* * *

Jingyeom pressed his lips together and gripped the handle tightly. Sensing his resolve, Jinwoo smiled and said,

“If you’re scared, just say so. I’ll ask them to stop right away.”

He meant it to make him laugh, but Jingyeom nodded earnestly.

The Viking operator, looking baffled, glanced over the surrounding men.

“Here we go.”

With cheerful music playing, the Viking started moving slowly.

Though it was for children, the speed wasn’t extremely slow, and the angle wasn’t too shallow.

Jingyeom held on until the end, but when he got off the Viking, his legs gave out.

Jinwoo hurriedly supported him, looking concerned.

“…Please, no one say anything.”

With his face buried in Jinwoo’s arm, Jingyeom whispered very softly. His ears were flushed red.

Wonbeom bit his lip and turned his head.

He felt he might burst into laughter if he kept watching. Laughing wasn’t wrong, but it felt awkward.

In contrast, Soohyuk was quietly chuckling, shaking his shoulders.

When Jingyeom glared at him, he tried hard to hold back his laughter.

“Ahem!”

Jingyeom cleared his throat and steadied his legs.

It wasn’t the big Viking, but he was embarrassed to have shown such a reaction to the small one.

That embarrassment didn’t last long. He quickly recovered and followed Secretary Yang, who was openly laughing while still worried.

Secretary Yang found the situation amusing but also feared the repercussions. Since it was summer and the sun stayed up late, it was still hot.

Although Director Sun worked in a different department and they didn’t cross paths much, Director Tak did.

‘Am I going to get fired for this?’

He had suggested going to Wolmido purely out of curiosity, without any special plan.

They had been there for over an hour, riding only one Viking and wandering aimlessly.

The place wasn’t large, and there wasn’t much to do, so walking around endlessly had its limits.

Moreover, today was scorching without even a cloud in the sky.

Secretary Yang and Jinwoo had left their outer clothes in the car, and Wonbeom and Soohyuk, who had been wearing jackets, had taken them off and were carrying them over their arms.

It was fine for a while, but being outside for long made them hot too.

Jinwoo took a handkerchief from Jingyeom’s bag.

“Hyung, look at me.”

When Jingyeom turned his head, Jinwoo dabbed the sweat off his face.

“I told you we should get hats.”

“I felt awkward being the only one wearing one…”

Though he wasn’t sweating much, Jingyeom took the handkerchief from Jinwoo and pressed it against his neck.

It felt a bit cooler with the sunshade.

Though he enjoyed the rare outing, the heat was seriously oppressive.

Staying out longer might make him dizzy and faint.

Then Jingyeom’s eyes caught a slushy stand.

“Jinwoo, let’s get that.”

The brightly colored slushies were perfect for a summer day.

“What do you all think about those?”

Secretary Yang, seeing the slushies Jingyeom pointed to, eagerly agreed.

“I’m good.”

“Why? They’re really refreshing!”

“I don’t eat stuff like that.”

Soohyuk loosened his tie a bit and unbuttoned a couple of buttons, feeling hot.

“Director, won’t you have one too?”

“No.”

Wonbeom, who answered tersely, also seemed hot, judging by the wrinkles on his forehead.

However, unlike Soohyuk, his shirt remained neatly buttoned.

Jinwoo and Secretary Yang went together to buy slushies.

The card they were using for the day was Wonbeom’s.

While waiting for the slushies, Jingyeom looked at the handkerchief in his hand and hesitated before offering it.

“I used this side, but the other side is clean.”

When Wonbeom didn’t take it and just stared, Jingyeom stretched his arm out further.

He would’ve given him a tissue if he had one, but the handkerchief was all he had.

He knew how uncomfortable it was to leave sweat dripping, so he offered it.

Soohyuk, at least, fanned himself with his hands, but Wonbeom did nothing, despite sweating a lot.

When Jingyeom urged him to take it, Wonbeom raised an eyebrow before bending down slightly.

“Wipe it for me. I can’t see where the sweat is.”

“A grown man…”

Jingyeom carefully unfolded the clean part of the handkerchief and dabbed the sweat off Wonbeom’s face, checking to ensure he got it all.

Then Soohyuk also bent down.

“Wipe mine too.”

Jingyeom gave him a bemused look but wiped his sweat as well.

“In summer, everyone should carry a handkerchief. If you sweat this much, it’s essential!”

Soohyuk smiled slightly at Jingyeom’s scolding tone.

In such heat, it was rare for them to walk around outside. Usually, they worked in well-air-conditioned places and only visited such spots.

There was no reason to be outside in the heat.

If it hadn’t been for Jingyeom, they wouldn’t have stayed here.

