The hotel that the company urgently arranged had very good facilities, but there was only one room. However, though it was called one room, there were two bedrooms and the living room was larger than Euiju’s entire house combined.
Haeseong entrusted his body to the sofa with a peaceful face. The way he languidly wiggled his feet while reading the script Euiju handed him didn’t look at all like the person who had been whining just a few hours ago to be carried on his back because he was scared.
Until coming down here, he had been extremely tense and sensitive about insects, but now he was sitting there so relaxed and leisurely—it truly couldn’t help but be an amusing sight.
Euiju, who had put Haeseong’s carrier in the best room and was organizing it, called Kim Jaeho.
“Team Leader-nim. Where should I stay?”
[Ah, isn’t that place really big? Ask Haeseong and if he says no, I’ll get you another room. But Haeseong probably won’t say anything, right? If it’s Euiju-ssi.]
“…I understand for now.”
He didn’t know why the team leader was saying such things about him, but when he actually asked Haeseong, he accepted without much comment.
“It’s fine, so just sleep here. But don’t even think about entering my room at night. If something like last time happens again, I’ll really fire you. So conduct yourself properly.”
Haeseong spoke snappily while tapping the script.
Not long ago, Euiju had gone up to the house as usual to wake up Haeseong, who hadn’t come out at the appointed time, and entered Haeseong’s room. Since it was Haeseong’s room he had gone in and out of many times already, Euiju could draw its layout even with his eyes closed.
However, that day, Euiju froze as soon as he entered the room at the sight before him.
Haeseong seemed to have taken off his clothes soaked with sweat and was wearing only his underwear. Perhaps because he was hot, he had thrown the pure white blanket far away, so his half-nakedness was starkly revealed.
At the same time, Haeseong, who had woken up, stared back and forth between Euiju and his own state blankly, and before long, chaos broke out.
Since Euiju had only gone to wake up Haeseong as usual, his rage was far too unfair, but what could he do? Euiju just stood still and waited for his master to forgive his sin.
“If there’s nothing particular, I won’t go in, so you don’t need to worry. Then I’ll rest first. Since it’s late, please go to sleep soon.”
Why would he arbitrarily enter his room to hear such things? Haeseong nodded indifferently.
After washing up in the bathroom attached to one side of the room, Euiju called his noona without even drying his hair.
[Yeah. Euiju?]
“Is Roun there next to you?”
[No. He cried and just fell asleep now. He made such a fuss crying because Euiju-hyung wasn’t coming home. If it weren’t for Euiseong and Euiho, he still wouldn’t have been able to sleep.]
“…I’m sorry, noona. Don’t do the housework, just leave it. I’ll go and do it all, so don’t struggle. Okay?”
[Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself. If you come home injured from work again, you’ll really be in trouble. Got it?]
“Got it. Good night, noona. Say hello to the kids for me too.”
He put down the disconnected phone on the shelf and got up to dry his hair. However, as soon as he stood up, the phone started ringing. When he checked the caller, it was Jang Yeonguk.
“This kid is really incredibly persistent.”
For the past two months, he had been too busy with company work and housework to have time to deal with Jang Yeonguk. Nevertheless, Jang Yeonguk sent messages once a day without fail, and called once a week. Just like right now.
“Hello.”
[Hyung! I heard you went down to the provinces today.]
“…How do you know? Did Haeseong-ssi tell you?”
[No. He doesn’t really talk about stuff like that. I have my ways of knowing. Do you know how many connections I have?]
Jang Yeonguk’s voice, bragging while acting full of himself, sounded more excited than usual.
[Hyung. I came back to Korea yesterday. You know, right? I went to Switzerland this time.]
He switched the call to speakerphone and started taking things out of the carrier and organizing them one by one. Jang Yeonguk began telling him detailed travel reviews from his 3 nights and 4 days, and for a young kid’s trip, it seemed he had appreciated quite a lot of scenery.
As he listened, it gradually became interesting, so he threw in various questions. Jang Yeonguk happily answered Euiju’s questions, which had been indifferent until then.
[I’m not kidding, it was really amazing. There’s a mountain called Harder Kulm, and if you go to the observation deck there, you can paraglide. I rode it for the first time and I’m going crazy wanting to ride it again. It was really fun. Let’s go together next time.]
“Haha. What are you talking about? Where would we go together?”
[I’m not joking. If I cover all the travel expenses, will you go with me?]
“Don’t say ridiculous things. Even without you, I’m plenty busy right now.”
