“Then, let’s both meet tomorrow afternoon.”
As Junyoung rose first and offered his farewell, Jaehyuk and Junghyun also stood up and said their goodbyes.
“See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll check my schedule and call you.”
After Junghyun and Jaehyuk’s farewells, Junyoung grabbed his bag and checked his wristwatch.
“Time’s tight. I have another meeting nearby, so I’ll head out first.”
As Junyoung hurried away, Jaehyuk walked ahead and naturally took hold of Junghyun’s wrist, pulling him along.
Junghyun, seemingly tired of smiling, relaxed his expression and trudged along as Jaehyuk pulled him.
Junyoung, who had left the café first and was walking briskly, suddenly turned around to look at the two figures moving away.
On this leisurely weekend, under the bright noon sunlight, the two walking along the beautifully decorated café street made a striking and well-matched couple.
Yes, they were too beautiful together. So natural that there was no sense of dissonance from the moment he first saw them.
Their clothing and style were so similar it was as if a stylist had deliberately matched them, down to their preferred brands.
But strangely, their appearance seemed too familiar.
It felt like déjà vu, as if he’d seen them many times before.
Clearly…
For a moment, Junyoung stopped with a look of disbelief at the sudden realization that flashed in his mind.
No, it couldn’t be.
It must just be a coincidence.
But too many things didn’t add up for it to be mere coincidence.
Unable to articulate the unsettling feeling, Junyoung silently watched their retreating figures before turning away, quickly pulling out his phone to make a call.
– Yes.
“Sorry to bother you on the weekend, Office Manager.”
– It’s no problem. What do you need?
“I have a personal favor to ask. Could you handle this discreetly? Using people from outside our investigation team.”
– That’s possible… but what’s this about?
“Could you investigate Lee Junghyun, the third son of Chairman Lee Wonjun of JS Holdings, in more detail than what I asked for last time? This time focus on personal aspects—family relationships, friendships, information about his ex-partners, and especially his social media activity.”
– According to our previous investigation, he doesn’t use social media at all for personal purposes.
“He might have secret accounts.”
The investigation results clearly showed he had no accounts other than those used for work, but it didn’t make sense that someone working in marketing, especially a viral marketing expert, wouldn’t use social media.
Of course, he would be managing various accounts for company purposes, but he surely must have secret accounts that he only used for following others.
There are things one can’t do with official accounts, after all.
– If it’s secret accounts, we’ll need to manually search through his acquaintances’ followers, which will take considerable time.
“That’s fine. I just think we might have overlooked some things due to the rush last time.”
– If that’s the case, I’ll look into it separately. Apart from social media, are there any other areas you want us to focus on?
“Focus on his everyday life. What his hobbies are, how he interacts with friends, what people from his school days thought of him, and how he met and broke up with partners. Concentrate on finding out how he lived up until just a month ago.”
– Understood.
Despite the rather personal and demanding request, the office manager readily agreed.
Relieved by his dependable attitude, Junyoung ended the call but still frowned, feeling something was off.
He couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was a vague feeling.
It was too abstract to explain precisely, but something felt suspicious.
Perhaps he was being overly sensitive due to his profession, but it’s better to confirm anything that bothers you.
Such suspicions often return as disasters later.
Hoping this feeling was just paranoia, Junyoung quickened his pace again.
It was a perfect autumn afternoon for walking.
* * *
“I learned something important today.”
As they finally got into Jaehyuk’s car after passing through the café street, Junghyun spoke while Jaehyuk started the engine.
“What?”
“That facial muscles can get sore too.”
Junghyun sighed, adding that he was feeling muscles in his face for the first time in his life.
When Yongwoo, who worked in sales, used to complain about facial cramps after three consecutive meetings, Junghyun hadn’t understood. Now he did.
After forcing himself to smile, the muscles around his mouth corners and cheeks were subtly twitching.
“I don’t think I could do sales.”
