7MoH 3.1

15. Playbook of Love

Jeong-in couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

There sat Chase Prescott in the audience, perfectly dressed in a sophisticated gray suit, looking as if he had just walked off the red carpet at the Teen Choice Awards or MTV Movie & TV Awards.

He saw a woman in the next seat turning to Chase, extending her phone while saying something. She was probably asking for his Instagram or Snapchat ID, or perhaps his phone number.

Some people were just entering the venue, looking around curiously. They had clearly followed Chase inside without even knowing what kind of event was taking place.

Despite all the commotion around him, Chase’s gaze remained fixed on Jeong-in. As if they were the only two people in the universe. As if time had stopped.

“Excuse me, could you please be quiet? Those who just entered, please be seated promptly.”

The host called for attention amid the sudden disturbance in the audience.

“What, what’s going on?”

“That’s Chase Prescott!”

The Mathlete Society members murmured while peering at the audience. Since it was when prom should be in full swing, everyone was naturally surprised by Chase’s appearance.

It was unthinkable that the school’s prince would come to watch a math competition for nerds. Only Justin, with his composed face, seemed completely unfazed.

Chase couldn’t take his eyes off Jeong-in standing on stage.

Jeong-in wore an expression as if he might cry at any moment. His chin pointed tensely, his lips trembling slightly. He looked like a child who had been lost wandering the streets alone and finally found his parents. Chase’s fingertips tensed with the urge to embrace him right away.

In an instant, he forgot all about the cruel words Jeong-in had said to him yesterday, and how he had stormed out of the infirmary in anger. Chase smiled gently toward Jeong-in as if there had never been any hurt feelings between them.

He wanted to tell him that everything was okay, that everything would work out fine. Chase quietly clenched his fist and mouthed, “You can do it!” Jeong-in nodded back at Chase with slightly reddened eyes.

“We will resume the competition once everyone is seated.”

It was the first time a math competition had drawn such a crowd. Most of the newcomers filling the audience were women, apparently students from the school.

While the girls sitting in empty seats craned their necks to glimpse the blonde man in the front row, Chase said something to the woman sitting next to him and then took out some bills from his wallet and handed them to her. Though she initially refused, she eventually rummaged through her bag and gave him something.

What he received was a lipstick. Chase began scrawling with the lipstick on the back of a paper that likely contained competition rules or spectator guidelines.

[Go! 정인 (Jeong-in)]

On the A4 paper that looked absurdly small in his large hand, “Go” was written in English, and “Jeong-in” in Korean. The writing was crooked, as clumsy as if written by a small child. But what surprised Jeong-in wasn’t the handwriting style, but the fact that Chase could write those characters at all.

Ah, you shouldn’t write names in red. I’ll have to tell him that later.

Lost in that thought, Jeong-in inadvertently smiled. His stiffly tensed shoulders relaxed, and a faint smile spread across his face. His breathing became easier, and he even forgot how tense he had been, to the point of having difficulty breathing.

Chase’s blue eyes seemed to hypnotize him. Telling him he could do it. That everything would be fine.

Something warm blossomed in Jeong-in’s chest. He could no longer deny it or push it away. How could anyone not love someone like that?

“Alright, let’s move on to the next problem!”

The host’s voice echoed again as the competition resumed. Tension flowed between the two facing participants.

“The next problem is from calculus.”

The host continued his explanation. The Pacific Heights members smiled and seemed to encourage each other, apparently confident in this field.

“Please display the problem!”

With the host’s words, the problem appeared on the main screen. It was a problem asking for the value of x where a given function has its maximum value in a specific interval. It was a high-level problem requiring not just simple calculation but conceptual understanding and analysis.

Jeong-in exhaled deeply and immediately began working on the solution. He used differentiation to find critical points and calculated the function values at both endpoints of the interval. All that remained was to compare the function values at the critical points and endpoints to determine the maximum value within the given interval.

But what mattered now wasn’t how orderly the solution was presented, but how quickly it could be solved.

Jeong-in solved the problem mentally this time, rather than carefully writing it out step by step as he normally would. And as soon as the answer formed in his mind, he raised his hand without hesitation. He was just a fraction of a second faster than the Pacific Heights student.

“Yes, Wincrest?”

“x equals 0 or 3!”

The host deliberately paused to build tension. And finally, his mouth opened.

“Wincrest! That is correct!”

“Yes! That’s it! Crush it! Go, Wincrest!”

At that moment, a cheer erupted from the audience that would have been more fitting at a football stadium. It was Chase’s voice.

