Chapter 9: Unraveling the Threads

Taekyung silently observed him before closing the distance between them.

It seemed that while Yoonseo could smile just fine at others, a subtle crack would appear on his face whenever he was confronted.

“You’re not going to just hand me the coffee and tell me to leave, are you?”

A teasing, playful voice reached Yoonseo’s ear unfiltered.

Yoonseo, who flinched exaggeratedly, turned to face Taekyung, the faint smile now completely wiped from his face.

He had been hit right where it hurt.

Yoonseo quickly averted his gaze when he saw Taekyung’s eyes widen in slight surprise at his blank expression.

His last action had been a mistake.

His mind raced to rectify it.

“Um… please have a seat. I’ll bring it over when it’s ready.”

He pointed to a table in a relatively empty corner, and Taekyung nodded without a word and started walking.

He wasn’t the only one whose eyes were following his retreating back.

Everyone was looking at him, as if wondering why Han Taekyung was here.

However, Taekyung didn’t seem to mind at all, sitting down and leisurely surveying the interior.

As the barista had said, the coffee was ready shortly.

Yoonseo put the small container of butter cookies in his hoodie pocket and held the latte and iced Americano in each hand.

Taekyung must have been watching him, because their eyes met the moment he turned around.

He was clearly smiling in a friendly way, but he couldn’t understand why his throat was burning up.

After placing the latte in front of Taekyung, Yoonseo sat down facing him and felt a little flustered.

The table was small, and the distance between them was closer than he had expected.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy this.”

He spoke with a bright smile and opened the lid.

The sight of Taekyung drinking the steaming latte was like a scene from a commercial.

Yoonseo found himself staring at him blankly as he put the straw to his lips.

He thought he could vaguely understand why people were so enthusiastic about him, despite the constant controversies surrounding his private life.

His objectively handsome face certainly played a part, but his unique aura that drew people’s attention was also undeniable.

To him, this was just an ordinary place in his everyday life, nothing special, but with Han Taekyung here, it felt different.

That was surely a natural talent that only Han Taekyung possessed.

Yoonseo, who had been silently lost in thought while staring at him, hastily looked away.

It was because Taekyung, who had seemed to be looking elsewhere, had turned his gaze toward him.

The cold coffee scratched its way down his throat, and he snapped back to reality.

This was no time to be wasting time meaninglessly.

He had to get back to the editing room where Chaewon was waiting as soon as possible.

“…Thank you again for last time.”

Yoonseo cleared his throat, gave a slight nod, and offered a polite thank you.

Separate from the suffocating feeling in his chest that arose whenever he was reminded of the incident with Kim Injun, he was genuinely grateful.

If it hadn’t been for Han Taekyung, he didn’t know what might have happened to him that day.

Although Han Taekyung’s sudden visit had been disconcerting, it was a relief to have the opportunity to thank him properly.

Today would mark the clean end of his brief connection with Taekyung.

Just as Yoonseo was about to let out a sigh of relief and glance down to check the time, Taekyung, who had put down his cup, asked,

“Who was that person who was chasing you, PD-nim? Do you know him?”

In that moment, the throat that had been scratched by the cold began to sting unbearably.

As the uncomfortable memory was brought up, his fists clenched instinctively.

Yoonseo forced a calm expression and replied with a simple “Yes,” to indicate that he did.

Taekyyung nodded slowly and then leaned in slightly.

As if sharing a secret.

“You said it wasn’t a lovers’ quarrel… so what kind of fight was it?”

“…”

“I was curious. What on earth happened, and what is your relationship?”

He asked an inappropriate question with an innocent face.

Without realizing it, Yoonseo’s face had hardened, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Overwhelmed by a sudden whirlwind of dark emotions, he had shed the mask-like smile he wore in front of others.

The thought that the other person was trying to dig into his weakness made a defensive, sharp tone escape him without him even realizing it.

“…I appreciate your help, but I don’t think I have any reason to answer that.”

For a moment, Taekyung had the irrelevant thought that his voice suited his current prim face quite well.

