HEAL 2

“Uh, okay. See you at the company next week.”

He waved his hand dismissively and tried to pull away from Yeon-su. It’s not like sex is something to look down on as particularly strange. A grown man going to a motel isn’t something to be ashamed of either. It’s just that the fact this is Jongno is a bit concerning…

The grip of the junior who had grabbed his wrist was still strong.

“What are you doing, Yeon-su? This is… a bit rude, isn’t it?”

Normally, he would have taken it in stride, but having just struggled to escape the clutches of a pervert, his words came out sharper than intended. Only then, as if snapping out of a trance, Yeon-su flinched and let go. His reaction, jumping back as if burned, even his shoulders jerking up, felt exaggerated.

Yeon-su looked at Sang-kyung with puppy-dog eyes, gauging his reaction. Facing those drooping eyebrows, Sang-kyung felt an unwarranted pang of guilt. He sighed, stepped closer, and patted Yeon-su’s shoulder.

“Running into you is nice for me too… but I’m in a bit of a hurry right now. Don’t misunderstand. See you Monday.”

Sang-kyung turned away without hesitation. He needed to catch a taxi home as soon as possible. As he turned on his phone, pondering where to hail a cab, his steps slowed slightly.

“Manager Kang.”

The voice from behind him sounded strangely desperate.

Sigh… But washing up will take some time, right? An open space felt more reassuring to Sang-kyung than a closed one. Yeon-su, whom he’d have to keep seeing at the company, was more important than some nameless man. Sang-kyung composed his expression and looked back at Yeon-su.

“What’s wrong?”

Yeon-su seemed to hesitate, his lips twitching. Sang-kyung checked the time on his phone. Five minutes had passed since he left the room.

“If it’s not urgent, can we talk about it later?”

Read the room… please… junior! But spurred by Sang-kyung’s urging, Yeon-su seemed to gather the resolve to continue.

“Earlier… you said you had plans with a friend but got stood up…”

“Yeah?”

“By any chance… was that person Manager Kim?”

For a moment, Sang-kyung’s mind went blank.

There are many Kims, and many managers, so the world is full of Manager Kims. Yet, Sang-kyung could only think of one specific person.

Kim Ji-yeon. His ex-girlfriend. It was a secret office romance because he worried it would be awkward if they broke up. How did he know? Hiding his fluster, Sang-kyung waved his hand dismissively.

“It’s not like that.”

“Well, that’s a relief, but…”

Yeon-su chewed his lip anxiously.

“Don’t believe the weird rumors going around the office. Seriously, if a man and a woman are seen together even a little, everyone assumes they’re a couple. They’re all dopamine addicts. Because of the rumors, things got awkward between you and Manager Kim too, right?”

Sang-kyung ruffled Yeon-su’s hair roughly. Like the man he saw earlier, Yeon-su also had brown hair, but this guy’s was natural, not dyed. The subtle scent of shampoo from his hair wafted out.

“Disappointed? Even if I don’t care, don’t you know rumors like that are damaging for a woman?”

Yeon-su couldn’t even answer, looking deflated. He lowered his eyes dejectedly, making his long eyelashes stand out.

Pretty. Sang-kyung had the thought anyone might have. Having seen many celebrities, he could confidently say that face would have worked in the entertainment industry too. Though, given his non-showy personality, it was hard to imagine Lee Yeon-su as a celebrity.

“I thought you, Yeon-su, would believe me over rumors.”

Until titles were assigned, he was the one who followed him around calling him ‘senior’. Even now, though he’s called by the slightly more distant title of Manager Kang. Yeon-su is now a section chief too, but the title doesn’t roll off the tongue, so he still calls him by name. Yeon-su also seemed to prefer that.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far… I just heard Manager Kang got stood up and, without thinking…”

“I don’t know why you misunderstood, but we really weren’t in any kind of relationship.”

Maybe in the past, but not now. Sigh… Actually, it might be good if this rumor spreads a bit. From what he’d observed, Yeon-su seemed tight-lipped and unlikely to gossip carelessly about him.

As Sang-kyung finished speaking, Yeon-su’s shoulders noticeably slumped. Where had the strength that was gripping his wrist gone? His rounded shoulder line looked precarious.

A few strands of disheveled hair fell over Yeon-su’s forehead from his bowed head. Even to Sang-kyung, who worked at an advertising agency but in a role not requiring artistic sense, it looked like a picture.

His somewhat annoyed feelings vanished, replaced by a desire to somehow cheer up his junior. This kid is lucky he was born a man. If he’d been born a woman in ancient China, he might have been famous as a great beauty.

“So, our Yeon-su, if you’re not doing anything weird, why are you here?”

The innocent junior immediately blushed.

