Chapter 3: The First Meeting and a Distressing Morning Call

As the envious moon waned, on a day when late sleet dusted the ground.

“Gaettong, rise.”

Gaettong, who had been prostrated on the dirt floor where snow was steadily accumulating, slowly pushed himself up.

“Didn’t you say he was to be a boy servant?”

A vague voice, still tinged with youthful innocence, echoed from above.

Beside the benevolent-looking mistress stood a handsome young master.

Clad in a thick, quilted durumagi with a long, pale pink baeja over it, the young master’s red lips twitched.

“What’s with ‘Gaettong’? Even if he’s a boy servant… Tsk.”

He even clicked his tongue, clearly displeased, but Gaettong couldn’t tear his eyes away from the young master’s face, as fair as a pear blossom. His eyes, like black dots embedded in a face smaller than Gaettong’s own fist, sparkled like jewels.

“No, no, Jin. That one’s too stubborn to be a boy servant. I’ll find you another child.”

At the words of the well-built man standing beside the handsome young master, Gaettong unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“Why are you saying that, Hyung-nim?”

“Wouldn’t a quick-footed and gentle boy servant be better than a stubborn one?”

“He’s my boy servant; why are you coveting him, Hyung-nim?”

“Deoksam, guide Gaettong to the room and ensure Jin lacks nothing. You must teach him well.”

It was the mistress who cut short the two young masters’ futile power struggle.

“Did you say Gaettong? Stop there.”

‘Isn’t it over?’

Gaettong, who had halted, stiffened as a hand suddenly reached out to him, groping his shoulder and chest.

“Gaettong is mine, Hyung-nim. You’re acting strangely today.”

Before he could react, the handsome young master approached and seized his wrist with a cold hand, prompting an unconscious smile from Gaettong.

The small young master, who barely reached Gaettong’s shoulder, stepped forward as if to protect him.

“Jin, I can find you any number of boy servants. Can’t you yield this one to me? This fellow seems to have talent in martial arts.”

“No. Then, I will find the one you desire, Hyung-nim, and bring him to you.”

‘It’s Jin. The young master I will serve.’

At least, he had shown no intention of sending him to the Elder Young Master, so Gaettong breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t be like that. When goods arrive from Qing, I’ll buy you a beautiful norigae.”

“Achoo!”

The moment a cold, damp breeze swept past, the small body flinched. With the handsome young master’s loud sneeze, the surroundings instantly fell silent.

“Oh dear, Deoksam. I think I’ve caught a cold. Quickly, stoke the fire in the room, and Gaettong, carry me. I feel so shivery, I have no strength at all.”

Gaettong found himself suddenly pulled into the young master’s shoulder, then supported his bottom as he swiftly climbed onto his back. He then began to walk, following Deoksam, who led the way.

“Phew, I’m saved. Let’s go quickly. The day is cold.”

With the small, slender body clinging to his back, and the faint murmur of words only he could hear, Gaettong’s steps felt lighter than ever.

****

It had been an age since he’d dreamt such a dream.

A dream of first meeting the fresh-faced young Jin.

As that sharp, vivid image flickered before his eyes, a pang shot through his chest.

From the moment he opened his eyes, and throughout his shower, the faces of Jin and Do-ha blurred and overlapped before him.

“Hoo.”

Tae-jun rubbed his face, then glanced at the clock. The current time was 6:25 AM.

Why had he started such a thing?

What was the point of hearing that voice one more time? What would change?

His heart, thumping like a second hand, gradually quickened as time passed. He had searched for so long.

It was no exaggeration to say he had searched his entire life.

He felt that if he had been reincarnated, Jin must be somewhere too.

In his youthful heart, he had dreamed of meeting Jin naturally, just as they had first met, but now, at thirty, that hope had long been abandoned.

Perhaps fate, weary of repeated circumstances, no longer bound them together.

To meet now, when he had given up everything.

Lost in thought, Tae-jun stared blankly at his phone screen as the loud ringing bell startled him.

‘Seo Do-ha’

And precisely at 6:30 AM.

–Hello…

–Wake up.

Before he could clear his throat and properly answer the call, the other person simply delivered their message in a thick, sleepy murmur and hung up. Holding his phone, Tae-jun burst into laughter.

What should he do? What was the best course of action?

He was reminded of Jin, who, when faced with something he disliked but had to do, would sulk and do it half-heartedly.

****

Going to work was truly a pleasant thing.

Although he wasn’t doing anything particularly significant, it was enjoyable to prepare document files as instructed for meetings and to conduct research.

