“The director said—how long do you think you can keep acting so high and mighty?”
Seon-woo mulled over Eun-jae’s words as he walked out of the restaurant. After delivering all his warnings, Eun-jae had bolted upright and practically fled the scene. Seon-woo hadn’t bothered chasing after him in a hurry. He figured Eun-jae would’ve gotten far enough by now and only then got up himself. It was a shame to leave food behind, but he’d eaten enough to feel satisfied, so there wasn’t much regret. When he headed toward the counter, an employee bowed politely and handed him a card.
“The person you were with asked to settle the bill, so I informed him it had already been paid.”
It had been a smart move to leave his card just in case Eun-jae tried to pay for the meal. He had no desire to put a hole in a fledgling salaryman’s wallet—it was simply the decent thing to do. Seon-woo gave a slight nod and walked out without a word.
It didn’t feel like much time had passed, but when he checked the time on his phone, it was already nearing 9 p.m. Seon-woo stood by the roadside, waiting for the driver he’d called ahead to bring the car around. Before long, a familiar vehicle appeared. The problem was, the face behind the open window was not the one he’d expected.
“Get in.”
Seon-woo narrowed his eyes with clear reluctance.
“……How did you know where I was?”
Seung-hyeon, grinning mischievously from the driver’s seat, gave a casual shrug. It was a small gesture, but it sent a chill down Seon-woo’s spine.
“There are ways to know everything.”
He was used to Seung-hyeon giving these kinds of cryptic answers by now. In fact, Seung-hyeon had a knack for popping up out of nowhere in ways that didn’t shock anymore—just made you think, Of course he’s here. Seon-woo asked again, his tone flat.
“Tracking me again?”
Seung-hyeon let out a scoff, as if that was too ridiculous to even consider. The real irony was that Seon-woo was the one who found that reaction ridiculous. It wasn’t like this guy had never tracked him before, so what was with that how-dare-you-accuse-me expression? Still, just as he opened his mouth to argue, Seung-hyeon, as always, beat him to it.
“I just questioned Mr. Kim a little. Guess I hijacked his job tonight.”
Should I say ‘Wow, impressive’ or ‘You must be proud’? It was a serious internal debate. In the end, Seon-woo kept his mouth shut. Whether it was GPS tracking or pressuring his driver, it all felt the same in the end. And something told him that confronting Seung-hyeon about it wouldn’t lead anywhere useful.
And as it turned out, staying silent had been the right move—especially after what Seung-hyeon said next.
“So, this is where you decided to have dinner, huh.”
The subtle edge in his voice made Seon-woo instinctively clam up. The shock of Seung-hyeon’s sudden appearance had made him temporarily forget, but this was definitely not a situation that favored him.
“Didn’t hear from you all day.”
Seung-hyeon muttered in a tone that sounded half-hurt, half-sulky. There was a faintly bitter smile on his lips. It was so obviously an act, anyone could see it. But knowing that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
Yet, despite himself, a pang of guilt pricked at Seon-woo’s chest. He opened his mouth, reflexively trying to explain.
“That was just…”
But before Seon-woo could finish his excuse, Seung-hyeon cut him off.
“Were you on a date with Assistant Manager Seo or something?”
The look of discomfort that had been lingering on Seon-woo’s face instantly hardened. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t a completely unreasonable assumption. Still, Gwak Seon-woo wasn’t the kind of man who could shamelessly go on a date with Seo Eun-jae right after having sex with Gwak Seung-hyeon. Not without a shred of conscience. Maybe, deep down, he had hoped Seung-hyeon would just know that—without him needing to say it aloud. Judging from how bitterly annoyed that single comment made him, it probably meant just that.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Seon-woo snapped, slicing through Seung-hyeon’s words with a sharp edge, and finally opened the passenger door to get in. Before Seung-hyeon could even reach for it, he fastened his seatbelt himself. Arms crossed and eyes fixed straight ahead, Seon-woo threw out a blunt remark.
“Are you asking that because of Seo Eun-jae?”
It was a rash question. Objectively speaking, it made no sense. Anyone could see that Seung-hyeon wasn’t upset because Seo Eun-jae had been with someone else—he was pissed because Seon-woo had been with someone else. Still, maybe it was because of that dream he’d had today, but the words slipped out before he could stop them.
Seon-woo turned his gaze away from Seung-hyeon, who was clearly thrown off, and pressed on.
“What were you two talking about in the hallway back then?”
He’d asked Eun-jae the same question but never got a proper answer. The more he recalled the Seung-hyeon in his dream—racing down the corridor to save Seo Eun-jae, and then shooting a look of contempt at the dream version of Seon-woo—the more desperate he became for clarity. To be precise, he didn’t necessarily need a specific answer. He just wanted confirmation. That the Seung-hyeon sitting next to him now was different from the Seung-hyeon in the dream. Entirely different.
