By Zephyria 
After ringing the doorbell, Director Bang unlocked the door lock himself and entered.
“Why is it so cold in here?”
“It’s because I just ventilated.”
Yoon Joo-ho greeted him at the entrance to the Master Zone. Director Bang, seeing Yoon Joo-ho in his loungewear, checked his wristwatch.
“Why aren’t you ready at all?”
“I showered. I just need to change clothes.”
“I’m saying this because you’re someone who takes tens of minutes just to change clothes.”
“It’ll take 10 minutes if you stop nagging me, hyung.”
Director Bang raised his voice towards Yoon Joo-ho’s retreating back as he headed to the dressing room.
“Lawyer Moon is a busy person. If you’re late, there are no exceptions, so hurry up.”
Heading to the dressing room, Yoon Joo-ho chose his clothes without much haste. He had decided on a suit for the meeting at the new law firm he was going to work with. He took off his top and slipped his arms into a striped shirt.
Although Look Planning had a large law firm they had worked with for a long time, they couldn’t accompany Yoon Joo-ho outside the company. Instead, the head of the firm introduced him to his junior.
Yoon Joo-ho, wearing a suit for the first time in a while, checked himself in the mirror and let out a silly chuckle. He thought that if Song Hyun-soo were by his side, he would have made a fuss, showing off his ‘Yoon Gyeol-ho’ side.
Wearing the shirt and pants, Yoon Joo-ho opened a drawer to get his wristwatch. He had a model in mind that would perfectly match today’s suit. However, after searching the neatly organized watch drawer several times, he couldn’t find the model he was looking for.
Finally, he fastened his shirt cuffs and walked out into the living room.
“Hyung, where is that watch?”
“Which one?”
Director Bang, who was in the kitchen, asked, turning towards him.
“Lange 1815.”
“Just 1815?”
“Annual Calendar.”
“What? It’s not in the drawer?”
Upon hearing that a watch worth 70 million won was missing, Director Bang almost shouted.
“I can’t see it.”
“Are you sure you didn’t take it out of the travel case?”
“You haven’t been on a business trip recently, have you?”
“I need to see it myself.”
Director Bang passed Yoon Joo-ho and disappeared into the Master Zone first. As soon as he arrived at the dressing room, he checked the watch drawer. As Yoon Joo-ho had said, the watch he was looking for was not there. Director Bang began to take out all the travel watch winders and cases, opening them one by one.
“It’s worth that much, and you don’t even know where it is. I really… I can’t live because of you.”
Beside Director Bang, whose mouth was drying up, Yoon Joo-ho chose a tie. Striped pattern or solid color. Which would be better? Holding both up to his face alternately, he asked Director Bang.
“If we have the meeting today, the draft contract will be ready in a day, right?”
“Yes. It’s not a complicated task. Unless you want some strange clauses.”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had decided on a dark blue silk tie, quietly smiled as he put the striped tie back in its place. The memory of thinking about adding a ‘no excessive drinking clause’ to the contract with Song Hyun-soo came to mind. He was a little curious about what reaction he would show if such a clause were actually added.
“But why the sudden rush?”
Director Bang, sitting on the floor of the dressing room and opening the third watch case, tilted his head and looked up at Yoon Joo-ho.
“What rush?”
“The contract with Hyun-soo. When you brought it up last week, it wasn’t a situation where we had to proceed this tightly.”
“Why? Do you dislike actor Hyun-soo?”
Yoon Joo-ho, straightening his shirt collar and wrapping the tie around his neck, looked at Director Bang through the full-length mirror. Director Bang subtly avoided his gaze.
“As I said then, Hyun-soo… as an actor, he has plenty of potential.”
“I feel like I need to hurry before another company snatches him up. I need to get the contract signed early next week.”
Yoon Joo-ho said as if it were obvious, looping the wide end of the tie around the narrow end to create a knot.
He had started thinking about bringing Song Hyun-soo to Look Planning a little before the birthday party. At the time, he thought it would be better to proceed after sorting out issues with his current company and his parents, but his thoughts gradually changed, and while talking with Song Hyun-soo last night, he became convinced that it would be better to finalize the deal immediately.
“It’s here!”
Director Bang held up the watch he had unearthed from the fifth case with both hands. Perhaps more nervous than he appeared, a few beads of sweat had formed on his temples.
“Oh, thanks, hyung.”
Yoon Joo-ho snatched the watch from his hand and immediately put it on his left wrist. As expected, it matched this suit perfectly.
“Even if a 70 million won watch goes missing, only I’m sweating bullets, right?”
“I was scared too.”
“Spit on your lips and say that, you punk.”
“I was so scared. I thought I wouldn’t be able to wear it today.”
Tsk, that brat. Director Bang clicked his tongue, not unkindly, towards Yoon Joo-ho as he began tidying the messy watch drawer again.
“But Joo-ho, I don’t see it?”
“See what?”
“The Day-Date. Rolex.”
“It’s right here.”
Yoon Joo-ho glanced down into the drawer, pointing to two watches.
“No, the Ice Blue dial. You liked that one.”
“I haven’t worn it in a long time. It’s somewhere.”
“If you haven’t worn it in a long time, it should be here. Watches don’t just wander off on their own.”
Director Bang started opening the remaining, yet unexamined, watch cases.
“When was the last time you wore it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe half a year ago?”
