# Chapter 31
Curiosity being a sin, Director Ahn contacted Jiho.
Though he’d told himself about a hundred times not to be curious… his nephew’s love life? It was just too interesting, wasn’t it?
Especially since it wasn’t just any nephew, but Seol Jiho’s love life.
“How did it go?”
Since joining Ian Group, Director Ahn had spent more time cleaning up after Seol Jiho and handling his incidents than doing actual company work. Old habits die hard, and here he was at it again.
He must have confessed right then and there, looking like he was ready to do it. Jiho was never one to hesitate.
But the answer that came back was ambiguous.
– He says he doesn’t think of me as a romantic partner.
Oh my. His ominous premonition had hit the mark.
– He says he won’t date anyone. Seems like he has no intention of dating.
“You got rejected spectacularly, nephew.”
He feels like he shouldn’t tease him, but when else would he get to poke fun at Jiho? Puhaha! Director Ahn laughed impudently.
Jiho asks in disbelief.
– Rejected? Me?
“Yes. You got rejected.”
– That’s not it. He just said he has no intention of dating… Hyung is busy with tutoring, working at the PC bang, studying, sleeping… Anyway, he seems busy.
Actively in denial, I see. Director Ahn suppressed his laughter and hit him with some hard facts.
“That’s exactly what being rejected means. It’s the standard line people use when turning someone down. I heard it plenty when I was young.”
– …
Seemingly quite shocked, Jiho had nothing to say.
To think that Seol Jiho’s first taste of bitterness in life would be romantic failure. This is seriously way too entertaining, isn’t it?
Director Ahn felt like broadcasting this fact over the company intercom.
– This won’t do. I need to talk to him again.
“You’ll just get rejected a second time. Come on, nephew. That saying about no tree falling after being hit ten times? That’s all lies.”
– Does Hyung dislike me that much?
“Wow.”
‘Nephew. Are you possibly… engaging in self-reflection right now?’
Now beyond finding it funny, Director Ahn felt a little sorry for Jiho.
If no one told him, he’d probably just keep firing direct shots at people without understanding how to treat them properly.
And from what he’d gathered, this Joo Yeomin student wasn’t an ordinary person either.
As his uncle, he couldn’t just ignore this. Director Ahn offered sincere advice.
“First, keep your distance for a while.”
– I don’t want to.
Not planning to listen at all, I see.
– If I pull away even a little, Hyung will try to get rid of me immediately.
It’s too heartbreaking to humor him. Director Ahn’s sigh dispersed into the air.
“Still, keep your distance.”
– That’s not possible.
“Your stubbornness is really…”
– Isn’t there another way? Quickly, come up with some kind of plan.
Am I your boss? Badgering me for ideas?
Director Ahn, who was usually the one doing the badgering, snorted.
Then suddenly, a brilliant strategy occurred to him. On Director Ahn’s desk lay some contract documents.
The word “contract” seemed particularly emphasized.
“Nephew. What’s your strength?”
– I don’t know. Most things are my strengths, aren’t they?
You really have no self-awareness, do you? I shouldn’t have asked.
“Your strength. Something you have that he doesn’t.”
– Hmm, money?
“Right. Use that abundance of money you have. Using the cheat key you possess isn’t cheating—it’s strategy.”
– When I offered him gold bars yesterday, he refused.
Director Ahn turned pale.
“What? You crazy fool, were you going to touch that?”
– Hyung rarely accepts things I give him. Even when he does, he’s extremely wary. I don’t understand what he’s thinking with that small head of his.
Jiho mumbles in a gloomy voice. It was truly unfamiliar to see the great Seol Jiho even sighing.
But then again, this is his first time dating. As far as Director Ahn knew… Jiho had never dated before.
“If he won’t accept it, then create a pretext.”
– Speak so I can understand.
Look at those manners. Suddenly, Director Ahn’s desire to help was fading away.
But soon enough, he curled up the corners of his mouth. Just because he was a little upset didn’t mean he’d miss out on such entertaining spectacle.
“If he says he won’t date, then create a reason that forces him to date. And make it a reason he’ll like the most.”
* * *
‘Anyway, I’ll make my feelings for you, Hyung, turn into love.’
Is he not seriously insane? Who in the world would say something like that and call it a confession?
‘Keep that promise. Otherwise, I think I’ll be very angry.’
And when he said those words, somehow it even felt menacing.
‘He’s someone who might strangle me at any moment. He’s the type who’d push me off a cliff without hesitation. That psycho bastard…’
Yeomin shuddered.
“…”
Yeomin’s eyes caught the large bouquet of roses that was withering. A hundred roses must have cost quite a bit.
It’s not like Seol Jiho would have just bought them from some neighborhood flower shop.
Yeomin felt regretful as he mentally converted the roses to money. Maybe he should dry them for display.
Though Yeomin had no interest in flowers, it was surprising that Jiho had brought them.
