Ch 34

<34>

 

1 month before that day (6)

 

His last words chilled the blood flowing through Yoonjae’s veins, sending a shiver down his spine. Kang Taeoh was smiling leisurely, but the cold, sharp glint in his eyes, demanding confirmation, pierced right through Yoonjae’s heart.

 

He laid a trap, as if knowing a secret that others didn’t, and provoked Yoonjae. Yoonjae, who had suppressed his heavily descending pheromones, stared at Taeoh with unwavering eyes. His gaze, having decisively chosen its direction, contained nothing but wariness towards a stranger.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

The tense air dissipated instantly, as if a taut string had snapped. Taeoh, who hadn’t even blinked at Yoonjae’s clear and concise answer, let out a hollow breath and looked squarely at Yoonjae again. Despite Yoonjae suppressing his pheromones, the aura emanating from him shook the very wavelengths of the surrounding air, putting pressure on Taeoh.

 

“Oh, is that so?”

 

Taeoh trailed off meaningfully, raising his eyebrows noticeably, but said nothing more. Yoonjae slowly closed and opened his eyes, filled with displeasure, but his gaze remained fixed on Taeoh. Taeoh, reading Yoonjae’s expression, seemed perplexed and set down the teacup he was holding.

 

“I apologize. I misspoke.”

 

Yoonjae stopped all complex thought. Otherwise, it felt like the person in front of him would see through everything. He didn’t know with what intention or purpose he was asking, but one thing was certain: this was a person who required caution. As Taeoh apologized, Yoonjae softened the firm line of his lips. He realized there was nothing to gain by being on edge.

 

As the silence in the conversation grew longer, Taeoh, as if trying to change the subject, unfolded his legs and leaned forward. Placing his clasped hands on his knees, he steered the conversation in a softer tone than before.

 

“I get the feeling you’re here to consider an investment. What do you think, Executive Director Choi? I’d like to take your insight into consideration.”

 

Taeoh seemed genuinely curious. Yoonjae slowly rolled the inside of his cheek with his tongue, fixing his gaze. The sudden change of subject was disconcerting, but it also felt like another test, which wasn’t pleasant. Just as the lull in the conversation was about to stretch out, Yoonjae, who had been leaning back on the sofa, detached his back and brought his upper body closer to the table.

 

“I wouldn’t necessarily stop you if you were going to invest, but well… I came to make up my mind.”

 

“Not a good conclusion, then.”

 

“If it means missing out on a big opportunity, then I guess my insight only goes that far. It can’t be helped, even if it’s a shame.”

 

He answered honestly and frankly, but seeing him quietly silent, it seemed Taeoh was leaning heavily towards investing. Just as he was about to part his lips as if to ask Yoonjae the reason for giving up on the investment, the door to the reception room opened and CEO Kim entered. Taeoh lowered his voice just enough for Yoonjae to hear.

 

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

 

Whether it was because Yoonjae had dampened his desire to invest or not, Taeoh’s attitude as he skimmed through the research data was much more relaxed than before. Despite the meeting lasting over an hour, neither of them showed any clear positive investment sentiment, and CEO Kim, feeling uneasy, began to persuade and coax them.

 

Yoonjae, having made up his mind, maintained a business smile and only left with the position that he would consider it further, and Taeoh also said he would let them know after reviewing it, clutching the research report in his hand.

 

CEO Kim, who came out to see them off in front of the elevator, expressed his disappointment and even applied subtle pressure, saying that he hoped nothing unfortunate would happen later.

 

The two were silent in the elevator. It wasn’t a meeting they had wanted for business, so there was nothing special to say, but Yoonjae wanted to know more about Kang Taeoh. He asked questions as if he knew about his regression. Interpreting those words in reverse, it led to the conclusion that Taeoh was the same.

 

Yoonjae took out a business card from his inside jacket pocket and handed it to Taeoh, who was silently looking at the electronic monitor.