He even volunteered for the tedious copying tasks that others found bothersome, all for meeting preparations.

He had bought the necessary books to pass the promotion exam, but Do-ha gazed idly at them, unread for over a week now.

Barely coming to his senses with alarms ringing every minute from 6:25 AM, and then calling his team leader at 6:30 AM, left him feeling utterly drained.

“Good morning.”

“Hello. This is Seo Do-ha.”

“Today, I called five minutes earlier.”

“The lowest temperature is… The humidity is…”

Every morning, he tried to say something new, but the only reply he ever received was, “Yes, I understand.”

His wake-up time, which used to be 7 AM, was eventually moved to before 6:30 AM, naturally pushing forward Do-ha’s arrival at work as well.

Turning on the lights in the empty office and listening to the radio until other employees arrived had once been a small pleasure…

In the dim office, where the lights remained off, Do-ha, who had been slumped over his desk, slowly rose at the sound of the team leader’s office door opening and closing.

“Team Leader.”

He wanted to avoid Tae-jun, yet he also wanted to see his face.

The trembling of his heart, every time he pondered his morning greeting and made the call, was Do-ha’s burden alone.

Did Tae-jun know the inexplicable sadness of hearing the usual dry, formal “Yes, I understand” before the call ended?

“Yes.”

“How long will I keep making morning calls?”

Do-ha finally voiced the words that had been swirling on his tongue.

“Mr. Seo Do-ha, are you dissatisfied with calling me every morning?”

Watching Tae-jun, who had just arrived at work, remove his wool coat and hang it on the hanger, Do-ha bit his lower lip.

“No, it’s just… it’s a bit much, isn’t it!”

Tae-jun wouldn’t care, as he didn’t remember, but what was it like to see someone you had a one-night stand with every single day?

Did he think calling that person every morning was easy?

Do-ha, who had blurted out his frustration, quickly shut his mouth as a faint scent of plum blossoms reached him.

“What is ‘a bit much’?”

“I’m not your lover… and it’s not a morning call from a lover, so do you really want me to keep giving you morning calls, Team Leader?”

Had he imagined it? Or perhaps the scent had naturally clung to his clothes from home. Either way, Do-ha, regretting the plum blossom scent’s sudden disappearance, spoke curtly.

To Do-ha, Tae-jun was an object of both love and hate. Every time he saw him, his heart trembled, and he recalled the nights he tried to forget.

A desire welled up within him for Tae-jun to touch him and speak to him kindly.

But what always returned to him was Tae-jun’s businesslike and cold demeanor. While it was the same way he treated other employees, Do-ha resented him for not remembering him.

“Understood. You don’t need to call me starting tomorrow.”

“What?”

At Tae-jun’s words, spoken while still standing with his broad back to him, Do-ha unconsciously blurted out a question.

He just wanted to complain a little. He had been foolishly attaching absurd, vain fantasies to these morning calls, as if he were talking to a lover.

He wondered if the team leader had perhaps ordered this because he was interested in him, and he simply wanted to know the definite reason why he had been tasked with this.

But the response was to stop?

“If you’re doing it unwillingly, Mr. Do-ha, you don’t have to.”

“No, I’m not. I’ll try to do better.”

At the words that he didn’t have to do it anymore, Do-ha spoke whatever came to his mind, without even a moment to think.

Waking up in the morning was hard, and crafting new greetings was difficult, but a small smile always graced Do-ha’s lips when he heard that brief reply.

“Mr. Seo Do-ha, is company work a joke to you?”

“No, it’s not! It’s not that…”

Standing before his desk, Tae-jun’s cold gaze, arms crossed, pierced Do-ha like needles.

“It’s not that… you asked if I was dissatisfied… so I was just stating my opinion.”

He knew Tae-jun wasn’t a very expressive person, but facing that coldly hardened face, Do-ha lowered his gaze to the floor.

“I apologize.”

That person had called him so gently, so yearningly, so softly, yet now his chest ached at a voice as sharp as winter frost.

“You don’t need to make morning calls starting tomorrow. There won’t be any issues with your performance review, so you don’t need to worry. You may leave now.”

Faced with such an undeniable dismissal, Do-ha left the team leader’s office without even daring to lift his head to look at him.

****

The morning had been bright and sunny, but by afternoon, the sky began to cloud over, and by quitting time, rain was falling, sending Do-ha’s mood plummeting.

Still, a small smile touched his lips as he exited the elevator, knowing he had a friend who would rush out to drink with him whenever he called.

“Pajeon and makgeolli. Deal?”

