DI Ch 91

“Uh, excuse me. I’ll take a quick call. Please go ahead and eat.”

It was really fortunate that the call came at the right time. I tried to hide my embarrassment and answered the phone as if nothing had happened, but before I could even open my mouth, Woo Ji-min’s voice came out with a loud noise.

[Well, he wasn’t going to… What. Why did you answer?]

“Sunbae?”

Still feeling flustered, I double-checked the number just in case. It was indeed an unfamiliar number.

“Sunbae. Whose number is this? What’s going on? What about your cell phone?”

What did Kang Moo-hyun do? I couldn’t help but think of that. With no knowledge of the situation, my face tensed up. As I listened further, a different person’s voice began to mix in.

[What! He answered it! Why did you say he won’t answer it?]

[Wait a moment. Let me finish this call.]

“Hello? Sunbae? Sun-…”

[Put me on! Me!]

[Wait, Manager!]

It sounds like… a fight has started. I took the phone away from my ear for a moment. I thought I knew who the owner of the slightly familiar voice was. The owner of the cafe where I worked as a part-timer. I don’t know what it was, but at least it wasn’t Kang Moo-hyun. I relaxed my tense shoulders.

“Sun…”

He seemed to have forgotten me, so the moment I was about to call Woo Ji-min again, I stopped because someone tapped the back of my hand. My gaze slowly traveled upwards, from his thick finger to his muscular forearm, his shoulder, and…

When our gazes met, he smiled softly as if he had never had such a boring expression before. His lips curved upward, and the dimples on his cheeks looked perfectly inviting, so I could not help but almost smile in response.

‘Let’s eat.’

I followed the movement of his lips, and my body reacted instantly. It was rare for him to smile like this. But thanks to that, my non-existent appetite suddenly returned, and I felt hungry. The buzzing voices in my ears magically faded away, and my focus shifted entirely to the lips in front of me. I felt a peculiar pressure in his hand that prevented me from moving.

His fingers against mine felt as though they were scorching. The dull thud of a drumbeat made my heart feel loud, and my ears seemed to tingle with every sound. His teasing with his fingers created a tickling sensation that reached all the way to my calves.

Just when the phone was about to slip out of my weakened hand, Woo Ji-min raised his voice in irritation.

[I told you, let me make the call first… Ah, Seo Seung-won!]

“Yes…”

“Hey, if you weren’t going to answer, you should have just ignored it until the end. Why did you answer when it’s the boss’s number? You made it awkward for me.”

“The call… Yes? When was it? I didn’t… receive any calls…”

I felt a light pressure on the hand where our fingers were intertwined as I spoke. His fingertips felt strangely sticky as they lightly scratched the back of my hand. Why, why was he doing this? His sudden temptation made my throat tighten. Meanwhile, Woo Ji-min expressed his concern in an anxious tone.

[You said you’d give a congratulatory speech at my wedding out of nowhere and then disappeared. How was I supposed to know when I would get married and say something like that?]

“A congratulatory speech… Yes? A speech? Oh, I remember sending a message…”

[I’ll ask you to officiate later, but you’ve been drinking again, haven’t you?]

I paused for a moment when I was asked to officiate, but Woo Ji-min changed the topic, hiding his embarrassment. I nodded and answered without thinking.

“I was a little drunk at the time…”

[I knew it. Are you still drinking now? Seriously, stop drinking.]

“…”

I was treated unfairly for forgetting a can of beer with my meal. I had heard comments throughout the semester about how I always had alcohol with my food, so I didn’t have much to say. But still, how could he assume I was still drinking now?

[In any case, the boss wants you to do another shift. Ah, that bastard is here again.]

I could sense discomfort and unease from the suddenly lowered voice.

[Oh, he’s coming, he’s coming, I have to go to work, so I’m hanging up. I’ll call you later, make sure you pick up!]

[Ignoring my calls, who are you having so much fun talking to?]

It was Kang Moo-hyun. I could feel my heart pounding at the sound of his voice. I was so surprised that I quickly removed my clasped hands and stood up. No, I tried to stand up. I would have gotten up, if not for the hand that immediately grabbed my forearm and pulled me down.

“…Huh!”

I quickly grabbed onto the table, regaining my balance as I almost tipped over it. My heart was still pounding as I stood half-bent, my chest heaving with surprise. I raised my voice in concern.

“You scared me! What are you doing so dangerously?”

“I love you.”

“That’s… Uh… me too.”

Seeing him casually confess his love, the remaining bits of my composure wavered. He smiled, his dimples showing, and all the worries that had been filling my mind vanished in an instant.

