Chapter 19: Unexpected Companionship

“Gaettong.”

They had said they wanted to visit the distant Gangnaru today. As the sun began to set, a gentle voice called out to Gaettong, who instinctively lowered his body to sit.

With the sun at their back, Jin approached, bathed in the golden hues of the sunset. They appeared more radiant than ever before.

The long hem of their *durumagi* swayed gently in the breeze. The white *durumagi*, worn with a touch of elegance, shimmered with a reddish-yellow glow.

More than anything, it was Jin’s bright smile directed at him that caught his attention.

Their eyes were beautifully curved into crescent moons, and the corners of their lips turned up smoothly, revealing a hint of even teeth.

“Gaettong~ah, Gaettong, Gaettong~ah, Gaettong!”

Unlike the first call, Jin’s soft voice was laced with abundant laughter as they sang Gaettong’s name, adding a playful melody to each repetition.

The small body that had approached from a distance brushed past him, then quickly clung to his back. Gaettong supported Jin’s small bottom with both hands and slowly stood up.

As he walked at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow, Jin’s arms, which had been wrapped around his neck, loosened slightly.

“I truly like you.”

The words, resonating from their chest pressed against his back, lingered in his ears.

It was Jin’s faint whisper, though he had thought they were asleep. So tiny, it would have been lost amidst the chirping of insects if he hadn’t been paying close attention.

“I said I like you.”

Gaettong simply listened, offering no reply.

“Do you know? Your heart is beating so fast right now.”

The warm breath tickling his ear made Gaettong clench his molars. The gentle spring breeze, swirling around them, seemed poised to carry their secret conversation away.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“You must be tired; try to get some rest. If we’re going to travel this far, I’ll prepare a horse for next time.”

Gaettong carefully adjusted his steps to keep Jin steady. He then playfully tightened his grip on the arms supporting them, deliberately swaying, which elicited a delightful laugh.

“No, I don’t want that. If there was a horse, you wouldn’t carry me like this.”

As Jin tightened their arms around his neck, pressing closer, Gaettong found himself chuckling softly. Though two years his senior, his young master behaved more like a neighborhood child.

Jin hummed a tune, matching Gaettong’s every step, until someone appeared.

“Our Jin, are you just returning from your outing?”

The first thing Gaettong noticed was a pair of black *taesahye*, the shoes worn by noblemen. Then came a fine silk *durumagi*, and the cord of a *gat*.

****

Tae-jun blinked blankly. His blurry vision gradually sharpened, bringing the plain white ceiling and its lights into clear focus.

It was a scene he already knew, one he sometimes deliberately recalled.

Though he hadn’t replied, Jin had already known his feelings, and such one-sided conversations were their private game.

But it was the first time a new person had appeared.

Perhaps it was recalling a forgotten piece of his past, but Tae-jun stumbled off the bed, a headache throbbing since the moment he opened his eyes.

Wearing *taesahye* and a silk *durumagi*, the man was clearly a high-ranking *yangban*. Up until now, the only people Tae-jun remembered were Do-ha’s family, the servants who worked with them, and his *seodang* friends.

Though the voice was unfamiliar, the way he addressed Jin was exceptionally affectionate.

“Ha—. Who are you again?”

The more he thought about it, the faster his heart pounded, and an unsettling, unpleasant feeling settled over him. Tae-jun muttered lowly, letting out a long sigh.

****

“It can’t be helped, I suppose. Everyone else has prior engagements. Do-ha, can you do it?”

At Tae-jun’s decisive words, spoken after a long period of contemplation, Do-ha’s head shot up from the paper on which he had been idly scribbling doodles.

“Excuse me?”

It was a hastily arranged meeting due to Assistant Manager Choi’s injury, which had sidelined them from a Japan business trip scheduled for tomorrow. Yet, Do-ha remained lost in thought, his mind elsewhere.

His mind was already complicated enough just thinking about Tae-jun, let alone the unexpected confession from his closest friend.

This couldn’t be called a love triangle; rather, it was a chain of unrequited loves, stretching out endlessly.

And the outcome was back to square one: Do-ha and Tae-jun remained in a professional relationship of boss and intern.

Do-ha and Hyun-woo, as always, settled back into their twenty-year friendship.

“Do you have any disqualifying factors for international travel?”

“No, I don’t have any.”

If Assistant Manager Choi couldn’t go, it would typically fall to another team member, an assistant manager, or even a department head. He hadn’t considered it his concern. But for *him*, an intern, to go?

“Are there any other reasons you might be unable to accompany us?”

His gaze locked with Tae-jun’s, a man he hadn’t made eye contact with throughout the entire meeting. Do-ha instinctively leaned back, shaking his head slightly.

‘There’s no particular reason I can’t go, but there’s no reason I *must* go either.’

The words he couldn’t bring himself to utter swirled within his mouth.

“In that case, please receive the handover from Assistant Manager Choi and prepare for the trip without any hitches. If there are no other agenda items, this meeting is adjourned.”

