By Zephyria 
Cha Se-jin’s face clouded with displeasure at the appearance of Gi Jae-hyeok, someone he never imagined he would see here. His expression wasn’t as grave as if he had seen someone he loathed, but he didn’t look particularly pleased either. He looked irritated, as if something suddenly unlucky had happened.
“What the… who called him?”
As Cha Se-jin lowered his glass and looked back and forth between Do Hae-jun and Kang Seo-hoo to find the culprit, Eun-won looked up at the man standing quietly by the door. The tall man in a neat suit was a face he was seeing for the first time. For some reason, he looked a bit tired, or perhaps exhausted.
“It’s been a while, Se-jin.”
Gi Jae-hyeok, who spoke first, stepped inside and closed the door. Cha Se-jin, acting as if he hadn’t even heard the greeting, asked Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun again.
“I asked who called him.”
“…I did.”
As if confessing before the situation grew any more hostile, Kang Seo-hoo raised his hand and began offering a long string of excuses.
“He contacted me saying he was nearby, so I just told him to drop by for a bit.”
“Why.”
“Just because. I thought it would be good for us to clear the air. We were all friends once.”
“Yeah, we were.”
Sighing at Cha Se-jin’s crooked response, Kang Seo-hoo pulled out the empty chair next to him and gestured for Gi Jae-hyeok to sit.
“Hey, is it really necessary to go that far? Gi-jae gathered his courage to come see us after all this time. Let’s just have a drink together.”
Only after hearing the name ‘Gi-jae’ did Eun-won realize that this man was the friend Cha Se-jin had mentioned—Gi Jae-hyeok. The man who had grown distant from his friends after acting excessively following his marriage. The friend Cha Se-jin had called obnoxious several times, yet never spoke of as a complete stranger.
Feeling that he should greet him, Eun-won turned his gaze, and Gi Jae-hyeok was the first to stand politely and bow his head. Eun-won quickly followed suit and gave a polite bow.
“Hello. I’m Gi Jae-hyeok. I attended the wedding, but due to the circumstances, I couldn’t greet you properly. It’s late, but congratulations on your marriage.”
“Ah… thank you. I’m Seo Eun-won.”
After a brief nod, Gi Jae-hyeok politely gestured for Eun-won to sit first, and only after Eun-won was seated did he slowly take his own seat. He then looked at Cha Se-jin, who wore a dissatisfied expression, as if asking, Who do you think you are, exchanging greetings with my husband?
“Sorry for coming without calling.”
“You should have called. Then I would have told you not to come.”
“That’s why I didn’t.”
Watching the two of them engage in their habitual, petty banter, Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun burst into small laughs. The air in the room was still a bit awkward, but it wasn’t terrifying or murderous. However, because a stranger had dropped right into the middle of a well-flowing conversation, everyone fumbled for a moment, unsure of how to proceed.
“Eun-won, I’m sorry. Now that I think about it, this was rude of me. I shouldn’t have called a friend without telling you… I apologize. I didn’t think that far.”
“Ah, no. It’s okay. He’s not just anyone… he’s the Managing Director’s friend.”
“I’d be so grateful if you thought of it that way. Se-jin really met a wonderful person.”
Do Hae-jun, glancing at the silent Cha Se-jin, nudged the arm of Kang Seo-hoo, who was apologizing to Eun-won.
“Hey, you still should have mentioned it beforehand. This was supposed to be just us. Why do something that requires an apology?”
“I wasn’t thinking. Se-jin, sorry. Gi-jae ended up in an uncomfortable spot because of me.”
Cha Se-jin, meeting the eyes of the awkwardly glancing Kang Seo-hoo, sighed and picked up an empty glass, placing it in front of Gi Jae-hyeok. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared if the atmosphere turned to shit until Gi Jae-hyeok left, remaining indifferent with his legs crossed, but today he was here with Eun-won. He didn’t want this awkward, embarrassing atmosphere to linger. To prevent that, he, the one with the most grievances, had to be the one to yield.
“Eun-won says it’s okay, so we’ll let it slide.”
“Eun-won! Thank you so much.”
Relieved by Cha Se-jin’s somewhat softened tone, Kang Seo-hoo repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Eun-won. As the tension broke and various conversations began to flow, the stiff atmosphere loosened.
