But as it turned out, there was nothing to worry about — Yeon Haejeong had gone completely silent for quite some time after that. Today was no different, the day before his last day at work. He was also rarely seen around the office to begin with. Yeon Haejeong had originally called him in several times mid-work with unreasonable demands, but since that day, there had been nothing — not a word.
He couldn’t decide whether to count it as a blessing in disguise or the calm before the storm, but either way, not having to see him for a while had left his mind at peace. He felt like he was moving through the quiet rhythm of everyday life the way he had before Yeon Haejeong appeared — the same steady composure as always.
With the knowledge that today was his last day, Munyeong threw himself into his work with even more dedication than usual. Cleaning what he had already cleaned, Munyeong quietly said his farewell to Yeon Haejeong in his heart. He came in even earlier than usual to make sure the environment would be cleaner than before for whoever came after him, working with full concentration. Enough to work up a sweat.
“Good morning.”
Secretary Ju, the first to arrive as always, greeted Munyeong warmly as he finished up his last round of cleaning at the front desk. Munyeong smiled softly back and gave a small bow.
“Good morning.”
And with the sharp eye she had for everything, she looked around at the subtly different surroundings and asked with curiosity.
“It feels cleaner than usual today somehow?”
“Ah…. Does it show?”
“It’s always really spotless, but today there’s something extra — sparkling, maybe? Something feels a bit different.”
“I put in a bit more effort today.”
“Why? Is today a special occasion or something?”
Secretary Ju asked brightly with a cheerful smile. At the completely guileless look of curiosity on her face, Munyeong smiled faintly and shook his head.
“It’s my last day today.”
“Oh — ……pardon?”
The casual delivery of the words, only belatedly registering as strange, made Secretary Ju ask back with a startled expression. Munyeong continued with an awkward smile at the comparatively strong reaction.
“…Since it’s my last day, I wanted to be a little more thorough.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Does the Managing Director know?”
The immediate question from Secretary Ju left Munyeong looking slightly flustered as he rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t understand why both Section Chief Jo and Secretary Ju led with that very same question.
“…He doesn’t know yet, but… the timing never quite felt right to say anything….”
The truth was, he also figured Yeon Haejeong probably didn’t care either way, and so he hadn’t felt any particular need to tell him directly.
“Ah…. Well, I suppose that makes sense, since he hasn’t been coming into the office much lately either.”
“……He hasn’t been coming in…?”
“He only shows up once in a while, when he feels like it. Before, he at least came in regularly.”
Secretary Ju couldn’t hide her exhaustion, clearly at a loss about her own boss’s behavior.
“Why……”
Caught off guard by the unexpected information, Munyeong let the question slip out almost like a sigh without meaning to.
“Who knows. What kind of change of heart brought it on. Even when he does come in, there’s a strong smell of alcohol and he doesn’t look well at all. Like he just rolled out of bed. He seems a bit out of it, too.”
“……Ah….”
“He was apparently quite wild even when he was in America. Looks like old habits follow you home, Korea or not.”
Secretary Ju was openly venting her frustration at a boss who couldn’t seem to do anything right, then suddenly caught herself and covered her mouth with a flustered look, rushing to make excuses.
“Oh dear. Please forget what I just said. I think I just get too comfortable whenever I’m talking to you, Munyeong. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no. It’s fine.”
“Anyway, it’s a shame. That you’re leaving.”
“…Thank you for saying so.”
“I mean it?”
Munyeong smiled quietly at Secretary Ju, who delivered her exaggerated response with such good cheer. Then after a brief parting word, he slipped out of there without fuss. It had only been a short time, but as he reflected on how much had happened here in that short time, Munyeong simply gazed in stillness at the outside world dropping away fast below. He had wanted to leave light and unburdened — it was the last day, after all — but Secretary Ju’s words kept surfacing, and something in a corner of his heart continued to sink with a quiet heaviness.
The sudden change in Yeon Haejeong’s behavior filled him with a worry he couldn’t brush off, and Munyeong let out a complicated sigh. The sigh was most of all a reaction to his own complicated feelings — the fact that he was worried about Yeon Haejeong.
“I don’t know what to do, it’s such a shame.”
“We’d grown so attached. I really didn’t think you’d be leaving like this.”
