By Zephyria 
“You wouldn’t actually do it.”
“……That’s true, but.”
A short silence intervened between their words, but regardless, he had absolutely no intention of doing that with Hyung. Moreover, he had only dated women and would continue to do so. Since Hyung was the one who liked men, if anything, Hyung should be the one feeling regretful.
“I was confused whether it stayed as a thought or if I actually spat it out. Looking at your face, I guess I did say it.”
“…….”
“Sorry. For saying something useless. My condition has been absolute trash lately.”
However, the plain apology, devoid of any hint of regret, made his emotions waver. Min-ho even seemed to have no particular thought about having said such a thing to another man. It was as if he would have said the same thing regardless of who was by his side.
“So just let me live the way I’ve been living. Whether I drink like a fish or hang out with useless loafers.”
“…….”
In the end, he was saying that the days spent under Gyu-oh’s surveillance for the past few months were suffocating. It also meant there was a limit to enduring things with just alcohol. How dangerous was this statement? Gyu-oh let out a sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead. He felt like he needed a wet towel on his forehead right now to soothe his throbbing head.
“Now you understand what it means that the more you block someone, the more they want to deviate. I won’t confiscate your motorcycle for a while, I mean it.”
Cha Min-ho was talking as if everything were simple. He clearly couldn’t fathom Gyu-oh’s complex state of mind.
“Hyuuuung! You can’t say things like that elsewhere. Huh? These days, the world is so—”
“I won’t. You’re so comfortable around me that your nonsense comes out without passing through your brain.”
Seeing him act indifferent while scratching his eyebrow made Gyu-oh feel sober even though he hadn’t drunk. Tapping the table, he strained the veins in his neck.
“No! Seriously, you can’t be this nonchalant. This is a very, very, veeeery serious problem.”
“Stop nagging and just eat.”
As if he didn’t want to hear any more, Min-ho waved his hand and diligently continued eating. There were still mountains of points Gyu-oh wanted to clarify, but since Min-ho was showing such clear reluctance, it was hard to continue. Gyu-oh swallowed a sigh and shook his head from side to side.
“Ha, and you called me a blockhead. I’m the one aging because of you, seriously.”
“You don’t have a baby face, so you shouldn’t age quickly.”
“Ah, Hyung!”
Raising his voice made his head throb.
Even if it was a blunt tone, he had received an apology, so he could just dismiss it as a mistake and forget it. Strangely, he couldn’t forget those sharp eyes and the sunken voice directed at him. It seemed the fever that had tormented Hyung all night had transferred to him.
* * *
Min-ho had always considered vacations to be a waste of time. However, after resting deeply for a day and a half, his condition remained fairly stable. It was still hard to fall asleep and his heart was drawn to stimulating things, but he wasn’t as sensitive as before.
He smoothly took over the T Corporation contract acquisition work the company was preparing, and the preparations seemed to be going well. At this rate, he would be able to achieve his goals without any issues. Once the work was finished, he planned to visit Ji-ho. Just as he was planning a vacation—something he rarely did—dark clouds suddenly gathered. As always, accidents slip in between carelessness and relief.
“Another article is up.”
“Again?”
Min-ho, whose face had been pressed close to the monitor as if he were being sucked in, immediately scowled. As he looked up with hollow eyes, Gyu-oh held up his phone screen so Min-ho could see.
Even with a cursory glance, it was easy to guess the content. It was nonsense claiming that Woowon Construction had engaged in corruption and had hushed up the death of a worker during construction. Although it was false, the headline was definitely enough to deal a blow to their side.
Articles with a similar nuance would be posted and then deleted in less than five minutes. This repeated four or five times a day, and it had been going on for over ten days now. It was as if Woowon was paying for silence and taking the articles down.
“Same newspaper. The content is similar.”
“Ha.”
With an irritated gesture, Min-ho ripped off his glasses and threw them aside. He pressed his palms hard against his aching eyelids. Deep sighs were mixed into the gaps of Gyu-oh’s words.
“If they want something, it’s about time they showed their face.”
“…….”
It was strange. If they wanted to break a story by linking it to Woowon, they would either make a deal first or report it exclusively with a sensational headline. But they were just poking and prodding as if testing the waters.
“Tell them not to neglect the monitoring. Keep trying to contact them.”
“Yeah.”
As soon as they realized such articles were appearing and disappearing, they immediately identified the newspaper and the reporter, but the aftermath was the problem. They had contact information, but that was all. Not only was it impossible to reach them, but their identities weren’t even clear. Gyu-oh had even visited the newspaper office in person, only to find it was a vacant room with a large lease banner hanging. It was no different from being attacked by a formless group from an invisible place.
“Did you say you’re staying there starting today?”
“……Yeah.”
Min-ho took charge of the contract acquisition preparations, and Gyu-oh decided to stay near the ghost office of the newspaper for a few days. Since it could be a trick played by a competitor ahead of an important task, there was a need to keep a close watch while preparing legal procedures.
“Delegate as much as possible to the staff and take it easy. There’ll be plenty of work once you’re back anyway.”
