* * *

“Ah, no… I-I was going to answer…”

This was the first time Jinwoo had ever shouted this loudly. Jingyeom, startled, stammered and shrank back. Seeing this, Jinwoo realized and softened his tone.

“Sorry… I was worried because you didn’t answer your phone.”

Even as he apologized, Jinwoo’s eyes quickly scanned Jingyeom’s body. He even checked the watch on his wrist. His heart rate was higher than usual—probably because he was startled just now.

Once Jinwoo confirmed that Jingyeom was okay, he let out a sigh of relief and reached out to pull him into an embrace.

“Was my voice too loud? I’m sorry.”

“…No, it’s fine. I didn’t answer the phone… You were worried, that’s all.”

Even though he was startled, Jingyeom understood that Jinwoo’s outburst came from concern for him, so he accepted the apology.

Jinwoo, who had been focusing on his work, noticed the empty space around him and looked around the break room. But Jingyeom wasn’t there.

He’d said he was going to the restroom, but it was strange that he hadn’t returned. The restroom wasn’t far away. When he called, there was no answer.

Thinking that maybe Jingyeom had gone to a different floor, Jinwoo checked all the floors above and below as well.

‘Where could he have gone…?’

There weren’t many places Jingyeom was familiar with, so Jinwoo wondered if he might have gotten lost.

Despite checking everywhere, Jingyeom was nowhere to be found. If he could just answer his phone, Jinwoo could track him down, but all he heard was the voicemail message.

‘He didn’t collapse somewhere, did he?’

Jingyeom had just been discharged from the hospital a few days ago.

Given his health, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

That thought worried Jinwoo even more.

Jinwoo bit down hard on his lower lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood as his mind swirled with anxiety.

After wandering around for a while, Jinwoo ended up on the rooftop garden.

The moment he saw Jingyeom through the glass door, he ran toward him.

Feeling Jingyeom’s slight movements in his arms, Jinwoo’s tense and fearful body gradually relaxed.

He really felt like his heart had stopped for a moment.

Jinwoo focused solely on the fact that Jingyeom was in his arms, not caring about who might be watching.

Three people stood nearby, watching Jingyeom and Jinwoo with puzzled expressions, wondering what was going on.

Just then, the voice of someone who shouldn’t have been there echoed through the air.

“Enough with the drama. What do you think you’re doing in the company?”

Approaching them was Director Sun.

The three men immediately stiffened and bowed.

“Director, good evening!”

“Ah, working late, I see. You’re working hard. But why are you all here together in this spacious garden?”

“Ah! It’s nothing serious. There was just a small misunderstanding that we were clearing up.”

“A misunderstanding?”

Soohyuk, with his hand in his pocket, glanced at Jingyeom before turning back to the men, smiling as always.

“What kind of misunderstanding?”

They exchanged glances for a moment.

There was no way they could tell the truth. Passing the blame back and forth, they all remained silent.

Soohyuk waited for them to speak, watching as they kept stealing glances at Jingyeom.

Clearly, something had happened, and he was curious about what they would say.

Jingyeom was still in Jinwoo’s arms, the sound of his heavy breathing tickling his ear.

Jingyeom felt a pang of guilt, knowing that Jinwoo had probably run all over the place looking for him.

He placed a hand on Jinwoo’s waist, trying to comfort him, letting him know that he was safe.

As Jinwoo gradually calmed down, his heavy breathing slowed.

Jingyeom, still rubbing Jinwoo’s back, mulled over whether he should say something.

‘Should I be the one to speak up? …But I don’t want to make things worse.’

Earlier, he had just intended to accept the apology and end it, but the situation had escalated unexpectedly.

‘’You two should separate now.”

When the men didn’t speak up, Soohyuk stepped forward and separated Jingyeom and Jinwoo.

As he did, he accidentally brushed against Jingyeom’s shoulder, and Jingyeom winced in pain, his expression twisting.

Seeing this, Soohyuk’s brow furrowed.

Jinwoo noticed something was off and pressed the spot Soohyuk had touched.

“Ah!”

“Does it hurt? Were you hurt?”

Instead of answering, Jingyeom glanced at the men. It was the spot where Assistant Song had pushed him earlier.

The force had been strong enough to make him stumble back. He hadn’t expected it to still hurt now.

Seeing where Jingyeom was looking, Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed. Earlier, when he’d seen Jingyeom through the glass, he’d rushed over without even glancing at the men.

Why had they been together in the first place?

Jinwoo recalled Soohyuk’s words and straightened up, turning to the men.

“It’s been a while. Assistant Kim, Assistant Song, Assistant Park.”

Jinwoo glanced at the paper cups in their hands.

“Taking a break, I see.”

“Yes, well, you’ve got to take it easy sometimes,” Assistant Kim responded nonchalantly. Taking a break during overtime wasn’t a big deal.

Jinwoo chuckled, pointing out Assistant Kim’s behavior.

“You answered me right away, but you didn’t respond to Director Sun’s question. He asked what the misunderstanding was, remember?”

