Chapter 15: Team Dinner

“Is Eun-gyeol not allowed to drink at all?”

Seeing that Eun-gyeol’s glass was filled with clear water, Han-geon asked in a tone full of pity.

Other than sipping a glass of green-grape ade now and then, Eun-gyeol always treated self-management as naturally as breathing—even in front of Han-geon.

Sitting next to him and drinking happily by himself made Han-geon’s chest ache with guilt.

“Well, one drink probably wouldn’t hurt… but he just never starts in the first place.”

“Hey, don’t drink, don’t drink, Cha Eun-gyeol.

If you gain weight, we’ll have to redo all your clothes.”

“I’m gonna go home and eat a whole cake by myself.”

“You just try it!”

Laughter erupted at Yujin’s sharp scolding.

Honestly, the joke of it all.

Even Eun-gyeol, for all his grumbling, wore a faint smile, looking like he was in a decent mood.

Soon, a staff member came in, bowed politely, and began grilling the meat.

Beautifully marbled cuts of Korean beef sizzled to perfection.

Han-geon’s eyes widened.

At his old company, they always ate pork belly—nothing fancy—so he couldn’t help thinking that big companies really were on another level.

“Eat a lot.

You love meat.”

“Hey, s-stop… you eat.”

Each time the meat was cooked, Eun-gyeol picked it up and plopped it right onto Han-geon’s bowl.

Even when Han-geon, embarrassed under the eyes of everyone watching, poked his side several times, Eun-gyeol just kept piling meat onto his plate with a “what, so what” expression.

Finally, Yujin clicked her tongue.

“Seriously, sir… are you two actually dating?”

“What?

What are you talking about?

Han-geon, right?”

“A-ah, n-no, of course not.

We’re longtime friends.

And also… I’m a Beta.”

The comment had obviously been made as a joke, but the way he flailed his hands and turned red up to his neck every time—moments like that made me feel so frustrated with myself.

Watching Han-geon’s embarrassed reaction, Yujin narrowed her eyes suspiciously, while Eun-gyeol scoffed.

“Noona.

Did you snack on something weird before coming here?

You’re talking more nonsense than usual.”

“Hey, you’re being ridiculously attentive to Han-geon, that’s why.”

“What are you talking about?

He quit a perfectly good job just because he trusted me.

Isn’t it obvious I take care of him?”

Ignoring whatever Yujin muttered next, Eun-gyeol calmly picked up more meat and added:

“And stop saying things like that.

You’ll make Han-geon uncomfortable.”

“Ahhh.”

Realizing her mistake, Yujin suddenly brought her palms together in a mock prayer pose in front of her face.

“Sorry, Han-geon.

I’m just so used to being completely casual with Eun-gyeol… I didn’t even think about whether it might make you uncomfortable.”

“N-no, it’s fine.

Really.”

“But I’m honestly just amazed.”

Adjusting her grip on her chopsticks, Yujin snatched away a piece of meat Eun-gyeol had been reaching for and popped it into her own mouth before continuing seriously:

“It’s just… I’ve never seen Eun-gyeol stick to a manager like that.

Sitting them right next to him, grilling meat and placing it in their bowl, pouring water for them… hovering around them like that and—well, defending them?

That’s a first.”

“I guess he really does treat you differently because you’re his friend.

I swear, I’ve lived long enough, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen Cha Eun-gyeol take care of someone else.

Ugh, I’m getting chills.”

Still looking amazed, Yujin clicked her tongue, and Eun-gyeol snapped back at her irritably, lifting his glass of water.

“Ah, stop already.

Just make a toast, Director.”

“Okay, okay, let’s drop it and have a drink.

Poor Han-geon must be uncomfortable.

Cheers!”

The drinks went down smoothly.

Han-geon found himself happily getting drunk for the first time in a while.

After talking with them, he realized they were all genuinely good people, and he had a feeling they would get along well from here on.

More than anything, the way they welcomed him—someone they had never met before—and treated him so kindly, almost overwhelmingly so, made it impossible for him not to open his heart to them.

“Come on, drink up.

No time to rest.”

“Looks like the director’s in a good mood today.

Really going for it.”

“Ah, well, of course I’m in a good mood.

Look at Han-geon’s face—doesn’t he look like he’ll stick with Eun-gyeol for a long, long time?”

Yujin and the director especially hit it off.

They seemed quite strong drinkers, taking turns downing drinks one after the other.

Han-geon liked them, but he found himself taking a particular liking to the youngest security guard across from him, Geonho.

For one, they were in the same line of work, and although Geonho was a rookie who had only just started, he was courteous, quick to speak, and polite—which naturally made Han-geon want to look after him.

“S-So, Geonho… the security team… it wasn’t originally just you and that other hyung, right?”

After exchanging introductions and—at Geonho’s request—ending up speaking informally with him, Han-geon asked, cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

“N-no, sir.

The team leader got injured back then and stepped down, and two other hyungs who came in following him quit as well, so I’m the only one left.

Normally in that case they’d change to a different agency, but the actor-nim doesn’t like switching companies often.”

“I see.

Must’ve been tough handling everything alone.”

