“W-What? Jealous? Me? Seo Baek-han, are you crazy?”
Kim Seung-jun, who had jumped up from his seat as if he were overheating, lowered his tail and slowly sat back down under Seo Baek-han’s frosty gaze.
“I-I mean, why would I be j-jealous of Joo Tae-hyun…”
Seo Baek-han quickly scanned the press line, which had begun to stir as soon as he stood up. Major news outlets were too busy schmoozing with celebrities to pay attention to such childish squabbles, but the smaller news outlets that barely managed to secure a spot on the outskirts of the banquet hall were a different story.
They were already burning with the desire to get their hands on anything, so there was no need to give them more fodder than necessary. In many cases, they would try to inflate their views by adding all sorts of unnecessary details to a small issue, or they would demand outrageous deals in exchange for cleaning up their coverage, making them much more difficult to deal with.
So, it would be best not to escalate things here.
“Really? It would be better to say you were just spouting nonsense out of jealousy of Joo Tae-hyun.”
Seo Baek-han tilted his head as he accepted the stole from the server.
“The son of a small business owner with no real position criticized the I Hwangja’s trait at a scholarship event, even mentioning the youngest son of DH Group and saying that taxes were being wasted… Wouldn’t my suggestion be much better than having that kind of talk going around?”
“I-I didn’t m-mean… No, I didn’t mean it that way… I was just talking comfortably because it was just us…”
“Right. You said it yourself, comfortably, that you were personally invited by His Highness the Crown Prince. If a friend of His Highness criticizes Yeonhwa Palace and DH Group, constantly harping on traits, Kim Seung-jun, how do you think the people gathered here will interpret that?”
Unlike when he was enthusiastically mocking Joo Tae-hyun, Kim Seung-jun drooped his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. Was he crying? Why would the Crown Prince bring in a guy who couldn’t even handle this much pressure and was already whining?
It wasn’t the first time the Crown Prince, consumed by inferiority towards those with traits, had caused an accident without thinking. It seemed he was trying to hang out with someone who would only say what he wanted to hear, but Kim Seung-jun was such an absurd character that it only added to Seo Baek-han’s worries.
“Baek-han. I think he’s just a little excited because it’s his first time at an event like this. He probably spoke strongly because he wanted attention, so let’s stop here. Kim Seung-jun, you apologize too.”
The granddaughter of the Minister of Culture, who hadn’t said a word until now, subtly stepped in to mediate. Seo Baek-han also decided not to raise his voice any further, as it was still unclear whether her family was on the Crown Prince’s side or the I Hwangja’s side.
However, he stared intently at the press line. It was a warning to refrain from further nonsense, or he would link them to the Crown Prince and break the story. Kim Seung-jun and his cronies didn’t seem to notice at all, but others nodded slightly at Seo Baek-han. It was a reply that they understood and would keep Kim Seung-jun in check even after he left.
“Um, Seo Baek-han. I’m… sorry, I…”
Ignoring Kim Seung-jun, who was trying to get his attention, Seo Baek-han finished organizing the Sejodae liquor.
“Jin So-yeon is right, I was, um… too excited, Baek-han, Baek-han! Wait a minute!”
As soon as Seo Baek-han moved away from the table, some of the guys smacked their foreheads as if they were in trouble. Because Kim Seung-jun was wailing so loudly that the reporters, smelling blood, were starting to gather. The guys around there who were exchanging awkward glances were all on the Crown Prince’s side… Seo Baek-han felt a little better when he saw someone he hadn’t expected to be on that side biting their lip. It was fortunate that he had gleaned some information from this trash heap.
“Hey, Seo Baek-han! Let’s go together!”
“Shut up.”
With the desire to leave this place as soon as possible, Seo Baek-han repeatedly pressed the elevator button. Choi Yeon-jun, who followed Seo Baek-han out, shrank back and looked around.
“Hey. Is it because Kim Seung-jun messed with Joo Tae-hyun?”
He’d heard that name a lot today. Seo Baek-han lightly clicked his tongue and stared at the dashboard.
“Maybe Seo Baek-han, you… with a kid who’s still wet behind the ears?” Choi Yeon-jun, who was preparing to tease him, awkwardly smoothed his neatly styled hair when Seo Baek-han didn’t respond.
