Chapter 60
“Long time no see.”
Sunbae extended his hand first. Igeon stared at the hand silently before carefully taking it.
“It’s been a while.”
A while… could that word really express the time that had passed? Just as Han Taekyung had disappeared without a trace, the same was true for Kang Yuhan. On that very day when Han Taekyung went into rut and was locked in isolation, Kang Yuhan had similarly vanished, with only various stories circulating about him. Igeon hadn’t even been able to say goodbye. Honestly, he had worried for about a year. But Han Taekyung would surely take good care of him. So Igeon had already cleared his mind, deciding to forget his old love—a one-sided love that the other person never even knew about. Still, meeting like this, he couldn’t help feeling glad.
“Have you been well?”
“How about you? Oh, right. Congratulations. On winning the gold medal. An Olympic gold medal… it was your dream, wasn’t it? I wanted to say this first thing when I met you. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, are you going to see Taekyung-ssi?”
Taekyung-ssi.
Though they had only exchanged a few words, this was the most awkward phrase to come from Kang Yuhan’s mouth. In Igeon’s memory, Kang Yuhan had always addressed people like friends and juniors, but with that single “Taekyung-ssi,” he had neatly shown Igeon the current relationship between the two.
“Yes. I’m going to have lunch too.”
“Convenience store lunch box?”
“Yes.”
“NI has such great dining facilities, why a convenience store lunch box?”
“Ah… I need to stay by Han Taekyung’s side.”
He was actually going to say it was too noisy at the cafeteria, but Igeon changed his response, worried that something bad might happen to the people who had come to greet him if he misspoke.
“Ah, right. I saw the news this morning, but my mind is all over the place. That’s good. Let’s go up together. I came because I have something to tell Taekyung-ssi too.”
“Alright.”
When he pressed the elevator button, the doors opened again. He got in the elevator alongside his sunbae. During the ascent, he observed his sunbae’s reflection in the golden, shiny doors. He hadn’t changed. Nothing was different from before. While Igeon had changed so much that he looked like an older man, his sunbae still sparkled brightly.
“I’ve aged a lot, haven’t I?”
“Not at all! You’re still beauti— ahem.”
He was about to say “still beautiful” but thought it might be too impolite, so Igeon quickly cleared his throat, but understanding the cut-off meaning, Kang Yuhan laughed.
“Thank you.”
He looks bright. That must mean he’s happy, right? Han Taekyung would certainly treat him very well.
The elevator arrived, and the secretaries who saw Igeon smiled brightly but their expressions immediately hardened when they noticed Kang Yuhan beside him. They all rushed out at once, stood on both sides, and bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet Kang Yuhan.
“Welcome.”
“Where is Executive Director Han?”
Gone was the pretty and delicate voice from a moment ago; Kang Yuhan spoke in a cold voice, his expression hardened.
“He’s inside.”
“I see. I’ll go in.”
“Yuhan-nim. I need to ask the Executive Director first.”
“Do I look like I’m still in a position where I need permission for everything? Where is Secretary Park?”
“I apologize. Then at the very least, please allow us to conduct a security check.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I’m sorry, but you cannot see Executive Director Han.”
Igeon knew that Chief Secretary Park Hanum had been serving Han Taekyung since he first joined NI. He managed six secretaries well and was a kind person who valued principles, according to what Instructor Kim had told him. And what Secretary Park was saying now was correct. Especially those meeting Han Taekyung, even if they had worked at the company for over ten years, had to undergo a body search each time. That said, unlike before, there was no physical touching—one just had to stand on a small platform.
“This is such a hassle. Really. It’s this difficult to meet my fiancé?”
Kang Yuhan shrugged his shoulders and stood on the platform for the check, which showed no issues. Secretary Park thanked him politely, knocked on the door, and as soon as Han Taekyung’s permission signal came, the door opened. Kang Yuhan entered first, with Igeon following behind.
“I’m here.”
As soon as the door closed, Kang Yuhan greeted Han Taekyung with what was hardly a greeting, but Han Taekyung seemed uninterested, staring at his monitor and writing something diligently. The atmosphere wasn’t great. No, it felt rather cold.
“When someone comes, shouldn’t you at least look at them? It’s been a month.”
A month? Don’t couples usually meet more frequently than that?
Although Kang Yuhan continued to speak to him, Han Taekyung didn’t look at him.
“Seo Igeon.”
“Huh?”
He was startled. He expected Han Taekyung to call Kang Yuhan, but the name he heard was his own.
“Who are you supposed to be guarding?”
“Huh?”
“Shouldn’t you be behind me, not behind him?”