Dark pupils immediately rolled toward him. To be precise, it was a gaze scanning the documents scattered across the desk. Even without checking his expression, the feeling of absurdity was clearly conveyed through his voice alone.
“You should too, Hyung.”
Although he had managed to catch a few hours of sleep over the last few days, his whole body was stiff from sleeping in a chair or curled up on a sofa, and his eyes felt as dry as if they were burning. He was used to this, so it was bearable, but having to worry about the strange articles made his head throb. However, he couldn’t complain in front of Gyu-oh, who was suffering while wandering around outside.
“I’m still fine.”
Gyu-oh snorted at his words and stood up. He approached the desk, which was cluttered with various documents. Then, he braced himself with one hand on the desk and reached out his other arm. A large hand touched his cheek, and his head moved slowly following that touch. His gaze, which had been fixed on the monitor, slowly shifted.
“I thought I’d finally gotten you to sleep. What’s going on?”
The face examining his complexion while muttering faintly was quite serious. He could feel the deep, dark gaze scanning his eyes, cheeks, and then his chapped lips in sequence.
“I guess it’s heaven’s will for me to work until I die. I’ll just accept it.”
Whether it was because he was conscious of the hand cupping his cheek, or because of the stinging gaze, an awkward tension seemed to linger. When he pretended to be preoccupied by spinning the arm of his glasses, the large hand slowly moved away. Gyu-oh closed his eyes and pressed his hands together as if praying. A playful voice followed.
“I take back my request to be worked to death. Please process the cancellation as quickly as possible.”
“Out of all things to wish for, you wished for that?”
This guy, who only thought about slacking off while working. When Min-ho looked up with an incredulous expression, only then did those eyes look straight at him. Won Gyu-oh seemed to act the same as usual, but he stole glances at him with unusual persistence, and whenever their eyes met, he quickly looked away. It took a few days to be certain of it.
“……There was something I had to be worked to death for.”
The mysterious gaze shifted away again. Just as an awkward silence returned, a knock echoed through the office.
“Yes.”
“I should get going now. I’ll contact you when I arrive.”
Gyu-oh exchanged a brief greeting with the secretary and left the office. Strangely, he couldn’t take his eyes off the quietly closed door.
“The approval documents from the Planning Department—”
The secretary’s voice hummed like tinnitus.
“…….”
It seems he’s been like that since the day I made that slip of the tongue, right? Why the hell did I say that to the kid? What was I thinking? Self-reproach weighed heavily on his heart.
“……Director?”
He snapped back to his senses at the cautious voice. He put on the glasses he was holding and picked up the rolling fountain pen.
“Ah, I’m listening.”
Even while focusing on the dense text again, the uncomfortable feeling persisted. But in the end, he couldn’t find a clear answer.
While he was shut away in the bleak office working frantically, the sun had already set and the time was approaching midnight.
[Viper: Eat dinner~]
[Viper: Send me what you’re eating]
[Viper: Food-food-ba-ba-ba-food-ba-ba-food-food]
[Viper: Hello? Did you eat? Excuse me?]
Because he had neglected his phone while focusing on the computer, messages from Gyu-oh had piled up. Dinner time had already passed, and he didn’t have much of an appetite. He stared at the screen for a moment before pressing the keypad.
[Did you eat well—]
Of course he would have eaten well. Look at the time. He erased all the letters and randomly sent ‘Yukgaejang’. If he said he had eaten, the nagging would be less. Min-ho tidied up his surroundings and grabbed his car keys.
On the way to the parking lot, a short vibration rang again. This time it was Son Pro. The message said he was drinking with the rounding members and told him to come if he had time. Contact had been consistent for a few days, and most of it was like this.
“……Alcohol.”
There was nothing bad about catering to Son Pro, and if he had a drink, he might be able to fall asleep. He was tempted, but his hand moved on its own.
[I’m working overtime again today. I’ll go next time you call. Have a great time.]
After refusing once or twice, it became a habit. As Min-ho pressed the send button and shoved the phone into his pocket, his movement stopped abruptly.
“…….”
With a stiff gesture, he took out the phone again and quickly scanned the messages they had exchanged. This time, he focused on the dates sent rather than the content. After confirming numbers that felt familiar, his heart began to race.
He hurriedly got into the car, turned on the light, and rummaged through his bag. He quickly flipped through a thick set of documents and found the data he wanted. The days the articles attacking Woowon appeared were similar to the dates Son Pro had contacted him over the last ten days.
To be precise, whenever Min-ho rejected Son Pro’s invitation, an article would invariably appear the next morning.
“Son Pro?”
Was Son Pro the one linked to the newspaper? Why would he post such articles? Because he didn’t show up to the appointments? Or did he realize we were digging into his background? If so, shouldn’t he stop calling me? His already cramped mind filled with questions.
[Son Pro: Ah u too bad let’s definitely meet next time]
He bit his lip while checking the reply from Son Pro.
“…….”
If I wait until tomorrow morning, I’ll know for sure. If another article appears, this is definitely worth suspecting.
Strangely, the faint fatigue that had been weighing down his whole body seemed to vanish completely. Min-ho packed his things again and got out of the car. He had never been confident in enduring long nights, but it felt like the first time he had ever looked forward to the morning.