Chapter 8: Who knows me better than you?

“What— what the hell. Why is he suddenly…!”

Why on earth was Eun-gyeol coming to his place in broad daylight out of nowhere?

He didn’t even have time to question it properly—his mind simply went blank.

His face drained of all color as he hurriedly turned off his phone screen and yanked his sweatpants back up.

His quick reflexes—which others often praised—were finally proving useful now.

The next moment, the door lock beeped, and Eun-gyeol pushed the front door wide open, stepping briskly into the apartment.

Han-geon bit down on his lips hard, his face burning bright red.

The tissues lying beside him, the heavy scent of s*x that still hung in the air, the blush streaked across his cheeks—everything pointed unmistakably to the fact that the owner of this house had been sprawled out seconds ago, masturbating.

‘Please. Please just ignore it. Please…’

He wanted to die of embarrassment.

He wanted to evaporate on the spot.

Face about to burst, Han-geon stole nervous glances at Eun-gyeol.

Hair and makeup fully done, Eun-gyeol looked dazzling—
and more upset than he had ever looked before.

Worse than even the day, three days ago, when he’d fired his manager.

“Wh-what’s going on?

At… at this hour?”

“What’s going on with you, being home at this hour?”

Even while letting himself into someone else’s home, Eun-gyeol’s tone was almost too calm.

Han-geon fumbled, crushing the semen-soaked tissues into a ball and hiding the hand holding them behind his back.

“Uh… I… I’m thinking about quitting my job.

So I took the day off today.”

“Why?”

“I just… I don’t want to go out on site for those jobs anymore.

I just want to work events.”

“They’re sending you out there again?

You really struggled with that issue last time.”

Eun-gyeol’s expression twisted sharply.

“Yeah… so I’m thinking of moving to a company that only handles concerts and event gigs.”

Han-geon answered dutifully, all while sneaking anxious glances at him.

But after that, Eun-gyeol didn’t say another word.

He stepped forward, slowly approaching—
and inhale, drew in a long, deliberate breath.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Han-geon’s back.

He opened his mouth, desperate to steer the conversation elsewhere, but Eun-gyeol spoke first.

“You masturbated?”

“…k— cough, what?”

His saliva caught in his throat instantly.

As he raised a hand to cover his coughing mouth, Eun-gyeol abruptly grabbed his wrist.

He stared down at the wad of tissue poking out from between Han-geon’s reflexively clenched fingers.

A faint smirk tugged at Eun-gyeol’s lips.

“Looks like I interrupted a good time.

My bad.”

“T-that’s… not….”

He tried to deny it, but he had no excuse.

Even to himself, “it’s not that” sounded ridiculous.

He wanted to die from embarrassment.
His face was hot all the way down to his neck, and he cast a panicked glance at the sofa.

Thankfully, his phone was dark and silent.

“Why are you freezing up so badly?

You’re a guy—masturbating isn’t a crime.”

Even as he said it with that pretty eye-smile, Eun-gyeol somehow looked incredibly irritated.

Han-geon was so embarrassed his mind went completely blank.

He tried once more to wave his hands and spit out some kind of excuse, but Eun-gyeol spoke first.

“Too bad, Han-geon.

If you were an omega, I could’ve… helped you out a little.”

“…What?”

Han-geon’s thoughts stopped dead.

Cha Eun-gyeol messing with people’s heads wasn’t anything new—he did it all the time.

But this time, Han-geon couldn’t even begin to understand what he meant.

“I’m joking.

Relax your face.”

Eun-gyeol came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The moment it touched him, Han-geon involuntarily flinched at how hot that hand was.

“Why are you making such a stiff face?

It’s not like I said I’d have s*x with you.

I just meant—I could’ve let out some pheromones for you or something.”

“…What… kind of bullshit is that.”

Han-geon barely managed to force the words out, carefully trying to keep his voice from trembling.

Cha Eun-gyeol had no idea—absolutely no idea—how deeply his words hit Han-geon.

Han-geon knew he’d spend days, weeks, even months chewing on that one throwaway line.

He’d hurt alone, get mad at himself alone, get happy over nothing, get thrown off balance, and then try to pull himself together again… repeating the same cycle he’d gone through for the past seventeen years.

And now he was going to repeat it all over again.

And it was something Eun-gyeol would never know—not in this life, not ever.

“Yeah.

It’s just bullshit coming from an asshole.

Don’t mind it.”

With a lazy sigh, Eun-gyeol slumped back onto the sofa and continued speaking, irritation bleeding through his voice.

“Today was that manager bastard’s last day, and I overheard him muttering in the bathroom, you know?

Calling me a son of a b*tch.

Ha.”

“…”

“He conveniently left out the part where he screwed up… pathetic idiot.”

