NHL 60

This was the basis for Dylan thinking the incoming call was a scam. However, in this day and age, there isn’t much distinction between local and long-distance calls, so there’s no need to change your phone number just because you’ve moved to a different area. Perhaps the person who called Joeon also opened their account in another region originally. Holding onto that hope, Dylan had nonchalantly asked about the interviewer.

“Ah, about that….”

However, contrary to Dylan’s expectations, the smile faded from Joeon’s face.

“The place I interviewed with is a company in Calgary.”

Dylan blinked silently. The smile that always spread gently across his sculpted face was nowhere to be found, as if washed away by ice water. His blue eyes slowly wandered over various parts of Joeon’s face. After hesitating, Dylan finally opened his mouth.

“…Why?”

“Pardon?”

Not knowing what kind of explanation Dylan was looking for, Joeon scratched his head, trying to organize his thoughts.

“Why did you interview with a company in Calgary?”

“Well….”

Unlike Dylan’s gentle tone and smile, his mechanical, cold gaze made Joeon feel that something was going wrong.

“I told a headhunter I was preparing to switch jobs, and they sent me a lot of job postings from here and there. I misread an email and accidentally sent my resume to a company there, but they asked for an interview. Since the more interview experience you have, the better, I didn’t turn it down.”

“Aha, I see. That’s true.”

Dylan nodded at Joeon’s calm explanation. His expression softened, and he smiled as if he fully understood.

“So you just did the interview for practice, right? But you aren’t going to go.”

Joeon couldn’t answer that question easily. He needed time to think it over properly.

“Well. I think I need to think about it more.”

Dylan’s face, which had relaxed a moment ago, stiffened once again. Dylan’s heart swayed turbulently, like a flag standing in the middle of a raging storm.

“You need to think about it more?”

“Yes. It’s not something to be decided easily. Moving would be a hassle, and I’d have to remake my ID and health card, everything.”

“…”

Seeing Dylan’s face darken rapidly, Joeon lowered his head.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

Moving to another region is as significant a decision as immigrating to another country. Even more so when the destination is over four hours away by plane and takes a full thirty hours of non-stop driving. It was perfectly normal and natural to deliberate carefully over such a decision.

Yet, Dylan stuck out his lower lip, let the corners of his mouth droop, and set the bowl he was holding down on the counter.

“So, that means you are considering going there.”

“That’s just…”

“I thought you would obviously say you weren’t going.”

Reading the disappointment in his heartbroken voice, Joeon soothed Dylan in a calm tone.

“But it is a good opportunity. My salary would increase by 30%, and I’d be promoted to a senior level.”

“A good opportunity?”

Joeon narrowed his brows at the questioning tone, as if asking what on earth he meant. It was true that he felt annoyed by Dylan’s attitude, as he hadn’t offered a genuine congratulation.

“It’s not a bad opportunity, is it? Dylan, if you have something to say, why don’t you just say it?”

“…”

“I thought you would congratulate me regardless of what decision I made. Dylan said so himself last time, didn’t you? That you would congratulate me before anyone else, and more than anyone else.”

Dylan covered his forehead with his large palm and slowly wiped it down his face.

“…Congratulations.”

His voice was bone-dry. His words, containing not even a shred of sincerity, sounded more clearly sarcastic than ever before. A hot, overwhelming emotion surged up inside Joeon.

“That doesn’t sound like one at all.”

Dylan licked his dry lips and exhaled a long breath to kill his emotions.

“I do think it’s a truly congratulatory thing that you passed the interview and got a job offer. Because it means you’ve been recognized as a capable talent. If you’re happy, it’s obviously a happy thing for me, too.”

“Then what is the problem right now?”

“What is the problem, you ask? What do you want me to say, Joeon?”

“If you could just congratulate me…”

“We met again for the first time in two weeks. I told you that I was going crazy because I missed you so much. Even though it was only two weeks. But you just unilaterally informed me that you passed a job interview in Calgary. And now you’re saying you might move to that faraway place, and you genuinely thought I would be able to accept this easily? You didn’t discuss this with me even a little bit.”

“…Why would I discuss that with you?”

For a moment, Dylan’s expression turned pale, as if he had been struck by a blunt object.

“What did you say?”

Joeon bit his lip, realizing his words had gone too far. But a sense of resistance that had grown inside his heart hammered at his chest.

Even between close partners, do you really need to discuss everything? Furthermore, Joeon was older than Dylan and was an adult who could take care of himself. Just because they became sex partners, no one had the right to control his every move.

“Dylan, I hope you don’t misunderstand me. You’re special to me, but that doesn’t mean I can prioritize you over my own life. You don’t have the right to decide all my affairs however you please.”

“…Joeon. I’m not doing this because I want to run your life as I please.”

“That’s how it sounds to me, though.”

When Dylan didn’t say anything more, Joeon slowly loosened his grip on his fist and looked up at him cautiously. Dylan was staring at Joeon’s face with a devastating expression. The reddened, bloodshot whites of his eyes ruined the beauty of his eyes that were always only beautiful.

“Joeon, if that’s how you felt, I’m sorry. I… that wasn’t what I meant.”

His deepened voice trembled slightly, filled with anxiety. A bad premonition washed over him. Dylan realized something was going wrong.

Joeon pushed his hair back for no reason and said.

“I haven’t decided anything yet. As you saw, I just got the notification. I still have other interviews scheduled.”

“…I see.”

After Joeon finished speaking, Dylan opened his mouth after a short silence.

“I have one question.”

“…”

As if he knew that a question starting with “I have a question” could never be light, Joeon lightly clenched his fist, bracing for the impact.

“To you, am I…”

Joeon lifted his head.

“What am I to you?”

The hand that had brushed through his brilliant blonde hair remained near his neck.

“Joeon, what you just said leaves me with a big question.”

“…”

“There doesn’t seem to be a place for me in your life. It’s as if I’m someone who shouldn’t offer any opinion to you. To be honest, I’m hurt that I’m someone you can’t even discuss such a significant matter with. Did I misunderstand what you said?”

In that brief moment, Joeon realized that the crucial moment of decision they were bound to face someday had arrived unexpectedly early. It was he who had accelerated it. Even with the same sentiment, he could have phrased it differently so as not to hurt the other, but he was not adept enough at the kind of communication that could soften the blow. Thus, he had exposed his inner thoughts completely.

“I don’t know why you think that. Your place… of course, exists. You are a good friend to me, someone who gives me courage, and also…”