TCBW C44

Chapter 44

“What problem do you think there is with me being in my own house, in my own bed?”

“N-no. I’m not saying that’s a problem, but…”

That wasn’t what was being asked, was it?

Strictly speaking, what Dowoon had said wasn’t wrong, but because nothing like this had ever happened before, Suhoe’s eyes went round with surprise. Dowoon slowly lowered the hand he had resting on Suhoe’s forehead and covered Suhoe’s eyes.

“If it’s not a problem, be quiet. I still have work to do.”

“……”

It was by no means a gentle voice. And yet, for some reason, Suhoe’s eyes drifted closed at the sound of it, and before he knew it, he slipped back down into deep sleep.

Whether it was because of the bed’s lingering warmth, or because the whole thing had been a dream to begin with, he could not tell—but he kept his eyes shut.

When he opened them again after daybreak and sat up, the spot where Dowoon had been was empty.

“……”

It was a familiar occurrence, and yet, in that moment, a hollow feeling opened inside him. It was an inexplicable, strange thing. His mood was swinging wildly because of just one person—Dowoon.

“…hoe.”

“……”

“Suhoe.”

Startled out of a daze by someone suddenly yanking his clothes from behind, Suhoe plopped down hard on the floor.

When he raised his head against the throbbing jolt, Seojun’s cold expression greeted him; Seojun was gripping Suhoe’s hem as he looked down.

“Ugh. J-Jun?”

“How far were you planning to wander off with your head in the clouds? Do you not know what happens if you tumble down from here?”

At those words, Suhoe glanced down at his feet and flinched at the steep staircase that dropped away just ahead of where he’d been standing.

“Ugh!”

As he reflexively leaned back, his face plainly shocked, Seojun pressed his fingers to his brow and let out a long breath.

“You—what is wrong with you.”

“…Sorry.”

“You said you came in early this morning. Where did you leave your senses?”

In truth, Suhoe had rushed to the office early that morning. When coworkers asked why he was in ahead of the usual time, he gave vague, evasive replies. Using busyness as a pretext, he flitted all around the office lending a hand with various tasks he had no real reason to touch.

He looked, frankly, like someone desperately running away from something.

“You… that time, too—you said it was just a cold. Was it really a cold? You’re not actually sick with something, are you?”

“N-no, absolutely not.”

“Then what is it. What has you so out of it.”

As Seojun reached out to help the seated Suhoe up, his hand stopped midair. On the pale, slender nape of Suhoe’s neck was a vivid red mark that held Seojun’s gaze.

Its position changed each time, but it never disappeared.

The faint trace of a smile that had lingered on Seojun’s face drained away.

“…Stand up for now. It’s still before the afternoon shift starts. Let’s go to the break room and rest a bit.”

But Suhoe failed to notice the change in his expression. He only let himself be drawn along, sluggishly, as Seojun took his arm and led him with gentle insistence.

The two moved quietly, heading for a corridor that saw relatively little foot traffic. Seojun, as always, matched his stride to Suhoe’s unhurried pace, but today he had to go even slower because Suhoe was moving more languidly than usual.

“…My work location changed starting today.”

Even so, he made an effort to sound nonchalant and open a normal, everyday conversation.

Perhaps Suhoe failed to hear him; there was no immediate reply. Yet Seojun did not scold him. He simply raised his voice a little, so that Suhoe could respond.

“Suhoe.”

At that, like a man clawing his way back from very far away, Suhoe finally answered, sluggishly.

“Ah… yeah. Where to?”

“Executive conference room on the 38th floor of Building B. It’s close to where you work. A minute away, whether you take the stairs or the elevator.”

“……”

“I arranged it so that if anything happens, you can come straight to me without hesitation. How’s that?”

Even as he spoke, Seojun wore the same easy, warm smile as always, as if nothing at all were amiss.

“What do you mean, ‘if anything happens’?”

By then they had reached the break room door. With a practiced motion, Seojun opened it and gave Suhoe a gentle push inside. As soon as Suhoe, still dazed, stepped in, Seojun followed and shut the door.

