HEAL 9

Friday, three days after he decided to get a girlfriend. To be honest, there had been absolutely no progress in scouting for a new woman.

Shouldn’t I try sleeping with a guy at least once before I get a partner? If I get a girlfriend, then it becomes cheating.

Was it because he had a history of evaluating the men at the same company? Despite having decided—for whatever reason—that he would never get involved with a coworker, once he started judging them, he couldn’t stop.

Fucking tiny.

Based on their outward appearance, people like that were already a “no,” but there were things that inevitably caught his eye whenever he went to the restroom. I’m human trash… Even as he criticized himself, he couldn’t overcome the curiosity once it had sparked.

Shouldn’t dick-size comparisons be graduated from in high school? Feeling a sense of self-loathing, Sang-kyung tried his best to look straight ahead, but when a new person stood beside him, his eyes instinctively drifted toward the center.

That’s a no. No human could take something like that.

Sang-kyung stepped backward as he zipped up. When he looked up, his eyes suddenly met a pair of brown pupils. Mmm, definitely possible. Sang-kyung, whose focus had been hazily blurred, suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Surely he didn’t catch me peeking? Sang-kyung pressed down on his pounding heart and approached the sink.

This is driving me crazy. Even after surveying every man inside and outside the company, the only one who registered as “possible” was Lee Yeon-su, excluding the man he’d met at the gay bar.

If I told him, “Break up with your partner! Quit your job! And let’s have a round!” wouldn’t I be a total lunatic?

No, wait. What I just saw wasn’t a size a human could accept. But if Yeon-su is the only man who meets my standards, what am I supposed to do? I’m going insane…

Another person entered the restroom. Since only men enter the men’s room, it was easy to compare.

Meeting the man’s eyes, Sang-kyung immediately looked away. The only man whose “possible” or “impossible” status he couldn’t determine had entered.

It was Ji-yeon’s new lover, Han Jae-ha. This was because, regarding Jae-ha, the question of “Could I sleep with that man?” was preceded by the curiosity of “Has Ji-yeon already been drilled by him?”

Sang-kyung washed his hands as if nothing were wrong and looked in the mirror. He saw Jae-ha passing by in the reflection. Sang-kyung stole a glance at his profile. A straight bridge of the nose, a firm jawline. It was a masculine face that Ji-yeon would like. Hmm, I think I’m more handsome…

“You haven’t left yet?”

Yeon-su naturally stood beside him. Sang-kyung’s consciousness naturally shifted toward Yeon-su. No, really, isn’t it too much to have a face that pretty and be packing something of national-power level?

When Sang-kyung turned to leave the restroom, his path was blocked. It was Jae-ha.

“I was too flustered on the rooftop to greet you properly. I’m Han Jae-ha from the HR team.”

In a space with only two places to wash hands, he was completely blocked from the side and the back. Normally, one would shake hands during a greeting, but wasn’t this bastard someone who hadn’t even washed his hands yet?

“I’m Assistant Manager Kang Sang-kyung from Production Team 1. This doesn’t seem like an appropriate place for a conversation.”

What was he trying to do in the restroom? They weren’t even in a relationship where they should be having a conversation. Could it be that this bastard is also curious if he’s been drilled? Sang-kyung pressed close to Yeon-su to create a gap, then twisted his body to exit the restroom. He didn’t even allow his clothes to brush against Jae-ha.

“That’s annoying…”

“I agree.”

He was startled by the response to his unconscious mutter. Since it was a familiar voice, he didn’t let his guard up any further.

“Isn’t he shameless?”

It was the first time he’d seen Yeon-su badmouth someone else first. Since he felt as though he’d been ignored even by a new employee, he welcomed Yeon-su’s empathy.

“If it were me, I would…”

“Don’t get cocky.”

Sang-kyung cut him off and gave Yeon-su a light flick to the forehead.

“I told you, I absolutely don’t do revenge cheating.”

So please just throw away the trash and break up. Sang-kyung swallowed his inner thoughts.

There was likely a long stretch of time between Yeon-su and his partner that he couldn’t intervene in. From the way Yeon-su acted so comfortably, to the way he knew the ins and outs of men.

Maybe they went to that motel often, which is why he found it so quickly? Please dump a man who takes you to a shabby motel instead of a decent one! Come to think of it, Yeon-su suited a hotel better.

“…I won’t bring that up again.”

He didn’t know what his gaze looked like, but Yeon-su lost his confidence again.

Would it be better to go back to the gay bar to seduce a man? Honestly, the chance of meeting a man he liked through an app would be like winning the lottery, and he didn’t want to spend the luck he should save for the actual lottery on that. He didn’t meet men he liked on the street, and even if he did, there was no guarantee the other person was gay.

