Seon-woo turned his head away as if fleeing from the disconnected call, and was slightly startled when he saw Eun-jae. Eun-jae’s eyes were dark and sunken. His usual bright and gentle face was almost unrecognizable. With his naturally kind features, even such an expression didn’t make him look angry—he just seemed despondent. But one thing was clear: he was definitely not his usual self.
“Director.”
From Eun-jae’s perspective, Seon-woo had appeared out of nowhere, so it would’ve been understandable if he were surprised. Yet he simply called out to him like that—no shock in his voice, no question about how he got there. That in itself was strange, but what worried Seon-woo more was the fact that Seo Eun-jae was standing there, getting drenched. Whatever he might have thought of the man, he certainly didn’t wish for him to come down with a cold or the flu.
After a moment of thought, Seon-woo reached out and opened the passenger door himself. He meant for him to get in. But Eun-jae just stood there, staring silently into the car.
“The seat’s going to get wet…”
Seeing him trail off quietly like that, Seon-woo felt a bit frustrated. Sure, he understood being worried about someone else’s car getting wet, but he didn’t feel like arguing over whether the guy should get in or not. Seriously, what was he even doing walking around in this downpour without an umbrella?
“I don’t care, so just get in already.”
Even after hearing that, Eun-jae stood there, facing Seon-woo with a dry, expressionless look. Then, without a word, he climbed into the open door. The rain had already soaked the floor of the passenger side a little, but with Eun-jae now completely drenched and sitting down, the seat was far too wet for that bit of water to even matter.
A car wash would fix it. Living life as a Gwanggong was exhausting, but being rich… that part had its perks. With that thought, Seon-woo started the car again.
Do I need to take him home again?
There were no towels or a hairdryer in the car, obviously. All he could really do was turn on the heater. Adjusting the fan speed, Seon-woo glanced over at Eun-jae. Maybe it was from the rain, but Eun-jae’s already pale face looked even more washed out than usual. He kept his eyes averted, staring out the window.
Seon-woo had let him in the car without any plan, and now he had no clue where to go. Should he really just take him back home like last time and offer up his bathroom? While Seon-woo was caught up in that awkward dilemma, Eun-jae—who had been silent for a long while—finally spoke.
“Could you turn right up ahead? My place is that way.”
Thankfully, Eun-jae didn’t seem to have any intention of following him back to his apartment. Relieved on the inside, Seon-woo kept a neutral expression and turned the steering wheel to the right.
As they turned, Eun-jae politely asked for a moment and tapped his address into the GPS. Then he quietly sat back in his seat. The rest of the ride to the destination passed in utter silence. Up until now, it had always been Eun-jae who took the lead in conversation between the two of them. If he didn’t speak, silence naturally filled the space.
Seo Eun-jae’s home turned out to be a villa in a typical one-room apartment district. Seeing a foreign luxury car like Seon-woo’s squeeze into the narrow alleyways looked a bit out of place. It was probably the first time the car had experienced anything like this too. While Seon-woo was musing over that, the navigation system announced that they had arrived.
“Thanks for the ride.”
Seo Eun-jae politely thanked him and unbuckled his seatbelt. Seon-woo gave him a slight nod in response. As Eun-jae opened the passenger door, he spoke.
“My place is a bit shabby, so it’s kind of embarrassing… but I’d still like to offer you a cup of tea.”
He didn’t exactly dislike the idea, but Seon-woo did hesitate for a moment. What if something happened again? That thought crossed his mind. Besides, places like this usually made parking a nightmare. A quick glance around confirmed it—there really wasn’t a good spot to leave the car.
Just as he was about to politely decline and say he’d take him up on the offer another time, the system, which had been silent until now, popped up with a set of choices.
▶ “It really is shabby. I’ll be on my way.”
▶ “It’s not really necessary, but… sure, let’s do that.”
