# Chapter 88
Seeing the carpet laid out in the garden made me think it was a bit excessive, but once inside, I could only think that they’d really gone all out for this occasion.
Well-dressed people were chatting everywhere, and I looked at hyung with an accusatory gaze.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re the prettiest one here.”
Then he glared at Lee Wonjae and said they agreed there wouldn’t be anything like this, and Wonjae responded without showing the slightest bit of remorse.
“If I had told you to dress up nicely, you definitely would have come extremely dolled up with the mindset of crushing all of us. Think of this as us struggling not to be crushed. This is all because of what you’ve done in the past. Put your hand on your heart and reflect.”
“When you put it that way, I can’t argue.”
Wonjae took special care of Ki Hyunshin and said he would introduce people to him, but hyung asked why he was doing that and refused to leave Hyunshin’s side.
I followed the two of them diligently.
Since this topic had come up once before, I felt I needed to step in immediately if the atmosphere between them became strange.
Looking closely, it wasn’t just hyung who one-sidedly liked Hyunshin; it seemed Hyunshin had some interest in hyung as well.
The atmosphere felt much more intimate than how one would treat a company CEO.
I was quite cautious because I wasn’t sure if I was the only one reading this or if others could see it too.
At this point, I thought it might be better to have Hyunshin and hyung go their separate ways, so I approached them, and hyung glanced at me.
“Hyunshin hyung, come with me. I’ll introduce you to people.”
Even though he was already receiving plenty of introductions there, Hyunshin followed me without question despite how my request might have seemed odd.
Hyung wasn’t oblivious either, so he didn’t try to hold us back.
People naturally gathered wherever Hyunshin went.
But when he was with me, the attention seemed to naturally disperse.
After all, I was the manager of Crop Five, and Crop Five’s popularity was certainly nothing to be ignored.
“Seomin-ssi. Why didn’t Crop Five come together? Oh, I don’t mean I’m disappointed that only Hyunshin-ssi came. I really like Hyunshin-ssi. He’s hanging out with boring Kang Seungwon, so a day like this has finally come. It’s definitely worth the long wait.”
I introduced hyung’s friends and kept my place next to Hyunshin.
If I were Hyunshin, I think I could guess to some extent why hyung brought me to a place like this.
Even though they were close like brothers, bringing him to a gathering like this wasn’t exactly normal.
I kept a close eye on Hyunshin, thinking he might feel burdened, but he mingled quite joyfully.
It was surprising since he wasn’t normally the type to socialize well with others.
“Hyung, are you tired or uncomfortable? If so, I think we could leave now. What do you think? It seems like we’ve brightened up the place enough.”
“I’m having fun, though? Everyone seems nice. I think getting to know them might be helpful later. I should do well now too. It would be nice to land some advertisements. If I get along well with the people here, they might choose me as an advertising model. Now that I’ve joined Grand Tamer, I should help increase sales.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought that this was what he was thinking.
“You don’t have to think like that, hyung.”
“I know. I knew you’d say that too. But I’m not tired. Not uncomfortable either. I think I’ve learned a lot while going around with Crop Five. In the past, I would have been very burdened, but now it’s manageable.”
“If you’re uncomfortable at all, please let me know right away.”
“Sure, I will.”
From then on, I found myself checking the time frequently.
It was because I thought it was about time for Sijin to arrive.
Hyunshin seemed to notice this and suggested I call Sijin.
We agreed he would call when his interview was over, but since there was no contact yet, it seemed it wasn’t finished.
When I said that, he nodded in agreement, but not long after, I checked the time again.
Hyunshin often laughed at this behavior.
“Well, it’s just… Sijin might feel awkward here.”
“Yes. I didn’t say anything.”
“Right…”
As they say, ‘a thief is quick to suspect others of stealing,’ I kept making excuses because I felt self-conscious.
When Sijin finally called, I had to struggle to manage my expression.
As cool and indifferent as possible.
Reminding myself to act as if it was nothing special, I answered the phone.
“Yes, Sijin.”
—Hyung, I don’t think I can make it. What should I do?
“You can’t come?”
