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15:38
Of course.
What was I expecting? What on earth!
Yeohwi threw his phone back into the corner of the sofa. Because it contained a bit of venting, the phone got buried deep in the cushion. But then, immediately again.
Bzzzzzz.
I won’t fall for it. Once or twice is enough, I really won’t fall for it anymore.
Yeohwi ignored the vibrating phone with his legs crossed. Instead, he picked up the TV remote and turned on the power. He flipped through channels when he glanced over, deciding to check the phone screen just in case.
‘This is the last time, really.’
Yeohwi sighed and opened the screen.
And there were two characters of a name.
Dowon
“……!”
His breath caught. This, this couldn’t be.
He had definitely saved his phone number as ‘Dowon.’ But still, something must be wrong.
Was he seeing things? Or was he still dreaming? Yeohwi carefully checked the message, afraid his finger might slip.
Dowon
Yeah
16:09
It was short.
So very Dowon-like, a curt one-word answer without even a speck of emotion mixed in.
But Yeohwi covered his mouth at those two indifferent characters.
A reply came. From that iron fortress-like Dowon. He answered Seong Yeohwi’s question!
At that moment, another speech bubble appeared on the screen.
Dowon
Just came out to eat
16:11
“……Huh?”
Yeohwi’s eyes widened as if they’d burst.
‘Just came out to eat. Does that mean he’s going to eat after seeing my text? Or did he happen to see the text while on his way to eat and replied?’
Either way didn’t matter.
What mattered was the fact that Dowon, who had only been drawing lines and pushing him away, finally accepted Yeohwi. He took time out of his schedule to check his messages, and even replied sharing his own situation.
C-could this be the interest he mentioned?
His heart fluttered on its own. It felt like his chest was melting warmly. Just from two text messages, from one simple sentence, his mood was soaring as if he’d gained the whole world.
Yeohwi sprang up from the sofa. Then he went round and round the living room in large circles. He wrote and deleted a reply on his phone dozens of times.
‘Can I reply too? I said I’d only send one text a day. But still, I want to reply. Should I reply? Should I not? Would it be burdensome? No, wait. If I don’t reply like this, I’m ignoring Dowon-ssi’s message. Is that okay? Wouldn’t it be wrong to ignore a reply he went to the trouble of sending? Right? That’s right. He must know I’ve already read it too. Because the 1 disappeared. Ha, shit. What do I do. Send it? Not send it? If I send it, what should I say? Aaagh!’
After agonizing for a while, he eventually sent what was most honest to his heart.
Yes! Enjoy your meal!
16:31
He also carefully selected an emoticon of a white puppy wagging its tail while presenting a food bowl and added it at the end.
The number 1 disappeared the moment he sent it.
He’s looking. He was looking at the text.
Yeohwi hugged his phone tightly to his chest and flopped down on the sofa.
The crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling seemed especially sparkling today. No, it just seemed like the whole world was brilliantly sparkling in rainbow colors.
‘Really so petty.’
To make someone’s heart rise and fall like this with just one reply.
But the smile hanging on his lips wouldn’t come down. Laughter kept leaking out until his cheeks hurt.
It seemed like tonight, he wouldn’t be able to help pacing in front of the entrance until Dowon came home from work.
***
The excitement that had lifted Yeohwi’s spirits all day long turned into anxiety as the night deepened.
“Why isn’t he coming.”
Yeohwi sat on the living room sofa with his knees up, endlessly staring only toward the entrance. The hands of the wall clock had already passed midnight and were heading toward 2 AM.
Normally he would have been asleep on the bed in comfortable pajamas, but today was different. Wanting to look good for Dowon, he had chosen the most proper homewear and even combed his hair back.
‘He even replied to me.’
The hope given by that tiny bit of interest was so great that sleep wouldn’t come. No, he couldn’t sleep.
‘When he comes, I should say “You worked hard.” I should greet him with a smile. Then won’t Dowon-ssi look at me with slightly softened eyes?’
But time flowed cruelly.
Blink, blink. His heavy eyelids kept drooping. He held out by slapping his cheeks, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the waves of sleepiness rushing in.
Eventually his head dropped. Yeohwi fell into a light sleep, uncomfortably leaning against the sofa armrest.
Click, click-click.
The sound of the door lock cutting through the silent living room rang out. Dowon came home only when it was nearly 3 AM. He was soaked in terrible fatigue today as well.
As soon as he entered the entrance, his gaze stopped at the sofa while roughly loosening his suffocating tie. Under the dimly lit stand lamp, a familiar bulk was curled up.
“……”
Dowon’s brow furrowed fiercely.
He didn’t quiet his footsteps and strode into the living room. As he approached closer, he could clearly see Seong Yeohwi crumpled asleep on the sofa in an uncomfortable position.
A long, solid body that filled the three-seater sofa and still had legs sticking out. Muscular arms and legs revealed under the loose homewear. Broad shoulders. Even his sleeping breaths weren’t gentle breathing but were at the level of a young beast’s snorting.
It’s like a beast came into the house.
Dowon, who confirmed Yeohwi’s sleeping face, tapped the side table by Yeohwi’s head a few times with his index finger with a cold expression.
Tap, tap. Sharp noise. Following that, a dry voice struck Yeohwi’s ears soaked in drowsiness.
“Wake up.”
There was no tenderness like covering him with a jacket or picking him up to move him to bed.
“Mmm.”
Yeohwi made a groaning sound and opened his eyes. Dowon’s silhouette backlit came into his blurry vision.
“……Huh?”
Yeohwi rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was a dream. But the cool cedarwood scent and night air smell hitting his nose was definitely reality.
“D-Dowon-ssi……? You’re home?”
Yeohwi smiled brightly with joy and sprang up from his seat. The boredom of waiting was nowhere to be found, and he tried to approach him like a puppy wagging its tail. But Dowon stepped back and coldly ignored the approach.
“Why aren’t you sleeping and doing this here.”
“Ah……”
Yeohwi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“I was waiting. I wanted to see your face before sleeping. You’re tired, right? Should I bring you some water? Or, um, a shoulder massage……? I’ll rub it for you.”
“Ha, how long has it been since you collapsed. You already seem full of energy.”
Dowon threw his tie on the table and spoke curtly.
“You look fine, so come to my study starting tomorrow.”
Yeohwi’s eyes widened.
“……The study?”
“You proposed it. That you’d handle the inheritance management.”
Dowon looked down at Yeohwi obliquely. That gaze was thoroughly calculating and cold.
“That plan, I’m going to make it happen. Because it was useful.”
“……!”
“So starting tomorrow morning, come to my study and learn. There’s a lot to teach. If we’re going to refine those rough plans in your head, we don’t have a moment to spare. There’s no leisure to waste time inefficiently like this.”
It was a reprimand, but to Yeohwi’s ears it sounded sweeter than praise. An unhideable look of joy appeared on Yeohwi’s face.
“R-really……? You’re really going to teach me?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow……!”
Having heard the confirmation, Yeohwi couldn’t contain his joy.
“Thank you! I’ll really work hard! Like last time, whatever you tell me to do I’ll……”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
Like pouring cold water on cotton candy, Dowon coldly cut off his words.
“You said it. This is a transaction. It’s not because I recognize you as a partner. I’m just using you because the cards you offered are too good to waste.”
Dowon’s pitch-black eyes were terribly dry today as well.
“So don’t think about pulling any tricks and just focus on the work you’re given. I won’t tolerate causing a commotion in my study.”
