Midday Guest Chapter 49

“Uh….”

Park Junseo let out a strange groan.

“Aren’t you going to sit?”

Despite Yiwon’s question, Park Junseo just stared blankly at the ground like a person who had received some kind of shock. Why is he acting like that? Yiwon tilted his head slightly, waiting for him to say something.

“Sunbae?”

“Yiwon, this is….”

“Ah, I bought some to share with the guests at Haeundang as well.”

“…To share?”

“Yes. If you’d prefer a different drink, I can give you another—”

“It’s fine.”

Park Junseo cut him off mid-sentence. Looking closer, he hadn’t even taken a single sip of the cup coffee. Yiwon was about to ask why he was being like this, but he kept his lips pressed tight.

“Yiwon, I just remembered something urgent, so I have to go.”

“……”

“I’ll enjoy the coffee.”

As Park Junseo strode away, the unfinished flyers were folded and crumpled messily under his arm.

“You’re late.”

Cha Seokjoo, who had been standing with his back to the window, spoke as he looked at Yiwon.

Opening the office door and stepping inside, Yiwon swallowed hard instinctively. The appearance of Cha Seokjoo, who had said he was going to a meeting, looked very different from his usual self.

The tie he had been wearing this morning had vanished somewhere, and several buttons on his shirt were undone. His sleeves were also pushed up his forearms, folded haphazardly.

There was fine dust on the white shirt, and even though they looked like they had been brushed off once, there were still faint traces of long rods left behind.

Yiwon could easily read what kind of time he had spent while he was out. One thing to be thankful for was that, unlike that other day, there were no bloodstains visible on the shirt.

“Where have you been?”

“…To the laundry shop.”

Cha Seokjoo looked at Yiwon with his hands in his pockets. His narrowed eyes rested on Yiwon’s fingertips. Over the neatly tailored suit was a plastic laundry cover. He demanded a further explanation with his eyes.

“I told you this morning…. I brought back your clothes that were in for dry cleaning, Director.”

“Clothes.”

The single word he spat out briefly seemed loaded with emotion. Watching his mood, Yiwon’s answer trailed out weakly.

“…Yes.”

“You went to pick up my clothes.”

“……Yes.”

Having heard Yiwon’s answer, Cha Seokjoo leaned his body against the window frame. He rested his arms on the waist-high railing and stared at Yiwon with an expressionless face.

“Your face is red, like someone with heatstroke.”

“……”

“Your breathing is heavier than usual, too.”

Heat surged from within. It seemed his body, exposed to the summer afternoon heat while running into Park Junseo, going back and forth to the supermarket, and sharing a conversation, had flared up.

“Did something happen at the laundry shop?”

“No… nothing.”

“Then why are you like this? You were perfectly fine this morning, baby.”

The problem was the look in Park Junseo’s eyes as he looked down at the drinks in the plastic bag. At first, Yiwon didn’t understand why he had reacted that way, but he soon realized.

Park Junseo’s feelings hadn’t been settled.

Whether he chose not to, was unable to, or whether his dormant feelings had been reawakened. He couldn’t know for sure which it was, but judging by his reaction, it was certain that Park Junseo still had feelings remaining for Yiwon.

Would Cha Seokjoo believe him if he said he had just happened to run into Park Junseo by chance again?

It was impossible to know.

It wasn’t easy to guess what would happen if he spoke, and the man had already shown signs of discomfort several times before.

“……”

The office was cool, but sweat trickled down his spine. A suffocating sense of tension. Yiwon looked up and saw Cha Seokjoo. He had felt this same emotion on the day he first encountered him.

“Do you know something?”

“……”

“That people caught doing something bad react exactly like you.”

Cha Seokjoo brought an iced americano from the coffee machine set up on one side of the office. Even then, Yiwon couldn’t say a word. It was because he saw a reflection of himself in the way the man held the cup in both hands.

“…Director.”

“Drink.”

Yiwon accepted the cup. As he toyed with it, unable to bring it to his lips easily, Cha Seokjoo tilted his head and moved closer.

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

“……”

“And you’re not going to talk, either?”

Simultaneously, he was pushed against the wall. The ice, which had been sloshing precariously, barely settled back into place. Yiwon looked up at Cha Seokjoo with a bewildered face.

“Fine, then.”

Standing close, the man pulled the hem of Yiwon’s T-shirt up to his chest without warning.

“I can just check with my eyes.”

“…Ah!”

“Stay still.”

A touch rougher than usual reached him. He pulled the clothes so hard they almost tore, exposing Yiwon’s shoulders.

