“Was that thing you ran into today really that strong?”
“It moved objects that had nothing to do with it. It probably didn’t even have a proper body—must’ve been a ghost….”
“And you exorcised it just like that? You must be seriously strong.”
At those words, Hae-hyun, who had been all serious until then, faltered.
“I-It wasn’t a big deal.”
His voice trailed off, oddly muffled. Amused by the innocent reaction, Jae-ha teased him.
“Didn’t you once say it was lucky for me that I met you? Guess you were right.”
“…Stop teasing me.”
After a long silence, Hae-hyun muttered like he was sulking. With the tips of his ears turning red, he clearly didn’t realize that acting like this only made Jae-ha want to tease him more.
“Why? I’m complimenting you.”
“You’re joking. I can at least tell that much.”
Even as he stubbornly avoided Jae-ha’s gaze, he still shot back quick retorts. Jae-ha chuckled.
“Thanks for saving me.”
“……”
“You really saved my life.”
Hae-hyun gave the slightest nod, still not looking at him. So shy. Jae-ha didn’t press further and simply walked alongside him. Until they reached home, the only sound was the steady tap tap of their footsteps.
***
“Haa….”
Out of nowhere, Jae-ha sighed as he sipped his Americano. Everyone in the department room who had been chatting turned to look at him.
“What’s with the sigh?”
“Something wrong, Jae-ha hyung?”
“Nothing.”
Even with his curt denial, the room buzzed with whispers. It seemed people had already noticed he’d been acting strange lately.
“Oppa, you’re acting suspicious.”
“Yeah. You’ve been zoning out more, and your face doesn’t look too good.”
“And you even got hurt.”
“Right? Do you know how shocked we were seeing your face like that?”
“Ji-woo actually screamed back then.”
“No, I mean… I was honestly startled.”
Ji-woo tried to excuse herself awkwardly. The moment she’d seen Jae-ha’s injured face when he walked into the department room, she’d shrieked like she’d run into some creep. Her scream had drawn not only everyone inside but also people passing by outside. Even Jae-ha himself had been so startled he almost shut the door and went straight back home.
“I told you, I just scratched myself changing a lightbulb at home. Honestly, I don’t even need the bandage—I’m just wearing it out of courtesy.”
He tilted his head to show off the little band-aid stuck to his cheek, and a group of curious eyes immediately fixated on it.
And it was true—he didn’t need it. The wounds he’d gotten from the ghost’s attack had healed in no time. When he’d gone to get his stitches out, even the doctor had been amazed at how fast he recovered.
Now, barely six days later, the scars were nearly invisible. By next week, there’d probably be no trace at all—like it had never happened.
But the reason Jae-ha still kept that bandage on was simple: Hae-hyun refused to let it go.
On this one matter, it was like Jae-ha’s words didn’t exist. No matter how many times he said he was fine, Hae-hyun would stubbornly insist on covering it. And every time Hae-hyun’s face twisted with guilt and worry whenever he saw the wound, Jae-ha couldn’t help but give in. So he let it stay hidden, just as Hae-hyun wanted.
“But weirdly enough, it actually looks good on Jae-ha oppa.”
The girls exchanged quick glances.
“You think so too?”
“Right?”
“As expected, only certain faces can pull it off….”
In no time, they were all whispering in agreement and sneaking glances at him. Min-ho, half-joking, clicked his tongue.
“You girls are way too generous with Seo Jae-ha.”
“No, Min-ho oppa, but doesn’t it really give him a vibe?”
“…Should I get some band-aids too?”
“Don’t.”
The sharp retort cut him down perfectly, and laughter erupted. As always, Jae-ha ignored it all and scrolled through his phone. He wasn’t in the mood to chat, so he just flicked down his SNS timeline. But somehow the conversation shifted straight to that.
“Come to think of it, Jae-ha oppa, why don’t you post anymore?”
“Yeah, your feed was fun to check.”
“Thanks to you, I even followed that guy from P.E.”
“You too? Same here.”
Back then, he had been pretty diligent—posting almost daily. Of course, never of himself. Mostly solo shots of Hae-hyun, or the two of them together.
“Lately I’ve just been too busy to meet up.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
“Feels like I lost one of my little joys in life.”
But that was all in the past. His account had been inactive for almost two weeks now.
And honestly, who felt like taking photos after all that? Even the old ones felt like embarrassing records he wanted to erase. Scowling at the empty feed, Jae-ha felt his mood sink even deeper.
