass. While I was checking its condition by tapping it deliberately, Mitchell was arranging the items he brought.

He placed the items he brought on the table next to what looked like an expensive bed, one by one.

An unopened new bottle of wine and glasses.

‘Ah, looks like he wants to drink more.’

Mitchell’s phone charger.

‘Must be low on battery.’

The vibrating massager I bought him.

‘Oh, already opening it? Glad I bought it.’

A few more soft-looking things came out of the bag. They were the things I had bought. Not everything was taken out.

“Just these for now. Don’t get too ahead of yourself, rookie.”

For a moment, I didn’t understand Mitchell’s words, and he didn’t explain further.

What field was I a rookie in again?

…Ah.