ACTSV chapter 73

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Jingyeom woke up much later. The orange glow of the setting sun was filtering through the window.

Still groggy, Jingyeom raised himself up at the sound coming from outside.

It sounded like Jinwoo was talking to someone, and the other person occasionally raised their voice.

Worried that something might be wrong, Jingyeom slowly walked to the door and opened it.

“Uh… Director?”

The first thing he saw was Jinwoo’s back, and then he noticed Soohyuk behind him. It was strange seeing Soohyuk in a t-shirt and cotton pants instead of his usual suit.

Soohyuk, who had been frowning, turned his head when he saw Jingyeom. He took a short, deep breath and quickly changed his expression.

“Looks like you just woke up.”

“Yes. …Why are you here?”

“I drove here.”

“…”

When Jingyeom just stared blankly at him, Soohyuk chuckled. He found Jingyeom’s sleepy, bed-headed look adorable.

“Well, being alone in a hotel all day makes you think about a lot of things. I was curious, so I came.”

Soohyuk glanced at Jinwoo before trying to step forward, but he was stopped by an arm around his waist.

“You’ve satisfied your curiosity, so it’s time to go.”

“…”

“You promised.”

Jinwoo’s expression was as cold as ice, emphasizing the word “promise.” He had no reason to hide his icy glare, since Jingyeom couldn’t see his face.

The two men stared at each other until they were startled by the sound of Jingyeom coughing behind them.

“Achoo!”

When Jingyeom coughed again, Jinwoo hurried over, his face full of concern. Jingyeom waved his hand, saying he was fine.

“It’s just a sneeze.”

“It’s probably from the air conditioner. Let’s put something on.”

“It’s too hot, I don’t want to.”

“Your arms are cold too.”

Jinwoo clicked his tongue as he touched Jingyeom’s exposed arms. Since the house was small, the temperature dropped quickly when the air conditioner was on.

Jinwoo usually turned it on and off repeatedly, but he had set it lower than usual today because of the heat, which caused this problem.

When he placed his hand on Jingyeom’s forehead, it was cooler than his own.

“You don’t have a fever.”

“I said I’m fine.”

Jingyeom shivered, proving he was indeed cold. It felt warm when he stepped outside. The cold air was escaping through the still-open front door.

Jingyeom slipped on his slippers, walked outside, and closed the door.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yes. A promise is a promise, after all.”

Soohyuk looked at Jingyeom with a soft expression, puzzled by the situation.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“Director!”

Jingyeom hurriedly grabbed Soohyuk’s sleeve as he turned to leave.

“I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

“…”

“It’s true…”

Soohyuk wasn’t looking at Jingyeom with disbelief. He found Jingyeom’s pale hand clutching his sleeve and his anxious explanation endearing.

“I really mean it!”

“Who said I don’t believe you?”

“You didn’t say anything, so…”

“I believe you. You must be tired too, so don’t overthink it and get some rest.”

Soohyuk placed his hand on Jingyeom’s head and gently ruffled his hair.

A deep, satisfied smile spread across Soohyuk’s face as he left, content with his impulsive visit.

“I’ll be going.”

“…Yes. Goodbye.”

Jingyeom bowed slightly as he said goodbye.

It seemed Soohyuk had left his car nearby, as the sound of the engine starting was close.

When Jingyeom looked down from the railing, he saw a familiar car. He watched it until it disappeared down the alley.

Jinwoo, who had been watching Soohyuk’s retreating figure, rubbed his face roughly with one hand.

Soohyuk’s late-night visit was to ask detailed questions about Jingyeom’s condition.

Even though he could have learned everything through Hoonil, Soohyuk came all the way here to hear it firsthand.

Instead of giving him the information, Jinwoo made him promise to leave quietly. He didn’t want to wake Jingyeom.

The truth was, Jinwoo didn’t want the two of them to meet. But then Jingyeom had woken up and come outside.

Jinwoo felt uneasy, as nothing seemed to go his way. Still, he decided to trust Jingyeom’s words that he didn’t want to see anyone for the time being.

As Jingyeom leaned against the railing, he came over and asked,

“Why was he here?”

“…”

“…Is it hard to talk about? Then I won’t ask.”

Jingyeom was curious, but he didn’t want to make Jinwoo uncomfortable.

“It’s hot. Let’s go inside.”

Jingyeom pulled Jinwoo’s arm and went back into the house. That night, they spent a lot of time catching mosquitoes before bed.

Jingyeom had left the front door open earlier, and a few mosquitoes had gotten inside.

Even without the open door, mosquitoes found their way in from all directions. But leaving the door wide open practically invited them in.

“Jinwoo, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay. Oh, over there, hyung!”

“I got it! I got it here!”

---

Every day during lunch, Soohyuk would visit, and Wonbeom, who either skipped lunch or ate separately, eventually joined in, so the four of them always ate together.