My cheeks were burning, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe properly, but suddenly, the dark screen of my phone caught my eye. Calls I hadn’t noticed before. And there was Woo Ji-min, asking why I wasn’t answering the phone.

I stared at the phone screen for a moment, then searched for Woo Ji-min in my contacts. As I suspected, he was blocked.

“Did you touch my phone?”

In an instant, the sweet atmosphere like melted sugar burst like a balloon. I narrowed my eyes at the man who had stepped back with a disappointed look. …This guy?

I wanted to say something, but his annoyed expression contorted further and even a hint of irritation showed through. Because of that, I ended up feeling more flustered and bit my lips, keeping my mouth shut.

No, if he’s a gangster, he could install something on his lover’s phone… Why does he keep pretending to have a conscience? What does it make of me if I keep understanding him like this…

“This is frustrating.”

He muttered in a low voice while staring at me.

“I wasted my youth as well.”

“Isn’t it an occupational disease?”

“What?”

“Yes?”

We looked at each other differently because of the misaligned conversation. The one who broke the silence was Tae Seong-je, whose eyes were wide open as if he was a bit surprised for some reason.

“You didn’t even think I would do that.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, so I stared blankly at him, but he didn’t provide any further explanation. It seemed that he had a complicated feeling, but since he wasn’t saying anything, I lost interest. I decided I should unblock the numbers first, so I reached for my phone. Just in case, I checked KakaoTalk and found that Woo Ji-min was blocked there too. I chuckled at the coincidence.

Even though he’s eight years older than me, he’s acting less mature than someone my age. I contemplated whether he might have played some other mischief, but since there were no urgent messages, I decided to check later. I wanted to leave a message for Woo Ji-min, saying I’d contact him later, but then my battery caught my eye. It was at 67%.

When was the last time I charged it? I don’t use my phone much, but even so, the battery seems to drain quickly. Maybe I should get a portable charger.

I filled my stomach, and after 30 minutes, I took the medicines one by one. I wanted to continue the massage, but I remembered the therapist’s face turning white and her hands shaking, so I decided to just go back to the room. It would have been nice to have someone who could do it regularly like me, but it seemed harmful to their mental health, so that method wasn’t a good idea.

“I’ll just make a quick phone call.”

“Then I’ll leave first.”

“Stay with the kids.”

For a moment, it seemed like he was telling me to stay with friends, which made me smile, but I just nodded and changed my clothes. As I walked out into the corridor, I met the gaze of two men dressed in formal suits. They were people I hadn’t seen before.

I felt a momentary tension in our exchanged glances, but then I noticed the guys waiting right next to the door. They only exchanged greetings and didn’t say anything else, suggesting they were all familiar with each other. So, they were just standing there in a line. It’s not like it’s a blind date, so why are they looking at each other like that? It was quite surprising.

“Hello. Did you come to see Hyung?”

I naturally spoke to the two men I hadn’t met before. In the meantime, a man with particularly sturdy shoulders, whose nickname might as well have been “Mr. Shoulders,” extended his hand to me. It was a gesture to carry my bag, but I politely declined.

“He will be out soon. Should I call you if it’s urgent?”

“No, it’s okay. We can wait.”

“Yes, you don’t have to.”

Despite their intimidating appearance, these people were all respectful and quiet. Furthermore, their actions were swift and efficient, which was impressive. Tae Seong-je seemed to have recently disciplined them more, so there was not much room for criticism. Even though it was a bit uncomfortable, I felt I could trust him at this level.

With the heavy backpack slung over my shoulder as a habit, we waited together. In the meantime, I witnessed several people coming out into the corridor and immediately going back inside three times. Seeing that, my curiosity got the best of me. I could not contain my curiosity any longer and spoke up.

“Don’t you have any comfortable clothes to wear normally?”

“Yes?”

“It’s summer, but it seems like everyone here is wearing black suits. Doesn’t it feel stuffy?”

The eyes of the man I was talking to seemed a bit cloudy. His severe dark circles were so bad that I wondered if he could see properly. The man’s mouth gradually opened. Was he choosing his response, or was he just… not in his right mind? As his lips curved upward, an eerie smile appeared on his face, making me feel uneasy.

I was looking at his face, but his eyes seemed to be fixed on empty space, and he didn’t respond but maintained his strange smile. He reminded me of an anatomy model from a science lab. The atmosphere was so strange that I had preconceived notions and got goosebumps.

“Well… I’ve gotten used to it, so it doesn’t bother me.”

Mr. shoulder next to me responded instead of the man with dark circles. There were many words returning to me, most likely because he was concerned that I was being ignored by his colleagues. Thanks to this, my tense body soon relaxed. We hadn’t talked much, but Mr. shoulder had always been kind and friendly to me. What a nice guy.