# Chapter 24
Dohyun skillfully wrapped his hand around Seowoo’s shoulder, who was lost in thought. Finding himself suddenly embraced, Seowoo blinked stupidly for a moment as if trying to process the situation, then looked up with a startled expression.
“We’re a bit busy, so that won’t work.”
“What… what are you doing right now?!”
Dohyun raised his eyebrow. His expression asked if there was a problem.
“Is there an issue with putting my hand on your shoulder during a date?”
“How many times do I have to tell you this isn’t a date to begin with!”
Seowoo irritably slapped the hand away, causing Dohyun to pull back his arm with an exaggerated “ouch.” Although Dohyun was the one who got hit, Woojae instinctively stepped forward as if Seowoo had been the one struck.
“Anyway… shouldn’t you have the manners not to interrupt people on a date?”
“Five minutes before you start your meal. No, even five minutes would be enough.”
Dohyun burst into laughter. However, his face revealed quite an irritated look, one that even Seowoo could recognize. Dohyun responded gently while lifting his lips into a smile.
“Then let’s talk here.”
“Our personal…”
“I’m the one caring for Han Seowoo, and I’m the company CEO. Why are you acting like I shouldn’t hear this conversation?”
At these casually spoken words, Seowoo turned to Dohyun with wide eyes. Until now, Seowoo’s transfer hadn’t been officially announced, and while he had hinted at it to Woojae, this hadn’t been approved by Dohyun either.
Wondering if Dohyun had somehow eavesdropped on his conversation with Woojae, Seowoo’s face paled, but Woojae didn’t seem bothered by Dohyun’s response. This was because the news was already openly circulating among journalists.
“Just because you’re a company CEO doesn’t mean you need to know everything without distinguishing between public and private matters. I didn’t come to see Actor Han Seowoo, I’m asking for some time as a close friend who has something to say.”
“Then let’s strictly separate public and private matters. With a company CEO and an actor together, my side is public. A friend who pushed in without permission is the most private of private.”
Woojae’s expression inevitably twisted as Dohyun pointed at him accusingly. Dohyun withdrew his hand and leisurely folded his arms.
“You’re being quite bold when you should be asking for my generosity. Are today’s journalists more free-spirited than I thought? Or is KNY always unable to distinguish between upper and lower waters?”
While Dohyun’s manner of speaking always tended toward subtly scolding and hitting from behind rather than direct insults and abuse, it seemed like it would be more pleasant if he just grabbed him by the collar and told him to get lost.
It wasn’t entirely wrong. The moment things were divided into public and private, Woojae was certainly at a disadvantage. As Woojae narrowed his brow, unable to immediately counter, Seowoo’s voice cut into the flow of the conversation.
“…Aren’t your words too harsh?”
No matter what, he was Seowoo’s longtime friend and one of the few pillars left in his narrow circle of relationships. Though they occasionally clashed, it was true that Seowoo cared for Woojae.
Seowoo didn’t expect to suddenly meet Woojae, and moreover, didn’t expect him to insist on making time despite Dohyun’s refusal. There seemed to be some circumstances, but nothing could be certain.
Regardless of the reason, it wasn’t comfortable watching Woojae being scolded right in front of him. Before Seowoo realized it, words burst out, and Dohyun’s gaze naturally turned to him.
“…”
With a brief silence, Dohyun slowly scanned Seowoo’s face. Despite being familiar with those staring eyes, they seemed to shine more sharply than usual.
Before Seowoo could determine if it was real or not, Dohyun curved his eyes and smiled brightly.
“Did I say anything harsh?”
“You did speak sharply.”
“I hardly said anything? I only suggested we separate public from private matters.”
“Do you think I can’t tell whether something is sharp or round just by hearing it? What’s wrong with sparing a little time? You know what kind of relationship Woojae and I have.”
If Dohyun had thoroughly investigated Seowoo down to his shoe soles, he couldn’t help but know about the close relationship with Woojae. Hadn’t Manager Gu already confessed to knowing even Woojae’s home address?
Though the extent was unclear, they were both well aware that Dohyun had an intimate understanding of Seowoo’s circumstances. As if to remind him of this, Seowoo pointedly mentioned it, and Dohyun slowly nodded in agreement before subtly smiling with just his lips.
“Hearing about that kind of relationship makes me jealous…”
What nonsense, again. Though it was clearly a joke delivered in a light tone, Seowoo couldn’t help his face from involuntarily crumpling.
“Can’t you speak normally for once?”
“What’s the problem if it’s the truth?”
As if it were genuinely true and not a joke, Dohyun opened his eyes wide, then casually supported Seowoo’s back, pulling him close like an escort.
“Not as CEO Seo, but Seo Dohyun is narrow-minded, so even losing one minute feels like a waste.”
“You…”
“After promising to go on a date with me…”
“Would you please shut that mouth of yours…!”
As if wondering when the atmosphere had become so tense, the precariously stacked stone tower-like air collapsed at Dohyun’s few nonsensical words. The tension immediately dissipated, and only Seowoo’s face turned bright red.
Despite Seowoo’s tightly clenched fist that looked ready to punch that “mouth” at any moment, Dohyun didn’t budge. Instead, he put one hand to his ear, pretending to make a phone call toward Woojae.