As Tae-jun, having concluded his remarks, led the others in tidying up and exiting the conference room, Do-ha’s eyes trembled slightly. He still felt this trip wasn’t right. What knowledge did he, an intern, possess to warrant accompanying them on an overseas business trip, not even a domestic one?

“It’s nothing major, even if it’s a business trip. You’ll get to eat lots of delicious food, and if you have time, do some sightseeing. Just think of it as a vacation.”

Do-ha, who had been blankly watching people leave, was startled by a pat on his shoulder. Unlike his own flustered, speechless state, Assistant Manager Choi stood before him with a look that suggested they had lost everything.

It was a three-day, two-night trip.

The business trip to Japan for Tae-jun and Assistant Manager Choi had been scheduled since last month, and it was set for tomorrow.

It was a team schedule he had completely forgotten about, had Assistant Manager Choi not appeared with a half-cast, claiming they had slipped in the shower that morning.

“If there’s nothing specific to do, couldn’t the team leader just go alone?”

Since there were no other team members around to notice his mood, a sulky remark slipped out.

“Even so, if the team leader goes into a meeting, someone needs to be in contact with this side. Why, you don’t want to go?”

As Assistant Manager Choi moved to sit beside him, sipping the coffee they had brought, Do-ha, who had been about to stand, settled back down.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s more about how much help I can actually be. I’m afraid I’ll just make mistakes and cause trouble.”

Unable to confess that he had been rejected after a confession, Do-ha mumbled, trailing off. Spending Christmas with someone with whom he shared such an awkward history, of all times, would be unpleasant for both him and Tae-jun.

“You’ll just check our products participating in the Japan expo and grasp the latest trends. The Japan branch handles all the real work anyway. It’s a global exhibition, so headquarters staff just go to make an appearance out of courtesy.”

“But I’m not even a full-time employee; I’m just a contract intern.”

Seeing that the conversation was likely to be extensive, as if Assistant Manager Choi intended to complete the entire handover right there, Do-ha, holding his notes and pen, looked at Assistant Manager Choi, who wore an even more bitter expression than his own.

“Regardless of how well you perform, it’s still an international event, and how can someone from headquarters just go alone? Sometimes, you just need extra bodies. Just follow along, enjoy some good food. The team leader isn’t a picky person. They don’t accept entertainment or go for second rounds.”

Do-ha’s lips pursed as he watched Assistant Manager Choi, who seemed to have brought the files from the meeting, open them and pull out the itinerary and other expo-related documents.

“Tomorrow is December 23rd, you know.”

“What? Do-ha, do you have a significant other?”

Assistant Manager Choi, who had pulled out all the trip-related files and was about to quickly review them with him, stared blankly at Do-ha.

Though it was something they couldn’t tell Do-ha, there were currently two bets placed on him. One concerned whether he, a diligent and amiable employee who fostered a good team atmosphere—if not a particularly proactive or brilliant one—would be promoted to a full-time position.

Senior colleagues, hoping he would pass the promotion exam, had secretly slipped him study guides. However, it was a notoriously difficult exam, with only about one-fifth of interns typically passing.

Considering the current team atmosphere and the somewhat flexible team leader, Assistant Manager Choi had bet confidently on Do-ha becoming a full-time employee, knowing that a team leader’s recommendation could suffice even without passing the exam.

The next bet revolved around whether he had a significant other.

One’s secondary gender was an extremely private matter; publicly asking or trying to discern it was considered a great offense. However, it was clear to everyone that intern Seo Do-ha was an Omega.

Thus, there was a more mischievous bet concerning his romantic partner, rather than his secondary gender. This particular bet was overwhelmingly leaning towards Do-ha having a significant other.

The outcome was to be judged by his answer when asked what he did last Christmas, after the upcoming holiday.

“Even if I don’t have a significant other, I won’t be spending Christmas alone, you know. A three-day, two-night trip means I’d be back on Christmas Day.”

“Ah! You’re not saying it’s uncomfortable because the team leader is an Alpha, are you? The team leader always books separate hotel rooms for business trips, even if it’s just work. Whether one person goes or ten, they book rooms for everyone, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Listening to Assistant Manager Choi deliver a series of irrefutable points, Do-ha slumped onto the desk, no longer caring whether they were present or not.

Having received the handover in the conference room, albeit reluctantly, Do-ha trudged to his seat. Then, receiving a message to come to the team leader’s office after the handover, he wearily entered.

“If you think it will be inconvenient, speak now.”

Do-ha clenched his fist, watching Tae-jun speak without even looking up at him, still engrossed in whatever he was viewing, even after Do-ha had knocked and entered.

During the meeting, Tae-jun had spoken as if Do-ha absolutely had to go, but now, calling him separately to ask this, his intentions were unfathomable.

If he said he didn’t want to go now, the trip would be canceled for him, and Tae-jun would go alone. A simple ‘no’ would nullify everything, but he didn’t want to say it.

“No, it’s fine.”

Nothing dramatic would happen between him and Tae-jun, nor would Tae-jun suddenly accept him, but at least it was time they could spend together.

“Very well. Let’s proceed as planned.”

At Tae-jun’s dry reply, Do-ha gently bit the tender flesh inside his mouth.