RFT 36

Knock, knock.

Kim Jun-hwan knocked twice on the dark wooden door. Do Ye-jun listened intently, waiting for a response, but the interior of the office remained silent.

“You may enter.”

“…Huh? I didn’t hear anyone say anything.”

“It means you can come in.”

“…What?”

Do Ye-jun couldn’t fathom it, but Kim Jun-hwan opened the office door and gently nudged him forward.

Before he knew it, Do Ye-jun found himself stepping into the office, only to be instantly intimidated by the professional atmosphere unfolding before him. His body stiffened, as if he had entered a space where he absolutely did not belong.

If the person sitting behind the large desk in front of him hadn’t been Cheon Sa-hyun, Do Ye-jun might have bolted right back out.

“……Cheon Sa-hyun?”

However, the presence of Cheon Sa-hyun didn’t bring much relief. This was because Cheon Sa-hyun looked completely different from how he usually appeared.

Cheon Sa-hyun shifted his gaze from the visit our sitemonitor to Do Ye-jun. The moment their eyes met, Do Ye-jun flinched at [visit our site]the unexpectedly chilly aura.

“You… wear glasses?”

With a soft sigh, Cheon Sa-hyun took off his thin silver-rimmed glasses and rolled his neck in a wide circle.

“To think that after seeing me like this, the only thing you have to say is whether I wear glasses… How romantic, just like you, Hyung.”

It was blatant sarcasm. Is he talking smack to me right now? Do Ye-jun, who had been listening with a blank expression, belatedly frowned.

“Don’t tell me you were posing on purpose just now?”

As he asked, half-doubting it, Cheon Sa-hyun let out a smirk.

“Otherwise, why would I be scowling while waiting for Hyung to arrive?”

“Wow… you really are….”

“I know. That I’m cool even without posing.”

Do Ye-jun was speechless at the confident and brazen attitude, but Cheon Sa-hyun nonchalantly tidied up his spot and stood up. He then pointed to the reception sofa next to where Do Ye-jun was standing.

“Sit. Thanks to a certain someone, my lunch break was pushed back, so I have to eat and go straight into a meeting.”

“…That ‘certain someone’ isn’t me, right?”

“Who else would it be if not you? I’m not some shameless person who cheats.”

Every single word he spoke was a piece of work. Do Ye-jun clicked his tongue, gave up on the conversation, and sat down. He then shifted his attention to the lunch box on the table.

“It’s sushi.”

“You said you wanted some yesterday. That you were sick of eating gukbap all the time.”

“Wow, you remember that?”

It was something Do Ye-jun himself hadn’t even remembered. Seeing the beautifully arranged sushi, his appetite returned for the first time in a while. Do Ye-jun quickly tore open the wooden chopsticks. Cheon Sa-hyun pushed the sushi box toward him to make it easier for him to eat.

“I knew you wouldn’t remember, so I remembered for you. You have amnesia, after all.”

“…Did you tell the Secretary about that too?”

“I couldn’t help but be worried about you, Hyung.”

Do Ye-jun narrowed his eyes. Even then, his mouth was busy chewing the sushi.

“Wow, that expression just now really made you look like a greedy hamster.”

“……What?”

The moment he heard that, Do Ye-jun stopped chewing and glared at Cheon Sa-hyun. Having lost his appetite, he placed the chopsticks back on the table. Cheon Sa-hyun chuckled and picked up the chopsticks again, placing them back in Do Ye-jun’s hand.

“Eat a lot. It’s good to see you eating well for once.”

And just like that, the topic changed. Do Ye-jun forgot what he had been questioning and focused on eating the sushi. Cheon Sa-hyun barely ate himself, instead spending his time attending to Do Ye-jun’s needs. There was absolutely no reason for him to do so.

In fact, Do Ye-jun even found the interference annoying.

“Ah, just leave me alone while I’m eating! I have hands too!”

Despite the grumbling, Cheon Sa-hyun simply smiled without answering and continued doing whatever he wanted until the end. Do Ye-jun finished his meal with a pout.

“Are you done? You should eat more.”

“Can’t you see I’m sitting diagonally because I’m so full?”

True to his word, Do Ye-jun was leaning back precariously on the sofa, chewing on a coffee straw. Cheon Sa-hyun let out a light laugh at the sight.

“Well, I’m heading to my meeting now, so keep a good eye on the office.”

“Is the security so lax that I have to guard it?”

“I wonder. I think there might be a rat.”

“What? A rat? There’s a rat?”

