NAME 42

How could he… how could he end up in such a shitty situation that felt like something straight out of a game? At least he was lucky to be drunk. If he had been sober, his mental state would have been shredded to pieces long ago, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

“If it’s too hard to answer… since it’s the last one, I could even be your Black Knight.”

“A Black Knight? Re—really?”

The problem, however, was the fact that while the intoxication had bolstered Seowon’s spirit, it simultaneously made it difficult for him to make rational judgments. If he had been in his right mind, Baek Kanghyun’s offer to be a Black Knight would never have sounded sweet, but with the wine having risen to the very top of his head, Seowon found the proposal incredibly attractive.

“In exchange, you have to grant me a wish later. Is that okay?”

Gulp. Seowon even swallowed hard and nodded his head. His underwear whispered to him that it would be better than stripping stark naked right now.

“Given your personality, Assistant Manager Jeong, you might try to say something different later. Would it be okay if I left some evidence? A video or a recording.”

“Fine. Just do it, anyway.”

Relieved by the fact that he didn’t have to strip completely, Seowon became a very obedient child. Baek Kanghyun turned on the voice recorder on his phone, placed it in front of Seowon, and tapped the screen.

“Say that you’ll grant a wish for Team Leader Baek Kanghyun, who acted as your Black Knight. Clearly and accurately.”

“I will grant a wish for Team Leader Baek Kanghyun, who acted as my Black Knight.”

“Say that it doesn’t matter what it is, too.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever Team Leader Baek Kanghyun wants.”

The words flowed smoothly from Seowon’s mouth. Baek Kanghyun looked at the babbling Seowon with the brightest smile he’d shown since joining Samin Electronics. He barely managed to suppress a burst of laughter.

“I’m… done.”

Throughout his life, there weren’t many things Baek Kanghyun hadn’t possessed. Even if he stayed still, good and beautiful things found their way into his hands; he would enjoy them moderately and then simply discard them when he got bored. He had realized early on that things easily obtained are easily tired of, but for him, who already had everything, there was nothing left that was difficult to acquire.

Whether objects or people, all of them.

However, Jeong Seowon was quite prickly. But the trap was already perfectly prepared, so all he had to do was pull the noose.

“Good, very good.”

After the recording ended, Baek Kanghyun murmured softly. A thrill caused by a sense of accomplishment—something he had forgotten for a very long time—shot through his entire body.

[Contact me whenever you need. Don’t feel burdened.]

[We weren’t in a relationship where we’d just cut contact immediately.]

[It’s nothing with the rookie. Though it probably has nothing to do with you.]

[I saw you back then and you didn’t look well.]

[I told you, you can’t be cold-hearted LOL I’ll be waiting.]

Jaehwan had sent a flurry of texts since early morning. Seowon felt slightly relieved by the sentences, which seemed much more composed than when they had just fought. However, it bothered him that the man still hadn’t given up on the relationship. Telling him to contact him when needed was a temptation too sweet for Seowon right now. Seowon fiddled with his phone before typing a reply.

[I’m sorry.]

In the end, that was all he could say.

“Ugh…”

“Assistant Manager Jeong, are you okay?”

“Ah, no.”

“Go to the infirmary or something. Shouldn’t you take sick leave?”

“For now, I’ll just step out for a bit.”

Seowon stood up, staggering. Even while staying still and doing nothing, his stomach churned and his head felt like it was splitting open. To think a wine hangover could be this wicked. It couldn’t even be compared to something like soju. Because he had repeatedly gulped down penalty drinks without any proper snacks, his stomach was screaming for mercy and his head was throbbing.

“I’m gonna die…”

In the midst of suffering from this terrible hangover, his memory of the game with Baek Kanghyun yesterday was crystal clear. It would have been better if he’d blacked out… What would have happened to me if he hadn’t offered to be the Black Knight at the end? He felt dizzy just imagining himself standing before the man having stripped down to his underwear. During his heat cycle, he might have done the deed because he was drunk on pheromones, but that wasn’t the case yesterday. If things had gone wrong, he might have slept with Baek Kanghyun again.

“Ugh…”

When he woke up this morning suffering from extreme thirst, Seowon quickly realized where he was. Baek Kanghyun’s house—specifically, his bedroom. He had definitely been in his underwear before blacking out, so he was relieved to find himself properly dressed. But his peace of mind was short-lived; upon seeing a half-naked Baek Kanghyun sleeping right next to him, he was so shocked he nearly fainted and fell off the bed.

Fortunately, the man seemed to be quite a heavy sleeper; he didn’t wake up or even realize Seowon had fallen, sleeping soundly. In the meantime, Seowon quickly found his clothes, put them on, and returned home as if fleeing. The taxi fare came out to 21,200 won. Damn it.

