On the other hand, though Huiseo tried to act calm, after hearing his answer, his head only became more complicated. Just when he thought it was already like a riddle, he was only given even more puzzling hints. Same side? Competition? It was naturally still difficult for Huiseo, who didn’t know the circumstances and time that Yuwon had been watching him, to understand.
Just as Huiseo was irritably sweeping back his hair with a frustrated heart.
“……?”
In Huiseo’s eyes, he saw something jumping around beyond the break room window.
‘…A person? What? Who is it? What are they doing?’
He didn’t know if he should call it fortunate, but it was an angle that Yuwon, who was sitting facing Huiseo, couldn’t see unless he turned around. Then that seemed like an action meant for him to see. Why? What? Just as Huiseo’s eyes, now suspicious of everything, narrowed.
Looking closely, he could see that person sending some kind of hand signal.
A hand cupped as if lightly holding something fluttered desperately near her ear.
‘…Phone?’
Was she telling him to answer the phone?
‘Why would that person to me?’
It was a situation not easily understood. So he looked at her with dubious eyes for a moment, but just in case, Huiseo took out the phone that was in his outer coat pocket. Then, as soon as he turned on the screen, he couldn’t close his mouth.
[Missed Calls (56)]
[Messages (78)]
All of them were from Hwan.
‘Why did he call this many times?’
Because he’d set it to silent, he hadn’t noticed at all. He’d been diligently going around various parts of the company, and Yuwon sitting in front of him had completely distracted him with incomprehensible talk, so he hadn’t even realized when time had passed like this. The interview had long since ended, and Hwan had returned to the palace but since he wasn’t there, it seemed he’d been searching like this.
Actually, not knowing he’d end up doing something like this “company tour” out of the blue, Huiseo had planned to just argue roughly and if things went wrong, land a punch and return, so he hadn’t contacted Hwan in advance. There was his own reason of not wanting to cause unnecessary worry, but still, this was entirely his fault.
His expression became awkward.
“It’s too late. I need to go now.”
Without even a moment to think further, Huiseo stood up.
However, Yuwon, who had found this opportunity to be alone with difficulty, couldn’t let him go so easily. There was still much more left to say. So with a displeased expression, he grabbed the hand of Huiseo who had stood up first, but the response that came back was not just firm but cold.
“Do you need to hear an answer right now? If so, I only have one answer.”
Anyone could hear it was a declaration that if he whined any more here, he’d be rejected outright. It was truly astounding.
‘…When he’s so lenient with that bastard Lee Hwan.’
His insides twisted, but right now there was no other way. Before Jeong Huiseo, who wouldn’t bend to him, ended up breaking off completely, he had to let him go. Yuwon helplessly released the hand he’d been holding onto.
“You’re always only to me….”
He forcibly swallowed the words of resentment that were about to come out.
Right, if it had been easy, there would have been no reason to be so desperate from the start. Having given up that today was no longer possible, Yuwon instead brought up future matters to Huiseo.
“Then when will we talk again? Will I have to forcibly call you out like this time?”
“So you were aware it was forcible?”
“Don’t deflect.”
Seeing that sarcasm didn’t work, if he answered wrong here, it seemed like another threatening contact like today’s would come again soon.
“I need to think….”
At that moment, the screen of the phone Huiseo was holding also lit up flashing again. As if fully aware of the current situation, it must be Hwan’s urging for him to come back quickly.
“I need to think about it….”
Wondering what on earth this was, Huiseo pressed his forehead with a rapidly fatigued complexion.
***
—Yeah, Hwan-ah.
After dozens of attempts, finally, it was a call that barely connected.
At Huiseo’s voice calling him that came through the phone, Hwan felt like he would truly, not as a joke, burst into tears. Because of that, even though Hwan had made the call himself, he couldn’t say anything for a moment and just let out quiet breathing sounds.
Huiseo was silently waiting for that brief silence.
“…Where are you?”
—I’m on my way now.
“……”
With that simple conversation ended, words were cut off again.
In such silence, Huiseo briefly let out a laugh like a sigh.
Surely during all those many calls, questions must have piled up like a mountain—where did he go, why did he go, and why didn’t he answer the phone. Yet now that the stage was set, Hwan who couldn’t properly shoot out even one remark seemed so pitiful.
—Sorry. I had it on silent so I didn’t know at all.
“……”
So Hwan, after catching his breath without answering for a moment, suddenly muttered something different.
“…Where will you come to?”
Then a chuckle leaked between Huiseo’s lips. Where will he come to.
—Are you going to come out to meet me?
“…Yeah.”
