TSG 13

The two decided to stop by a cafe to take a breather and then sat down on a two-person seat. The space was quite limited, with only two chairs and a small, cozy table.

Thanks to this, Shin Tae-oh, who was 190 centimeters tall, and Se-hyun, who was 183 centimeters tall, were forced to twist and fold their legs to squeeze into the tight area. They had to bend their legs that were pointing outward, which caused their knees to high up.

Se-hyun observed Shin Tae-oh sipping his coffee. Whether it was due to the richer coffee aroma or the quiet atmosphere compared to a typical cafe, Shin Tae-oh’s expression seemed…

Exactly like a satisfied cat.

“It’s pretty nice here. How did you find it?”

“I searched on the internet.”

“Oh… there was an easy way.”

As Shin Tae-oh tilted the coffee cup roundly, the liquid inside moved as if it might spill over. What was this adult doing?

Se-hyun, who couldn’t tell him not to do it out loud, silently took a napkin.

“As expected, you don’t take your eyes off me. Secretary Ahn.”

Shin Tae-oh chuckled as he looked at the napkin in Se-hyun’s hand.

“If I spill coffee, will you wipe my fingers?”

“I apologize. It’s for wiping the table.”

“Oh… the table. The table seems more important than me.”

Shin Tae-oh’s eyes fell on the table. The table was too small and cute for two men to sit facing each other.

“Shall I buy it for you?”

Buy it for yourself.

Se-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh, who was examining every inch of the table.

“It’s not because the table is important. It’s just to clean the place where the CEO passed by.”

If someone recognized Shin Tae-oh and saw a coffee stain left by him, it could affect the company’s image.

As a secretary, he also had to take care of the public image of his boss. Fortunately, Shin Tae-oh was a pretty decent and likable person, so Se-hyun didn’t feel any moral burden in caring about his image.

“Oh, really?”

Shin Tae-oh must have thought about Se-hyun’s answer and deliberately tilted the glass more. The coffee, which had been close to overflowing just now, fell down helplessly. Se-hyun sighed inwardly as she saw it running down Shin Tae-oh’s fingers and dripping onto the table.

‘Why is he like this?’

No matter how much Se-hyun tried to be understanding, Shin Tae-oh always managed to create such situations at least once. Se-hyun canceled his thought that Shin Tae-oh was sophisticated just moments ago. He was just an adult who was not worthy of his age.

Anyway, Se-hyun wiped the table with the napkin he had prepared. He immediately cleaned up the few droplets that had dropped before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapping it over Shin Tae-oh’s fingers. Shin Tae-oh’s fingers were longer than the square-folded handkerchief, so the ends were sticking out. The person who needs attention twice is even more bothersome.

“Please wipe it.”

“This is Secretary Ahn’s problem.”

Shin Tae-oh neither took the handkerchief nor did he remove his hand. He just looked at the handkerchief and suddenly pointed out Se-hyun’s problem.

“Secretary Ahn is just doing what secretary is supposed to do, but that’s really… shake people up.”

Taking advantage of Shin Tae-oh not taking the handkerchief or removing his hand, Se-hyun wiped the coffee off his hand and put the handkerchief back into his pocket. Then, without intending to drink the rather unappetizing coffee cup, he cleared it away and locked eyes with Shin Tae-oh when he returned.

“I will continue to work hard.”

As Se-hyun was standing there giving an appropriate answer to what he had just said, Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyun for a moment and then walked away.

“Right. I’m currently in the midst of unrequited love for Jin-ha.”

And the way he was muttering to himself seemed to convey his disappointment over Se-hyun pretending not to notice and ignoring him.

Se-hyun followed Shin Tae-oh’s lead and stared at his back.

It’s really strange. How could someone who used to like Jin-ha suddenly change like this? The Shin Tae-oh he knew genuinely liked Jin-ha…

“I don’t like this cafe. Let’s check out another place. The atmosphere has to be better. Places like this won’t change Jin-ha’s feelings.”

“I’ll look for it.”

⍣⍣⍣

Yoo Jin-ha, lying face down on the bed, stared intently at the phone that showed no response. Hoping for the phone to ring, he waited and waited, but unfortunately, the phone remained silent.

He rushed over after he received a call from an acquaintance who claimed to have seen Ha Min-hyuk on the day he went to the hotel with his older brother. However, it was too late. Ha Min-hyuk had left, and Yoo Jin-ha returned with nothing but bitterness.

And there was nothing. He just went back and forth between home and the office, took a break due to poor health, and did nothing else.

“I’m sick, and he really won’t call me?”

