RFT 14

“…A toaster?”

“Yeah. I felt like it was a waste to buy one at full price, and I figured I wouldn’t use it often, but it would be convenient to have. So I tried to buy one, and a brick arrived. I’ve really only seen things like that on the internet; I never imagined it would happen in this world too….”

Why on earth were there internet scammers in a world inside a novel? Feeling a surge of indignation once again, Do Ye-jun raised his hand high.

“Boss! A bottle of soju here!”

“Coming right up!”

With a flashy flick of his wrist, Do Ye-jun popped the cap of the soju bottle and filled both his glass and Cheon Sa-hyun’s. The transparent liquid rose until it trembled at the very brim.

“The surface tension drink.”

“What on earth is that?”

“You don’t know? If you look at the soju glass at eye level, the liquid doesn’t overflow; it bulges out. This is a highly advanced technique.”

Do Ye-jun chattered away as he lifted his glass. Consequently, the convex liquid slid right down.

“Isn’t it meaningless if it all just spills?”

Cheon Sa-hyun commented, sounding appalled by the sight, while Do Ye-jun tipped the remaining soju into his mouth.

Clack! Setting the glass down with a loud sound, Do Ye-jun wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and spoke.

“That’s the whole point of drinking it.”

Watching Do Ye-jun return to his meal after spouting such incomprehensible nonsense, Cheon Sa-hyun completely lost his will to fight.

There was no need to probe further; the conclusion regarding Do Ye-jun was singular.

Ah, he’s just an idiot.

Even while thinking this, Cheon Sa-hyun couldn’t take his eyes off Do Ye-jun throughout the meal.

And back to the present.

A completely different scene was unfolding. Instead of Do Ye-jun, Cheon Sa-hyun had stepped forward first to order three bottles of soju.

Two were for himself, and one was for Do Ye-jun. After drinking with him a few times, he had his alcohol tolerance memorized perfectly.

Beer: maximum two cans because he gets [Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:relative;display:inline;">[Read on Read BL Novels]style="position:absolute;left:-9999px;font-size:0;">[visit our site]too full; Soju: one bottle; Wine: two glasses; Hard liquor: not preferred.

As the green bottles were placed on the table, Cheon Sa-hyun naturally filled the glasses. Do Ye-jun, receiving the drink, also looked accustomed to it.

“Cheers. Cheers!”

Cheon Sa-hyun clinked his glass against the one Do Ye-jun held out. Then, both of them downed the liquor simultaneously.

“Kkh, maybe it’s because it’s been a while, but it’s a bit bitter.”

Do Ye-jun frowned and shook his head, smacking his lips. Cheon Sa-hyun picked up a few pieces of meat and placed them on Do Ye-jun’s side plate.

Do Ye-jun picked up a lettuce leaf and began meticulously wrapping a ssam. Watching him, Cheon Sa-hyun asked,

“Aren’t you curious about what I was doing before I came here today?”

Do Ye-jun looked up from his wrap.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you aren’t curious about what I was doing today.”

“…Didn’t you say something was going on? That’s why you said unauthorized copycontent" style="display:none;" aria-label="stolen content">stolen contentaria-label="unauthorized copy">unauthorized copyyou probably couldn’t see me today.”

And yet, he had come seeking him out to meet after all.

Do Ye-jun didn’t think too deeply about it. Because the other person was Cheon Sa-hyun.

“Yeah, so you’re not curious?”

“I guess… maybe I am…?”

Do Ye-jun answered hesitantly, his tone suggesting he wasn’t curious at all. Cheon Sa-hyun spoke up as if he had been waiting for the opening.

“I met my family.”

Family. For Cheon Sa-hyun, that was practically a taboo word. Whenever someone mentioned his family, Cheon Sa-hyun’s face would freeze over coldly.

“They told me we should have a meal since it’s been a while. But I had no appetite, so I left without eating a single spoonful.”

Is that why he suggested coming to a pork belly place?

Sensing the mood, Do Ye-jun held out the ssam he had prepared for himself toward Cheon Sa-hyun.

“…Are you really hungry?”

Instead of taking it with his hand, Cheon Sa-hyun deliberately opened his mouth and ate the ssam.

Chomp, Do Ye-jun smacked his lips.

“Is it good?”

Cheon Sa-hyun gave a vague nod.

“But I didn’t bring this up because I was hungry.”

“…Then?”

Do Ye-jun felt like he had given up his ssam for nothing.

“You’re quite fascinating.”

“What is?”

“Whenever I bring up my family, you walk on eggshells. Even though you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“…Did I?”

How could I not walk on eggshells when I know your entire family history? While grumbling internally, he tilted his head, pretending to be oblivious.

“Yes. Have I ever told you that I hate my family?”

“…Not exactly, but all chaebols are like that. In dramas, they’re always fighting over inheritances and stuff….”

Do Ye-jun’s voice trailed off as he explained.