Behind him? Igeon blinked and looked at the person in front of him. He was standing behind Kang Yuhan. Suddenly realizing his mistake, Igeon quickly moved behind Han Taekyung. Seeing this, Kang Yuhan looked incredulous before smirking.
“You’re still the same. You say you have no memory of Igeon, but how is the way you act exactly the same as before?”
“Stop with the useless talk. Why did you come?”
As soon as Igeon heard Han Taekyung’s words, he had to suppress the urge to smack him on the back of the head. What kind of way is that to talk to your fiancé?! Well, he always was rude to Sunbae Yuhan, but things are different now. Aren’t they getting married? And from what Jaewoo said, it seemed like he had been taking care of him for a long time…
“You know there’s a family gathering this Saturday, right? Your fathers called today and told me to come with you. That’s why I’m here.”
As soon as Kang Yuhan finished speaking, Han Taekyung let out a deep sigh, as if displeased.
“…I’ll go.”
Kang Yuhan’s shoulders slumped as he turned around, opened the door, and left. Igeon felt frustrated as he stared at the closed door and then at Han Taekyung, who was indifferently typing on his keyboard. Then suddenly, he noticed the convenience store lunch box in his hand.
“Ah, right. I still haven’t eaten. I should eat so my employer isn’t called exploitative, right? Give me 5 minutes! I’ll eat and come right back.”
Without waiting for Han Taekyung’s permission, Igeon quickly left the executive office. He hurried to catch the elevator that Kang Yuhan was in, and the doors closed immediately.
“Oh? Igeon.”
“Ah, food, I’m going to eat!”
“Where?”
“The cafeteria?”
“Huh? Haha.”
Suddenly Kang Yuhan started laughing and raised his hand to tap Igeon’s arm.
“You’re really a kind person. You came out because you were worried about me, right?”
“I really came out to eat.”
“Yeah, sure. Not making others feel burdened is also one of your charms. Don’t pity me too much. This is the path I chose. Right now, I’m content just being by Taekyung’s side.”
Gone was the demeanor he had shown in front of the secretaries; he had returned to the Kang Yuhan that Igeon knew. Had he been pretending to be strong?
“By the way, can you give me your phone number? Not the one NI gave you, your personal phone.”
“Ah, yes.”
Igeon quickly exchanged phone numbers with Kang Yuhan.
“That’s good. I have something to talk to you about too.”
“With me?”
“Yeah. So I’ll contact you later.”
Just as Kang Yuhan was saying goodbye, the elevator doors opened. He patted Igeon’s shoulder, said there was no need to get off together, waved, and disappeared. Igeon sighed as he watched Kang Yuhan’s retreating figure through the closing doors. Somehow, it left a bitter taste.
With his appetite gone, Igeon threw the lunch box in the trash and returned to the executive office. Contrary to his expectation that Han Taekyung would still be wrestling with his monitor, he was leaning against his desk, watching Igeon come in. Igeon was startled when their eyes met, unprepared for Han Taekyung’s red eyes. He looked angry about something.
“I apologize. I was too late.”
At times like this, it’s best to bow and enter. As Igeon apologized formally, Han Taekyung looked at the watch on his wrist.
“You left and came back within 5 minutes. I don’t know whether to call you diligent or stupid.”
“What? What are you saying?”
Bow my ass. Who are you calling stupid?
“Isn’t that too short for a meal time? No matter how quickly Koreans eat, it’s difficult to do it in under 3 minutes unless you’re drinking it.”
“Ah… it wasn’t good, so I threw it away.”
“Why don’t you just be honest? ‘I was so happy to see Sunbae Kang Yuhan after so long that I wagged my tail like a dog and followed him.'”
“…What?”
“You loved him. You.”
“How did you… I thought you had no memory. You said your memories of me were completely jumbled, so how did you know that?”
“My memories of you aren’t completely erased. I remember some things. I told you, they’re all mixed up. One of the puzzle pieces that’s in place is your relationship with Kang Yuhan.”
“Let me make this clear. Yes, I did like Sunbae Kang Yuhan. He was my first love. But not anymore. I was just happy to see my sunbae after a long time, that’s all. I wanted to talk more, so I followed him. There are no deeper feelings. So I hope neither you nor Sunbae misunderstand in a strange way.”
Igeon spoke calmly while looking into Han Taekyung’s eyes. There wasn’t a gram of falsehood in what he had just said. It was all truth. And he hoped Han Taekyung would understand that. Han Taekyung, who had been staring at Igeon, slightly tilted his head, then straightened up from his desk, approached Igeon, and patted his shoulder.
“I’d rather be called an exploitative employer.”
Han Taekyung left the executive office with those incomprehensible words.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