“Gi-jae, what do you want to drink?”
“Give me whatever you’re drinking.”
As if trying to make the mood more cheerful, Kang Seo-hoo asked Gi Jae-hyeok and poured the remaining champagne into an empty glass. Even after receiving the glass, Gi Jae-hyeok didn’t drink immediately. He simply stared at the bubbles rising incessantly. Watching this, Cha Se-jin clicked his tongue. It was strange that Gi Jae-hyeok seemed unusually slumped and depressed today.
Originally, Gi Jae-hyeok wasn’t the quiet, exhausted type. He had a personality just as impulsive and bold as Cha Se-jin. That was why they had become friends easily, and why they had drifted apart just as easily.
“If you’re not going to drink, why did you even come?”
“Just to see your faces.”
“Suddenly? You know you’re being fucking ridiculous right now, right?”
“I know. I know, and that’s why I came. I want to make up for it. I was afraid that if I didn’t see you now, it would really be the end for us.”
A brief silence fell over the room at the unexpectedly serious words. The playfulness vanished from Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun’s faces. Eun-won, who had been taking a sip of water, quietly set his glass down. He felt the air, which had been awkward but not heavy, slowly sinking.
“I understand if you don’t want to see me. I guess I was a bit too much…”
“So you do realize it.”
Even though Cha Se-jin responded crookedly, Gi Jae-hyeok neither laughed nor got angry. He just sat there quietly, like an exhausted man.
“…I know, now.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, I know now.”
Only then did Gi Jae-hyeok take a sip of his drink and set the glass back on the table.
“I practically cut off contact with you guys, avoided you by saying I had no time when you asked to meet, and whenever we did meet, I acted like I was the only one living in a different world, asking why you guys were still living like this… I’m really sorry. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
Cha Se-jin shifted his gaze from Gi Jae-hyeok to Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun. His eyes asked, What is wrong with this bastard? and the two of them shrugged and shook their heads, as if they didn’t know either.
In the past, even if he were in the wrong, Gi Jae-hyeok would have snapped if someone pointed it out, or at least made excuses about his circumstances. But now, Gi Jae-hyeok offered no excuses or pretexts. The unfamiliar sight made the irritation that had dominated Cha Se-jin’s heart fade.
“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Did you come here to make a confession? What’s the point of doing that to us?”
“I just regret everything. Now that things have turned out this way, I feel the most sorry toward you guys, and you’re all I could think of.”
“What are you talking about? Stop beating around the bush and just say it. Why is the build-up so long?”
At Cha Se-jin’s frustrated question, Gi Jae-hyeok, looking down at the glass where the bubbles were fading, spoke as if he had reached a state of resignation or exhaustion.
“I got divorced.”
In an instant, all sound in the room vanished. Do Hae-jun stopped the hand holding his glass, and Kang Seo-hoo looked at Gi Jae-hyeok with a face that didn’t know what he had just heard. Eun-won also held his breath, facing the words he had just heard. Only Cha Se-jin swallowed the drink he was having. Then, he slowly swirled his glass. The sound of ice clinking broke the silence.
“What?”
“Excuse me?”
As Kang Seo-hoo and Do Hae-jun asked back simultaneously, Gi Jae-hyeok smiled bitterly and voiced the reality once more.
“I said I got divorced.”
His voice was even more composed than when he first said it. That made it seem even stranger. It didn’t sound like a voice trying to pretend everything was fine; it sounded like someone who had broken down so completely that they couldn’t even stand up—someone who was truly exhausted.
Cha Se-jin, who had been quietly drinking, set his glass down and looked at Eun-won. He was already annoyed that the good mood had been shattered, but he felt it was unfair that Eun-won had to listen to such garbage. If he wanted to announce his divorce, he should have called a reporter for a press conference or started an SNS live stream; he couldn’t understand why he had to come here and do this.
Reaching out to hold Eun-won’s hand under the table, Cha Se-jin smoothed his furrowed brow and apologized.
“Sorry for making you hear this. I’ll send him away soon.”
“Ah… no. It’s okay.”
“I’m the one who’s not okay.”
The hand that squeezed once more was warm. Eun-won nodded quietly, squeezed Cha Se-jin’s hand back, and then let go.