“Surely you didn’t just realize that now?”
“Actually, I did. And I consider myself quite sociable, you know?”
“That’s just your opinion.”
At Jaehyuk’s tone suggesting others might not agree, Junghyun nodded that it could be true.
Somehow, no one ever wanted to meet him a second time after meeting once.
“By the way, is it always like this?” he asked from inside the car as they slowly left the sunlit outdoor parking lot.
Jaehyuk turned to him, seemingly not understanding the question.
Seeing his confused look, Junghyun clarified immediately.
“The reporters following us around. We’re not celebrities. Actually, even celebrities don’t get this much attention.”
When he asked if he would have to be under 24-hour surveillance—though it seemed unlikely—Jaehyuk casually replied while maneuvering the car through the growing crowd onto the road.
“According to my plans, only until today. Yesterday was agreed upon with the broadcasting team, and today I invited them. Of course, there were some uninvited guests too.”
“Uninvited guests?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
“So you’re saying there were reporters you didn’t invite, hyung—I mean, you didn’t invite?”
“That’s why I said don’t feel like you’re swimming with a pod of killer whales.”
“So that means someone will follow me even after we’re married?”
“Not me, but they might follow you.”
“So they will follow us around. You should have told me that beforehand. If this had been specified in the contract before signing, I wouldn’t have agreed, you know?”
Honestly, it wasn’t scary but extremely annoying. He turned to look at Jaehyuk with displeasure, but the man said nothing more.
There was just a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth.
With that smile, Junghyun understood.
He deliberately hadn’t mentioned it for fear that Junghyun wouldn’t sign the contract.
“Wow, you villain…”
Just as he frowned at the feeling of being deceived, Jaehyuk casually spoke up.
“Thanks for the compliment. We need to get furniture delivered within ten days, so I’ll take you to a store I know. Any preferred designers or brands?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m not interested, and I really only sleep at home, so I hardly needed furniture.”
Additionally, he didn’t have much stuff, so he barely used other furniture either.
Closets and storage spaces were sufficient with the walk-in closet and built-in wardrobes, and for a bed, just a mattress was enough. A dining table wasn’t necessary since he didn’t eat at home. Sofa and coffee table were also unnecessary since he had no time to sit around at home.
All he cared about was the television and soundbar for watching baseball and movies. Actually, that was more than enough for him.
The furniture currently in his home was what his uncle had forcibly provided after seeing the empty apartment with only a television.
Since he didn’t care much about anything beyond the bare necessities, he told Jaehyuk to do as he pleased, to which the man responded with relief.
“That’s good. It’s better to leave it to experts than to have amateur preferences.”
“I don’t even have preferences. I just need a place to sleep. A mattress is nice, but I can make do without one.”
“That’s convenient.”
“I’m a low-maintenance guy, I tell you.”
“That’s what we call language pollution. You’re just living carelessly.”
At Jaehyuk’s comment not to insult genuinely good people, Junghyun laughed heartily.
“You’re sharp as ever. My life motto is ‘live carelessly.’ Oh right, what was that story from earlier?”
“What?”
“About fifteen years ago.”
When Junghyun mentioned Jaehyuk’s promise to tell him later, Jaehyuk, who had been leisurely driving on the weekend’s uncrowded road, seemed to remember and smoothly accelerated as he answered.
“I saw you at your house when we were young. Junyoung was there too.”
“What did I say that you remember after all this time?”
“‘I didn’t have an affair, so why are you giving me hell? If you want to complain, go talk to your dad who actually had the affair.'”
“Wow, you remember it that precisely?”
“It was quite memorable. Usually, twelve-year-olds don’t talk that way to someone five years older.”
“Well, that does sound exactly like something twelve-year-old me would say.”
“…And you?”
Junghyun, who had just opened the window to look outside on this bright day, turned to look at Jaehyuk in the driver’s seat, puzzled by his cryptic question.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
