# Chapter 12
Just then, Iyeon suddenly stood up.
“Food.”
His face, barely able to open his eyes, was clearly marked with hunger. His hair, which had become disheveled from just lying down for a moment, belatedly fluttered. Sano, who witnessed this sudden sleep-talking, naturally straightened his back, soon returning to the same proper posture as before.
“I feel like I’m going to die of hunger.”
“We had dinner after catching the Flock Phoenixes.”
“That wasn’t a meal. It was just a palate cleanser.”
They had each emptied two bowls of rice with a bowl of sundae soup.
“Right. I was wondering why I was hungry. Everything we do is just to eat and live!”
Iyeon exaggeratedly collapsed, grumbling that this was outrageous labor exploitation, but since he was exploiting himself, there was no one to hold accountable. Sano sarcastically scolded him with parental sternness.
“I told you to eat breakfast.”
“That’s different!”
Iyeon shook his head, then immediately looked at Sano. A resolute determination sparkled in his eyes.
“This won’t do. Let’s eat something.”
And so, the two found themselves visiting a skewer place called <Night Skewer>, a block away from the office, at a time approaching midnight.
“Oh, Iyeon-ssi! Welcome. Where did Hyegang go?”
“He’s sleeping. I left him because he wouldn’t wake up.”
For Hyegang, who had briefly passed out, this was actually the start of his day. As his young liver detoxified the alcohol, he would find his way home on his own and enjoy the rest of his day.
At this casual answer, Sua, the owner of Night Skewer, smiled and handed over a menu. Though the old menu was covered with fingerprints, it didn’t hinder ordering.
Night Skewer, small and shabby, filling up with just three tables, was Iyeon’s regular spot. It was cheap, delicious, and the owner was friendly—all advantages. Although the business hours occasionally changed arbitrarily, it generally didn’t cause major problems for customers.
Iyeon, who had quickly ordered ten chicken skewers and fish cake soup, drank a cup of water. The purified water entering his stomach, which had been filling up with beer all evening, slightly quenched his thirst.
“Now I might survive.”
“Iyeon-ssi, who is this young man?”
Seeing a new face in a small bar operated mainly by regular customers was uncommon. It was also a face handsome enough to make it difficult not to take interest.
“A temporary part-timer.”
“Oh, you hired help?”
“Somehow it turned out that way.”
Even as the two exchanged small talk, Sano didn’t even turn his gaze, as if unimpressed. At his cold response, Sua cheerfully asked, “Oh my, does the part-timer perhaps have a condition with his ears?”
She was lively and kind, but not very perceptive.
“…”
Sano clenched and unclenched his fist under the table. Iyeon explained on behalf of Sua, who failed to notice that a conflict involving Sano’s life had just occurred.
“He’s a bit shy with strangers.”
“Ah, I thought he couldn’t make eye contact.”
Surprisingly accepting this explanation, Sua winked and said they should get closer gradually, then began preparing the food in earnest. While the sizzling sounds from beyond the bar filled the silence, a stern gaze fixed on Iyeon’s white cheek. Iyeon asked glumly:
“Got something to say?”
“Your name.”
“Huh?”
“Say your name again.”
That was quick.
“Um… Jung Iyeon…”
Wait, I told you this morning and you forgot? Have you been going around not knowing my name? Come to think of it, he had never been called by name. Even though they’d been together all day, Sano’s indifference made his skin crawl.
Regardless of whether the person in front of him shuddered, Sano repeated the name internally. Jung Iyeon.
“I got it.”
The food came out quickly. Iyeon smiled broadly at the table full of dishes and began devouring the late-night meal.
While Sano ate a couple of chicken skewers, Iyeon emptied all the remaining skewers, then ordered a new assortment of skewers. While waiting for them to arrive, he systematically showed his appetite by fishing out fish cakes from the soup. Sano instinctively realized it would take a long time to leave this place.
“Where are you going?”
Iyeon looked curiously at Sano, who suddenly stood up, but he ignored him and moved. Guessing the intention of the large figure leaving the restaurant on his own, Iyeon helpfully called out:
“The bathroom is on the left when you go out, on the 2nd floor!”
Sano, who entered the alley on the right side of the building, took out his phone. Without hesitation, his fingers tapped the screen and made a call.
“Speak.”
