As soon as they passed through the entrance to the baseball stadium, staff members recognized him and approached. They said they’d received advance notice and would guide the two to their seats.
Leaving the general passage and following the staff-only corridor, they arrived at a place with a burdensome name from the start—the ‘VIP seats.’
“Originally I was going to watch from the general seating, but if we did that, it seemed like it would cause trouble for the fans and the stadium. It would be uncomfortable for you too, Hyowoo-ssi.”
At his words about ultimately using the ‘father card,’ Hyowoo inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Given Lee Seohee’s level of popularity, a sky box would be best, but there was no way such a private space would exist in a stadium that was decades old.
‘This might stand out more, but sitting side by side with this person in the general seating would be too risky…’
Moreover, among the countless spectators, there would definitely be Alphas. If one happened to sit next to him, there was no guarantee how his body would react.
Compared to the general seating packed full of people, the VIP section wasn’t even half full. There was plenty of space between seats.
‘Right. It’s better to be burdened than not. If I have a panic attack by mistake, that would be a disaster.’
However, his relief was short-lived.
Thanks to his father being the team owner, he avoided being surrounded by people on all sides, but it was difficult to completely avoid attention.
Even before they sat down, interest poured toward them.
Not only Lee Seohee but Hyowoo sitting next to him also drew attention. It was natural to attract interest since he was someone brought along directly by a person who’d never had a single scandal.
Already sighing at the thought of truly experiencing what it meant to be on pins and needles today.
‘If I look around, I’ll just stand out more unnecessarily. I should just look straight ahead and sit quietly.’
It was just as he sat down, trying to act as natural and nonchalant as possible.
“Take off your mask now. It must be stuffy.”
Hyowoo wanted to take it off too. In this humid weather, the mask was torture. But the situation was such that telephoto cameras were all pointing this way in unison. He had no choice but to endure it.
When he subtly pointed toward the cameras, he made an apologetic expression.
“Once the game starts, everyone will be busy watching the game, so it should be okay to take it off then.”
To him smiling awkwardly, Hyowoo gave a small shake of his head.
“It’s bearable. There are a lot of reporters here too, so I think it’s better to keep it on.”
“I’ll take care of that, so don’t worry. Nothing will happen to put you in a difficult position, Hyowoo-ssi.”
For a moment, his head tilted involuntarily.
‘Even if he doesn’t know about media articles, how is he going to stop regular people’s photos…?’
Looking at the telephoto camera positions, they seemed more likely to be fans of the idol doing the ceremonial first pitch than reporters. How was he going to handle photos uploaded to fan cafes or personal SNS?
Yet hearing his confident tone made him wonder if he was worrying unnecessarily.
‘Well, they’ll be busy photographing their own idols with those expensive cameras. And even if they take pictures, they’ll photograph this person, not pay attention to me sitting next to him, right?’
Even if spectators took photos or videos with their phones, the VIP seat location wouldn’t photograph well from the general seating anyway. And even if by chance it did, he was wearing both a mask and glasses, so his face wouldn’t show properly.
‘As long as we block media articles, nothing major will happen.’
In reality, until now Lee Seohee had always been photographed clearly while he himself had never been properly captured even once. He reassured himself that it would be the same this time.
Telling himself that quietly sitting still was the best strategy in this situation, he was adjusting his mask when a middle-aged man sitting in the very front row of the VIP section, row 1, turned around. His kindly impression seemed familiar somehow.
Looking around as if searching for someone, he soon waved his hand toward them.
“Seohee-ya.”
Seeing the man affectionately call out his name, Lee Seohee also brightened and stood up from his seat.
“Hyowoo-ssi, can you wait just a moment? My father’s friend is here, so I’ll go greet him and come back.”
Saying he’d return right away, he got up from his seat and headed toward the man.
Watching the two exchange warm greetings, Hyowoo finally remembered who he was.
‘Chairman Kim Sangok?’
He was the head of OO Automobile Group, a company representing South Korea and leading the global automobile market. He was known to be close friends with Lee Seohee’s father, as high school and university seniors and juniors.
Lee Seohee also exchanged warm greetings with the young woman sitting next to him.
‘Could she be his daughter?’
A rumor that had been circulating lately suddenly came to mind. It was an engagement rumor between Lee Seohee and the only daughter that Chairman Kim Sangok cherished dearly.
It had started with the OO Automobile advertising model contract.
He, who normally never did advertisements outside of L Group or S Group affiliates, had suddenly appeared as a model for another company.
On top of this, articles about frequent meetings between Chairman Kim Sangok and Chairman Lee Jinseok overlapped, and the rumor spread as if it were an established fact.
‘They say she’s a talent who has both beauty, intelligence, and ability… She has a nice impression and is a beautiful person.’
