ACTSV chapter 48

The two headed to their respective places.

Jinwoo bowed once more to the staff who were glancing at him, apologizing. During this, he made eye contact with Ha Sangil.

He could barely muster a smile, so he just nodded slightly.

Since Jingyeom worked here, it wouldn’t be good to have a strained relationship.

As Jingyeom returned, a staff member approached, smiling slyly.

“That person just now, is he your brother? I thought I heard that earlier.”

“Yes, that’s right. He was quite startled earlier. I’m sorry. My brother seemed scared too.”

Knowing that Jinwoo’s actions were because of him made Jingyeom more self-conscious.

He especially didn’t want Jinwoo’s image to be tarnished among the staff.

The staff member said it was fine.

“So, does your brother know your boyfriend? You were together, after all.”

For a moment, Jingyeom wondered who they meant by boyfriend, then shook his head, smiling.

“He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

He whispered the last part so the customers wouldn’t hear.

Watching Jingyeom engage in various conversations with the staff, Jinwoo tidied up the table.

“Are you leaving?”

“I’ve been here too long. I need to get back to the office. Aren’t you leaving, Director?”

“Me? I’m waiting for Jingyeom to finish.”

“…Jingyeom…?”

Jinwoo froze for a moment when Soohyuk naturally called Jingyeom by name.

He scowled, showing clear displeasure.

Hearing Jingyeom’s name from Soohyuk’s mouth felt unnecessarily intimate.

While names are meant to be used, it felt incredibly uncomfortable.

It would be best if they didn’t interact, but given the situation, that seemed impossible.

Jinwoo openly showed his displeasure and asked.

“You were here yesterday too. And you gave him a suit.”

“Yes, I did. Did he try it on?”

“No. He left it untouched to return it.”

“If he’s not going to wear it, he might as well throw it away. I bought it specifically for Jingyeom.”

Soohyuk emphasized ‘Jingyeom’ provocatively.

Jinwoo’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

Though he hadn’t been managing his expressions well, Soohyuk was still his superior.

But no one at the table seemed to care.

Soohyuk didn’t stop there.

“You should have let him try it on. It looked really good on him. That image stayed with me. That’s why I gave him the suit. I wanted to see it again.”

“…”

“Everything else looked good on him too… It’s a shame. Not being able to see it again.”

Though Soohyuk initially meant to tease, his words inadvertently carried sincerity.

He indeed gave the suit because he wanted to see Jingyeom in it again.

Remembering the moment Jingyeom came out of the dressing room in the beige suit, Soohyuk wondered if he would feel the same seeing it again.

If he felt the same…

Lost in thought, Soohyuk snapped back to reality when Jinwoo asked directly.

“Are you serious about Jingyeom?”

“Why would I need to be serious?”

“Otherwise, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t approach him.”

Jinwoo spoke with a serious expression.

He knew this wasn’t the best place for such a conversation, but he felt that if he didn’t address it now, Soohyuk would keep approaching Jingyeom.

“Just trying to get along, is that wrong?”

“Yes. Things are different now. Since losing his memory, he seems to trust people more easily… His wariness has decreased a lot.”

“So? He originally should have been wary of me and not trusted me, but now that he doesn’t, I shouldn’t approach him?”

Soohyuk’s smile faded as he spoke. He leaned forward, breaking the distance between them.

Sitting diagonally, neither Soohyuk nor Jinwoo broke eye contact, like competitors waiting for the other to blink.

“I’d appreciate it. I don’t want Jingyeom to be used for your amusement.”

Jinwoo’s main issue wasn’t just Soohyuk’s approach but also wanting to avoid any involvement with him.

But the biggest reason was this: He didn’t want Jingyeom’s trust in people to be shattered.

While they couldn’t control what might happen once his memories returned, Jinwoo hoped nothing would hurt Jingyeom until then.

Jinwoo’s wish dissipated before reaching Soohyuk.

“Why should I?”

“…”

“Secretary Baek Jinwoo, I think you’re mistaken. You don’t have the authority to control Baek Jingyeom. No matter how close you are as family, there are boundaries that need to be respected.”

Jinwoo’s lips pressed into a tight line. Soohyuk didn’t stop there.

“Baek Jingyeom isn’t a child; he’s the same age as you. He has amnesia, not a regression to childhood. You understand that, right?”

“Stop it.”

Wonbeom, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

A tense silence, as if ready to burst at any moment, enveloped the table, only to be interrupted by Wonbeom’s cold remark.

