# Chapter 21
Manager Gu asked a few more questions while Seowoo packed his belongings simply. Whether there were things to throw away, any places that needed special attention when cleaning, or any furniture that needed to be taken.
Seowoo’s answers to the barrage of questions were all over the place. He wondered if Manager Gu would even remember everything, but the manager had already been recording their conversation on his phone. While it seemed like something he would do, Seowoo still found it impressive.
Carrying just one bag, Seowoo got into the car and stared intensely at the driver’s seat with an uncomfortable posture.
“……”
An awkwardly long silence always seemed to flow when he was with Manager Gu. It was because neither of them would initiate conversation. Normally, Seowoo would have said something to break the awkward atmosphere, but thinking of Manager Gu as Dohyun’s subordinate made him unwilling to do so.
Seowoo glanced down at his phone, which remained quiet without any notifications. Despite all the fuss since morning, there hadn’t been any contact from Dohyun.
If he was going to send someone over so early in the morning, couldn’t he have at least called beforehand? If Dohyun’s intention was to annoy him, he had succeeded.
“We’ve arrived.”
Manager Gu’s voice cleared Seowoo’s thoughts, though he emerged from his reverie a beat late.
Seowoo had been anxious because Dohyun hadn’t told him anything about where they would live or what kind of place it was, but their destination turned out to be a surprisingly ordinary apartment.
Manager Gu parked the car in the parking lot and opened the rear door. After stepping out of the car, Seowoo slowly looked around. The morning rush hour had already passed, and it was still a bit early for lunch, so there was no one around.
“I’ll be going now.”
“…Did you come all this way just to be a chauffeur?”
“Yes.”
Seowoo’s mouth shut automatically at the curt reply, which firmly suggested there was nothing more to it. Manager Gu briefly glanced at the elevator’s red light stopped at the eighth floor before quickly turning his head back.
“I’ll send your belongings once the packing is done. Today. We’ll finish as quickly as possible, so don’t worry about it.”
“Look, just because you tell me not to worry doesn’t mean I won’t. Manager Gu and I are strangers. From my perspective, this is really—”
“If you remember anything else you forgot to mention, please call me separately. I’ll answer right away.”
This guy keeps cutting me off mid-sentence. Seowoo’s expression turned sulky.
Manager Gu lightly rummaged through his inner pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Seowoo. Seowoo took it with a furrowed brow. The material of the jet-black paper was identical to Dohyun’s.
“What’s this?”
“A proper introduction. It’s a bit late, but I’m formally greeting you as your manager. If anything comes up, please contact me directly at this number.”
It wasn’t exactly a proper introduction since Manager Gu already knew everything about Seowoo one-sidedly, but it was at least an attempt at basic courtesy.
However, the way he bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle was exactly like those stereotypical lackeys you only see in movies, so Seowoo couldn’t bring himself to smile and say, “I look forward to working with you.” Instead, only an awkward smile hung vaguely at the corners of his mouth.
Only after confirming that Manager Gu’s car had leisurely left the parking lot did Seowoo examine the business card carefully.
A clean business card with position, phone number, and name engraved. However, Seowoo had only ever heard the title “Manager Gu” and had never heard his actual name. At the very top of the business card, in neat Myeongjo font, was his name.
<Manager Gu Seongjin>
“……”
It wasn’t exactly a name worth complimenting. Just as Seowoo was putting the card he’d been fidgeting with into his pocket, a fresh voice tickled his ear.
“Got his number, huh?”
“!”
Startled by the sudden presence, Seowoo raised his elbow, ready to strike the man behind him. A short curse rolled on his tongue, not quite making it out.
Dohyun caught Seowoo’s upper arm, which had considerable force behind it due to the surprise, and exaggeratedly furrowed his eyebrows. Though the veins in his hand bulged slightly from the effort, his expression didn’t change at all, suggesting it wasn’t really a strain.
Dohyun stuck his head forward to face Seowoo. Even though he knew Seowoo wouldn’t sympathize with his pretend sulkiness, he always acted that way.
“We meet after so long, and I get a punch instead of a greeting? That hurts my feelings.”
“Do you enjoy startling people?”
“I was just happy to see you, that’s all. Let me walk back from over there and we can greet each other properly this time.”
“Stop doing unnecessary things and let go of my arm first.”
When Seowoo rebuked him, Dohyun shrugged his shoulders regretfully and straightened his posture. Only after the hand holding his forearm let go did Seowoo turn to face Dohyun.
Dohyun’s attire, which was usually a flawless formal suit, looked unusually casual today. He wasn’t wearing a tie, not even a vest, making him look simple. Dohyun’s eyes curved into circles as Seowoo blatantly looked him up and down.
“What, does it suit me?”
“I was just surprised. You didn’t go to work today?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t be here.”
“So you’ve been at home all day?”
The voice was so sharp it felt more like an interrogation than genuine curiosity. Dohyun raised one eyebrow.
“Why are you asking that?”
“You mean to tell me someone who’s not even busy just sent his subordinate and waited at home? Someone who was so insistent on doing everything himself? You didn’t even contact me once.”