“Ahem, sir over there. Please calm down. This is a math competition, not a rock concert.”

The host’s words drew laughter from various parts of the audience.

Jeong-in also smiled slightly as he looked at Chase. To avoid being called out by the host again, Chase mouthed enthusiastic words of encouragement while waving the paper in his hand.

A warmth surged in Jeong-in’s chest. He finally realized at that moment how much strength Chase had given him since they first met. And how deeply he had fallen in love with him.

Pride. That damned pride had kept him from saying so many things. Not wanting to seem petty, not wanting to appear needy. In the end, they were all things he had buried while worrying about others’ perceptions.

Once he let all that go, all that remained was his feelings for Chase. The emotion he had mistaken for admiration had long ago transformed into deep, solid love. Now that he recognized it, he became impatient. He wanted to run down from the stage right away and embrace him.

But the competition had to continue. The intense situation persisted as all members took turns winning and losing. After the individual rounds, next came the team competition with higher points at stake.

“This round is a team competition where the team that presses the buzzer and is called upon gets a chance to answer. But be careful. If your answer is incorrect, the opportunity passes to the other team.”

The venue was again filled with tension, and even the audience grew quiet.

“The next question is about concepts and terminology.”

The Mathlete Society members exchanged glances. Had they ever relied on each other like this before? Everyone leaned toward the buzzer, listening intently to the question.

The host began reading the question slowly.

“What is the following? Leibniz and Newton established the basic framework of calculus based on this concept.”

Justin’s hand twitched toward the buzzer. Rajesh, the leader, immediately cautioned him.

“Wait a little longer. Listen to the entire question.”

They needed to be careful about pressing the buzzer. They couldn’t afford to lose the opportunity unnecessarily.

“This concept, which developed from the ancient Greek ‘apeiros,’ was formalized by Leibniz…”

At that moment, Jeong-in’s hand reflexively shot out and pressed the buzzer. With a click, the buzzer sound echoed through the venue, and all eyes turned to Jeong-in.

All the Mathlete Society members looked at him simultaneously. Their faces were full of doubt, as if asking whether he really knew the answer.

Jeong-in’s gaze briefly met Chase’s. If I get this right, it might be thanks to you. It suddenly came to mind because you’re here.

When Jeong-in first went to the diner with Chase and realized Chase had discovered his embarrassing book, he had said,

“Don’t even mention it. I wanted to become infinitesimal.”

“Infinitesimal? Haha, you wanted to disappear?”

It was the first time he realized that Chase Prescott was not just a simple sports team ace, that he was far from being stupid.

The host extended his hand toward Wincrest.

“Wincrest High has pressed the buzzer. Your answer?”

Jeong-in took a deep breath and looked straight at the host. Then, with a voice mixed with confidence and fear, he said,

“Infinitesimal?”

The host paused momentarily. It seemed like he was deliberately creating suspense. The captain of Pacific Heights covered his face with his palm and let out a groan that sounded like a sigh of belated realization. It hinted at the possibility that Jeong-in had gotten the right answer.

“Infinitesimal. That is correct! It refers to a concept where a certain value becomes extremely small, approaching zero infinitely but never actually becoming zero, meaning ‘without end’! Infinitesimal was the correct answer. Wincrest High School gets 3 points.”

As soon as the host finished speaking, the Mathlete Society members let out cheers. From the audience, Chase was the first to jump to his feet, clapping his hands and punching the air while shouting.

“That’s it! Jeong-in, well done!”

Now he’s freely calling me by my Korean name. Though Jeong-in thought this, he still smiled.

“This is the final hurdle to reach the finals. With the score difference narrowed to 2 points, the team that gets this question right advances to the finals!”

The last question was also worth 3 points. At this decisive moment, the venue became so quiet that not even breathing could be heard.

“The problem will appear on the screen. The solution process doesn’t matter. The team that calculates and gets the correct answer first wins. Press the buzzer when you’ve completed your calculation!”

A complex equation appeared on the screen. Both teams let out sighs of exasperation. Opinions differed on how to solve it.

“We need to transform this into a perfect square form.”

“No, we should draw the graph first.”

Meanwhile, Justin missed the flow of the problem-solving and instead observed the Pacific Heights students. Their leader looked relieved, as if she had already solved the problem. Just as she, dressed in her impressive uniform, was about to reach for the buzzer, Justin pressed it first.

Beep—

“Yes! Wincrest pressed the buzzer first!”