“Still, it happened to overlap with the actor-nim’s break period, so it wasn’t too bad… But now that a new project is starting, I was really worried about how I’d manage alone.

But since you’re here now, hyung-nim, I feel so reassured!”

Their glasses clinked again.

Getting along so well with Geonho, Han-geon grew more and more cheerful.

He felt incredibly lucky to be working with such good people—and above all, to be working with Eun-gyeol.

It was almost too good to be true, so much so that it felt like a dream.

But while Han-geon’s mood kept rising, Eun-gyeol’s mood seemed to sink in proportion.

At first, he mingled reasonably well, but his eyes gradually grew sharp and crooked.

And of course, the person who noticed it first was Han-geon.

‘What now…’

Timing it so the others were distracted, Han-geon leaned in close to whisper into Eun-gyeol’s ear.

Immediately, Eun-gyeol’s lips brushed Han-geon’s ear as he murmured back.

“You two are having a grand old time together, huh?”

It took several seconds for the meaning to register.

Han-geon blinked silently, then knit his brows.

Wait—was he seriously sulking because Han-geon was talking excitedly with Geonho instead of with him?

Surely not…?

‘What are you talking about?

It’s a team dinner.

Of course I’m talking with people.’

He whispered urgently back, but Eun-gyeol simply shot him a hostile glare and didn’t reply.

Han-geon was so dumbfounded that words failed him.

He almost added, “Are you a kid?” but decided not to throw fuel onto the fire.

Still, it was ridiculous.

Honestly, Eun-gyeol had always been like this.

He couldn’t stand seeing Han-geon hang out with someone else.

Usually he joked around and acted warm in his own way, but the moment he felt even slightly pushed out of Han-geon’s priority list, his attitude flipped.

He would show displeasure without fail—snapping, scowling, and turning sharp.

But every time, he simply thought, I guess Eun-gyeol really likes me, and left it at that.

And since he liked Eun-gyeol just as much, he didn’t dislike the way Eun-gyeol treated him.

As long as Han-geon continued to like him, he would always be the ‘subordinate’ in their emotional dynamic—it was inevitable.

Han-geon glanced at Eun-gyeol, stealing a look at his expression.

His anger-flushed face was already tilted into a sulky scowl.

At this rate he looked like he might take it out on Geonho, so he needed to soothe him before that happened.

Han-geon wanted to prevent anything that might hurt Eun-gyeol’s reputation as much as possible.

Making a quick decision, he leaned in and whispered into Eun-gyeol’s ear.

Stretching out his hand, he awkwardly patted Eun-gyeol’s thigh.

‘Okay.

I get it, so calm down.

Yeah?’

‘Just watching you.’

The reply was less than satisfied, but his expression had softened ever so slightly.

Honestly… he wasn’t a kid anymore.

Han-geon was dying to say it, but he swallowed the words with effort.

Once Han-geon, who had been practically drinking one-on-one with him until now, shifted his attention back to Eun-gyeol, Geonho soon blended back in with Yujin and the manager.

“Come on, let’s drink!”

“Cheers!”

In the smoothly warming atmosphere, everyone grew pleasantly drunk.

Even as he drank whatever was handed to him, Han-geon kept sneaking glances at Eun-gyeol.

After sipping water instead of alcohol a few times, Eun-gyeol seemed too tired even for that and set his glass down altogether.

His bowl of rice hadn’t been touched either.

He had picked up a few pieces of meat, but it looked like he hadn’t eaten properly at all.

‘Did I eat too much like a pig?’

A sudden wave of guilt washed over him.

While someone couldn’t even eat comfortably, he had been obliviously drinking with Geonho and having fun.

If he were Eun-gyeol, he would probably feel a little hurt too.

Realizing belatedly, Han-geon picked up a warm, freshly grilled piece of meat and quietly placed it in Eun-gyeol’s empty bowl, but there was no reaction.

Wondering if he hadn’t noticed, Han-geon hesitated for a moment before tapping Eun-gyeol’s arm.

“Eat, Eun-gyeol.

You barely ate anything.”

“I’m fine.

You just keep having fun.

With Kim Geonho.”

He was still grumbling—clearly still upset.

At those words, Geonho blinked at Eun-gyeol with a bewildered expression, his eyes shifting nervously.

He’s totally sulking, Han-geon sighed inwardly and picked up another piece of meat.

At this point, he needed to properly soothe him.

“Don’t be like that.

Come on.

Once filming starts you’ll have a hard time, so you need to eat and regain strength, okay?”

He held the piece of meat right up to Eun-gyeol’s mouth with his chopsticks.

Eun-gyeol glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

The moment he did, Han-geon suddenly felt the atmosphere shift strangely quiet.

When he looked around, even the manager and Yujin were watching them intently.

Only then did Han-geon become self-conscious.

Maybe he’d gone too far.

“Ah, I was just… trying to feed him some meat, haha.”

He scratched his head, embarrassed, starting to lower his hand—
when Eun-gyeol calmly parted his lips and took the meat from between the chopsticks.

Taking it into his mouth, he chewed expressionlessly.

Watching that, Yujin’s mouth dropped open in sheer disbelief.