Episode 20

 

Kang In-hyuk sighed as he ended the call with Seo Da-rae and held the documents in his hand. He knew why his parents had instructed him to deliver these to Kang Se-heon.

 

This time, he wanted to involve KH Electronics in the business being conducted at KH Mart. He thought it would be a win-win strategy since they were the same company, but the other party was Kang Se-heon.  If the feasibility of the business and the appropriate level were not satisfactory, he would never accept it.

 

Just a few days ago, his father had called and mentioned Kang Se-heon’s lukewarm response when he tried to discuss their fortune. That said it all. His father would rather delegate to those beneath him and feign ignorance, but his mother would have nudged him. She wanted to somehow make this business a success and move his father’s position to the center.

 

And since his father couldn’t handle it, he had been involved as well. His father had said, “I’ll talk to him first, but  if it doesn’t work out, you go to Se-heon.” He didn’t understand why he had to intervene in business matters, but that’s what his mother had said. She mentioned that Kang Se-heon still treated him with a lot of consideration.

 

“When will you push your brother out?” she had said.

 

But why resort to using him like this? Kang In-hyuk shook his head and entered the company. Exactly five minutes later, Kang In-hyuk emerged, his expression even more hardened than before.

 

Kang Se-heon, who usually worked late, had gone home early today. That meant he had more time to be approached. His thoughts turned to Seo Da-rae, who would be waiting at home.

 

“Nothing seems to be going well.”

 

Could things continue to go this way? Nevertheless, there was no turning back now, so Kang In-hyuk made his way to Kang Se-heon’s house. As he returned to the parking lot, he lifted his phone to call Seo Da-rae before starting the engine. He wanted to tell her to wait a little longer.

However, just as the screen lit up, a call came in from Park Han-soo.

 

“Why.”

 

[Park Han-soo’s tone when answering the call was very polite.]

 

Kang In-hyuk’s voice, skipping the greetings, made Park Han-soo feel a bit uneasy. But Kang In-hyuk wasn’t in the mood to respond warmly to Park Han-soo right now. He felt a subtle impatience because he couldn’t go straight home where Seo Da-rae, whom he had longed for, was waiting. Plus, the conflicting events of the day had put him in a strangely bad mood.

 

“Why did you call?”

 

[Oh, it’s nothing… You wouldn’t happen to… um……]

 

As Park Han-soo hesitated to answer, Kang In-hyuk narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t often that he showed this kind of reaction. One of those rare occasions might involve Yoon Tae-seo, and he wondered  if Park Han-soo was about to mention him.

 

[I mean Tae-seo.]

 

As expected. Kang In-hyuk rested his forehead against the steering wheel as he raised his arm to the handle.

 

[Do you happen to know where he is?]

 

“How would I know that? You probably know better than me.”

 

Lately, he had noticed Park Han-soo and Yoon Tae-seo spending time together. So when Park Han-soo asked about Yoon Tae-seo’s whereabouts, Kang In-hyuk responded sharply.

 

[I didn’t mean it like that. I was actually trying not to call you either, but someone asked, no, inquired……]

 

“Stop it.”

 

Kang In-hyuk cut Park Han-soo off. The repeated questioning brought to Kang In-hyuk’s mind the thought of a blind date. Yoon Tae-seo had talked to Park Han-soo in front of him and blatantly asked for a setup. When he overheard Park Han-soo asking when he would contact him, it felt like they had already met. So  if someone was looking for Yoon Tae-seo through Park Han-soo, it was obvious they were a potential date.

 

“I don’t know anything about Yoon Tae-seo right now, so  if you’re going to mention that, just hang up.”

 

Without waiting for a response, Kang In-hyuk ended the call. However, he didn’t immediately start the engine. With his hand on the steering wheel, Kang In-hyuk tapped his fingers thoughtfully, completely forgetting his intention to call Seo Da-rae.

 

He hadn’t exchanged many words with Park Han-soo, but his words kept echoing in his mind. “I don’t know where he is.” He didn’t understand why Park Han-soo had asked such a question. Part of him wanted to listen until the end and then hang up.

 

He had seen Yoon Tae-seo during the last class, and he looked no different than usual. The only thing was, he hadn’t seen the car Yoon Tae-seo usually used, but he hadn’t thought deeply about it.

 

 If Yoon Tae-seo had disappeared in a day or two, it would make sense for Park Han-soo to contact him. Yoon Tae-seo had very few people around him, so he could count on one hand those who were close. Whether Yoon Tae-seo was deliberately distancing himself or not, Kang In-hyuk knew that he was at least aware of his place in that circle.

 

There was a time when he used to run into him frequently by chance, but now,  if it wasn’t at school, he wouldn’t catch a glimpse of Yoon Tae-seo. Once he found him annoying and bothersome, but now that he couldn’t see him, he felt more uneasy.

