# Chapter 46
“So before you get unnecessarily attached, I wanted to tell you that the guy is truly a bad guy!”
Woojae flashed a smile as bright as sunshine. Seowoo put his hand to his forehead and shook his head gently.
“What is this… Did you think my request to find out about Seo Dohyun’s rumors was meant to do background research before becoming friends?”
“I was a bit suspicious, but I thought you’d end up saying ‘Now that I’ve experienced it myself, this person is actually okay.'”
The feeling was unsettling. Back then, he definitely wasn’t thinking that way, but now, after hearing all the stories, he was actually starting to use the “now that I’ve experienced it myself” reasoning.
Seowoo didn’t believe in rumors. Rumors were things that got inflated, exaggerated, and cut down at will. Only what he experienced and felt himself was the truth.
His first meeting with Seo Dohyun was a mess, and it was clear he was a bad person. But perhaps the problem was labeling him as the worst from the very beginning. With nowhere lower to fall, he could only get better. It was amusing.
Woojae didn’t seem to expect a response, not caring about Seowoo’s hardened expression. He was busy with his own thoughts.
“Certainly… There’s nothing to gain by being too hostile towards Seo Dohyun. It would only raise suspicion.”
Woojae nodded. The expression on Dohyun’s face when he looked at Woojae with a strange gaze after Woojae showed subtle hostility during their restaurant encounter was still vivid.
“Should I pretend to be friendly with him?”
“Surely not with Seo Dohyun?”
Woojae nodded firmly. What, pretending to be friendly with Seo Dohyun of all people? Wondering if he had misheard, Seowoo opened his eyes wide.
“Didn’t Prosecutor Baek tell you to pretend to be friendly with Seo Dohyun anyway?”
“Hey, that’s because I’m living with Seo Dohyun! Why would someone who barely has any connection with him suddenly pretend to be friendly? It’s better not to get involved.”
It was already concerning that Dohyun and Woojae were connected, but now he wanted to pretend to be friendly and advance their relationship further. What if something happened?
Despite Seowoo protesting without hesitation, Woojae shook his head quietly with a seriously composed face.
“We’ve already clearly recognized each other’s faces. It would be more beneficial for me to mark that I’m on good terms with T&C to my department head, wouldn’t it?”
So, it’s like a smoke screen for the future. Seowoo bit his lip at Woojae’s explanation. It was a risky method to use as a smoke screen, but it wasn’t entirely a bad approach. He couldn’t just blindly discourage it.
“No matter what my department head says, I’m going to keep digging into T&C’s background. If I don’t have an excuse to show that we’re on good terms, there’ll be a fuss every time about me causing trouble.”
Woojae waved his hand as if the mere thought of it was bothersome.
But if it were Seowoo, he would just endure some nagging from his boss and take the scolding. At least the department head at KNY wouldn’t try to kill him.
“How about just saying ‘thank you’ when I say it’s okay and pretend not to know? It’s too late to suffer after having a proper conversation with Seo Dohyun.”
It was advice with sincerity in every syllable, but Woojae didn’t take it to heart at all. Instead, his expression became increasingly serious as he thought about how to naturally pretend to be friendly.
“Would it seem strange if I contacted him directly?”
“Under what pretense? ‘I’m Reporter Jung Woojae whom you met before, and I want to be friends with CEO Seo’? Is that what you’re planning to say?”
“…That’s a bit…”
“It’s not just a bit, it sounds quite like a pickup line.”
Whether it’s a pickup or whatever, it’s a line that’s hard to say without some purpose. In today’s world, who would say they want to be friends without a reason? Whether it’s a hidden agenda, malicious intent, or romantic interest, there’s usually something that drives people to approach others.
Woojae clearly agreed with Seowoo’s point. His expression was quite sour.
“It’s completely suspicious. At the very least, it would seem like I’m trying to recruit for a cult or a multi-level marketing scheme.”
At the same time, a short vibration sound rang from Seowoo’s phone. Both their gazes simultaneously fixed on the screen.
Seo Dohyun
Are you still far from coming back?
Seowoo immediately picked up his phone.
“It’s Seo Dohyun. Let me reply quickly.”
“What does he say?”
“Nothing much. He’s asking if I’m coming after dinner.”
“He asks about that?”
There was something strange underlying the voice that emphasized “that.” His face showed considerable surprise, as if it was quite unexpected.
Seowoo, who had been casually tapping the screen, glanced up with confusion.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, compared to Seo Dohyun’s image… he seems more thoughtful than I expected. He even checks on your meal times?”
