# Chapter 28
“What did you say?”
Not asking what they talked about, or if they met, but ‘how much did you do’ – what did that mean? A sudden chill of anxiety brushed the back of Seowoo’s neck, and he reflexively asked the question back like an idiot.
Did Dohyun know something and was testing him, or was he just fishing without knowing anything? Fortunately, Dohyun wasn’t looking at Seowoo and was focused on stocking the cupboard.
Seowoo gathered his sharpened gaze, which had grown keen with surprise, and pretended to be calm as he turned his head straight.
“Why are you suddenly talking about Woojae?”
“Suddenly? What’s so strange about talking about someone we saw today?”
Dohyun tilted his head slowly as if he couldn’t understand that sharp reaction.
“Besides, Reporter Jung and I aren’t strangers. I might be curious.”
“…You two didn’t seem particularly close.”
“We don’t have any personal relationship, of course.”
Was it just that they had no personal relationship? Dohyun had been so pointedly sharp that Seowoo would have believed they were on bad terms. It was bad enough that Seowoo, who had been watching from the side, had to intervene by telling him to stop.
Recalling that tone and expression that somehow lowered the surrounding temperature despite his smile made him feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t direct, but it was clearly aggressive.
“Then all the more reason I don’t need to talk about Woojae. Why would I report on that when you don’t even have a personal relationship?”
The response came out somewhat prickly. Whether Dohyun recognized the subtle thorniness in his voice or not, he didn’t even blink.
“Report? That’s disappointing. I’m just curious about Seowoo’s past stories.”
Dohyun replied nonchalantly as he finished organizing items in the cupboard and closed the door. The table was now clean, with the items from the bags somewhat organized.
“There are some stories you can only know if the person involved tells you.”
“Isn’t that something you don’t need to know, CEO? Didn’t you just say earlier that we should strictly separate public from private matters?”
“That’s precisely why I’m clearly distinguishing between public and private. Work matters as work, and my personal curiosity about Seowoo as curiosity. Why do you think this is a professional interest?”
Dohyun leaned his back against the counter and folded his arms. His behavior and speech were so gentle that it seemed completely different from when he had been acting aggressively earlier. In some ways, this was Dohyun’s usual self, but after hearing his pointed remarks several times, this smooth attitude felt more comfortable than suspicious.
However, Seowoo couldn’t immediately give a comfortable and natural reply. Why, isn’t it obvious? Dohyun’s curiosity about Seowoo was all closely intertwined with professional matters.
In ordinary relationships, people would naturally seek information about each other for growth, but the relationship between these two had been far from ordinary or normal from the very beginning. He had originally been in a position where information was one-sidedly exposed. It was natural that expressions like simple curiosity or private interest felt more like excuses than sincerity.
“…You don’t even like Woojae that much, so why are you specifically curious about stories involving him?”
“Because he’s Seowoo’s friend.”
Dohyun answered without even a second of hesitation. Finding it an odd response, Seowoo just blinked as if his lips were sealed.
“Given your fame, the number of acquaintances you meet can be counted on one hand. Among them, Reporter Jung Woojae seems to be your only longtime friend. Isn’t that right?”
“You’ve investigated quite thoroughly.”
“This much can be known just by carefully examining Seowoo’s surroundings.”
There was nothing wrong in what he said. Friends from school days other than Woojae had mostly lost contact or only exchanged occasional greetings. As for friends close enough to truly open up to, now that Jinhyuk had disappeared, it was fair to say that only Woojae remained.
“That’s why I’m more curious. What points do you connect on with Reporter Jung, why are you close? I should be the person closest to Seowoo right now.”
“…Excuse me?”
What nonsense is this? Wasn’t he the one with the greatest mental distance when it comes to using expressions like “should be the closest person”? Was it someone else, not Seo Dohyun, who threatened a person’s life with a single sheet of contract paper?
His wrinkled brow must have vividly shown his incredulous sentiment, as Dohyun burst into loud laughter.
“Setting aside the fact that Seowoo is now with T&C, we’re living together. We’re family, aren’t we? We don’t know how long we’ll be living in the same house.”
“…”
The ticklish expression “family” didn’t immediately resonate, but the meaning behind the word was clearly understood. The duration wasn’t precisely specified when they made the contract. Regardless of the contract’s content, Seowoo at that time would have had no choice but to sign without complaint, so arguing about it would be meaningless.
Certainly, Dohyun was right. The probability that Seowoo could arbitrarily change or terminate the contract was extremely low. It would only be possible with Dohyun’s permission or proposal.
“If we’re going to get along well, we need to know more about each other.”
Emphasizing the word “each other” as if placing a period after it, Dohyun smiled gently across his entire face.