Withdrawing the affectionate gaze he had held for Eun-won, Cha Se-jin looked at Gi Jae-hyeok with a face full of absurdity, irritation, and a sneer that said I knew it.
“You acted that way, you went through all that bullshit, just to end up with that?”
“Hey, Se-jin.”
Kang Seo-hoo tried to stop him, but Cha Se-jin didn’t turn his gaze toward Kang Seo-hoo.
“Did I say anything wrong? Acting like you were the only one experiencing the love of the century, pretending your life had changed because you got married, calling us pathetic every time you saw us and giving us unsolicited advice—I still remember. You went crazy asking how long we were going to waste our time gathering to drink like this.”
“At the time… I thought that was right. I was living that way too, so I shouldn’t have said those things, but I think I lost my mind.”
“You thought that was right? This bastard still hasn’t come to his senses even after a divorce.”
At Cha Se-jin’s rebuke, Gi Jae-hyeok emptied his glass in one go and poured a full glass of whiskey, swallowing it down. Do Hae-jun, startled by the sudden escalation, tried to stop him, but the glass was already empty.
“I had no choice but to think that way. At the time, that person was the only thing I could see in the world.”
Gi Jae-hyeok looked down at the empty glass and laughed hollowly. Then he poured and drank another glass. After cursing, Kang Seo-hoo pulled all the liquor bottles near Gi Jae-hyeok toward himself to clear them away.
“I didn’t have any expectations for an arranged marriage either. I thought, if I do it, I do it, and I’ll just live through it. I thought there was no way I could actually develop feelings for something like that. But… the moment I saw them, I liked them. It was just a meeting because our families had discussed it… but it just happened.”
It was absurd that he was pouring out a detailed divorce story he’d just decided to share, as if drinking had given him some great courage. Cha Se-jin glared not at Gi Jae-hyeok, but at Kang Seo-hoo, who had told Gi Jae-hyeok to come here. Kang Seo-hoo, also flustered by the pathetic Gi Jae-hyeok, looked deeply regretful and made a gesture of pleading to Cha Se-jin and Eun-won by rubbing his hands together.
“They smiled at me… and that was it. Everything I had lived through until then became tedious, boring, and just lost all meaning. Eating together, contacting each other, meeting, and then getting married… I never hesitated once. Others called it an arranged marriage, but for me, it wasn’t.”
Gi Jae-hyeok was now reciting his love story with tears welling in his eyes. As if he couldn’t stand it any longer, Cha Se-jin pointed at Kang Seo-hoo.
“Hey, Kang Seo-hoo. You deal with this. What are you going to do? Do we have to keep listening to this bastard? If you’re curious, meet him separately and listen.”
“…I’m fucking flustered right now too. This guy has gone crazy. Hey, Gi-jae! Stop it. Do you think I called you here to ruin the mood? Have you lost it?”
Kang Seo-hoo, who had swapped seats with Do Hae-jun, grabbed Gi Jae-hyeok’s arm and tried to persuade him, but Gi Jae-hyeok brushed him off and even took Do Hae-jun’s glass to drink. Now completely loosened up, he wouldn’t stop talking.
“For me! It was love. Really… I really thought it was love.”
Eun-won, who had remained quiet with his gaze lowered, feeling as if he were hearing something he shouldn’t, suddenly felt his heart waver. Eun-won looked up at Gi Jae-hyeok, who was lamenting with a face that looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
“I thought if I loved them, everything would work out. Because I liked them… we were good. Living together, seeing each other’s faces every day, eating, sleeping together, doing everything together… I thought that the feelings we couldn’t properly build before marriage would just easily accumulate over time. But… it wasn’t like that.”
His wavering heart now began to beat rapidly, as if it might drop. It should have been just a story told by a stranger, something to hear and let go, but for some reason, it didn’t feel like someone else’s business. It felt as if another person was telling his own story. And a story that had already reached a conclusion he wasn’t aware of.
“I was the only one building it. Just me. Something built by one person just collapses alone. Even when it collapses, I’m the only one there. Se-jin, I really struggled back then.”
“I can’t listen to this anymore, fuck.”
Setting down his glass, Cha Se-jin cursed under his breath and took Eun-won’s hand to pull him up.