Shin Seyoung cautiously began to speak, fidgeting with both hands.
“My father left home when I was in high school. He said he was going to look for work, but after that, we barely stayed in contact, and it’s been quite a while since I last saw him in person.”
The weight of the story he told so calmly was heavy.
The debt Shin Seyoung’s father had left behind. His younger sibling, who had been hospitalized for years.
And even the fact that, in an attempt to somehow solve his financial problems, he had sold the home they had been living in and moved into the rooftop room not long ago.
“Um… there’s still some debt left, and I have my sibling’s hospital bills too, so I’ve been working. I never really had the chance to get close to my classmates.”
As he spoke honestly, his gaze never left his fingertips. It was as though he was thinking about the fact that, even when he needed help, there was no one he could readily think of turning to.
Seojin looked at him and let out a sigh mixed with complicated emotions.
“You must’ve had a really hard time handling all of that by yourself, Seyoung.”
It wasn’t as though Seojin hadn’t known about his circumstances.
When he had read about it in the novel, he had sometimes brushed it off lightly, thinking that since Seyoung was the main bottom and would get a happy ending anyway, this was merely one of the hardships he had to overcome.
But now that he was actually facing Shin Seyoung, who was living an exhausting life crushed beneath the weight of reality, he couldn’t help feeling troubled and heavyhearted.
“Thank you for saying something so kind.”
At Seojin’s words of comfort, Shin Seyoung gave him a faint smile.
Silence settled between them afterward.
In truth, Seojin was thinking about something else.
‘Something’s strange.’
In the original story, the reason Shin Seyoung became entangled with the gangsters from the organization Yoon Haegang had once belonged to was his father’s debt.
But today, the excuse used by the men who stormed into Shin Seyoung’s rooftop room had been compensation money.
In reality, it had been practically a scam.
‘Did this happen earlier than it was supposed to as well?’
Or had the plot itself been twisted?
Either way, there was a separate problem.
Originally, this was the incident where the main top was supposed to appear and save Shin Seyoung.
That would then cause conflict with Yoon Haegang, creating a tense and exciting rivalry between the two.
But today, the main top hadn’t shown his face at all.
Not only that, when Seojin had asked about the business card, Shin Seyoung had instead looked completely confused.
‘Then there’s no reason for Shin Seyoung to get help in the current situation, and no opportunity for him to make progress with the main top.’
Seojin clicked his tongue inwardly and asked one more question just to make sure.
“Do you happen to remember who the person driving earlier was?”
Shin Seyoung furrowed his brow and tried to recall the man he had met earlier.
“Ah, yes. I remember him. He’s the person who helped find Jun’s Kkokko before, right?”
“That’s right.”
What a relief.
It seemed he didn’t know about what had happened at the gallery.
‘Then I only need to worry about his connection with the main top.’
Since the other side had at least become aware of Shin Seyoung, Seojin figured things would probably work themselves out somehow.
He tried to judge how far he could intervene without interfering with the original story.
It would probably be fine to keep Shin Seyoung with him for the time being.
‘When I go to work tomorrow, I’ll just ask Yoon Haegang outright whether he’s interested in Shin Seyoung.’
If he said he didn’t care much about him, Seojin planned to tell Manager Kim to remove Seyoung from the special-management list immediately.
After all, this whole mess had happened because of Manager Kim’s mistaken judgment.
Then Shin Seyoung wouldn’t need to suffer any further from getting tangled up with them.
Having reached a clear conclusion, Seojin smiled brightly at Shin Seyoung.
“It’s okay if I call you Seyoung, right?”
“Ah, please just call me by my name comfortably. I’ll call you Seojin hyung too.”
Since Shin Seyoung was the one who suggested they speak more casually first, Seojin naturally nodded.
“Okay. Seyoung.”
Seojin accepted without hesitation and immediately settled on the new form of address.
“You must be tired, and I kept you talking this late. Go in and get some rest. I’ll look into the people who came after you once I get to the office tomorrow.”
As he spoke gently, he placed his hand over the back of Shin Seyoung’s hand.
“Seojin hyung, I really don’t know how I can thank you. Really… thank you.”
Shin Seyoung raised his head.
His gentle, deer-like eyes shimmered with both emotion and relief.
Seojin simply patted his hand quietly.
Seojin knew too.
He knew just how grateful and reassuring it felt when someone stayed by your side at a time when you had fallen into despair because there was no one to help you.
* * *
A hectic morning came around again.
As Seojin washed Euni, dressed her, and tied her hair, he smiled contentedly at the clatter of dishes and the sound of a cutting board coming from the kitchen.
Normally, it would have been a meal he had to rush to prepare himself.
