By Zephyria 
===
Flustered, Cha Se-jin closed his eyes tightly and opened them again to check the screen, wondering if he had seen it wrong. However, the name ‘Eun-won’ was still written on the screen.
Until just a moment ago, the phone that had been vibrating clearly showed an unknown number. He wasn’t the only one who saw it. Cha Se-gyu had definitely seen it too. That stalker-like person had been persistently calling after he hung up. He had answered the phone intending to crush them because it was so annoying… so why was Eun-won’s name on the screen?
…What did I just say? He remembered pouring out a torrent of words because he was on edge, but he was so flustered that he couldn’t remember exactly what he had said. 42 seconds, 43 seconds… Watching the call duration increase without interruption, Cha Se-jin snapped back to his senses and pressed the phone back to his ear.
“…Hello? Oh, Darling?”
—…Yes. Uh… Is something… going on? If you’re busy, I’ll hang up.
“Ah, no! No. Uh, what I just said, uh, I wasn’t angry at you, it’s just that someone kept making prank calls. Someone carelessly gave out my number, so these strange calls kept coming, and I naturally assumed it was that call when I answered, uh… You were really surprised, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”
—…Ah… Yes…
The response coming back was lukewarm. It felt like he didn’t know how to react, or perhaps he didn’t quite believe him and was simply letting it slide. Sitting up completely straight, Cha Se-jin caught his breath.
He wondered if he should tell him again that it really wasn’t the case, but he felt that bringing it up first might make the situation even weirder. So, Cha Se-jin lightly changed the subject.
“Uh… are you having a good time?”
—…Yes… I just stepped into the room for a moment while hanging out with the others.
“To make a call?”
—……Yes.
In truth, what happened a moment ago was a clear mistake. He had explained to Eun-won that it was a mistake, and he had nothing to hide. It wasn’t as if he were cheating, or as if his heart had wavered at a call telling him to come over, or as if he had been caught trying to comply.
He had simply been displeased by the incoming calls, pissed off by the persistence, and had lashed out because he was truly annoyed. Since that was the only fact, he felt there was no need to feel guilty or as if he had to keep explaining himself.
However, he was bothered by Eun-won, who remained quiet and gave few responses over the phone if he didn’t speak. It was even worse because he couldn’t recall the exact wording of what he had spewed.
“Uh… did you, did you drink?”
—A little.
“Ah, I see… a little… Uh, good job.”
—…The others are telling me to come out quickly. I think I should hang up now.
“Ah, oh. Okay. Have fun, and sleep well later. Call me tomorrow.”
—Yes…
The sound of calm breathing continued for a moment longer before the call was disconnected. Cha Se-jin looked down at the phone where Eun-won’s voice had vanished, then looked at Cha Se-gyu, who was watching him as if seeing something amusing.
“No, how could it be Eun-won? Hyung, you saw it too. That crazy person kept calling. I mean, how could the timing be like that?”
“That happens. That’s why you should always check carefully before answering. And always verify who the other person is before you start pouring your heart out. It would be a disaster if you did that at work.”
“Ah, is work the problem right now? Uh, tell me what I said.”
“Hmm, ‘Between the bastard who sold my number and you, who’s acting cluelessly out of line despite being given a chance to fuck off, who should I crush first? Should I meet you and crush you first? Who knows? Maybe if I see your face, I’ll remember when we fucked.’ Something like that nuance.”
“Fuck, did I even mention fucking?”
“Yep. That part is one hundred percent certain. That was the clearest part.”
Cha Se-jin swept back his bangs with an irritated hand and sighed, burying himself in the sofa. It bothered him that Eun-won had heard things he didn’t need to hear. Of course, he hadn’t lied to Eun-won, but he still hated that he had reminded him of it in this way. But he couldn’t blame anyone. He was the one who had answered the phone without checking and snapped.
“Does it bother you?”
“Of course it does. He heard things he didn’t need to hear.”
“It’s not like you were caught cheating, why are you worrying so much? You explained the situation, and you just answered without checking and snapped at the wrong person; other than that, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not something he can’t understand.”
Cha Se-gyu was right. Cha Se-jin honestly thought so too. He had apologized for that part, and Eun-won hadn’t shown any particular reaction. He just had to think of it as a single happening.
“Maybe it’s because there wasn’t much of a reaction… No, if there’s no reaction, isn’t that a good thing? Something… he didn’t react much, but his voice didn’t sound good. His reaction was… more lukewarm than usual.”
Cha Se-gyu drank his alcohol, watching with amusement as Cha Se-jin analyzed Eun-won’s reaction while diligently retracing the situation. From Hyung’s perspective, it was simply entertaining to see him act so meticulously—or obsessively, to put it poorly—over something that didn’t seem to warrant such concern. It was funny because it was so different from his brother’s usual self. Perhaps that’s why a sense of mischief rose in him after a long time.
“Really? What a shame, it seems he’s quite upset.”