Returning to his seat, Sang-kyung shook his head to clear his distractions and focused on the monitor. He meticulously checked the equipment list needed for next week’s shoot against the cinematography director’s requests to see if anything was missing. After several phone calls and the sound of keyboards, the hectic noise of the office gradually subsided.

The clock now pointed to the time to leave work. The failure from last time surfaced in Sang-kyung’s mind. The threatening man, the motel he had fled from, and Yeon-su’s cold face he had encountered in front of it. It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

If I go to a different gay bar, wouldn’t the probability of not running into Yeon-su’s partner be higher? Sang-kyung picked up his phone and hesitated for a moment, with only the location “Jongno” typed into the search bar. His finger refused to type “gay bar.”

Still, I’m curious about what the real thing feels like. The moment he steeled his heart and typed the first letter, Sang-kyung nearly jumped like a spring at the voice coming from behind him.

“Assistant Manager Kang.”

Clutching his chest, Sang-kyung looked back. Yeon-su was standing there before he knew it. He looked at Sang-kyung with a worried expression.

“Are you feeling unwell? Your complexion has been turning red and then pale for a while now…”

I almost had a heart attack because of you, Yeon-su… Surely he didn’t see? Sang-kyung placed his phone face down on the desk.

“I don’t know? I’m perfectly fine.”

Yeon-su didn’t leave his side. Sang-kyung awkwardly fiddled with the mouse, pretending to work and gesturing for him to leave, but Yeon-su seemed to have something he wanted to say.

Hey, don’t you know you should do this kind of searching while getting paid? Play after work! Huh? There was no way Yeon-su could hear the loud voice Sang-kyung was using only in his head.

“Um… Assistant Manager.”

“Yeah.”

“If you don’t have any plans this evening, would you like to have a drink with me?”

Because he had been debating whether to go to the gay bar, he had rejected all invitations to drink from his friends. However, perhaps because a gay man who fell within the “possible” category was hovering around him, his heart wavered. Even so, he was a guy with a partner, so he was like a picture of a cake—pretty to look at, but unattainable.

“That person… probably won’t be quiet today either, right?”

Even though he spoke vaguely, Yeon-su immediately understood who he was referring to, and his eyes sank deep.

“…That’s true.”

“Yeon-su, you’re so busy; is it okay for you to be with me?”

“I don’t know how much longer I have to follow Hyung around.”

His long eyelashes trembled, casting a deep shadow. A sense of despair that made even the observer feel powerless enveloped Yeon-su.

“I wanted to comfort you after what happened on the rooftop, but it seems I’ll end up lamenting instead, so please pretend you didn’t hear this.”

Do we really need to share dark stories? Sang-kyung brushed back his bangs. Nevertheless, he felt pity. That such a talented guy was being held back by a piece of trash. Is this the face of someone who tried everything but ultimately failed?

Sang-kyung patted Yeon-su’s shoulder.

“Yeon-su, you’re the person I think has the most ‘possibility,’ so cheer up.”

“What?”

The focus of his bewildered eyes sharpened on Sang-kyung. Sang-kyung quickly added.

“I mean, among the Hubaes, you showed the most possibility of succeeding.”

This was also a fact. He had outstanding looks and, although he’d made a mistake recently… he had the ability. How great would it be if his core were just a bit firmer so he wouldn’t be swept away by others?

After a long silence, Yeon-su bowed his head with a smile.

“Thank you, Assistant Manager. For still thinking well of me…”

His voice trailed off, but the despair from before had vanished. Sang-kyung thought, So you do know you were rude.

Sang-kyung felt his heart soften again at the sorrowful face. If I send him back like this, that guy will spend the whole night wandering around looking for his philandering partner again.

Strangely, he didn’t want to see that. Since it’s come to this, should I just go for it tonight so he can’t think of anything else? A mischievous smile played on Sang-kyung’s lips.

“Cheating is a bit much… but shall we go right up to the edge of it?”

“Pardon…?”

The head that had been drooping like a withered flower snapped up. His face flushing red was cliché, but he truly looked like a flower.

“Instead of looking for that person today, let’s stay with me.”

“……”

“We’ll be having the kind of conversation that others might find odd; do you know any places, Yeon-su? A place where it’s okay to have a secret conversation.”

Sang-kyung was using Yeon-su as a human search engine. A person must live efficiently. Listening to the worries of a gay Hubae while finding a man who might be “possible” for himself. Sang-kyung was confident he could kill two birds with one stone.

Sang-kyung didn’t hesitate. He pulled Yeon-su’s shoulder to close the distance and whispered into his earlobe.

“Let’s go where your people gather.”

Yeon-su’s shoulder, touched by his breath, trembled slightly. The rim of his ear, which had flushed red in an instant, entered his field of vision. An absurd imagination crossed his mind—that he might get burned if he touched it.