PIA 101

Ji-an’s eyes widened as he followed Jeong Hee-seo.

Jeong Hee-seo seemed a bit more excited than usual. As soon as he crossed the lobby and saw Ji-an, he pulled him into a tight hug before grabbing his hand and leading him toward the company cafeteria.

Ji-an, who had been conscious of the gazes from those wearing employee badges, was naturally surprised by his bold behavior. To the point where he wondered if Jeong Hee-seo hadn’t fully sobered up yet.

“First, the sandwich you like with lots of shrimp and eggs.”

Jeong Hee-seo placed the mountain of food he had piled on the tray in front of Ji-an, one by one.

As there was still quite some time before lunch, the cafeteria was relatively quiet. Ji-an looked around, reminiscing about the times he often visited with the secretarial staff during his mentor-mentee activities. The reason his feelings were quite different now was that he no longer considered Jeong Han-joo as the “main character” of the story.

It’s amazing how different things can be depending on one’s mindset. Once Ji-an decided to overcome the fate of being a villainous supporting character, even the same scenery looked different.

His mood naturally improved, and as he smiled brightly with puffy cheeks, Jeong Hee-seo smiled back.

“So, what brings you to the company so early?”

“Oh, I wanted to give this to you, hyung-nim.”

Ji-an opened the bag he had placed beside him and took out a black thermos. It was his first strategy to soothe Jeong Hee-seo’s mood, which might have been upset over the officetel issue.

“Ta-da. I brought you some honey water.”

“…You made this?”

Although Jeong Hee-seo didn’t look particularly pleased, he downed in one go the cup of honey water that Ji-an had poured. While it was refreshing due to the ice mixed in, it was terribly sweet.

“You put a lot of honey in this.”

“It’s good for you, isn’t it?”

Captivated by Ji-an’s bright smile, Jeong Hee-seo had no choice but to drink it all. Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to mention that he had already drunk the hangover drink that Secretary Yoon had bought him.

Looking at Ji-an sitting in front of him without a trace of tension made him feel even more foolish for rushing to Jeong Han-joo’s officetel, consumed by jealousy. Ji-an now seemed completely over Jeong Han-joo, even appearing unburdened.

After making Jeong Hee-seo reluctantly finish the whole bottle, Ji-an neatly closed the lid and cup with a satisfied expression.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Mmm.”

Ji-an wanted to ask, “Why did you drink? And why did you buy an officetel?” but those questions felt too sudden and intrusive. However, after packing away the thermos, an awkward silence settled over the table.

“The officetel… did you drink because of that?”

Ji-an finally asked, seizing the moment.

“Officetel?”

Jeong Hee-seo laughed awkwardly while wiping his mouth. Whether he wanted to avoid the topic, he pushed the sandwich and fresh fruit juice towards Ji-an. Ji-an ignored his gesture to eat.

“Usually when people are upset, they go shopping. But… they don’t buy buildings, you know.”

He burst out laughing at Ji-an’s words. Did he know how trivial and cute it was that he was mentally calculating and worrying about his pocket?

“Don’t just laugh, explain. Did you really buy it? Why?”

Ji-an could easily understand that Jeong Hee-seo was concerned about his past with Jeong Han-joo. He could also fully empathize that Jeong Hee-seo might have been upset.

However, the idea that he would get jealous over something in the past, drink excessively, and impulsively buy a building didn’t quite add up.

Ji-an put on a deliberately serious expression.

“I’m going to buy it. I’m in the process.”

Jeong Hee-seo unwrapped the sandwich and held it up to Ji-an’s mouth. After Ji-an took a big bite, chewed, and swallowed, he offered him the fresh fruit juice as well.

“After we finish this, should we go eat a proper meal?”

“Yes. But why did you buy that place? Is it for investment value?”

Ji-an added in a slightly quieter voice that he no longer had any feelings for Jeong Han-joo, it was all in the past… and that he had simply forgotten to sell that officetel earlier.

Jeong Hee-seo smiled gently at Ji-an’s words.

“I bought it as a wedding gift for Han-joo.”

“What?”

“As a thank you for giving me a chance.”

It was a statement that left Ji-an speechless. He couldn’t exactly tell him to be stingy with his brother’s wedding gift either.

“I just paid the price. It’s to draw a line, saying ‘This is where Jeong Han-joo and Seo Ji-an’s past ends.'”

“Hyung-nim…”

Ji-an couldn’t find words to respond and just bit his lips.

“I thought it was quite cheap, actually.”

The words “it’s already all over” got stuck in Ji-an’s throat.

‘Ji-an, let’s date.’

‘The things I can do for you… let me do them to my heart’s content, please allow me.’

‘Date me, Seo Ji-an.’

