# Chapter 20
As usual, Seowoo woke up to the cheerful alarm sound that rang early in the morning.
Seowoo’s daily routine maintained the same pattern. When the alarm clock set for 8 AM would make a ruckus, his body, awakening before his brain, would automatically grab the clock and turn it off. Only after dragging himself up and crawling into the bathroom would his brain gradually wake up.
But strangely, today the alarm didn’t seem to stop. No matter how many times he hit the clock’s head, it kept making noise as if it were broken.
“Ugh…”
Seowoo shook his head a couple of times and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. As his vision, blurred from sleepiness, slowly regained focus, the situation became a bit clearer.
The alarm clock was perfectly quiet. There was no need to turn it off; it hadn’t even been turned on in the first place. Looking at the time, it wasn’t even time for the alarm to go off yet. Nevertheless, the sound shaking his head remained.
“…?”
When he belatedly turned his head to check, sure enough, his phone placed next to the clock was displaying its presence by vibrating noisily.
“Who would call this early in the morning…”
Usually, important matters were communicated through his manager, so it was rare for Seowoo to suddenly receive calls from unsaved numbers. Especially at such an early hour.
It was unlikely to be a work call or spam at this hour. Could it be a wrong number?
While Seowoo was thinking, the ringing abruptly stopped, then immediately started again without giving him a chance to breathe. The caller number was exactly the same. Not a mistake, then.
Could it be… a call from Jinhyuk? He might have changed his number, or perhaps something urgent had come up. Though it was a slim chance, Seowoo couldn’t help but glance at the screen. After a brief hesitation, his hand slowly moved the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
─ Are you awake?
The soft voice without inflection, the caller’s taciturnity clearly transmitted even through the mobile phone. It was such a distinctive voice that he couldn’t pretend not to know it even if he wanted to. It was enough to completely shatter his momentary expectation and even make him feel disappointed.
Seowoo unconsciously straightened his posture and gripped the phone tightly. He felt as if the remaining drowsiness was naturally dissipating.
When no immediate answer came to his question, the man said in a monotonous tone,
─ This is Manager Gu, Han Seowoo.
He even introduced himself. That oddly polite yet unpleasant attitude was just like his boss.
“How could I answer the phone if I weren’t awake? You seem to be aware it’s early, don’t you ever sleep?”
─ Did I wake you?
“Yes, thanks for the morning call.”
Despite Seowoo’s sharp retort, Manager Gu had no particular objection.
After a long silence settled between them, to the point where Seowoo started to wonder if his tone had been too harsh due to fatigue, Manager Gu slowly opened his mouth.
─ Yes, it was certainly my fault. I apologize.
That reaction was so meek that it actually made Seowoo more perplexed.
He hadn’t been trying to get an apology. It would have been his wake-up time soon anyway; he was just irritated at having to think about Seo Dohyun first thing in the morning. The response was so indifferent that Seowoo became embarrassed and didn’t know what attitude to take.
─ The road conditions were good, so I arrived earlier than planned. I was intending to call you at 8, but… I apologize for the early time.
“8 o’clock?”
─ Yes. It’s now 8:02… no, 8:01.
“…”
“Arrived”? Where? Setting that aside, why specifically 8 AM, exactly at his wake-up time?
There were many suspicious things, but he didn’t bother to ask. It was obvious that once he started questioning, troublesome matters would be linked together like sweet potato vines. He didn’t want to add unnecessary complications in the midst of an already chaotic situation.
Soon after, the alarm clock did its job with a lively melody. Exactly 8 AM. Seowoo turned off the alarm without hesitation.
“Why did you call in the first place?”
─ I’ve come to pick you up.
“This early in the morning?”
While it wasn’t strange for Manager Gu to come now that he was Seowoo’s manager, it was certainly sudden.
─ Yes. It’s the CEO’s instruction. He said I should help you get ready if you weren’t prepared yet.
Only then did his mind start to clear a bit. Come to think of it, today was the last day he’d wake up in this house. He had to leave today, and from tomorrow, he would be living under the same roof with Seo Dohyun.
Truly, it was something that made his teeth grind just thinking about it. But he couldn’t back out of a decision he’d already made.
Seowoo sighed and swung his legs out of bed to sit on the edge.
“…Don’t tell me you’re really in front of my house right now?”
─ Yes.
A personal visit to hurry him up starting at 8 AM? Even though his brief vacation was ending today, wasn’t this too rushed?
Since he never wanted to leave in the first place, Seowoo, who would normally have packed and prepared well in advance, couldn’t help but procrastinate. It would be fair to say he’d used up all his energy just thinking “today is D-day” and trying to mentally prepare himself.
“Really… you people are relentless.”
He couldn’t help but marvel at how persistent they were. He had thought they would come sometime during the day, but so early?
Seowoo himself wasn’t ready either. How could he go out without even washing up? He had just woken up.
“I still have a lot to do. I need to shower, pack my bags, organize things, and also…”
─ I’ll help you.
There wasn’t even a second of pause or hesitation. It felt so prompt, as if he had been waiting for the moment to say those words.