Do Ye-jun looked around. The interior of the office looked as if Cheon Sa-hyun’s home study had been ripped out and pasted here. The furniture and wallpaper were pitch black, and even the lighting was dim. It seemed like it would be more than just eerie—it would be desolate—once the sun went down. He wondered how the man could work in a place like this.

“I don’t think there are any rats….”

The atmosphere felt like a place where not a single speck of dust would be found even if you shook it, yet there was a rat? Cheon Sa-hyun quickly cleared away the finished food and began gathering the documents on his desk.

“I haven’t seen it yet either. But things keep disappearing…. I’d like it if Hyung could keep watch.”

“I… I don’t think I can do that…. I’d definitely lose…?”

To be honest, he didn’t feel confident about winning against a rat that lived in a place like this. An image of a tough rat that had survived in the heart of the city popped into Do Ye-jun’s head. Seeing Do Ye-jun’s expression gradually distort, Cheon Sa-hyun let out a bewildered laugh.

“What on earth are you imagining? I really want to open up your head and take a look inside.”

“…If you open my head, I’ll die.”

“That’s why I’m not doing it. If you open that drawer, there are snacks sent by clients. Help yourself. If you want something else, ask Secretary Kim outside. I saved them specifically for you.”

“Got it. Hurry up and go. You’ll be late for your meeting.”

“Yes.”

Cheon Sa-hyun gave a light wave and left the office. Left all alone in the empty office, Do Ye-jun began to feel self-conscious for no reason. Being alone in a space without its owner was quite awkward. Do Ye-jun looked out the window. There were nothing but tall, blue-tinted buildings.

Logos of companies that anyone would recognize were embedded in the exterior walls. He figured that if someone in the building across the street looked over, they would see a giant company logo here too. While lost in such useless thoughts, Do Ye-jun opened the drawer Cheon Sa-hyun had mentioned. It was filled with luxurious snacks with foreign writing all over them.

“Wow…. He just shoves things like this in here?”

Curious about how many snacks were piled up, Do Ye-jun reached deep inside and discovered some relics whose expiration dates had ended early this year.

“Oh…. He’s so precise about everything else, but I guess he doesn’t manage things like this.”

Cheon Sa-hyun was the type of person who couldn’t be satisfied unless everything in his own home was perfectly organized, but it seemed he didn’t bother organizing the snacks in his office. For some reason, discovering this human side of Cheon Sa-hyun in an unexpected place made Do Ye-jun feel slightly better.

Humming a tune, Do Ye-jun took out all the expired snacks and placed them on the table, then picked one of the ones nearing its expiration date and tore open the packaging. It was a round cookie with chocolate in it. It had a soft, crumbly texture and a rich buttery scent.

“I should eat this with coffee.”

Do Ye-jun looked at his empty coffee cup and then picked up Cheon Sa-hyun’s, which was sitting next to it. Cheon Sa-hyun hadn’t even touched it.

The ice had melted, and water was dripping down the surface. After wiping the cup with a tissue from the table, Do Ye-jun fully enjoyed his tea time. Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.

“Let’s raid it.”

That thought was to raid Cheon Sa-hyun’s office. Do [visit our site]Ye-jun glanced at the unauthorized copyfirmly closed office door [visit our site]once and then crept toward Cheon Sa-hyun’s desk.

And with quick movements, he began rummaging through the desk drawers.

When he flung open the first drawer, a luxurious-looking fountain pen with a gold band on a black body rolled out. There was nothing else inside.

“…Are you serious?”

Do Ye-jun frowned and opened the next drawer. And the next, and the last one….

Aside from the initial fountain pen, nothing else came out. He rummaged through the neatly organized documents on the desk, but as expected, they were filled with stories he knew nothing about.

“This guy really does come here only to work….”

Do Ye-jun clicked his tongue in horror. Just in case, he opened every storage space he could find, but all he managed to salvage were things like spare suits or an umbrella.

Eventually returning to Cheon Sa-hyun’s spot, Do Ye-jun sank deep into the chair.

“Oh…?”

Surprised by how unexpectedly comfortable the chair was, he pushed himself back. The chair supported his body with great tension.

After rocking back and forth several times, Do Ye-jun quickly grew bored and, while slumped over, opened the closed laptop.

Naturally, the lock screen appeared. And there were no hints written anywhere.

Do Ye-jun had actually written ‘my birthday’ as his hint….

Recalling memories from a distant three years ago, Do Ye-jun stared intently at the locked laptop screen.