—Then, if I come out to Yeongchumun Gate in about 10 minutes, would that work?
“Now.”
—Huh?
“I’ll go now. So quickly….”
Come quickly.
Hwan, who was about to say those words, suddenly closed his mouth and immediately corrected himself.
“No, you can come slowly. I’ll wait.”
It was quite sorrowful and admirable words, to the point it was hard to believe Hwan had said them. Because of that, Huiseo lost his words for a moment and just let out quiet breathing sounds. But even that was brief, as Huiseo’s voice tinged with laughter spoke as if scolding him.
—What’s going on? You’ve suddenly matured too much.
“…If this is maturing, I can do it a hundred more times.”
—…Really? When did you grow up like this.
“So don’t turn your eyes elsewhere and come straight here. Okay? Huiseo-ya. You understand, right?”
It might sound like nothing, but those words contained so many meanings.
It was fine to come slowly. As long as he came straight to him. Because then it would be okay. In that sense, Hwan, wanting to hear Huiseo’s answer, kept urging and asking with an anxious heart, but for some reason Huiseo didn’t answer right away and laughed low, “huhu.”
Then he really said something deflating.
—What about buying something delicious? Is that also turning my eyes elsewhere?
“Hey, I’m not joking around!”
Since Huiseo played around like that first, soon Hwan also whined as usual. This guy, when he said those words with what kind of heart. It seemed he annoyingly thought it was a joke. It was beyond absurd to the point of being angry, but Huiseo even laughed “haha” continuously at what he found funny.
—Waffles aren’t okay either? I was going to buy chocolate ones?
“…Ha.”
Perhaps this was like the karma he’d built up all this time.
‘That’s right, you should have played around a bit less, past Hwan.’
Though he scolded himself like that, even so, when he really didn’t understand even a speck like this, a hurt feeling suddenly raised its head. However, that feeling also soon scattered away because of Huiseo.
Asking so cutely like that.
Hwan, who finally gave up, responded sulkily.
“…Then come quickly. I hate soggy things.”
It was a remark shot out because pretending not to know was somehow annoying.
However, he thought that for Huiseo, that might have been the answer he wanted more. Because his laughing voice saying to leave it to him felt somehow thicker than before.
***
He’d now mastered bringing in outside food.
Of course, there was also the reason that they let it pass appropriately because the other party was Huiseo.
Anyway, the two people who reunited after safely passing through Yeongchumun Gate quickly hid themselves sitting in a small grove of trees next to Hwan’s quarters and each put a chocolate waffle that Huiseo had bought into their respective mouths.
Their skill at eating quickly without making a sound in case someone saw was excellent. Ever since they were young, when Huiseo would go out of the palace and return, they would often secretly eat outside food like this, and it was an amazing ability honed through that.
“…Delicious.”
“…Yeah.”
They each said a word like those childhood memories from back then that made their mouths feel sweet just thinking about them, but even so, the awkward atmosphere between the two couldn’t disappear. Because of that, Huiseo, who had been constantly crinkling the innocent wrapping paper, finally opened his mouth first.
“…Choi Yuwon called me so I went briefly.”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about making a different excuse.
However, Huiseo decided to talk about this matter as honestly as possible.
After all, if left alone, he’d have many bad thoughts. Also because Hwan had a fearsome imagination in that field, to the point where he’d be hurt if called second.
Moreover, if he made a clumsy excuse to get past this moment, it was obvious that he’d be even more upset if he found out separately later. It would be normal to press and interrogate about where he went right away. The fact that he wasn’t doing that somehow seemed like his feelings were already hurt, which weighed on his mind.
“…Why did he call you?”
“He said he had something to say.”
“…What did he say?”
“Um….”
At a critical point, Huiseo fell silent for a moment. At that, though Hwan tried to act calm, in reality he clenched his fists hard, finding it difficult to endure the tension pressing down on him. Huiseo didn’t know, but Hwan even knew the circumstances of Yuwon taking him to the company.
It wasn’t anywhere else but the company, so he didn’t seem likely to try to hide that story now, so there was no worry in that regard.
However, he was anxious and felt like his blood was drying up because he had no idea at all what they had talked about there. Because whatever the talk was, it didn’t seem like it would be good talk for him.
“Listen without being surprised.”
In the meantime, Huiseo, who had been hesitating, soon opened his mouth as if determined. But saying not to be surprised—it seemed he didn’t know that saying such things would only make him more nervous.
However, what Huiseo said next was truly, honestly, something he couldn’t help but be surprised at.
“To put it simply, it was a recruitment.”
“What?”
“Um… So he said let’s go study abroad together after graduation.”
“…What?”
