chapter 27

Shin Tae-oh rushed into the studio and, upon spotting Yoo Jin-hyeon, approached him with heavy footsteps, as if he was about to pound the ground.

"Yoo Jin-hyeon!!."

Yoo Jin-hyeon, who was focused on something, didn't even bother to turn around and greeted him.

"You're here."

"Where's Secretary Ahn? What have you done to Secretary Ahn?"

"What do you mean?"

Even though Yoo Jin-hyeon tried to reason him with his innocent face, Shin Tae-oh glared at him suspiciously.

"Did you forget that you fooled me with that nonsense about having a good subject? If you had any intention of taking pictures of Secretary Ahn, you should have given up on it from the start."

"That's what I thought. But it wasn't nonsense. Se-hyeon is genuinely fine."

"If you have such personal feelings towards someone else's secretary..."

Before Shin Tae-oh could argue whether it was nonsense or not, something was pushed in front of him.

"It's already taken."

Yoo Jin-hyeon added, looking at Shin Tae-oh, who was fixated on the photo.

"A passport photo?."

Taking the photo obediently from Yoo Jin-hyeon's hand, Shin Tae-oh looked at Se-hyeon's passport photo. It couldn't be compared to the photo with his features blurred that was initially submitted on his resume or the hastily taken photo for a last-minute change.

As he looked at the passport photo that captured Se-hyeon's features well, Shin Tae-oh was strangely captivated by a peculiar feeling.

"Even though Se-hyeon has a good face, it's difficult to capture it in a photo. The emphasis on the facial features can change depending on how the lighting is set. For example, from the front, the bridge of the nose may not appear prominent, but from the side, it's a different story. So, using lighting to create shadows on the bridge of the nose..." Yoo Jin-hyeon, pretending to know Se-hyeon well after taking his photo, kept rambling on.

The passport photo turned out so well that Yoo jin-hyeon could even boast about it, but Shin Tae-oh didn't listen at all. In fact, his expression was getting worse.

"Who... asked for my secretary's photo?"

"What? Hey, even if Se-hyeon is your secretary, you have the freedom to take a photo like this."

"So what? Are you trying to push me away and help him find a job elsewhere?"

As Shin Tae-oh angrily voiced his frustration, Yoo Jin-hyeon was about to retort, but then he belatedly remembered the purpose of the passport photo.

"Oh, really? Should I invite him to my studio then? I've been looking for someone as capable as Se-hyeon."

As Yoo Jin-hyeon mentioned it while stroking his chin, Shin Tae-oh leaned in closely, pressing his face against Yoo Jin-hyeon's.

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't get so close. I can smell your pheromones."

Although Shin tae-oh didn't actually emit any pheromones, Yoo Jin-hyeon pushed

Shin Tae-oh's shoulder with his finger.

"When the resume with this photo attached starts circulating, I won't just let it slide."

"You think that's funny? How are you going to deal with me?"

Yoo Jin-hyeon smirked, seemingly mocking Shin Tae-oh's threats. His confident attitude, as if asking how Shin Tae-oh would dare to do anything, only fueled Shin Tae-oh's annoyance.

"Of course, I'll make sure you... hate…"

Shin Tae-oh started but wasn't able to finish his sharp tone threat, as he noticed something Yoo jin-hyeon presented.

It was already the second time. The first time was when Shin Tae-oh stopped speaking after looking at the passport photo, and now... The photo he received this time depicted Se-hyeon crossing his legs and loosening his necktie. Just the slight deviation from his usually neat appearance was enough to change the

image significantly.

As Shin Tae-oh tilted his head, it felt as if he was looking at someone unfamiliar within the shadows on their face. Unable to take his eyes off the photo, Yoo Jin-hyeon confidently showed him another picture,

as if he had expected Shin Tae-oh's reaction.

From a frontal photo to various angles, it was Se-hyeon captured in different poses. Unlike the passport photo, it fully conveyed his unique atmosphere.

Shin Tae-oh behaved as if he was completely engrossed in the photo. Yoo Jin-hyeon, thinking that he had successfully captivated Shin Tae-oh, boldly said, "Don't want a profile picture?"

"How did you take this?"

Shin Tae-oh asked with a noticeably gentle expression, unlike before. Seeing that, Yoo Jinhyeon smirked and shook the photo playfully.

"Do you want it?"

"Will you give it to me if we renew the contract?"

"That's a given."

Yoo Jin-hyeon crossed his arms as if saying, "You should know that." The situation had

changed.

"Take as much wine as you want from my house."

Yoo Jin-hyeon handed over the photo without any hesitation. While watching Shin Tae-oh, who couldn't take his eyes off the photo, Yoo Jin-hyeon asked.

"Have you changed your mind?"

Upon hearing the question of whether he went by Ahn Se-hyeon instead of Yoo Jin-ha, Shin Tae-oh raised his head.

"It hasn't changed."

"Not changed? You little punk. You've been pretending to be my brother all this time, and now you're lying?

