episode_0131

After probing here and there, Kim Taehyun, who only seemed to grow more guarded, continued to evade my questions.

“Who is it? Tell me. Someone from work?”

“No, sir. It’s really not like that.”

“Aish~ It doesn’t seem like nothing. Your face is all red right now.”

“Oh, it’s just because the car is a bit hot.”

“You turned on the air conditioning to the max? Is this a subtle way of saying I was being inconsiderate?”

“No, it’s not that… Anyway, please stop. Even if you’re the boss, these questions make me uncomfortable.”

Despite his firm refusal and serious expression, I had to stop probing further and just leave it at that.

“….”

“….”

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Feeling sorry for something, I was about to speak when Kim Taehyun, thinking he might have been too serious, glanced at me.

And then…

– Ring ring~

The sound of a ringing phone.

Without needing to check whose phone it was, I saw the notification on the car’s center display (where the navigation appears), indicating it was my phone.

The notification displayed a name along with the phone number, confirming it was a number saved in my phone, and that number belonged to…

– Click

As I pressed the call button, the voice of the caller immediately came through.

“Hey, you said you’d come visit soon, but I haven’t heard from you.”

With a somewhat casual tone and a familiar voice calling me, it was my longtime buddy of nearly 30 years, Kim Cheolsu.

“Hey, Cheolsu. How have you been?”

“How have I been? Hey, how can you be so heartless towards people? Huh? At least. Give me a call first and all that.”

It had already been a month since we went to the alumni gathering.

Time really flies.

I suddenly thought.

“Sorry. I’ve been busy with a project lately.”

I said, currently on my way home at 6 o’clock.

“Hey, I can hear you’re in the car right now.”

This guy is so quick-witted…

“Sorry, didn’t I say sorry? Anyway, what’s up?”

With Kim Taehyun listening next to me, unless it was urgent, I wanted to end the call quickly.

Subconsciously, I pressed the call button on the screen, but I was anxious about what this brash guy might say in a personal call, rather than work-related.

“It’s nothing. Just come visit like I said.”

Huh? He called just for that?

“Hey, you psycho. You may not know since you’re a workaholic, but when friends call, it’s not about work, it’s just a simple conversation. Got it?”

“Tsk!”

As expected, this brash guy flaunted his brash tone, and Kim Taehyun, who had been silently listening, chuckled.

“…Laughing?”

As I looked at Kim Taehyun with a serious expression, he quickly covered his mouth and turned his head.

Meanwhile, Cheolsu asked.

“Hey, is there someone else in the car?”

I sighed deeply and replied.

“Yeah. Thanks to you, my authority as a boss has been completely undermined. I’m really grateful.”

“Tsk! Authority my foot. If you’re so immersed in work and don’t get an ulcer, consider yourself lucky.”

“Ha! Haha!”

Kim Taehyun chuckled again.

“Hey, is it a guy this time?”

This time, not only the breath but also the gender was deduced by Cheolsu.

“Oh, um. For now.”

“What do you mean ‘for now’? If it’s a guy, it’s a guy, if it’s a girl, it’s a girl. Oh, you might be a special case. Is that it?”

“No, where am I a special case? Just the youngest employee in our team. A guy. I give him a ride every day because his house is close to mine.”

“Oh, hello.”

Kim Taehyun awkwardly greeted him.

– “Hello. It’s not our Dohyun… but Doyeon who owes me a lot.”

“Hey, who are you to call me our Doyeon? And what do you mean by owing…”

“Hahaha, no, it’s not like that. I’m just learning a lot. Really.”

– “Hmm. Well, I guess it’s a bit awkward to talk openly in front of the boss. I understand. Hehe.”

Unlike Kim Taehyun, who seemed uncomfortable and awkward during their first conversation, Cheolsu was at ease and I still hadn’t gotten used to it. If I haven’t understood something for 30 years, I should consider that I may never understand it. Yeah.

– “Yeah, come over to our house sometime. We have a bar, you know. I’ll buy a few drinks, so come over. It’s not big, but a lot of company employees come by, and the snacks are famous for being delicious. Well… half of it is the result of that guy doing some consulting-like work.”

Seeing him refer to himself as “hyung” and casually dropping his words, it seems like I am who I am.

I’m sure my MBTI result would be E without a doubt, and my personality type would probably be 90-100% E.

“Haha… sure… I’ll drop by next time.”

A polite refusal.

Cheolsu, as if not wanting to refuse, ended the conversation with him.

And then.

– “Is the speakerphone still on? Is the call still going?”

It seemed like he was about to share something that he couldn’t easily tell others. This guy. What kind of strange thing is he going to say now?

I followed his request and turned on the speakerphone to bring it closer to my ear.

– “So, when will you come over? I hope you can come within this week.”