 

“If you have time, I’d like to meet again and have a serious conversation. What do you think?”

 

“Executive Director Choi is welcome anytime.”

 

It was unclear whether the welcome was simply because of the investment or because he wanted to have the unexpected conversation that Yoonjae was anticipating. Kang Taeoh took out a business card from his wallet and handed it to Yoonjae immediately.

 

“Then I’ll contact you.”

 

Yoonjae, who got out first in the lobby because their parking locations were different, gave a light nod and walked out slowly.

 

‘’The investments have changed a lot since then.’

 

‘It’s like… you knew in advance and only picked the ones that would succeed.’

 

Even after replaying his words several times, he was talking about regression, just as Yoonjae suspected. There was no way a second conversation would come up otherwise.

 

‘If he’s also a regressor, how did he know I regressed?’

 

It was hard to believe that Kang Taeoh was paying attention to Yoonjae because he was interested in investing, since Yoonjae knew so little about him. It was hard to explain the situation other than to say that Kang Taeoh had been closely watching Yoonjae like a stalker before he returned.

 

Then why did he come to Eunho’s funeral?

 

Could it be that the two of them were in a private relationship before time turned back? But at the time, Chief Yoon and Secretary Han had confirmed that Eunho was only fixated on Hyunjun. If Taeoh had been unilaterally interested in Eunho, then when time returned, Taeoh would have been constantly pursuing Eunho, or they should already know each other, but Eunho didn’t seem to know him well. Then is he a stalker? If he’s a stalker, who is he stalking?

 

The more he thought about it, the more he fell into a maze, and his entire thought process was shaken. Yoonjae ran his fingers through the back of his hair and stopped thinking for a moment. He suddenly missed Eunho. The moment he thought of Eunho in his head, he missed him so much that he was already turning the steering wheel towards the company.

 

After synchronizing his cell phone with the car display, he found Eunho in the address book and pressed it. The voice that answered the phone after five rings was small. The sound of the door opening, as if he was quickly leaving the office, made a smile bloom on Yoonjae’s face.

 

“It’s almost time to leave work, what are you going to do instead of leaving?”

 

-I’m trying to finish what I’m doing.

 

“How long will it take?”

 

-About 30 minutes.

 

“Then… I’ll wait downstairs.”

 

He said he would wait, but Yoonjae wanted to go up to the secretary’s office and snatch Eunho away right away. Eunho put the brakes on as he was planning to make a U-turn at the signal two blocks ahead.

 

-Just a moment.

 

“Yeah?”

 

-Let’s meet at the officetel. That would be better.

 

Eunho, who had become even more cautious after the imprinting, tried to eliminate any personal feelings at the company and clearly drew a line between himself as a subordinate employee and Yoonjae as his superior. Yoonjae was disappointed, but decided to follow Eunho’s words.

 

“Ah……”

 

Come to think of it, it had been seven months since he had left the officetel vacant. He had forgotten that he had to check whether the appliances were working properly.

 

After parking the car in the officetel parking lot and receiving the password from Eunho, Yoonjae entered the house and checked the condition of the lights by pressing all the switches he could see from the entrance. Fortunately, there was nothing broken or in poor condition, as Secretary Han had replaced some of the consumables when he was using it. However, Yoonjae wanted to replace it with a wide screen for Eunho, who often watched TV, so he took out his cell phone, made a quick note, and sat down on the nearby sofa. He was surprised that the place was more organized than he thought, considering it was a packing move.

 

“What the hell is it……”

 

As he took a breather, Kang Taeoh filled his head again. Even if he was a regressor, the fact that Kang Taeoh knew himself and Eunho so well was even more shocking. He took out the glossy business card from his inside jacket pocket and stared at it for a long time, and Yoonjae’s eyes widened in an instant.

 

“Ah!”

