[I’m nearby—let’s grab lunch together.]
“Huh? Sure. Since you came all the way here, I’ll treat you.”
After calling around to a few nearby landlords, it was already lunchtime. Just as I was about to go eat, Han-woo messaged me. He said he was coming by subway, so I got up early to close the office door—when a male customer walked in.
It was him. The sixth-floor tenant from across the street. Namgung Bin.
“President, I have something I’d like to discuss.”
“Ah, yes. Please sit.”
Was he really here to cancel the contract? His expression looked pretty dark. I pulled out a drink and offered it to him, but he declined, saying he was about to eat anyway.
“Um… if I terminate the contract, I won’t be able to get the deposit back, right?”
The deposit was 100 million won, and he’d already paid 10 percent—10 million won. Even if he canceled, there was no need to return it, so I answered with a heavy heart.
“But… did something happen between you two? You seemed close just yesterday.”
“Well, it’s… kind of personal…”
Even from a guy’s perspective, Namgung Bin was quite handsome—delicate, refined features. With how much Jun liked good-looking people, Bin had exactly the kind of appearance that would’ve caught his interest. So what went wrong?
“It’s not that you can’t afford to set up the studio, is it?”
“No. That’s not it… I just don’t like the landlord.”
Me neither.
Probably most people around here felt the same way.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I quietly nodded. Maybe that reassured him, because a faint smile appeared on his lips.
“As long as you pay rent on time, you two probably won’t run into each other much. And that deposit isn’t small. Besides, there aren’t many buildings around here as clean and spacious as that one. And if you’re planning major interior work for your studio, it’s rare to find a landlord willing to allow it.”
“That’s true.”
I wanted to avoid any situation where the contract fell through and both sides demanded I spit back part of the commission—even if I technically wasn’t obligated to.
Sure, Seomun Jun’s personality was terrible, but once a contract was signed, he rarely interfered. Even that tteokbokki place on the first floor—he’d been so against it at first, and now he didn’t care at all.
“President, if you haven’t eaten yet, would you like to join me?”
“I’d like to, but I’m waiting for a friend.”
He said that was a shame and stood up, saying we should talk again next time. I told him to drop by anytime if he needed consultation and walked him to the door.
“Oh—almost forgot to give you this.”
What Bin handed me was a small box. Inside was a wooden stamp case, finely crafted, with slots on the side for business cards and pens.
“Last time during the contract, I noticed you were using a portable stamp case.”
“Ah… thank you. I was actually thinking about buying one. I’ve been signing a lot of documents lately. Haha.”
It didn’t look like some generic souvenir—it felt custom-made, the wood grain smooth and beautiful. After thanking him again, I carried the stamp case back into the office.
I wondered where to put it, then set it beside the monitor and slid my scattered business cards into it. Just placing that one item made my desk look different. I was admiring it with a pleased smile when suddenly a basement-deep voice murmured beside my left ear.
“So, he’s not canceling the contract?”
“Wah!”
“What are you so startled for?”
Jun was looming over me. I hadn’t heard the door open—he must’ve slipped in behind me earlier.
“What exactly is going on between you two?”
“We don’t match.”
“…What?”
“Ha, isn’t it ridiculous? In what world do I look like a bottom? That seriously hurt my pride.”
Bottom? Was he talking about foreigners or something?
I stared at him, confused, when his hand moved. He pulled something from his pocket—a cigarette. The moment he put it between his lips, I reached out and snatched it away.
“No smoking indoors.”
Then I carefully placed it back into the cigarette case he was holding. Jun just stared at me silently after my firm reaction.
Maybe pulling it straight from his mouth had been too much? I started to shrink under his gaze. Say something, you bastard. If you’re mad, just say it!
“Yoo Du!”
Just then, a familiar voice broke the silence. I turned around.
Han-woo stepped into my office, calling me warmly. No one in this space really called me properly like that. Jun, who had been staring me down, shifted his gaze toward the voice.
