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“Good job.”
Whenever Lee Wooyeon got out of the car after finishing the day’s schedule, that was Inseop’s usual greeting. After saying goodbye, Lee Wooyeon disappeared and always went home alone, but today was different.
“What are you doing? You’re not getting off?”
Inseop got out of the car. The footsteps following Lee Wooyeon were heavy. He remembered hearing from somewhere that it was the most inconvenient to have to go into the same house after a fight when living in the same house as a couple. They were not married and they don’t live together in the same house, but he didn’t feel comfortable having to go into the same place with Lee Wooyeon after work.
Moreover, after doing such a thing in the parking lot during the day, Inseop couldn’t even look at Lee Wooyeon’s face properly. Even in the elevator, Inseop stood in the corner and waited to get out of the cramped space. But as soon as he entered the house, he realized that a larger closed space was waiting for him.
“What? Are your socks dirty today as well? Shall I carry you and take you to the bathroom?”
“No. It’s clean…No, not very clean.”
Inseop looked down at his socks and muttered something. He took off his shoes neatly and went into the house.
“I’m taking a shower.”
Lee Wooyeon said as he went into the bedroom. The guest bathroom in the living room was occupied by Inseop. Entering the bathroom, Choi Inseop stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror.
“…Really, what are you going to do?”
He tried to ask, but the man in the mirror did not give an answer. Standing under the shower with hot water turned on, he felt exhausted. Inseop, who was about to put on the clothes he had taken off after a quick shower, saw the clothes lying in front of the bathroom and cried out in surprise.
“What is this?”
“It’s clothes.”
The answer came from the kitchen.
“Wh, what about the clothes I was wearing?”
“How will you wear the clothes you wore outside? I’m going to send it to the laundromat.”
“… … .”
Wasn’t it too much?
Inseop was at a loss for words at the man who brought him only one large T-shirt, and he stood blankly, not understanding his actions, so he just put it on. Until a few days ago, he was living in this house without a single cloth, with sheets wrapped around himself, but he thought this shirt would be better than that.
However, Iseop changed his mind the moment he saw the face of Lee Wooyeon, who saw him as he walked into the living room wearing clothes.
“Ha ha ha ha ha. It fits you well. That outfit..”
“… … .”
“I don’t think you’ll fit into my bottoms, so I put them off for now. Let’s go buy some pajamas tomorrow.”
While saying that, Lee Wooyeon smiled looking at Inseop’s legs that were exposed under the T-shirt. It was not something to worry too much about, but because of that gaze, Inseop kept pulling the hem of his T-shirt down and walking.
“Would you like a drink?”
Lee Wooyeon looked at the wine he was drinking and asked. He didn’t like alcohol, but on a gloomy day like today, Inseop thought it wouldn’t be bad to lean on alcohol to sleep, so he nodded his head slightly.
Lee Wooyeon poured the wine into a wine glass and handed it over. Inseop, who took the glass with both hands, savored the wine little by little.
“Can you drink alcohol?”
“What?”
Lee Wooyeon pointed his finger at the surgical scar on his chest. Inseop quickly pulled up the hem of his robe and covered the surgical scar.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s fine now.”
“How did that happen?”
“… It was originally like that.”
“Heart malformation? Was it that?”
“Yes.”
Lee Wooyeon showed no hesitation while asking things that exposed the wounds of others. That person seems to have stopped acting in front of him now. Inseop sighed and took a sip of the wine.
“Are you completely better now?”
“If you’re asking me if I am perfect like others… it’s not to that extent, but I can still live a moderately similar life.”
Inseop believed that it was all thanks to Jennie. He always thought that the heart that stopped once on the operating table had started beating again with Jennie’s will, so this heart was the one that she gave as a gift.
“Aren’t you exercising too much?”
“It’s okay to do it in moderation, but if I overdo it, it can be dangerous.”
Every time he got regular checkups, he heard the doctor telling him that he was doing well, and that if he kept managing like this, he’ll be able to live to a hundred years old.
Lee Wooyeon frowned and clicked his tongue.
“How have you been driving all night?”