 

Unlike now, before the regression, a construction company was listed as a major shareholder in the shareholder list, and now that he thought about it, that construction company was Seoin Construction. He took out his cell phone and checked the shareholder list he had received from Chief Yoon in his email, and this time, instead of Seoin Construction, a foreign company called A Second was listed.

 

Is it just an investment? If so, why didn’t Seoin Construction buy the shares this time? As his thoughts reached that point, Yoonjae hurriedly searched through his call list.

 

-Yes, Executive Director.

 

“Chief Yoon, I’m sorry, but could you find out about Managing Director Kang Taeoh of Seoin Construction? As much as possible, including the places he invests in, the partner companies he meets with frequently or has close relationships with, and even his father.”

 

-I have a junior colleague in the secretary’s office at Seoin Construction, so I’ll check and report back to you.

 

“Okay, thank you.”

 

If he collected information about Kang Taeoh, wouldn’t he find some clues he was missing? He ran his dry face with both hands and let out a deep sigh, when the sound of the door lock button being pressed echoed from the entrance behind him. Yoonjae hurriedly got up from the sofa and went to the entrance, following his instincts.

 

“……”

 

Eunho, who opened the door with a bright smile, widened his eyes. As he rushed in like a beast and hugged him tightly, Eunho stood still in front of the entrance, not even able to take off his shoes, not knowing what was going on.

 

“Executive Director?”

 

“I missed you.”

 

“……”

 

“I thought I was going to die because I missed you.”

 

Eunho’s two hands, which had been wandering in the air, found their way to Yoonjae’s back and wrapped around his waist at his last words. Had something bad happened at the meeting? Yoonjae’s pheromones were creating an unstable wave, unlike usual.

 

After the entrance light sensor turned off and on about three times, Yoonjae, who had come to his senses, took Eunho to the living room.

 

As he sat Eunho on the sofa and went down to the floor, Eunho’s expression hardened in an instant.

 

“Come up here.”

 

“I want to face you.”

 

Yoonjae smiled at Eunho, who was grabbing his arm and trying to lift him up. He reached out and tucked Eunho’s stray bangs behind his ear.

 

“Eunho, you told me about Managing Director Kang Taeoh at the restaurant last time.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Can you tell me how you know each other?”

 

Eunho wanted to ask why he was asking this out of the blue, but Yoonjae’s expression and pheromones were too unstable, so he had no choice but to answer.

 

“I don’t know if you remember, but I went to a private auction on behalf of CEO Han.”

 

“Yeah, I remember.”

 

“I met Vice President Choi Seryeong at that time. It was a slightly uncomfortable situation, but he got me out of it.”

 

Taken away from Choi Seryeong. Yoonjae’s expression hardened to the point of becoming serious. Eunho had no idea why Yoonjae was doing this, and he became anxious.

 

“I have a good memory, but it was definitely the first time I had seen his face that day. But Managing Director Kang knew me. Even my company and my supervisor.”

 

Yoonjae was once again convinced of Kang Taeoh’s regression at Eunho’s answer. However, he didn’t know who he was focusing on. Considering that Seoin Construction was a major shareholder of Yuseong Venture Capital, it was clear that he was the target, but when he came to Eunho’s funeral, that wasn’t the case.

 

“Really, was that the first time you saw him that day?”

 

“Yes, I was curious because he knew me so well, so I asked him, and he brought up the story of the Executive Director of my previous company.”

 

“Samjeong Trading Company… Seoin Construction. Ah……”

 

It was understandable since Eunho’s previous job was at a construction company. He had found the first point of contact with Eunho, but the question still remained. Kang Taeoh was a person with a clear presence. If Eunho had ever met Kang Taeoh, he would have remembered him clearly.

 

“The Executive Director I assisted at that time had so many meetings. I’m guessing he was one of the people who came to the meetings.”

 

“So, you don’t know anything about Managing Director Kang Taeoh at all?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

Eunho also didn’t know anything about Kang Taeoh, just like himself. How could two people not know anything about him while the other person knew everything in detail? As his mind kept wandering elsewhere, Eunho reached out and patted Yoonjae’s shoulder.

