Chapter 40: Over Beer

Junseong’s eyes widened slightly, then curved again.

This time, unlike before, his smile was deeper and richer.

Just as it seemed like he was about to speak, he burst out with an “Ahahaha.” It didn’t feel great that he laughed first at a question Han-geon had deliberately thrown out, but Han-geon stayed silent and waited for his answer.

At that perfect moment, a staff member brought over two beers.

Junseong lifted his glass and gestured; Han-geon lightly clinked his own against it, then tipped the cool drink back.

The strongly carbonated, bitter liquid went down his throat in loud gulps.

After downing his beer, Junseong wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and finally spoke.

“I figured you might ask something like that, but you’re bolder than I expected.”

He looked thoroughly amused.

Han-geon still kept his mouth shut, quietly watching him.

“What if… I said I liked you in that kind of way?”

“…What?”

Despite having steeled himself, the moment those words came out of Junseong’s mouth, Han-geon could only go blank.

A stupid sound slipped out of him on its own.

He hadn’t expected Junseong to be this straightforward.

“What if you’re my type, and I want to get to know you slowly?”

The gaze meeting his was strangely persistent.

Han-geon couldn’t even think to close his mouth, staring at Junseong with a vacant expression.

That bastard likes you.

Eun-gyeol’s voice, chewing out those words with a look of disgust, revived vividly in his ears.

It felt as if someone had punched the back of his head hard.

Was Eun-gyeol actually right?

He’d thought it was nothing more than wild speculation, but… really, truly…?

Then what was he supposed to do now?

“Manager-nim.”

“…..”

“Manager-nim?”

Tap, tap.

At the light sound of fingers drumming on the table, Han-geon flinched and looked back at Junseong.

“…Ah, yes.”

“You look completely spaced out.

You know, that hurts my feelings.”

Even as he said that, Junseong smiled, looking far too calm for someone who had just made a statement like that.

Instead, it was Han-geon who felt utterly confused about what he should say.

How could he express his intentions clearly while still keeping things comfortable?

Like it or not, this was someone he would have to face on set for the next several months.

With a pointless sense of anxiety, Han-geon gripped his beer glass.

He lifted it and gulped down several mouthfuls.

For a moment, his head—packed tight with stray thoughts—cooled down.

If the silence dragged on, it would only get more awkward.

He had to say something now.

Yes—before it got any later.

“…I’m sorry, but—”

At that moment, Junseong raised both palms playfully, as if surrendering.

“Haha.

I’m sorry.”

“…Pardon?”

“Actually… it was a joke, but you looked so serious that I missed the timing to say it.

I’m really sorry.”

This time, Han-geon’s mouth fell open in pure disbelief.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Junseong clasped his hands together and apologized again.

“You asked such an interesting question that I couldn’t help myself… I’m sorry.

I really didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

“Ah… I see.”

Thank goodness it’s not like that.

The words almost slipped out, but he barely managed to hold them back.

He felt dumbfounded, and a little angry too, but Han-geon just took another big gulp of beer instead.

He decided to think of it simply as having been distracted enough, even briefly, to stop thinking about Cha Eun-gyeol.

“Honestly, there doesn’t have to be a reason for liking someone, right?

Does it only count as a real feeling if it’s romantic or sexual?

I just like you, that’s all.”

Though it sounded like an excuse added on, it no longer came across as a joke.

Han-geon nodded dryly.

“…Thank you.”

“I have an older brother, you know.

I like him a lot, and you really remind me of him.

That might be why I feel drawn to you.

Haha.”

As Junseong kindly asked whether that explanation made sense, Han-geon simply nodded a few times.

In any case, since Junseong said it wasn’t like that, that was enough.

If he truly liked Han-geon in that way, he wouldn’t have let such a good opportunity—like today, with everything out in the open—slip by.

And there would’ve been no reason to go so far as to compare him to an older brother and explain himself so thoroughly.

Thinking that way made his heart feel just a little lighter.

