NAME 54

Seowon spoke each word stubbornly, pressing down on them. In truth, these weren’t the words he wanted to say to him, but he hated the sound of the man calling his name so much.

Seowon didn’t have a single thing to wipe his wet face with, so he snickered while constantly brushing away tears with the back of his hand. To be soaked in such useless sentimentality—what a pathetic sight he was.

“A name? Is that so important? Is that the reason you’re blubbering right now?”

“It is important to me. I call you Team Leader as well. Therefore, I would like you to call me by my title too, Team Leader.”

“It’s my freedom how I choose to call you. Assistant Manager Jeong or Jeong Seowon, they’re practically the same thing, so do we really have to nitpick over titles? And is that something to cry about!”

He thought while looking at the shouting man. He truly wished this person were a completely different human being from the Baek Kanghyun of seven years ago. If that were the case, perhaps they could have had a slightly better relationship. Not a mere tool for satisfying sexual desire, but a simple pheromone partner or a relationship similar to lovers… but the reality was this mess.

“It is not because of the name. It’s just, I feel a bit certain way.”

“What is it then?”

Baek Kanghyun wouldn’t even be able to guess the reason why he was crying, yet he acted uselessly persistent. As if he were very interested in Seowon, as if he had some kind of feelings for him. If this was what he considered a favor, Seowon wanted to correct him. That this was just his own greed.

“Because I… regret meeting that trash.”

“Are you talking about that bastard Assistant Manager Lee?”

Whenever Jaehwan was mentioned, his already harsh face turned even more terrifying. Even though he was merely a partner, he shook a person’s heart with just a single expression.

Wait, shaken…? Me? By this son of a bitch again?

Seowon was startled.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, aren’t you going to answer?”

“… .”

“Jeong Seowon!”

Hearing his name leave the man’s mouth snapped him back to his senses. Seowon watched his crumpled face and moved his lips. Had his heart already been colored just because they shared a few pheromones? After being treated like that in the past, he was nothing but a fool. He must never be shaken by this man again.

“You should be the one to stop asking useless things, Team Leader.”

“… What?”

He asked back fiercely with a terrifying expression. However, Seowon spoke with a faint smile.

“We aren’t in that kind of relationship, are we?”

“… .”

An uncomfortable silence followed. It seemed the words he said out of a childish desire to leave even a small scratch on this man had worked, if only a little. Watching the slight trembling of the man’s chin, Seowon smiled bitterly.

The tears that had drenched his face had dried up before he knew it. He expressed in this way that the “me” of now was different from the “me” back then who would come running at his call.

“Excuse me.”

He shook off the man’s hand and turned away coldly. While he walked slowly, step by step, he couldn’t feel the man’s presence.

Splash.

Seowon pushed his body into the shower booth. Thanks to the man wiping him down with a towel, it was much easier to wash his body. Should he have at least said thank you for wiping him? However, it was difficult to show him the courtesy he would strictly maintain even for a total stranger. It was probably because the relationship had been twisted from the start… As long as Baek Kanghyun couldn’t even remember him, he should consider the past as just the past, but it wasn’t easy.

While washing, he occasionally fiddled with the nape of his neck. The pheromone gland that had been jumping wildly at any given time was now as quiet as a gentle lamb.

‘If it weren’t for the pheromones… .’

When he finished his shower and came out, the living room was empty. Seeing as there was no sign of life in the kitchen either, it seemed Baek Kanghyun had gone back into the bedroom. Since he had been on edge fearing he might clash with him again, Seowon let out a sigh of relief.

While he picked up and put on his well-folded clothes one by one, Seowon’s entire attention was focused on the man’s bedroom. Hoping he wouldn’t come out before he left the house, he hurried to put his arms into his jacket.

Clatter!

However, the cell phone that was in his inner jacket pocket hit the corner of the table with a loud noise and plummeted to the floor. It was a loud noise that echoed throughout the entire house. Seowon, whose face instinctively crumpled, hesitated for a moment before quickly picking up the phone.

Ah, a groan escaped him. His own face was reflected on the shattered cell phone screen, which looked like it had been hit by a bullet.

While he was in despair, a shadow of another person fell over Seowon’s head.

“It broke.”

“… .”

