“Why are you so picky?”
After finishing the meal, I walked alongside Jung Yoonseo and we conversed. Jung Yoonseo left me aside and talked on his phone for a moment. It seemed like he was calling for a designated driver. Since the car was expensive and Jung Yoonseo wasn’t an ordinary person either, it seemed he had a dedicated chauffeur who handled designated driving.
“He says he’ll be here soon if we wait a bit.”
At Jung Yoonseo’s words, I nodded. Sitting on a bench and looking at the well-maintained garden was interesting in its own way. How much did it cost to make this place?
I was watching the water wheel in the garden turning endlessly when Jung Yoonseo hesitated for a moment then spoke:
“Today… earlier, I’m really sorry.”
“Do I really have to beg you to stop apologizing, saying it’s really okay?”
At my words, Jung Yoonseo gave a scattered sort of laugh. He made eye contact for a moment, then said playfully:
“I’m a bit of a twisted person. But it really does seem like something I was born with. I don’t usually tell these kinds of stories to someone I’ve only met twice.”
Stories about Jung Yoonseo’s inner feelings? Well. But Jung Yoonseo might have needed someone to open up to a bit. Someone appropriately close, but not close enough for it to become a weakness, and someone who could empathize with him to some degree.
Jung Yoonseo hadn’t told me everything either. As Jung Yoonseo said, he couldn’t tell someone he’d only met twice all about his deep family circumstances or school days. However, sometimes an appropriate amount of information exchange made things more comfortable for both parties.
Yesterday when I found that book at the bookstore, my head had been a bit complicated, but now I thought it didn’t really matter. Nothing was confirmed yet, so there was no need to be anxious already. It seemed better to wait and see for now. For now.
Jung Yoonseo silently watched me sitting on the bench, checked his phone, and got me up.
“He’s here. Let’s go.”
When I went to where Jung Yoonseo had parked, a driver was standing there. In fact, it seemed like his main job wasn’t designated driving, but rather he was Jung Yoonseo’s direct driver, or the family’s driver who also handled designated driving. Well, he couldn’t just ask anyone to do it.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello. I need to drop this friend off today, so we’ll stop by another neighborhood once before going home. I’ll input the location in the navigation.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Jung Yoonseo opened the back seat door and gestured for me to get in. When I sat in the back seat, Jung Yoonseo also got into the back seat.
The driver smoothly started the car once Jung Yoonseo input the navigation.
“Shall I play some music?”
“Play anything.”
At Jung Yoonseo’s words, the driver played music with practiced ease. It didn’t seem to be the radio, but rather a playlist Jung Yoonseo personally owned. Last time too, pop songs I didn’t know came on, and today there were no familiar songs either.
I listened to the music and looked out the window. The scenery passing by quickly was no different from when I was Kang Seojin. But I was Lee Hyun now. That made me feel very strange.
Jung Yoonseo lowered his voice and asked so only I could hear:
“What are you thinking about?”
“Just looking outside.”
“Is there something worth looking at?”
Laughter burst out at Jung Yoonseo peering at the window in a slightly exaggerated manner.
“Are you bored, young master?”
At my words, Jung Yoonseo looked at me as if absurd. The ridiculous title seemed to make no sense. Seeing Jung Yoonseo’s reaction, I could be certain that Jung Yoonseo was still called young master at home.
“Aren’t you a young master? It seems like the driver barely tried not to let that title out of his mouth.”
Jung Yoonseo, who had been glaring at me with narrowed eyes at my words, honestly admitted:
“Well… I guess so.”
“The day has come when I’m eating with a young master.”
“Can you not create distance like that?”
“I apologize. But it was just kind of fun. Since it’s something I only saw in dramas…”
I looked at Jung Yoonseo for a moment, then asked what I’d been curious about:
“Is the driver who’s driving right now your regular driver, hyung?”
“Um… Yes. For official occasions or when I’m not driving, the driver mostly drives. I think it’s been over ten years with this driver already.”
