Chapter 95: A Feeling He Couldn’t Name

After that, they came down together in a slightly awkward atmosphere and reached the parking lot.

Jitae gave a small wave.

“Then get home safely.”

At that moment, Woojoo awkwardly grabbed the collar of his clothes.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“Hm? Oh, I have a schedule. Why, did you have something to say?”

“Huh? No, nothing. Just… get home safely.”

Haha, Woojoo scratched his head with an awkward laugh.

Jitae simply replied, “You too,” and slowly walked toward where his car was.

Watching his back, Woojoo stared blankly at the hand that had just held onto Jitae’s collar.

What was that?

It felt like his body moved before he could even think.

Why did he try to stop him?

They had only met because of work today, and now that it was over, it was natural to go their separate ways.

Just as Woojoo was about to zone out, feeling oddly empty, he received a message from an unexpected person.

After asking Dongha to drop him nearby, Woojoo entered the café whose address he had been sent.

Thanks to the cap Dongha gave him, people didn’t seem to recognize him.

“Wow, you’ve become such a star that you’re hiding your face now?”

Park Hyunjin greeted him with his usual sarcastic tone.

Woojoo sat across from him, raising his middle finger slightly in response.

“But what’s the occasion? You actually contacted me.”

“Oh, I was out for work and got told to go straight home. And since it’s the weekend tomorrow, I thought I’d meet you and tell you something.”

Woojoo took a long sip of the americano Hyunjin had already ordered and stared at his friend, whom he hadn’t seen in almost two months.

For some reason, the way he was grinning stupidly today annoyed him.

If Jitae smiled like that, he’d look like a cute puppy.

“What did you want to say?”

“Don’t be shocked. I… got a girlfriend!”

Hyunjin shouted excitedly.

Woojoo calmly took another sip of coffee without any reaction.

“Is that something so important that I had to hear it on a Friday afternoon?”

“You heartless bastard.”

“Hyunjin, are you sure you’re actually dating? What if it’s just you thinking that? Or maybe you’re confusing it with a dream…”

Hyunjin immediately denied it and showed his phone as proof.

There was indeed a photo of him with a girl.

He even opened an app counting their relationship days—revealing they had already been dating for a month.

“Alright, congrats.”

At Woojoo’s lifeless response, Hyunjin narrowed his eyes.

“So yeah, I’ve been very happy lately. Do you know what it feels like when a one-sided love finally comes true?”

“One-sided love?”

Woojoo repeated, as if hearing it for the first time.

“You… don’t remember what I told you when we drank together before, do you?”

Ah, now that he thought about it, there had been a time when Hyunjin drunkenly talked about love.

Something about liking a coworker.

“You liked her for a year, right?”

“Yeah.”

Normally, Woojoo would’ve just brushed it off with a simple “congrats.”

But this time, he started thinking deeply.

“Hey, what does it feel like to have a one-sided love?”

Hyunjin looked puzzled, then thought seriously.

“Hmm… it feels like going back and forth between heaven and hell because of one person. For a whole year, I thought I’d die from it.”

“Then… what if someone has liked just one person for over ten years?”

“In this day and age? That kind of pure devotion doesn’t exist. If it does, they’re crazy in a different way.”

At those words, Woojoo shut his mouth.

In his mind, the image of that “crazy devoted” Won Jitae slowly appeared.

His face started heating up again.

“But why are you suddenly asking that?”

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He knew better than anyone that Woojoo had zero interest in romance.

It wasn’t like Woojoo lacked popularity either.

Objectively, he was handsome.

Back in high school, with both his skills and looks, he had been quite well-known.

Posts about him used to appear on anonymous school pages—

“Does senior Kang Woojoo have a girlfriend?”

“What’s the name of that handsome volleyball senior?”

But despite confessions, Woojoo never dated anyone.

Even as an adult, nothing changed.

Fans even joked that he might end up marrying a volleyball.

“Just curious.”

But now, this same guy was suddenly showing interest in one-sided love?

Hyunjin couldn’t ignore it.

“Don’t tell me you have a crush on someone?”

Pfft—

Woojoo spat out his coffee.

“What kind of reaction is that? Is it true?”

“N-no! How did you even jump to that conclusion?”

“Well, you suddenly asked about it. But why are you reacting like that? It’s even more suspicious.”

Even when he was wrong, Hyunjin clung on persistently.

Woojoo kept denying it, but Hyunjin didn’t listen.

“I told you it’s not! If anything, it’s not me—it’s him who…”

Woojoo suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Hyunjin, who had been watching like it was a one-man show, widened his eyes.

“Anyway, it’s not, so stop asking.”

Woojoo glanced around nervously.

Even with the cap, he couldn’t ignore the attention of people anymore.

Ever since the show aired, more people had started recognizing him.

Some even mistook him for a rookie celebrity and asked for autographs.

“Fine. Your temper’s gotten worse too. People should see this side of you—then they wouldn’t make such a fuss.”

Said the same guy who once told him not to forget him even if he got famous.

“But I was actually surprised watching the show.”

“About what?”

Despite constantly bickering, Hyunjin had watched every episode since day one.

“The way you and Won Jitae fight—it’s exactly the same as before. It made me realize people can grow physically but not mentally.”

Woojoo had nothing to say to that.

Being with Jitae really did make him feel like he had gone back to those high school days.

And thanks to the relaxed atmosphere created by Sunhyeok and the staff, those raw sides naturally came out.

“But you know what surprised me more?”

“What?”

Woojoo wiped the coffee he had spilled, expecting something trivial.

“I thought you two hated each other.”

That was something people often said in the past.

Since middle school, they had constantly fought, even during matches, making their rivalry intense enough to get scolded by coaches.

“But watching the show, it actually seems like the opposite. Especially Won Jitae—he looks like he really likes you.”

“…What?”

A chill ran down Woojoo’s spine.

Did this guy somehow figure it out?

That Jitae had liked him for over ten years?

“But I didn’t expect it. Maybe he was actually your fan?”

Thankfully, Hyunjin arrived at the wrong conclusion.

Which, in a way, was natural.

Unless one of them were a woman, people wouldn’t easily assume a man liked another man in that way.

“That’s not it. But what made you think that from the show?”

“You didn’t watch it?”

“Well… I’ve been busy.”

He couldn’t exactly say he avoided watching it after their fight.

Hyunjin pulled out his phone.

“Wait, I’ll show you.”

After tapping the screen a few times, he held it out to Woojoo.

It was a comment section under a clip.

From the title, it seemed to be from their poster shoot.

— Kang Woojoo in a suit is insane;;

— Wow, clothes really do make the man. He looks like an actor

— But what’s with Won Jitae’s gaze here

└ He’s been staring ever since Woojoo came out of the waiting room

— His interview cut feels awkward here… did he go look for Woojoo? lol

└ lol no way

└└ If it were anyone else, no—but since it’s Won Jitae… maybe?

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