They wanted to go into a café, but Jingyeom looked so excited about being outside that they didn’t want to ruin his mood.

Just seeing him so happy made them feel good, even though it didn’t change the fact that they were hot.

“It’s nice. You’ve got a boyfriend who wipes your sweat.”

“Oh, please don’t say that! The café staff already have the wrong idea.”

Soohyuk grinned as he spoke, causing Jingyeom, who had been frowning, to grumble while putting his handkerchief back in his bag.

Wonbeom, who had straightened his back, subtly raised his eyebrows.

“partner?”

He hadn’t heard anything about them dating.

If that were the case, Jinwoo would never have stayed silent. But there had been no such indication. Even Cheongoh had only mentioned yesterday that Soohyuk went to the cafe, without reporting that the two were dating.

Wonbeom’s expression turned quite grim as he frowned. Already annoyed by the heat, the mention of a partner made him even more irritable.

Jingyeom, seeing this, shook his head vigorously.

“He came to the cafe yesterday and joked that I was his partner, so the staff misunderstood. When he came again today, everyone thought it was true.”

“Did Director Sun say that nonsense about being your partner?”

“Non-nonsense…”

Jingyeom muttered softly and hurriedly answered Wonbeom’s question.

“Yes, I did say it wasn’t true, but… it didn’t seem like they believed me.”

He had clearly denied it yesterday. But given they asked if he was a partner earlier, it seemed like rumors had already spread.

The context was cut off, and the phrase “new part-time worker’s partner is a handsome man” had become the accepted story.

Wonbeom’s sharp gaze turned to Soohyuk as if to ask what kind of prank this was.

Soohyuk shrugged slightly.

“But, Baek Jingyeom.”

“Yes?”

“Where did you learn to wipe sweat like that? You don’t do it for anyone else, right?”

“Of course not.”

Soohyuk let out a dry laugh at Jingyeom’s face, which seemed to ask what he thought he was.

Where did he bury his sense of caution? Did he really chew it up like gum?

When he first saw him in the hospital, Jingyeom had been so wary, not even coming near him or making eye contact. But now he was wiping sweat off him.

Of course, back then, he had avoided him because he was a stranger, but it seemed like he had dropped his guard too easily.

And this wasn’t just about Wonbeom; it also applied to him.

Jingyeom had followed him to buy clothes at the department store after meeting him just once and had readily followed for a meal when he offered to treat him to meat.

Soohyuk found Jingyeom’s behavior hard to understand.

‘Where do I even start teaching him?’

There are things that people naturally realize as they live. Did all that vanish because of amnesia?

Having no sense of caution certainly made him easier to approach. But with Jingyeom, it was severe.

Here’s one thing others don’t know.

To Jingyeom, Soohyuk and Wonbeom weren’t just strangers. They were, after all, the protagonists of “Gray”, and experiencing them firsthand, there were many good points.

This probably made his internal closeness rise relatively quickly.

If they had been strangers, he might have felt sorry for saying he had no friends, but he wouldn’t have gone shopping with them. He wouldn’t have readily followed for a meal either.

As they each thought different things, the afternoon at Wolmido was gradually passing.

As dinner time approached, Yang Secretary’s strong insistence that they should eat shellfish since they were at Wolmido decided the evening menu.

They entered the nearest restaurant. They considered going to a room, but since there weren’t many people, they just took a seat in the hall.

Secretary Yang, wanting to eat while looking at the sea, chose a seat by the window.

So far, so good. The food came out quickly, and although there wasn’t much conversation, the atmosphere was nice.

But that peaceful time was quickly shattered.

Jingyeom had just wiped his eyes in the bathroom, irritated by too much sunscreen, and was on his way back to the group.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm, startling him.

“What’s this? What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you kicking someone else’s bag?”

Jingyeom looked down in confusion. He didn’t feel anything under his feet. There was no bag in sight. When he looked up, the bag was in the man’s hand.

Whether he had kicked it or not, he apologized first.

“Sorry, I must have done it by mistake.”

“Hey, just saying sorry and it’s over?”

“Uh…”

“I mean, you kicked my bag!”

Not knowing what else to do, Jingyeom stood still, and the man got up from his seat. He even puffed out his chest as if to appear more intimidating.

“You should at least show some sincerity by paying for the cleaning!”

“How much is the cleaning fee?”

Jinwoo, who had rushed over, grabbed the man’s wrist that was holding Jingyeom’s arm. As his veins bulged with exertion, the man let go of Jingyeom’s arm with a scream. Jinwoo released the man’s wrist as if touching something dirty.

Jinwoo hugged Jingyeom’s shoulder, pulling him close.

* * *