He felt once again how powerful words can be. Because of a single phone call that lasted about 2 minutes, Hyeseong didn’t even know how he spent the rest of the afternoon. His mood was floating, and he kept feeling excited at random times, making it difficult to focus on any work.

 

Although by work, he only meant sweeping and cleaning the house anyway. The embarrassing words “I miss you” kept tormenting him. As it got worse, he even started to resent Ihyeok.

 

Why would he suddenly call someone who was doing fine and say such things? And with such a nice voice too. Hyeseong sighed deeply.

 

The bigger problem was how much he was affected by that single phrase. He had never once thought in his life that he would hear such words from Ihyeok.

 

Kwon Ihyeok saying he loves him, misses him? It felt so unrealistic. As he was thinking about this, time had already flown towards evening. Even while preparing dinner, Hyeseong kept glancing at the clock.

 

Usually, if Ihyeok left work on time, it would be 6 o’clock. From there to Seoin-si was about an hour by car, and considering traffic during rush hour, it could be estimated to take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

 

“He’ll probably arrive after 7.”

 

Hyeseong startled himself as he muttered unconsciously. What was this? Saying such things while tasting the seasoning of seaweed soup with a ladle, didn’t it seem like that? Like the image of someone cooking at home, waiting for their husband.

 

Hyeseong shook his head vigorously to dispel such thoughts. In the first place, Ihyeok would probably go to his own home when he gets off work, as he’d be tired. Why would he come here?

 

“But he did say he misses me…”

 

Could he possibly drop by? Hyeseong thought it might be good to make a little more seaweed soup than just his own portion.

 

Although he was going to eat alone, Hyeseong decided to leave open a sliver of possibility. The possibility that Ihyeok might drop by his place after work. If that happened, it wouldn’t be bad to eat together, he thought.

 

Time had already passed 7 o’clock. As the time approached, his mouth kept getting dry. It was a truly strange phenomenon. And around 7:30, which was exactly when Hyeseong had expected…

 

The sound of someone knocking on the door was heard. Hyeseong, who had been pacing in the living room, flung open the door.

 

“Unc…”

 

He naturally thought it would be Ihyeok, but an unexpected figure was standing in front of Hyeseong.

 

“Hyeseong!”

 

“Director Kang.”

 

“Our Hyeseong, it’s been so long.”

 

He was dumbfounded. That’s because Kang Seongjin was standing there with a bright smile, holding something in his hands.

 

“How did you come here…”

 

It didn’t seem like he had received any notice of his visit. Seongjin spread his arms wide towards the surprised and confused Hyeseong.

 

“Hyeseong, I missed you.”

 

“Hey, hey, don’t do that.”

 

It was then. Along with a familiar pheromone, Ihyeok appeared from behind, grabbing Seongjin’s collar and pulling him away.

 

“Ahjussi.”

 

Hyeseong’s expression brightened oddly. Ihyeok smiled slightly at Hyeseong and then proceeded to push away the obstacle-like Seongjin in front of him.

 

“Hey, Kwon Ihyeok. Who are you to interfere with the tearful reunion between me and Hyeseong?”

 

“Get lost. Act your age.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Hyeseong looked back and forth between Seongjin and Ihyeok, who had started glaring at each other and arguing. It was certainly a fresh sight he hadn’t expected. To see the two of them standing side by side in front of this house.

 

“Sorry. This guy insisted on coming along and made a fuss.”

 

“When did I make a fuss? Sorry, but I came to see Hyeseong myself, you know?”

 

Hyeseong stretched his neck out to look at the yard. Besides Ihyeok’s car, there was another familiar car visible.

 

From what he heard, ever since Hyeseong resigned and came down here, Seongjin had been singing about wanting to visit Hyeseong’s house.

 

But then Ihyeok, as the CEO, suddenly said he would take charge of the TF team and asked Seongjin to temporarily take the acting CEO position. With the Taesung’s growth due to the UK hotel contract and the Haein-si redevelopment project, they became so busy that they couldn’t find time.

 

“Then you should have at least contacted Hyeseong in advance.”

 

“Ah, I’m sorry about that, Hyeseong.”

 

Seongjin scratched his head at Ihyeok’s point.

 

“It’s fine. I never expected such thoughtfulness from Director Kang anyway. Come in.”

 

“As expected of our broad-minded Hyeseong.”

 

Seongjin glared at Ihyeok as if to show off and then slipped into the house following Hyeseong. Seeing this, Ihyeok sighed heavily. No matter how he thought about it, he should have left Kang Seongjin behind. That guy was nothing but a troublemaker who appeared at a time when even the two of them alone wouldn’t be enough.

 

Ihyeok was already anxious every moment. Although he didn’t show it, the desire to quickly win Hyeseong’s heart was boiling inside him. Of course, he had told Hyeseong that he would wait patiently like an adult, but in reality, he couldn’t do that at all.

 

“Ahjussi, aren’t you coming in?”

 

As he was trying to digest these complicated feelings in front of the entrance, Hyeseong poked his head out slightly and looked at Ihyeok. The sight was like a small sparrow peeking its face out of its nest. It was very harmful to the heart. At the same time, all the negative emotions he had felt until just now melted away.

 

“Yes, I’m coming in.”