“Director, why all of a sudden….”

“Let’s be quiet. I’m not in a very good mood today.”

“…Director.”

Yiwon, leaning his back against the narrow space between the windows, huddled as much as he could in a rigid posture. It felt like his form would be visible outside with just a slight movement.

“No other strange marks.”

There was no way there would be strange marks. It was just that the marks he had engraved throughout the night had turned a darker red over time.

Slide. A finger that had traveled down from his chest past his stomach caught on his waist. Yiwon reflexively grabbed and stopped the hand that was about to undo his pants.

“Di—Director….”

“Take your hands off.”

Cha Seokjoo’s reaction was unlike his usual self. Looking at him, whose actions, tone, and every single expression had changed, Yiwon thought. Why? Why does he seem so angry?

Recalling the conversation he had shared with Cha Seokjoo upon arriving at the office, Yiwon blinked slowly.

The conversation wasn’t the problem. The location—the spot where he had been standing—was the problem. If it was the spot where Cha Seokjoo had been standing until a moment ago, it was certain that he could have looked down and seen Yiwon sitting and drinking coffee with Park Junseo.

He could have confirmed it by turning his head just slightly, but he didn’t. He knew without looking back.

“…Director, the reason I’m late is….”

At the explanation that tried to follow belatedly, Cha Seokjoo’s eyes glinted strangely.

“Move your hands.”

The moment the short, command-like words pierced his mind, a surge of hurt washed over him. Because he thought he knew what Cha Seokjoo was trying to do. Yiwon held his wrists tightly, his lips trembling.

“Asking with words should come first.”

His throat felt tight. His hands shook uncontrollably. Perhaps his heart was thumping in distress.

“Before you do this….”

“……”

“You could ask and wait for an answer….”

The corners of his eyes grew hot. Still, not wanting to avoid his gaze, he faced Cha Seokjoo when a loud, bustling noise began to be heard from the stairs in the distance.

His upper body was bared up to his shoulders, and even his pants had been loosened by Cha Seokjoo…. Looking down at his own body, Yiwon’s face turned pale.

Thump, thump. The people climbing the stairs were getting closer and closer. He heard swearing, and the sound of someone being struck. Cha Seokjoo showed no intention of backing down, and Yiwon felt like his heart was going to burst.

“Director.”

He said nothing.

“…Director, please, ah….”

On the contrary, Yiwon bit his lip hard at the grip that reached deeper and squeezed his buttocks tight. What do I do? What should I do? While he was trembling anxiously, something suddenly came to mind.

“……”

He had forgotten. That in this kind of situation, the way to make it pass quickly was to unconditionally submit. Yiwon quietly let the strength drain from his body.

He lowered his gaze. His trembling eyelids covered the pupils that had been staring at the floor. However, unlike back then, even if he closed his eyes and huddled his body, he couldn’t hide his emotions….

“…Fuck.”

Bang! A clenched fist struck the window frame. Leaving behind a massive roar, Cha Seokjoo pulled away from Yiwon.

Yiwon stood up, not even knowing if his teeth were chattering. With trembling hands, he began to straighten his clothes.

He couldn’t see clearly in front of him. His vision was a complete mess, as if he were underwater.

“Whoa, this bastard still hasn’t come to his senses even after being beaten like that!”

Along with Oh Taesik’s gravelly voice, the office door was flung open as if it were being broken. Through the narrow gap, a person with a cotton cloth over their head waddled in. Cable ties were caught around their wrists, and for clothing, they were barely wearing a pair of underpants.

“Director! This guy, I’ll… really….”

Oh Taesik blinked. Ma Haeyoung, who was beside him, and the employees following behind—all of them went into a state of temporary pause.

“Little Boss?”

“…Hello.”

Yiwon bowed politely.

“Ye—yeah, hello. Although today is a day that ain’t very ‘hello’….”

Oh Taesik glanced at Cha Seokjoo. He was facing away from everyone, staring out the window. After a moment of hesitation, he slammed the person with the cloth over their head onto the office floor and gestured to Yiwon.

When Yiwon stood frozen, unable to move easily, he mouthed, What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming quickly? expressing it with his whole face.

Oh Taesik spoke in a greatly lowered voice.

“Why is the atmosphere like this?”

“……”

“What are you doing here?”

“…Just.”

“Did you come on an errand?”

“…Something like that….”

This is the worst. It was a day where not a single word he spoke was right.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

“My goodness, maybe it’s ’cause you’re so small, but you keep catching my eye. Come here. Ah, hurry!”