Ilkyung reached out to find the pillow and pressed it over the back of his head.
“Hm?”
The scent from the pillow was different. It was somehow unfamiliar. Only then did Ilkyung’s eyes fly open.
“Huh?”
Ilkyung bolted upright from where he was lying and looked around, glancing this way and that.
“Are you awake?”
“Huh?”
Ilkyung’s eyes widened instantly.
“Director? But, wait, why is the Director here…!”
Ilkyung pointed at Daehoon with his index finger, his mouth opening and closing as if he were seeing things.
“Pointing at people first thing in the morning is a bit much.”
Daehoon gently caught Ilkyung’s finger and lowered it. Ilkyung was bewildered, wondering what on earth was going on. Then he started examining his own body.
“What are you doing right now?”
Daehoon crossed his arms and looked down at Ilkyung. Ilkyung frantically checked himself up and down, even lifting the blanket to look underneath.
“Why am I here?”
“Then where should you be?”
He lifted the blanket again and glanced inside.
“Do you think being gay means I’d touch just anyone?”
Woo Ilkyung was acting like a man and woman the morning after drinking and causing trouble. It grated on Daehoon’s nerves in a strange way.
“Do you remember passing out drunk while I stepped out to take a call? You don’t black out when you drink, do you?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Ilkyung remember. Right. They went to that omakase restaurant, and the food that came out in order was so delicious that he naturally kept sipping sake while eating. Then, even while Director Ha Daehoon briefly left his seat, he continued drinking, and all the tension that had built up throughout the day because of his appointment with Director Ha Daehoon released at once, causing him to fall asleep just like that.
“But why didn’t you take me home and brought me here instead? Didn’t you say you knew my address?”
“And here I went out of my way to bring you here.”
Daehoon clicked his tongue.
“Let’s get ready for work. Go wash up. You can use the bathroom attached to this room. I’ll leave clothes by the bathroom door. There are new toothbrushes and razors inside, so use those.”
Daehoon spoke simply and concisely, then walked straight out of the room. Ilkyung couldn’t think of anything to say and just stared blankly at Daehoon’s retreating figure. His head hurt. Whether it was from the hangover or because his mind was complicated, he couldn’t tell.
“Ugh, alcohol is the enemy.”
Ilkyung squeezed his head tight, then used his phone screen to look at his reflection.
“Ack!”
There was some ugly person with a bird’s nest on their head in the LCD screen. Ilkyung let out a silent scream like the protagonist in Munch’s “The Scream,” then flopped back down on the bed and kicked his legs uselessly into the air. This was truly a stain on Woo Ilkyung’s life, and would be cringe-inducing for years to come.
Entering the bathroom, Ilkyung looked around. As befitting the grandson of a chaebol family, the bathroom was the size of Ilkyung’s room. Ilkyung’s family was well-off too, but the financial power of a chaebol family was on another level.
“Wow, this is seriously no joke. Can a mirror even be this clean?”
Ilkyung’s eyes widened as he looked at the mirror without a single fingerprint. Bathroom products lined up in a row, a spotless sink, tiles without a trace of water stains… Director Ha probably didn’t clean himself, but you could tell at a glance how much of a neat freak he was.
“This is burdensome. Can I even wash up in a place like this? If a hair falls out, won’t he treat me like a bug?”
Ilkyung muttered as he opened the cabinet and took out a toothbrush and razor.
Though he said that, after washing up thoroughly, Ilkyung cracked open the bathroom door and quickly grabbed the clothes placed in front of the door. After putting on the underwear and clothes, he tilted his head in confusion. How did he know my size? Did he check the label on my clothes? But it didn’t seem like something Director Ha Daehoon would do based on his personality.
When he woke up, it seemed like Director Ha hadn’t laid a finger on him. Only his socks had been removed, everything else was the same. He felt it in the bathroom too, but was he a germaphobe? No. Seeing how he’d been left on the bed still in his outdoor clothes, he probably wasn’t a germaphobe. Whether Director Ha was a germaphobe or whatever didn’t matter since there was no reason for them to be involved, but if he’d guessed the size just from appearance, his eye for detail was impressive.