“Well. I was bored of guarding my seat, so it’s good for me. But, Seo Baek-han. Doesn’t it seem like Kim Seung-jun likes you too?”
“Stop talking disgusting nonsense.”
“Why, it seems like he’s acting like that because he’s jealous of Tae-hyun, just like you said.”
“How does him being jealous of Joo Tae-hyun lead to the conclusion that he likes me?”
“Ever since Joo Tae-hyun joined 〈Haechi〉, you’ve been constantly linked with him. Same Alpha, rich family, high-value donor… It’s easy to push Kim Seung-jun’s buttons. No, why doesn’t a guy as perceptive as you know this?”
“Because I don’t want to know. Shouldn’t you be more aware? Why are you bringing up Kim Seung-jun in front of me at this moment?”
Seo Baek-han agreed with what Choi Yeon-jun pointed out. He didn’t think that the size or history of a company determined a person’s character. However, the reason Kim Seung-jun kept bringing up old-fashioned words like family and honor to belittle Joo Tae-hyun was probably because his inferiority complex stemmed from those areas.
“Anyway, because you got so heated earlier, rumors are going to spread like crazy again.”
When Seo Baek-han didn’t respond, Choi Yeon-jun couldn’t resist fiddling with his phone. A trendy, frivolous song was playing, as if he were watching a short-form video.
“Your specialty is usually being elegant and annoyingly sarcastic. Everyone knows you’re twisted like a pretzel, so why the sudden outburst… Oh? Seo Baek-han. Isn’t this Joo Tae-hyun?”
Choi Yeon-jun held out his phone, telling him to take a look. Seo Baek-han frowned and leaned back, his face almost touching the phone screen.
“Wow. Algorithms are really scary, aren’t they? Look at how news pops up right after we talk about Joo Tae-hyun.”
“Is this Joo Tae-hyun’s account?”
“No. It looks like a compilation of photos from some community or something? DH’s PR team might have secretly released it.”
Seo Baek-han was about to wave his hand, telling him to take it away because he wasn’t interested, but he was mesmerized by the man’s face filling the screen and fixed his gaze.
Something was strange.
It was Joo Tae-hyun, but…
Was Joo Tae-hyun always this cold?
“Wow, he was such a baby when I first met him. He’s all grown up now, all grown up.”
“Choi Yeon-jun.”
“Yeah?”
“Was Joo Tae-hyun’s face… always like that?”
“Well… he doesn’t look as good as he does in person.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
How should he explain this? Seo Baek-han covered his mouth with one hand and stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar face.
The short video, made from several photos of Joo Tae-hyun, was so poorly made that it didn’t seem like it was released by the company’s PR team. Even in the half-blurred, indistinct photos, Joo Tae-hyun’s eyes were piercing. If a stranger saw it, they would probably say, “That guy looks like he has a temper.”
“…Hmm. I guess you could say it feels a little different from what I remember.”
“Hmm. Is that so? Well. The word ‘pretty’ suited Joo Tae-hyun better than ‘handsome’… Wow! Hey, this! The watch Joo Tae-hyun is wearing, that’s the one I told you about before!”
It wasn’t about analyzing Joo Tae-hyun’s appearance.
He didn’t spend time with Joo Tae-hyun separately, but he often ran into him. He was surprised every time he saw him growing taller like bamboo shoots, and he was amazed that his body didn’t seem to mature at all even as he grew taller, and he sometimes worried that he wasn’t just shy, but a little listless.
But the Joo Tae-hyun in the screen that Choi Yeon-jun showed him was not the gloomy kid that Seo Baek-han had known.
“Now you’d have to pay the price of an apartment in Seoul to get that model. Damn, money is the best. Screw family and all that crap.”
Was it because the photo was taken while he was sweeping back his hair? Unlike usual, the arch of his eyebrows was sharply raised, and his eyes were very sharp.
That was all. The clothes Joo Tae-hyun wore and his straight posture were not much different from his usual appearance. He was just wearing a face that he had never shown Seo Baek-han.
Seo Baek-han realized Joo Tae-hyun’s sincerity much more at this moment than when he had heard the direct words of liking from Joo Tae-hyun. Because he had never known that Joo Tae-hyun could look at others with such a cold gaze.