Munyeong smiled calmly, eyes curving with it. Every time he smiled, his cheeks rose and a faint dimple appeared there. Haejeong stared at it for a moment, then brought his lips to it. He pressed them there with a soft sound — a clean little kiss — and when he pulled away, Munyeong looked up at him with the same startled eyes he always had. Then he covered the cheek that had been kissed with one hand.
“Why do you always act so surprised at everything.”
“……This is the office……”
Munyeong glanced around anxiously, and Haejeong pointed at the blinds drawn across the window.
“They’re closed, aren’t they?”
“…Even so……”
“Always ‘even so, even so’——”
He mimicked Munyeong’s speech and ribbed him for it. Munyeong gave a slight pout. Haejeong suppressed the laugh that naturally rose in him at the deliberately sulky look.
“Even so… the office is off-limits……”
This time, Munyeong said it with resolve — the face of a man who wasn’t going to let this one slide — though the words came out with obvious difficulty. He was always watching his step, and by nature he wasn’t the type to speak up to anyone, so even saying no once was a struggle for him.
“Why is it off-limits. It’s my company.”
“……Your father’s company…… though.”
Munyeong replied with extreme care, and Haejeong let out a breath of pure exasperation.
“Good grief. Hey, if I do well, I could inherit it.”
He said it with all the swagger in the world. Munyeong just looked at him flatly, without a word. Reading the disbelieving stare, Haejeong erupted in indignation.
“It’s true? You don’t believe me?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
Munyeong tried to walk it back, but Haejeong had taken it fully to heart and kept at it.
“Hey, shit. I’m doing this properly, aren’t I? Everyone should be on edge.”
“…Yeah……”
“I can outplay both Yeon Juhyeok and Yeon Chayeong, just watch.”
“……Alright. Don’t get worked up.”
“When did I get worked up?!”
He had changed in many ways — but some things hadn’t changed at all. Munyeong watched Haejeong kick up a fuss like a child and spoke calmly, with the measured tone of someone coaxing a temperamental person.
“……I know better than anyone… how remarkable you are.”
A faint smile crossed Munyeong’s face. Bashful, but without a trace of dishonesty.
It wasn’t said purely to placate him. He meant it. To Munyeong, Haejeong had always been someone incomparably greater than him. Not just in rank or position or money — but the way he was always direct, always bold, always consistent. The way he kept offering Munyeong new worlds he’d never known. For all of that, he had always thought of him as someone impressive and remarkable.
“…What.”
“…….”
“You seem to know me well.”
Haejeong, now awkward himself, scratched vigorously at the back of his neck and let his worked-up feelings settle. Then he looked down with satisfaction at the brightly smiling face and pulled Munyeong’s waist toward him. He leaned only his upper body back, holding Munyeong’s gaze directly, and opened his mouth with the reluctant air of someone forcing out something hard to say.
“…I do too, you know…. what.”
He looked away, then spoke in fits and starts. Munyeong watched him with clear eyes, wondering what he was getting at.
“I… know too. That you’re remarkable. What.”
“…….”
“…I know it, alright.”
He wasn’t used to complimenting people or saying good things about others — it showed. He glanced around, cleared his throat in the middle of it, and dragged the words out with real effort.
“Me?”
At the out-of-nowhere admission, Munyeong blinked at him, flustered. Haejeong, looking embarrassed, moistened his dry lips.
“……What.”
“…….”
“Living alone……, like this — that’s remarkable.”
“…….”
“Shit, without any parents, right? No debt, nothing crooked, just working and working your whole life — that’s living damn well.”
He was so uncomfortable saying anything that sounded like a compliment that he blundered through the words, practically stumbling over them. Watching him try his best to say something kind, Munyeong couldn’t hold back his laughter and covered his mouth. The laughter wouldn’t stop, so Haejeong cupped Munyeong’s chin and scolded him affectionately, asking why he was laughing so much. Munyeong shook his head, his eyes curved bright. Because I’m happy. The words didn’t come out — but a smiling face was more than enough.
Haejeong pulled his waist in closer, brushed his long fringe aside, and asked lightly, “What do you want to eat after work.” At that, Munyeong thought for a moment, then handed the choice back over, saying he wanted whatever Haejeong wanted.
At some point, Munyeong’s arms had wound themselves around Haejeong’s waist too. The two of them, so natural together now it was almost second nature, kept trading ordinary words back and forth. The sky was clear, and beyond the window, the city hummed along as busy as ever. Everyone was living their everyday lives. Nothing special — just a quiet moment, like a scene drifting through footage of ordinary days.
Love Recycling — END.
Footnotes:
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