“Yeon-su, you’re not a student. If you’re embarrassed just by coming to a motel, what are you going to do?”

“Ah, Manager…”

It felt childish that teasing his junior lifted his mood. But this guy smelled nice and was docile in an unmanly way. Of course, appearance-wise, despite his delicate features, he was unmistakably a man.

“Hey!”

Suddenly, a thunderous voice rang out. Startled, Sang-kyung turned his head. At the end of his gaze stood the man he had desperately fled from earlier.

The man, who had gone in to shower, was walking towards them, water dripping from his hair. Having rushed out, he was dressed in a robe. Public indecency…? Public obscenity…? What was it called again?

When too flustered, a person freezes. The man he wanted to ignore walked right up to him. The pretty face from before was nowhere to be seen. Eyes narrowed in anger and pale complexion made him look like a vengeful water ghost.

“You fucking think I’m a joke?”

The man’s hand flew out and grabbed Sang-kyung by the collar. Sang-kyung gasped.

“Where do you think you’re playing games? You thought throwing a few pennies would end it? You think I’m some cheap whore?”

The brown eyes right in front of him blazed with murderous intent. Ah, fucked. Should he just give in…?

What kind of humiliation is this in front of my junior? What must he be thinking now? He was acting all mature, but in the end, wasn’t he just someone who tried to sleep with a guy and ran away because he got cold feet?

Too ashamed to even turn his head, he couldn’t face Yeon-su. The suspicion that he might be gay… But I’ve never even had sex with a guy, so what’s the big deal? On that point, he could be proud and confident.

In the tense situation, on the verge of exploding, a low voice intervened.

“Hyung.”

It was Yeon-su. The same Yeon-su who at the company would just smile and let unreasonable demands slide.

Yeon-su, who had roughly pried the man’s hand away, stepped in front of Sang-kyung, blocking him. His broad back filled Sang-kyung’s view. It felt like all the noisy sounds of the bustling entertainment district faded away.

Yeon-su’s gaze lingered on Sang-kyung’s face for a moment before turning sharp as a blade towards the man.

“Can’t you see? Am I invisible?”

Sang-kyung was shocked once by the fact the gentle guy could get that angry, and again by the shock that Yeon-su knew such a man.

Yeon-su’s tall frame easily obscured the smaller man.

“You, how…”

“I came because I thought you’d be doing this again. If you’re not at the bar, you’d be at a motel, right?”

Just hearing his voice told the story. Yeon-su’s tone held a mix of disappointment, anger, and resignation. His clenched fist was trembling so much Sang-kyung could see it. How angry he must be.

“Which room? Go get dressed first. I’m seriously dying of embarrassment.”

With a sigh, Yeon-su roughly grabbed the man’s arm. The man in the ridiculous robe obediently let himself be led. The man who moments ago looked ready to devour Sang-kyung was now cowed, only watching Yeon-su’s expression.

Yeon-su started dragging him towards the motel entrance, then suddenly seemed to remember something, turning only his head to look at Sang-kyung. His eyes looked like he might cry.

The junior, with the man he called ‘hyung’, completely disappeared into the motel.

“What’s that? A gay love triangle fight?”

Starting with someone’s comment, the noisy sounds of the entertainment district finally registered in his ears again. Mortified, his body twisted uncomfortably.

Walking quickly away from the spot, Sang-kyung rubbed the area where his collar had been grabbed. Even though the man seemed weak, he was still a man; the grip made his neck ache. So it wasn’t a dream.

His mind was in chaos. The first thought that surfaced was this:

Lee Yeon-su, is he gay? Is he dating that guy?

Otherwise, the situation made no sense. What followed was a sense of relief. Thank goodness he didn’t sleep with that guy…

The words “I thought you’d be doing this again” implied this wasn’t a one-time thing. Yeon-su looked exactly like someone who had come out to find a cheating lover.

Hyung.

Of course, it’s just a term used for an older male acquaintance.

But who gets that pissed off just because an acquaintance they call ‘hyung’ came out of a motel? The fact that he didn’t question at all why his ‘hyung’ was chasing a man who ran away from a motel in the first place was proof positive he was gay. He accepted the situation as too natural.

His head throbbed. This time, Sang-kyung ruffled his own hair roughly. Curiosity killed the cat, and it might kill me too. It felt like he had fallen right into the middle of the one secret he least wanted to be entangled in with a coworker.

Still, compared to Yeon-su’s situation, it was heaven. Aigoo… How did gentle Yeon-su get tangled up with such a piece of work and end up suffering? Should he buy him coffee on Monday as a gesture of comfort? No, would buying coffee for the person whose lover’s attempted infidelity he was the target of just piss him off more?

No, before that, he needed to think about what excuse to give on Monday. Sang-kyung’s head was already starting to throb.