As expected, there was a staff member who looked like a secretary sitting in front of the office. Haejun immediately bowed and handed her a coffee as well. Like a salesman who’d come to push some product, he bent at the waist and let an easy, friendly smile spill out. It was practically a reflex. Every woman looked like a potential client, and his body turned submissive before he even thought about it.

“Please wait a moment.”

The secretary spoke kindly and gestured toward the sofa. Haejun sat upright, placing both hands neatly on his knees and straightening his spine. Even though he’d called ahead, maybe he’d been too impulsive coming over while Lee Kangjoo was working. What if he was just getting in the way? He’d rushed over because he wanted to see him so badly.

To calm himself, he deliberately looked around. Nothing had changed except for the secretary. The sofa was the same, and the massive fish inside the giant aquarium still swam leisurely in its tank. It might’ve gotten thicker and longer, though.

Before long, the office door opened. Haejun’s lips split into a grin. He covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat, trying to hide it, but his nostrils flared and the corners of his mouth kept lifting. Not wanting to look like an idiot, he bit the inside of his cheek hard to compose himself.

But the person who stepped out wasn’t Lee Kangjoo.

He was shorter than Kangjoo, but still tall like a pole, with the build of a wrestling athlete. From the body alone, he looked like the type to beat someone senseless, but the thick-rimmed glasses made him look like an ordinary office worker.

Haejun’s face, which had been brightening, stiffened awkwardly at the sight of a stranger. The man spotted him first and raised his brows.

“Well, if it isn’t that kid from before.”

“Pardon?”

It had been a while since anyone called him “kid.” Having no clue who the man was, Haejun just sat there blankly while the man burst out laughing.

“Come on. The one who tried to jump off the bridge.”

There had been someone else that day besides Lee Kangjoo. Thinking back carefully, there had been a driver. This must be him.

Haejun clenched his fists. It wasn’t exactly something that needed to stay hidden, but realizing a stranger had witnessed it made him wary.

“What brings you here? Not like a kid your age needs a loan.”

The man leaned his arm over the back of the sofa and asked casually. He smiled as if to show he wasn’t scary, but the seams of his shirt straining against his muscles and the scar twisting across his face only made him look more menacing.

“I came to see the CEO.”

“And why would you be seeing the CEO?”

“Well...”

He couldn’t exactly say that Lee Kangjoo had bought him that day with cash, nor could he explain the long story that followed. He worried that saying the wrong thing might tarnish Lee Kangjoo’s name. Shifting awkwardly on the sofa, he hesitated—

“He ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) says he doesn’t want to answer. Why are you grilling him? Aren’t you leaving?”

Lee Kangjoo appeared like a savior.

The man shrugged and took his arm off the sofa.

“I was just curious since that kid from back then suddenly showed up. A hidden son... though the age gap’s not quite right for that. Maybe your nephew, CEO?”

He tilted his head and studied Haejun, looking for any resemblance.

“No. If the CEO had gotten into trouble early enough, he could’ve been a son—”

“—Ah!”

Before he could finish, the man bent over clutching his shin and dropped to the floor. It had happened so suddenly that Haejun craned his neck in confusion. Lee Kangjoo casually drew his foot back, as if preparing to kick him again. The man immediately stopped groaning and shot to his feet.

“I’ll be on my way right now.”

“Why do you only listen after getting hit?”

“I’m sorry.”

The man bowed at a perfect ninety degrees and scurried out of the reception room like someone being chased. The secretary merely glanced over, clearly used to this, then returned her eyes to the monitor.

Haejun, who’d been staring blankly, suddenly remembered something and looked around. His gaze landed on the drink carrier.

“Ah, yours is here, CEO.”

He’d bought tea instead of coffee for Lee Kangjoo. He took it out and handed it over, and Lee Kangjoo accepted it without protest. Smirking to himself, Haejun slid the desserts closer to him as well. He’d carefully chosen them, keeping in mind that Kangjoo didn’t particularly like flour-heavy sweets.

“Have you eaten?”

Lee Kangjoo didn’t even glance at the desserts. He only sipped his tea and asked.

Haejun quickly checked the clock on the wall. It was past three in the afternoon.