My attempt to be cool and indifferent crumbled with just that one sentence.
—Hehehe. Were you waiting?
“Wh-What are you talking about? I’m having fun by myself!”
—Oh, by yourself? Why? Aren’t the others playing with you?
“Stop changing the subject and tell me why. Is it not over yet? That’s fine, but there wasn’t an accident or anything, right?”
—Nothing like that. The traffic is really bad.
“Okay. Then you don’t have to come. Did the interview go well? You worked hard. Go home and rest. I’ll probably be leaving soon too.”
—Really? I’m on my way though. Will we miss each other? Should I go home?
I looked around to ask hyung, but he wasn’t in sight.
So I just told him to go home.
—I’ll do that then. Don’t stay out too late, come home soon. No, actually, I think I should just come.
“No, no. If you come, it might be hard to leave. I’ll leave early after reading the room. Don’t bother trying to come all the way here.”
—Is that better?
“Yes. It’s not fun anyway.”
I could hear Sijin laughing.
I wanted to see him, but I suddenly felt sad that I couldn’t tell him I missed him.
“Get home safely then.”
—Yes, hyung.
It was the same for him too.
Most of what we wanted to say just circled around inside our mouths.
It was bearable now, but I wondered if there would come a time when all of this would burst.
“Sijin can’t come?”
Hyunshin asked, examining my expression.
“No. It seems his interview ended late. He’s on his way, but the traffic is bad, so I told him not to come.”
He smiled without saying much.
“Then shall we head back soon too? Ah, there’s the CEO.”
We went to hyung together and waited for the right moment to speak.
Hyung, seeming to realize what we wanted to say, greeted Wonjae and the others and wrapped things up.
“Why? Leaving already? Hyunshin-ssi, can’t you stay and play a bit more, even if Seungwon leaves?”
Several people said this to Hyunshin, but there was no way he would listen to them.
“Don’t bully him. If you do this, next time I’ll come alone.”
“This guy knows that’s a threat.”
People laughed at Wonjae’s words, and hyung also chuckled and waved to them.
In the car on the way back, Hyunshin asked hyung about the people he had met.
I explained about the people I knew, but I couldn’t explain about those I didn’t know.
Each time hyung explained, Hyunshin was amazed.
“Usually, I completely forget that you’re from a chaebol family, but seeing this, you really are a chaebol. The level of people you associate with is different.”
“The level is all the same. It might even be lower. There aren’t many people I’d be proud to introduce you to.”
“Still, it’s fascinating.”
“If you think about it that way, family gatherings would be even more fascinating.”
Hyung and Hyunshin talked endlessly.
It seemed like they were carefully keeping the spark of conversation alive, as if they thought the fire would die out if even one person stopped talking.
Even though I didn’t say anything and just listened to the two of them talking, I found myself smiling and feeling good for no reason.
“Why have you been grinning like that the whole time?”
“Wow, what are you saying? Now you’re just being rude.”
Hyunshin said we seemed very close, and we argued, insisting absolutely not.
They dropped me off first, and this continued until I got out of the car.
They had been chattering so much that I was completely dazed, but I couldn’t help smiling.
It was because I was wondering when hyung and I had become this comfortable with each other.
As I turned around to go home, Sijin, who had been waiting, approached me.
When I looked around to see if anyone had recognized him, Sijin laughed.
Saying that even if someone recognized him, they would just pretend not to know each other here.
“Was it fun?”
“No, not at all.”
“Still, the CEO would have been happy that you went. Since we don’t do much for him usually, I think it’s good to go along with him like this once in a while.”
Who would have imagined that Han Sijin would become someone who considered such things?
“Let’s go quickly, hyung. I have a lot to tell you.”
When we arrived home, Sijin told me what happened after the interview.
“Team Leader Hyun came during the interview. He said he heard I was there and came, but on his way to me, he met someone he used to manage.”
“Someone he used to manage?”
“Yes. Someone who was at Grand Tamer, but then moved to another team when Team Leader Hyun was managing them. He said things weren’t going well, so he always felt bad when thinking about that person, but now they’ve changed companies and are preparing an album.”
Come to think of it, I had heard about this before.