A low voice echoed in the alley. After listening to the person on the other end of the phone for a while, Sano leaned his back against the wall. His handsome face, though covered in all sorts of dust, looked up.
“I didn’t expect it.”
The cloudy sky, with no visible stars, was pitch black. Despite the store right next door being brightly lit and open for business, almost no light entered the narrow alley. From within the shadows, his indifferent eyes moved as if searching for the person beyond the wall who would be munching on skewers to his heart’s content.
“There’s a need to keep watch.”
His green eyes, hidden in darkness, glowed faintly and burned.
*
“…”
Lying on the bed, Iyeon stared at the ceiling with a serious face. It had already been about three days since he met Je Sano.
Surprisingly, after the first day, Sano didn’t threaten Iyeon or Hyegang with his abilities. Though he verbally growled about killing them, he had never actually hurt them with force. It seemed he wasn’t as violent a person as Iyeon had thought.
Thanks to that, Iyeon became more comfortable with him and gradually began to reveal his normally shameless personality, even making jokes frequently. Whether Sano reciprocated is omitted.
Well, considering it another way, it also meant that when Sano attacked Iyeon when they first met, he was truly serious… Iyeon had survived well. Recalling the memory from that time, Iyeon shuddered under his soft blanket.
Anyway, Sano had more or less adapted to his new life.
He would come to work with Iyeon, fiddle with his phone on the sofa while Iyeon discussed quarterly missions or requests with Hyegang, and leave the office with Iyeon when he finished work. Sometimes he went out alone for a few hours, but he usually returned within working hours.
When Iyeon went out for variant missions, Sano willingly helped, and thanks to Sano’s contributions, mission completion times were drastically reduced. As a result, Iyeon had been enjoying exceptional work-life balance lately.
Here was one problem.
“Jung Iyeon.”
Bam. The door opened without a knock. Looking toward the door, Sano stood there in comfortable attire. His sleeves, roughly rolled up, revealed glimpses of his muscular forearms.
“Breakfast.”
“It’s okay.”
Sano’s eyes immediately grew cold.
“I mean, it’s okay to eat breakfast…”
Iyeon mumbled while avoiding the fiercely flashing gaze.
“Don’t dawdle.”
After curtly spitting these words, Sano turned back and went to the kitchen. Watching his retreating back blankly, Iyeon thought:
‘Why… doesn’t Je Sano go home?’
Today’s breakfast was seven strips of bacon, five fried eggs, and five slices of toast. The simple yet hearty American breakfast was delicious. Surprisingly, Je Sano had a talent for cooking.
While Iyeon mumbled and cleared his plate, Sano naturally headed to the bathroom. Perhaps because his body was so firm, the white t-shirt and black training pants suited him very well.
‘Wait, where did he get those clothes from?’
The only pants in Iyeon’s home that fit Sano’s size were the gray jogger pants of unknown origin that Sano wore on the first day—Iyeon washed them the next day, but Sano didn’t even glance at those pants. Reaching the bathroom wearing indoor clothes Iyeon had never seen before, Sano started undressing casually as if it were his own home.
Startled by the sudden strip show, Iyeon quickly buried his gaze in his plate. To erase the remnants of the well-toned back muscles glimpsed from his peripheral vision with the creamy egg yolk, he chewed and swallowed thoroughly until he heard the bathroom door closing. Soon came the sound of the shower, “shaa.”
‘Why is he so natural about it?’
Sano’s clothes, soaked by the rain, had been taken to a nearby laundry by Iyeon. Black leather coat, dark neck tee, black jeans. It was a simple combination, but he had never paid such expensive cleaning fees before. Were the clothes made of gold or what…
The laundry owner scolded Iyeon for turning such good clothes into rags—which was unfair—but fortunately, they were successfully restored. The casual yet somehow intimidating outfit suited Sano well. With his black hair and completely dark clothes, he looked a bit like a grim reaper at first glance, but…
Iyeon also finished his shower, came out, and put on his clothes. Light blue jeans and a large V-neck that clearly showed his collarbones made Iyeon look younger than his actual age.
“Let’s go.”
As Iyeon headed to the entrance first, Sano followed with long strides. His gaze, positioned much higher than Iyeon who was putting on his shoes, briefly touched and left the area near his chest where the neckline was deeply cut.