As soon as he got home, he showered with hot water and even took plenty of hangover cures that were said to be very effective before heading to work, but his physical condition showed no signs of improving. He felt like he should eat something, but even swallowing a sip of water triggered nausea, so he couldn’t eat anything and just rubbed his head, which was aching sharply. If he could, he wanted to pluck his brain right out of his skull and wash it clean with saline. He wondered if this extreme headache would disappear if he did that. That was how bad Seowon’s condition was right now.

“I really look like a mess…”

Since Baek Kanghyun arrived, there were many days when he felt weak. They say stress is the root of all illness, and that is absolutely true. Although his poor condition today was due to a hangover, if he traced back the cause, this too was because of Baek Kanghyun.

‘Should I just take a half-day off?’

After contemplating for a moment, he immediately shook his head. It hadn’t been long since he used special leave, so he was conscious of how it would look, and he didn’t want to postpone work using his body as an excuse. If he kept going like this, the title of ‘Excellent Employee of the Month’ would become a joke. Since the hangover would surely get better by the afternoon, he decided to endure until then.

Splash.

He washed his face and neck thoroughly with cold water and pressed down hard on his throbbing head. For a very brief moment, he felt his head clearing. However, thinking it still wasn’t enough, other things kept coming to mind. Should he go to the hospital during lunch later and get an IV drip? Sigh, that would cost at least 50,000 won. There were too many unnecessary expenses because of Baek Kanghyun.

He returned to the office and gulped down plenty of drinks that were supposed to be good for hangovers. He grit his teeth, reminding himself that physical condition ultimately depends on the mind. Even though the letters on the monitor were spinning and making him feel motion sick, he endured.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, over here for a moment.”

But then, Baek Kanghyun called Seowon.

Seowon couldn’t get up immediately; after hesitating, he finally stood up and went to his desk. However, he felt irritated because Baek Kanghyun, who had played the same game and drank the same alcohol, looked perfectly fine. Was it natural because he drank less than him and was chosen by the fork less often?

“Why are you in that state today?”

To Seowon, it was an absurd question. This was because Baek Kanghyun was the person in this office—no, in all of Samin Electronics—who knew best why Seowon was so weak today. His shameless question made his already dizzy head ache even more.

“It looks like a hangover. You clearly knew you had to come to work today, can’t you even control that much?”

“No, that’s…”

“You know that managing your own condition is also a skill. You should have drunk in moderation.”

“That was all because of you, Team Leader…!”

“Was it a situation where you absolutely had to drink? I’m asking if there were no other options.”

Seowon curled his lips and glared at Baek Kanghyun. In other words, he was scolding him, saying he should have stripped or answered honestly instead of drinking the penalty shots.

His head, which had been ringing all morning, was now clamoring that it was going to explode. He said he didn’t hate me when we played the game yesterday, so why is he going out of his way to act so mean? Should I just hit him once and run away? They say when a person is pushed too far into a corner, they start having all sorts of crazy thoughts, and that was exactly how Seowon was right now.

“There were, but I had no choice. I’ll be better in the afternoon.”

“We’ll see.”

Baek Kanghyun looked away. At his attitude, which suggested he was done talking and he should leave, Seowon returned to his seat and sat down carefully. He pressed his throbbing forehead and forced his eyes open. He gathered his concentration, vowing that he would never lose to something like a hangover.

After enduring and enduring, it finally became lunchtime. As soon as the break started, Seowon rushed out of the office. His hope that his condition would improve over time was ruthlessly crushed. In fact, his state was worse than it had been in the morning. Damn it.

While waiting for the elevator to come up, he leaned against the wall. His vision began to turn yellow. Since he hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch and the hangover was still kicking in, it was a natural result.

If he developed a fever and his pheromones leaked now, it would really be the end.

Seowon thought of the location of the internal medicine clinic specializing in traits closest to the company. It was a place he could reach in five minutes on foot, but even those five minutes seemed like they would be a struggle for Seowon.

Ding!

Even though the elevator arrived and stood open, Seowon couldn’t board it and hesitated. He felt like the moment he pulled his body away from the wall, he would collapse right onto the floor, so he groaned for a long time. How wonderful it would be if there was someone he could call for help at a time like this. A lover—no, even a friend or family member… He was usually fine, but whenever he was sick, he felt sorrowful over his lonely lot in life.

‘Let’s get on, I have to get on.’

He slowly moved his body to get on before the elevator doors closed. However, the moment he pulled away from the wall, a bleak chill rose through his entire body and his vision spun. He could feel his body giving way in his knees and waist in real-time. Ah, am I going to faint like this? Can a person faint this easily? Before his body could collapse, his eyelids dropped first.

“Jeong…!”

Overlapping with a ringing in his ears that grated on his nerves, he heard his name.