# Chapter 57
As silence lingered because Seowoo couldn’t immediately deny or confirm, Dohyun merely raised an eyebrow and got up first.
What should he say to keep Seo Dohyun there? Seowoo’s mind worked rapidly.
“…Are you going to bed right away?”
“Right away?”
“No, I was just wondering if you’re not sleeping, whether you’ll be working, watching TV, or going out again.”
For a hastily contrived statement, it wasn’t very helpful. What would he do if Dohyun went to bed immediately, and what if he didn’t?
Even the speaker himself was bewildered, so how must the listener feel? Dohyun glanced down at Seowoo.
“Do you have something to say?”
Bull’s-eye. Seowoo shook his head pretending not to know, quickly hiding the anxious look on his face.
“Absolutely not.”
“Your expression is full of things to say, though. Why, what would you like me to do instead of sleeping?”
Dohyun smiled broadly while gathering his outerwear over his arm. What kind of strange question is ‘what would you like me to do?’ Seowoo furrowed his brow and pouted.
“Who said I wanted you to do anything? I’m just asking various things since it’s been a while.”
“You call it ‘a while’ after not seeing me for just a day or two? Are you becoming domesticated?”
“…Can’t you speak normally? What do you want to hear that you’re doing this?”
“Tsk, there is something, but rather than saying it myself, I’d like to hear it from your mouth one more time.”
One more time? So he’s already heard it? Seowoo frowned in confusion, and Dohyun smiled with gently curved eyes, showing his usual smile.
“The way you’re staring so intensely makes me want to hear it even more.”
More nonsense. As if to silence Dohyun’s words, the vibration of an incoming call was loud. Seowoo waved his hand dismissively.
“…Just answer your phone.”
After flashing a playful smile, Dohyun turned around and disappeared into the room. As Seowoo glared at his retreating figure, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Given Seo Dohyun’s personality, he wouldn’t leave his phone unguarded just anywhere. Poking at it unnecessarily would only make Dohyun more suspicious.
“…I’ll think about it again later, I guess.”
What, was he going to knock Seo Dohyun out and steal his phone? Or maybe just swipe it?
With more thought, better ideas might emerge. Sitting at an angle, Seowoo took the remote and flipped through the TV channels again. He stopped at a news show program.
T&C, Octopus-like Expansion or New Leap Forward?
The anchor and the panel were sitting face-to-face, discussing the topic with serious expressions. It was a debate arguing that they’ve been aggressively expanding their business recently.
“These days, we can’t leave out the keyword ‘global.'”
“When people think of T&C, there are specific fields that come to mind. But lately, they’ve been focusing not only on their original strengths in logistics and distribution but also on entertainment businesses.”
“As K-POP and K-dramas have become very popular overseas, many large corporations are actively investing in cultural businesses. Didn’t T&C Entertainment recently establish an overseas branch?”
Though they said ‘recently,’ it was quite some time ago. It happened before Seowoo joined T&C, and he had clicked his tongue watching T&C grow like a monster.
Whether it was because the parent company was already such a famous corporation, or simply because they were gangsters who could move at such speed, was uncertain.
According to Hyungil’s explanation, T&C was filled with all sorts of thugs, not just Seo Dohyun, at all levels of the company. Seowoo didn’t pay much attention to the details since he wouldn’t be meeting them, but it wasn’t pleasant to hear.
“…Yes, now we’ll discuss the issue that heated up this week. The healing variety show ‘Ten Days, One Meal,’ which captured viewers’ hearts in the first half of the year, is returning with season 3.”
Seowoo, who had been listening to the anchor’s voice in a daze, snapped back to reality a beat late. Come to think of it, he should have told Seo Dohyun about his confirmed appearance today.
Manager Gu probably relayed the information after the meeting ended, but still, since Dohyun was the CEO, wouldn’t it be better to inform him directly? And if that gave him a chance to get his hands on the phone, even better…
Seowoo got up and approached Dohyun’s room. Standing in front of the tightly closed door, an inexplicable tension made his whole body stiff.
“CEO Seo.”
After clearing his throat, he called out carefully, but there was no answer. He cautiously knocked on the door, but it remained quiet.
“…Seo Dohyun-ssi? Hey. Are you not in there? Hello? Hey, Seo Dohyun!”
Even calling out forcefully with informal speech didn’t elicit a response. Usually, there would have been an answer by now…
Putting his ear to the door, it was too quiet to be a room with someone in it. He had clearly seen Dohyun enter the room.
Carefully opening the door, the room was empty. How could that be? Surprised, as Seowoo stepped inside, he heard water running from a distance. It was coming from the bathroom attached to the room.