“Especially since Seowoo likes Reporter Jung so much. You never take my side even once but always take Reporter Jung’s side, how can I not be jealous? I’m always on Seowoo’s side.”
“…If you’re going to keep talking nonsense, I’m going to keep my mouth shut from now on.”
Jealousy? What is he, a child? The word choice was clearly intended to tease, wasn’t it? As Seowoo showed his disgust, Dohyun’s unwavering peaceful smile crumpled playfully.
“It’s not a lie. Wasn’t I mean because I was jealous without even realizing it?”
“How can you not realize it yourself?”
“It’s true, I’m telling you.”
You’re insisting on something ridiculous. As Seowoo sharply turned his head away as if he had no intention of listening, Dohyun, who had been grumbling with his eyes contorted to the point of exaggeration, brightened his face again.
“So if I keep my mouth shut, you’re willing to tell me?”
“…Well, it’s not like it’s such a great story that you need to beg for it.”
“I’ll have to hear it to know that. Ah, shall I get you a glass of juice? I just bought some.”
Dohyun casually pulled out a chair from the dining table and gestured toward Seowoo. It was a sign to sit down. Without waiting for an answer, Dohyun’s movements were big and playful as he pulled out glasses.
“Is this some kind of cocktail bar?”
“I don’t have a bartender’s license, but if you need one, I’ll study up.”
“Don’t say ridiculous things.”
Anyway, it wasn’t a great story, nor was it something Seo Dohyun could particularly use against him or exploit as a weakness if he heard it. It was just Seowoo’s old story and merely memories with Woojae.
Seowoo didn’t believe everything Dohyun said was true. He couldn’t be certain where Dohyun’s lies began and ended, but because of that, he thought the truth must also be subtly hidden somewhere. After all, a person can’t live with only lies, can they?
There was nothing strange about a CEO trying to build a friendly relationship with an actor. It was just that their relationship was so peculiar that every approach was viewed with suspicious eyes.
Seeing him ask about such useless and trivial matters, it might simply be behavior stemming from a sense of responsibility. Seowoo’s lips finally opened slowly.
“It’s true that Woojae and I were classmates, but we didn’t become close during classes. We properly got to know each other during performances.”
“Was it a school performance? That would have been after your debut, right?”
“Well, I was active in productions in Daehangno, but people don’t really seek out musicals unless they’re interested. Plus, Woojae and I didn’t have particularly good first impressions of each other.”
“Really?”
Dohyun let out a short exclamation as if it was unexpected. Well, thinking about it again, it was a funny meeting.
“Woojae was the student council president at the time, and there was a lot of friction between us over whether to reconstruct the building where our performance was being held… But after watching one performance, he suddenly became a fan and started following me around.”
It was already quite a long time ago. It wasn’t that he had no fans at all, but no one recognized him on campus, and there were no fans who expressed the enthusiasm and affection that Woojae did at that time. Woojae literally followed Seowoo around. Recalling it now made him smile anew.
“He was in the journalism department. At first, I thought he was from performing arts because he was so enthusiastically acting like we were friends, but he was from a completely unrelated department. He would make a fuss once a day saying he would definitely become a reporter and interview me.”
“So you met as a fan and star, and ended up becoming the closest of friends? That’s unusual. It probably wasn’t just because he was a fan; did you and Reporter Jung have compatible personalities?”
Dohyun’s responses were neither excessive nor too quiet, but just right. There were almost none of his usual mischievous jokes or nonsense, and he guided the conversation comfortably with listening, focusing, and just the right amount of questions and answers.
Comfortable? Seowoo had rarely felt that way during conversations with Seo Dohyun. Hadn’t it always been uncomfortable, as if he might choke? He had often felt that Dohyun spoke well, but he had never thought of him as a good listener, which was strange.
Seowoo could tell that he himself was excited now. Yes, it had been a really long time since he had laid out such stories to someone.
“Woojae accommodated me a lot. I kept my distance at first because I didn’t know how to get close to people.”
“Really? I would have thought you were popular.”
“What… Not really. Don’t you know? I don’t have many friends. Woojae helped and taught me various things, and spent more time sticking with me throughout school than with his own classmates.”
Usually, people would distance themselves if pushed away, but cases like Woojae, who actively expressed his desire to become friends, were rare. Like even the sturdiest wall would eventually crumble if waves kept crashing against it, Seowoo had no choice but to open up to Woojae at some point.
“So what you’re saying is, by sticking around and helping, you somehow became friends?”
“That’s about right.”
“Listening to this, I’m curious about one thing.”
Dohyun gently placed a glass filled with apple juice on the table. At the refreshing sound of ice cubes clinking together, Seowoo raised his head to look up at Dohyun.
“If it worked with Woojae, why doesn’t it work with me?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