“……”
“Thinking about it again, it does seem like a situation where one could easily misunderstand. You were caught talking to a former partner.”
“Not a partner. Just once…! Ah, fuck.”
“But what can you do? He married you knowing you played around like that. He’ll get over it. The situation is a bit awkward, though. It would be weird to apologize further. Saying ‘sorry for living promiscuously’ would be strange. You should have lived a bit more decently.”
Cha Se-gyu laughed at the glare Cha Se-jin gave him and swallowed the slightly flat beer. He hoped his immature brother would eventually realize the reason why he was ‘bothered’ after much deliberation.
* * *
After drinking champagne and wine and chatting incessantly for five hours, eyelids began to droop one by one. Eun-won, who had brought a blanket to cover Yoon Ji-woon sleeping on the sofa, checked on Ju Yi-deun and Jung Woo-min, who had passed out face-down on the bed, then went into his own room where he had unpacked and climbed into bed.
It was past five in the morning and he was tired, but since he had woken up a bit while brushing his teeth, he didn’t lose consciousness the moment he lay down.
‘Ah, since you said you wanted to meet, should I crush you first? Who knows? Maybe if I see your face, I’ll remember when we fucked?’
He needed to sleep, so he closed his eyes, but the words he had heard the moment he called came back to him.
Combining what he had heard with what Cha Se-jin had said, the other person was likely someone Cha Se-jin had met and spent time with in the past. That person, unable to forget him even after time had passed, had unilaterally found his number, called him, and said they wanted to meet, and Cha Se-jin had said no.
Despite that, the person had continued to call, and in the gap between when the previous call ended and the next one was about to start, he had coincidentally placed his call. Cha Se-jin, naturally assuming it was that person, had answered and poured out those words.
It was a perfectly plausible scenario. He knew that Cha Se-jin hadn’t done anything particularly wrong and that it was just a matter of unfortunate timing. But his heart was the problem. His heart was always like this when it came to things involving Cha Se-jin. It wouldn’t listen to him, it ignored his thoughts, and it kept acting on its own.
“……”
He knew everything. He knew Cha Se-jin had met many people, he knew that after deciding to marry, he hadn’t met anyone else, and he knew how pathetic and foolish it was to be jealous of things long gone. He knew he just had to stop thinking, but the thoughts kept coming.
It was probably because he knew Cha Se-jin’s tenderness. Because he knew the eyes with which he looked down at him, how he smiled while making eye contact, how he kissed, and how he comforted him.
With a deep sigh, Eun-won turned over under the covers. The rustling sound of his tossing and turning echoed in the quiet room. The wide bed without Cha Se-jin felt strangely awkward. Unable to catch the floating thoughts, Eun-won closed his eyes.
No matter what he thought, he always reached the conclusion that he missed Cha Se-jin.
* * *
Cha Se-jin, who had tossed and turned due to the unfamiliarity of the bed without Eun-won, left the house early in the morning and returned only after jogging along the river for two hours. He was exhausted from the run after not sleeping properly, but he liked the feeling of his muscles tightening, giving him a proper sense of exercise.
As he was loosening up and about to enter the annex, the servant in charge of the annex approached and greeted him.
“Excuse me, Executive Director, may I collect the laundry for a moment? I should have collected it yesterday when you weren’t home, but I was away… I’m sorry.”
“Couldn’t you have collected it while I was exercising?”
“You told us not to enter the annex on weekends unless there were meal preparations or special instructions… Since it’s unavoidable today, Butler Yoon told me to move after getting your permission… I’m sorry…”
“…Yes. Go ahead.”
Cha Se-jin almost told them to make sure he didn’t have to worry about such things, but he decided against it and entered the annex first. The servant, following him in, bowed once more and headed to the second floor.
Meanwhile, Cha Se-jin walked up the stairs while drinking a protein shake. He glanced at the servant coming out with a large pile of clothes from the dressing room laundry bin that required special care, and then entered the bedroom. It certainly wasn’t pleasant to encounter someone other than Eun-won while he was at home. That was why he had instructed them to enter the annex only when he was away.
After drinking the last sip, he was about to wash up when he heard a knock. Ah, seriously, how tedious. Wondering what it was, he opened the door to find the servant holding out a neatly folded piece of paper.
“What is this?”
“It was in the laundry, so I thought I should give it to you. Then… I’ll be going. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m sorry.”
Closing the door, Cha Se-jin stared at the folded paper for a moment before unfolding it. Since he had never put such a thing in his pocket, it was likely a note that had been in Eun-won’s clothes. As he unfolded the note casually, Cha Se-jin’s eyes narrowed.
[You’re exactly my type, so I wanted to talk to you every time you came. I want to get close, please contact me.]
Anyone could see it, even with one eye closed, even in their sleep—it was a flirting line. And a very old-fashioned one at that. After checking the name Sun Woo-hyuk and the phone number written below the breezy sentence, Cha Se-jin let out a hollow laugh.