TWELVE 2

“Woo Seungkyung! Come over here.”

Mister Choi waved his hand. It was a gesture that contrasted with his indifferent expression. Usually, when he acted like that, it was because he had something to give me.

“What is this?”

“Uh-huh, a lunch box.”

“A lunch box? What for?”

Mister Choi set the side dish containers down one by one on a table made from leftover plywood scraps used for construction materials.

“My wife packed it.”

“Wow. All of this? She’s amazing.”

“Amazing, my foot. She just told me not to waste money eating out anymore and to stick to lunch boxes.”

He grumbled, but he looked inwardly pleased. He usually expressed positivity in that way. It seemed he was embarrassed to openly show that he was in a good mood.

“Since it’s cheaper that way, I told her to pack one more.”

“Huh?”

“Eat.”

He held out a pair of chopsticks.

“Is it okay if I eat this?”

“Ah, of course! I told you, I asked her to pack an extra one.”

“Wow, were you thinking of me? Thank you.”

“If you’re thankful, just eat up properly.”

“Whoa, I’m going to eat it all. Don’t scold me later for eating too much.”

It’s been three months since I started working at this site. Mister Choi was someone who always looked after me affectionately, saying I was like a son to him. I was simply grateful.

“I’ll enjoy this meal.”

It was just as I was about to touch the delicious-looking side dishes for the first time.

‘Take a photo of your lunch and send it.’

Gi Seoin’s low voice echoed in my head. It was as loud as a warning siren. It felt like my subconscious remembered what would happen if I unintentionally failed to keep a promise with him and was sending out a danger signal.

I quickly put down my chopsticks and picked up my phone. I turned on the camera and captured the lunch box on the screen, just as Mister Choi leaned his head toward me.

“What are you doing in the middle of eating?”

“Oh, I was just going to take a picture.”

“What do you need a picture for?”

I just gave an awkward laugh.

“Tsk. You’re really whipped by your girlfriend, aren’t you? Completely whipped.”

For a second, I wondered what he was talking about, then I remembered a previous incident. Back then, I had also taken a photo of my meal at Gi Seoin’s request, and Mister Choi had asked me what I was doing.

‘Oh, a friend asked me to send it.’ ‘What kind of friend asks for photos of a rice bowl? Ah, I get it.’

I should have come up with a more plausible excuse back then.

‘It’s a girlfriend.’ ‘…Haha, no, it’s not.’ ‘The hell it isn’t. Wow, she even inspects what goes into your mouth? Your girlfriend must be something else.’

I felt like it would seem even weirder if I corrected him by saying “it’s a friend, not a girlfriend,” so I just kept my mouth shut. Since then, the misunderstanding had only grown.

“You should eat in peace! What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Haha… It’s okay. I can just send the photo and then eat.”

“I’m giving you this advice as your senior in life. If you do everything she asks like that, she’ll develop bad habits. You’ll suffer more later! you have to get a firm grip on things at the start so it’s easier as you go.”

“I’m just not the charismatic type.”

I glossed it over with a joke and quickly picked up my chopsticks. Once I started eating, he didn’t drag out the nagging. However, he did express his dissatisfaction with a few grunts.

Mister Choi’s nagging time resumed once the rice bowls and side dish containers were wiped clean.

“Man, but do you really have such poor judgment in people? What is that? Sending photos of the table every single day, having to go home the moment work ends so you can’t even have a beer… Even a wife wouldn’t act like that!”

“It’s just because he worries about me.”

“Stop it. Shall I introduce you to someone? Just break it off with your current girlfriend.”

“Ayyy, I can’t do that.”

Should I just confess the truth that there is no girlfriend to break off with? But then I’d have to explain everything that happened before. I decided to just navigate through it tactfully.

“I really like my girlfriend right now.”

“Aing! You’ve got a fine stature but you’re a total fool, a total fool!”

I wondered if this was really something that deserved being called a fool. When people are in a relationship, don’t they all share the little details of their daily lives? Of course, Gi Seoin isn’t a girlfriend and we are definitely not in a relationship, but I thought close friends could do at least this much.

“Oh my, not Woo Seungkyung but Woo-the-Fool! Now that you’ve finished eating, you should go earn your keep.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do all the hard work. Just say the word.”

“At least you’re good with words.”

Laughing like the good-natured man he was, Mister Choi put a towel around his neck and walked ahead. Before following him, I checked my phone. As expected, there was a reply from Gi Seoin.

[Photo]

[Mister Choi brought a lunch box so we’re eating together haha]

[Seoin: Did he bring a lunch box for you, too?]

Seeing as there was no comment about the menu, I guess it met his criteria of “real food, not junk.” For now, I’d passed the main mission.

[Yeah he said he packed mine too]

Almost as soon as I sent the message, the read receipt appeared and another reply came.

