By Zephyria 
The blurring world came to a sudden halt, then spun backward to regain its original form. Yi-ho tentatively approached the hospital room door where Min-gyu had disappeared. Inside was a couple who looked remarkably like Min-gyu. Had it not been for the fact that Min-gyu called them ‘Mother’ and Father, he would have mistaken them for an older brother and sister due to their youthful appearance.
The moment all the pieces finally fell into place, Yi-ho felt the strength leave his body and sank to the floor.
‘Huh? Hey, hey. Song Yi-ho!’
‘…….’
‘Oh my, Min-gyu’s friend? You shouted so loud that your friend seems quite startled.’
‘Oh, really? Hey, s-sorry…. No, it’s not that, he’s not usually the type to be so easily shaken.’
‘Are you Yi-ho? My son has told me a lot about you.’
Cha Min-gyu, his parents, and even the sibling he mentioned was currently in the womb—it was the day Yi-ho met all of Cha Min-gyu’s family in one place.
“But Song-i Song-i, why did you faint back then?”
Because I thought you had a kid with some other woman. The shock of that day was still vivid for Yi-ho. He downed a brimming glass of alcohol, trying to settle the surface of the liquid that wavered with the trembling of his hand.
“…I think I thought something terrible had happened since you rushed to the hospital.”
“Ah…, that makes sense. It’s true I wasn’t in my right mind back then. You know how my parents are now.”
The following day, while buying drinks at the same pub, Min-gyu confessed with a heavy expression.
‘My parents got pregnant with me when they were in high school. But since both my maternal and paternal families were well-off, they basically just decided to get them married off quickly.’
However, the two were naturally immature enough to cause trouble, and since there were grandparents to raise Min-gyu instead, the prospect of them becoming mature through a sense of responsibility was distant.
For Min-gyu, his parents felt more like an older sister and brother. They loved Min-gyu as family, but they were laissez-faire parents who lacked a sense of duty, responsibility, and hierarchy.
After that, Yi-ho began to see various sides of Min-gyu that he hadn’t known before. From that day on, Min-gyu lowered a wall he had used to hide himself from Yi-ho.
“Think about it, Grandma and Grandpa can’t look after the baby for us anymore, so I was seriously worried that if a sibling was born, I’d end up being the parent. I really thought I’d become a father at twenty-five.”
“…I can see that.”
Fortunately, his parents, now in their 40s, were better than when they raised Min-gyu… but people don’t change easily.
Still, Cha Min-gyu doted on his very late sibling in his own way. Once the sibling, Cha Min-jung, reached an age where he could understand the conversations of those around him, Min-gyu completely cut off his dating life.
Min-gyu tilted the soju bottle over the glass. The liquid poured in a steady rhythm, filling the glass, and then the bottle was rotated slightly and withdrawn cleanly without a single drop falling. The glass was filled to the perfect height.
When Yi-ho reached out, Min-gyu handed him the bottle. Yi-ho likewise filled Min-gyu’s glass. Trying to mimic what he had seen, he poured too much, and the alcohol rose in a thick dome above the rim.
“Cheers.”
Min-gyu lifted the sloshing glass as if it were nothing. Their glasses met and clashed in the center. A bit of the overflow from Min-gyu’s glass entered Yi-ho’s, creating ripples. Cha Min-gyu’s drink surged for a moment before disappearing into his mouth. Min-gyu quietly set down the empty glass without a hint of bitterness.
There was a time when Cha Min-gyu, as an intern, seemed so mature. Now, seeing him younger than Kwon Tae-kyung of the development team, Yi-ho felt like he could only laugh because it was cute. This was another memory buried in those 15 years.
And even after passing their mid-twenties and becoming adults of the same rank, Min-gyu still felt like a far more grounded adult in Song Yi-ho’s eyes.
This thought, which would likely seem ridiculous again by the time he hit forty, was part of the long process of a lifelong unrequited love.
“…You’re usually the one doing the ‘sales’ part when you go to meetings, right?”
Hearing the question, the corners of Min-gyu’s mouth curled up.
“Why, does Team Leader Song want to experience my hospitality?”
His foot gave a playful nudge. Yi-ho inhaled sharply. The alcohol suddenly made his head spin.
“How do you do it? Show me.”
The intoxication bred stubbornness. Min-gyu laughed and took the bottle.
“Anyone can be polite. To stand out a step further, you need an emotion that can move the other person’s heart.”
Having gained some experience with external collaborations, Yi-ho felt he understood what he meant.
“Whether it’s respect, liking, or romantic feelings. If you don’t state the content in words, the outward appearance is all the same. You find something you can mimic. In my case, I treat them as if they were a lover. Except, a very difficult and demanding lover.”
