* * *
‘I’d love to just let him rest and pay him anyway, but he’d hate that too. This is the only way we can keep him here. It’s not like we have some extraordinary bond of friendship or trust.’
“…Yeah, you’ve thought this through. Now that we know your condition, we won’t push you too hard, and adjusting to sudden changes would be a hassle…”
“I’ll start working right after I’m discharged.”
“They told you to take a week off, didn’t they? Just rest for that week. Anyway, Yeonseok said he was planning to hire a new employee, and there’s not much work this week.”
Luckily, Siyoung had decided on his own not to leave, so the conversation hadn’t dragged on.
Jaeyoon, who wasn’t great with words, felt relieved.
“…What if the baby looks like the father? Or even if they look like you, they’re not the type to sit quietly, are they? They’ll find out somehow.”
“Even if they do, nothing will change. I looked into it myself. There’s no way to take the baby away if we weren’t married.”
Though the others’ considerable wealth was a concern, Siyoung trusted that the three of them weren’t that kind of people.
“…Yeah. We can’t go on like this forever, so maybe it’s better if they find out.”
“If they hadn’t found out, would you have really cut ties with us?”
“I’d feel a little bad for you, but… yeah.”
Siyoung was blunt. He didn’t try to sugarcoat it for Jaeyoon’s sake, though he felt a little sorry for saying it.
“If even one of you knew, we’d inevitably end up tied together again someday. It’s not about trust… it’s just that you’ve been friends for so long.”
Though the three of them seemed worlds apart, the bond of having spent more than half their lives as friends was clear.
Siyoung had thought that if any of them knew his whereabouts, he’d eventually be discovered.
But since they had already found him, there wasn’t much point to it now.
Siyoung let out a bitter laugh.
“…Anyway, I’m not planning on running anymore, so you don’t have to come looking for me. I’ve already said I’ll be discharged tomorrow. I’ll rest at home. That’s enough, right?”
In the end, he couldn’t hide, and he had no one to lean on.
So this was how it turned out.
At his age, he wasn’t young anymore—what had he been doing with his life?
Siyoung felt a twinge of self-reproach.
‘…Even if the baby looks like the father or doesn’t, eventually the truth will come out. But… what does it matter?’
He didn’t want to force connections.
Still, he knew he needed to come up with a plan. Ignoring his tangled thoughts, Siyoung muttered,
“For now… I just need to focus on getting healthy.”
“Yeah. That’s what’s most important.”
With the stress weighing down on him, Siyoung needed to forget his worries and return to some semblance of normalcy.
“Yeonseok is planning to hire a new employee right away. It’ll take about a week, so during that time… the schedule won’t be hectic, and I’ll be here, so it’ll be fine.”
“You’d better hire someone quickly.”
“And don’t make things harder on the manager, especially with a new hire coming in. Just hold back until they settle in.”
Yeonseok, who had canceled a planned trip and found himself stuck in the office, reminded Hyun to stop tormenting their manager.
“You know Siyoung always has to fill in when the manager quits, right? Just hold off until the new hire is fully trained. For now.”
Can I really trust this guy?
Yeonseok gave Hyun a skeptical look.
How many managers had come and gone already?
Usually, he left things to their own devices, but this time was different.
“Your manager is about to quit.”
“What did I do?”
“What didn’t you do? You’re just too obvious. Complaining about not liking strangers isn’t going to help—you’ll just get someone you like even less.”
Leaning back in his chair, Yeonseok let out a sigh.
Canceling his trip and staying behind hadn’t been ideal, but leaving Siyoung in this state wasn’t an option.
“…Don’t you remember?”
“If I did, do you think I’d be sitting here like this?”
“True.”
If any of them remembered that day clearly, none of them would be feeling so stuck.
Pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, Yeonseok stood.
“Let’s go.”
“I thought you quit.”
“I can’t deal with this without smoking.”
“What if you’re the father? Secondhand smoke isn’t good, you know.”
“Ah, stop nagging. What are you, Kim Jaeyoon? It’s not like Siyoung is coming over today.”
Plugging his ears in mock protest, Yeonseok stepped outside.
Following him to the rooftop, Hyun watched him light a cigarette and take a deep drag.
“Haah.”