[Seoin: Why is that man packing a lunch box for you?]

A deep sigh escaped me the moment I read it. Sometimes Gi Seoin took an aggressive stance without considering the context. In the past, I’d been flustered and even angry because I didn’t know the reason, but now I just brushed this off as his version of being cute.

[He’s always looked after me like a son haha]

[I guess he packed mine while he was at it since he said eating out is expensive]

Just as I sent the second message, I heard someone calling me. I sped up my typing.

[I have to go back to work now ㅗㅠ I’ll contact you when I’m finished]

Without even having time to fix the typos, I pressed the send button and ran toward the site. The September sun, still clinging to summer, was hot. It felt exactly like Gi Seoin’s gaze.

∞ ∞ ∞

I was wrong. Gi Seoin was staring at me more stingingly than the 2 PM sunlight. No, the sun is at least warm. Gi Seoin’s gaze was as cold as a midwinter blade.

“About what we were talking about earlier today. I don’t find it acceptable.”

Sure enough, Gi Seoin revealed his sharp emotions in his smooth, low voice.

“There’s no reason for that mister to be taking care of your lunch. Did you make some kind of promise?”

It wasn’t surprising since I’d expected it. I was just worried about how I should soothe him this time.

“Nooo, his wife packed it, and he said he thought of me so he asked her to include mine. I guess it looked like I was always just scraping by with my meals. You said so too, to eat something proper instead of junk.”

Wouldn’t this be enough to convince him? I studied his expression. The corners of his tightly shut mouth twitched minutely. It was the reaction he gave when his dissatisfaction wasn’t perfectly resolved, but he had no further grounds to be stubborn.

“Don’t stay close to that man.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Favors are too frequent. There’s no harm in being careful.”

“I don’t think he’s someone I need to be careful of. He’s just a good person…”

“When someone is being nice…”

A knock sounded right after Gi Seoin started his sentence. We both shut our mouths at the same time. The sliding door opened carefully, and two employees came in to set the food they had prepared.

The empty table was filled like a colorful painting, and the employees bowed. He didn’t give them even a glance, and the moment we were alone again, he parted his lips.

“I’m sure he is a good person, when he’s being nice.”

Gi Seoin didn’t hide his displeasure. I don’t know why he’s getting this angry. Then again, there was rarely anything I could understand among the reasons he got angry, always.

“…Anyway, once this site is finished, I won’t have any reason to meet him again. So don’t worry about it too much.”

“…”

Closing his mouth as if it had never been opened, Seoin quietly picked up his fork and knife.

“Seoin.”

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to swallow any food in this atmosphere.

“Can’t you just look at me once?”

I tilted my head toward my shoulder to get his attention.

“Hmm? Please?”

Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, Seoin lowered his hands holding the fork and knife to the table and lifted his face. His expression was still cold, and his gaze toward me was the same as always. Deep, obsessive eyes.

“You’ve been busy for a while, so this is our first dinner together in a long time. I’m so happy, but is my Seoin not happy? Hmm?”

I saw the stiffened muscles of Seoin’s face soften. His firmly locked lips opened.

“Promise me you’ll be careful of that man.”

I wondered why he was backing down so easily. If he did that, he wouldn’t be Gi Seoin.

“Ha…”

A sigh came out before my answer.

“Fine. I’ll be careful.”

Does Seoin know? That I have to lie every time he acts like this.

“Good.”

In any case, Seoin looked like he felt relieved. He had a strong tendency to push until he got the result he wanted. Thanks to that, he probably earned the title of lawyer through the shortest course and was able to achieve high success in a law firm overflowing with prominent lawyers.

But in our relationship—at least to me—that side of him wasn’t positive.

“Still, that lunch box today…”

Does he have more to say? I swallowed hard. Seoin continued.

“It wasn’t bad.”

“Ah… right? It was okay, wasn’t it?”

Seoin gave a single nod.

“The fat content seemed a bit lacking, but you probably got an adequate intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals.”

Contrary to my fears, it was praise. I breathed a sigh of relief. Well, since I’d even said I’d keep my distance from the mister, it was only right that Seoin conceded on the matter of the lunch box.

“Did you drink water often?”

At the question, like a protagonist in a cosmetic commercial, I cupped my cheeks with both palms and blinked my eyes wide.

“The water that’s excellent for antioxidants—I didn’t give it to my skin, I gave it to my internal organs.”

I was joking to change the mood and the atmosphere. Seoin chuckled, whether because he was satisfied or because he found it ridiculous.

Then, I would feel relieved, put the delicious food in my mouth, and actually feel better, chatting excitedly before going home to sleep comfortably.

That’s how it’s been until now.

But suddenly, a strange thought crept up the back of my neck like goosebumps and reached the top of my head.

‘Why do I have to go this far?’

A thought like that…