“Well…”
He was indeed thoughtful. Much more than his image would suggest, much more than expected. He had quite a few hobbies that weren’t predictable based on his image, and he wasn’t just reckless like a wild man as one might have thought.
But this was completely separate from his “thoughtful” aspect. Wasn’t he just constantly looking for someone to eat with?
They had shared meals too many times to count on one’s fingers, and he even cooked and set the table himself sometimes. It wasn’t strange for him to call and ask to eat together. So it wasn’t strange that he would inquire about Seowoo’s schedule and ask to eat together. It had become familiar by now.
“He’s probably asking to eat together.”
“You eat dinner together? Just the two of you?”
“…Why are you making that face, seriously?”
Woojae’s gaze was tinged with bewilderment and admiration, like an entertainment reporter witnessing a top idol’s scandal firsthand.
When Seowoo glared at him with deeply furrowed brows, Woojae finally cleared his throat and put on his usual smile.
“No, I was just surprised. Going out of your way to coordinate meal times to eat together, isn’t that totally like a married cou… ple.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Woojae quietly shut his mouth. It was because he felt like lasers might shoot from Seowoo’s eyes and pierce his head.
“There are appropriate and inappropriate subjects for such comparisons.”
“Sorry…”
Woojae smiled awkwardly and gauged Seowoo’s reaction.
“Come to think of it, since you two are living together, it makes sense. Living in the same house, eating together would be natural.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“But even when your relationship is so bad, you still deliberately eat meals together…”
Seowoo’s gaze, which had momentarily calmed down, widened again. Woojae’s smoothly open mouth closed like a clam.
“…you could. Koreans value their meals, and we’re a people of deep sentiment. How could one eat alone so desolately? Right?”
“Just stop. Think whatever you want.”
What married couple? It’s something Seo Dohyun always says, and now he’s echoing it. Nonsense clearly was contagious.
With his lips pursed in a pout, Seowoo continued typing his reply.
I’ll be back before dinner
As Woojae stared intently at this, he suddenly exclaimed and grabbed Seowoo’s wrist. Seowoo’s busy thumb stopped.
“Hyung, why don’t you tell Seo Dohyun to meet with me too? The three of us.”
“What?”
The three of us! Just hearing it felt like past nightmares were creeping back. Every time the three of them met, it never ended well. It was always a mess.
After that, he had thought ‘I should never let Woojae and CEO Seo meet again,’ but now they’re not only trying to contact each other privately but even suggesting a meeting of all three?
Whether he knew Seowoo was horrified or not, Woojae’s expression remained perfectly calm.
“If you’re going to eat dinner together anyway. You’re going home, right? Or do you have plans outside? A date?”
“What date!”
Because of Dohyun, who always ridiculously called their meals “dates,” Seowoo had become hypersensitive to the expression itself.
Looking at Seowoo, who was fuming with annoyance, Woojae shrugged his shoulders. It was a ‘if not, then whatever’ kind of response.
“Then how about just eating together at a restaurant? I think it would be much more natural if you were in the middle, rather than me contacting CEO Seo directly.”
“Don’t you remember how you two were at each other’s throats last time with me stuck in the middle?”
“I won’t do that this time, I promise! Who am I? I’m Jung Woojae, who boasted the number one KakaoTalk friend count even in the news department full of social butterflies. I’m good at schmoozing.”
Woojae playfully rubbed his hands together like a fly.
Come to think of it, Woojae in college was truly popular and friendly with everyone. It was curious how he managed to get along with everyone without being disliked. Unlike Seowoo, who had more unfavorable rumors, Woojae’s evaluations were mostly positive.
Of course, he seemed to be making good use of that talent in his reporter work even now. Seeing how well he got along with people in all fields and positions, it might not be entirely impossible for him to fool Seo Dohyun into thinking they were friendly.
“I’ll at least ask, then.”
Having to ask about eating together… Until now, Dohyun had always been the one to suggest eating together or doing something, while Seowoo had never done so. Whenever he tried to say something with a positive nuance, Dohyun would make a fuss and dampen his mood.
Eating together was something they did all the time, yet it was inexplicably awkward to message about it. Meals are something even strangers share, and it would be even more natural between a CEO and an actor.
Shaking off the awkwardness with a shake of his head, Seowoo tapped the screen again.
I’m going to eat dinner out with Woojae
Come join us if you’re hungry
That should do it. Before he could even close the messenger and put down his phone, it vibrated in his hand. It was Seo Dohyun.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