After a stretch of silence, Seung-hyeon finally spoke, his voice tinged with a faint smile.
“You’re playing dirty now.”
With that, the car began to move. Seon-woo leaned back in his seat, waiting for Seung-hyeon to continue. His voice, when it came again, was calm—so much so that it was hard to tell whether it differed from his usual tone.
“You ignored me all day, then went out to have a nice dinner with Assistant Manager Seo, and now I’m the one being interrogated?”
Thinking about it like that, it really was a pretty shitty thing to do. Seon-woo finally turned his head to glance at Seung-hyeon’s face. It was just his profile, but even so, he could read the mood well enough. Seung-hyeon’s lips were curved in a faint smile, and his eyes were gently crinkled. Definitely not the look of someone who was pissed off.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
Seon-woo replied cheekily. At that, Seung-hyeon laughed out loud. Who knew what the hell he found so funny. Feeling awkward for no reason, Seon-woo cleared his throat a couple of times. Then Seung-hyeon responded in a low voice.
“Right? I think that’s the weirdest part.”
Just hearing that was enough. Seon-woo felt no further explanation was needed. He had a hunch about why the system had suddenly shown him that scene from the original timeline.
It must’ve been meant to shake Seon-woo’s resolve. But rather than that brief glimpse from the system, the words coming out of Gwak Seung-hyeon’s mouth right now held far more weight.
“It’s a bit hard to say what we talked about right away… but don’t worry. We weren’t whispering sweet nothings or anything like that.”
Calm and composed, Seung-hyeon’s voice carried a faint note of derision, as if to say, Seriously? You think I’d do that? Honestly, imagining Gwak Seung-hyeon whispering sweet nothings to Seo Eun-jae was so absurd it bordered on comedy. It was enough of a miracle if he wasn’t hissing threats into the guy’s ear.
“Honestly, I’m more curious how you even came up with that idea. What made you think something like that was going on between me and Assistant Manager Seo?”
The more he talked, the more Seung-hyeon’s voice took on a tone of disbelief and irritation, as if he couldn’t believe this conversation was even happening.
“Seo’s not a bad person to bump elbows with at work, but as a romantic partner? He’s really not it.”
That sudden assessment threw Seon-woo for a second. Poor Eun-jae was getting a full-on personality audit from Seung-hyeon, completely unaware. And at the same time, Seon-woo couldn’t help but wonder—what exactly was behind that judgment? In the dream, Seung-hyeon had seemed like he couldn’t live without him.
“He may not look it, but he’s rotten inside.”
That next comment caught Seon-woo off guard. Maybe it was because “rotten inside” sounded like a more fitting description for Gwak Seung-hyeon himself than Seo Eun-jae. But the more Seung-hyeon explained, the more his point started to make a strange sort of sense.
“His thoughts show all over his face most of the time, but sometimes he throws you off completely. His eyes look kind of shady, too.”
“That’s enough.”
Seon-woo cut him off. Seung-hyeon shot him a sidelong glance, then smirked knowingly.
“Did I upset you by talking about Assistant Manager Seo too much?”
Seon-woo couldn’t answer right away. It wasn’t entirely off base. Sure, there was some guilt in bad mouthing someone behind their back like this—but Seung-hyeon wasn’t wrong either.
Steeling his expression, Seon-woo responded curtly.
“Don’t talk nonsense…”
“I just want you to understand. That way, you won’t go off excluding me again and having private dinners together.”
“Seriously.”
Even with Seung-hyeon’s smooth words, that was all Seon-woo could manage. Meanwhile, Seung-hyeon responded to everything he said in that same lilting, teasing tone.
“Lately, when you don’t want to answer something, you always deflect like you just did.”
This time, Seon-woo couldn’t hide the flicker of guilt on his face. He had, very obviously, just changed the subject.
“Enough. Where are we going, anyway?”
“See? You’re doing it again—”
“I asked where we’re going.”
He cut off Seung-hyeon’s leisurely teasing with cold precision. Maybe realizing it was time to back off, Seung-hyeon gave a straightforward answer.
“Home.”
Seon-woo pressed a hand to his forehead, falling silent in thought. He’d gotten so caught up in their pointless back-and-forth that he’d nearly forgotten—there was still something he needed to investigate.
“No. Turn around. I’m heading to the office first.”
“It’s late, though.”
“There’s something I need to check.”
“Hmm.”
Seung-hyeon didn’t push further. Silently, he turned the car around. Only then did Seon-woo let out a breath and glance out the window. Reflected in the glass, Seung-hyeon’s profile still wore that faint, serene smile.