Ji-an hadn’t properly answered any of his many confessions yet. And now, with the officetel issue hanging over them, he felt like he had become some sort of bad person. In this situation, it felt too careless to suddenly declare that everything with Han-joo was over and that he and Jeong Hee-seo were now dating.

In that moment, Ji-an realized that just as Hee-seo had consistently reassured him, he needed to respond with a sincere confession of his own. But now wasn’t the right time.

Ji-an lowered his eyes, thought for a long while, and finally managed to string together some words.

“I… um… I’ll do my best from now on. I’ll try hard…”

He felt embarrassed that this was all he could say, but Jeong Hee-seo laughed even more. When Ji-an looked up, he realized that the people at the nearby tables were all staring at them. Though the cafeteria wasn’t crowded, Hee-seo’s status seemed to attract attention. His loud laughter didn’t help either.

Ji-an consciously lowered his voice.

“I’m serious. I even made something like this.”

“What, what else are you going to do?”

“This. It’s a wish coupon.”

Ji-an proudly took out the wish coupon he had made and held it out, but when he saw Jeong Hee-seo squinting his eyes and smiling, he timidly closed his hand again.

It had seemed impressive when he came up with the idea at home, but suddenly it felt indescribably shabby. It seemed his second brilliant strategy had failed. As he was about to withdraw his embarrassed hand, Jeong Hee-seo grasped his wrist, stopping him.

“Why are you taking it back after offering it?”

His slightly rough touch took all the wish coupons from Ji-an’s hand.

“Blank coupons, huh?”

Jeong Hee-seo slightly furrowed his brow as he flipped through the five stiff pieces of paper one by one. His expression became quite serious, making Ji-an unnecessarily nervous. Soon, he carefully tucked the coupons into his jacket’s inner pocket and added softly,

“And five of them, too. That’s too generous, Ji-an.”

“…I told you earlier, didn’t I? You should think of what you want yourself.”

“That’s right. You told me to think about what I want.”

As Ji-an murmured with flushed cheeks that he had no ideas, Jeong Hee-seo rested his chin on his hand and cast a sidelong glance at him.

“You know what? That’s quite a difficult question for me too.”

Seeing Ji-an’s confused look, he added,

“As you know, I grew up having everything from a young age. I never had to think about wanting something. Everything was there before I could even think about it.”

So he couldn’t imagine not getting what he wanted.

Jeong Hee-seo smiled, lightly touching Ji-an’s cheek.

“Our Ji-an is in trouble. Knowing what I might ask for. You really shouldn’t go into business. You’d be perfect to be taken advantage of.”

The choice of words was strange. Plus, there was a subtle implication in his gaze that made Ji-an a little flustered. It suddenly crossed his mind that Jeong Hee-seo might use the wish coupons for… that kind of request.

“That’s a bit…”

“A bit what? I won’t tolerate you saying this or that isn’t allowed at this point.”

“I was going to say… it sounds like something an old man would say.”

Jeong Hee-seo narrowed his eyes and rolled his tongue. The corners of Ji-an’s  mouth turned down in displeasure and his smooth cheeks puffed out.

“You shouldn’t be cheeky after giving me blank coupons.”

“What strange thoughts are you having?”

He enjoyed seeing Ji-an flustered by his jokes. He liked sitting face to face, eating together, and exchanging trivial conversations.

Jeong Hee-seo played with Ji-an’s hand, concretizing the thoughts that had begun to surface since yesterday.

As Jeong Hee-seo counted each of Ji-an’s fingers, much smaller and softer than his own, he suddenly bit down hard on one finger. It was a very impulsive action.

“Ah!”

Ji-an’s eyes widened as he quickly pulled his hand back. It must have hurt quite a bit as his face turned red. Jeong Hee-seo’s teeth marks were clearly visible on Ji-an’s ring finger.

“Are, are you getting revenge? For calling you an old man?”

“Did it hurt?”

His tone was gentle, but his expression looked quite satisfied. Jeong Hee-seo took Ji-an’s hand and looked down at the mark he had made. It looked quite good.

So this is why people buy rings, he thought.

He decided to boldly abandon his previous thought that marriage wasn’t a big deal. Now, he couldn’t imagine being without Ji-an. Thinking of dating him with the assumption that he might let him go someday felt absurd.

Even if Ji-an asked him to let him go now, Jeong Hee-seo felt he wouldn’t be able to anymore. He even had the crazy thought that a ring would substitute for shackles since those were a bit too much.

Ji-an kept trying to escape, perhaps because the look in Jeong Hee-seo’s eyes as he stared at his finger was frightening. Jeong Hee-seo Hee-seo stubbornly held onto his trembling hand, gazing at the red mark he’d made.

“Ji-an is in big trouble.”

“W-what do you mean?”

He suddenly stood up, wrapped his arms around Ji-an’s head, and kissed his temple.

“You can’t go anywhere now.”