“It does seem nice to have a driver when you’re tired.”
At my words, Jung Yoonseo gave a playful and cheeky smile and lowered his voice even more:
“It’s useful for more than just that. He’s a driver who’s been with me for a long time.”
What does that mean? Does it mean he accommodates Jung Yoonseo that well? As I was staring at Jung Yoonseo blankly, Jung Yoonseo leaned toward me and whispered:
“Why do you think he played music?”
Jung Yoonseo didn’t seem to be waiting for my answer and continued right away:
“It means he won’t care even if we rub lips here.”
Wow… The confidentiality is top-notch. I was momentarily dumbfounded and looked at Jung Yoonseo. Jung Yoonseo giggled full of mischief, then gradually erased the smile from his face. I finally noticed the tension flowing in the car that Jung Yoonseo’s hardened expression was conveying.
Jung Yoonseo had brought up this kind of talk at the tail end of our last meeting too. I didn’t know what to say, so I just moved my lips. Separate from the fact that I’d never had romantic feelings or sexual tension toward a man, I couldn’t break the most important flow of the original work like this. A groan came out of my mouth as if I was flustered without realizing it.
“Um…”
“Are you really straight? You don’t know until you try.”
When I acted like I was hesitating, Jung Yoonseo tried to persuade me gently. I realized I had made a mistake. It was true that I wanted to get somewhat close to Jung Yoonseo, but I didn’t know it would flow in this direction. An unfortunate situation might occur because of me where the plausibility of the original work wouldn’t function properly even after Eun Haejin joined the company.
“I’m honestly attracted to you. Even though we’ve only met twice.”
When I remained silent, Jung Yoonseo continued in a still gentle voice:
“Actually, I’ve wanted to kiss you since last time. I didn’t know… I guess I’m weak to kind people.”
“Um…”
“Aside from that, I’m just attracted to you.”
Jung Yoonseo’s last words came out almost like a whisper. I got faint goosebumps on my throat at Jung Yoonseo’s voice. When I made eye contact with Jung Yoonseo, he wrapped his hand around mine resting on the seat and lightly scratched the back of my hand with his nails. Goosebumps rose from my spine at Jung Yoonseo’s action. It wasn’t because I disliked it.
I opened my mouth, unable to hide my bewilderment:
“Um, I’m not sure. I’ve never thought about it.”
“You can reject me. I definitely have a feeling I went too far ahead.”
“I’m sorry.”
At my apology, Jung Yoonseo sighed. He pulled back his body that had been leaning toward me. Even after Jung Yoonseo’s hand that had been nibbling at the back of my hand was removed, I had the illusion that warmth remained on the back of my hand for a while.
“…There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“If I somehow made you misunderstand…”
“That’s something you should be a bit sorry about. Because I didn’t misunderstand.”
“…Mm.”
“It’s okay. But we’ll still keep in touch, right? I don’t want you to try to cut off our relationship just because it fizzled out like this.”
When I didn’t answer, Jung Yoonseo hesitated and opened his mouth:
“If you’re really uncomfortable, it can’t be helped… But I hope that’s not the case.”
“Yes. …I’ll try to be a good friend.”
“A good friend.”
With those words, Jung Yoonseo said “a good friend” once more to himself, then frowned slightly and said:
“You should restrain yourself a bit from trying to be a good friend.”
My eyes met Jung Yoonseo’s. Because I couldn’t completely read what Jung Yoonseo’s eyes were saying, I answered “I will” quietly after a while. Jung Yoonseo shrugged lightly once, but after that he remained silent and looked out the car window.
I had no choice but to look at Jung Yoonseo like that for a long time. It felt like guilt and confusion mixed together and went down my throat.
…This strange feeling was a first for me too.
***
After the car stopped in the alley in front of my house, Jung Yoonseo spoke cheerfully again with a smile:
“You need to take the laptop. Here’s the one you were using.”
