HPK 95

Jaewon, discovering the figure standing behind him, frowned in dismay and then quickly smoothed his expression. Wooseung’s situation was not much different.

Taejung, who had closed the distance in an instant with his wide strides, stood behind them. A pressure that surpassed a mere presence weighed down on their backs.

“Don’t make what complicated.”

“……”

“Jaewon-ah. I asked twice.”

Jaewon swallowed hard before slowly continuing.

“President, so. Um… This person was suddenly looking for Section Chief Choi. Said he had something to say to him separately…”

“Hoonyeong?”

“Yes, Section Chief Hoonyeong. So I told him not to do that and to just ask you directly, President. Yes, that is what we were talking about.”

Taejung’s head tilted to the side. His gaze naturally fell on Wooseung, who had not moved an inch since a while ago.

“Anything else?”

“Other than that, we did not discuss anything else at all.”

Jaewon answered promptly as if he had been waiting. His tension was clearly visible in his stiff posture and rigid expression.

The quiet air that settled was heavy. Silence was a method Taejung often used to manipulate others as he pleased.

“Nothing at all, you say…”

His sneakers tapped the floor, tap, tap.

“Yes. That is all. Really.”

Honestly, Jaewon felt wronged. He was not the one who initiated the conversation; he had only answered because the other person had suddenly grabbed him and asked, so he did not understand why he was the one making excuses. The one who had actually started the conversation had just lowered his eyes as if he had done nothing, ever since Taejung appeared.

“You, go inside.”

A moment later, Taejung took his hand out of his pocket and pointed his index finger down the hallway. Wooseung blinked his eyelids slowly. Taejung was giving him an order.

“…Okay.”

Wooseung turned around immediately without hesitation. There was not a hint of concern for Jaewon, who would be left alone to deal with Taejung.

A look of bewilderment appeared in Jaewon’s eyes as he watched Wooseung flee. Who caused this situation in the first place, but he’s just going to selfishly…

Jaewon was so dumbfounded that he could not take his eyes off the skinny back disappearing down the hallway. Then he belatedly came to his senses and looked at Taejung. But Taejung’s lips, which had been maintaining a cool, expressionless look, were twisted into a fierce sneer.

“What. You think he’s pretty too?”

And then, a question like a bolt out of the blue.

“…Pardon?”

He did not understand what he had heard and asked again with a dumbfounded face.

“I asked if you think he’s pretty.”

Jaewon stared blankly down the hallway where Wooseung had just fled.

“I don’t understand what you mean…”

“There must be a reason why you’re staring at him so much.”

He was staring because he was dumbfounded that the person had run off alone after throwing him into a difficult situation, but now Taejung was making a ridiculous misunderstanding.

“You haven’t been able to take your eyes off him since earlier. Fucking hell. Huh?”

“Whaat? I couldn’t take my eyes off him? It’s not like that. It’s a real misunderstanding!”

Even though he hurriedly denied it, Taejung’s gaze towards Jaewon was still fierce. A blue flame was blazing. Jaewon licked his lips nervously in the heat that felt like it would explode at any moment if he let his guard down.

“Then why were you looking.”

What answer should he give to get out of this predicament? Jaewon’s mind spun faster than ever before. He recalled Taejung’s unusually strange behavior.

And then, the answer revealed itself from an unexpected place.

“I was looking because they, they look good together.”

“……”

“The more I look, the more I think you two look good together…”

“……”

“If you were offended, I’m sorry. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Jaewon smiled awkwardly as he stared 불안하게 at the unresponsive person.

It was all or nothing. If it was just a matter of interest, it would only fuel Taejung’s anger. The longer the silence stretched, the more his heart ached with a tingling pain.

After enduring what felt like an eternity of painful silence, a blunt voice flew out.

“…Fuck, I’m the catch.”

The air that had been tightening around his neck with tense suspense suddenly loosened.

“We look good together, ha…”

Taejung swept his hair back and laughed as if he found it absurd. However, the slightly raised corners of his mouth were closer to amusement than displeasure. Jaewon’s dumbfounded gaze landed on the lips that had formed a gentle curve.