“Quit. We’re sharing an office, after all.”
“I know. I will. Just this one pack. Don’t worry.”
Blowing out a long puff of smoke, Yeonseok let out a heavy sigh.
He knew going back to smoking was foolish, but he couldn’t help it.
“How did it come to this? Out of everyone, it had to be one of us three—me, you, or Kim Jaeyoon?”
“Don’t you think it’s not you? Siyoung wasn’t even drunk enough to black out.”
“So what? By that logic, neither were you or Kim Jaeyoon. None of us were in a state to…”
“…”
“…What? Did something happen between you two?”
Yeonseok exhaled a long breath and turned to look at Hyun.
When he started talking more, it usually meant he wanted something.
“Well, no matter how drunk you are, you don’t kiss a friend.”
“It wasn’t even a kiss, and calling us ‘friends’… hmm. I’m not sure I’m qualified to hold such a lofty title.”
“So, do you wish he was yours?”
Yeonseok rummaged through his pocket and pulled out another cigarette.
He wiggled it between his fingers as if asking if he should light it, but Hyun shook his head.
“What about you? If he were yours?”
“If he were mine? Hmm… Of course, I’d take responsibility. An Alpha who can’t manage even that much isn’t worth anything.”
“Are you saying you’d take responsibility because you have to? Or because you want to?”
“Who knows… I’m not sure. But if Lee Siyoung cut ties with us and went off somewhere to live well on his own, it’d probably bother me.”
For once, Yeonseok looked serious.
Then again, this wasn’t exactly a situation for joking around.
After some thought, he spoke again.
“It’s not to the point of wanting him as a partner. But, well, if marriage were on the table, it’s not impossible.”
“Is there anyone you wouldn’t say that about?”
“Hey, even I have standards, alright? Just because I don’t stop people from coming or going doesn’t mean I’m completely without limits. Don’t be ridiculous. Have you ever seen me date someone I considered just a friend?”
Yeonseok’s tone was light, almost playful.
And true to his words, Yeonseok had always been known for his laid-back views on relationships.
From childhood, he had a reputation for being open to anyone who approached him but never chasing after those who left.
With his good looks, Alpha status, and being the youngest son of a well-known Korean conglomerate, Yeonseok was popular despite his sometimes abrasive personality.
And yet, even someone like him had his own rules.
“A friend is just a friend. I don’t like the idea of dating someone I consider a friend,” he would always say. His reasoning? Starting as friends and turning into lovers felt awkward and deceitful.
“Ha. I should probably remember this, huh? If we’re being logical about it, the one Siyoung might have gotten drunk enough to mess things up with… could’ve been me.”
“What are you even saying?”
“Oh, you didn’t know?”
Yeonseok stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
Tossing the butt into the trash, he spoke again.
“I was his first love, you know.”
“…What?”
“You really didn’t notice? I figured it out right from the start.”
“And you just knew? You’re saying you’ve always known?”
“Yeah. Well… it might’ve been part of the reason he took a leave of absence. Now that I think about it, I was definitely clueless back then.”
Yeonseok let out a dry laugh as he opened his cigarette pack again.
Two left.
The pack, which he had bought vowing to smoke just one, was almost empty.
“Ah.”
‘…You knew too, didn’t you? That I—’
‘Why even bring that up? Stop it. I don’t want to hear it… It’s not the kind of thing that should be said now, is it?’
‘Yeah, I figured as much. But still, even if that’s the case, at least back then… couldn’t you have said something? You could’ve done that much.’
A fragment of an old memory, one that he couldn’t place, flashed through Yeonseok’s mind.
He frowned, pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Hold on.”
“What now?”
“Just give me a second. Something’s coming to me… but I can’t quite get it.”
When was it?
Who was it?
It felt important.
The discomfort he’d been carrying all this time seemed to be tied to this memory.
‘You could’ve done that much.’
A face on the verge of tears.
Cheeks flushed in uncharacteristic embarrassment.
A trembling voice.
The person who had said those words—though the details were different—was undoubtedly Siyoung.
Back in that penthouse, in a darkened room, Siyoung had looked at him and said it.
‘Yeah, I figured as much. But even so, if you thought of me as a friend, you could’ve said something back then. You could’ve done that much.’
* * *
🤔