With no umbrella and the rain falling, Do-ha had been planning to simply cover his head with his messenger bag and dash out. But the moment he stepped out of the company, he saw Hyun-woo standing there with an umbrella, and Do-ha clenched his fist, lightly punching his arm.

“You bastard, we’re truly of one mind. Let’s go to Auntie’s place by the school.”

“Why there again? Is it because Auntie gives you tons of freebies every time she sees you? I found a better place.”

Do-ha merely shrugged at Hyun-woo’s natural gesture of holding the umbrella over him. ‘Auntie’s place or anywhere else, as long as the food is delicious, isn’t that what matters?’

Do-ha, who quickly got into the car when Hyun-woo opened the passenger door of the car conspicuously parked in front of the company—as if he was willing to pay a fine if he got a ticket—clicked his tongue softly.

“If you brought your car, you should have parked in the underground lot and told me to come down there. You’re getting wet.”

“Do you want to take the subway to go eat?”

“Are you crazy? Who goes anywhere on the subway during rush hour on a rainy day? Do you want to die surrounded by fishy smells and people?”

Arriving at a restaurant with a clean atmosphere and valet parking, rather than the shabby, bustling places near the university, Do-ha frowned, displeased. ‘Ah, today I just wanted to drink mindlessly in a noisy place…’

Whether Hyun-woo had made a reservation when Do-ha texted him to drink, Do-ha was led to a quiet room and picked up his chopsticks before Hyun-woo, who had gone to park the car, even arrived. ‘Eating is what matters most.’

“You couldn’t wait and started eating first?”

“Food tastes bad when it gets cold. And the pajeon isn’t out yet.”

Instead of just sitting quietly and eating together, Hyun-woo had to make a comment, so Do-ha picked up a piece of yukjeon from the table and pushed it into his mouth.

“As expected, makgeolli with cider is the best.”

Having gone to kindergarten with Jia, they had known each other for 20 years. They knew each other’s tastes inside and out.

Do-ha watched with satisfaction as Hyun-woo poured exactly one and a half ciders into a jug of makgeolli, then took a bowl, emptied it refreshingly, and chewed on a steaming piece of pajeon.

“You said you had your birthday party at a club.”

“Yeah, with Jia and the kids.”

“Why didn’t you invite me?”

“That’s ridiculous. Weren’t you in Hong Kong or Japan or somewhere back then? Are you senile?”

One glass. Two glasses. Do-ha, enjoying his makgeolli, watched the raindrops stream down the large car window, then turned his gaze to the table, blinking a few times.

“Are you telling me to eat all this?”

“Who else would eat it, you or me? And why are you staring at the rain so gloomily?”

Do-ha chuckled at Hyun-woo’s words.

What heartbreak? It was a situation that needed to be crumpled up and thrown away before it even began.

If they hadn’t met again, he could have just thought of it as a memory, something to occasionally revisit…

But now, it felt less like a memory and more like an ill-fated connection.

“Hey. Calling out someone else’s name during s*x, that’s not right, is it?”

“Pfft…”

“Ugh, disgusting.”

Do-ha threw a wet wipe at Hyun-woo, who had just spat out his makgeolli.

‘Right? It’s not polite to call out someone else’s name during s*x. It’s not. But why! Why do I keep thinking of that guy?’

“Alpha?”

Do-ha turned his gaze back to the window. What was the point of talking about it? It was already in the past, and anyone he asked would give the same obvious answer.

“Forget it, forget it. It’s easier to live by forgetting.”

Do-ha quickly emptied the makgeolli in front of him again, shaking his head slightly.

He had been busy with work and had vaguely forgotten, but when the voice calling out another person’s name so yearningly came to mind, something suddenly surged up inside him.

“Seo Do-ha, did you meet an Alpha?”

No, he was distressed enough, why was this guy suddenly getting serious? Hyun-woo, who had been laughing jovially just moments ago, suddenly turned stern, so Do-ha waved a hand dismissively.

“You’re the one who brought up s*x just now.”

“One-night stand. Why?”

Do-ha looked down at his empty makgeolli glass, then reached out for the gourd dipper in the makgeolli jug. Suddenly, Hyun-woo grabbed his wrist hard, making Do-ha look up.

“Say that again. What did you do?”

“That damned Alpha bastard. Are you saying you’re an Alpha too? Let go of me.”

Do-ha twisted his wrist, but when he couldn’t easily pull free from Hyun-woo’s grip, a surge of irritation welled up.

“Seo Do-ha.”

Do-ha met Hyun-woo’s gaze as he called his name, then closed his eyes.