Unlike how he had treated his friend earlier, Min-gyu held out the neck of the bottle with both hands. As Yi-ho lifted his glass, the soju bottle tilted. Just like before, the alcohol stopped exactly at the 70% mark.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’ve really wanted to meet Team Leader Song.”
“…Me? Why?”
“You’re famous as a developer, but also as the DL Division’s best…”
During the brief pause in the sentence, Min-gyu gazed intensely into Yi-ho’s eyes.
“…pretty-faced youth.”
“You actually say things like that?”
“As if I would. If I did, I wouldn’t be here; I’d be in handcuffs.”
Min-gyu’s voice returned to its usual easygoing tone.
“But if there’s someone frozen like Song-i, I start by breaking the ice with something absurd. A completely stiff atmosphere doesn’t really suit me.”
With a grin, Min-gyu poured more alcohol into Yi-ho’s glass, which he hadn’t drunk yet. The liquid rose in a thick dome due to surface tension.
“The first one was for hospitality; this one is for a friend.”
“…Isn’t the ‘friend’ version worse?”
“They say you should pour as much as you love. I want to fill it more, but it’s a shame, Song-i.”
To stand out a step further, you need an emotion that can move the other person’s heart.
Just as he said, it was an unexpected attack. The lights reflected on the surface of the alcohol trembled, just like Yi-ho’s gaze.
If Yi-ho had a stamp with him right now, he would have stamped whatever contract Min-gyu presented without hesitation.
“…Stop saying weird things.”
“Yep. If I can draw that kind of reaction, I’ve succeeded.”
“…….”
Ah, so this is why our company hit a record surplus last year. Because Cha Min-gyu is in the marketing team, and Cha Min-gyu leads the charge. The bonus I received was thanks to Cha Min-gyu.
As much as you love.
The words Yi-ho could never utter aloud became a joke along with his short smile.
Bad bastard, sinful, capital-punishment-worthy Cha Min-gyu.
Yi-ho searched for the cost of oversized luggage and plane tickets to the Netherlands today, and he could clearly envision his future.
Min-gyu held out his glass, and now it was Yi-ho’s turn to fill it. Like alcohol poured clumsily, it was a night that felt as if it would overflow.
Article 1, Clause 3. Friendship naturally accompanies the people around the parties involved.
The eggs began to decrease.
Yi-ho rarely cooked at home. When he had to eat at home, it was mostly delivery or heating up retort foods. Since the kimchi his mother periodically replenished was always in the fridge, he had no complaints about just eating instant rice and kimchi if he was feeling lazy. The only problem was the person who would get angry and tell him to just bring his utensils and come over to the house next door.
Therefore, the eggs that were habitually kept in a corner of the empty refrigerator were mostly for Min-gyu. Cha Min-gyu was a big eater befitting his size; if eggs were in a recipe, he used two or three at once. Even if he bought a whole tray, they ran out quickly, so he often borrowed eggs from Yi-ho’s house. Of course, more than half of those borrowed eggs ended up cooked and delivered into Yi-ho’s mouth.
The fact that the eggs weren’t disappearing meant Min-gyu didn’t have time to cook at home. Lately, the marketing team had been extremely busy. It seemed to be because of the “something” he mentioned during their drinks. Then again, even without that, the marketing team was usually breathless with work all year round. In the midst of that, it was impressive that Min-gyu still managed his household so meticulously.
‘Is he going to an external meeting today too?’
On his wrist, where he usually wore a smartwatch, was an analog watch, and he had even put on a tie pin.
Yi-ho wanted to take a photo to keep, but he wasn’t confident he could do it without being caught, nor did he have an excuse to give a friend of 15 years who would ask why he was taking a picture.
Throughout the day, Min-gyu showed only the stiff side of Team Leader Cha, instead of the goofy face Yi-ho was used to. He spent the whole time moving between the conference room and his desk, and just as he seemed to finally catch a breath near lunchtime, his phone rang again. The expression he wore when he returned was the worst it had been all day.
Did something go wrong…? As Yi-ho wondered, Min-gyu strode toward him.
“What is it, are they fighting again…?”
Rumors of misunderstanding spread once more regarding the two who had shared a bowl of bean sprout soup in front of the house this morning before heading to work.
“Team Leader Song, a word.”
“…?”
Eh? He actually wanted me.
Yi-ho hit the save button on his work about three times in rapid succession. Then he stood up and followed Min-gyu. The speculation that something was really going on between them spread a bit further.
Finally, they arrived inside the conference room.
“Song-i, I’m sorry to ask this of you. Please, just help me this once.”
Min-gyu was hunching his large frame, his hands clasped together.
“What is it?”