* * *
“If it was something like that, you should’ve discussed it with me first.”
“I was planning to, after visiting the lab.”
“Did it not occur to you that it should be done before making a move?”
Looking back, Doyoung realized the way he had acted toward Beom Sinje wasn’t much different.
He felt another prick of guilt and quickly spoke.
“Never mind. I guess I was the same, so I can’t exactly call you out on it. But still, promise me. From now on, if something like this happens, you’ll talk to me first.”
“Alright.”
Beom Sinje answered so readily that it made Doyoung suspicious.
“You didn’t do all this on purpose just to hear me say that, did you?”
“Who knows?”
He probably did.
“Seriously… How did I not notice how shameless you are?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No.”
“I thought so.”
Even in the midst of all this, his smiling face was annoyingly good-looking. That was the real problem, Doyoung thought as he let out another long sigh.
“Agh, you two! Seriously! I’m still here, you know? Can you stop acting like it’s just the two of you?”
Yeo Giwon suddenly butted in, sounding utterly fed up.
Only then did Doyoung realize they weren’t alone and let out an awkward chuckle.
“Right.”
“‘Right,’ my ass! You’re unbelievable, hyung. How could you keep everything from me while telling Beom Sinje?”
“I wasn’t trying to tell him either. But the mask I was wearing got knocked off, so I got caught.”
Before Doyoung could say anything, Beom Sinje casually cut in.
“Hey! That’s—”
“And that’s not all. He didn’t even explain things properly to me and just disappeared, taking everything on by himself.”
At that, Doyoung couldn’t argue back. He had his reasons, but explaining would only make things worse.
“Wow, hyung, I’m impressed. Just how much stuff have you been secretly dealing with all this time?”
At this point, Yeo Giwon could only be amazed.
Pulling off elaborate schemes so effortlessly wasn’t something just anyone could do.
And the fact that he had never let it show—
“But hyung, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
Doyoung, already battered from Beom Sinje’s words, responded in a weary voice.
“When did you start having feelings for Beom Sinje?”
“What feelings?”
“You know… Liking him.”
Doyoung hadn’t expected that question from Yeo Giwon, and he hesitated.
To make things worse, Beom Sinje was now watching him with an amused glint in his eyes.
It had been a long time since he last felt this embarrassed.
He turned his gaze away and mumbled,
“Not that long ago. I just… realized it one day.”
“So, turns out my hyung is quite the romantic.”
Yeo Giwon clapped his hands together in exaggerated admiration.
He looked more entertained than genuinely moved.
“Sigh… Anyway, what’s your plan?”
Having no intention of continuing that topic, Doyoung turned to Beom Sinje and changed the subject.
“You need to prove that you clashed with government agencies for my sake—and for the hunters.”
He could tell why Beom Sinje had phrased it that way, and despite himself, the corners of his lips twitched.
He barely stopped them from curling up.
From the sound of someone deflating beside him, Yeo Giwon seemed utterly exasperated, but Doyoung ignored him.
“That never happened.”
Even as Doyoung denied it, Beom Sinje remained unfazed.
“I told you, I tried really hard to track you down after you disappeared.”
“And what does that have to do with this?”
Why was he bringing that up just to make him feel guilty again?
“Everything. I was so desperate to find you that I ended up uncovering the truth.”
With that phrasing, Doyoung—who had plenty to feel guilty about—couldn’t argue.
So, he silently met Beom Sinje’s gaze, prompting him to continue.
“Of course, I only put everything together after you came back. But once I realized just how far you had gone, I couldn’t stop myself from digging deeper.”
Weird. He was just calmly explaining the situation, so why did it sound like some passionate confession?
No—rather than receiving one, it felt like he had just made one himself.
That must be why his ears were burning and his neck felt so hot.
“I mean, that’s…”
“Of course, you’ll say you’ve never done anything like that, hyung. I’m just saying that’s how it felt to me.”
Before Doyoung could feel even more awkward, Beom Sinje took a step back.
Not that it would erase everything he had just heard.
“Can I share an idea?”
A sudden voice interrupted.
It was Yeo Giwon, whom they had momentarily forgotten about again.
He waved his hands to grab their attention, and when Doyoung gave him a nod to go ahead, he spoke up with a triumphant look.
“They say the best way to cover up a rumor is with another rumor. And if there’s a topic that’s sure to be a big issue, you use that.”
What kind of nonsense is he about to spout now?
Doyoung shot Beom Sinje a glance as if to ask, ‘Do you get what he’s saying?’
Beom Sinje only raised an eyebrow.
Clearly, he had no idea either.
“You guys should just make an official announcement that you’re dating!”
As expected, the words that came out of Yeo Giwon’s mouth made Doyoung scowl.
That was absurd.
Beom Sinje already attracted enough attention and envy—what kind of chaos would unfold if people found out he had a same-sex partner?
“That would clear up all the suspicions about you, hyung. Honestly, no one really cared about Antithesis anymore anyway.”
“For something nobody cares about, the reaction seems pretty intense right now.”
It wasn’t untrue. When he had briefly checked the community forums, old videos and records of Antithesis’s past activities were popping up everywhere.
“That’s because Zero, someone everyone knew as a top-tier hunter, made a reappearance. People always acknowledged his abilities. He, Beom Sinje, and I were practically the unofficial representatives of this country’s hunters.”
“Then that just makes this plan even more useless. Even if we put out a different story, it won’t change anything.”
Doyoung tried to shut the idea down, but Yeo Giwon wouldn’t back down so easily.
“No, you don’t get it. Who’s the top hunter right now? Him. The country’s number one brand power! And now, imagine this—people find out that the guy dating Beom Sinje is the same mysterious man who was seen crying so heartbreakingly after a mission. All the attention would shift straight to that!”
His eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he could already see the headlines.
Doyoung realized there was nothing he could say to stop this madness.
Instead, he turned to Beom Sinje, signaling for him to put an end to this nonsense.
“…You’re not seriously considering this, are you?”
But then he caught the look on Beom Sinje’s face.
That ominous glint in his eyes.
“That’s actually… not a bad idea.”
“Hey!”
Doyoung was horrified, but Beom Sinje and Yeo Giwon had already started exchanging ideas as if this were some brilliant strategic move.
Should they announce it on the official website? Or maybe do a live broadcast?
“What part of this is a good idea?!”
It was bad enough that rumors had been spreading within the guild, but now they wanted to make it public?
“Are you insane? You’re really going to announce that the leader of Chunho Guild is dating a man?”
“So what? Everyone who matters already knows, and no one really cares anymore. There are quite a few same-sex couples in our guild, you know. You just never noticed.”
Of course, he hadn’t. He’d never cared to.
* * *