“Oh, you have a guest.”
“No, the consultation’s finished. Mr. Seomun Jun, I’m heading out for a lunch appointment.”
“I’ll come too.”
What was with this sudden friendliness? He usually acted like everyone in the world was beneath him, barely worth interacting with. Was he really asking to eat together? Han-woo rolled his eyes, silently asking who this was, so I introduced Jun as the landlord from across the street.
“I have something private to talk about with my friend today.”
“Then go buy me lunch.”
He held out his credit card between his index and middle finger right in front of my face. Not exactly something I wanted to show off to my friend, so I quickly took it and muttered a vague “Got it.”
As a self-employed guy, I could eat at one or two o’clock—it didn’t matter. But Han-woo had to get back to work, and if we were even a little late, the office crowd would flood the restaurants and the wait times would explode.
We all stepped outside, and once I locked the office door, Jun walked toward his building.
“Let’s go.”
I quickly dragged Han-woo toward the busy street by the main road.
“Why’s he making you run his lunch errand?”
“He’s the landlord across the street. I owe him some help.”
“He looks young though? Wow… you really can’t beat a gold spoon. Actually, at that level, is he a diamond spoon?”
“That’s not the important part. There’s something even crazier. He’s him.”
“Him? Who?”
“ShutUp.”
“Can’t even ask properly, huh.”
“No, that guy. ShutUp. The one who shoots electricity.”
Han-woo stiffened mid-step. He pointed at me, eyes wide, asking if we were actually that kind of relationship.
“No, nothing like that. I only found out recently too.”
“Then what about him? Does he know you’re GentleTouch?”
“Of course not.”
We went into a franchise noodle restaurant. Since they only served noodle dishes, the table turnover was fast and the food came out quickly, so even though it was crowded, it felt comfortable. We sat side by side at a long table by the window and picked our menus. Crunching on pickled radish, Han-woo kept muttering about how small the world was.
“Be careful not to get caught. That guy… he’s not secretly gay or something, is he? I heard his previous Guide was a guy too.”
“Hmm. Figures.”
“He’s handsome though—what a waste. If he’s gonna be gay, he should’ve just chosen me.”
“Guys are even pickier about looks with other guys.”
Han-woo complained that Jun had everything—looks and money—and grumbled about how unfair the world was while dumping a ridiculous amount of chili powder into his udon.
A chili-powder villain sat right in front of me. I told him he might as well order spicy jjamppong if he was going that far, and he looked at me like I was pathetic.
“Tsk. Getting dumped by a guy like that… By the way, all the banners hanging in the village yesterday are gone.”
“Really? That fast? Anyway, why did you suddenly come today?”
“To see you. Also… for a while, let’s go hunting together. You have Relax, right? Save a poor friend without a Guide.”
“If you buy dessert too, I’ll think about it.”
Game relationships really formed and broke apart so easily. The banners that had made the whole village buzz vanished like a mirage. I thought ShutUp would partner with that SunlightAngel guy and forget about me… so why was he still obsessed with finding me? Maybe if I just partnered with Han-woo, he’d finally back off.
“So ShutUp got a new Guide?”
“Yeah. He met an 87% match yesterday. Since we broke off, he probably linked with him.”
“Really? I saw ShutUp beating up players in the field yesterday, but I don’t think there was a heart icon next to his name.”
When you had a partner, a small heart appeared beside your name. Apparently it wasn’t there.
“When?”
“I went to sleep around two in the morning. Around then?”
“That can’t be. I logged out around eleven last night, so by then they should’ve already—”
Just then, a woman sat down at the next table. Han-woo nudged me, signaling me to lower my voice. Even if it was just game talk, it wasn’t something to discuss loudly in public, so I suggested we continue at the office.
After leaving the restaurant, Han-woo paid for lunch, so I bought brown sugar bubble tea on the way back. Asking me to be his Guide and treating me to dessert felt like too much.
