chapter 13

After stopping by the café and finding a brief respite, the two of them sat at a small table meant for two. With only two chairs available and the table being compact, it provided limited space.

As a result, Tae-oh, standing at 190 centimeters, and Se-hyeon, at 183 centimeters, had no place to put their legs. They had to twist their bodies and bend their legs inward to avoid protruding outside.

Se-hyeon observed Tae-oh as he sipped his coffee. Whether it was due to the stronger aroma of the coffee compared to regular cafés or the quiet atmosphere, a certain expression crossed Tae-oh's face...

He looked like a satisfied cat.

"This place is quite nice. How did you find it?"

"I searched for it."

"Ah... There was an easy way."

As Tae-oh tilted his coffee cup gently, it seemed as if the coffee might spill over.

What kind of antics are these for grown adults to be doing?

Unable to resist the urge, Se-hyeon silently grabbed a napkin.

"Indeed, you can't take your eyes off me. My secretary."

Tae-oh smirked as he looked at the napkin in Se-hyeon's hand.

"If I spill my coffee, will you wipe my fingers?"

"I'm sorry. It's for wiping the table."

"Ah... the table. The table is more important than me, huh?"

Tae-oh's gaze shifted to the table. It was a table that was smaller and cuter for the two men sitting across from each other.

"Should I buy you one?"

"No, you can have it."

Se-hyeon lowered his head as he watched Tae-oh scrutinize the details of the table.

"It's not because the table is important. It's to keep the place where the CEO passed by to clean."

If someone recognized Tae-oh and saw coffee stains on the table where he had been, it could affect his image.

As a secretary, Se-hyeon also had to take care of the CEO's external image.

Fortunately, Tae-oh, the man he served, had a decent and respectable personality, so Se-hyeon didn't feel any qualms about caring for his image.

"Is that so?"

With Se-hyeon's response, Tae-oh deliberately tilted his cup further. Unlike before, where he didn't intend to spill anything, the coffee now spilled relentlessly, cascading down. Se-hyeon

internally sighed as he watched it trickle down his fingers and land on the table.

'Why is he doing this, really.'

Even if Se-hyeon tried to see the good side, Tae-oh always managed to create such situations. The thought of him being decent was immediately cancelled. He was just an immature adult who couldn't behave properly.

Nevertheless, Se-hyeon wiped the table with the prepared napkin. Since only a few drops had spilt, it was quickly taken care of. Then, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wrapped Tae-oh's fingers. The handkerchief, folded in a square shape, couldn't fully cover Tae-oh's longer fingers, causing the edges to stick out. Dealing with someone who required attention twice was even more bothersome.

"Wipe it."

"The problem is with the secretary."

Tae-oh didn't take the handkerchief away, nor did he remove his hand. He simply glanced at the handkerchief and subtly pointed out Se-hyeon's flaw.

"The secretary is just doing what a secretary should do, but it really... shakes people."

Se-hyeon, in place of the motionless Tae-oh, wiped the coffee stains off his hand and put the handkerchief back into his pocket. Then, he cleared the coffee cup that seemed to have no intention of being consumed and returned to meet Tae-oh's gaze.

"I will continue to work hard in the future."

As Se-hyeon was about to give an appropriate response to Tae-oh's previous statement, Tae-oh briefly looked at him before taking a step forward.

"Yeah, I'm currently having a crush on Jin-ha."

And his muttered words seemed to carry a hint of frustration as if he was expressing his discontent about Se-hyeon pretending not to know.

Se-hyeon, following in Tae-oh's footsteps, stared intently at his back.

It's really strange. How could someone who used to like Yoo Jin-ha suddenly have a change of heart like this? The Tae-oh he knows genuinely had feelings for Jin-ha...

"This café isn't great. Let's find another place. Shall we go?"

***

"I'm sick, and you won't really call me?" Yoo Jin-ha lamented, staring at the motionless phone lying on the bed. He had been eagerly waiting for a call from his lover, hoping for any kind of response, but the phone remained silent, refusing to show any signs of life.

After receiving a phone call from an acquaintance claiming to have seen Ha Min-hyuk, his lover, at a hotel on the day they were supposed to meet, Yoo Jin-ha rushed over, only to arrive too late. Ha Min-hyuk was nowhere to be found, leaving Yoo Jin-ha with a bitter

disappointment. And now, there was nothing. Yoo Jin-ha had been going back and forth between his home and work, and when he fell ill, he took some time off and rested.

"I'm sick, and you won't really call me?" he repeated, his voice filled with a mix of frustration and longing.

The aftermath of the fight lingered longer than expected. He couldn't pinpoint where things went wrong. Right now, he just wanted to see Ha Min-hyuk and sleep with him while inhaling his pheromones...