 

It wasn’t that he suddenly started to like Yoon Tae-seo; he was just curious about how he would appear this time. He worried that something bigger might happen while they were out of touch.

 

Unable to shake off the uneasy feeling, Kang In-hyuk roughly started the engine.

 

—

 

“Are you still far?”

 

[I’m almost there.]

 

“Don’t enter the password and come in.”

 

The secretary, who heard Kang Se-heon’s warning, responded understandingly. After ending the call and coming out, Kang Se-heon unconsciously looked for Tae-seo. Tae-seo used to be in his room when he was there, but lately, they had been having dinner together and chatting until they fell asleep, so he often came out now.

 

As Kang Se-heon walked, wondering  if Tae-seo had gone into his room, his gaze fell on a pair of feet sticking out. Following the feet up, he saw Tae-seo lying on his stomach with a pillow under his stomach, using a rug as a blanket between the sofa and the table.

 

The laptop on the table had been unused for a while, and Tae-seo was studying, drawing lines with a pen in a thick book.

 

Kang Se-heon didn’t like the expression on Tae-seo’s face as he watched him study in his comfortable posture. It wasn’t because he should be sitting at the desk with his back straight to study.

 

The problem was that he didn’t realize his shirt had ridden up above his waist while studying at someone else’s house. Tae-seo’s slender waist, which hadn’t been visible under his loose shirt, caught Kang Se-heon’s attention and wouldn’t let go.

 

He vividly remembered how Tae-seo had looked that day, even though it was only once. His waist hadn’t been visible when he was fully clothed. While he had felt slender, his body shape hadn’t been prominent, making it even harder to avert his eyes from his waist. Rather than a problem with his memory of how attractive his body was, Tae-seo’s lack of awareness was the issue.

 

Sensing Kang Se-heon’s gaze, Tae-seo turned around while still lying down.

 

“Are you coming out?”

 

“Why are you lying there like that?”

 

“I like it here.”

 

“I’ll get the rug for you when you leave. Take it.”

 

“Really? Thanks a lot. I really liked this.”

 

Tae-seo accepted without any intention of refusing. As he did so, he wiped the rug with his hand, causing the marks to appear and disappear repeatedly. It was surprising how much he seemed to like it, considering it was just laid down for decoration.

 

“Are you comfortable being fed and put to sleep?”

 

Tae-seo responded without noticing Kang Se-heon’s momentary hesitation, which had occurred when he looked at his waist and then muttered to himself.

 

“It’s really comfortable and nice. Especially the food is delicious.”

 

Tae-seo’s face had become noticeably brighter day by day. While his complexion hadn’t been that bad before, these days his skin was truly glowing.

 

“How do you know so many great restaurants?”

 

Kang Se-heon would either buy dinner or cook it himself, and it seemed to have captured Tae-seo’s taste buds properly. Curious, Kang Se-heon asked what he ate during the day. Tae-seo replied that he would eat or not eat as he pleased during the day, but he would definitely eat something delicious for dinner.

 

“I never believed your words before, but now I really can’t.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You said it might be there or might not be.”

 

“Oh, yeah.”

 

Tae-seo obediently nodded, then furrowed his brows slightly as  if feeling unjust. He had also intended to be in his room when Kang Se-heon came in. But every time he tried, the person who called him to eat was there.

 

Now, he had come out thinking it was probably okay to be in the living room, but he used to be able to read the situation well.

 

“Should I go into the room now?”

 

“Study. I thought you were always at school, but you do study.”

 

“I’m doing assignments too. Look, I did assignments earlier. Now I’m studying.”

 

He seemed like a six-year-old boasting to his parents. Since Kang Se-heon seemed to view him as a slacker, Tae-seo tried to make his own appeal.

 

“Remarkable.”

 

As  if he had achieved something, Kang Se-heon nodded approvingly, causing Tae-seo to straighten up slightly. He felt relieved that the man seemed to have a weak heart.

 

Then, as he tried to focus on studying again, the doorbell rang. It was time to decide whether he should be in Kang Se-heon’s house. Kang Se-heon nudged Tae-seo’s leg with his foot.

 

“Go and open the door.”

 

“But this isn’t my house.”

 

“It’s the landlord’s order, so go and open it.”

 

Kang Se-heon nudged Tae-seo because he didn’t like that he kept showing his waist. He had anticipated who would come and had been looking for Tae-seo in advance to inform him.

 

“It’s not my house either, but you could just open it.”

 

“Well, since it’s not your house, you never know when you might get kicked out, right?”

 

Under Kang Se-heon’s threat, Tae-seo quickly got up.

 

“I’m going. I’m going.”

 

Grumbling that it was sad to be sent on errands by someone who should be studying, Tae-seo approached the front door.

 

“Who is it?”

 

Tae-seo swung the front door open wide.

 

“…?”

 

And as soon as Tae-seo saw the other person’s face, he froze in place.

 

“Why are you…?”

 

Kang In-hyuk’s words trailed off in confusion.