But Shin Seyoung, who had gotten up early at dawn, had offered to make breakfast first, taking some of the workload off his hands.
“Seojin hyung, Euni, come eat.”
Right on cue, Shin Seyoung placed a pot of stew on the table and called the two of them over.
“Waaaah…! It smells yummy!”
Euni, with her hair cutely tied into two pigtails and wearing her yellow kindergarten uniform, ran to the table first.
Shin Seyoung was already waiting with a chair pulled out for her.
Seojin walked over as well and looked at the food laid out on the table.
Rolled omelet, soybean paste stew, and even stir-fried sausages and vegetables, which Euni liked.
“You worked hard from early this morning, Seyoung. Thanks to you, getting Euni ready was a lot easier.”
Seojin sat down and spoke sincerely.
“It’s nothing. You’re letting me stay here, so I should at least do something like this.”
Shin Seyoung smiled shyly too.
Perhaps because he had relaxed, he really was pretty, befitting the main bottom.
The three chatted pleasantly as they ate breakfast, then finished getting ready to head out and left the apartment.
Seojin saw Euni off first, then told Shin Seyoung he would see him that night before heading to the office.
Once again, only Manager Kim was there.
Seojin set down his bag and gestured toward Yoon Haegang’s desk with his eyes.
“Manager Kim, is Boss coming in today?”
“Huh? Boss? I’m not sure. He doesn’t have any outside appointments, so probably? Why?”
Manager Kim was sipping coffee while looking over some materials on his monitor when his eyes suddenly lit up.
“More importantly, Seojin, how was it with Shin Seyoung yesterday?”
“Yeah, well…….”
Seojin had been about to answer casually, but he suddenly remembered Yoon Haegang’s attitude the night before and hesitated.
When Seojin had said he was taking Shin Seyoung home, Haegang had clearly shown that he didn’t like it.
And as if that hadn’t been enough, when Seojin thanked him for helping so late into the night, his attitude had practically radiated icy wind.
“See! What did I tell you? I knew there was something between Boss and Shin Seyoung.”
Apparently interpreting Seojin’s hesitation however he pleased, Manager Kim playfully tilted the cup in his hand as he spoke.
“Honestly, there was no reason for Boss to drive all the way back to the villa, right? The fact that he went out of his way to do that means he’s interested. Definitely.”
“No. I don’t think that’s it…….”
How on earth could he come to that conclusion?
Just as Seojin was about to correct the misunderstanding, Manager Kim’s phone, which was lying on the desk, suddenly began ringing loudly.
“Oh, hang on!”
Manager Kim checked the number on the screen, hurriedly pressed the button, and answered.
“Yes? You’re there right now? Ah, all right. I’ll come right away. Just wait there. Yes!”
After hanging up, Manager Kim grabbed his outerwear and immediately headed for the door.
As he went, he turned only his head and called back to Seojin.
“Seojin, sorry. The client wants me to get to the site quickly, so I have to go now. Can you watch the office for me?”
Left alone in an instant, Seojin stared blankly for a moment before looking toward the boss’s desk again.
‘Actually, it might be better to ask when Manager Kim isn’t around.’
Thinking positively, Seojin waited for Yoon Haegang to come to work.
But lunchtime passed, then the sun gradually sank lower, and even by the time work hours ended, Seojin was still the only person in the office.
What was more, Yoon Haegang didn’t show his face for the next two days either.
He seemed to contact Manager Kim by phone from time to time, but Seojin himself never got to see him in person.
After going home feeling deflated, Seojin ate dinner with Euni and played with her before tilting his head.
For some reason, he felt especially tired today.
“Daddy, are you sleepy?”
Even Euni seemed to notice that something was off and asked worriedly.
“Yeah. A little. Euni, should we go to bed early today?”
“Okaaay!”
Euni nodded and immediately ran into the bedroom.
Seojin followed after her while sending a KakaoTalk message to Shin Seyoung, who would be coming home late after finishing his part-time job.
[Me: Seyoung, I think I’m going to sleep first tonight. I’ll say goodnight in advance. Finish up work well and be careful on your way home. 8:20 PM]
[Seyoung: Okay, hyung. Get some rest. 8:20 PM]
After checking Shin Seyoung’s reply, Seojin lay down side by side with Euni on the bed.
He assumed that he felt particularly exhausted because he had gone through several hectic incidents in a row over the past few days.
And the next morning.
Seojin opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm and sluggishly started to get up, only to freeze.
His vision was blurry, and it felt as though everything in front of him was spinning.
His forehead was hot, his joints ached, and his body felt heavy and languid.
“Ah…….”
Seojin slowly closed his heavy eyelids, then opened them again as he let out a long breath.