Secretary Yang kept her distance, observing—no, studying them.

Jinwoo was consistent. He always centered his world around Jingyeom, even during work.

Whenever Jingyeom went to make copies, Jinwoo would glance in that direction until he returned.

It was the same when Jingyeom went to the break room or the bathroom.

Jinwoo would focus on his work, but if Jingyeom was gone too long, he would immediately pick up his phone.

‘He’s got a serious case of “brother complex.” It’s not easy to be that way.’

But it wasn’t like the other two were any less devoted.

Wonbeom, who had initially hired Jingyeom as an secretary and then largely ignored him, had started giving him direct orders more frequently.

Tasks like copying or shredding documents, which he used to assign to Jinwoo, were now given to Jingyeom.

Moreover, Wonbeom had reduced his previously hectic schedule of outside meetings. In fact, he hadn’t gone out at all this week.

‘People say sudden changes can be fatal. If Director Tak goes down, I won’t have anywhere else to earn this kind of money.’

It’s hard to find someone who pays as well as Wonbeom. The extra compensation she received made the hard work bearable.

To Secretary Yang, the most surprising change was Soohyuk.

He had always visited Director Tak frequently, but not to this extent. Of course, now he was coming to see Jingyeom, not Director Tak.

Moreover, his actions were quite the spectacle.

“I never imagined he was that kind of person.”

It was the first time I had seen him try to finish a business trip as quickly as possible and return, or buy a cheesy gift for someone else.

I couldn’t help but laugh when I thought of Soohyuk carefully choosing and purchasing a doll for Jingyeom. It was a scene I couldn’t even imagine.

“Anyway… it’s chaos, absolute chaos.”

Secretary Yang shook his head as he watched the four of them walk away.

As long as whatever they were doing didn’t cause him any trouble, he didn’t care.

---

Soohyuk made it a point to see Jingyeom every morning, afternoon, and evening. He even sent him messages from time to time.

Questions like, “Have you started work?” “I’ll come over for lunch,” and “When are you getting off work?” were his usual routine.

Jingyeom, who used to exchange messages with Soohyuk, now stared blankly at his quiet phone.

Occasionally, he would get a call from a blocked number, but it didn’t bother him much since they would just be logged in his call history.

As a result, the only people contacting him were Jinwoo and Soohyuk.

Even then, Jinwoo now commuted with him, so there was no need to contact each other separately.

If he was away for a long time, Jinwoo might call, but that was about it.

“I guess I should contact him soon…”

The random chat apps and messages exchanged with his “fish in the sea” were still there, just as they had been when he first opened his phone.

He had intended to clean them out later, but it’s already been over a month.

“It seems like even Dad hasn’t tried to contact me anymore.”

Before, he used to call on the landline, but now there was nothing. Not even a single message was left behind.

At first, I didn’t think much of blocking him, but lately, it has been weighing on my mind.

Though I don’t know how much the new me cares, he’s still Jinwoo’s real father.

“Did Baek Jingyeom know that he was contacting us?”

I found out through the bank app that he hadn’t spent all the money Jinwoo gave him on luxuries.

There were several transactions made to someone with the last name Baek.

Jingyeom glanced at Jinwoo, who was focused on his work. His eyes were fixed on the monitor.

“…It’s probably better not to mention it.”

After all, he was a father who left nothing but debt behind. If he wanted to contact Jinwoo, he would have done so long ago.

Jingyeom cleared his throat.

“Director Sun is asking if we really have to eat at the cafeteria on our last day.”

“Where do you want to eat, hyung? Let’s go wherever you want.”

“I don’t mind where we go.”

“Then, since it’s our last day, should we eat at the cafeteria? We can always eat out anytime.”

Jingyeom nodded.

He sent a message to Soohyuk saying that they would be eating at the cafeteria again today and then helped with the now-familiar task of organizing the meeting minutes.

Secretary Yang had been away from his desk all day due to a string of meetings that had been scheduled since morning.

“Hyung, I’m heading to a meeting too.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Once Jinwoo left, the surroundings became rather quiet. No one was coming to see him, so it wasn’t unsettling.

Even though he was an secretary, there wasn’t much to do. It was only natural since he didn’t know how to do much.

It was a shame that, despite Wonbeom helping him get a job as an secretary secretary, he couldn’t perform well.

Jingyeom stared blankly at his employee ID hanging around his neck.

When taking the ID photo, he had been told not to smile too brightly, so he had only made a faint smile.

“Still, it looks nice.”

He gently touched the part where his name was written. He could feel the hardness and smoothness of the plastic.

“…Baek Jingyeom.”

Even though it’s his name, the face isn’t his. He can’t even remember how he originally looked. By now, this face had become familiar to him.

“Are you staring at it because you think you’re too good-looking?”

Startled by the voice from above, Jingyeom quickly looked up. He locked eyes with Soohyuk, who was leaning on the desk.

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