NAME 55

His lowered eyes gazed down at Seowon. With a crumbling sound, something deep inside his heart broke apart.

Perhaps the cell phone screen that shattered earlier was actually his pride. The way it was broken and unable to function at all was exactly like his current state.

“Then…”

As his pride was crushed, even the emotions that had been jumping wildly like a newborn babe subsided. All that remained now was to exercise his reason.

“I am sorry, but, just for tonight… if I could stay…”

Baek Kanghyun did not seem to like the incomplete sentence he had forced out. He looked down at Seowon with his eyes lowered as if he were looking at something utterly insignificant. Seowon huffed softly and tried to turn his head away, but he was immediately corrected by the man.

The sharp gaze was difficult to bear, so Seowon squeezed his eyes shut. Right, he chided himself, how hard is it to just say that one sentence?

Seowon cautiously lifted his eyelids. Then, he spoke in the most polite tone possible.

“The hour is very late. I would like to stay at your home just for tonight, Team Leader. I would be very grateful if you would allow it.”

“Fine.”

His permission was granted so easily it felt anti-climactic. Just before Seowon could spit out resentful words asking if the man really had to make him go that far, Baek Kanghyun grinned and asked again.

“The price?”

A price… Baek Kanghyun whispered coldly to Seowon, who was just blinking his eyes while muttering to himself.

“There is no favor in this world without a price. It’s not as if you and I are in that kind of relationship.”

Having returned the exact words Seowon had said earlier, he laughed quite contentedly. Seowon became despondent before he could even be appalled. He could not dare to imagine what the man would want from him, someone who had nothing but a heart clumped together with pride and a clumsy body.

“What do you want? Should I give you a lodging fee?”

So he threw out whatever came to mind. It would be a relief if it could be settled with money. However, the man did not bat an eyelash.

“I don’t need things like that.”

“Then what do you want me to do? And where is the fairness in this?”

Seowon spoke in an agitated tone while glaring at him. What kind of ridiculous demand would this bastard make this time? Anger surged as even the incident from the Truth Game overlapped in his mind. However, at Baek Kanghyun’s following words, Seowon’s strength drained away.

“I’ll just… postpone it for later.”

He whispered into the ear of the trembling Seowon with a voice laced with laughter.

“I will definitely collect it, so do not worry.”

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

‘Oh my god…’

He thought he wouldn’t care if he had to sleep on the floor as long as he could rest his head and back, but he ended up sleeping on a bed rather than a sofa. And with Baek Kanghyun, at that.

Seowon’s protest about why they specifically had to sleep in one bed did not work at all. Knowing that once Baek Kanghyun started being stubborn, he would never bend his will, Seowon simply gave up and laid his body down on the bed as he was told.

Once he was lying down, he wondered if he should at least say goodnight. However, since the Baek Kanghyun lying next to him was quiet, he just stayed silent.

‘I’m sleepy.’

And he hadn’t thought he would be able to sleep…

His eyelids sank lower and lower, becoming heavy. When should he repair his phone? When should he go to the hospital? Would he be able to wake up early tomorrow? All sorts of idle thoughts spun around before gradually blurring. As the Alpha pheromones even began to subtly wrap around the tip of his nose, his entire body went limp like half-melted jelly. On top of that, the pillow was plush and the blanket was cozy. It was absurd that the price of throwing away his pride was so comfortable.

“Assistant Manager Jeong, are you asleep?”

The voice heard while drifting between dreams and reality was very low and calm. He couldn’t manage an answer and likely only let out a groan. And the faint sound of laughter that followed was his last memory before falling asleep.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

“…!”

He opened his eyes, startled by something. The sunlight seeping through the gap in the curtains was quite bright. Morning had arrived. Seowon carefully turned his body to check the side. Baek Kanghyun was lying down properly.

‘I slept so well.’

He hadn’t known he would sleep this well… He had slept so soundly it was embarrassing that he had been so stubborn about going home.

Seowon got up stealthily and massaged both his shoulders alternately. For having only slept a few hours, his condition wasn’t bad. He combed through his bedhead hair with his fingers and stepped out of the bedroom.