Pacific Heights looked dejected at losing the chance to speak, while the Wincrest members who hadn’t yet finished solving the problem stared at Justin in bewilderment. Rajesh, looked so pale it was noticeable.

Justin blurted out,

“The answer is -1.”

Justin knew that 0, 1, and -1 were the most likely answers in competition problems. The probability was highest for 0 and 1, in that order. However, in complex number problems like this one, -1 was sometimes used as the answer to create a strong impression.

“The answer is…”

The host paused again. All the Wincrest team members held their breath and looked at Justin.

“Wincrest High School, that is correct! Final score 47 to 46! Wincrest has achieved a come from behind victory!”

With the host’s declaration, the venue filled with cheers. It had truly been an intense match. The Pacific Heights captain applauded calmly, as if disappointed but accepting, and offered congratulations.

All the participants on stage exchanged handshakes and hugs before exiting amicably.

“Wow!”

“We did it!”

The waiting room after the match was filled with the excitement of victory and the tension of the upcoming finals. But Jeong-in left all those emotions behind and immediately ran out of the waiting room.

Rajesh urgently called from behind,

“Jay? Where are you going! The finals are in an hour and a half!”

“Leave him be.”

As if telling him not to do anything foolish, Justin held Rajesh’s shoulder and shook his head.

Jeong-in, who had come out into the hallway, ran frantically. Despite being out of breath and his heart pounding, nothing could stop him.

At the end of the hallway, golden sunset light poured in from outside the entrance.

And, more brilliant than that light, a man came into Jeong-in’s view.

“Chase!”

With his hands thrust into his suit pants pockets while looking toward the campus, he turned his head toward the sound. His blonde hair rippled softly, and the scene of him turning seemed to play in slow motion.

Jeong-in squeezed his eyes shut. Then, as if throwing himself forward, he ran without hesitation toward those open arms.

Chase, having turned around, pulled his hands from his pockets and spread his arms as if he had anticipated what would happen. For someone who routinely absorbed tackles from men two or three times Jeong-in’s size on the field, catching Jeong-in barely caused him to sway.

Embraced by Chase, Jeong-in slightly raised his head to look up at him. Gentle blue eyes with subtle light rippling in them were quietly gazing at him.

“How did you come here…? What about prom?”

Jeong-in’s voice trembled faintly as he asked. The fact that Chase, who should have been the star of the prom, who should have been in the middle of the dance floor under the pouring lights, had left all that behind to find him made his heart ache.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

Jeong-in’s dark eyes behind his glasses became noticeably moist. Seeing that tears might fall at any moment, Chase quickly shifted to a playful tone.

“You know what my name means, right? I’m also good at chasing.”

His name, Chase, had the same spelling as the word meaning “to pursue.”

Jeong-in, feeling a surge of emotion, hid his contorted face by resting his forehead against Chase’s shoulder.

“I wasn’t serious! I never wanted you to go to prom! Vivian Sinclair came to me. And even though I was upset, I thought she was right… I don’t know, math problems have clear answers, but this is too difficult for me…”

Jeong-in burst out words like machine gun fire without taking a breath. The words seemed to pour out of his mouth, driven by emotion, mixed without context or logic.

Chase gently stroked Jeong-in’s back, as if he could accept anything.

“Shhhh… Breathe, Jeong-in. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.

Those words were everything Chase wanted to say to Jeong-in. And those were precisely the words Jeong-in desperately wanted to hear from him.

“Chase, aren’t you… angry with me?”

Just yesterday, he had dismissed Chase’s feelings. He had even told him to go to prom with someone else. Yet Chase was here, supporting him as if nothing had happened. If it were him, always putting pride first, he could never have made the choice Chase had made.

“I tried to be angry. But I just couldn’t.”

Jeong-in finally realized, self-esteem and pride were different things. Someone with true self-esteem doesn’t put pride before sincerity. Chase was exactly that kind of person.

The two who had been embracing as if they were the only ones in the world finally stepped away from each other after a long while.

Only then could Jeong-in become aware of the gazes around them. People glancing over, whispers from those passing by the entrance. The two of them, desperately holding each other like lovers reunited in wartime, must have been quite a sight to behold.

Feeling uncomfortable, Jeong-in grabbed Chase’s sleeve and began pulling him away.

Looking around the unfamiliar space as they moved toward the inner hallway, Jeong-in spotted a door with an emergency stairway sign on one wall. Without hesitation, he reached out and pushed open the heavy metal door.

BANG—

The sound of the door closing echoed through the narrow space. Before the sound faded, Jeong-in grabbed Chase’s collar with both hands.

