Seungyeon hesitated and looked at him. The answer of “So what about it?” was transparently readable on his face, making Yoon Taerim burst into laughter again.
“I’m just saying, so don’t make that face. You’re scary—I can’t say anything.”
He was about to protest but just closed his mouth. It seemed like nothing good would come from saying anything more. Whether Yoon Taerim was being capricious or not, he didn’t want to care about it.
You don’t avoid shit because it’s scary—you avoid it because it’s dirty. Seungyeon, calming himself as much as possible, pushed open the car door.
As soon as he opened the door and stepped out, the parking lot’s characteristic dusty smell and rumbling noise hit him. As Seungyeon looked around to see where they should go, Yoon Taerim pointed toward the elevator from behind him.
“Shall we go enjoy an adult date then?”
Following him as he took the lead with a gentle smile, Seungyeon reluctantly moved his feet.
***
Yoon Taerim propped his chin up with a relaxed expression. He’d never once thought he liked observing and gauging people, but it seemed he’d have to abandon that notion now.
“Is it good?”
As soon as he asked the question, Baek Seungyeon’s hand flinched to a stop. It would be a lie to say his transparently readable expression wasn’t amusing. Yoon Taerim, covering his lips with his hand entirely, leaned his body forward slightly.
“You were eating so deliciously.”
Baek Seungyeon, placing the fork he’d been holding lightly on the plate, picked up his water glass with a prim face. Yoon Taerim observed every moment of him moistening his lips without missing a thing.
“You told me to enjoy it. So I was enjoying it.”
“Right. I’m so proud watching you.”
He casually pushed the plate toward Baek Seungyeon. Wondering if it suited his taste, Seungyeon, while staying wary of him, subtly grabbed his fork again. He bit his lips hard to keep from laughing at the sight of him enthusiastically continuing his meal.
The more he looked and the more he observed, the more Baek Seungyeon’s colors bounced around erratically. He’d thought it was obvious, common single-sided colored paper, but looking closely, it was full of holographic patterns on top. He couldn’t predict it and couldn’t pin it down, but watching it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
It was the same now. Until they entered the restaurant, he’d seemed like someone desperate to run away at any moment, but once food he liked was laid out before his eyes, his gaze changed. Watching him eat combatively like a squirrel gathering acorns was filling even just to watch.
“Won’t you have a drink?”
“I’m fine.”
“Still, want to look at the list? The wine here is really good. There are a lot of expensive ones too.”
“…What do they have?”
The thought of Let’s at least take a look at the expensive stuff was readable as is. Yoon Taerim held back his laughter and raised his hand to call over a staff member.
He chose a vintage he liked from among the staff’s recommended wines. Before long, he offered the served wine to Baek Seungyeon.
With a slightly excited feeling, he observed his reaction. As if to meet those expectations, Seungyeon, taking a sip, opened his eyes wide.
“It’s delicious…”
“Right? I knew you’d like it. I saw last time that you drink well too. I have to drive, so drink my share for me, Seungyeon-ssi.”
He poured more wine into the half-empty glass. Even if he pretended otherwise, he’d long noticed that Baek Seungyeon liked alcohol. At their first meeting too, and at the hotel gathering, he’d sipped away quite well by himself.
Baek Seungyeon’s cheeks, fiddling with the wine glass, quickly flushed. He didn’t seem drunk, but his atmosphere and attitude were definitely more relaxed than before. What would happen if I offered him a bit more alcohol here?
“I’ll take you home after you finish this. It’s okay to tell Sanho we went to the amusement park today and drank until late in the evening, right? It’s not exactly a lie.”
They had gone to the amusement park, and they did drink, so it wasn’t a lie. Seungyeon nodded half-heartedly and downed the remaining wine in one gulp. If he drinks this well, should I send him off with a bottle on the way out? While he was pondering, Yoon Taerim’s phone vibrated.
After checking the screen, he observed Seungyeon, who seemed unconcerned. Yoon Taerim, filling the empty glass with wine once more, naturally stood up from his seat.
“I’ll take a call real quick and come back.”
Seungyeon nodded while sipping the wine. Leaving him behind, he took his phone and went right outside the restaurant. Only after confirming the door had closed did he press the call button.
“Hello.”
—What the hell does that text mean?
Go Yeongbin’s thoroughly poisoned voice struck his eardrum. Yoon Taerim reflexively turned his head to check the restaurant entrance. Even after confirming no one was passing by, he anxiously lowered the phone volume.