“What? That’s just… ”
“I don’t want to clean up a body in my van, so please don’t follow me on overnight filming from now on.”
Inseop hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he was worried or simply expressing that he did not want to remove a dead body, but he chose to just say thank you.
“Thank you.”
Lee Wooyeon didn’t answer. He guessed it was probably the latter..
Inseop sat in the corner of the sofa, sipping wine without saying a word. There was only an awkward silence in the living room. He knew that Lee Wooyeon didn’t turn on the TV unless he was watching a movie, but he wanted to get rid of this silence by playing something.
Even before knowing Lee Wooyeon’s true form, there was no smooth conversation between the two of them. Because Lee Wooyeon wasn’t the talkative type, and Inseop didn’t even think about talking to him.
But when he found out his true form, the thought of talking to him has long since disappeared. Inseop wanted Lee Wooyeon to go into the bedroom first.
“You’re not sleeping?”
“I’ll sleep.”
“Then aren’t you going in?”
“… Who?”
“Mr. Inseop.”
“Why would I go in?”
“The bedroom is over there.”
Lee Wooyeon pointed to the bedroom. Inseop looked at his face as if he did not understand, then said, “I’m going to sleep here,” and pointed to the sofa.
“You think I trust you to let you sleep on the sofa? You could rob the safe and run away. You can’t run away, so I have to hug you tight and sleep.”
“… … .”
Seeing the blood draining from Inseop’s face, Lee Wooyeon smiled briefly and added, “I’m joking.”
“Still, sleep inside the bedroom. Where I can see you.”
“… … all right.”
Even if he said no, it would be a waste of energy. Inseop accepted Lee Wooyeon’s order. After drinking the wine, he went to the bedroom and put a pillow below the bed.
Lee Wooyeon came in and saw Inseop lying on the floor, and tapped his back with his feet.
“… … ?”
“Turn your head to the other side. So I can see your face.”
“… Okay.”
Inseop moved the pillow so that he was facing the bed. Lee Wooyeon took off the clothes he was wearing and put them on the bedside. Inseop, who remembered his habit of sleeping with all his clothes off, hurriedly pulled the blanket and covered his face.
“Don’’ you have to look at it without covering your eyes?”
“…Good night.”
Inseop turned his back to the other side and answered. Lee Wooyeon’s soft laughter was heard on the bed. The lights in the bedroom went out and silence fell over the two of them. There was only the sound of breathing in the dark room.
Inseop tossed and turned several times, thinking about the future. Can he get out of here, let alone take revenge? He’ll have to call his parents in America tomorrow. Does he have to do what happened during the day again? Does it mean that Lee Wooyeon will believe what he says only by doing such things? If he does it again, he thinks his heart will burst. ‘Ha … Jenny, why did we fall for a man like this? I miss Will. Mom… What about Kate that I left on the roof? She needs water… mom…I want to run away.’
The haphazard thoughts continued to eat away his heart, gradually leaving him, and the sound of Inseop’s breathing dispersed evenly.
Lee Wooyeon, who was lying on the bed and looking down at Inseop, put his head on the pillow only after confirming that he was completely asleep.
A long day was coming to an end.
“Oh. Mr. Inseop.”
Manager Cha, who saw Inseop at the office, greeted him warmly.
“Hello.”
“Long time no see. Did you have breakfast?”
“Yes. I have eaten.”
“Did you have dinner last night?”
“I ate.”
“Did you have lunch yesterday? Yesterday morning… are you eating well?”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”
“Okay…”
Manager Cha patted Inseop on the shoulder. Inseop, knowing what the meaning of his hand was, bowed his head silently. They assumed that they both knew Lee Wooyeon’s true identity, but never said it. In the silent encouragement they shared whenever they met, they simply praised each other for their hard work.
“Did you take all the herbal medicine I gave you last time? Should I make you another one?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
Although he answered confidently, Inseop wanted to cry for the kindness of the manager who took care of him warmly. Manager Cha looked at Inseop with affection.
