* * *
Jeong Sanho knew there had only ever been one person who hadn’t fallen for Baek Jingyeom’s charms: Tak Wonbeom.
Sanho had never seen him in person, but it was surprising that someone had resisted even after Jingyeom had made such an effort.
With a face like that, how could anyone not fall for him?
Especially when Wonbeom was supposedly infatuated with Jingyeom’s twin brother, Jinwoo.
From Sanho’s perspective, it didn’t make sense.
But despite Jingyeom’s unfamiliar behavior lately, Sanho decided it wasn’t something worth worrying about.
He pushed the thoughts aside and asked, “So how do you know Jingyeom?”
“You heard me earlier. I’m his lover.”
“I also heard you being corrected.”
“Our Jingyeom is just shy, that’s all.”
Jingyeom, annoyed by the nonsensical conversation, interjected.
“Can you stop calling yourself my lover already? If someone overhears, they’ll believe it!”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it. Then maybe you’ll start thinking of me as your lover too.”
Soohyuk’s shameless remark left Jingyeom momentarily speechless, his mouth agape.
He had briefly wondered if Soohyuk liked him when he kissed him on the cheek at the hospital.
That same question had resurfaced on his date with Wonbeom.
Still, since Soohyuk hadn’t explicitly confessed, Jingyeom had chosen not to address the matter, unwilling to risk ruining their current relationship.
After all, if Soohyuk didn’t actually like him, it would just be awkward.
However, despite Jingyeom’s efforts to downplay the situation, Soohyuk had kept in contact even after going abroad.
As a result, Jingyeom had started to become more aware of him without realizing it.
Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was one of the reasons Soohyuk had returned to Korea earlier than expected.
While Jingyeom was lost in thought, Sanho smirked and said, “So you’re not his lover but someone who wants to be?”
“That’s a pretty accurate description.”
‘Why does he keep smiling like that? It’s annoying.’
Sanho’s lips twisted in irritation at Soohyuk’s persistent grin.
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m Jingyeom’s lover.”
“No, you’re not.”
Sanho, now visibly frustrated, snapped.
It annoyed him even more that someone so normal-looking could be so stubborn.
“Then let’s say I’m a candidate.”
“Your responses are… unique. You’re quite an amusing person.”
Both men exchanged forced smiles, the tension between them palpable.
Sanho’s questioning didn’t stop there, and despite how annoying it might have been, Soohyuk kept answering while idly playing with Jingyeom’s hand under the table.
Jingyeom, having snapped out of his daze, glanced around for the right moment to intervene, but the conversation was moving too fast for him to jump in.
Sanho’s questions were basic, aimed at getting to know Soohyuk.
Through these answers, Jingyeom also learned things he hadn’t known before, like how Soohyuk had emigrated as a child and wasn’t a Korean national.
He had only returned to Korea recently.
Jingyeom also discovered that Soohyuk had been a star hockey player in high school.
As Sanho kept digging, Jingyeom found himself intrigued.
Much like the time he had heard about Soohyuk’s childhood from Jinwoo at the hospital, it felt like he was getting a glimpse behind the scenes of the original story.
Then the roles shifted, and it was Soohyuk’s turn to ask questions.
“Was our Jingyeom just as cute in high school?”
“He was adorable. It’s almost tragic that only I remember it.”
Soohyuk seemed slightly surprised.
“Baek’s secretary might feel left out hearing that. Right, Jingyeom?”
“It’s fine as long as they don’t find out. By the way, are you really back for good? You don’t have to leave again?”
Suddenly, the conversation shifted back to Soohyuk, causing a twitch in Sanho’s eye.
Before Soohyuk arrived, Jingyeom had been facing him, but now, there was no sign of his attention returning.
‘What’s this? Since when?’
Sanho, noticing Jingyeom’s unusual familiarity with Soohyuk—something he had never seen—felt uneasy.
He had thought Jingyeom was just acting to reel in a potential target, but now it seemed like genuine affection.
Although Sanho knew he shouldn’t interfere, his expression betrayed his frustration.
Just then, Soohyuk’s phone rang.
Glancing at the screen, he excused himself and stepped outside the café to take the call.
Soohyuk moved away from the noisy street and into a side alley.
Sanho discreetly followed him, positioning himself at the mouth of the alley to eavesdrop.
However, Soohyuk was too far down the alley, and the surrounding noise made it difficult to hear.
“Do as you’re told. Make sure he doesn’t escape, and keep a close watch on him.”
Sanho’s eyes narrowed. The words “escape” and “watch” had caught his attention.
These were not words you typically heard from an ordinary office worker.
Sanho, sensing something strange, stepped into the alley and stopped just two steps away from Soohyuk.