“You’re spouting nonsense, you bastard.”

Taejung kicked the bottom of the counter with a thud and turned around. He swept his hair back and gave a light nod. Whether he knew it or not, his steps were also as light as a feather. He soon turned the corner and disappeared.

“Haaa…”

Jaewon’s mouth hung open as he stared down the hallway for a while.

Wooseung, who had been anxiously waiting for Taejung in the room, shot up the moment he opened the door and entered.

“Hey, come out.”

Taejung, still holding the doorknob, gestured outside with his head. Without even having the mind to ask why, Wooseung hurried over there.

“Where are you going?”

Seeing Taejung heading all the way out, he finally asked for their destination.

“Let’s go for a drive.”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yeah, suddenly.”

Wooseung thought of the untouched ledger, the half-drunk coke, and the salad Junseok had brought, all left on the table. He wondered what on earth was happening all of a sudden.

‘You, go inside.’

At that moment, he had thought he was done for. Not only had his lie about going to the restroom been exposed, but he had also been caught red-handed whispering with someone behind his back.

Separate from the fact that he liked him, or maybe because he liked him? Taejung would get angry easily and overly agitated over trivial actions. It was not difficult to soothe his nerves and irritation now, but he still wanted to get by without trouble as much as possible.

But for some reason, Taejung seemed to be in a very good mood, though he did not know what he and Jaewon had talked about. The way he walked with his hands in his pockets, having completely shed his annoyance, was obvious.

Once in the car, he even started humming a tune. He pulled down the sun visor, looked at his reflection in the mirror, and chuckled, heh, heh.

“Ah, no matter how I look at it, I’m the catch.”

He added, while saying something that made no sense.

“……”

Wooseung did not answer and buckled his seatbelt. Then he sat back against the seat and stared at the bustling outside world. A night scene unfolded with cars constantly coming and going, and men of various ages staggering into the building.

Finally, as the car started moving, the night view blurred helplessly, as if someone had smeared paint with their palm.

“…President. Can I ask you something?”

He asked impulsively while staring blankly at the rapidly receding scenery. Taejung gestured with his eyes as if to say, ‘go ahead,’ as he turned the steering wheel.

“Is Hyojun doing well?”

The smile that had been on his lips immediately dropped.

“Why.”

“……”

“You said he’s good at his job and you’re not worried.”

“…Because he said it’s his first time going abroad.”

Taejung laughed, ha. Unlike before when he had been laughing in a good mood, this time it was clearly a sneer.

“I told you. He’s fucking ecstatic at the thought of making money right now.”

“……”

“He doesn’t give a damn about someone like you.”

Here we go again. Whenever Hyojun came up in conversation, Taejung was always like this. Doesn’t he ever get tired of it? Wooseung secretly badmouthed him in his head.

“So that’s why you were looking for Hoonyeong, ha.”

Taejung tapped the steering wheel with his index finger, tap, tap, as if he finally understood.

“Stop acting so nice.”

“……”

“You’ve got your own problems to worry about, Wooseung-ah.”

The words, which had a hidden meaning, pierced his ears painfully. The more he chewed on them, the more his feelings got hurt.

“…There’s nothing wrong with living a good life.”

Wooseung hated himself for only being able to retort with something like this.

“I told you, that’s not being good.”

“……”

“It’s just an act you put on for your own comfort, an act.”

As he said that, Taejung looked back at Wooseung. The slightly protruding lower lip and the furrowed brow tickled his heart. A smile naturally formed on his face.

When he saw him standing side by side with Han Jaewon, and when the name Hyojun came out of that mouth, he had been so annoyed, but now he felt excited, as if that had never happened. He gently rubbed his lips with the hand that was propping up his chin.

There was no reason for him to get angry no matter who Wooseung talked to. But it was also undeniable that he felt irritated and unpleasant. Emotions were not an area one could control on their own. However, he barely managed to suppress his anger because he also thought that acting on his temper made him look pathetic.

“Still… I think pretending to be good is better.”

“……”

“Than just being bad like President…”

After retorting like that, Wooseung whipped his head to look out the window. A moment later, Taejung burst into a loud laugh.