Eun-gyeol’s half-lowered eyes were sharp.

So that was it—he was in a bad mood again today.

Han-geon forgot his earlier panic and was about to comfort him like usual when—

“Ha… this is shit.

The team leader bodyguard quit today too.”

“What?

That hyung… why?

He’s been with you forever!”

Han-geon’s eyes widened.

Managers came and went, but the team leader bodyguard had been there since the early days without any major issues.

Eun-gyeol scowled and muttered.

“He got hurt.

Traffic accident.

I’m on the way back from visiting him with the chief manager.”

“Oh… I see.

Damn.

Is he badly hurt?”

“Just a minor collision.

Not serious, but he says he wants to take a break while he’s at it.”

Leaning back diagonally, staring into empty air, Eun-gyeol let out a dry sigh.

“That’s… rough.

Losing both your manager and your bodyguard at the same time… you must be really stressed.”

At the awkward, fumbling attempt at comfort, Eun-gyeol scrubbed his hands over his face in irritation.

The eyes peeking through his fingers were darker and more dangerous than usual.

“Ugh, I’m seriously in a f*cking awful mood.

The chief manager nagged the entire ride back.

Took so much effort for him to dance around saying my personality is shit without actually saying it.”

“…”

“He asked how many managers I’ve gone through already, said people are starting to talk.

Said they feel awkward hiring a new one now, and told me to find someone if I know anyone.

Like—f*ck, what the hell am I supposed to do?

Why are they dumping their job on me?”

From what Han-geon had heard up until now, neither the agency CEO nor the chief manager usually said anything too harsh to Eun-gyeol.

Eun-gyeol’s market value was climbing every day, and it was only a matter of time before he’d cement his place as one of Korea’s top actors.

For them to say something like that to him, they must’ve really hit their limit too.

Honestly, going through that many managers in such a short period was the perfect recipe for an “attitude controversy.”

Even if Han-geon found his friend adorable no matter what, that didn’t stop him from understanding the agency’s struggles better than anyone.

“The more I think about it, the more insane it sounds.

What?

They want me to go find my own manager?

f*ck, what do they take me for….”

Eun-gyeol’s angry rant cut off abruptly.

The sharp glare fueled by irritation stopped right on Han-geon.

He blinked slowly, staring with a flat, unreadable expression.

Han-geon swallowed hard.

Eun-gyeol kept looking at him—quietly, steadily—for a long moment.

As if deep in thought, holding a gaze that Han-geon couldn’t decipher at all, until finally, Eun-gyeol opened his mouth.

“…Han-geon.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were going to quit your job, right?”

“Uh… yeah. Why?”

Eun-gyeol’s lips curved into a bright, refreshed smile.

His eyes gleamed with a spark of excitement.

“Then—how about you become my manager?”

“…What?”

For a moment, Han-geon couldn’t help doubting his own ears.

He blinked blankly before managing to ask back in a trembling voice.

“I—I’m sorry, what?

Your… manager?”

“Yeah.

That’d work perfectly.

And of course you’d double as my bodyguard too.”

Unlike Han-geon, who was frozen with shock, Eun-gyeol looked increasingly radiant.

His eyes shimmered with lively energy, and a faint blush tinged his beautiful cheeks.

Other than when he was acting, it was rare to see him look this happy.

“My manager and bodyguard.

What do you think?”

“W–what are you even talking about?

How am I supposed to do both?

And I don’t know a damn thing about being a manager!”

Han-geon’s eyes widened as he frantically waved his hands.

Being Eun-gyeol’s bodyguard was something he’d always dreamed about—but being his manager was an entirely different story.

But the spark in Eun-gyeol’s eyes refused to fade.

‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’

he muttered to himself again and again as he shot to his feet and paced the room.

Then, with quick steps, he strode straight toward Han-geon and grabbed his rough hand.

“It’s fine.

You just have to do your usual bodyguard work.

The schedule stuff and contract negotiations—those big things are all handled by the CEO and the director.

As a manager, all you have to do is keep doing what you already do.”

“…Do what, exactly?”

“Take care of me.

You’re good at that.”

His gentle, honey-soft voice continued, almost temptingly.

“Han-geon, I tell you all the time—if my managers knew even one-tenth of what you know about me, we wouldn’t have any problems.”

“…Still…”

Han-geon hesitated, biting at his lower lip.

But Eun-gyeol didn’t look away.

Whenever he wanted something, he became frighteningly persistent, and this was no exception.

His eyebrows dipped slightly, and the earnest way he looked at Han-geon—just meeting his gaze was enough to make Han-geon’s chest tighten.

“You’re the only one who really knows me, Han-geon.

Who in this world could possibly know me better than you?”