PA 51

“…I want to, but what can I do if I’m just not interested?”

What an insincere answer.

“Lee Yejun.”

“Wait a minute, I’m getting a call.”

With his phone in hand, Yejun subtly avoided Gyeongchan and went completely outside the cafe.

“Hello?”

— This is Assistant Manager Song Euijun from the Daesung Scenario Contest.

“Yes, please go ahead.”

— I’m calling to inform you that the general director for the grand prize-winning work has been decided.

A long explanation from the contest official followed. In the end, the reason the official had contacted Yejun was to request that the grand prize winner at least attend the premiere.

“I’m sorry. I currently live in Spain, and I’m not in a situation where I can go to Korea.”

— The premiere is about six months from now, so please think it over carefully and decide. All expenses for attending the premiere will be covered by our side. We will contact you again once the schedule is finalized, so please consider it positively.

“…Okay.”

Even after hanging up the phone, Yejun didn’t go back into the cafe for a long time. He sat on the terrace in front of the cafe and watched the people passing by for a while. Gyeongchan also took advantage of the lull in customers and came out to the terrace, sitting across from Yejun.

“Yejun, I think I’m going to go to Korea for about a fortnight.”

“Really? Is it because of your mother’s hospital issue you mentioned last time?”

“Yeah, she said her knee is in really bad shape. I’m going to go to the hospital with her and all that.”

“Why, why don’t you stay longer while you’re there?”

“It’s not good to close the cafe for too long.”

“I can take care of that.”

Yejun gave Gyeongchan a faint smile, as if to say not to worry.

☂︎

Currently, Sanghyeon’s office was filled with a large number of the most prominent lawyers in the country. The problem was that they were not part of the Seil Group’s legal team. All the secretaries in the strategic office, except for the chief of staff, were baffled, not knowing the reason.

“No, why didn’t he call the legal team’s lawyers… and form a separate legal team? What on earth is going on….”

“I know, right? Is something about to happen?”

“What could happen? The recent audit passed without any issues….”

“Hmm….”

“Did Chief Song… say anything?”

Sanghyeon’s office, with three of its walls made of glass except for the one with the window, usually had its blinds not even halfway drawn. But today, all the glass walls of the office were completely covered with blinds, so no one could see inside. The people in the secretarial office all held their breath, straining their nerves to figure out what was going on.

“Secretary Song, you’ve worked very hard today as well.”

“Not at all. I will contact you once things proceed.”

The lawyers, with grave expressions, came out of the chairman’s office and quietly passed through the strategic office. Chief Song, who came out of the chairman’s office last, saw the legal team off and then returned to the secretarial office. Despite the gazes of the secretarial staff staring intently at him, he sat down at his desk without a word and began to work.

Meanwhile, Sanghyeon, left alone in the chairman’s office, sat with his back resting comfortably on the sofa and did not move for quite a long time. The marathon-like meeting, which had lasted nearly four hours, had been persistent and intense. Sanghyeon felt as if all the energy was draining from his body.

“Secretary Song.”

Sanghyeon, who had been on the verge of drifting off to sleep, barely managed to get up and then pressed the button on the intercom to call for Chief Song.

— It’s almost all sorted out. I will organize it and report back within an hour.

“Alright.”

After tidying his disheveled clothes, Sanghyeon walked over to the window. As usual, he stood tall on his own two feet and looked up at the distant sky. But his gaze, which had been directed toward the high sky, at some point shifted to the magnificently flowing Han River.

At the same time, Sanghyeon’s thoughts began to travel back in time. He felt a little melancholic, perhaps lonely, and also desolate. Sanghyeon, who had fallen into a sentimental mood that didn’t suit him at all, let out a chuckle as if finding the situation absurd.

“Sir… Chairman?”

“Come in.”

At the cautious voice of Secretary Song calling for his boss while holding the doorjamb, Sanghyeon, who had let his guard down, felt his loosened consciousness quickly returning. He sat back down at his desk and took the work tablet from Secretary Song.

“If I give all of my shares in Seil Department Store to Executive Director Cha….”

Sanghyeon paused to carefully read the report that Secretary Song had prepared. Then he got to the main point.

“You can secure enough shares in the holding company, but the tax issue….”

“That bastard Executive Director Cha can afford to pay some taxes.”

“There is another problem.”

“What is it?”

“Even if Executive Director Cha becomes the majority shareholder of the holding company, if he takes the chairman title right away, strong internal opposition is expected.”

With a worried expression, Secretary Song mentioned another issue that could become a problem. However, unlike Secretary Song, Sanghyeon somehow looked more relieved.

“A professional manager.”

Sanghyeon gave his final answer.

“But….”

“Isn’t that brat Junhyuk currently achieving the best performance in Taejin’s history? Can a professional manager prove his ability with anything other than performance?”

“……”

After finishing the mysterious relay meeting with the legion of lawyers, Sanghyeon headed home earlier than usual.

☂︎

Junhyuk recalled the image of Wooju looking at him with a scornful gaze.

Does he know everything? I deserve to be cursed at.

