“Ahem, uh. Fa-father?”
Trying to say the word “father,” which I’d never done in my life, felt awkward and embarrassing. When my face reddened slightly, Hyungman-ssi looked at me as if I were a complete lunatic. After hesitating, I lowered my voice and asked.
“Have you seen Sahyun by any chance?”
“I told you not to get involved with that bastard…!”
“Th-that’s why. I’m trying not to get involved. I need to know where he is so I can avoid him.”
“…Really?”
I straightened my posture and put on a confident expression to persuade Hyungman-ssi.
“Yes yes. Of course.”
When I answered politely, Hyungman-ssi also cleared his throat with a much softer demeanor. The people who had been watching us argue in hushed voices seemed to notice the relaxed atmosphere and interjected.
“Ah, so Chairman Nam’s son is also attending.”
“Recently the stock price fluctuations have been severe, among investors…”
“What do you think about Intol’s brand naming strategy?”
Amid the barrage of questions, I almost lost consciousness. If it had been the real Nam Heejae, he would have answered easily, but I’m Jang Woohyun, a high school graduate who never even stepped foot in a university.
Haha, I tried to avoid it with an awkward laugh, but I felt a piercing gaze from the side.
‘…What should I do.’
Hyungman-ssi was staring at my profile with eyes full of subtle expectation and pride. But I couldn’t give him an answer that would satisfy him. It was also impossible to vaguely muddle through.
Because I knew nothing.
“I… I think it’s amazing.”
Even to my own ears, the absurd answer I threw out filled me with a sense of futility. If I’d known this would happen, I should have studied a bit following Haesu’s example.
I didn’t know back then. That I would die from being hit by a car and possess the role of a chaebol in a gay novel.
“It’s truly an incredible idea.”
When I added a bit more flesh to it, the face of the person who had asked the question about strategy crumpled strangely. He seemed unsure how to react. Hiding my embarrassment, I continued speaking even more like an elite this time.
“Well… there is room for further development.”
Almost simultaneously, I thought it would be better to just shut up. Hyungman-ssi jabbed me hard in the ribs with his elbow, and I accepted the silent order to leave while suppressing the groan that tried to escape.
“I’m sorry, Heejae…”
And then we had another sincere apology time.
I’m really sorry for ruining all the image you built up. Though I don’t know where you evaporated to, I’ll study from now on and restore the damaged image. Hyung is sorry.
But not long after, a strange situation unfolded.
I’d been feeling a presence behind me for a while now. It felt somehow unpleasant to turn around sharply, so I just quickened my pace, but the person following from behind also walked faster, which was puzzling.
“Shit. Who is it?”
The moment I stopped abruptly and turned my head. A hot palm grabbed my wrist and pulled me hard.
“Long time no see, Heejae! It’s me, Jeongmin. Seo Jeongmin.”
The voice that reached me was quite cheerful and lively. Jeongmin? When I tried to recall the somewhat familiar name, the ‘Seo Jeongmin’-ssi I had texted last time came to mind.
Since we were almost the same height, our eyes met with nowhere to escape.
“Oh. Jeongmin?”
“Yeah. You contacted me first last time, so I thought I’d greet you first this time. Have you been well?”
His neat appearance eased my tension. How ordinary was his way of speaking? It felt like the first time since falling into “Excessively Brilliant” that I was meeting a normal person, and I suddenly became happy.
“Yeah, Jeongmin-ah. I’ve been well. How about you?”
So much so that I completely forgot about the hide-and-seek with Baek Sahyun and became absorbed in the conversation with Seo Jeongmin. Seo Jeongmin smiled warmly and scratched his cheek. An excited voice flowed from his lips.
“So-so. Usually it’s hard to approach you since you’re always with Baek Sahyun, but it’s surprising to see you alone today.”
Thanks to that, I felt like I’d discovered a rope that could be either poison or medicine. He usually went around with Baek Sahyun? Then couldn’t Seo Jeongmin explain the relationship between the original Nam Heejae and Baek Sahyun?
Of course, it would be entirely from a third party’s perspective, so it might not be accurate. But anyway, now was the time to gratefully accept all information.
Just as I was pondering how to ask questions to quickly extract the information I wanted. Seo Jeongmin stopped a passing waiter and picked up two wine glasses.
“Heejae, you’re not drinking? Don’t be like that and have a drink with me. It’s not like I get many chances to drink with you.”
He swirled the glass filled with red wine and held it out to me.
“Here. Take it.”