It was strange no matter how he thought about it. Despite Seowoo’s reasonably logical statement, Dohyun’s calm expression remained flawless.
“Are you saying you missed me?”
“Are you crazy?”
That’s absurd. He might want to escape from this place immediately, but he would never, ever think of missing Dohyun. Before he could even finish speaking, Seowoo jumped up in protest, and Dohyun calmly tilted his head.
“Or were you waiting for me to contact you first, and now you’re sulking because I didn’t?”
That was truly nonsensical rubbish. Facing that smooth face made all of Seowoo’s confrontational energy dissipate. Seowoo gave up his questioning and turned away from Dohyun unilaterally. The longer they talked, the more he felt like he was losing.
Dohyun followed behind Seowoo with large strides as he headed toward the apartment entrance without responding.
“I’m not going to criticize you for being a little childish. If you’re sulking, just say you’re—”
“I’m not sulking!”
Just when he thought he could avoid seeing that face for a moment. The expression that treated him like a child fussing over nothing irritated Seowoo, and he reflexively turned around with his eyes wide open. His voice had risen so much that if anyone had been around, they would have stared.
“You’re not? Right now?”
“Can’t you tell the difference between sulking and being exasperated?”
“Look, your voice keeps getting louder.”
“That’s because I’m exasperated!”
Feeling like the back of his head was getting sore from talking, Seowoo tightly pressed his lips together. With a mindset of not wanting to deal with this anymore, he suppressed the shout that was about to burst forth and enunciated each syllable clearly with emphasis.
“Stop following me.”
Dohyun alternated his gaze between the apartment entrance door and the back of Seowoo’s head. With a face still filled with amusement, he feigned confusion by raising his eyebrows, which looked quite detestable.
“But I live here too?”
“Let’s go separately if possible. Why would we go in together?”
“You agreed to live together, and now you’re trying to keep your distance from me?”
That’s not how the term “keeping distance” should be used. Seowoo glared irritably at Dohyun as if telling him to shut up, then turned his attention back to the keypad at the entrance.
The first-floor entrance with its glass door wouldn’t budge until a password was entered. Manager Gu, who had brought Seowoo to the apartment, hadn’t mentioned anything about the password. Not even which floor or unit number.
Realizing this, Seowoo’s expression naturally twisted as if he’d bitten into a bitter persimmon. Whether it was a mistake or intentional, either way, it left a bad taste in his mouth. Dohyun, standing behind him with his hands behind his back, smiled brightly.
“I thought you were going in first?”
“Are you standing there just to pick a fight?”
“I’m trying to help. Do you know the password?”
No amount of glaring at the keypad would reveal the password. Seowoo, who had been glaring with all his might, turned his head to face Dohyun again. There was a prickliness in his voice.
“Why do you and Manager Gu keep hiding important information?”
“Me?”
Dohyun tilted his head with innocent eyes. Seowoo let out a “ha,” a hollow laugh.
“Why are you acting like this is the first time you’ve heard this? You didn’t tell me you investigated me, you didn’t tell me you installed cameras in my house, and today you didn’t even call me in the morning.”
“About the investigation and the cameras. I explained everything, didn’t I? It was all necessary. I’m not wasting manpower unnecessarily, okay? As for not contacting you… just say you were waiting for me. It’s better to be honest.”
“I’ve already told you three times that I wasn’t!”
“Did you?”
Seowoo barely managed to swallow the vulgar words that were about to escape. His expressions were intense due to his rising irritation.
Dohyun chuckled, then without any warning, snatched Seowoo’s left wrist. The swift movement was so clean that Seowoo didn’t even have time to comprehend the situation in his head and shake it off. In the moment he realized what was happening, fingers were already firmly gripping his wrist.
“…!”
That unforgettably cool body temperature and grip strength. It was more a physical memory than a mental one. His muscles tensed up automatically.
Startled, Seowoo convulsively bent his wrist and swung his arm. The fingers that had been clinging so tightly, enough to feel their strength, came off with strange ease.
Seowoo’s swinging arm cut heavily through the air, tracing a parabola. Dohyun lightly leaned his upper body backward and raised both hands to shoulder height as if surrendering.
“If you hit me… it would really hurt. Seeing the veins popping on your wrist, you must have thrown quite a few punches. Boxing?”
“Is this how you’re going to act?”
With gritted teeth, his voice sounded like that of a growling beast. It was the complete opposite of Dohyun’s impeccably refreshing tone.
“What? Did I do something wrong again?”
“After going on and on about living together, now you’re threatening me?”
As if responding to the word “threatening,” Dohyun shrugged his shoulders. Seowoo’s eyes were sharp, but they were wavering like a boat on stormy waters with emotions that could have been anxiety or bewilderment.
Dohyun slowly lowered both hands and bent down. His fingertips brushed the asphalt ground and picked up a plastic entry card. It seemed to have fallen when Seowoo had swung his fist earlier.
After flicking the surface a couple of times to remove the dust, Dohyun held out the card to Seowoo.
“Take the card first, then we can continue being angry.”
“……”
Was he really just trying to give him a card when he grabbed his wrist? Seowoo’s intense gaze loosened, as if the fight had gone out of him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