Lost in thought, Junhyuk let out a self-deprecating laugh, then lifted his head and looked around. His feet, imprinted with old memories, had moved on their own and were heading toward his old rented place.

It felt as if he could clearly hear Yejun’s voice in his ears. He loved this path so much, walking alone with Yejun late at night after the day had ended and the buses had stopped running. Junhyuk did not stop his feet from moving on their own. Junhyuk arrived at his old rented place and recalled the door lock password.

0617

The password was Yejun’s birthday. He pressed the password on the door lock and opened the door. Junhyuk, who had stepped into the entrance, stood still for a long time without moving. As the motion sensor light in the entryway turned off, Junhyuk’s vision also went black.

Junhyuk closed his eyes and recalled the day he first held Yejun. The memory of that day, which made his heart flutter like a wave, would on the other hand become a dagger and pierce his heart. That memory, which swelled up in his chest, had not faded in Junhyuk’s mind even after seven years, but instead grew more and more vivid.

Will we be able to meet again?

Junhyuk was endlessly waiting for Yejun’s decision, not knowing what kind of conclusion it would bring. Yejun must have already cleanly erased the three-syllable name Cha Junhyuk and was living his life well.

“Phew….”

At Junhyuk’s movement, the sensor light flickered on again. He took off his shoes and went inside the house. Junhyuk’s gaze went to the large sofa. There, an image of Yejun, wearing clothes bigger than his own size and smiling bashfully at Junhyuk, overlapped like a faded black and white movie.

At that moment, Junhyuk felt as if someone was squeezing his heart. On some days, he missed Yejun terribly, and on other days, he felt resentful of him for turning away from him to this extent. He went back and forth between despair and anger several times a day, but he held it in. He gritted his teeth and endured again, just in case he might go looking for Yejun.

Ding-dong.

Junhyuk checked the screen of the wall pad. Someone was standing in front of the door with their head bowed.

“Come in.”

When Junhyuk opened the front door, the man in comfortable training clothes, with his cap pressed down low, came into the house. The two men passed through the hallway connecting the entrance and the living room and went into the kitchen. Then, they sat down with the dining table in the middle of the kitchen between them. They avoided each other’s eyes and said nothing for a long time.

“How is Yejun doing?”

The one who broke the awkward silence flowing around them was Junhyuk. Wanting to hear about Yejun’s current situation as soon as possible, Junhyuk was impatient. The man took off his cap and glared straight at Junhyuk.

“Han Gyeongchan.”

“……”

The man who was secretly meeting with Junhyuk was none other than Gyeongchan. At Junhyuk’s call, Gyeongchan straightened his posture and tilted his head askew.

“Cha Junhyuk, let me ask you one thing.”

“……”

Junhyuk answered by waiting silently for Gyeongchan’s next words.

“Why are you spying on Yejun? What’s going to change by watching him from afar?”

“……”

Junhyuk could not give any answer to Gyeongchan’s sharp words. He was right. Nothing would change by hovering around without being able to go before Yejun. Gyeongchan shot up from his seat and opened the refrigerator. After taking out a cold bottle of water, Gyeongchan gulped it down and then spoke in a low voice, as if pressing Junhyuk.

“That’s not love. It’s obsession.”

“……”

“Cha Junhyuk.”

Gyeongchan wanted to know Junhyuk’s true feelings for Yejun. Having become Yejun’s true friend over the past seven years, Gyeongchan did not want him to be hurt by Junhyuk again.

“You’re right, I have nothing to say even if you call it a foolish obsession.”

“Then let Yejun go at this point.”

At the words to let Yejun go, Junhyuk momentarily felt as if someone was choking him. Gyeongchan looked at the pale Junhyuk for a moment. In that instant, the image of a despairing Junhyuk and a crying Yejun overlapped in Gyeongchan’s eyes. Gyeongchan groaned for a moment, then let out a long sigh and continued.

“Phew… it’s been seven years. But you still can’t give up?”

“Sigh…. It’s not that I won’t give up, it’s that I can’t.”

A few days ago in Spain, Yejun had confessed his true feelings to Wooju, whom he met for the first time in a long while, as if giving a confession.

Do they both feel the same way?

Seeing how sorrowful and heart-wrenching Yejun’s tears were for not being able to forget Junhyuk, Gyeongchan felt like he had to be mean to Junhyuk to feel satisfied. This was Gyeongchan’s honest inner feeling behind his sharp reaction to Junhyuk.

Junhyuk, who had no way of knowing Gyeongchan’s true feelings, calmly brought out the sincere feelings that were filling his chest. But he couldn’t hide even his faintly trembling voice.

“Sigh……”

Gyeongchan let out a long sigh. He could no longer be unreasonable in the face of the sincere feelings of the two people who had been at odds for so long. Gyeongchan hesitated for a moment, then spoke with difficulty.

“Yejun….”

“……”

A sense of tension lingered in Junhyuk’s eyes as he waited for Gyeongchan’s next words.

“I can never fully understand you, Junhyuk, but.”

“……”

Gyeongchan looked at Junhyuk once more with a resentful gaze.