“What meaning would there be? You called because you saw the content, didn’t you? You know well that I’m not that free of a person, don’t you, Yeongbin-ssi?”
—Exactly. So it’s too weird that someone who’s not even free is suddenly going around asking about Jaeyun’s news. Fuck, hey, did Jaeyun hit on you this time? Is that why Jaeyun told me to break up and all that bullshit? You really need to tell me the truth right now.
Despite having prepared the fund, Go Yeongbin had been notified of a breakup by Jaeyun—no, Baek Seungyeon. Whether the shock was considerable or because he was sincere about Baek Seungyeon, Go Yeongbin still hadn’t let go of his lingering feelings.
Yoon Taerim, hearing the news secondhand, immediately contacted Go Yeongbin. Though they weren’t that close a relationship, they were acquaintances who occasionally saw each other’s faces, so Yoon Taerim knew what kind of person Go Yeongbin was. Go Yeongbin, who was notorious for playing dirty, was also famous for not stopping those who came and not holding onto those who left. He was curious why such a person was so hung up on Baek Seungyeon.
And above all, he needed to find out how exactly Baek Seungyeon came to know Jung Sanho.
“It’s exactly as the text says. I’m not interested in Jaeyun or whatever—what I’m curious about is how he came to know Jung Sanho. You’d know that, Yeongbin-ssi. That’s the only overlapping connection between them.”
Go Yeongbin was well acquainted with Jung Sanho’s biological older brother. If Baek Seungyeon had deliberately approached Jung Sanho, that information would ultimately have been conveyed through Go Yeongbin.
Yoon Taerim’s guess wasn’t wrong. If it weren’t, Go Yeongbin wouldn’t have bothered to see the text and contact him. Go Yeongbin, already thoroughly pissed off from receiving the breakup notification, immediately bit at the bait Yoon Taerim had offered. His seething voice was full of resentment and anger.
—Hey! I didn’t just talk about Jung Sanho! He asked for information on everyone who seemed worth hitting on while testing the waters. He’s famous in this scene, you know? A fucking vicious piece of trash! You know that’s not even his real name, right? If someone has money and seems worth going for, he doesn’t care about gender or age—he smoothly seduces them and puts them in the palm of his hand!
The more he repeated the words “vicious piece of trash,” the more dampiy Go Yeongbin’s voice became soaked.
—I have a recording of the call, so I’ll send it if you need it. He’s really a fucking trash bastard… Fuck, but he’s still my trash! He said with me, fuck, we’d absolutely never break up…! That bastard! Fucking bastard! Money-crazed bastard! Son of a bitch!
“…Yeongbin-ssi, are you crying?”
At the breath that was beyond damp and sticky, Yoon Taerim slightly pulled the phone away from his ear. Only after crying like that for a while did Go Yeongbin belatedly come to his senses. Still full of moisture, but not to the point of being unintelligible.
—You be careful too! You know what he’s best at? Catching people’s weaknesses like a ghost and smoothly luring them with words he doesn’t mean. Making you feel like you’re the most important and precious person in the whole world. But in the end, he’s never once been sincere. That’s what really drives people crazy. And…
“And?”
Go Yeongbin, steadying his breathing, burst into tears again with a sob.
—He’s fucking good at it. So good that you’d want to worship him even knowing everything. Out of all the people I’ve seen, heard about, and met, there’s no one as good at that shit as him. Fuck, fuck! Hey, you’re in contact with Jaeyun, right? Huh? Please tell him to just answer my calls. I’ll give him money if he needs it, so just tell him to meet me one more time! Huh?
It didn’t seem like any decent information would come from the excited Go Yeongbin even if they talked more. He gave a vague acknowledgment to the words pouring out in a rush and hung up. Looking down at the disconnected phone, Yoon Taerim let out a hollow laugh.
So he knew Baek Seungyeon was trash, knew he was hitting on him, knew he’d approached with a fake name, but still accepted all of it? The sound of Go Yeongbin’s soggy crying clinging to his ear was beyond absurd—it was ridiculous.
“What the hell did he do to make him like this?”
If it were just Jung Sanho alone, he’d think the kid was just originally stubborn, but with even the thoroughly rotten Go Yeongbin acting like this, he couldn’t help but be curious. What exactly is Baek Seungyeon’s charm? What is he so good at that people go crazy over him?
Yoon Taerim’s brow narrowed because of the phone whining like a wail. He checked the phone screen. Short texts had come in from Go Yeongbin.
[I’ll send you the recording]
[You stay sharp too. Don’t get bewitched by him]
[But couldn’t you ask him to contact me just once?]