“No. I’m good. I didn’t come here to drink.”
“Oh, don’t tell me you can’t hold your liquor?”
What provoked me when I was about to refuse was Seo Jeongmin’s provocation added between his innocent tone.
“Oh my, sorry sorry. I didn’t know you were the type who can’t drink.”
You might think I’m falling for a trivial provocation, but I’m Jang Woohyun, a man who has never lost to anyone when it comes to drinking, the drinker among drinkers.
I don’t know about the original Nam Heejae, but it’s a man’s duty not to avoid challenges that come your way.
“…Then maybe just one glass?”
And honestly, I’d been craving alcohol since earlier. I had to endure such harsh days right after possessing this body. Getting my hair grabbed and dunked in a bathtub, getting slapped, being threatened every single day.
The moment I accepted the wine that would briefly soothe my sorrowful heart and downed it in one gulp, I realized.
…It seems I’m screwed. Damn it. The alcohol tasted way too sweet.
From experience, when alcohol tasted this sweet, it never ended well.
❖ ❖ ❖
One glass becoming two, and two glasses becoming three was the natural progression. Seo Jeongmin, who had taken me to a corner, seemed quite skilled, adept at inducing others to gulp down alcohol.
Moreover, he himself had a high tolerance and kept raising his glass for a toast with a perfectly fine complexion. I had already started hiccupping with my face flushed, but I didn’t want to lose so I kept accepting the drinks.
“You drink well, Heejae. Drink more. More.”
It seems the original Nam Heejae was the type whose body doesn’t handle alcohol well. How much could he have drunk for my stomach to churn and my vision to distort?
When I waved my hands saying I really couldn’t drink anymore because I felt like throwing up, Seo Jeongmin said.
“Really? How many is this?”
He thrust his fingers in front of my eyes, but surprisingly, the image wavered and I couldn’t count them well.
“…I wonder. How many is it?”
When I asked back with slurred pronunciation, Seo Jeongmin smiled broadly and wrapped one arm around my waist.
“Hmm. It was two… but it doesn’t matter if you don’t know. It’s okay.”
At first I thought he was supporting me because I was swaying, but the atmosphere was strangely different. His fingers crept up along my waist and soon subtly tickled the skin hidden under my shirt.
“Wait, what are you…!”
“Mmm. Shh.”
Seo Jeongmin cut off my words half-heartedly and brought his nose under my ear. Sniff sniff. The sound of him breathing roughly rang sharply in my eardrums.
“Hey! Seo Jeongmin!”
When I trembled with displeasure and pushed him away, Seo Jeongmin was pushed back obediently and asked as if puzzled.
“Heejae… your pheromones are faint today?”
At those words, I felt like the alcohol buzz completely evaporated. Seo Jeongmin scanned my body up and down and his eyes glinted ominously. He wet his lower lip with saliva and said.
“I thought you were the same type as Baek Sahyun, but I guess that’s not it either.”
“……”
“Haha. Is that not it? Not the same type as Baek Sahyun, but one of those idiots dying to become like Baek Sahyun?”
Seo Jeongmin’s tone had instantly changed to a vile atmosphere.
It was too early to judge, but I inadvertently came to a conclusion.
“It’s okay. That’s not what’s important. What you really need to worry about, Heejae… is that I’m attracted to Alphas too. Preferably to Alphas who look aloof like you.”
Damn it. This goddamn bastard is 100% pure gay. I didn’t even need to find evidence.
“When I think about you lying under me with a flushed face whimpering, haa. I get so excited. I’m dying of arousal.”
Of course, because this was inside a gay novel! Worn down by the harsh life, I had pushed this important fact to the back of my mind.
Baek Sahyun was the case of becoming gay because of Chae Eunwoo, but anyway he was a prospective gay, and Chae Eunwoo was, well, just gay. Nam Heejae, who pretended otherwise, was also ultimately gay…
So couldn’t Seo Jeongmin be gay too? Perhaps 80% of the people at the party might be gay. Wait. Surely Hyungman-ssi isn’t gay too, right? I backed away while worrying about all sorts of useless things.
When I felt I was in danger, a startled voice burst out.
“…I hate guys.”
It was sincere. I didn’t care if other people were gay, but I absolutely didn’t want to be gay. But Seo Jeongmin frowned as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have and answered.
“When did you drink whatever I gave you, and now you’re throwing a tantrum?”
“What?”
“Are you trying to whet my appetite before we get a room? How admirable.”