“Jeong-in?”

Chase’s eyes widened with surprise and bewilderment. Without saying anything, Jeong-in firmly pulled on his collar. The blue waves of a Mediterranean Sea he had never visited surged right before his eyes.

Jeong-in swallowed, stood on his tiptoes, and squeezed his eyes shut. Then, impulsively, he pressed his lips against Chase’s.

It was a moment when Jeong-in’s world turned upside down.

Time seemed to stop. All the thoughts swirling in his mind evaporated, leaving only one person, Chase.

Like scenes from a movie, all the moments he had secretly captured in his eyes since first seeing Chase flashed by quickly.

The bright smile he showed to others, his golden hair shining like it held the sun, his gentle blue eyes rippling like water.

Now all of that was within his reach.

Jeong-in released Chase’s collar and slowly backed away. Their lips separated, and the air felt cool against their damp skin.

As he slowly lifted his trembling eyelids, his eyes immediately met Chase’s. Despite his boldness in initiating, Jeong-in took another step back, seemingly embarrassed.

“Are you done?”

Chase’s low, unhurried voice resonated throughout the space.

Jeong-in looked at him with a puzzled expression, trying to gauge what those words meant. There was a strange chill as Chase looked at him with lazily lowered eyes, slowly licking his lips as if savoring the taste.

Chase stepped forward deliberately. His voice, dropping an octave lower, came out like a whisper.

“Then it’s my turn now, isn’t it?”

No sooner had those words left his mouth than Chase tilted his head deeply and approached him.

In an instant, Jeong-in’s neck was captured by a large hand, and a strong arm wrapped around his waist. It felt like being caught by a snake coiling around its prey.

The light smile Chase usually wore when joking around was nowhere to be seen. Chase’s face was serious, almost unfamiliar. Was this always his expression when kissing? But Jeong-in wasn’t given the luxury of further thought.

Their lips locked deeply. Jeong-in’s body trembled at the intense sensation, a world apart from the clumsy, simple kiss he had initiated.

Chase didn’t rush. Gently but firmly, he ravaged Jeong-in’s mouth, imprinting every sensation deeply.

His heart pounded as if it would burst. The warmth and presence of each other became hot waves transmitted throughout their bodies. It was as if every nerve had awakened, clearly feeling the other’s breathing and body heat.

As if afraid Jeong-in might run away, Chase tightened his arms around him.

“Mmh…”

A breath escaped as if squeezed out.

Despite feeling pressure like his ribcage might burst, strangely, he felt reassurance rather than fear. As if this place, these arms, were where he was meant to be all along.

Jeong-in’s first kiss was hot, moist, and unbelievably sweet.

They say humans express affection through kissing for evolutionary, biological, and cultural reasons, but Jeong-in had never understood that logic.

He could never comprehend why people engaged in this inefficient act that had nothing to do with reproduction and was undeniably unhygienic. He even questioned whether an activity that risked transmitting various viruses could truly be called an expression of affection.

But in just a few seconds, Jeong-in understood it all completely.

His body felt like it was melting like ice cream on a hot summer day. His knees weakened, and he instinctively clutched Chase’s collar. Jeong-in was completely captivated by his first experience of kissing. A little more, just a bit more. No, he wanted this act to continue endlessly.

How much time had passed? Ten minutes? No, he didn’t even know if twenty minutes had gone by. Any sense of time had long since disappeared.

Finally, Chase pulled his lips away from Jeong-in’s. Jeong-in’s heavy, panting breath spilled onto Chase’s neck.

Chase’s thumb lightly traced Jeong-in’s wet lower lip, which was still burning with residual heat.

“What should we do? It’s swollen. If we’re not careful, people will know we’ve been kissing.”

“Really?”

Flustered, Jeong-in touched his own lips with his fingertips. They did seem a bit plumper than usual. But as if not wanting to give him time to worry, Chase posed a question.

“Continue what you were saying earlier. What did Vivian Sinclair do?”

“…”

“Jeong-in.”

At the urging in his voice, Jeong-in’s shoulders rounded inward. Hearing his Korean name in Chase’s voice gave him a strange feeling every time.

“Why do you keep calling me that…”

“Because I want to be special.”

“…”

Chase carefully took Jeong-in’s downturned cheek and made him look up.

“Tell me.”

Jeong-in briefly recounted what had happened in the cafeteria. Everything from learning about the “friend’s ex-boyfriend rule” for the first time to being warned not to ruin Chase’s reputation.