The aftermath of their fight lasted longer than he had anticipated. He couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong. Right now, he just wanted to see Ha Min-hyuk. So, he wanted to sleep surrounded by his pheromones…

Yoo Jin-ha turned his head to the side and looked at the box on the desk. As always, it was a gift from Shin Tae-oh, who used to convey his feelings to him. He had never received the gift before, but this time, he did.

He received it because he felt sad and lonely because no one came to visit him even though his fever kept rising and falling and he was drenched in sweat. Because today, he was the only person who sought him out. The person who always expressed his feelings to him consistently.

“I have to give it back.”

He accepted it impulsively and realized it belatedly. Pretending not to know anything and accepting it was something he couldn’t do to Tae-oh. He had to return it.

“When should I return it?”

Yoo Jin-ha tapped the phone, and the dark screen brightened. Hesitatingly, he found Tae-oh’s number stored as ‘Tae-oh Hyung.’ He hesitated to make the call, thinking about what he should say.

“What should I say?”

Thinking about disappointing his brother, he couldn’t bring himself to make the call. If he had known it would be like this, he shouldn’t have accepted it in the first place.

After thinking for a moment, Jin-ha erased Shin Tae-oh’s name and searched for someone else’s name.

Since he always sent gifts through his secretary, wouldn’t it be okay to return it through the same person?

⍣⍣⍣

As Se-hyun entered the parking lot and turned off the ignition, Shin Tae-oh pointed to his phone.

“Secretary Ahn, there’s a call coming in.”

Since it was placed on the holder, the screen displayed the name.

“It’s ‘4ChiefSecretaryLee Jin-ho.'”

“Yes.”

“There’s no space.”

Se-hyun saved it comfortably since it was something only he needed to recognize. Hadn’t Shin Tae-oh seen this before? But when Se-hyun thought about it, it was only recently that he sat in the passenger seat like this.

“However, it’s your choice how you save it… But what’s the ‘4’ for?”

“I apologize. I’ll take the call.”

“Sure.”

Se-hyun picked up his cell phone as if the vibrating sound bothered him. He took the call, sending a look to Shin Tae-oh that indicated he could go up first. Of course, even if Shin Tae-oh got off first, Se-hyun planned to follow him after getting out of the car.

“Yes, Chief. I’m coming up now. Yes. Yes.”

Until the call ended, Shin Tae-oh didn’t move. Eventually, when the call ended and an awkward silence settled between them, Se-hyun wondered why he was sitting there when there was no need to wait for him. Did he have something to say? Se-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh with several thoughts running through his mind.

“I’ll escort you.”

It was when he was about to get out of the car, thinking that he should have taken the lead.

“I’m curious about what the ‘4’ means.”

Shin Tae-oh responded to the answer he hadn’t heard before. It was nothing important… But saying it might sound strange again.

Se-hyun got out of the car and went to the passenger seat. Then he opened the door and waited for Shin Tae-oh to come out.

“I asked you twice, but not saying anything means it to have a pretty important meaning.”

“It’s not important.”

“But you’re not telling me?”

“…”

Why is he so persistent?

Holding back the urge to tell him that it was none of his business, Se-hyun said,

“It’s the fourth. I won’t say what it means.”

“If you say that, it makes me even more curious…”

“I’m sorry. It’s personal.”

When Se-hyun cut him off to say no more, Shin Tae-oh narrowed his eyes but then nodded. And then he obediently got out of the car and stood next to Se-hyun.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“I’m an only child.”

“In that case… Your parents, are the first and second.”

A quick-witted guy.

He puts his parents first without even knowing what it means. Se-hyun vowed to hide the meaning even more.

When they arrived at the office, the chief secretary who had been waiting for the two approached them.

“The meeting preparations are complete.”

“Is that so?”

“Shall we go down to the conference room right away?”

In response to the chief secretary’s question, Se-hyun quietly stepped aside. From now on, the chief secretary will accompany Shin Tae-oh.

Shin Tae-oh turned away from his office and headed for the elevator with the chief secretary.

“However…”

“Please speak.”

“Have there been cases where someone is the fourth during your lifetime?”

“Pardon?”

Putting aside the chief secretary’s confusion, Shin Tae-oh was the first to enter the elevator. The chief secretary, who got into the elevator late, looked at Se-hyun before the door closed. Se-hyun turned his head silently in response to the gaze questioning what the fourth meant.

‘Absolutely can’t say.’

He couldn’t reveal the ranking of people he liked since coming to this world.

Se-hyun sat down to do his work until the meeting ended and was just about to pick up the mouse. His phone started ringing. Realizing it was a call by the type of vibration, he turned his head. And rather than thinking he should answer the call…

“Why did he call?”

The question of why he called came to mind first.

It was Yoo Jin-ha.