By Zephyria “Moon Si-hyun is younger, so you don’t have to bow that much.”
“What are you talking about? He’s a Sunbae, so of course I have to greet him.”
Sung Se-han ignored my glare telling him not to say unnecessary things and turned his gaze away.
“Moon Si-hyun, call Lee Tae-kyung Hyung from now on. Even though he debuted late, he’s with me….”
I pushed Sung Se-han back and bowed again.
“Don’t mind what he says. Of course, he’s a Sunbae.”
“Hey, no. I’ll call you Tae-kyung Hyung.”
Moon Si-hyun smiled, matching his pretty face. Is that okay…? I didn’t know what to do, and the Perfect members rushed towards me.
“Hello, friend.”
“I’ve seen a lot of pictures of Tae-kyung. You’re much more handsome in person?”
“Nice to meet you. You know me, right? Call me Mu-yeol.”
“Hello! I’m Lee Tae-kyung.”
I was even more embarrassed because the members were approaching me so friendly.
“Thank you for welcoming me even though I came without permission.”
“Tae-kyung, just call us Hyung comfortably. Woo-shin Hyung, Myung-yoon Hyung. And these guys are Roy, Si-hyun, and Mu-yeol. Got it?”
Sung Se-han, who had finished organizing the titles on his own, introduced me to the staff members as well.
“You’ll be seeing Tae-kyung often from now on. Please take good care of him.”
“Hello. I’m Lee Tae-kyung.”
“Nice to meet you, Tae-kyung.”
“Come here and have a sandwich with us.”
Thanks to being Sung Se-han’s friend, I received excessive kindness from the staff members as well. I was bowing here and there when Sung Se-han wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in.
“Team leader Yoon, do you still have time? I’m going to talk to Tae-kyung for a bit.”
“Ah, Se-han. I think it’ll only be about 20 minutes….”
“That’s enough.”
I was dragged out by Sung Se-han without even having time to greet the Perfect members.
“Se-han, where are you going?”
“We need to see each other in a quiet place, even if it’s just for a moment. It’s too chaotic with so many people there.”
I wasn’t sure if he was putting his arm around my shoulder or putting me in a headlock, but anyway, I quietly followed him to the end of the hallway.
“Shall we talk here?”
Sung Se-han pushed me into the narrow space at the end of the hallway and leaned against the opposite side.
“What do you want to talk about?”
My gaze kept wandering instead of looking at Sung Se-han. It wasn’t just any guy, it was Sung Se-han, and I didn’t know why it was so uncomfortable to face him in a small space.
“Tae-kyung.”
Sung Se-han called my name and made me look at him. I relaxed my facial muscles and looked up at Sung Se-han.
I don’t know why, but he’s angry and I’m very upset right now. But regardless of how I feel, I don’t want to have an emotional fight at Sung Se-han’s workplace.
“Hey, why are you setting the mood like this to talk?”
I just wanted to get over it nicely, so I made a meaningless laugh. Then Sung Se-han smiled brightly and laughed along.
“Lee Tae-kyung, is it fun?”
“Huh…?”
I didn’t understand what Sung Se-han was asking, so I blankly opened my mouth.
He put his hands in his cargo pants pockets and looked down at me diagonally.
“Is it fun to play with me?”
“What?”
I was so dumbfounded that my mouth dropped open.
“What are you talking about? I played with you?”
I felt a surge of heat and my body felt hot.
Are you saying that all the things I’ve been running around doing to save you were just playing around?
You little…! You don’t know anything!
I clenched my fists tightly and trembled, and Sung Se-han, who was leaning against the wall, glanced at my fists.
“Just hit me.”
“What…?”
Sung Se-han smiled, raising the corners of his lips.
“I’d rather you hit me a few times. Instead of saying stupid nonsense and making me feel like shit.”
Ha…! My vision is blurry.
So, he’s saying that me running around because of the Status Window looked like shit to him?
Yeah. It might look strange that I’m suddenly acting like this.
But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to this kind of bullshit from this bastard.
“I don’t have anything to say to you right now.”
It was the moment I took my body off the wall. Thud. Sung Se-han’s brown work boots blocked my way, touching the wall.
“Lee Tae-kyung.”
I didn’t even want to look at Sung Se-han, so I glared at his long legs blocking my way and gritted my teeth.
“Aren’t you going to move?”
“Who did that to your face?”
My fist twitched. The place where Kim Hyuk-soo hit me was only slightly bruised, but he must have seen it all.
“It’s none of your business.”
Sung Se-han was still leaning against the wall, looking at me diagonally.