He’d quieted his hunger earlier with a triangle kimbap Yohan had tossed him and had been running deliveries nonstop since. It had counted as breakfast and lunch combined, so he was about to say he’d eaten—

His stomach growled loudly, protesting that it wasn’t enough. It was loud enough that even the secretary, who had been typing, turned around.

“I did eat, but...”

He grabbed his traitorous stomach. Of all times, why did it have to make that pathetic noise in front of Lee Kangjoo?

“Perfect. I haven’t eaten yet either.”

“Until this hour?”

“I’ve been busy.”

Lee Kangjoo draped an arm over Haejun’s shoulder. The hand gripping his opposite shoulder was firm, as if it would never let go no matter what. Haejun’s head slowly dipped like ripened rice. The pale nape of his neck flushed pink.

“Make a reservation at Cheongundam for two. We’ll arrive in thirty minutes.”

After instructing the secretary, Lee Kangjoo walked out of the office leisurely with Haejun tucked against his side. Even in the elevator, the arm over his shoulder didn’t come down. He simply tilted his head slightly toward Haejun and stared indifferently at the descending floor numbers.

Haejun fidgeted his fingers together and stole glances at him in the elevator’s mirror-like wall.

They hadn’t known each other that long, but now he could read subtle changes in Lee Kangjoo’s expression. The smile looked the same as always, yet there was a tiny difference—like a high-level spot-the-difference puzzle. The angle of his lips. The way his gaze seemed thicker, heavier, like honey.

“CEO, did something good happen today?”

He asked with confidence. Working as a host had sharpened his ability to read customers’ expressions and moods. Lee Kangjoo was definitely in a good mood.

“No. Why?”

The answer was unexpected. Haejun’s gaze dropped.

“It just seems like you’re in a good mood.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Your smile is a little different from usual.”

He didn’t know how to describe that expression, as if humming might spill out at any moment. Instead of fumbling for words, Haejun lifted the corners of his own mouth with two fingers, curling them upward like fern sprouts, then awkwardly let go.

“Was I smiling like that?”

“With a bit of exaggeration.”

“So I was grinning like a clown.”

“No! Not like that.”

“Feels like it.”

Haejun waved both hands, vehemently denying it. Lee Kangjoo’s smile deepened. It was the kind of smile that carried a scent.

Had he smiled like this before? Had Haejun just never noticed? Or was Lee Kangjoo simply in an unusually good mood?

Haejun stared as if frozen in time, mouth slightly open, until the elevator dinged and jolted him back to reality.

Even as he was dragged along tucked under Lee Kangjoo’s arm like a briefcase, his mind wandered elsewhere. He hadn’t put on his seatbelt, so Lee Kangjoo leaned across him personally to fasten it, and the back of his neck burned red.

The road and time to the restaurant stretched longer than taffy. Haejun kept staring out the window. The moment he looked at Lee Kangjoo directly, he knew he’d be hopelessly captivated.

* * *

The restaurant they arrived at was a quiet traditional house on the outskirts of the city. Even the crunch of black gravel underfoot sounded different from the usual city noise.

After handing the car over for valet parking, they passed through the main gate. A staff member dressed in elegant hanbok guided them. She clearly recognized Lee Kangjoo and greeted him warmly, saying it had been a while. He responded with a gentle-looking smile and a slight nod.

Throughout the walk, Haejun looked around. A pond where koi swam leisurely. Low stone lanterns. Pine trees with reddish trunks lined up like street trees. The garden bathed in soft afternoon sunlight felt like an entirely separate world from the one he lived in.

They were led into a private building and left alone. It was an independent space where outside chatter couldn’t be heard—where no conversation would leak out.

Since a reservation had already been made, the food arrived without delay. On the table that stretched between Haejun and Lee Kangjoo like the Han River, golden brass dishes were laid out endlessly. It was refined and abundant.

“Go ahead.”

Even with permission, there were so many dishes that Haejun didn’t know which one to touch first. Like someone sitting on a cushion that wasn’t his, he just stared at the table awkwardly. His empty stomach ached, saliva pooling in his mouth, yet he felt like he shouldn’t reach out recklessly.