Awkward or not, ever since Jae-ha’s injury, he and Hae-hyun had somehow drifted back into closeness. It wasn’t that Jae-ha had changed his mind—he’d just hit the limit of ignoring Hae-hyun’s relentless care.
Is it still hurting? Did the wound reopen? Did you put the ointment on? Is there anything you’re craving? The attention was constant and meticulous.
You can only say “I’m fine” so many times. When someone asks a dozen times a day, you can’t exactly yell “Leave me alone!”—what is this, puberty?
And those eyes… the way they welled up whenever he gave a half-hearted answer at first… Jae-ha squeezed his eyes shut at the memory. No human could withstand that.
“Hey, Jae-ha hyung. So, would giving a necklace when you’re only kinda seeing someone be too much?”
During a lull in the chatter, Jeong-seok slipped in his question. He’d asked something similar back when they were drinking, so apparently a new problem had come up.
“That girl from before? You’re dating now?”
“N-no. This is someone else. We’ve only gone out a few times.”
Quick work.
“How much is it?”
“Uh… this one.”
He pulled up a shopping page he’d saved. Jae-ha’s face turned serious.
“If you’re not officially dating, wouldn’t that be too heavy?”
“But I really want to show her. Feels like if I want things to move forward, I need to be bold.”
Jeong-seok muttered gloomily. He wasn’t wrong, but… Jae-ha considered whether to point out that pushing too hard might just scare her off. Before he could, another junior piped in.
“Wow, Han Jeong-seok’s a real man.”
“What do you think, Yoon-taek hyung?”
Apparently disappointed with Jae-ha’s lukewarm response, Jeong-seok quickly turned to him. Yoon-taek—two years older, outgoing, and well-connected, especially with female friends in their department—had once introduced Jae-ha to a fortune-teller.
“I agree with Jae-ha hyung. A necklace at this stage is too much.”
“…Really?”
When Yoon-taek nodded firmly, Jeong-seok’s face darkened further. Laughing, Yoon-taek slung an arm around his shoulders.
“Don’t let this get you down. Just wait it out a little. Love’s all about patience.”
He said it with mock gravitas, voice loud enough to carry. Seongji, listening nearby, snickered.
“Yoon-taek, you sound like you’ve actually dated successfully before.”
His reputation was well-known. If you could even call it a reputation—every confession he’d ever gotten ended with the same line: “Sorry, I just don’t see you as a man.”
But Yoon-taek shrugged off her jab without blinking.
“Ah, noona, hitting me where it hurts? We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”
With that, he snuck a glance at Jae-ha. Seongji clenched her fist.
“You’re seriously getting on my nerves, Yoon-taek.”
“Seongji, you’ll never beat him. That guy’s a total eel.”
Min-ho diagnosed solemnly. “Oppa!” Seongji barked, but a half-smile tugged at her lips.
“No, but seriously, I’m gonna get my fortune read soon. How can my love life be this cursed? Someone’s definitely hexed me.”
His joking grin faded into a serious mutter. Yoon-taek loved superstition—every New Year he got his saju read, and whenever he drank, he’d nag people into tarot. Even Jae-ha had once used his connections not too long ago.
“Oh, where? You already know a place?”
Seongji’s eyes lit up. Lowering his voice conspiratorially, Yoon-taek leaned in like he was plotting something. The two might bicker endlessly, but they were inseparable partners in crime.
“A noona I know recommended a shaman in Incheon—supposedly insanely accurate.”
“Take me too. I’ve got something to ask.”
“Noona…”
Yoon-taek gave her a pitying look.
“Even the best shaman won’t write you a talisman to make Seo Jae-ha hyung date you….”
“You wanna die?”
Sitting between them, Min-ho deftly stopped Seongji from swinging at him. It looked dangerous, but honestly, everyone had seen this routine too often to be surprised.
“Seeing them bicker like this really makes it feel like the holidays are over.”
“For real. Feels like we’re back to normal life.”
Their chatter drifted easily into other topics.
“My family’s Chuseok this year felt more like a vacation. Guess it’s ‘cause we skipped the rites.”
“Lucky you. We were up at five in the morning running around like crazy.”
“Our uncle handled everything with money, but the order got messed up—we ended up with peaches instead of plums. My aunt was furious.”
“Damn, the ancestors got blocked at the gate….”
The room burst into laughter. In the middle of it, Min-hee glanced at Jae-ha and asked softly. She had a habit of steering the conversation back to him.
“Did your family hold rites this year, Jae-ha oppa?”
