84

Both Yoon-seok and Yu-young turned around in surprise at the same time. Unexpectedly, the person standing in front of the store was Do-won.

“Huh? Team Leader? Why are you here…?”

“Team Leader…?”

He was still dressed neatly in a suit. Since he looked exactly the same as when he was working at the office, it seemed like he hadn’t gone home yet and was still working overtime. As the two of them stared at him in disbelief, Do-won slightly furrowed his brow.

“I was on my way home, I happened to pull over. And I saw the two of you.”

As Do-won had said, his car was parked with the hazard lights on at the corner of the alley. It was a lie, though, since he wasn’t even headed down this road… Yu-young thought that, but of course, he couldn’t say such a thing with Yoon-seok right in front of him.

“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Huh? Ah, no…”

“The direction to your house is the same, right? Get in.”

Do-won’s voice, as he gestured toward the car with a slight tilt of his chin, had an authority that made it hard to refuse. Yu-young, nodding slowly without thinking, then looked at Yoon-seok to check his reaction. Before Yu-young could speak, Do-won continued.

“Should I give Yoon-seok a ride as well?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine. I’ll just take the subway right here.”

Yoon-seok, his face bright red, waved his hands frantically.

“Alright. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The way he gave up on offering the ride, despite being the one who suggested it, felt oddly decisive. Yoon-seok gave a quick bow and hurriedly turned away, nodding without hesitation.

“Well, see you tomorrow!”

“Yoon-seok…! See you tomorrow.”

With Do-won’s appearance, the conversation between the two of them abruptly came to an end. Yoon-seok, giving Yu-young one last look with eyes full of regret, began walking toward the subway station. Yu-young, lost in the sight of his retreating figure, then turned to Do-won.

“Team Leader. What brings you here…?”

“I came to pick you up.”

“…Me?”

“Of course, would I have come to pick up Yoon-seok? Get in. Let’s talk on the way.”

Following Do-won’s nonchalant tone, Yu-young reluctantly got into the car. His car, which he had gotten into comfortably many times lately, felt somewhat awkward today. Still, remembering to buckle his seatbelt, Yu-young stared at Do-won, who pressed down on the accelerator.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“…No… it’s nothing. Just a bit…”

At Do-won’s sudden question, Yu-young mumbled his response. Then, Do-won playfully glanced at him.

“Is it because I’m handsome?”

Hearing Do-won’s answer, Yu-young made a bewildered face. Was this person always this full of himself? He didn’t seem like this at first… but why did he seem to be getting more and more shameless?

Now that he thought about it, it felt strangely familiar. He realized he had had a similar conversation yesterday, and the result of that conversation was… His ears suddenly turned bright red, and Yu-young turned his head away with a swift motion.

“Ah, no! Don’t get the wrong idea. There are a lot of handsome people like you in the world, you know?”

“Yesterday, you said there weren’t any.”

“There are! They’re on TV! All the celebrities are as handsome as you…”

The more he spoke, the more it felt like he was digging himself into a hole, so Yu-young huffed and fell silent. As he sat there, the frustration from being ignored by Do-won all day slowly started to settle in.

When he woke up this morning, he had seen only a sandwich left behind, with Do-won already gone off to work alone. Though they had agreed to commute separately from the beginning, being left behind like that still didn’t feel good.

“You didn’t even look at me all day, and now you’re here to pick me up? What’s going on?”

Yu-young glared at Do-won with a sullen expression before quickly turning his head again. He couldn’t help but soften when he saw the faint smile that had appeared on his lips, his beautiful hand gripping the steering wheel, the veins popping slightly, and his well-defined, handsome features.

“So, you’re mad?” Do-won asked, his smile widening as he suppressed his laughter.

“Huh? I’m asking if you’re mad because I didn’t look at you all day?”

“Th-That’s not it!”

The smile on Do-won’s face grew wider, a relaxed yet genuine smile. Seeing it, Yu-young felt heat rising to his face again.

“It’s not that I’m mad… It’s more like, I want to know why you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you.”