Why did he feel like he would become a dried flower in this house, withering away like those roses losing their vibrant color?
The person who brought them doesn’t even care about them… He’d become something whose existence went unnoticed, hanging on the wall, only to be thrown away someday.
His idle thoughts kept multiplying.
“…I really need to leave now.”
He’d given up on the unresponsive homeowner. Instead, he planned to stay at Taeyang’s place for a while, with a thick skin.
No matter how he looked at it, continuing to live in the same house as someone who had confessed to him made no sense.
[Can I crash at your place]
[Just for a while]
If that wasn’t an option, he was planning to go to a jjimjilbang, but Taeyang replied quickly.
[Lee Taeyang: Are you kidding?]
[Lee Taeyang: Come right now]
Of course, Taeyang wouldn’t end it there.
[Lee Taeyang: But why?]
[Lee Taeyang: Did Seol Jiho kick you out?]
Almost… you could say that.
Even though he was leaving on his own, it felt half like being kicked out. Because he couldn’t stay here any longer.
[I’ll explain when we meet]
[I’ll call you before I leave]
After sending the message, Yeomin felt urgent. He planned to pack up first, then talk to Jiho when he returned and leave right away.
Yeomin went around the house gathering his scattered belongings. Though they were few enough to fit in a single bag.
He put together all the things Jiho had bought him since he came to this house. The pajamas he’d been given to sleep in were neatly folded, the indoor slippers were by the entrance, and all the gaming consoles were organized in their places.
This made the house exactly like it was when Yeomin first arrived. That made him feel a bit better.
Now he just needed to remove himself from here.
“But why isn’t he coming back?”
Normally, if Yeomin was just five minutes late getting home, Jiho would bombard him with calls and texts.
But since the confession, Jiho hadn’t been spending much time at home.
‘Is he deliberately avoiding me? He doesn’t seem like someone who would be that considerate.’
If that was true, he needed to leave this house even sooner. There was no need to continue this uncomfortable living situation.
Yeomin looked around the quiet house and said his final goodbyes. He suddenly felt a sense of regret.
“Goodbye, massage chair. Goodbye, comfortable sofa. Goodbye, PlayStation. I don’t know when I’ll see you all again…”
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
“What?”
The doorbell rang while he was lost in sentiment. Yeomin startled. Could it be Seol Jiho? But he wouldn’t ring the bell.
Yeomin hurried to the intercom. The camera showed a man in a suit in the basement parking garage. He looked somehow familiar.
‘You’re here because of Seol Jiho, right?’
‘…And if I am?’
‘Seol Jiho is at our house right now.’
‘So?’
‘Take him away.’
‘…’
‘I said, drag him out of my house right now.’
‘Why should I do that?’
“Gasp, that time…!”
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The bell rang again repeatedly. Yeomin was startled.
‘What should I do?’
He frantically called Jiho, but only heard the dial tone continue.
“Why is he unreachable at times like this?”
While he was stomping his feet anxiously, the bell stopped ringing.
‘Did he leave…?’
Checking the intercom screen, Yeomin muttered a curse.
“Damn it.”
The elevator was coming up. It seemed the man had used a security card to enter.
Yeomin’s mind went blank. Come to think of it, he didn’t know who else besides Jiho knew he was staying here.
‘I’ve been living with my head in the clouds, Joo Yeomin.’
He could have just said he was temporarily staying with Jiho, his university senior, but Yeomin’s legs moved of their own accord.
‘If I hadn’t received that crazy confession recently… I wouldn’t have to hide like a criminal like this.’
Yeomin quickly went into the dressing room and hid in the gap between the closet systems.
Soon after, he could hear a voice from outside the door. It sounded like someone calling Jiho’s name.
The one fortunate thing was that he had just cleaned up the place, so there was no trace of anyone other than Jiho living there.
But his relief was short-lived as the voice drew closer.
“Where the hell has Seol Jiho gone that he’s not answering calls?”
“Hrrk.”
Yeomin covered his mouth. The voice was right in front of the dressing room door.
“Always leaving me to clean up his shit. This bastard—”
The man who had been mumbling to himself soon went quiet.
‘Did he leave because no one’s here?’
All of Yeomin’s senses were focused on listening.
Just then, the dressing room door suddenly flung open. The man who he thought had left strode in.
“I should at least grab some clothes— AHHH!”
“AHHH!”
They both screamed at the same time.
Yeomin, crouched under the clothes rack, came face to face with the man.
It was indeed the same man who had been in that black car in front of Yeomin’s old apartment.
He should have never hidden in the first place. Now he was at a loss for how to explain this situation.
Reading Yeomin’s expression, the man’s face changed from ‘bewilderment’ to ‘sympathy.’
“Um… hello. You must be very surprised, but,”
Joo Yeomin did look quite pitiful right now. Why did I hide here in this position of all places? As Yeomin was experiencing an existential crisis, the man who recognized him asked,
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“…”
How could things get so twisted? Yeomin really felt like crying.