“Wow…”

The view visible through the living room window was quite magnificent. Including the M Tower, the tallest in the country, the Han River and its bridges in the distance came into view at a single glance. It was completely different from his own house, where the gap between buildings was so narrow that the amount of sunlight was woefully insufficient.

Seowon stood before the living room window as if possessed and admired the outside scenery. How much would a house like this cost? He shook his head after imagining a staggering amount. Comparing his own circumstances with Baek Kanghyun was wrong in itself.

Upon entering the bathroom, his disheveled face wearing Baek Kanghyun’s oversized shirt was reflected in the mirror. Just how high a price was the man planning to extract for a single night’s lodging that he even lent him clothes? Seowon rolled up the shirt and took it off.

The area near the bedroom remained quiet until Seowon had finished washing his face and was fully dressed. Was he still sleeping? There was still some leeway before work, but it was about time to wake up. He wouldn’t care if he just left for work like this, but he felt conflicted because he might feel a sense of responsibility if the man failed to wake up and ended up being late.

‘Let’s wake him.’

In the end, he made up his mind to wake him. Seowon was too conscientious to leave behind a man who might be late.

…This must be why he was always being dragged around by Baek Kanghyun.

After saying he hated it, he slept soundly by his side and was even trying to wake him up for fear he might be late. There was no fool quite like this fool.

“Team Leader.”

Feeling a deep sense of self-loathing, he entered the bedroom and called out to him. The man, who had turned away with his back to the door, did not move an inch. So, he raised his voice and called him again. But there was no reaction.

“…”

Why couldn’t he wake up? Was he originally the type to sleep in late? He had already called him three times, yet there wasn’t even a small sound. He contemplated just giving up but eventually went to the bedside. Since he had made up his mind to wake him, it felt like he should at least see those eyes open before leaving.

“Team Leader.”

Seowon climbed stealthily onto the bed like a cat and shook the man’s body. The body that had been motionless turned to lie flat. The sleeping face of Baek Kanghyun, buried deep in the pillow, was so surprisingly magnificent that Seowon was momentarily lost for words.

“…”

The words that came out of his mouth were all hateful without exception, but his face was truly great enough to be called his own taste—no, everyone’s taste. His appearance, which had become more mature than seven years ago, was definitely insufficient to be described by the single adjective “handsome.”

<There’s no way I’m not your taste.>

There was a reason he had been so confident. If there were anything lacking in this man who was the epitome of a dominant Alpha—possessing looks, family, and wealth—it would perhaps be his personality.

Knowing full well how great he was, he did not even pretend to be humble. Not in the past, and not now. He was a person who had no need to do so. Because he possessed the wealth and charm to get his hands on anything he wanted.

Just how ridiculous must I have looked to a person like Baek Kanghyun… He could understand it now. But that did not mean his wounds were erased.

“…”

He gathered his mind, which had gone blank while being possessed by the man’s features. Determined to wake him this time for sure, he grabbed his shoulders and shook them hard.

“Team Leader! I’m telling you to wake up!”

Only then did the tightly closed eyelids slide up. With his brow slightly furrowed, he stared at Seowon.

“It’s almost 8 o’clock. You have to go to work.”

“…”

The feeling of looking down at him from above was very strange. Combined with the specialness provided by the space of a bedroom, a corner of his chest felt itchy.

Long ago, while he had a one-sided crush on him, he had imagined scenes like this. Baek Kanghyun was part of a plain but romantic picture where he woke his loved one, ate breakfast together, and went to work.

“Since you’re awake, I’ll be going now.”

Back then, he hadn’t known that both the imagination and the one-sided crush were only beautiful when ended in that state. Seven years ago, Seowon, whose heart felt overwhelmed just by thinking of the three syllables of the name Baek Kanghyun, could not confide that burning heart to anyone. It was because he felt sinful that an ordinary person like himself dare like him.

At the very least, he had tried to confess before his solitary burning heart turned to ash… Seowon had been so blinded by Baek Kanghyun back then that he couldn’t admit they were twisted from the start.

“Then, I’ll see you late—?!”

His body collapsed while he was bowing his head in farewell. The man’s arm, which had suddenly emerged from beneath the blanket, had pulled Seowon down.

Seowon, who had been in a defenseless state, ended up being held against Baek Kanghyun’s chest just like that.