Ah, he’s showering. Somehow feeling deflated, the tension that had been building up immediately subsided.
Although the structure and objects weren’t familiar since he didn’t frequent this room, it felt strange because he had woken up in this room not long ago.
Just as he was looking around, about to leave, he immediately spotted the phone neatly placed on the desk.
“…”
The bathroom door showed no signs of opening, and Dohyun was away. Would there be another opportunity like this? Without hesitation, Seowoo snatched the phone and turned on the screen.
There was no need to unlock it; just dragging revealed the home screen. It was so unremarkable that it was puzzling.
‘After all that talk about security, why is his own phone like this?’
There was no time to ponder this. All Seowoo needed right now was the message that the chairman of DY Motors had sent to Dohyun earlier.
Checking the messenger app, fortunately, his contact was still there.
‘If I copy the address and send it to myself, then delete it…’
He didn’t trust himself to memorize the address correctly. Just as he was about to press and hold to copy, the phone in his hand suddenly vibrated.
Manager Gu Seongjin
CEO, I’ve moved the luggage
“Ah…!”
It happened in an instant. As his tense fingers touched the notification window, the conversation with Manager Gu opened before Seowoo’s eyes before he could stop it.
The number 1 that should have been next to Manager Gu’s message was gone. He felt a cold sweat running down his back.
‘…I’m screwed.’
If he hadn’t held onto his senses, he might have let out a scream. Why did a message have to come at this exact timing?
Staring at the message with the disappeared 1, Seowoo seriously considered his options. Should he leave it and die with 100% certainty today, or close his eyes and delete this message, risking a 50% chance of death?
Who would choose the former? Seowoo quickly deleted the newly arrived message. Before more messages accumulated and caused bigger trouble, he immediately closed the messenger app and put the phone back in its place.
The vibration continued for several more notifications. Glancing at the phone, Seowoo quickly abandoned the thought when he heard sounds from the bathroom.
‘…No. It’s not worth risking my life.’
Before the bathroom door opened, Seowoo carefully slipped out of the room. This was truly like being in a spy movie.
Sitting on the sofa in the most natural posture he could manage, leaning back, it wasn’t long before he heard a door opening.
Tousling his not-fully-dry hair with one hand, Dohyun walked out and leaned against the armrest. Seowoo naturally averted his gaze, then barely suppressed a cough.
His exposed upper body was too splendid to be hidden under clothes. “Splendid” was the most appropriate expression. A broad, firm body, muscles so well-defined they made the scars scattered here and there seem insignificant. Even the dragon tattoo coiled around his right waist suited Seo Dohyun quite well.
Water droplets fell from his shoulders. Realizing he had unconsciously looked Dohyun up and down, Seowoo hurriedly hid his gaze and pretended not to notice.
“Still watching TV?”
“Yes, that’s how it turned out.”
Fortunately, the news show hadn’t ended, so there was no risk of hearing strange comments like before. Seowoo exhaled in relief.
“You’re sitting in front of the TV longer than usual today.”
With this casual remark, Dohyun tapped his phone with one hand. Worried that he might detect something strange or say something unexpected, Seowoo’s mouth went dry with strange tension.
To deliberately divert Dohyun’s attention, Seowoo brought up a different topic in a light tone.
“Ah, right. Manager Gu probably already told you… but the variety show meeting I attended today, it’s pretty much confirmed. The conversation was very positive.”
“Ah, of course I heard. Congratulations, Seowoo-ssi. I was half-doubtful since you were so worried about it at first.”
“Half-doubtful? Honestly, I think you probably expected this… Didn’t you say I should do it?”
“Objectively speaking, yes. Oh, is this the result of my advice being reflected?”
Dohyun asked as if he hadn’t expected it at all. Somehow Seowoo didn’t want to readily admit it, but honestly, it was true. Out of embarrassment, he unnecessarily rubbed the back of his neck.
“Anyway, you’re the CEO. I can’t deny you’re good at your job, and there was nothing wrong with what you said…”
“I feel acknowledged.”
“You don’t hear this kind of thing once or twice? What’s with this sudden reaction?”
“I’m used to praise. For me, it’s not so much about the praise itself, but who’s giving it that matters.”
“…That could make sense, but why specifically me?”
Getting recognition from an authority figure is what matters. It seemed a bit off to describe Seowoo as being in such a position. Especially for someone like Seo Dohyun who knew his own excellence better than anyone, was Seowoo’s acknowledgment even meaningful?
Tapping the phone screen with his fingertips, Dohyun raised his lips and narrowed his brow. It was an expression impossible to tell if he was frowning or smiling. He seemed to have made this expression before.
“I need… quite a lot from you, Seowoo-ssi.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