The brief pause created by his words did not lighten the atmosphere; instead, it made it even heavier.

Although the cafe was noisy, the tables were close enough that the surrounding people could hear the conversation.

Wonbeom’s single comment sent chills down their spines.

An uneasy silence filled the area around the table.

Secretary Yang, who didn’t want to involve himself in matters unrelated to him, was fiddling with his phone in a slouched position.

Seeing Wonbeom’s foot tapping under the table, he straightened up quickly.

He had planned to feign ignorance, but the sight of Wonbeom’s tapping foot, indicating his foul mood, made it impossible to stay idle.

“Shall we get going then? Director Sun said he would stay, right? We’ll clear our things and leave his behind. It’s awkward to stay at an empty table for too long.”

As Jinwoo stood up, trying to manage the situation naturally by holding the stacked trays, an unexpected interruption came.

“Leave my cup too.”

“…Director, you should be leaving.”

Secretary Yang’s expression clearly conveyed, “Are you really thinking of staying after I told you to stop?” But Wonbeom spoke without even looking at him.

“I’m done with my work. Didn’t we say this was a team dinner? Aren’t team dinners supposed to go up to three rounds, Secretary Yang?”

“Why are you asking me…?”

Secretary Yang knew that refusing now would only invite more trouble from Wonbeom.

He reluctantly set the tray back down.

“If you weren’t planning to leave, you should have said so from the beginning. What’s the point of saying it now after we’ve already packed up?”

Despite his internal grumbling, he moved the cup back in front of Wonbeom.

“Of course, we should go up to three rounds. Secretary Baek, you heard that, right? This is the second round, so we should definitely go for the third. Team dinners only get better in the third round. It seems like your brother should join us too. You’re finishing at 3, right? Let’s go together, okay?”

“…What?”

Jinwoo, unable to grasp what was said, asked again.

“You just said ‘okay,’ right? So we’ll all go for the third round together. Director, what do you think? You know Secretary Baek’s brother well. The more, the merrier, right?”

Secretary Yang, resigned to the situation, rattled off words carelessly.

“Since we’re going this far, we’ll reach dinner time by the third round, and then we can go for a fourth round to eat and a fifth round at another cafe. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good. Fifth round.”

Soohyuk nodded in agreement.

Despite the lack of consent from everyone, the plan for the team dinner up to the fifth round was settled.

The third round took place after Jingyeom got off work.

Jingyeom glanced over several times while working, noticing that Jinwoo, who said he would leave soon, was still there.

None of the four people showed any signs of leaving.

He couldn’t fathom why they were still there, especially since he remembered the company as being quite busy.

Particularly for Wonbeom, the company held significant importance.

It was a major part of his life, which was evident even in “Gray,” where the main setting was the company, and the main characters were in roles like the president and secretary.

Although he currently held the position of director, it hadn’t taken long for him to become the president.

Thus, it was understandable that Jingyeom found the situation strange.

“Aren’t you all going back to work? Lunch break ended quite a while ago…”

“We were waiting for you, Jingyeom. Oh, can I call you Jingyeom? I didn’t know what else to call you.”

Secretary Yang spoke up just as Jingyeom’s curiosity peaked.

“Yes, that’s fine. Call me whatever is comfortable!”

“Then Jingyeom, do you want to join us for the team dinner?”

“…Team dinner?”

These days, team dinners sometimes happen even at lunch.

He knew that they would go to a cafe and then return to work, but he wondered if they were going somewhere else again.

Jingyeom looked at Jinwoo, who still had a stern expression. Although he smiled at Jingyeom, it was clearly a forced smile.

Curious if something had happened, Jingyeom looked at Wonbeom and Soohyuk, but they seemed no different from usual.

“I’m okay with it, but…”

Seeing Jinwoo’s reaction, Jingyeom trailed off, noticing that Secretary Yang was already getting up.

Secretary Yang had wanted to leave the cafe for a while.

The constant attention from all directions was making him feel pierced all over.

He glanced around subtly.

Even if people weren’t openly staring, he could feel their focus on this table.

‘Anyone would be curious.’

There’s nothing more entertaining than a live drama unfolding before your eyes.

Although few people were actually showing interest, Secretary Yang found the situation quite annoying.

Director Tak and Director Sun might not be well-known faces, but causing a scene would benefit no one.

“Secretary Baek, take care of your brother.”

Secretary Yang tapped Jinwoo’s arm and got up.

“Alright, let’s head to the third round!”