* * *

Doyoung was the type to follow through once he set his mind on something.

Though he’d rather have stayed in bed that morning, he jumped up as soon as he remembered his goal to improve his physical strength.

Waking up at 5:30, he would exercise with Beom Sinje in the training room at home for an hour, then have breakfast before heading to work.

It had become a routine now.

“Hmm… it’s not just my imagination.”

Doyoung, who had finished his morning workout, studied his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

A month of daily exercise and the medicine Sarah had given him seemed to be working.

His gaze shifted to the neatly folded towels on the shelf.

For a moment, his eyes glowed faintly purple, and a towel flew into his hand without him touching it.

“No headache, either.”

Before, even minor use of his abilities would have caused a sharp pain.

Pushing himself harder would result in dizziness and a body-wide ache.

But now, he felt nothing.

As he dried off, a towel floated back into the basket.

Clenching his fist, Doyoung smiled with satisfaction.

Feeling lighter, he stepped out of the bathroom.

A delicious buttery smell wafted through the air.

“You’re up?”

Stepping into the kitchen, he greeted Beom Sinje, who turned around.

“Good morning.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“Take a seat. I made toast and salad today. If you want rice, I can get some side dishes out.”

“No, this is fine. What do you want to drink? Coffee? Milk? Soy milk? Or juice?”

He usually didn’t even have breakfast.

It was only after he started living with Beom Sinje that he got into the habit of having it, simply because he was keeping him company.

In fact, Doyoung found a heavy breakfast with rice, soup, and side dishes to be more of a burden.

He mumbled questions to himself as he walked toward the coffee maker.

As he pulled out a mug and set it down, he heard Beom Sinje answer, “Juice.”

Four steps to the fridge.

Doyoung just turned his head and glanced in that direction.

His pupils were just about to change color.

“Doyoung hyung.”

The sudden call of his name made his eyes, which had a faint purplish hue, return to their normal black.

“Huh?”

“Should I put cheese in the toast?”

“…Sure.”

Having missed the timing to use his powers, Doyoung placed the coffee on the table and headed to the fridge.

When he turned back after pouring grapefruit juice into a glass, he saw Beom Sinje piling up toast, salad, and fruit on a large plate, looking straight at him.

“What?”

“You look in good shape today.”

“Do I?”

Doyoung smiled as he raised his glass.

“Must be because I got a good night’s sleep. That’s a relief.”

“Yeah, probably.”

A moment ago, he had wanted to show off his powers to Beom Sinje, but he changed his mind.

It seemed better to play it cool for now and reveal it when the time was right.

To be honest, it felt a bit…

‘It’s like showing off as a child—it’s kind of childish.’

That’s why he stopped himself.

It seemed silly to boast about being able to move small objects again in front of Beom Sinje, who was far more capable.

With his thoughts sorted, Doyoung set down his cup and glanced at the plate before him, letting out a deep sigh.

“How many sandwiches did you make?”

A stack of ham and cheese sandwiches towered like a mountain.

Even with his recent boost in stamina, there was no way he could finish all of this.

“Just eat as much as you want. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Beom Sinje said it casually, but for some reason, it ignited a competitive spirit in Doyoung.

He managed to finish two, but halfway through the third, he had no choice but to concede.

“I’m stuffed. I can’t do this anymore.”

“Here, give it to me.”

Beom Sinje took Doyoung’s plate and, without a second thought, popped the remaining half sandwich into his mouth.

“You sure eat well.”

Doyoung watched in awe as Beom Sinje’s lips moved rapidly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Then, without hesitation, he downed the half-finished juice in one gulp as well.

“Shall we head to work?”

It was only then that Doyoung realized he had been staring at Beom Sinje a bit too obviously.

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

No matter how fascinating it was, he shouldn’t be gawking like that.

‘But isn’t he even a bit embarrassed?’

He didn’t avoid the gaze at all.

Then Doyoung remembered how casually Beom Sinje had taken and finished his leftover sandwich.

“Well, I guess it’s fine.”

Shrugging his shoulders slightly, Doyoung left the kitchen and got ready for work.

◇◆◇◆◇

It must’ve been the overeating this morning.

“Ugh…”

Doyoung gently rubbed his stomach with his palm to ease the bloating.

Instead of getting better, though, the nausea only worsened.

“This won’t do. I need some caffeine.”

He wasn’t sure if it would help, but it seemed worth a try.

Going to a pharmacy just because he had indigestion would be a blow to his pride as a former villain.

Whether it was worth worrying about such things now was a question he chose to ignore.

Just as he was about to get up, a notification pinged at the bottom right corner of his monitor.

It was an email from ATE Pharmaceuticals.

“Finally.”

Doyoung sat back down and responded skillfully to the lengthy English email filled with technical jargon.

As soon as he hit send, as if on cue, Beom Sinje returned.

“I got a response from ATE Pharmaceuticals. They’re okay with the date and suggested we hold a celebratory party after the official contract signing and the guild’s presentation on the testing process.”

“A party?”

Beom Sinje, sitting next to him, tilted his head in confusion.

His expression seemed to ask why such a thing was necessary, leaving Doyoung slightly exasperated.

“It’s a corporate contract. Of course, we have to. Plus, this is Chunho’s first deal with ATE Pharmaceuticals—it’s a big deal.”

“Is that so?”

Doyoung clicked his tongue.

No wonder the company had been run so haphazardly up until now.

Feeling like he couldn’t leave it at that, Doyoung turned his whole body to face Beom Sinje.

“Obviously! The government and other guilds will find it strange if we don’t. We should go all out and let everyone know we’re taking responsibility for distributing the drug.”

Honestly, he didn’t care much about the other guilds, but he wasn’t sure how the government would react, especially after the incident with Section Chief Park at the Haengbok-ri Dungeon.

They couldn’t afford to give anyone a reason to complain.

“If you say so, we’ll do it that way.”

Despite Doyoung’s detailed explanation, Beom Sinje’s response was lackluster.

Was he trusting Doyoung completely, or did he just not care as long as he didn’t have to deal with it?

“Then I’ll let ATE Pharmaceuticals know.”

“Yes. Did the research lab send over the report as well?”

“Yeah, I’ll send it to you right now.”

As Doyoung forwarded the research report to the guild master’s email, he turned and noticed a gaze fixed on him.

“What are you looking at?”

He asked, puzzled, when suddenly, Beom Sinje reached out his hand.

“You don’t seem to have a fever.”

Doyoung flinched and held his breath, only realizing afterward that Beom Sinje had been checking his temperature.

“I’m not sick.”

“Then why do you look so pale?”

It wasn’t like he could admit it was because of the excessive sandwiches from breakfast.

He couldn’t say anything, since Beom Sinje had made them with care.

Besides, it felt too humiliating to admit he had a stomachache.

“If it’s a company event, we’ll need to wear suits, right?”

Instead of pressing further, Beom Sinje changed the topic.

“Probably, yeah.”

Doyoung’s gaze drifted to Beom Sinje’s outfit.

The uniform fit him perfectly, like it was tailor-made.

With his looks, he’d look good in anything.

Still, the thought of Beom Sinje in a suit…

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen him in one.’

He hadn’t been able to attend his graduation, so he’d never seen him in formal attire.

Feeling a sudden pang of regret, Doyoung spoke up.

“Let’s go to the department store after work.”

He thought it’d be nice to make up for missing the chance to buy him a graduation gift by getting him a sharp suit.

After all, as a retired ex-villain, all he had left was time and money, and it wasn’t like he’d mind spending it on his favorite person.

“Sure.”

He’d been worried about how to drag him there, but surprisingly, Beom Sinje agreed right away.

* * *