Did it work? I think I phrased that pretty well.

“Hmm….”

Cheon Sa-hyun made a humming sound as if contemplating. Then, he soon nodded.

“That could be the case. Well, it’s roughly similar. To the dramas.”

“Really? I was just guessing, it’s surprising that it’s actually true.”

Do Ye-jun replied in a stiff, awkward tone.

“Earlier, you mentioned that Baek [Read on Read BL Novels]copy">unauthorized copyGang-hyeok and Han Si-yeon are planning to get married, right?”

“They were, weren’t they?”

Why was he suddenly bringing up those two’s marriage after talking about family? A sense of anxiety crept in.

“I guess everyone gets married around this age.”

“Not everyone, but well… on average….”

People say that once you pass thirty, you’re at the prime age for marriage. It wasn’t particularly strange to hear marriage news from those around him.

But even so, to Do Ye-jun, it felt like a story from a distant foreign land. He didn’t particularly have any desire to marry, nor did he have a proper job yet.

In fact, if he were to enter the marriage market, it was obvious he wouldn’t be “sold”—he’d just be ignored. The only thing he had going for him was his decent looks, but he couldn’t live his whole life just relying on his face.

On the other hand, Cheon Sa-hyun…

Do Ye-jun scrutinized Cheon Sa-hyun thoroughly.

There was no way a guy who was a candidate for a romance novel male lead would have any disqualifying factors in the marriage market. There was the trap of his unspeakable personality, but that was a non-issue from the start. A marriage partner wouldn’t know about that trap.

If Cheon Sa-hyun entered the marriage market, he would literally be an invasive [[visit our site]class="wm" visit our sitestyle="opacity:0;font-size:1px;user-select:all;">visit our site]species. He’d be like a catfish among loaches.

The difference in their “weight class” was so absurd that Do Ye-jun didn’t even feel inferior.

Honestly, it would be a loss if Cheon Sa-hyun didn’t get married….

“They told me to get married.”

“Huh?”

“My grandfather urged me quite a bit, saying it’s about time.”

…It would be a loss, but that doesn’t mean he has to do it right now.

But thinking about it, it wasn’t such a bad thing. If Cheon Sa-hyun found a partner and got married, this relationship would naturally come to an end.

“Ah, really? Well, sure. You have a respectable job, a house, and a car, so it’s fine for you to get married. It might feel a bit early, but as long as you marry a good person, there’s no problem, right?”

At Do Ye-jun’s words, the corners of Cheon Sa-hyun’s eyes curved.

“Do you really think so?”

Is he worried that I might still have lingering feelings for him?

To signal that he shouldn’t even worry about such a thing, Do Ye-jun nodded vigorously.

“Of course, definitely!”

Cheon Sa-hyun’s face brightened.

“That’s a relief. I suppose the wedding would have to be held in another country?”

“If that’s your preference….”

Cheon Sa-hyun nodded as if understanding.

“Well, my grandfather might be a bit surprised… but surely he wouldn’t be so shocked that he passes away.”

“Huh? ……Why would he be shocked?”

Only then did Do Ye-jun intuitively feel that something was going wrong.

Do Ye-jun answered, trying his best to play dumb.

“He doesn’t know I like men yet. But if you say you’re even marrying a man… unauthorized stolen contentcopyhe’d definitely get high blood pressure.”

How can you say something like that so calmly?

Do Ye-jun’s body froze like stone upon hearing Cheon Sa-hyun’s words.

“…So that person… is the Chairman, right?”

“Yes.”

“You should take care of his health. Sigh, he must be quite elderly; you shouldn’t give him a shock for no reason.”

Do Ye-jun’s attitude shifted instantly as he expressed concern. At this, Cheon Sa-hyun’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Why? You just said there’s no problem as long as I marry a good person. And when did you call yourself a good person while acting all cute?”

He absolutely, heaven-swore, had not said those words in such a narcissistic sense. He had simply envisioned a scenario where Cheon Sa-hyun met some ‘other’ good person through a blind date or something, just like other chaebols.

“No, I wasn’t trying to act cute….”

“Then what? What did you mean by ‘no problem as long as I marry a good person’?”

“Eh?”

“What did you mean?”

Cheon Sa-hyun seemed intent on clinging to this until the end. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not smiling at all. Under that gaze that seemed to pierce right through him, Do Ye-jun couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes and turned his head away.

“A good person—you obviously meant me, right? You couldn’t have been thinking of someone else when you said that.”

“Umm…. It’s just that lately, I’ve been doing a ‘Self-Love Project’… so I’m thinking of myself as a good person, something like that….”

The more he spoke, the more pathetic it sounded. But since he had already started, he couldn’t stop. For a long time after that, Do Ye-jun had to ramble on about how good and wonderful of a person he was.

Moreover, because Cheon Sa-hyun kept nodding and giving enthusiastic reactions, he couldn’t even stop halfway.