* * *

After the chicken was fried and coated in soy sauce, Yeongdeok handed it to Jihoon to serve to Seonwoo.

It didn’t take long for Jihoon to return to the kitchen, his face now plastered with irritation.

“That guy is so annoying. He’s always been like that, hasn’t he?”

Clicking his tongue, Jihoon complained, and Yeongdeok nodded in agreement.

Baek Seonwoo was certainly skilled at getting under people’s skin.

“What did he say?”

“In short, he called me a clingy leech.”

“Don’t pay attention to what he says. Nothing good will come from overthinking it.”

Feeling reassured by Yeongdeok’s support, Jihoon realized how fickle his emotions were.

The irritation he had felt moments ago suddenly vanished.

That is, until Seonwoo showed up in the kitchen, bringing his mood crashing down again.

“Oh, so this is what the kitchen looks like.”

“Hey, only authorized personnel are allowed in here.”

“Well, I’m a friend, so I’ll use my connections, Cha Yeongdeok.”

Seonwoo stepped up and grabbed Yeongdeok’s hand, though Yeongdeok quickly shook him off within a second.

“Don’t touch me like that.”

“Take a look at this.”

Seonwoo shoved his phone screen in front of Yeongdeok.

“I’ve got fans now. They’ve sent me a bunch of messages praising my performance at the concert.”

“Good for you.”

“And you remember the teacher I admired who attended the concert? They said my performance was deeply moving.”

Seonwoo grabbed Yeongdeok’s hand again, and this time, Yeongdeok didn’t shake him off.

It was because of what Seonwoo said next.

“It’s all thanks to you, Yeongdeok. Thank you.”

Though he had thanked him during the concert, Seonwoo said he wanted to express his gratitude again, flashing a bright smile.

It was the most radiant smile Yeongdeok had ever seen, leaving him speechless.

Jihoon, however, quickly intervened, separating their hands.

“How about you go eat your chicken now?”

“Fine, I will.”

Seonwoo seemed to back off, but just before leaving the kitchen, he stopped, as if he had more to say.

“I’ll decide which is tastier—Cha Yeongdeok’s chicken or his lips.”

“What…!”

Ignoring Jihoon’s furious outburst, Seonwoo strolled out, leaving Yeongdeok to face Jihoon’s interrogation.

“Hey, what the hell did he mean by that? He’s talking nonsense, right?”

“He is, but it’s not completely nonsense.”

Anyone else hearing Yeongdeok’s answer might think it made no sense, but Jihoon understood exactly what he meant.

After all, Yeongdeok was always clear-cut—yes or no.

If nothing had happened, he would’ve said so from the start.

“Did you… kiss him?”

“That bastard suddenly shoved his face into mine. I couldn’t react in time. In hindsight, I should’ve reported him for harassment.”

Jihoon’s eyes darted to Yeongdeok’s lips, his throat going dry, his ears burning.

He ducked his head slightly, like a stalk of ripe grain bending.

“What’s wrong?”

“I really hate that guy…”

“You already said that.”

With that odd encounter behind them, the two returned to work.

Jihoon tried to focus, but Seonwoo’s words kept replaying in his mind.

While cleaning the tables, he replayed their conversation over and over, when Seonwoo, now done with his meal, asked for the leftover chicken to be packed.

When Jihoon didn’t respond and just glared at him, Seonwoo returned his gaze with a smirk, the two locked in a silent staring contest that seemed to outsiders like a game of chicken.

Since Jihoon didn’t budge, it was ultimately Yeongdeok who packed the chicken and handed it to Seonwoo.

“As expected, only Cha Yeongdeok gets it. Thanks. I’ll be back.”

“Don’t come back.”

Yeongdeok waved him off like he was shooing away a fly.

But Seonwoo wasn’t easily discouraged and responded with another cheeky remark.

“I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Don’t text either—”

Before Yeongdeok could finish his sentence, Seonwoo left the restaurant in a hurry, as if he didn’t want to hear the rest.

What a piece of work.

Yeongdeok glared at the door and the jingling bell, annoyed by Seonwoo’s antics, when Jihoon approached him.

“Hyung.”

Jihoon’s voice was low and serious.

“What is it?”

Jihoon suddenly reached out and gently touched Yeongdeok’s lower lip, pressing it softly as if trying to feel its shape.