“Ah…”

“Well, the thing is…”

Of course, they didn’t tell the truth. Instead, they claimed that Jingyeom had intruded into their conversation, looking aggrieved. Jingyeom shook his head in denial.

“You said you were going to post it on the bulletin board!”

“Well, that was just…”

When Assistant Song faltered, Assistant Kim stepped in.

“He threw a can at us, so we got mad and said something in the heat of the moment. It’s not like we were really going to post it.”

Soohyuk, who had pieced together what had happened, rubbed his forehead. He’d been aware of the rumors circulating in the company but hadn’t paid much attention to them, thinking they weren’t worth the fuss.

Complaining about a superior is something anyone can do, as long as it doesn’t reach their ears. But once you’re caught red-handed and act unrepentant, there’s no way to smooth things over.

Assistant Park quickly added, ‘We never meant anything bad by it…!’

“Whatever your intentions were, I don’t care. But if he heard it himself and demanded an apology, you should’ve just apologized and moved on… Why did you escalate it? What? You’re going to post it on the bulletin board?”

Soohyuk’s sarcastic remark made the men shrink back.

“If you’re so curious about what would happen, go ahead and post it. You can also include what happened today. Oh, was it just a light push on the shoulder?”

“It really was just a light touch! Not even a push, just a nudge…”

“Sure, if you say so.”

Soohyuk walked up to Assistant Song, licking his lips lightly, like a predator savoring its prey before the hunt.

The men, stiff with tension, didn’t know where to look, so they kept their eyes down to avoid meeting his gaze.

“Secretary Baek. Take them downstairs.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you think? I’ll handle it.”

“…Understood.”

Jinwoo wrapped his arm around Jingyeom’s shoulders and began to walk away.

“Wait, are we just leaving? What about the Director?”

Jingyeom looked back repeatedly as he was practically dragged along. Soohyuk mouthed something with a smile, and Jingyeom noticed him saying, ‘See you tomorrow, Jingyeom,’ over and over. Jingyeom nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.”

Once the two people were out of sight, Soohyuk’s expression changed in an instant. The smile disappeared as if it had never been there, leaving his face completely void of emotion.

The three men standing before him swallowed hard, unnerved by his cold and impassive demeanor.

Soohyuk casually dusted off Assistant Song’s left shoulder, as if brushing away lint.

“You know,” he began.

His voice, low and threatening, sent a chill down Assistant Song’s spine, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

“I really don’t like it when someone messes with what’s mine. Doesn’t everyone feel the same?”

He lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smirk as he asked, and Assistant Song nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Agh…”

“Does it hurt?”

“N-no, sir.”

The veins on Soohyuk’s hand and forearm, which were resting on Assistant Song’s shoulder, bulged as he applied more pressure.

“I meant for it to hurt,” he muttered, but it was clear he wanted to be heard.

“I’ll let it go this time since everyone makes mistakes. But if it happens again…”

Gulp.

Even amidst the distant noise and the sound of the wind, the sound of someone swallowing echoed loudly.

Without finishing his sentence, Soohyuk suddenly returned to his usual warm expression.

“I assume you understood what I meant, unless you don’t have a brain. You seem to have a lot of work, probably enough for overtime. Go on, the faster you finish, the sooner you can go home.”

“Yes, yes, sir!”

“Then we’ll be on our way!”

“Goodbye, sir!”

The three men hurriedly left the scene, not waiting for anyone to take the lead.

Soohyuk slowly walked over to the railing and picked up the crumpled and dirty can that Jingyeom had thrown. It seemed to reflect the tense situation that had just unfolded.

He wondered what Jingyeom had been thinking when he threw that can.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have let it slide.’

Soohyuk’s face remained expressionless as he tossed the can into the trash.

As Jingyeom headed downstairs, he began to wonder if it was really okay to leave things as they were. But knowing there was nothing more he could do, he simply continued walking.

“If something like this happens again, just ignore it.”

“How can I do that? I’m fine with them insulting me, but not with them insulting you!”

“…Hyung.”

“If only I were stronger…!”

Jinwoo let out a stifled laugh as Jingyeom swung his fists aimlessly at the air.

When Jingyeom glared at him, Jinwoo quickly closed his mouth and stared straight ahead, pretending nothing had happened.

“This kind of thing happens a lot at work. The break room, the stairs, the rooftop—everywhere is a place for gossip. If you let it all get to you, you won’t last long.”

“Still, it’s not something they should say out loud.”

“It’s true that I only have a high school diploma and that I got in through connections.”

“Even if it’s true! Saying it outright and mocking it are two different things.”

Jingyeom felt a warm sensation in his chest whenever he saw Jinwoo getting upset on his behalf.

He still remembered the time Jinwoo had shown up for work on his day off and had even looked up the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s number for him.

That had been touching.

Unlike before, when he could only look at Jinwoo’s back, now they seemed to be facing each other, and it felt like the whole world was bathed in a bright light.

“So, do you want an apology?”

“I do! …But what if they actually post it on the bulletin board?”

“They won’t. Director Sun will take care of it.”

Jingyeom slowly nodded, believing that somehow the situation would be handled, even if he didn’t know exactly how.

* * *