I want to push him away and go, but I don’t know why I’m hesitating. Is it because Sung Se-han took a deep breath? As if he had something he wanted to say to me.
“When did I ask you to forgive me?”
But in the end, only a voice without any emotion returned. Without a trace of guilt or apology.
“I told you to curse at me or hit me, just do whatever you want. I said everything was okay except for cutting off contact, why can’t you understand?”
“You little…! You better listen to me!”
I was annoyed by the unknown pressure I felt from being in a confrontation with a big guy in a small space.
So I took off the jacket he had put on me and threw it at Sung Se-han’s chest.
“When I contact you, you better say thank you and just accept it. Got it?”
Do you think I’m being nice to you because I want to be nice to you? I’m doing this because I have no choice…!
“Tae-kyung.”
I pushed away Sung Se-han, who was grabbing me, and ran to the stairs. But before I even reached the first floor, he grabbed my hand.
“Lee Tae-kyung, the weather outside is no joke right now. Wear this….”
“I said I don’t need it!”
I pushed away the hand that was trying to put the jacket on me, but his strong hand held my shoulder tightly.
“I really can’t handle you today.”
“What…?”
I glared at Sung Se-han with a fierce look, but this damn bastard was holding back his laughter.
“What’s so funny, you bastard?”
I was angry and tried to push his hand away, but he stubbornly stuffed my arms into the jacket. The fact that I can’t even match his strength makes me even more angry.
“If I don’t send you off properly dressed when it’s this cold, how can I concentrate on my work?”
“Ah, I said stop worrying about me!”
He smiled contentedly after zipping it up for me, no matter what I said.
“I’ll cut off 13 days.”
Huh… what? I blinked rapidly, momentarily stunned. Sung Se-han said arrogantly with narrowed eyes.
“I’ll only compensate you for 1 year and 5 months.”
“What…?”
What is this crazy bastard saying? I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t close my mouth.
“I didn’t know Lee Tae-kyung thought of me this much.”
“Hey, Sung Se-han….”
I don’t even know where to start pointing out what’s wrong. I just shook my head and rubbed my face in frustration.
“Okay… never mind. I don’t want to fight with you. Anyway, now….”
“But Tae-kyung, I wish you would tell me exactly how you’re going to compensate me.”
What…? A sigh escaped my lips.
“Wow, you’re a real crazy bastard….”
He made it so that I couldn’t help but swear, and Sung Se-han gave me a fake smile that he would only show on stage.
“Ah. You didn’t think about that? Then shall I decide what I want?”
“Ha, shit….”
Suddenly, my phone started ringing. Sung Se-han took out his phone from his work jacket and answered it.
“Yes, Team leader-nim. I’ll be right there.”
Sung Se-han, who had finished the call, pointed to the entrance.
“Tae-kyung. Vice Manager, Joong-seop Hyung will give you a ride to the company.”
“What? Hey, don’t say useless things! How can I let Perfect’s manager….”
“Joong-seop Hyung is my personal manager. Don’t feel burdened and just take the ride. I’ll contact you when the photoshoot is over.”
After saying that, Sung Se-han quickly ran up the stairs.
I stood there blankly and then sat down on the stairs. Just meeting Sung Se-han drains my energy so much that I feel exhausted.
“It’s a real mess. Is this even going right…?”
No matter what Sung Se-han said, I had no intention of getting in the Vice Manager’s car.
However, the Vice Manager, who was waiting at the entrance, firmly refused my refusal. As if it were natural, he stubbornly led me to the parking lot, leaving me no choice but to shamelessly get in the car.
“Thank you so much for the ride! If you could take me to Global Enter… I’d be really grateful!”
I bowed repeatedly from the passenger seat, but the Vice Manager started the engine as if it were nothing.
“Let’s just relax. I don’t do much for my salary anyway, so I should at least give a ride to a friend. That way, it feels like I’m actually working.”
“Ah… yes. If you say so….”
The Vice Manager was difficult because he was so blunt, but talking to him at length gave me a different feeling. Relaxed, I finally leaned back comfortably in my seat.
“Gun-woo Hyung, I’m really sorry…!”
Gun-woo Hyung was engrossed in writing songs in the studio until I returned to the company. Even though I had left the company without a word, Gun-woo Hyung calmly looked at me.
“It’s okay. You called earlier, saying you had urgent business with Se-han, right?”
“Yes. Something suddenly came up….”
“I’m okay, Tae-kyung.”
Gun-woo Hyung turned his chair to face me.
“Because of you, the guide work is delayed again. Team leader Jang seemed very angry that you were absent from the content meeting. I told them you had an urgent matter, but….”