Before the story was even finished, Chase’s brow furrowed. Looking back, she had been involved in most of the conflicts between him and Jeong-in.

“I’ll make sure that name never comes out of your mouth again.”

Jeong-in felt a chill down his spine at Chase’s cold gaze. His eyes, with their thin double eyelids, grew round.

“Are you going to kill her or something?”

“Ah… Jeong-in.”

Chase rested his forehead on Jeong-in’s shoulder as if collapsing and laughed, his body shaking.

Jeong-in continued boldly.

“You don’t need to get blood on your hands. I can win this on my own.”

In that moment, Chase found Jeong-in unbearably lovable. He lowered his head slightly and buried his nose in the nape of Jeong-in’s neck, inside his collar.

A soft, warm fragrance rose subtly. Neither stimulating nor artificial.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’ve been wanting to ask. What perfume do you use?”

“I don’t use perfume.”

“You smell good.”

Far from perfume, all Jeong-in used was bulk shampoo and body wash bought from a large supermarket.

“What do I smell like?”

“…Like something I want to eat up.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

Jeong-in, thinking it was just a joke, laughed lightly and pushed against Chase’s chest. His chest felt rock-solid under his hand. Not noticing the dangerous light in Chase’s eyes, Jeong-in checked his wristwatch.

“I need to go back and prepare for the finals now.”

“Are you feeling okay? Have you eaten dinner?”

Chase’s voice was incredibly tender as he asked various concerned questions.

“No… I didn’t eat because I was afraid something might go wrong. I’m hungry.”

As the tension eased, hunger set in. Without realizing it, Jeong-in furrowed his brow and complained as he would to a close friend or his mother.

In that moment, Chase felt an electric thrill. He gently caressed Jeong-in’s cheek as if he was too precious and adorable to handle.

“Go wait in the waiting room. I’ll buy you something to eat.”

“…Okay.”

Chase, as if he still had something to say, carefully lifted Jeong-in’s chin. There was something he needed to confirm to ensure Jeong-in wouldn’t run away or hide again.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize my feelings. I’m sorry I made you feel like you were the only one who liked me.”

The sincerity contained in his calm voice. Jeong-in silently listened to his confession.

“Jeong-in, I like you. So much. I’m surprised every day that I could like someone this much. What about you? How do you feel about me?”

Jeong-in wore a perplexed expression, as if unsure how to express himself. His face seemed to ask if he really had to say it out loud.

Chase continued in a gentle voice.

“I love you. You’re my Jeong-in.”

That was certainly more sincere and moving than his first confession before.

Jeong-in gathered all his courage. But only a very small voice barely escaped.

“…Me too.”

“Hmm? I can’t hear you well.”

Chase playfully tilted his head and deliberately moved closer.

Jeong-in’s face instantly grew redder. But he decided not to hide or run away anymore. He opened his mouth again. This time, his voice was clearer and more distinct.

“I like you too, Chase Prescott.”

“Well done.”

Chase’s shadow fell over Jeong-in’s face, and his warm breath spilled onto Jeong-in’s cheek.

When their lips finally met, it felt like catching a glimpse of heaven.

* * *

“Justin! That was too reckless earlier!”

“But if I hadn’t done that, the other team would have given the answer.”

“Even so, you just guessed!”

“So what? Should I have let them press the buzzer first?”

When Jeong-in returned, a small argument was taking place among his teammates in the waiting room.

Those exchanging heated words all turned their heads at once when they heard the door open.

“Jay!”

Starting with Rajesh’s exclamation, everyone’s attention shifted to Jeong-in.

“Jay! What happened? Did Chase Prescott really come all the way here to see you?”

“I noticed you two were getting close lately! How did you become friends?”

“Why didn’t he go to prom? Why did he come here?”

Under the barrage of questions, Jeong-in was momentarily speechless. Only Justin, standing a step behind, was quietly looking at him.

Justin’s gaze wasn’t on his face, but lingered on Jeong-in’s lips.

Unless Jeong-in had just devoured an extremely spicy Mexican dish like chili tamales, those swollen lips couldn’t be explained away.

Justin muttered in a voice too quiet for others to hear.

“That quarterback… he actually did it.”

It was none other than Justin who had told Chase about the competition venue.

Before the semifinals, as Justin sat anxiously in the waiting room, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. The moment he checked the screen and saw the sender’s name, he immediately took his phone and went out to the hallway.

Chase Prescott: [Where’s the competition?]

Reading the message, Justin hesitated for a while. Jeong-in had worked hard to make up his mind and was trying to let go, so Justin wondered if it was right for him to arbitrarily reveal the location.