She was a bright beauty without a single worry, showing signs of being raised with abundant love.
Like Royoon he’d encountered at the hotel earlier, she too seemed perfectly suitable as a spouse for the L Group heir.
A world of difference from himself, who was outwardly fine but rotten and decayed inside.
Hyowoo stared blankly at the well-matched pair.
‘What are they talking about?’
Jealousy? Or sadness?
An indescribable emotion washed over him, as if one side of his chest was becoming hollow.
It was a moment when he felt to his very bones how ill-suited he and Lee Seohee were. His phone, set to vibrate mode, buzzed in his pocket.
**Gyeonwoo**
OO Baseball Stadium?
It was a message from Gyeonwoo.
No matter how good ‘twin sense’ was, he couldn’t pinpoint Hyowoo’s exact location without seeing it.
Which meant a photo of them had been uploaded somewhere on the internet.
What kind of photo was it this time, with what tags. Even before looking, a chill ran down his spine.
**Yeah**
As soon as he sent the simple reply, a response came back immediately.
**Gyeonwoo**
If you went with the team owner’s son, you must be watching from a prime spot
**That’s right**
**This hyung is currently sitting in the VIP seats**
**Gyeonwoo**
Wow
I’m insanely jealous
**What’s there to be jealous of?**
**It’s just burdensome**
**Gyeonwoo**
That can’t be helped
If you can’t avoid it, just enjoy it
In the few exchanges with Gyeonwoo, his complicated feelings eased somewhat.
**Gyeonwoo**
Well then, have a good date
Stop texting your younger sibling when you have your boyfriend next to you
**He’s not my boyfriend**
**Gyeonwoo**
Well, whatever
Anyway, have fun and come back
**Okay**
**Let’s see each other at home for dinner later**
**Gyeonwoo**
Huh?
You were planning to come home today?
The gratitude he’d felt just moments ago vanished in an instant.
He could picture what expression Gyeonwoo had written that with.
Instead of replying, he sent an emoticon of a cat throwing a phone out the window and closed the messaging app.
“Did you get a message?”
Before he knew it, Lee Seohee had returned and sat down next to him.
“Yes, from my younger sibling.”
“Did something urgent come up?”
“No, my younger sibling said there was something to check. More importantly, are you already done talking?”
He nodded.
“There wasn’t much to discuss at length with my father’s friend. I just conveyed my parents’ regards and came back.”
“I thought you’d have a lot to talk about with the advertising deal and all… Did you not get to finish because of me?”
“No. For the advertising matter, there’s a separate meeting scheduled, so there was no need to discuss it now.”
He smiled gently as if to say not to worry.
“By the way, do you know who that person is?”
“It’s Chairman Kim Sangok, isn’t it? The person next to him seems to be his daughter.”
“Should I introduce you?”
His eyes widened at the out-of-the-blue words.
‘Suddenly offering to introduce me to a chaebol chairman… Did he say it without thinking? Or is he teasing me again?’
His surprised eyes soon narrowed with suspicion.
“Why would I need to greet the OO Automobile chairman?”
“You’re going to start working in society soon too, Hyowoo-ssi. It wouldn’t be bad to naturally build connections at occasions like this.”
He was momentarily speechless at the unexpectedly serious response.
“And the person sitting there is Kim Hyekyung, the brand marketing team leader at OO Capital. It would help you someday to become familiar with her face.”
As he said, building good connections was very important in working life. Whether majors differed or fields didn’t align, knowing many people meant good opportunities would arise.
He’d misunderstood someone who was trying to help. Hesitating with guilt, Hyowoo finally answered.
“I appreciate your consideration, but I’ll decline.”
He was grateful for his thoughtfulness, but for a greenhorn who hadn’t even taken their first step into society, both people were far too distant.
“They came to watch the game intimately with his daughter, so it would be rude for someone like me to suddenly greet them. It might only make things difficult for Player Lee Seohee.”
“What would make things difficult for me?”
“Even so. I’d like to pass.”
“I won’t force you, but I’m famous in my own way and know a lot of people. Take advantage of it while you can.”
Taeseo had said something similar before. They really seemed more like actual siblings than cousins.
“What if I end up selling Player Lee Seohee’s name here and there?”
“Haha, it’s fine. If it helps you, Hyowoo-ssi, by all means. Sell it to your heart’s content.”
Though it was a situation where they should laugh together pleasantly, one corner of his heart ached.
He turned his gaze from him to look at the field. As he was touching the back of his neck and the ends of his hair for no reason, Lee Seohee spoke.
“But Hyowoo-ssi.”
He spoke in a firm tone, unlike his usual gentle manner of speaking.
“From now on, don’t say things like ‘someone like me.'”
