TSG 130

They were conversing without noticing Ha Jin-seong approaching. Judging by his reaction, it seemed he had already heard their entire conversation, so there was no way to change the subject now.

“How long have you been here?”

Se-hyun first pointed to an empty chair for Ha Jin-seong. At Se-hyun’s gesture to sit, Ha Jin-seong obediently pulled out the chair and sat down.

“Eavesdropping on others’ conversations is a bad habit.”

Shin Tae-oh immediately expressed his displeasure towards Ha Jin-seong.

“And whose fault is it for chattering without noticing who’s approaching?”

As Ha Jin-seong shot back without backing down, and just as the tension between them was about to escalate,  a sharp warning broke the air. 

“Just try it.”

It was unclear to whom Se-hyun’s warning was directed, but both Ha Jin-seong and Shin Tae-oh turned to look at him. Se-hyun slowly raised his head to make eye contact with both of them in turn.

“If you’re going to keep fighting, I’m leaving.”

Shin Tae-oh and Ha Jin-seong closed their mouths at the same time. Only then did Se-hyun soften his sharp gaze.

“First of all, it’s not Honey Kitty, it’s Honey Rice Cake.”

Seeing Ha Jin-seong’s face wrinkle, Se-hyun gave Shin Tae-oh a look. At Se-hyun’s silent question of whether it was okay to tell the truth, Shin Tae-oh turned his head as if he didn’t care. It’s probably not that he really didn’t care, but rather that he wanted to reveal it…

Anyway, having heard Shin Tae-oh’s opinion, Se-hyun pointed at his own belly.

“I’m pregnant.”

“I helped.”

Shin Tae-oh added an unnecessary comment. Since it wasn’t wrong, Se-hyun stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Somehow, you’re the first one I’m telling.”

Maybe it would be better to tell others after entering the stable period. Thinking about when would be a good time to tell, Se-hyun waited for Ha Jin-seong’s reaction. Since they’re friends, he’d probably congratulate him, right?

“Am I supposed to keep this to myself?”

Ha Jin-seong wore a serious expression and asked a question instead of offering congratulations. Se-hyun tilted his head, wondering who Ha Jin-seong was thinking of when asking that, but Shin Tae-oh snorted.

“I wondered why he asked such a question, but…”

Shin Tae-oh soon added as he saw familiar faces walking towards the cafe. Se-hyun also turned his head following him.

“Ha Min-hyuk. Yoo Jin-ha.”

Since Ha Jin-seong and Ha Min-hyuk are brothers, it wasn’t strange for them to meet. Considering Ha Min-hyuk’s personality of always wanting to be with Yoo Jin-ha, it wasn’t odd for them to be together either.

“Yoo Jin-hyun…”

Yoo Jin-hyun is Yoo Jin-ha’s brother, and he knows both Shin Tae-oh and Ha Jin-seong, so well, it’s not strange for him to be there either.

“Park Ha-seong?”

When even the person who had nonchalantly commented on Ha Jin-seong’s scentless pheromones being a nice combination appeared, it started to get a bit confusing.

What kind of combination is this?

Moreover, the man following at the very back also seemed to be part of the group, but he was a face Se-hyun had never seen before.

“Choi Han-byeol…”

Finally, Shin Tae-oh muttered a name, seemingly someone he knew.

Thus, five men gathered and walked towards the cafe. As these handsome men walked together like models on a runway, everyone around stared at the group.

“Um… did you form some kind of club?”

Se-hyun asked after looking at each of them, to which Ha Jin-seong clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“We just ended up gathering somehow.”

As Ha Jin-seong muttered, sounding like he didn’t know how this happened either, the five men entered the cafe.

“If you want to hide it from those guys, go ahead. And congratulations.”

Ha Jin-seong indicated that Se-hyun didn’t necessarily have to tell them, and only then offered his congratulations.

***

They pushed three tables together, and eight men sat around them. Looking clockwise from Se-hyun’s position, there was Shin Tae-oh, Park Ha-seong, Ha Jin-seong, Ha Min-hyuk, Yoo Jin-ha, Yoo Jin-hyun, and Choi Han-byeol.

Honestly, Se-hyun didn’t want to be part of this gathering. He would have been fine just greeting them and parting ways.

However, while he didn’t mind the others, Yoo Jin-ha was so pleased to see Se-hyun that when Ha Min-hyuk suggested going elsewhere, Yoo Jin-ha pleaded to join them, looking disappointed. As a result, everyone got dragged in one by one.

“Se-hyun is weak to Jin-ha.”

Shin Tae-oh, who naturally followed as Se-hyun couldn’t refuse Yoo Jin-ha’s suggestion, muttered. Knowing that Yoo Jin-ha liked Se-hyun, he wasn’t particularly displeased, but he didn’t hide his annoyance.

“It would be a shame to part ways after meeting Se-hyun hyung.”

Knowing why Yoo Jin-ha followed Se-hyun, Shin Tae-oh just silently sat next to Se-hyun.

The eight men occupying a spot in the cafe continued to draw people’s attention.

It wasn’t just outsiders who were looking. Se-hyun felt quite uncomfortable with Choi Han-byeol’s gaze, which never lost its smiling eyes as he stared intently at Se-hyun’s face.

“Stop looking.”

Shin Tae-oh, keenly sensing Se-hyun’s discomfort, blocked Han-byeol’s view with his hand.

