#038
Eunseok, who was pulled out of the elevator unexpectedly, freed his captured hand. Choi Hanseo, likewise, seemed to have no intention of forcibly holding on and released his hand willingly.
“What kind of coffee do you like?”
Choi Hanseo asked as he walked ahead. Eunseok thought it would be silly to turn around and leave, especially since this person was essentially his superior, so having a cup of coffee wasn’t unusual.
“Anything is fine,” Eunseok replied, subtly showing his discomfort.
It was his first time visiting the top floor. Eunseok scanned the interior as he followed Choi Hanseo. He thought this must be what a penthouse looked like. It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but rather had a very modern and simple feel.
“Sit down,” Choi Hanseo said, gesturing towards the sofa with his eyes. He then headed towards the home bar a little distance away.
Instead of sitting on the sofa, Eunseok approached the floor-to-ceiling windows. Seoul’s landscape spread out refreshingly beyond the glass. As he was briefly gazing at the forest of buildings, the aroma of coffee began to waft through the air. When he turned his head, Choi Hanseo had already approached with two coffee cups in hand.
Choi Hanseo offered a tall glass. It was an iced Americano, the same drink Eunseok always ordered at cafes. The glass even had a straw in it.
“Did he investigate this too?” Eunseok thought as he accepted the coffee.
Choi Hanseo sat in a single-seat sofa, holding his own coffee cup. Eunseok looked at him for a moment before taking a seat at a reasonable distance from him.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Or perhaps Eunseok was the only one feeling awkward. Choi Hanseo had put his coffee cup on the table in front of the sofa and was sitting with his legs crossed, staring intently at Eunseok.
Suddenly feeling thirsty, Eunseok put the straw in his mouth and sipped the cool coffee. As the cold liquid went down, he felt his thirst subside a little.
“Do you have something to say to me?” Eunseok asked after drinking about a third of the coffee in the glass and placing it on the table.
“Why? Do you think I have something to say to you, Mr. Lee Eunseok?” Choi Hanseo asked in return.
Eunseok was at a loss for words. As he slightly furrowed his brow, Choi Hanseo smiled faintly and spoke.
“You’re right. I do have something to say.”
“…”
“What’s this guy up to?” Eunseok thought, frowning even more at Choi Hanseo, whom he couldn’t figure out at all.
Choi Hanseo interlaced his fingers on top of his crossed legs and lightly tapped the back of his hand with his fingers. Then, opening his well-shaped lips, he abruptly threw out a statement without context.
“That’s right.”
“Pardon?”
“I said it’s true that I’m trying to seduce you.”
“… I don’t understand what you’re talking about out of the blue.”
Eunseok replied after a few beats. But contrary to his words, he could understand what Choi Hanseo was saying.
Probably in response to what he had said before falling asleep the night before…
“…Why? If I say you were cool, are you trying to seduce me?”
That must be the answer to that question.
Choi Hanseo stared directly into Eunseok’s eyes. His gaze seemed to be asking if he really didn’t remember. Eunseok met Choi Hanseo’s eyes with the most brazen face he could muster. What could he do if this side claimed not to remember?
But Choi Hanseo was a formidable opponent.
“How about it? If I seduce you, will you fall for me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
As Eunseok continued to feign ignorance, Choi Hanseo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“If I look away, I lose,” Eunseok thought, meeting Choi Hanseo’s gaze with an indifferent look.
After staring at Eunseok with narrowed eyes for a moment, Choi Hanseo finally averted his gaze first and picked up his coffee cup. Eunseok followed suit, picking up his coffee cup and sipping the cool coffee through the straw.
“But I must have been quite cool, right? For you to say something like that.”
Just as Eunseok was about to swallow the coffee he had just sipped, Choi Hanseo casually threw out those words.
*Gulp*
The coffee suddenly caught in his throat. Eunseok covered his mouth with his hand, barely managing to swallow the coffee, and coughed repeatedly.
“Damn it,” Eunseok cursed inwardly.
Watching Eunseok continue to cough lightly, Choi Hanseo’s eyes curved slightly in a smile.
Eunseok swallowed his cough and clicked his tongue internally.
Regardless of his not-so-good impression of Choi Hanseo, he didn’t think he was the type to play with people using non-existent wordplay.