Soohyuk, who had just hung up his phone, turned his head, already aware that Sanho had been lingering at the alley’s entrance.
“Only bad kids eavesdrop.”
Sanho’s sharp eyes narrowed further at Soohyuk’s playful tone.
“How exactly do you know Jingyeom? I know everyone around him, but I’ve never seen you before.”
Soohyuk, sliding his phone into his pocket, straightened his back and hardened his expression.
The sudden shift in his demeanor radiated such a sharp intensity that Sanho instinctively stepped back with one foot.
“Why should I tell you?”
“You’re a lot more prickly than before.”
“I don’t see why I need to be kind to you.”
Soohyuk exhaled sharply.
He didn’t want to deal with someone like Sanho anymore.
Earlier, he had only engaged with him because Jingyeom was there.
Now that he was gone, there was no reason to continue the conversation.
Soohyuk slowly walked up to Sanho, standing beside him, and looked down at the shorter man with contempt.
“At this point, you should probably leave. Are you slow to pick up on things?”
“…What?”
“‘What’ isn’t the right tone.”
His voice was now cold, devoid of any pretense, as if the previous playful tone had been entirely fabricated.
Noticing the contempt in Soohyuk’s face, Sanho bared his teeth and growled, clearly on edge, but unable to move, only flinching.
Seeing this, Soohyuk returned to his usual, friendly demeanor, as if he hadn’t just shown that cold expression.
“I’ll make sure to tell Jingyeom everything.”
With that, Soohyuk walked out of the alley, leaving Sanho behind.
“Hah!”
Sanho let out a bewildered laugh, tinged with fear.
The gaze and voice he had just encountered had been so chilling that his body trembled the moment Soohyuk left.
Staring at the now empty alley with shaking eyes, Sanho clenched his fists, furious at himself for being scared by just a look and a few words.
“…Who the hell is that guy?”
Soohyuk entered a café alone, thinking for a moment about how he had just confronted someone much younger than him, but the thought vanished the moment he saw Jingyeom.
He didn’t want to waste their time together with uninvited guests.
Sitting next to Jingyeom, Soohyuk casually said, “Your friend had to leave early. Seems like something urgent came up.”
“Really?” Jingyeom didn’t seem to care much, assuming the friend had left out of boredom, as he had looked uninterested earlier.
Jingyeom started organizing his study materials while Soohyuk glanced at them.
“Do you still have a lot of studying left for today?”
“I always have a lot left. It’s because I keep procrastinating.”
“Knowing yourself well is a good thing. But since it’s not going to happen today, why don’t we hang out instead?”
“What do you want to do?”
“What did you do for fun while I was gone?”
Jingyeom, having done so little, wasn’t sure what to say.
“Is there something you want to do or somewhere you want to go?”
“There is, but… Won’t you be too tired?”
“I have enough energy to spend time with you. What do you want to do?”
Soohyuk was ready to fulfill any of Jingyeom’s wishes.
If Jingyeom wanted to travel abroad, Soohyuk would’ve booked a world tour as soon as their passports were ready.
After thinking for a while, Jingyeom hesitantly mentioned a place he’d always wanted to visit.
“…I want to see the ocean.”
“The ocean? Sounds great. Let’s go.”
“Right now?”
Jingyeom, unfamiliar with Soohyuk’s decisiveness, found himself being led out of the café and into Soohyuk’s now familiar car.
Cheongoh, who had been following behind, stopped at Soohyuk’s hand signal.
“Head home for today.”
“But, sir, my job—”
“What’s there to worry about when I’m right here?”
Though he smiled, Soohyuk’s eyes made it clear that there was no room for discussion.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Soohyuk looked over to see that Jingyeom had already buckled his seatbelt.
With a hint of disappointment, he entered their destination into the navigation system.
“Are we really going to the ocean right now?”
“I’d like to go to the East or South Sea, but they’re a bit far, so we’ll head to Incheon instead.”
The closest beach, Eurwangni in Incheon, was set as their destination.
Now that they were finally alone, a natural smile crept onto Soohyuk’s face.
He was thrilled that it would just be the two of them in the car on the way there.
The car started smoothly, and soon, they were speeding along.
“So, what did you do for fun while I was away?”
“I studied.”
“That’s not all you did. You also hung out with Director Tak.”
“Ah…”
He must be talking about the drive-in theater.
But that wasn’t a pleasant memory for Jingyeom.
Watching the movie had been fine, but the events before and after were overwhelming.
* * *
Yey
Go Soohyuk
Yes soohyuk
Na solo nanaman c jingyeom haha
Uuu boy
Jingyeom starts to fall for Soohyuk
Go soohyuk! Go!
Yeah you have my fill support Soohyuk go get him!
Thanks
I’m really curious who the end game, I can’t decide between the 2
A provised date.