Yoo Jin-ha turned his head to the side and looked at the box on the desk. It was a gift from Tae-oh hyung, who always conveyed his feelings to him but he had never accepted it before, not even once, but this time he did.

Being alone, repeatedly going up and down with a fever, drenched in sweat and exhausted, no one came to comfort him, which made him to feel sorrowful and lonely, so he accepted it. Because Tae-oh was the only person who reached out to him today. Because he was always the one who expressed his feelings to him consistently.

"I should return it."

Jin-ha impulsively accepted it and realized it later. Pretending not to know anything and accepting it would be something he shouldn't do to Tae-oh hyung, so he should return it.

"When will I give it back?"

When Yoo Jin-ha tapped on the phone, the dark expression on his face brightened. He hesitated to make the call, even though he had found the number saved as 'Tae-oh hyung.'

"What should I say?"

The thought of disappointing his hyung made it impossible for him to make the call. If he had known it would turn out like this, he shouldn't have accepted it in the first place.

After a moment of contemplation, Yoo Jin-ha erased Tae-oh's name and searched for another person's name.

Since Tae-oh always sent gifts through his secretary, maybe he could return it through the secretary?

***

As Se-hyeon turned off the engine upon entering the parking lot, Tae-oh pointed to his phone.

"A call from the secretary."

Since it was placed on the holder, the name appeared on the screen.

In the era of technology, typing errors happened frequently.

"It says '4-Lee Jin-ho, Secretary Office

Manager.'"

"Yes."

"There's not even a space."

He saved it comfortably, knowing that only he needed to recognize it. Did Tae-oh never see it before? He wondered but then realized that recently, they had only been sitting together in the passenger seat like this.

"However you save it, it's your own preference... But what's with the '4'?"

"I apologize. I'll answer the call."

"Sure."

Se-hyeon was bothered by the vibrating sound as it rang, so he picked up the phone casually. While answering the call as if nothing was amiss, he sent a gaze to Tae-oh, indicating that he could go ahead first. Of course, if Tae-oh got out, Se-hyeon planned to get out of the car and follow him.

"Yes, Director. I'm going up now. Yes. Yes."

Until the call ended, Tae-oh didn't move, and eventually, an awkward silence settled between them as the call ended with a beep.

Why is he still sitting here when there's no need for him to wait? Does he have something to say? Se-hyeon looked at Tae-oh with various thoughts in his mind.

"I'll go ahead."

Just as Se-hyeon was about to get out of the car, Tae-oh asked,

"I'm curious about the '4'."

Tae-oh's reaction to the unanswered question from earlier came to him. It's nothing important... but it could sound strange if he were to give it meaning.

Se-hyeon got out of the car and turned back towards the passenger seat. He then opened the door and waited for Tae-oh to come out.

"I asked twice, but not answering implies that there's a significant meaning behind it."

"It's not important."

"But by not telling me..."

Why is he so persistent?

Se-hyeon held back the urge to say that he didn't need to know and replied: "It's the fourth. I won't disclose the meaning behind it."

"By saying that, it makes me even more curious."

"I apologize. It's personal reasons."

As Se-hyeon abruptly cut off any further discussion, Tae-oh narrowed his eyes for a moment but eventually nodded his head. He obediently got out of the car and stood next to Se-hyeon.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I'm an only child."

"In that case... your parents would be the first and second."

He's quick-witted.

Without even knowing the actual meaning, he immediately jumps to the parents. Se-hyeon resolved to hide the true meaning even more. As they entered the CEO's office, the deputy office manager who had been waiting for them approached.

"The meeting preparations are complete."

"Is that so?"

"Shall we go directly to the conference room, then?"

At the chief secretary's question, Se-hyeon quietly stepped aside. From now on, the chief secretary would accompany Tae-oh.

Tae-oh turned away from the entrance to the CEO's office and headed towards the elevator with the chief secretary.

"However..."

"Please proceed."

"Have you ever encountered a situation in your life where you were the fourth?"

"Yes?"

Ignoring the puzzled expression of the chief secretary who didn't understand, Tae-oh stepped into the elevator first. The secretary, who entered the elevator belatedly, looked at Se-hyeon before the doors closed. Se-hyeon turned his head without saying a word, avoiding the

questioning gaze.

"I can never say it."

He couldn't possibly disclose the rankings of the people he has come to cherish in this world.

Se-hyeon was sitting at his desk, ready to work until the end of the meeting, just as he was about to grab the mouse. The phone started ringing. Recognizing the vibration as a phone call, he turned his head. And as he tried to confirm who the caller

was, the thought of answering the call wasn't the first to come to mind...

"Why did he call?"

That was the initial question that popped up.

It was Yoo Jin-ha.