Clutching his phone tightly while contemplating, Justin slightly opened the waiting room door and peeked inside.

Jeong-in had a problem set open in front of him, but his gaze was blankly fixed on the tip of his pen. No matter how many pages he turned, he showed no signs of concentration, and the pen in his hand just tapped the paper repeatedly.

His expressionless face, his darkly subdued eyes. He didn’t look happy at all.

In the end, Justin gave Chase the detailed address.

“Jay! Say something!”

Faced with the shower of questions, Jeong-in awkwardly smiled and rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to do.

“Just… I got a bit friendly with him while tutoring Darius Thompson from his team in math.”

In response to his answer, Rajesh exclaimed with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Just ‘a bit friendly’ and he comes here to cheer you on instead of going to prom? I want to go to prom even though I’m a participant in this competition!”

“That’s true. If Rajesh had a partner, he would have gone to prom instead of the competition.”

“What makes you any different, Khalid?”

“Well, that’s not wrong…”

“I should have been a tutor too.”

Looking at his excited friends, Justin let out a deep sigh. It was his turn to step in.

He approached Jeong-in’s side and stood in front of the crowd, raising both hands to protect Jeong-in like a manager shielding a star from overzealous fans.

“Is that really important right now? The finals are in 30 minutes!”

Only then did the noisy atmosphere subside. Justin didn’t miss the opportunity and pulled Jeong-in by the arm to move to a quiet corner.

“Here.”

What Justin offered was a cold canned drink, seemingly just taken from a vending machine, with water droplets condensed on its surface.

“Why this?”

“Hold it against your lips.”

Justin spoke in a low voice, almost whispering.

“These guys are nerds so they don’t notice, but anyone else would have figured it out? You just came back from a serious make-out session.”

Jeong-in’s shoulders jolted.

“W-what are you talking about…”

Looking extremely flustered, Jeong-in quickly grabbed the can and almost reflexively pressed it to his lips.

A little while later, the waiting room door opened with a quiet knock.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the door at once. Appearing through the open doorway was the figure at the center of the recent small commotion, Chase Prescott.

As if some unspoken signal had been given, the students in the waiting room fell silent, and the surroundings became as quiet as if a mouse had died.

Amy Williams, the club’s faculty advisor, approached Chase.

“Mr. Prescott, I’m sorry but only students participating in the competition are allowed in the waiting room.”

Despite her firm words, Chase showed no sign of being flustered and smiled gently.

“I apologize. Then I’ll just leave this and go.”

He lightly lifted up the paper bags he was holding in both hands. The logo of Jersey Mike’s, a sandwich specialty shop, was printed on the brown paper.

Williams took the bags, but seemed slightly surprised by the quantity, which was more than expected. Rajesh naturally stepped forward and helped carry some of them.

“There are drinks too. I bought plenty, so please all enjoy them.”

His voice, full of goodwill, echoed through the quiet waiting room. Everyone was frozen with dumbfounded expressions. Even Jeong-in could only stare at Chase with a bewildered look.

As Chase was about to leave the waiting room, he paused briefly at the doorway. Then he slowly turned his gaze toward Jeong-in.

When their eyes met, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

“Do well, Jeong-in.”

His soft voice lingered in Jeong-in’s ears. Jeong-in, with a flushed face, hurriedly nodded, and Chase quietly left the waiting room.

Only a few seconds after the door closed with a click did the waiting room become noisy again. Everyone crowded around the table to look inside the paper bags. As soon as the folded opening was pulled apart, the nutty aroma of freshly made bread and the savory scent of deli meat wafted out.

The sandwiches, prepared more than enough for the number of people, were all hefty and generous. Just as everyone was about to dive in with admiration, Justin blocked them with a stern expression.

“Wait!”

Justin continued with an air of importance, as if it were a momentous occasion.

“Would Chase Prescott have bought this for us if it weren’t for Jay? I mean, he and I are close friends too, of course. Ahem… Anyway, I think we should thank Jay before eating.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Justin’s words. Each grabbing a sandwich, they began to thank Jeong-in.

“Thanks, Jay.”

“I’ll enjoy this.”

Jeong-in gave Justin a side-eye as if he had done something unnecessary, but he couldn’t help feeling pleased and a little proud inside. He didn’t realize he had such childish vanity in him.

Feeling Chase’s thoughtful consideration, Jeong-in carefully opened the wrapper and took a big bite of the bread that still retained its warmth.

It felt like warmth was spreading throughout his body.