“Guild Leader,” Eunseok said, having finally completely suppressed his cough, deciding to throw a direct question instead of continuing to feign ignorance.
“Go ahead, Mr. Lee Eunseok.”
“Do you perhaps like me? Is this you trying to seduce me?”
“That’s right.”
Choi Hanseo admitted it cleanly. The response was so simple that Eunseok was at a loss for words.
“So, what do you think? Are you interested in falling for me?” Choi Hanseo asked.
“No, I’m not,” Eunseok answered firmly. Dating another man was something he had never even dreamed of.
“Didn’t you think I looked cool?”
Eunseok wanted to flatly deny it, but as he heard Choi Hanseo’s question, he realized. Choi Hanseo, overwhelming the giant gargoyle with his formidable and fearsome strength, had indeed looked quite cool. No, extremely cool. It was natural for Eunseok, accustomed to a macho culture that pursued strength, to think a strong man was cool.
“I think simply finding someone cool and falling for their seduction are completely separate things,” Eunseok said.
“Why are they separate? I’m attracted to you because I find you cool, Mr. Lee Eunseok.”
“…”
Eunseok opened his mouth slightly, trying to say something in response, but ultimately couldn’t find the words and picked up his coffee cup to sip through the straw.
There was no hint of teasing or playfulness in Choi Hanseo’s face or eyes as he said he was attracted to Eunseok because he found him cool. It was clear he was being sincere.
Honestly, being acknowledged as cool by such an overwhelmingly strong man was an extremely gratifying thing. It was also thrilling.
Eunseok couldn’t find anything to say even as he finished sipping the remaining coffee. In the end, all he could do was avoid the topic.
*Clink*
“I’m tired, so I’ll be going now. Thank you for the coffee.”
As Eunseok put down his coffee cup on the table and stood up, Choi Hanseo stared at him for a moment before nodding. Eunseok turned around, feeling relieved internally. He couldn’t express how grateful he was that Choi Hanseo wasn’t pressing the issue.
As he walked to the elevator and stood there after pressing the button, he could feel Choi Hanseo’s gaze on his back. Was it because of that gaze? Or because of Choi Hanseo’s words? His heart was beating unusually strongly.
***
Entering the Guiding room, Eunseok let out a faint sigh. Despite skipping his early morning workout, he felt like he wanted to sleep a bit more, probably due to lack of sleep. He had tossed and turned for a long time the night before due to an inexplicable restless feeling, only managing to fall asleep near dawn.
As he took out a bottle of water and sat at his desk, picking up his tablet, a notification popped up right on cue.
You have received a Guiding reservation request.
[Accept / Decline]
When he tapped on the notification, the requester’s information appeared.
Choi Hanseo (S-class) : Rating (5.0) | More
Seeing the name of the person who had kept him tossing and turning all night, Eunseok rubbed his face with his hand.
It was something he had been expecting.
Having guided all the members of the 1st squad over two days, there was only one left: Choi Hanseo.
Eunseok stared at the notification for a long time. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
Finally pressing the accept button, Eunseok put down the tablet and leaned back deeply in his chair, letting out a sigh. The unsettled feeling was far from refreshing.
A moment later, the bell rang. He had been thinking Choi Hanseo would show up leisurely as usual, so he felt flustered.
After taking a deep breath, he walked to the entrance and opened the door to find Choi Hanseo looking no different than usual.
Instead of barging in, Choi Hanseo held out a coffee to Eunseok. It was an iced Americano from the cafe in the lobby on the first floor.
Swallowing the words “What is this?” that he was about to ask, Eunseok obediently accepted the coffee. Choi Hanseo walked in unhesitatingly, the corners of his mouth raised in a very subtle smile.
Choi Hanseo went straight in and sat on the sofa he always sat on. Eunseok followed him in, holding the coffee, and thought hard. He didn’t want to sit next to him on the sofa. But if he acted differently than usual, that would create an awkward atmosphere in its own way. He didn’t want to show any signs of being flustered. In the end, Eunseok took a seat next to Choi Hanseo as he had done until now.
As he sat close, the scent that Choi Hanseo always emitted stimulated his sense of smell. He felt his body stiffen unnecessarily. He was aware that he was on edge around the man beside him, but he didn’t know how to calm that feeling. At least his trained body allowed him to maintain a neutral outward appearance.
