TSG 10

Originally, he should have been able to check Shin Tae-oh’s complexion through the rearview mirror. Se-hyun could look at Shin Tae-oh’s complexion if he sat in the backseat, but it was difficult to turn his head when he sat next to him.

How would he dispel the awkwardness of that moment if he made eye contact with Shin Tae-oh?

However, he couldn’t be careless behind the wheel, so he turned my head just enough to see the side mirror without making eye contact with Shin Tae-oh.

“Is it possible to drive with such a narrow field of view like that?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. If there’s an accident, Secretary Ahn will take responsibility.”

Who, me?

“If I’m lying in the hospital, you will feed me and put me to sleep.”

If it gets to that point, wouldn’t we be lying there together?

“No. I guess we’ll lie down together. Shall we feed each other?”

“… I will make sure no accident ever happens.”

Se-hyun turned his head to a considerably broader angle than before in response to Shin Tae-oh’s clear statement and scanned his surroundings. It’s better to be awkward than to have an accident.

“Okay. Good thinking.”

Shin Tae-oh accepted it with a more relaxed expression than before. He should have just told him from the beginning not to worry about him and just drive. Anyway, driving became much more comfortable with Shin Tae-oh sitting next to him.

“You said Jin-ha received a gift, right?”

“That’s right.”

It was a repetition of the conversation they had just now. There was no significant reaction when Se-hyun reported it earlier, but now he realized it again.

‘Well, it’s better this way.’

The reason Shin Tae-oh said he fell in love with him was probably due to the fact that Yoo Jin-ha didn’t respond. He had invested his sincerity to the extent of saying he would spend a good time with Yoo Jin-ha in the hotel, but nothing happened.

Se-hyun was sorry that it seemed like it was his fault, but not anymore. Yoo Jin-ha accepted Shin Tae-oh’s gift.

“What could be the reason?”

The reason Yoo Jin-ha received the gift was probably because, unlike usual, Shin Tae-oh didn’t give it with some lame excuse.

Contrary to his true feelings, Se-hyun kept his mouth shut because it seemed like it was not a topic for me to talk about.

“Anyway, Anyway, I can keep sending gifts. Then I can suggest a date… It would be nice if we could get that close. That was the original plan.”

Se-hyun nodded slightly at Shin Tae-oh’s words. Shin Tae-oh’s role was to forget what he said to him in the morning and show affection to Yoo Jin-ha as usual.

‘Role… Is that right?’

Se-hyun’s heart grew heavy as he wondered if he was the only one who knew the contents of the original work and limiting his view of Shin Tae-oh.

‘Even so, it’s not me.’

There was no need for Se-hyun to get involved just because Shin Tae-oh’s feelings for Yoo Jin-ha didn’t work out. Se-hyun wanted to see it from the perspective of a bystander from beginning to end. His goal was to live peacefully and never become entangled with Yoo Jin-ha’s passionate fate.

“But there is no guarantee that Jin-ha will receive it next time… ”

In response to Yoo Jin-ha’s ongoing story, Se-hyun had only one thing to say.

“I will do my best.”

“Do you know that saying you’ll do your best doesn’t necessarily correlate with the results? It’s just a strong expression of the intention to try.”

Se-hyun’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the sudden question that seemed to be holding back his words. Was his answer that he would do his best not good enough?

“But people always say they’ll do their best. It doesn’t mean they can do well just because they say so.”

Shin Tae-oh rested his elbows on the window frame and leaned his head. He spoke in a rather serious voice, but Se-hyun didn’t understand anything from start to finish. It seemed like he was speaking according to the flow of his consciousness, and Se-hyun couldn’t decide whether to accept it or not.

However, he couldn’t ignore it either.

“If you do your best, you will have less regret regardless of the outcome.”

Se-hyun gave a safe answer. Since he didn’t know the result, all he could do was do his best.

“Less regrets?”

“It would be nice to achieve the desired result, but you never know that.”

“Do you think so?”

Se-hyun was silent for a moment at the suddenly friendly tone, then nodded slightly.

“Then I guess I’ll try doing my best.”

Instead of answering, Se-hyun turned the steering wheel. Judging from the conversation they had so far, it was clear that Shin Tae-oh was expressing his intention to do his best for Yoo Jin-ha, but he didn’t know why it felt so uncomfortable.

⍣⍣⍣

Se-hyun lowered his shoulders, which had been raised for some time, as they approached Shin Tae-oh’s house. He seemed to be nervous about Shin Tae-oh without even realizing it.

“Don’t go into the parking lot, just stop in the front.”

“All right.”

For some reason, he followed Shin Tae-oh’s instructions. He parked the car at the entrance of the luxury apartment where Shin Tae-oh lived, and as Se-hyun was about to unfasten his seatbelt, he stopped at the sound of the door opening.

“Sir?”

Originally, Se-hyun should have gotten out and opened the car door so that Shin Tae-oh could get out…

“Drive home in this car.”

“Yes? But…”

This was Shin Tae-oh’s privately owned car. It felt quite burdensome for him to drive it away.

“Instead, come early tomorrow morning. About 30 minutes earlier than work time.”