Clack. An unusually loud click echoed through the room as the lock engaged. Seojun immediately positioned himself facing Suhoe.

“…? Jun? Did you just lock the door?”

“Yeah. I have something to ask, and I don’t want interruptions.”

“Ask?”

“Yeah. Last Friday—you rushed down to the lobby, looking like you’d drop dead any second. Why was that?”

Only then did Suhoe snap to attention.

“Why… wh-what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Did that CEO old man do something weird to you?”

“W-weird? What do you mean by weird.”

“I mean, did he put hands on you against your will, or say something so vile you can hardly repeat it—something like that.”

“What? N-no. Th-that day, I suddenly… just didn’t feel well! My chest—my chest felt so stifled, that’s all!”

“Why were you stifled? There must be a reason.”

“That, I… uh…”

“You’re always like this. There’s so much you don’t say, but at the same time, what you want and what pains you are written all over your face—it’s honestly frustrating to even watch.”

“…Huh?”

“That very day. You even went to the lobby receptionists—the ones you barely ever glance at—and asked them a question.”

‘Um, about that person. What’s her relationship with our boss?’

In a low voice, Seojun recited it as if he could still hear Suhoe’s words from that day.

“You asked something that transparent. Of course everyone around would notice.”

He let out a hollow laugh, as if he truly could not believe it.

Seojun remembered clearly the look of loss that had washed over Suhoe’s face. It was the moment he could no longer pretend not to know who it was that occupied Suhoe’s heart.

“What do you mean, ‘transparent.’ What are you talking about.”

“You got all twisted up and suffocated when you heard that the CEO was seeing some fledgling director, didn’t you.”

At that, Suhoe’s shoulders visibly stiffened. It was the reaction of someone who’d had their sorest spot struck dead on.

“Don’t tell me, even after I’ve spelled it out like this… you’re still going to deny it? That was jealousy, plain as day.”

“N-no.”

“Oh yeah? Then I’ll ask something else. There’s no point asking you a hundred times what you are to that CEO old man—you won’t give a straight answer anyway. So just answer this.”

“……”

“Do you… like him?”

“Work’s been fun lately.”

One lazy afternoon, with the drowsiness of lunch still lingering, a female employee in the women’s restroom powder room smiled at her reflection as she touched up her makeup.

Another woman beside her, reapplying lipstick, looked puzzled and asked, “Why? Ms. Kim, got some good news?”

“Nope. Nothing like that.”

The woman addressed as Assistant Manager Kim waved a hand and laughed.

“It’s just that lately there seem to be so many handsome men around the office. It’s easy on the eyes, you know?”

“Ahh~ you mean those two. The janitor couple—or should I say, the facilities team? Those two, right? Honestly, there’s no one in the company these days who doesn’t know about them. They stand out so much.”

“Wait, really… they’re an actual couple, those two?”

Assistant Manager Kim’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Well… I just call them that. They look good together, always stuck side by side. Don’t you think?”

“That’s true. There are even people who casually swing by the third floor just to catch a glimpse of them.”

“Oh, that reminds me…”

In the midst of their cheerful chatter—

A sharp thud—something heavy and solid colliding or toppling—sliced through the air of the powder room.

“Oh my, what was that? What’s going on?”

“I-I don’t know. S-something must have collapsed!”

Startled, the two women looked at each other, hastily set down their cosmetics, and hurried outside.

But the corridor was as quiet as before, peaceful as if nothing had happened. Looking around with puzzled faces, they frowned.

“Did we mishear?”

“Seems like it.”

At that very moment, inside the securely locked break room—

“S-Suhoe, are you okay?”

Seojun’s urgent, alarmed voice rang through the otherwise silent space.

Right before his eyes, the Suhoe who had been facing him moments ago was swaying, on the verge of collapsing.

“I-I’m okay.”

He answered in a threadbare voice that seemed ready to snap at any second, one hand trembling as it pressed his forehead, his body shivering from pain he could not endure.

‘Do you… like him?’

It was Seojun’s sharp question—whispered into Suhoe’s ear mere seconds earlier—that had triggered it.