"I didn't fully realize my own feelings. It's not that things have changed, I just found my place."

"Nonsense."

Yoo Jin-hyeon condensed Shin Tae-oh's words into a single retort. If it hadn't been for the fact that Yoo Jin-ha had turned away after dating him, he wouldn't have let it go this easily.

"Well, now that it's come to this, just go with it. Even though I don't like that Ha Min-hyuk guy, well, dating is something people do themselves. Look, there's your secretary coming out."

As Yoo Jin-hyeon looked at Se-hyeon coming out from inside, Shin Tae-oh calmly put the two photos in his pocket and turned away as if nothing had happened.

"Secretary Ahn."

Yoo Jin-hyeon, who was displeased with Shin Tae-oh's audacious behaviour that seemed ingrained in his nature, smiled subtly.

"That's the revenge I wanted to tell you about but held back last time."

Yoo Jin-hyeon looked pleased as he saw something Se-hyeon brought out. They had enjoyed themselves enough; now it was time to get to work.

***

"What i have done?"

Se-hyeon sighed, recalling the deal he had made with Yoo Jin-hyeon.

Originally, he had no intention of taking profile pictures. But....

Before taking pictures

"I'll refuse." Se-hyeon refused yoo jin-hyeon  proposal about taking some other pictures.

"Why?"

"A business card photo should suffice."

'What's the point of taking a profile picture anyway? Most guys don't bother taking them' Se-hyeon wondered what excuse he would come up with.

Frankly, he couldn't understand why Yoo Jin-hyeon was so insistent on taking his picture. As if he was looking for a subject to photograph, wouldn't Shin Tae-oh be the best choice?

Among the people Se-hyeon had seen, Shin Tae-oh was the most handsome with the best proportions. While Ha Min-hyuk, Yoo Jin-ha, and even the person he saw last time, Ha Jinseong, were all decent-looking, in Se-hyeon's opinion, Shin Tae-oh was the most attractive with the best proportions.

"I've never taken pictures of anyone since I was young except one...."

The vague ending of Yoo Jin-hyeon's words made it abundantly clear that he wanted attention from Se-hyeon.

"As you know, Se-hyeon, Tae-oh has a decent face. That's why I took a few pictures of him. But he didn't have as many expressions when he was younger. It was rare to catch him smiling, and I happened to capture that."

Se-hyeon wondered what point Yoo Jin-hyeon was trying to make with all this.

"Let's exchange that with your photo. Photo for photo, how about it?"

And Se-hyeon's response to Yoo Jin-hyeon's barter was...

****

'Am I going crazy?'

What's the point of needing Shin Tae-oh's childhood pictures when Se-hyeon knows him well enough?

Regardless of whatever excuse came to mind, what mattered was that se-hyeon eventually accepted. If he hadn't seen Shin Tae-oh's recent perplexed state, he would have never agreed. He believed that seeing Shin Tae-oh as portrayed in the original work was more than enough.

'What's done is done.'

Shin Tae-oh's album was already in his hands.

"Secretary Ahn."

Se-hyeon, who was bowing his head while looking at the album, immediately raised it upon hearing Shin Tae-oh's voice.

"Boss."

"Have you checked everything?"

"Ah, yes."

Se-hyeon slid the album to his side and handed Shin Tae-oh the documents to review.

"Here they are."

"Any special notes?"

"No, there aren't any."

While Shin Tae-oh was reviewing the documents one by one, Se-hyeon pondered what to do with the album he was holding as if it were insignificant. It didn't seem appropriate to leave it lying around where someone might see it. However, carrying it around all day seemed inconvenient, and if Shin Tae-oh asked about it, that would be awkward too.

"What's that you're holding on the side?"

There was no need to carry it around all day. Se-hyeon slightly shifted his upper body to hide the album from Shin Tae-oh as he asked about it.

"Oh, it's nothing. There's no need to hide it."

Perhaps Shin Tae-oh might have already heard about it from Yoo Jin-hyeon.

At the opportune moment when Se-hyeon was about to speak, he noticed Yoo Jin-hyeon swinging his arm behind Shin Tae-oh, pointed at Shin Tae-oh and made a gesture as if taking a picture, then nodded his head.

'Shin Tae-oh, a photo, right?'

Se-hyeon combined the pieces of what Yoo Jin-hyeon intended to say, pondered for a

moment, and nodded his head. It could be interpreted as not mentioning anything about taking photos of Shin Tae-oh.

Therefore, there was no need to explicitly disclose the album.

"I received a gift."

"...A gift?"

Although it wasn't much of a gift to call it that since it was in exchange for taking his picture, Se-hyeon still decided to play along by calling it a gift, hoping to avoid further probing.

Just as Se-hyeon was relieved, he heard Shin Tae-oh's excited and curious question.

"A gift... Do you like it or gifts?" It was clear from his expression that he was cooking something  in his head.

".….."

-----------------------------------------------------------------Hope you guys liking the story so far enjoy ^⁠_⁠^