“If you really need to, call Seowoo later.”
“Let go of me while you’re talking!”
“We’re in the heat of the moment, so…”
“You’re not listening to me at all!”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Seowoo burst out shouting, but Dohyun found it even more amusing and giggled. Even the reddish flush on Seowoo’s cheeks from raising his voice was merely interesting to Dohyun.
Pretending to be gentle, but firmly indicating that the conversation was over, Dohyun bowed his head slightly to greet Woojae and applied significant pressure with the hand at Seowoo’s waist.
Whether Woojae had roughly guessed the situation or wasn’t completely oblivious, even though he hesitated, he didn’t continue following them. Dohyun whistled briefly.
“Should I say passion grows when there are obstacles to love?”
“Remove this hand.”
“Even during an escort?”
Seowoo alternately looked at Dohyun’s face, which seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed teasing him, and the hand attached to his waist, before widening his eyes. When Seowoo struck the back of Dohyun’s hand hard enough to make a sound, Dohyun pretended to cry and withdrew his hand.
“Isn’t your attitude toward Reporter Jung too different from how you treat me?”
“Are you and Woojae the same?”
“If you show such blatant favoritism, I’ll really get jealous.”
“Do I look like someone who wouldn’t? Stubbornly insisting and just making the mood bad when I could have spared some time…”
Though Seowoo knew Woojae was familiar with all types of people due to his profession and that he had to be, the Jung Woojae who remained in Seowoo’s mind was still frozen in his youthful college days at twenty.
Since it seemed like nothing more than scolding and tormenting such a young person, Seowoo couldn’t understand what Seo Dohyun was thinking. Was he just finding excuses to torment him?
Dohyun pushed open the glass door, naturally letting Seowoo enter first, and then walked along the unfolded red carpet.
“I was curious about what Reporter Jung wanted to talk about.”
“What could he possibly say? Our conversations have never been particularly nutritious.”
Seowoo’s response was indifferent. In reality, Woojae and Seowoo had known each other for nearly ten years, and now their conversations mainly consisted of trivial topics.
Why he had so urgently asked for time remained a question, but it wouldn’t be something significant enough for Dohyun to worry about. Despite Seowoo’s dismissive tone, Dohyun didn’t immediately agree and let out an ambiguous exclamation.
“Still, tell me what he says after you talk.”
“Do I have to?”
“I’m curious how nutritionally void yet interesting your conversation will be when you deliberately exclude me.”
Seowoo examined Dohyun’s face with narrowed eyes. Was it pure curiosity? Though he couldn’t know exactly what Dohyun was suspicious of to ask such a question, judging from Seo Dohyun’s usual nature, this request was certainly not a frivolous joke.
Both Dohyun’s sharp gaze toward Woojae and Woojae’s uncharacteristic wariness were subtly disturbing, but these were minor points for which Seowoo couldn’t immediately provide a specific reason.
“Shall we go eat?”
As if pulling Seowoo’s mind out from its wandering thoughts, Dohyun spoke one sentence in a kind tone. Only then did Seowoo redirect his distant gaze straight ahead and quicken his steps.
❖ ❖ ❖
This was the part that infuriated Seowoo the most. The fact that no matter what option he chose, it couldn’t satisfy him.
Whether he obediently listened to Dohyun or not, whether he answered the seemingly kind questions about his preferences or not, it all made his blood boil.
The meal was satisfying enough to overwhelm Seowoo’s taste, and although the sudden encounter with Woojae was embarrassing, the atmosphere wasn’t bad enough that he couldn’t soon forget about it.
However, given that his companion was Seo Dohyun, there was something amiss about calling it a perfect meal.
“I guess I chose the date course well.”
How could he willingly admit it was delicious when Dohyun was spouting such nonsense?
Moreover, it seemed Dohyun’s purpose was something other than the meal, as he kept bringing up contract discussions while cutting meat, nearly causing Seowoo to choke before the meat could even go down his throat.
“If you wanted to talk about contracts, why didn’t you just say so from the beginning? What’s wrong with being straightforward?”
“It’s a two-for-one deal, which is good. We have time to spare.”
Would you like it if someone talked business while you were eating? For someone who kept babbling about this being a date, it was truly an absurd contradiction. The knife in Seowoo’s hand trembled involuntarily, but fortunately, he was able to resist committing murder.
“The expression ‘date’ that you keep tossing around is pitiful.”
“It’s definitely a date, why not?”
“Do people normally talk about work during dates?”
When Seowoo sarcastically threw this out as if it were ridiculous, Dohyun smoothly raised one eyebrow. A playful smile spread across his face.
“After insisting it was absolutely not a date, now you’re disappointed we’re shifting to business?”
“Who said I was disappointed? Your comparison doesn’t make any sense.”
Seowoo’s voice unintentionally rose, and he quickly glanced around to check others’ reactions before closing his mouth and picking up his fork. Stay calm, stay calm. As he picked up a piece of meat and pushed it into his mouth, Dohyun simply shrugged once and followed by picking up a piece of meat himself.
“I’ve never had a cozy date with a business partner.”
“Earlier you said cutting meat together makes it a date. You seem familiar with places like this.”
“Ah, the place is familiar. Except for the fact that it’s not meat being shoved into the dish, but the face of the person sitting across from me…”
“…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