[Hyung. Instead of suffering and getting that money, come here instead. I’ll really let you suck up all the honey and make money. I told you. If I ask my old man to get me a tutor saying I’ll study, he might give twice what you’re getting there, you know?]
“I don’t believe what minors say. I really don’t know what you’re relying on to say such things when you have no power.”
[Wow. Hyung, are you looking down on me right now? I even bought presents from Switzerland for you and your siblings, and you’re being like this?]
“I don’t need them. Return them.”
[How can I return them when I already brought them! Anyway, let’s meet sometime soon.]
“Come find me when hyung has free time. Then I’ll meet you.”
[Really? I’m really coming?!]
“Whatever you want.”
Euiju let out an empty laugh and shook his head.
Anyway, his life itself was easy. Relying only on his father who’s a National Assembly member, making a fuss everywhere, not knowing how scary money is.
Why such a Jang Yeonguk was so desperate to cling to him, who was six years older, just because he saved him once from a simple crisis. He should hang out with people of similar circumstances and similar age, what was there to see in someone as boring as him?
It was when Euiju, who had finished folding all the clothes, was about to scold him not to waste money carelessly.
“I told you I’m not thinking of handing him over.”
At the chilling voice that suddenly rang out, Euiju was startled and raised his head.
The door was wide open before he knew it, and Jin Haeseong was standing there with an extremely heated expression. He walked steadily while glaring at Euiju with fierce eyes. Then he snatched the phone lying beside the bed.
[Huh, what? Jin Haeseong? You’re next to him?]
“Jang Yeonguk. Is what I say funny to you?”
[No, it’s not that…… Hey, but still, that’s up to Euiju-hyung’s decision! When he can work more comfortably and earn more, why are you butting in acting all high and mighty? You were originally the kind of kid who roughly changed managers and treated them like disposable items. This doesn’t suit you. It’s fucking hilarious.]
Haeseong’s complexion rapidly grew cold. Sharp air that seemed like it would shatter if touched encroached upon the room. Despite his small build and beautiful appearance, the energy emanating from Haeseong was as sharp as an adult man’s.
Euiju felt creepy goosebumps crawling up the back of his neck in the cold air.
“Even if I change them, I’m the one who changes them. If you butt in one more time not knowing your place, I’ll really kill you.”
Click.
Haeseong hung up the phone at once. However, that wasn’t all.
Haeseong, who had been glaring at the disconnected phone while fuming, couldn’t control his anger and threw it at the wall. Roughly with all his might.
Crash—!
The screen of the phone that hit the wall shattered into pieces and fell powerlessly to the floor just like that. The screen flickered intermittently. Soon, as if its life had been cut off, the screen turned off.
“……”
“……”
Euiju checked the digital clock on the nightstand with an indifferent gaze.
「22:51」
It’s ten fifty-one.
—But don’t even think about entering my room at night. If something like last time happens again, I’ll really fire you. So conduct yourself properly.
If the threat he received in case he arbitrarily entered Haeseong’s room was about being fired, what on earth should be set for the opposite case?
At this late hour, Haeseong had arbitrarily entered someone else’s room and hung up someone else’s phone call. As if that wasn’t enough, he even smashed a perfectly fine phone.
“……Ha.”
The situation at hand was so absurd that an empty laugh came out naturally. No matter how annoying a person Jang Yeonguk was, as long as they had formed a connection, he was his person. How could someone arbitrarily steal someone else’s phone and arbitrarily destroy someone else’s phone?
No matter how much Haeseong was his superior, it was a situation where he couldn’t help but be angry.
“Don’t contact this bastard anymore.”
As if very angry, Haeseong said to Euiju while fuming.
“What the hell is this kid that you’re contacting him? This kid isn’t ahjussi’s friend, he’s my friend. It seems like you’ve been in contact for quite a while—how much of an age difference is there between you and ahjussi, why are you being friendly with a kid whose head hasn’t even dried yet!”
Despite Haeseong’s shouting, Euiju silently got up from the bed and picked up the fallen phone. Since it was a luxury hotel, the floor was hard marble, and the phone, as if it had crossed an irreversible river, didn’t respond even when the power button was pressed.
“If he’s contacting you at this time of night, you must have been really close behind my back. It was so natural. Fuck, what have you been saying to him? Did you curse me with that kid……”
“Get out.”
At Euiju’s firm voice, Haeseong’s eyes narrowed. He seemed to doubt his own ears.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said get out. From my room.”