Obviously, he knows Lee Wooyeon. It was clear that Choi Inseop knows that Lee Wooyeon is like a mongrel dog trash. He and CEO Kim were bound by the company, so why was he doing this without running away? …  Maybe it was to catch his weakness.
Manager Cha clicked his tongue and shook his head. On the day Lee Wooyeon went out with a shovel telling him to apply for an embargo at the newspaper where Kim Haeshin was located, something must have happened between the two of them. However, when asked about this, Lee Wooyeon, that son of a bitch, bastard, asshole said not to worry about it and Choi Inseop, who was kind, naive, and pitiful only kept his mouth shut with tears in his eyes.
Something happened. He was sure something happened.
Knowing that the reporter’s voice and Choi Inseop’s voice were similar, Lee Wooyeon went out wearing mourning clothes with the intention to kill a person, and appeared a few days later holding Inseop’s hand. With a face as white as a corpse, Manager Cha told Inseop, who was dragged by Lee Wooyeon, to run away, but it was already too late.
Obviously something must have happened.
Lee Wooyeon couldn’t stand something that bothered him. He had a violent and ferocious personality, and he cast away things, be it work or people who annoyed him so that he could work well. According to his usual behavioral pattern, Choi Inseop would have been buried in the ground about ten times. However,the fact that he lived like that and even returned to Lee Wooyeon’s manager position, it was either that Choi Inseop was a human mole, that even if he was buried, he continued to break through the ground or Lee Wooyeon’s personality had changed.
“Where is Lee Wooyeon?”
CEO Kim, who was passing by, saw Inseop and asked.
“Waiting in the car.”
“Why doesn’t he come up?”
“He said he was reading the script.”
“Script? What script? There are no dramas or movies for the time being.”
“… … .”
“… he just don’t want to come up.”
When Manager Cha answered instead, CEO Kim let out a sigh as he passed by. After checking Lee Wooyeon’s schedule and meticulously checking the changes, Inseop greeted the people in the office one after another and left.
“Let’s go out together. I have business with the bank.”
Manager Cha followed Inseop into the elevator. There was a metallic sound as the elevator’s conveyor belt moved.
“Mr. Inseop.”
“Yes?”
Before arriving on the first floor, Manager Cha opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Maybe, Lee Wooyeon…”
Before he could finish speaking, the elevator door opened and Lee Wooyeon appeared, standing tall in front of him.
“Hello, manager.”
Lee Wooyeon smiled and greeted him. Manager Cha, who knew his nature, knew exactly what that smile meant, so he hesitated for a moment and stepped back.
“It’s been quite awhile since Inseop went up, but he didn’t come down and so I was about to go up.”
“It hasn’t been that long. He came down in less than 10 minutes…”
Manager Cha hurriedly shut his mouth. Lee Wooyeon was staring at him with a smile on his face.
“You seem to be very busy with the listing issue.”
“Right. So what?”
“Then keep working hard.”
Lee Wooyeon gestured to Inseop to go. Watching Inseop drooping his shoulders and following him, Manager Cha remembered the documentary about wife that was assaulted he watched yesterday, and his heart was heavy.
“Oh right.”
Lee Wooyeon thought of something and walked up to manager Cha. He didn’t do anything wrong, but he felt uneasy, so he looked up at him, asking what happened.
“Manager. Thank you for being nice to my manager, but you don’t have to say useless things.”
“Wh, what nonsense did I say?”
His heart was pounding, but Manager Cha put out his own for once.
“I still get angry when I think about the trouble I went through because of that asshole. I have no intention of letting Choi Inseop go for a while, so I told him not to cheat on me.”
Lee Wooyeon clenched his teeth and spoke, one syllable at a time. The momentum was so brutal that Manager Cha had no choice but to swallow his breath and nod his head.
After hearing the desired answer, Lee Wooyeon waved his hand and disappeared.
It was as Manager Cha expected.
Lee Wooyeon’s personality wouldn’t change even if the world changed ten times, so it was clear that Choi Inseop was a human mole. The next time he gets buried, he hoped in vain that he would dig a hole in the other side of the world and run far away without being caught by Lee Wooyeon.