“… All right.”

Considering that he usually arrived at work earlier than others, and he wouldn’t get much sleep even if he went home immediately, he didn’t see the problem. Shin Tae-oh nodded goodbye and waved his hand as Se-hyun agreed without hesitation. Se-hyun was so flustered that he forgot to get out of the car and say his farewell, but he bowed his head and slowly moved the car.

Se-hyun tilted his head when he saw Shin Tae-oh walking toward the entrance in the side mirror.

“Isn’t it?”

To be honest, Se-hyun suspected that Shin Tae-oh was trying to be nice to him when he asked him to take this car. So he refused it unreservedly at first and then accepted it, but when Shin Tae-oh walked to his house without looking back at him, he realized it wasn’t the case.

“It’s fine for me.”

It was a long day today as he woke up early in the morning and thought about how to face Shin Tae-oh. He wanted to go home, take a shower, and rest for a while.

On the other hand, Shin Tae-oh, who was walking towards the entrance, stopped. Instead of turning back, he closed his eyes and counted numbers.

“One, two, three, four… Now he should’ve gone, but should I count one more? Five.”

Leisurely counting numbers, Shin Tae-oh opened his eyes and turned around. He nodded as he saw the car he came in entering the road.

“That looked natural.”

The way Shin Tae-oh pretended to cut off his interest in Se-hyun was very convincing. Shin Tae-oh picked up his cell phone and made a call.

– You’ve finally called me?

“Where are you.”

– Studio.

“I’ll go.”

Shin Tae-oh hung up the phone without even listening to Yoo Jin-hyun’s answer.

⍣⍣⍣

Shin Tae-oh entered J/H Studio and proceeded to one location, ignoring Yoo Jin-hyun, who was taking pictures from various angles. On one side, there was a bar set up. Thanks to Yoo Jin-hyun’s unique taste of creating a place to take pictures and drink, Shin Tae-oh did not have to move to a different location to buy alcohol.

He took out everything he could get his hands on and opened the lid. Shin Tae-oh, who took a sip straight without ice, turned around and rested his back on the bar.

“It’s going to be dangerous if you keep drinking like that.”

“Then it’s not good. I have to live for a long time…”

Even though he said he would live for a long time, Shin Tae-oh did not let go of the drink. Instead, he drank a large amount in one go that his Adam apple trembled loudly.

“What’s going on?”

Yoo Jin-hyun asked, taking the drink from Shin Tae-oh’s hand and drinking it.

“Just.”

“Just what… What happened at the hotel back then?”

Shin Tae-oh tilted his head and gazed ahead in response to Yoo Jin-ha’s question. The perfume that Yoo Jin-hyun had just been taking pictures of caught his eye. It made him laugh to think that the perfume lying around without a model would soon be everywhere.

Suddenly, Se-hyun’s pheromones came to mind. It was incomparably better than any other perfume. It felt like the dizzying scent that shook his sanity was still lingering on his fingertips.

Ah, Ahn Se-hyun’s pheromones are really something.

“Why are you laughing alone? Are you crazy?”

“I don’t like that perfume. Ahn Se-hyun’s pheromone is better.”

“What?”

What’s better than perfume?

“But you, you don’t even take pictures of people, why do you say you’ll take Se-hyun’s.”

“I take pictures of people too.”

Yoo Jin-hyun added with a sneer.

“But only the ones I want to photograph…”

“Did Ahn Se-hyun get into that category?”

“That’s right. He has good looks, good proportions, and a nice atmosphere. Since there’s nothing missing, so isn’t it natural to want to take pictures?”

“Really?”

Yoo Jin-hyun’s eyes narrowed at Shin Tae-oh’s curious question.

“What’s with you.”

“What.”

“Since when did you start calling Secretary Ahn by his name? And you didn’t say anything about what happened that day. What happened to keep Jin-ha waiting all night?”

“I…”

Shin Tae-oh started muttering, and Yoo Jin-hyun frowned as he was interrupted. Everything seemed unusual, from suddenly calling and asking where he was, and Yoo Jin-hyun couldn’t figure out why he was acting this way.

“Did I ever say that I like… Jin-ha’s pheromones?”

Then, Yoo Jin-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh seriously, looking like he was half out of his mind.

“If you like Jin-ha, isn’t it natural that you like his pheromones too? …What’s this. Jin-ha doesn’t release pheromones carelessly, but do you think something happened between you and my younger brother? Huh?”

Yoo Jin-hyun put down the alcohol bottle, walked closer to Shin Tae-oh, and asked. He has every right to ask because he helped to build a bridge for him to get along with his younger brother.

“Hmm…”

Shin Tae-oh cleared his throat and seemed to think about it, then locked eyes with Yoo Jin-hyun.

“I guess I really went crazy. Hey, try releasing your pheromones. At least I can smell that and come to my senses. It can’t go on like this.”

Shin Tae-oh closed his eyes tightly and urged Yoo Jin-hyun. Yoo Jin-hyun was taken aback by Shin Tae-oh’s solemn expression and then asked.

“…Are you treating my pheromones like foot odor?”