“What? No, why would you help with this?”
─ Because it’s my job. The CEO wants Han Seowoo to arrive at his home as soon as possible. If you have a lot of luggage, you could move first, and we can arrange separate manpower to organize and move your belongings.
The way he recited this so fluently was almost like reading from a script. It seemed he wasn’t lying when he said he had received instructions.
Seo Dohyun probably told him exactly that. Thinking he was quite admirable as a subordinate, Seowoo grumpily asked:
“…Why does that guy need to see me early? There must be a reason. Did he send you without explaining that too?”
─ No. He did tell me.
“What did he say?”
He needed to hear what kind of significant reason there was. However, the following words were too characteristically Seo Dohyun for Seowoo to handle.
─ He says he misses you.
It was the voice of a plain and truthful messenger, without any inflection.
─ Very much.
“Ha…”
Right, it’s my fault for asking a crazy person for reasons. It was so ridiculous that it made him laugh bitterly. The disharmony between Manager Gu’s stiff voice and that spine-chillingly romantic sentence instantly pulled Seowoo back to reality.
─ I’m just relaying exactly what was said.
“Ah, yes.”
As if he would really miss me, sure. Seowoo rubbed his face with one hand for a dry wash and got up, shaking off his bedding.
“…Alright. You can come up. But wait in the car for 30 minutes first.”
This was because he felt uncomfortable showering with a complete stranger in his house. Manager Gu readily agreed. Of course, he didn’t ask for the building and apartment number. He already knew all of that, didn’t he?
Seowoo stepped into the bathroom with slow, unenthusiastic steps. Having to pack up his belongings first thing in the morning was one thing, but the day had finally come when he would have to put his head into the tiger’s mouth.
With that thought, all his movements naturally slowed down. He didn’t want to move quickly. This was unusual for Seowoo, who normally valued time management above all else.
When he emerged from the bathroom, Seowoo realized that well over 30 minutes had passed and belatedly picked up his phone. The person who should have come up and knocked on the door hadn’t made a single call or rung the doorbell.
“…?”
Something was strange. Someone with such a strict personality, to the point of seeming inhuman, wouldn’t be late without saying anything.
Seowoo approached the entrance while drying his dripping hair with a towel. Just in case. Had he left because something came up, or…?
When he flung open the door, sure enough, Manager Gu was standing right in front of the door with a tranquil expression, as if he had just arrived, staring intently at the front door. Manager Gu greeted him with a slight bow and entered the hallway without hesitation.
“Excuse me.”
“…Were you planning to stand guard in front of my house?”
“You’re out now, so it’s fine.”
Manager Gu headed straight to the living room without even looking back. His expression, still unchanged as ever, was more like that of a moving company employee who had come to help with the move, which made it less off-putting.
Manager Gu scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes. He didn’t seem pleased with the state of the house, which showed not even the minimal intention of moving. Before he could say anything, Seowoo preempted him.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming this morning.”
“…”
“You only said you’d come today.”
“Understood.”
Manager Gu wrapped up the conversation quickly. At least he didn’t nitpick at the end of sentences like Seo Dohyun, which Seowoo appreciated. Grumbling, Seowoo finished drying his wet hair and tossed the towel into the laundry basket. Manager Gu had already looked around the bedroom and balcony and returned.
“There seems to be more to pack than I expected. It will take a while.”
“Isn’t that obvious? I’ve lived here for several years already. If you call CEO Seo and ask for one more day…”
Seowoo knew that, in the long run, whether he went today or tomorrow wouldn’t make much difference. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help wanting to postpone as much as possible. There was no way Manager Gu couldn’t see through his determination to hold out as long as possible. Manager Gu cut Seowoo off sharply.
“If you have items that shouldn’t be touched by others, or things you need to hide, please gather them separately. Now.”
“Now?”
“Yes, right now. The CEO said he would respect your privacy.”
Come on, what privacy? He never had any intention of doing so from the start. The absurdity made Seowoo laugh ironically, which confirmed that it was indeed something Seo Dohyun had said.
“Once you’re ready, I’ll take you to his residence, so prepare at your own pace. As for clothes and smaller items, I’ll call more staff to move them neatly for you.”
Seowoo still looked at Manager Gu with a face full of discontent, not even pretending to change his expression.
“I have laundry left. I need to do the laundry too.”
“You can delegate that.”
“Who am I supposed to delegate my laundry to? It’s my house and my clothes.”
“To the staff. It’s the CEO’s instruction, as I just mentioned. Han Seowoo can save energy, money, and time.”
What? He’s not hiring a company but having employees do it? What kind of makeshift company is this? To begin with, when he said Seo Dohyun’s employees, sorry to say, but Seowoo didn’t trust them at all.
“…If I just do it myself—”
“Not allowed.”
The habit of cutting off others’ words remained unchanged. Seowoo’s expression automatically turned sullen. Did he need to resemble his boss even in being an immovable wall who doesn’t listen to others?
After several meaningless arguments, Seowoo declared defeat. Manager Gu kept repeating that it was an order, and he didn’t seem like he would back down even if Seowoo stood there for hours.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