“Hold on. I need to buy something.”
Since packing noodle dishes didn’t make sense, we stopped by a lunchbox shop on the way and I bought a “Young Master Set.”
“That’s totally Juni’s style.”
The name Young Master really suited him, honestly. Chewing on the tapioca pearls while gossiping about ShutUp, we reached my office in no time.
“When do you have to be back?”
“Me? Around three?”
“Then we’ve got about an hour to chat. Wait here—I’ll drop this off and come right back.”
I unlocked the office, let Han-woo inside, and hurried across the street to the opposite building. As I rode the elevator up, I called Jun just in case he was home.
As expected, he didn’t answer. There were vegetable side dishes in the lunchbox that might spoil if I just left it hanging on the door, so after hesitating, I rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong—. Ding-dong—.
No response. Just as I turned to leave, I heard the door lock click open.
“Oh—you were here. This is, uh…”
Jun must’ve just showered; his hair was still wet, and he was wearing nothing but tight briefs. They clung so closely that I could clearly tell the size of what lay beneath—down to the direction it rested.
Wow… that’s not even fully awake, is it?
When I hesitated instead of handing over the lunchbox, Jun stepped outside, bent down, and snatched the plastic bag from my hand. Then he held his hand out. Startled, I instinctively grabbed it like a handshake. For a guy, his hand was really big.
“What are you doing? The card.”
“…Oh. Ah, right.”
I was supposed to place the credit card in his hand, but flustered, I dropped it on the floor. As I bent to pick it up, Jun lowered himself first.
His broad shoulders and solid trapezius muscles came into view. What a cheat-code character. Seeing him undressed made it even more obvious. As he straightened up slowly, his stomach was completely free of excess fat.
So that’s what a six-pack looks like.
“Quit staring me down. You’re acting like a pervert.”
“I mean, it’s right there in front of me. Seriously. What would I even do staring at another guy’s body?”
I immediately turned away and pressed the elevator button. Behind me, I heard a quiet chuckle before the door lock clicked shut.
My face burned hot. I exhaled through my mouth to cool down, but my breath came out in thick, hot puffs like steam from a pressure cooker. Seriously… it was the first time I’d ever been this impressed by another guy’s physique. Maybe because he had nothing but time and money, he’d invested heavily in his body.
Ding—.
The elevator arrived, and just as I stepped in, the door lock clicked open again. Jun came out wearing the same outfit and stopped the closing elevator door with one hand, forcing it open again.
“But is this all?”
“H-huh? Yes?”
“You bought me this tiny thing and expect me to eat it?”
Jun held up the container from the Young Master set, complaining to me. As I looked at the small rice portion, I had no idea why my eyes kept drifting toward his lower half.
“…Is it not enough?”
“Next time, buy at least three. Got it?”
I said okay and pressed the close button. Seeing that, he should’ve let go of the door—but he kept holding it.
“Alright, got it, so… the door.”
Embarrassed to meet his eyes, I lowered my gaze—only for it to keep landing on his lower body. Jun released the elevator door and moved his hand down toward his briefs. Hooking just his thumb into the waistband, he asked,
“What? Want me to show you mine?”
“…What?!”
“Relax.”
He laughed loudly and finally stepped back. The elevator doors closed normally, and I rode straight down to the first floor with a blank expression.
Why was he laughing like that?
“Is he insane?!”
I muttered to myself as I got off, and a few people entering the building glanced at me strangely.
Good thing I’d already eaten lunch before getting hit with that kind of provocation—if it’d been before, I might not have been able to finish my fishcake udon earlier. Even at bathhouses you saw plenty of naked guys, and I’d seen more than enough during my military service, so it wasn’t like I cared. Not caring was normal, right? But still…
They said Blood Planet was harmful. Guess they were right.
No wonder TV panels kept passionately criticizing Blood Planet. I wasn’t even gay, yet somehow I’d ended up blushing at the sight of another guy’s package.
