Gyohyun slowly curved the corners of his lips and added,
“I’m joking. So please, don’t be so guarded.”
“…….”
But Siyun couldn’t bring himself to laugh along.
“I, I’ll be on my w— ah!”
The moment he tried to take a step, Siyun’s body lurched sharply. He felt dizzy, and his body wouldn’t respond properly. As though his senses were lagging behind, his legs couldn’t support his own weight. Gyohyun reached out toward him. But Siyun, startled, shook the hand off. Then, surprised by his own reaction, he hastily swallowed his breath.
“Ah, I’m s— sorry….”
Siyun kept his gaze fixed on empty air, repeatedly curling and uncurling his fingertips. He had no idea how to handle the situation — his lips moved, but nothing came out.
“I didn’t do it on purpose…….”
I was just startled.
Siyun swallowed dryly. Why was this? Gyohyun had been nothing but kind the entire time, and yet the tension inside him kept rising.
Gyohyun pulled his hand back without protest, as though the rejection didn’t bother him in the slightest.
“I’m sorry,” Siyun murmured quietly, and Gyohyun answered briefly.
“It’s fine.”
A brief silence passed.
Gyohyun glanced down at his wristwatch.
“Speaking of which, they should be arriving about now.”
Arriving? What does that mean? Siyun’s lips parted in puzzlement.
That was when it happened. The door lock beeped and opened. The man who stepped inside was shorter than Gyohyun but still impressively tall. He glanced briefly at the two of them standing in the living room, then gave Gyohyun a slight bow.
“Leave it there.”
Without a word, the man set a paper bag down on the table, gave another small bow just as he had before, and left.
Gyohyun began taking out what appeared to be food from the paper bag one by one. The bag had the logo of a well-known hotel embossed on it.
“Sushi — is that alright?”
Just as the man had brought, an array of visibly high-end sushi was laid out on the table.
“Come and sit down.”
Siyun hesitated for a moment, looking at Gyohyun. It didn’t feel like he was being forced, but there was something strangely difficult about refusing. He felt as though he ought to do as Gyohyun said — but he gathered himself and managed to speak up.
“Um….”
He hesitated briefly over how to bring it up, but the thought that he couldn’t stay here any longer came first.
“I’m sorry, but… I think it would be best if I headed home now.”
Sharing a meal wasn’t exactly a difficult thing to do. But too much had happened between yesterday and today. His head throbbed. Right now, he just wanted to rest without thinking about anything.
Above all, Siyun wasn’t comfortable with this man. How many times had they even met — three times, at most? One of those times, he hadn’t even been in his right mind. The only thing Siyun knew about Lee Gyohyun was that he was the Executive Director of Hyosung Group. Beyond that, he knew nothing.
It was already strange enough that he kept getting entangled with someone he should have had absolutely no connection with — and now, with the addition of an inexplicable kindness, his unease only continued to grow.
“I’m genuinely grateful for your concern. But I’m sorry — I think I should go home today. If that’s alright with you, I’ll make sure to come back and properly thank you another time.”
Gyohyun tilted his head and asked,
“Don’t you like sushi?”
“Pardon?”
“Not feeling it today? Then I’ll have something else prepared. What would you like? Tell me what you want, Siyun.”
“?”
Something felt off for a moment, but he was so bewildered he could only stammer incoherently. In the meantime, Gyohyun had already taken out his phone. Only then did Siyun realize he wasn’t just saying it, and quickly waved his hand.
“Wait. It’s not about the menu….”
He took a short breath to steady himself.
“I just don’t have an appetite.”
It wasn’t just a lack of appetite. His stomach was turning — if he ate anything, he’d almost certainly feel sick.
When was the last time I ate? Two days ago? It had been a while, yet strangely, he didn’t feel hungry. His body must have been famished, but it felt as though the tension and exhaustion had swallowed his appetite whole.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
How many times have I said this at this point. Siyun muttered tiredly. This was different from physical fatigue. He was just worn out.
Gyohyun looked at Siyun in silence for a moment. And every time he did that, a strange tension crept in, sending an involuntary tightness down to the tips of Siyun’s feet.
“Alright. Can’t be helped.”
At the easy compliance, the tension drained from his body. Only then did he realize just how tense he’d been.
“Thank you.”
Before the relief could even settle in, that peculiar gaze came to rest on him again. Gyohyun’s eyes were still holding Siyun in place.
“…….”
Siyun suppressed the discomfort from his expression and turned away. He was about to take his first steps, as if it were finally over.
“Siyun.”
Instinctively, Siyun’s shoulders jerked and he lifted his head.
“If you ever need my help, contact me anytime.”
Help? What kind of help. Would there even be a reason? Siyun blinked for a moment.
“Understood?”
It was a low, calm voice — but somehow, a strange pressure seeped through it, one that made refusal feel impossible. Siyun hesitated briefly before answering.
“Yeah. Sure.”
A short silence followed. Without looking away, Gyohyun quietly moved his lips as though he had something more to say.
But Siyun didn’t wait. He started moving again. Even as he walked, Gyohyun’s gaze felt as though it was boring into his back. He couldn’t help hunching his shoulders, eyes fixed to the floor as he walked. He finally passed him and turned toward the door —
“Siyun.”
Siyun let out a quiet sigh. He knew he shouldn’t, but the irritation surged up in him for just a moment. He hesitated, then turned his head.
“…Yes?”
The corners of Gyohyun’s lips lifted ever so slightly. His expression was gentle, but something unreadable within it grated on Siyun’s nerves.
“See you again.”
“……?”
Siyun went blank for a moment, unable to make sense of the words.
Will we even see each other again?
He narrowed his brows with an unsettled feeling. But then he recalled what he himself had said — that he’d come back to thank him properly. Thinking it must be because of that, it made a little more sense now.
Not wanting to be held back again, Siyun quickened his steps.
Gyohyun stood with his hands in his trouser pockets and quietly watched Siyun’s retreating figure grow smaller. He could have reached out and pulled him back at any moment if he’d wanted to — but he let him go.
Beep beep beep.
The door had barely closed when the sound of the door lock being pressed came from outside. It was Seo Juhyeong. He’d clearly been nearby, and must have seen Siyun leave before coming in.
“Shall I bring him back?”