Despite the smile, Do-won’s tone was calm and steady, as usual.

“I just thought we might need some time to cool off.”

Hearing those words, Yu-young felt a heat rising inside him. It felt as if Do-won’s words were subtly acknowledging the heated atmosphere that had built up yesterday. As yesterday’s events replayed in his mind like a panorama, Yu-young cupped his cheeks with both hands.

“Ugh…”

It felt completely different hearing the words directly from Do-won than just thinking about what had happened yesterday. Even sitting here talking with him made his face flush, so it was impossible not to understand Do-won’s position of needing space to cool off.

And it probably felt awkward for him too. No matter how gentle and polished he was, and despite how well he usually managed himself, after all, he was still an Alpha. It made sense that he, too, would have been caught up in the heat of the moment and was now embarrassed about it.

But the lingering resentment from being ignored all day still left a small knot inside him, and he felt like he needed to act out at least once more to feel at ease.

“So, have you cooled off now?”

“Still in progress.”

“Then why did you come to pick me up? You must still be uncomfortable with me.”

Yu-young’s sharply sarcastic remark was met with a casual reply from Do-won.

“Isn’t this something a couple should be able to do?”

Crash. It felt like someone had lifted a large stone from inside his heart and let it fall. The unexpected blow at that moment hit Yu-young deep inside. Without thinking, words of resentment slipped out.

“…Why do you…”

Confuse me like this.

Though the words remained unspoken, it was clear that, no matter how drunk he might be or how frustrated he was, it was hard to voice them. Instead, what came out was something that sounded like a complaint, even though he didn’t mean to.

“…We’re not really a couple, you know.”

“Whether it’s real or fake, it’s the same if we live under the same roof, right?”

Do-won’s gaze, as he gripped the steering wheel, became strangely sharp.

“Not being able to do something like this is a bit too much.”

What’s too much is your behavior, Team Leader… Yu-young wanted to say that, but he swallowed the words. He couldn’t help but hold his chest, which was still trembling, in an attempt to calm himself.

‘Calm down… calm down.’

The couple Do-won was referring to was, after all, just a contractual marriage. He wasn’t the type to do sweet things like preparing flower baskets and food when they moved in together for no reason.

So, Yu-young decided not to read too much into Do-won’s words, trying to steady his mind. However, his heart continued to throb uncontrollably, showing no signs of calming down. Trying to hide his unease, Yu-young leaned his head against the window.

“Still, I’m relieved.”

“About what?”

“That you’re not drunk.”

Looking at Do-won’s faint smile, Yu-young narrowed his eyes.

“Why? Are you worried I might curse at you or cause a scene like last time? Are you going to bring up the past like a petty person?”

“Do you know it was a nuisance?”

Now Do-won was outright laughing, his face showing a carefree smile. Yu-young, with his face full of defiance, glared at him.

“Th-That’s not it! I don’t usually do that! That’s the first time I’ve been that drunk in my life!”

“Right. Since Han Yu-young says so, I’ll believe you.”

“No! I’m telling you, it’s true!”

Do-won, laughing as he teased him, and Yu-young, glaring back, created a familiar, playful atmosphere between them. Unlike before, when their relationship had been full of resentment and hostility, Yu-young now realized that something else had begun to fill that space—something he couldn’t quite explain.

It was probably a combination of respect for him as a superior, fondness and trust as a contract partner, and… something beyond words that couldn’t quite be captured by simple terms.

“It was just a joke.”

Not understanding his true feelings, Do-won spoke slowly and turned the steering wheel. After parking the car in the underground garage, Do-won reached his hand toward Yu-young. With a click, the seatbelt came undone.

Yu-young’s eyes involuntarily followed the sight of his neck and collarbone. The faint scent that emanated from him today seemed to be more intoxicating than usual. His heart, which had just calmed down, was racing again. Even the familiar scent of his pheromones felt a little frustrating today.

And then, Do-won’s next words set the confusion in Yu-young’s heart on fire once again.

“If you’d been that drunk while with Yoon-seok, I think I would’ve gotten mad.”