 

“But… why Managing Director Kang Taeoh?”

 

“Well… I met him at a meeting today.”

 

“Ah……”

 

It didn’t seem to be just that reason, but what should he ask? Eunho lowered his upper body to match Yoonjae’s eye level.

 

“Did he act rudely?”

 

“Um… it’s similar, but it’s hard to explain.”

 

He must have acted rudely. What kind of strange things did he say to make him like that? Eunho seemed to roughly understand why Yoonjae’s pheromones were shaking unstably, and he put his arm around his shoulder and patted his back.

 

“But, have you had dinner?”

 

“Ah… should I buy you something?”

 

Eunho, who had been expecting this, opened his eyes languidly, took out his cell phone from his pocket, and opened the map app. Yoonjae gave him a puzzled look as he checked the location settings and searched for something diligently.

 

“You don’t know that there’s a special food to eat on moving day, do you?”

 

“……?”

 

“It’s a Chinese restaurant.”

 

Eunho chose the Chinese restaurant with the highest rating nearby and showed it to Yoonjae. The exclamation he belatedly let out was uncharacteristically cute. He handed him his cell phone, telling him to choose a menu, but he backed away, telling him to choose for himself. At that sight, one corner of Eunho’s eye curved upwards.

 

“You don’t not eat it, do you?”

 

“I told you I’m human too.”

 

“Then I’ll order.”

 

Yoonjae grumbled that he didn’t know why he was being treated like such a weirdo, and only then did Eunho apologize. Eunho got up and ordered two bowls of ganjjajang and tangsuyuk.

 

Yoonjae, who was sitting on the living room floor and gazing up at Eunho, smiled contentedly, but he kept hardening his expression because of Kang Taeoh, who kept rummaging through his head.

 

***

 

Yoonjae, who usually fell asleep later and woke up earlier than Eunho, fell asleep first today. Eunho, who woke up in the early morning because he was thirsty, carefully got out of his arms, which were warmly heating him, and slowly walked to the kitchen.

 

Is he very tired?

 

After drinking water and returning to his spot, Eunho sat by the bedside and stared at Yoonjae for a long time, carefully stroking the hair that was scattered haphazardly over his forehead and cheeks and lifting it up. Usually, when Eunho touched his forehead and cheeks, he would reach out in his sleep and caress or kiss Eunho’s hand. But today, he was so engrossed in sleep that he seemed to have lost all power.

 

His not-so-thick double eyelids usually created a soft image, but when he was overworked or didn’t get enough sleep, they would sink inward like inner double eyelids, making his impression sharp and fierce. These days, Yoonjae’s excessive workload had turned his outer double eyelids into inner double eyelids, making his eyes dark and deep.

 

Eunho lifted the blanket, pushed his lower body in, and gently snuggled into Yoonjae’s arms, lying on his side. As the mattress swayed, Yoonjae unconsciously reached out his arm and pulled Eunho into his arms. Yoonjae, who had slightly opened his eyes, was still engrossed in sleep.

 

“Don’t… go anywhere.”

 

He mumbled softly and then became silent again. A steady pulse resonated gently from his warm chest.

 

Eunho had stopped Yoonjae from coming up to the bed twice, saying that he had to wash the blankets since he had moved, but he said he didn’t care if the blankets were dirty and lay down anyway. His house was only 5 minutes away. He wondered why he would do that when he had a good place to sleep, but seeing how tired he looked today, he wanted to let him do what he wanted.

 

It was a spacious size when he slept alone, but it was a slightly narrow bed for two people to sleep in. Fortunately, neither of them had a habit of moving around in their sleep, and they were hugging each other, so there wasn’t a complete lack of space. But it wouldn’t be entirely comfortable, so his shoulders would definitely be stiff and sore, but he would hug Eunho as if his body was being recharged, and even if he tossed and turned for a moment, he would readjust his arm.