Ilkyung opened the door and came out into the living room.
“Wow!”
The living room was huge—way too huge. Ilkyung stood in the middle of the living room and looked around.
“Where did he go?”
He had no idea where Director Ha Daehoon was. Just then, a large window that was presumably the balcony opened and Director Ha came in. Because of the pouring sunlight, he thought some celebrity was entering. So handsome people look like they’re in a photoshoot even in the morning. Ilkyung stood there in a daze, thinking such thoughts.
“Are the clothes okay?”
“Ah, yes.”
There was a faint scent of cigarettes from Director Ha. He’d thought this in Director Ha’s office too, but it wasn’t nauseating or unpleasant. Maybe because it was mixed with the cologne Director Ha used, it felt like the scent of an adult. Ilkyung unconsciously gulped.
“Let’s have breakfast. Let’s eat something simple at least before going to work.”
Come to think of it, there was a savory smell of rice and the smell of delicious soup that made his mouth water coming from somewhere.
“Um, Director.”
Daehoon was about to pass by when Ilkyung called out, and he looked back with a face asking what was wrong.
“Well, I’m sorry. Because I got drunk…”
As Ilkyung bowed his head, Director Ha suddenly approached. Startled, Ilkyung froze, unable to even step back.
“No, that’s not it. You’re apologizing for the wrong thing right now. It’s fine to get drunk while drinking. But you made me feel bad by treating me like some shameless person. Even though I asked Ilkyung-ssi to pretend to date me, I don’t go around touching just any man. Let’s just eat.”
Daehoon turned his back. Ilkyung reached out his hand, then withdrew it. This time, he was the one in the wrong.
* * *
The breakfast table was very awkward. The dinner table the night before hadn’t been this awkward, but the breakfast table was like sitting on pins and needles. When Director Ha suddenly switched to informal speech just now, Ilkyung couldn’t immediately respond. Because what Director Ha said was true.
He’d thought it unconsciously. Since Director Ha Daehoon said he was gay, maybe he’d done something to him while he was drunk last night. If the other person had been someone else, he would have been anxious about whether he’d made a fool of himself and apologized first saying he was sorry. But Ilkyung had unconsciously treated Daehoon with prejudice.
He didn’t know how he managed to eat breakfast, come out together, get in the same car, and arrive at the Center. Arriving at the parking lot, Director Ha got out as naturally as if it were his own car and pressed the key into Ilkyung’s hand.
“Do you want to go up first, or should I go up first?”
“I’ll go up first. But um, Director.”
Director Ha was taking out a cigarette when Ilkyung called, and they made eye contact. His black eyes looked cold, so Ilkyung gulped and took a deep breath. He pondered what to say and selected his words for a moment.
“I didn’t mean to, but I’m sorry for making you feel bad with the actions I thoughtlessly took. I don’t have any prejudice against gay people, but this morning I was out of it and… Anyway, I’m sorry. I did act wrongly, and there’s no excuse for it. I’m sorry once again.”
Ilkyung bowed his head and apologized politely. He was curious what Director Ha would say in response, but like a child being scolded by an elder, he couldn’t easily raise his head.
“Assistant Manager Woo.”
“Yes?”
“I’m not holding it against you, so raise your head.”
Ilkyung raised his head and observed carefully. Daehoon chuckled.
“You’ll be late. Go on in first.”
“Yes, then I’ll go up first.”
Ilkyung bowed his head lightly again in greeting, then turned around cleanly and had taken a few steps when—
“You have a cute side.”
Ilkyung, who had been walking, stopped abruptly. It didn’t seem like something said for him to hear, more like talking to himself, but having heard it all, Ilkyung couldn’t act naturally. Unable to turn around, he pretended not to have heard anything and quickly hurried his steps.