Startled, Yeongdeok pulled back, and Jihoon quietly withdrew his hand.

“What the hell was that?”

“Nothing.”

Jihoon stared at his hand, the one that had just touched Yeongdeok’s lips, before turning away.

Yeongdeok was dumbfounded.

What was with these guys?

Why were they all acting so incomprehensible?

With a sense of confusion still lingering in his heart, Yeongdeok returned to the kitchen and, upon seeing the pile of dishes in the sink, firmly slipped on the bright red rubber gloves.

As he scrubbed the plates with the sponge, the food remnants were scrubbed clean with a squeaky sound.

The once dirty dishes now sparkled, one by one, as if they were brand new.

After finishing the dishes, Yeongdeok carefully placed the rubber gloves on the sink and started to move toward his next task.

But something felt off, causing him to stop in his tracks.

Even though Jihoon’s hand had left his a while ago, he still felt a lingering warmth on his lips, as if Jihoon’s touch remained.

The sensation was so vivid that Yeongdeok subconsciously brushed his fingers over his lips, tracing where Jihoon’s hand had been.

No matter how much time passed, that strange feeling refused to fade.

So, until the next order came in, Yeongdeok found himself lost in that lingering sensation.

ꔚ

By the time the faint dusk fully settled around them, Yeongdeok had successfully wrapped up the day’s business.

After cleaning up, the two of them exchanged their usual farewells before parting ways.

“You did well, Cha Yeongdeok. Get home safely.”

“Taking a taxi tonight?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t feel right to keep getting a free ride…”

Jihoon, recalling the events from when he had previously hitched a ride in Yeongdeok’s truck, instinctively covered his mouth to suppress the nausea.

The three U-turns on the empty roads that night had been so terrifying that they could’ve made it on the 9 o’clock news.

“Got it. Be safe.”

As they exchanged their final words, the taxi Jihoon had called pulled up.

After seeing Jihoon off in the taxi, Yeongdeok headed to the parking lot and checked his phone, noticing several missed messages.

To his surprise, there were over 300 unread messages in the Beautiful Life chatroom.

Even though it was late at night, the conversation was still going strong.

Curious about what on earth they could be talking about at this hour, Yeongdeok opened the chat.

The first message that caught his eye was from someone named Earth destroyer:

[Earth destroyer: Guys, did you see? PetitRolang posted something on their SNS account!]

…PetitRolang? Yeongdeok’s brow furrowed as soon as he saw the name he despised so much.

[Natsuyama Soseki: Of course, I saw it!]

[Rose: They’ve always just posted their works without ever interacting with their readers before… I’m a bit sad that the mysterious aura is gone ㅠ]

[Gwakdupal: It’s true! I checked, and they really did post something. What’s gotten into them all of a sudden?]

[DaerimdongFist: Whatever the reason, we should hang on tight until the next release!]

Yeongdeok scrolled through the seemingly endless messages before switching over to the search portal.

Ever since he returned to the past, he would occasionally search for PetitRolang.

It had always been in vain, though, as there were never any significant updates about the elusive figure.

PetitRolang remained an enigma—rumored but never revealed, like a myth.

But this time was different.

As soon as he typed the name into the search bar, a flood of new articles about PetitRolang appeared.

[“Genius Web Novel Author PetitRolang Announces New Work on SNS”]

[“PetitRolang’s Grand Return: ‘Look Forward to the Next Work'”]

[“Fans Rejoice as PetitRolang Breaks Silence About Upcoming Project”]

Yeongdeok immediately checked PetitRolang’s SNS. T

he post wasn’t anything extraordinary, yet it had already garnered over a hundred thousand likes.

[PetitRolang: Hello, this is PetitRolang. I’ve received many inquiries about my next project. I’m currently working on it and will return soon with good news.]

PetitRolang had never taken such a public stance in the novel before.

Even when Yeongdeok was causing all sorts of chaos, PetitRolang had remained silent.

So why now?

As he pondered, a memory flashed through his mind.

Come to think of it, PetitRolang had once called a shaman and even held a ritual, claiming they would revise the novel.

Could that have been the trigger for this sudden change?

Yeongdeok clenched and unclenched his fist, glancing around.

But no, he still felt a lingering defiance toward PetitRolang.

What on earth was going on?

Frustrated by the uncertainty, Yeongdeok raked his fingers through his bangs.

He needed to get home and look into this further.

* * *