 

Ihyeok reached out and patted Hyeseong’s head. His hair was slightly damp, suggesting he had washed recently.

 

Naturally, his eyes moved to Hyeseong’s body. Perhaps because he was at home, he was wearing comfortable clothes, but Ihyeok’s eyes caught on the T-shirt with a slightly stretched neckline, like when he was doing fieldwork last time.

 

“Don’t you have other clothes?”

 

“Suddenly?”

 

“This is too stretched out.”

 

Hyeseong looked down. It was certainly stretched, but not to a severe degree. Besides, when else would he wear such comfortable clothes at home? It would be a waste to throw it away. Hyeseong tried hard to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed between Ihyeok’s eyebrows with such logic, but it was futile.

 

“If you bend over, everything will show. That bastard Kang Seongjin doesn’t need to see that.”

 

Ihyeok’s finger lightly brushed Hyeseong’s neck.

 

“What are you saying, Ahjussi?”

 

Surprised by the unexpected reason, Hyeseong’s face crumpled up and he quickly went inside. It was puzzling why he felt embarrassed when Ihyeok was the one who said it.

 

Inside, Kang Seongjin was busy setting up the food he had brought on the table, even humming a tune. The sushi in high-end containers was from a shop Hyeseong knew well.

 

“Hyeseong, you haven’t eaten, right? I waited in line to get this for you. Hm? But why does your face look like that?”

 

“What’s wrong with my face?”

 

“It’s turned into a red radish.”

 

“Your eyes must be wrong, Director.”

 

“Huh? That can’t be. You know I have good eyesight.”

 

“Think about your age.”

 

Hyeseong deliberately avoided Seongjin’s gaze and walked into the kitchen to help set up the dishes. Seongjin was muttering nonsense about whether he had already become farsighted.

 

* * *

 

Seongjin seemed quite excited, perhaps because he was meeting Hyeseong after a long time. Even while eating, his mouth was stretched to his ears. Although his appearance was quite surprising, Hyeseong was just as happy about it.

 

Seongjin’s existence was as significant to Hyeseong as Ihyeok’s. Of course, the reason for entering Taesung was entirely due to Ihyeok, but Seongjin played a big role in helping him endure difficult times while building the company together.

 

Even though he had a somewhat immature side that didn’t match his age, and his fashion sense was a little, no, very poor, to Hyeseong, he was like a reliable older brother. You know, everyone has at least one person like that in life. Someone who seems like they would unconditionally take your side no matter what you did.

 

Seongjin was that kind of existence for Hyeseong.

 

“So, Ihyeok, do you know how much trouble I had cleaning up after you ruined that dinner and left?”

 

“You always hold grudges.”

 

It was about the day when Hyeseong unexpectedly experienced his heat. Seongjin was venting his frustrations, recalling how Ihyeok had stormed out of the executive dinner that day, upset by the topic of Hyeseong.

 

“Hyeseong, with you gone, there’s no one to clean up after Ihyeok when he acts up like that. When I think about how much I struggled then, I still want to cry. It’s a good thing Director Choi helped me.”

 

“That was Ahjussi’s fault.”

 

As Hyeseong took his side, an excited Seongjin started piling sushi like a mountain on his plate.

 

“I told you, no matter how much you dislike it, don’t show your emotions in front of the executives.”

 

“Hyeseong, that…”

 

Ihyeok’s lips quivered before he gulped down water. It hurt his pride to tell that they had spoken carelessly about Hyeseong. Moreover, if Hyeseong heard such things, he would surely worry about his personality again.

 

“And last time…”

 

Seizing the opportunity, Seongjin eagerly reported Ihyeok’s misdeeds(?) to Hyeseong. Hyeseong nodded along appropriately and showed bright smiles here and there. Ihyeok quietly appreciated that face, thinking that Seongjin’s visit wasn’t entirely bad.

 

As the food was emptied and the meal was coming to an end, Seongjin slowly got up from his seat. Although Hyeseong said he could stay longer, Seongjin said he had to go to the site from tomorrow morning.

 

“Call me sometimes, you brat.”

 

Before leaving, Seongjin smiled affectionately and playfully ruffled Hyeseong’s hair. From that sincere touch, Hyeseong realized how indifferent he had been to the people around him.

 

He felt a bit sorry when he realized that he hadn’t properly contacted Seongjin even once, using the excuse of being busy with moving.

 

“And Hyeseong, you can come back anytime.”

 

Seongjin patted Hyeseong’s shoulder a couple of times. He too didn’t ask deeply why Hyeseong had left the company and was living in this countryside. Probably like Hyeseong’s aunt, he wouldn’t try to know unless Hyeseong talked about it himself.

 

He would just try to create a place of support with his rough touch, just like now. Hyeseong knew well that this was Seongjin’s way of showing trust.

 

“Yes, I’ll contact you.”

 

“Okay. I’m leaving. See you tomorrow, Kwon Ihyeok.”

 

“Get lost quickly.”

 

With Ihyeok’s warm send-off, the door finally closed. As quiet settled in the house, Hyeseong slightly turned his head to look at Ihyeok.

 

“What?”

 

“Aren’t you leaving too, Ahjussi?”

 

“Why should I?”

 

Ihyeok suddenly hugged Hyeseong from behind with a genuinely curious face.

 

“We can finally be alone now.”