Yoon Joo-ho answered perfunctorily, tightening the knot of his tie in front of the mirror for the last time. Director Bang searched through all the remaining cases, but still didn’t find the watch. Just in case, Director Bang meticulously re-examined the inside of the watch drawer.
“You have so many watches, you wouldn’t even notice if something went missing.”
“It’s fine, hyung. It’ll turn up. I don’t even wear that one these days.”
“Is that the problem? An expensive item has gone missing from your home.”
Having experienced similar incidents multiple times, Director Bang was sensitive to such issues.
“Did… did anyone come in here?”
Director Bang asked suddenly, with a meaningful tone. Yoon Joo-ho, still in his shirt with his tie loosened, shrugged.
“The same people, always. Nothing new in my life.”
“What about yesterday?”
As Yoon Joo-ho walked towards the hanger to get his jacket, Director Bang posed a new question.
“What about what?”
“You left the company dinner with only Hyun-soo.”
“We went to Seohae hyung’s bar.”
“I know.”
Since they took Manager Cha’s car, Director Bang would have been informed. Yoon Joo-ho knew this too.
“If you know, why are you asking?”
“I told you, Joo-ho, it’s not like that with Hyun-soo.”
Yoon Joo-ho, not even looking back, said dismissively, letting Director Bang’s sigh-filled voice wash over him.
“Is it a big deal to have a drink with a junior male colleague after a company dinner for a second round?”
“Yoon Joo-ho.”
“Why?”
“There were two bowls of jjambbong.”
“……”
Yoon Joo-ho’s hand paused for a moment as he took down the hanger with his jacket, which matched his pants.
“I ate both bowls.”
“Joo-ho.”
“Ah, yes, he came here. So what?”
He had anticipated Director Bang would make a fuss like this if he found out. That’s why he had tried to send Song Hyun-soo away before he arrived. But that would all be useless now.
Yoon Joo-ho took his jacket off the hanger and turned to Director Bang with an annoyed expression.
“You really want to…”
“It wasn’t anything like what you’re thinking, hyung, not at all yesterday.”
Nothing had happened yesterday, clearly. At least, no incident of the kind Director Bang was thinking of. So it wasn’t a lie.
“Did Hyun-soo come in here?”
“…What?”
Yoon Joo-ho’s brow furrowed.
“Did he come into the Master Zone? Did you sleep with him in your room?”
Director Bang’s expression and tone were serious. It was the stern face of a competent manager for the troublesome superstar Yoon Joo-ho, not the familiar face of a close hyung who was particularly soft on him. Director Bang was never an easy person to deal with at times like these.
Yoon Joo-ho said as he walked towards the mirror,
“…No.”
While putting his arm into the jacket sleeve, he looked at Director Bang through the mirror. Director Bang was also watching Yoon Joo-ho with a firm expression.
Finally, Yoon Joo-ho sighed and spoke in a placating tone.
“Hyung, it’s nothing big. It’s just what always happens.”
“How do you explain that he’s different from the people you’ve dated until now?”
“Well, Song Hyun-soo isn’t a superstar?”
“……”
“If you put it that way, neither was Jung Ji-in.”
“That’s why I opposed it back then.”
“You did. And I did what I wanted back then too. I’m naturally fickle.”
“You’re not that kind of person when it comes to rules you set for yourself. That’s why I’m saying this, because it’s not a frequent occurrence.”
Yoon Joo-ho irritably bit his lower lip and turned to face Director Bang. He then bent at the waist, placing his hands on the island dresser a few steps away.
“Let’s say Song Hyun-soo isn’t a superstar, and he’s close with Jung Ji-in. So what the hell?”
“……”
“Whether he’s a close junior to Jung Ji-in or Jung Ji-in’s actual younger brother, if I want to sleep with him, I will. If one of us gets tired of it, we’ll end it. Just like always.”
“……”
“Because of Jung Ji-in, who meant nothing to me, why should I…!”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had been speaking without restraint, suddenly stopped as if he had tripped on a stone.
“Why should you what?”
“Anyway, why should I have to limit my actions? He said he meant nothing.”
Yoon Joo-ho deeply bent his neck and let out a long sigh before approaching Director Bang.
“So hyung, don’t read too much into it.”
He placed his hand on Director Bang’s shoulder, squeezed it firmly, then went behind him and wrapped his arms around his collarbone.
“I’m not changing. Even if I wanted to, I can’t. You know that best.”
“Hey, am I afraid you’ll change? If someone could make you come to your senses, I’d carry them on my back.”
Yoon Joo-ho scoffed as if such a thing were impossible. Then, he released his arms from Director Bang’s shoulders and glanced into the watch drawer.
“He probably lost it on a business trip. Forget about it, hyung.”
“It’s not about the money. If someone could get in this far and touch your watch, it’s someone in your inner circle. Having someone like that by your side, doesn’t that make you uneasy?”
“I’m used to living with that kind of anxiety now.”
“I’m going to request the CCTV footage of yesterday’s visitors and review it, so be aware.”
As he closed the drawer, Yoon Joo-ho tilted his head and stared intently at Director Bang’s face. His eyes, which had suddenly turned cold, were snake-like and chilling. His smooth, slender cheek twitched briefly.
“Is there any proof that watch disappeared yesterday?”
It was extremely rare for Yoon Joo-ho to show such an aggressive expression to Director Bang.
Yoon Joo-ho, his expression blank, lightly adjusted his tie knot with his neat fingers and turned away first.
“Aren’t you going? Lawyer Moon is busy, isn’t he?”
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