Seon-woo froze. With only those two options, refusal wasn’t really an option at all. No matter how much he wanted to go home, he wasn’t the type who could look someone in the eye and say, ‘Your place is a dump.’ And honestly, for someone like Seo Eun-jae—a young office worker just starting out—it was only natural for his home to look the way it did.
In the end, Seon-woo nodded and replied,
“It’s not really necessary, but… sure, let’s do that.”
Eun-jae’s place was a one-room apartment, not too small, not overly spacious—just the right size. You’d expect a bachelor pad to be a bit messy, but it was surprisingly tidy. Well, it made sense. A guy who kept his place this clean probably felt confident enough to invite his boss in for tea. That thought crossed Seon-woo’s mind.
As if waiting for him to finish that train of thought, Eun-jae spoke.
“It’s pretty cramped, huh?”
The unspoken “by your standards, Director” seemed to hang in the air. If he were a typical Gwanggong, maybe he’d have scoffed and said something like, “Do people actually live in places like this?” But Seon-woo felt no particular way about it. While wondering what kind of response would be appropriate, another set of options appeared before him.
▶ “It is cramped.”
▶ “Isn’t it uncomfortable living in a place like this?”
▶ “Hmm, not sure.”
The first two didn’t come off as that condescending—maybe because they were directed toward Seo Eun-jae himself—but there was no need to agree that it was cramped. He chose the last one.
“Hmm, not sure.”
At that, Eun-jae stopped mid-step and turned to look at him. His expression was hard to read. It was almost like he had fully expected Seon-woo to say it was cramped.
Standing there in silence, Seon-woo started to feel like he was about to be interrogated, so he glanced away slightly. Eun-jae still looked like a soaked rat. Afraid that Eun-jae might head over to the sink to start preparing tea in that condition, Seon-woo spoke first.
“You’re soaking wet and probably freezing. Feel free to wash up first.”
Eun-jae looked a little flustered as he answered,
“Ah… okay.”
He raised a brow, puzzled by Eun-jae’s oddly flustered demeanor. Then it hit him—he had just told Eun-jae to go wash up. He hadn’t meant anything by it, truly. But considering the context—this was, after all, a scenario from a dating sim-style game—it wasn’t hard to guess what Eun-jae might have been thinking in response.
<Gwanggong Score has increased by 3.>
The system notification didn’t feel welcome in the slightest. Rather than go out of his way to explain that he hadn’t meant anything suggestive, Seon-woo simply turned his head away in silence. All he could do now was try his best to keep a harmless, non-threatening expression.
“I’ll be quick, so please wait here for just a moment. Sorry.”
Even as Eun-jae tacked on another apology out of habit, Seon-woo shook his head. Then, as instructed, he casually lowered himself to sit on the floor. Eun-jae looked genuinely startled by that. Maybe it was just the odd sight of a chaebol Gwanggong sitting cross-legged on someone’s floor. Still, since they were in Eun-jae’s home, his Gwanggong Score wasn’t penalized.
Eun-jae seemed like he was about to say something but apparently decided against it. Instead, he quickly gathered some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Seon-woo, deliberately keeping his gaze away from that direction, only let himself glance around the room once the door had closed.
There wasn’t anything particularly notable about the place. Just staring blankly at the unremarkable space quickly grew boring. Then he remembered the interrupted message from Seung-hyeon and pulled out his phone.
Should he try calling? Still, being in Eun-jae’s apartment made that feel awkward. He hesitated, unsure, when the bathroom door opened.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Another apology. Without thinking much of it, Seon-woo turned off his phone screen and looked back. Eun-jae stepped out, towel in hand, drying his hair as he walked.
Once he set the towel down and came closer, a new set of choices popped up before Seon-woo’s eyes:
▶ (Push Seo Eun-jae down) “Are you trying to tempt me?”
▶ (Stare intensely at Seo Eun-jae’s lips) “…Ha, Seo Eun-jae.”
▶ (Kiss Seo Eun-jae in silence)
“Director?”
Eun-jae looked at him, confused.
Seon-woo sat there, stunned.
“…What the hell is this?”