It was Baek Kanghyun. Seowon thought he wouldn’t even show his face after being provoked, but it seemed he had come out after hearing the noise. Seowon bit his protruding lower lip, stood up, and tucked the cell phone into his pocket. Without even checking if the broken screen still responded to touch, he avoided Baek Kanghyun’s gaze.

“I will be going now.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

Seowon glanced at the clock on the wall. The current time was 1:24 AM, a considerably late hour. However, Seowon answered in a calm tone.

“I will see you tomorrow.”

After bowing politely with as much courtesy as possible, he turned around. Then, he took the cell phone back out of his pocket and tapped on the screen.

‘Huh?’

However, there was no reaction from the pitch-black screen. For now, he managed to turn the screen on by pressing the physical side button, but the touch didn’t work at all.

Oh my god. How could this happen?

‘I’m in trouble.’

Since he had his wallet, he could return home if only he could catch a taxi, but the problem was that there was no way to catch one. If he went out to the main road and waited indefinitely, he would eventually catch one, but… Seowon was in a situation where he couldn’t just hop into any taxi. To take a taxi driven by a Beta driver who wasn’t affected by pheromones, he absolutely had to use a taxi-hailing app. Seowon’s steps toward the front door gradually slowed down.

“Aren’t you going?”

Baek Kanghyun, who had followed closely behind him before he knew it, urged Seowon. He had asked why he wouldn’t stay over earlier, but now he was rushing him to leave quickly. Although he was the one who had rejected the man’s favor first, he couldn’t help but feel resentful now that the situation had turned out like this.

Should he say he’ll stay over now, or at least ask to borrow a cell phone? However, his pride refused to allow it.

“I’m go, going. I’ll go on my own, so you don’t need to worry.”

He tapped the cell phone screen once more. But the stupid phone gave no response. Wondering if it would be different if he turned it off and on, he pressed the power button firmly. However, as two buttons appeared asking him to choose between ‘Restart’ and ‘Power Off’, he became unable to do anything at all. It was the moment a modern necessity was relegated to a piece of junk.

“Is the phone not working?”

Then, Baek Kanghyun suddenly threw a question over his shoulder. Seowon quickly tucked the phone into his pocket and glossed over it, saying it was nothing. His ears turned red at the sound of the man’s low chuckle.

“If the phone isn’t working, you won’t be able to catch a taxi either. Surely you aren’t planning to walk home?”

“… It’s not like that.”

His answering voice trailed off. Of all times, the phone had to fall now! He resented the screen that broke so easily, as if it weren’t made of glass but sugar.

“I’ll give you exactly one chance. So think carefully.”

However, Baek Kanghyun suddenly threw an unexpected word at the cornered Seowon. Seowon reluctantly turned back toward him and asked.

“What kind of chance?”

“For your information, taxis hardly ever come near here even during the day. Let alone at a time like this. It’s better not to expect that you’ll eventually catch one if you go out to the main road and wait.”

“That’s… .”

Seowon was lost for words at his explanation, which seemed to see right through his inner thoughts.

“… .”

That was the end of Baek Kanghyun’s words. He stood crookedly with his arms crossed and waited for Seowon’s request—no, his plea.

In his heart, he wanted to just walk out like this, but his fatigue-ridden body persuaded him not to go looking for unnecessary trouble. Besides, he had to go to work tomorrow. No, strictly speaking, he had to be at the company in six hours. No matter how warm the weather was, the early morning air was not something to be ignored. Moreover, he didn’t have the confidence to endure the day after staying up all night outside in such a fatigued state.

“Then, I’m sorry, but if you could lend me the phone… .”

“Wrong.”

“Wrong, you say?”

Didn’t he mean he would grant his request once? While Seowon was bewildered, the man twisted his lips forcefully.

“That’s not it.”

“But you clearly just said, Team Leader!”

Seowon tried to protest, but Baek Kanghyun didn’t give him a single opening.

“Isn’t it the basic of sales to figure out what the other party wants and say it?”

The words weren’t wrong, but the way he spoke was so hateful that his body trembled. Just as an impulse flared up that he wouldn’t bow his head to this man even if he had to sleep on the street, the man gripped Seowon’s cheek tightly.

“I mean you should think rationally. Don’t just push your emotions like an idiot.”

“So, if you would just lend me the phone… .”

“I’m not telling you to say what you want.”