Before the end of the workday, Jeongmi and Sunggil, who had heard the news of his resignation, came over with faces full of reluctance to say their goodbyes.
“I’m truly grateful for everything.”
Receiving small parting gifts from them, Munyeong expressed his thanks from the heart. Section Chief Jo stood at a distance watching the scene with a face that said the future looked bleak. Munyeong bowed in his direction too.
“Come by sometime. Come have a coffee or something.”
“Yes, I will. Don’t push yourselves, and please stay healthy.”
“Right. Honestly, even the way you talk is just lovely.”
Sunggil patted Munyeong like a son, not hiding her reluctance to let him go.
Seen off by the other employees, Munyeong stepped out of the building and looked quietly up at the tall high-rise. It had been a place that felt like something out of a dream. Having a place to show up on time, consistently — he didn’t think anyone could understand just what that meant to him. Having a job that paid him on time, gave him time to eat a meal, gave him colleagues to feel a sense of camaraderie with — how momentous a thing that was.
In that sense, this place had held great meaning for him. Leaving it behind was the most bittersweet thing he had experienced in his life up to this point — but Munyeong accepted that too. There were many things in the world that had to be accepted even when they were unfair, even when you didn’t want them. He thought of enduring all of it in silence as his fate. Given the circumstances he had been born into, he told himself it was simply the path he had no choice but to walk.
Clutching the handful of gifts to his chest, Munyeong drifted away from that place. He was sad to leave, but not heartbroken. The memories he had made here would stay with him intact. And the things that had happened with Yeon Haejeong — their brief reunion — would surely all settle into good memories once enough time had passed. In truth, just the fact of having seen him again had been enough. Seeing that he was still the same had made him smile without thinking, and the fact that he had managed to go on living as himself — as Yeon Haejeong — without being broken, was something to be relieved about.
After the kidnapping incident, the next time Munyeong had seen Yeon Haejeong had been after he turned twenty. How Yeon Haejeong had found out where his small gosiwon was, he had no idea — but Yeon Haejeong had shown up blind drunk without warning, and just as he had feared, he was thoroughly wrecked. Looking at him arriving dead drunk to find him, Munyeong suddenly understood. That Yeon Haejeong had learned the truth. Seeing how much worse he had fallen apart compared to before, it was impossible not to know. And so he found himself taking in everything Yeon Haejeong threw at him without even thinking about it. Yeon Haejeong showing up out of his mind at his place like that — it felt exactly like a plea to be comforted.
Taking in Yeon Haejeong as he floundered in confusion and pain, Munyeong had also wanted to be done with him for himself. He wanted to give Yeon Haejeong what comfort he could, and at the same time put an end to his own feelings. He wanted to be finished with the worry and the affection both.
The morning after that chaotic night, Yeon Haejeong was gone — as if he had never been there. The night before had felt almost like a dream, but from that day on, Munyeong felt that everything was finally over. It had become the turning point that let him gather up the feelings still clinging to him and put them away.
He had truly never dreamed they would meet again like this.
Munyeong finished setting his heart in order one more time and got on the bus. Tonight, he planned to treat himself the way ordinary people did — a can of beer, a whole chicken, a small luxury to close out the day.
That was what he had planned. Without a thought for what lay ahead, Munyeong put on a deliberately cheerful face and looked out the window.
Yeon Haejeong got up from bed at a leisurely hour and let out a long, heavy sigh first thing. His eyes had been closed, but he hadn’t slept properly — the dark circles beneath them had grown long enough to nearly reach his cheeks.
On top of that, the strangers sprawled all over the bedroom and living room made him frown involuntarily. He had no memory at all of when these people had ended up in his home. Yeon Haejeong kicked the naked figure that had made it onto his very bed and hauled himself upright.
Stepping over the people underfoot, he made his way to the dining room, went to the refrigerator, and drank down cold water first. There was nothing but unfamiliar people everywhere. It was clear there had been some serious indulgence — party supplies, liquor bottles, syringes, drugs and the like were strewn all over the place.
“You’re up?”
Chu Dowon, who looked as though he had just stepped out of the shower, greeted him warmly. As though this were his own home.
“…You were here too?”
“Your friends called me over, hyung. Yesterday.”