“What’s the problem? I just want to look at your lover…”

“He’ll wear out.”

“Is it that serious?”

Choi Han-byeol showed even more interest, not at all surprised by Shin Tae-oh’s words.

This guy isn’t normal either.

Se-hyun, having glimpsed part of Han-byeol’s personality in just a few words, quickly hid his expression.

“Hello. I’m Choi Han-byeol.”

“I’m Ahn Se-hyun.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“The CEO wouldn’t have talked about me though.”

Se-hyun immediately derailed the flow of conversation Han-byeol was leading. Well, it wasn’t like he did it on purpose.

“He tries not to talk about you in case someone might get interested.”

“Ah… that’s true.”

Choi Han-byeol nodded in agreement. Yet, he seemed quite surprised to realize that Se-hyun had seen right through Tae-oh.

“You have a tougher personality than I expected.”

From what Ha Jin-seong had told him about Se-hyun, he had just seemed like a handsome man with a good personality.

“I haven’t heard anything separately from the CEO, but…”

In fact, Shin Tae-oh had never mentioned having a friend named Choi Han-byeol.

“I’ll find out well on my own.”

At Se-hyun’s neat conclusion that it didn’t matter if Shin Tae-oh hadn’t mentioned it, Han-byeol showed an almost uncomfortable level of interest.

“I’m feeling like I want to get close to you now.”

“Maintaining a certain distance is good for both of us.”

“Where is that line drawn?”

“Up to not asking personal questions.”

As Se-hyun clearly defined where the line was, a faint disappointment crossed Han-byeol’s face. He knew Se-hyun had a tough personality, but now he wondered if he might get tangled up if he made a wrong move.

After Se-hyun finished his greeting with Han-byeol and closed his mouth, someone else jumped in on their own.

“I was wondering if we really needed to gather in one place like this… but now we’ve added two more people.”

It was Yoo Jin-hyun.

He had already thought it unnecessary for Han-byeol to arrange this gathering. Moreover, with Shin Tae-oh and Se-hyun joining, the number of people increased, which was hardly welcome.

“What’s the point of gathering all these people?”

It wasn’t like they had met to throw a party. Apparently, it was a gathering meant for conversation.

“You might as well come to my studio and crack open some bottles.”

“No.”

Yoo Jin-hyun’s complaint was cut off by none other than Tae-oh. Whether he disliked the location or objected to drinking alcohol…

“Se-hyun can’t drink.”

Yoo Jin-hyun looked at Se-hyun as if to ask what that meant, and the gazes of the other men also fell on Se-hyun.

As Se-hyun found himself needing to explain why, he heard Ha Jin-seong’s mutter.

“Why are you dating Tae-oh?”

Right.

To have this revealed so openly when it wasn’t even the stable period yet.

Se-hyun sighed and reluctantly spoke.

“I’m preg-“

“Se-hyun gets cute when he drinks.”

Se-hyun frowned at Shin Tae-oh’s excuse that cut off his words.

Cute? Who?

When Se-hyun looked at Shin Tae-oh, he winked with a face that said, ‘I did well, right?’

“But Se-hyun hyung has a high alcohol tolerance, doesn’t he?”

While Se-hyun was too dumbfounded to speak, Yoo Jin-ha chimed in, finding it strange.

“Having a high tolerance doesn’t mean you don’t get drunk.”

“That’s true, but wouldn’t others get drunk first before that happens?”

Yoo Jin-ha’s opinion was that they wouldn’t be able to see whether Se-hyun was cute or not because others would be drunk first.

“Jin-ha is cute when he’s drunk too.”

They ignored Ha Min-hyuk’s attempt to rub salt in the wound.

“Anyway, it’s not happening.”

“The more you insist it can’t happen, the more suspicious it seems. It feels like there must be another reason why he can’t drink.”

“…”

When Yoo Jin-ha sent a suspicious look, Shin Tae-oh sealed his lips with a flustered expression.

“Tae-oh hyung must be hiding something.”

Having known Shin Tae-oh for a while, Yoo Jin-ha quickly caught on. Ha Jin-seong’s contemptuous gaze was an added bonus.

Moreover, Park Ha-seong, who hadn’t joined in the conversation even once, looked on with interest and silently mouthed to Se-hyun: Congratulations.

There was no one as perceptive as Park Ha-seong.

Se-hyun held his forehead, which was heating up from embarrassment.

“Se-hyun, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Shin Tae-oh worrying exaggeratedly,

“There really is something, isn’t there.”

Yoo Jin-ha was still not letting go of his suspicions.

“Jin-ha, do you want to drink?”

Ha Min-hyuk, devoted to Jin-ha, joined the conversation.

“Looks like I set up this gathering well.”

Choi Han-byeol, as chaotic as Shin Tae-oh despite meeting everyone for the first time.

“Aren’t we going to the studio?”

Yoo Jin-hyun. And…

“Just go home.”

Ha Jin-seong, who knew that getting out of here was the best option…

Se-hyun took back his thought that it was chaotic enough with just Shin Tae-oh. The more people, the more chaotic it gets.

To settle this commotion, Se-hyun answered in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

“Everyone, quiet.”

As everyone fell silent as if on cue, Se-hyun smiled with a somewhat relieved face.

“Honey Rice Cake doesn’t like alcohol.”