Yoonseo belatedly realized his mistake, but it was difficult to take back the words he had already spoken.

The muscles in his face, which were probably tense, wouldn’t relax either.

“You know your feelings are written all over your face, right, PD-nim?”

Yoonseo’s reaction was tantamount to raising a white flag of surrender.

In fact, his sharp response only made him more curious about what was going on.

A person with a gentle face, who seemed to always show a smiling face in front of others, was instead wearing a stern expression.

He became even more curious about the true nature of the emotions and thoughts Yoonseo was hiding.

“Anyone would think we’re fighting. Relax your face a little.”

Taekyung said with a deliberately light laugh.

Yoonseo seemed to laugh along out of reflex, but his eyes were still tense.

Judging by how he was acting, he didn’t seem to be the weak or timid type who would suffer such an incident without putting up a fight.

What on earth was going on?

Why was he so scared of a pathetic Alpha who couldn’t even control his own pheromones?

Could it be that he had some weakness that was being exploited…

The more he thought about it, the deeper his curiosity about the person named Choi Yoonseo became.

Yoonseo’s expression had softened a little by now, but the words he spoke were more like empty pleasantries, building an even stronger wall.

“I should get going now. I’m a little busy… with work.”

“…”

“It’s unlikely to happen, but… if you ever need any help, please let me know, and I’ll help you then. Thank you for that day.”

As soon as he heard Yoonseo’s words, Taekyung had to suppress the tactless laugh that was about to escape.

It was because he had immediately understood the hidden meaning behind Yoonseo’s words.

Even though they were both in the broadcasting industry, their fields were completely different.

If Yoonseo worked in dramas, it might be a different story, but he was currently working on a current affairs program.

He could say such a thing because he had already concluded that there was no reason for Han Taekyung to ask Choi Yoonseo for help.

That’s why he had added the premise, ‘It’s unlikely to happen.’

Yoonseo stood up, bowed politely, and then turned around without hesitation, holding his coffee.

His quickening pace seemed to be a substitute for telling him how uncomfortable it had been to be with him.

Taekyung watched him with an interested gaze and then chuckled after Yoonseo had completely disappeared.

‘This is getting more and more interesting.’

He thought to himself.

The next day, Taekyung, who had no schedule, spent his time leisurely.

He read a book in the morning, worked out lightly at the fitness center in the late afternoon, and returned home around sunset.

He had just asked Jinhyung, who had said he would stop by on his way home from work, to have dinner together.

Jinhyung, who had announced that he would buy dinner from a nearby department store, appeared about 30 minutes later.

“Hyung, Eunice sent a proposal for a photoshoot.”

That was the first thing Jinhyung said as he appeared with his hands full.

Taekyung, who had been lazily leaning back on the sofa and pressing the remote control buttons, sat up straight.

Jinhyung put down the paper bags and began to set up what he had bought on the table.

“Eunice? Didn’t we do one with them before?”

“Yes. It’s a Tidwell watch collaboration this time too, and the response was really good back then. So they seem to want to work with you again. I just heard about it from the PR team, so what should we do?”

“Hmm… I want to see the concept first. Will it be similar to last time?”

“Should I ask them to send over the draft if they have it?”

“Do that.”

Soon, a salad and a protein drink were placed in front of Taekyung.

Jinhyung, who had sat down on the rug, grinned and took out a plastic container packed with sushi.

Taekyung, who smiled lightly at the sight, picked up the remote and changed the channel.

Jinhyung, who was in the middle of taking the lid off the container, looked back and forth between the large television that filled one wall and Taekyung.

He wondered why Taekyung was watching television, of all things.

Even though he was an actor, Taekyung preferred reading books or listening to music to watching dramas or movies.

He would occasionally monitor his own work, but he only watched the scenes he appeared in.

Watching Taekyung repeatedly play back his own highlight scenes, Jinhyung had thought that even Narcissus in the myths probably hadn’t watched himself so obsessively.

Of course, he kept that thought to himself.

“Uh…”

The moment the title music of the program that would follow the commercial began to play, Jinhyung let out a faint, puzzled sound.