“Huh? Why? Is there a specific reason why it has to be this week? I’m really busy these days. It might be difficult for me to make it.”

It wasn’t just a casual excuse, he really looked busy. On top of being in charge of a university milk kit project, he had also taken on promotional model-related work, making him feel like he needed two bodies to handle it all.

Since I had never done any modeling work before and never thought I would have to, it was even more challenging.

I wish I had someone to ask for advice, but I would need to know a model in my circle to do that. Even if I did…

Ah, there was Goeun, my potential competitor, who was an actress. I had Kim Sion, the director she partnered with, in my contacts. Maybe he could introduce me to a model, although it wouldn’t be for free.

I should contact him later.

Anyway, despite my polite refusal that I might not be able to go anytime soon due to being busy.

– “Oh, come on. Spare me just this once.”

Huh? What is he talking about now?

“Your problem is your own, why should I spare you? What trouble did you get yourself into this time?”

– “Oh, that… ”

And Cheolsu started explaining.

Due to the nature of his shop located in a densely populated office area, he had various office workers as regular customers, including an employee from a weekly magazine publishing company related to entertainment news.

According to Cheolsu, the magazine had its own reputation and was famous among people he knew, but since I wasn’t interested in that area, it was the first time I had heard of it. But seeing Kim Taehyun next to him understanding, it seemed like Cheolsu’s words were true.

Anyway, while chatting with that regular customer about various things, they happened to talk about the recent premiere of “Hollow Rider,” and naturally, the story of the premiere became a topic of conversation.

It turned out that the person had attended the premiere and showed Cheolsu a photo of a very beautiful person he had seen there.

“Oh? I know this person. Why is this guy here?”

He made such a statement and then went on to tell me all about their relationship and how they were not close at all.

Already on social media, who is she? Such posts continued to circulate and receive a lot of attention. Amidst this, how would he react upon meeting someone who claimed to know his true identity?

It seemed like he would know without even asking, to a frightening extent.

“Sigh… So. Asking to spare my face. What, am I some kind of rare TS syndrome patient who suddenly declared themselves?”

-“No, it’s not exactly like that. Anyway, if you don’t mention it, it’ll just pass by. Come on, tell me, this person seems quite interested in you. How could it not work out?”

He was taken aback at first too. But with that person’s eyes twinkling and pressing him, he couldn’t help it.

“Oh, Mr. Cheolsoo. Please. I’m not asking for much. Just once. Let me see her face. Huh? Huh? I’m begging you. Just once. Please. Huh? Huh?”

“No, that’s not it… Ugh, look. This guy is obviously going to annoy you if you contact him like this. And he’s already busy with some recent work…”

“I’ll adjust to your schedule. Absolutely. So just let me see her. Huh?”

Not a celebrity, just an office worker, and not interested in this kind of thing, he had tried to refuse several times, but still, he kept persisting.

“Just once! After that, I can convince her. If you just do that… um… yes! I’ll make sure our team dinners are always here! Huh?”

“You’re already having them here every time.”

“That’s it! With this much of a regular, can’t you grant this request? Ah, this is too much.”

It seemed like he was one of the big regular customers.

Anyway, he tried to refuse firmly afterward, but his determination was too strong.

“Ugh, okay. Let me try to talk to her.

In the end, he gave in.

“Ugh….”

-“Sorry, buddy. I didn’t expect things to turn out like this. Just come and have a drink with me. Answer the questions, just enough. Honestly, this person has a good personality, so it wouldn’t hurt to know her, right? I was just cautious because of your situation, if you hadn’t changed into a woman, I would have introduced you right away, right?”

“What are you trying to do by pretending to know me there…?”

-“I didn’t know back then. That this person was so interested in you.”

Yeah. But since this guy Cheolsoo wouldn’t introduce me to a serious person, I decided to just go along with it.

“Okay. When should I go?”

-“Tell me when you’re free on a weekday, and I’ll try to make it then.”

I opened my phone calendar, found a day that seemed a bit free, and decided on this Friday as it seemed like the best time.

-“This Friday? Okay, let’s go with that day.”

“Alright. What’s done is done. For now, if you think she’s a good person. Yeah. Just think of it as making a new friend.”

“Yeah. Thanks! See you then.”

After hanging up, I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh from the depths of my heart.

“Uh, are you… okay?”

Kim Taehyun asked with a worried expression.

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired from talking to her, haha.”

I waved my hand as if it was nothing.

Then suddenly,

“Oh, Taehyun. What are you doing this Friday evening?”

“Huh? Um… nothing special.”

“Then… want to have a drink with me?”

“Me, with you?”

Kim Taehyun was surprised by my unexpected offer.

“Be my colleague.”

Kim Taehyun blinked in confusion at my cryptic words.