Han-geon quietly lifted his glass.

No matter the reason, if someone said they liked him, he decided not to overthink it.

His head already felt like it was about to burst just from thinking about Eun-gyeol; he had no room for anything else.

“But you know, sometimes you put up walls a little too firmly.

It does make me feel a bit hurt every now and then.

Haha.”

“That’s…”

At the joke-like comment, Han-geon hesitated.

How could he say that it wasn’t because he disliked Junseong or liked him especially, but because he was worried Eun-gyeol might feel uncomfortable?

But Junseong added, as if he understood everything,

“Oh, of course, you’re Eun-gyeol sunbae’s manager, and his condition comes first.

I know that’s why you treat me that way too.

Just think of it as me whining a little.

Hahaha.”

“…Ah, yes.”

With nothing more to say, Han-geon simply nodded.

He wasn’t particularly talkative to begin with, but for some reason he became even more curt whenever he talked with Junseong.

He couldn’t understand what Junseong liked so much about someone as blunt as him that he’d call him out on the first day of his vacation.

There wasn’t much conversation back and forth, but as they occasionally talked about filming, the two steadily emptied their beer glasses.

Han-geon wasn’t bad with alcohol, and Junseong seemed the same—he drained his glasses quickly without his face reddening at all.

Naturally, Han-geon’s own drinking pace sped up as well.

How many glasses had they emptied, sitting face to face?

Suddenly, Junseong spoke up.

“Then, can I ask you a question this time?

It’s not about filming.”

“Yes,” Han-geon replied readily.

Junseong threw the question straight at him without hesitation.

“Do you… like Eun-gyeol sunbae?”

Just as Han-geon was about to set his beer down, his body jolted.

The hand holding the glass froze midair, his breath catching painfully in his throat.

His eyes, widened on their own, trembled slightly.

How did he know?

Was it really that obvious?

A chill ran through his chest.

In an instant, cold sweat pooled in his palms.

If Junseong, who hadn’t even known him for that long, could notice—then just how blatantly had he been showing it with his whole body?

How vacant must his expression have been whenever he looked at Eun-gyeol…?

“…It’s not like that.”

He forced himself to set the glass down calmly.

He tried to keep his voice steady, but the end of his words shook stupidly.

“As I said before… we’re old friends.

Close enough that there’s no distance between us.

That’s why I agreed to be his manager.”

Even after hearing the answer, Junseong stayed silent for a while.

Instead, he called a staff member over and ordered two more beers of the same kind.

Until the staff set down the fresh beers and cleared away the empty glasses, the two of them sat there without a word.

“I see.”

“…..”

“I just asked on a whim.

Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

Junseong wrapped it up neatly like that.

Han-geon had been just about to say that it really would be uncomfortable if he kept pressing, and that he’d leave if it continued—but that was the end of it.

Junseong tipped his glass back, gulping down the liquid, his expression utterly calm.

It almost seemed like he hadn’t been that curious about the answer from the start.

Then why ask in the first place?

Was he just testing him?

Or did it really look that way?

What if Junseong told Eun-gyeol about this?

His already-fragile composure spiraled down that line of thought—but Han-geon quickly shook his head hard.

Junseong didn’t seem like the kind of person who would do that, and more than anything, there was no concrete proof to tell Eun-gyeol.

Han-geon had just clearly denied it.

At most, it would remain nothing more than Junseong’s suspicion.

…Haah.

Stop thinking.

He swallowed a sigh.

Warning bells were ringing in his head.

There was no space left for any more thoughts.

With too much to think about, his mind instead ground to a halt, blank and stupid.

The reason he’d come here in the first place was to drink until his nose went crooked.

He was afraid that if he stayed alone on a day like this, he’d be eaten alive by too many thoughts.

So he’d wanted, instead, to meet someone, babble meaningless words, and mechanically pour alcohol into his mouth.

“…Let’s stop talking about things like that now.”

With sunken eyes, Han-geon held his glass out.

“Let’s just drink.”