Vol. 2 Chapter 31: Chapter 31

Vol. 2 Chapter 31:

Translated by Chef

Edited by Chef

Inseop neatly arranged the side dishes one by one in the refrigerator. All of them were side dishes received from Yoon Areum’s mother.

He received a request from Yoon Ahreum to come and look at the cat as the family was all gone today. He asked if he could enter the unoccupied house. No matter how many times he’d met them, it didn’t feel good. Then, Yoon Areum answered with a smile.

‘My father asked for it. You know how to look after them, and Inseop is not that kind of person. You seem to be more concerned about Arthur than anything else.’

Arthur had diarrhea yesterday and they took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with stress. As the environment changed, it seemed that even that small thing was bothering him. Areum said that he eats well and plays well, but she said it would be better to keep an eye on him just in case. Inseop replied that he would.

He spent half a day with the cats like that. He searched and checked Lee Wooyeon’s name in his spare time. He wanted to text him, but stopped because he feared it would interfere with his work. Lee Wooyeon also did not contact him during the day. The time to call him was after he finished his schedule.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Yoon Ahreum’s father returned. He rushed into the room, looked at Arthur’s condition, and asked Inseop to eat and leave with a blunt expression. He thought it would be rude to refuse an adult’s invitation to eat, so Inseop replied that he would.

At dinner, Inseop happened to tell him that both his parents were in the US and he was living alone in Korea. In the end, when he left the house, he was given a full portion of side dishes. He said it was okay, but Yoon Ahreum’s mother handed Inseop a bag with side dishes, saying it was because she remembered her first son who was working in the province. It somehow reminded him of his mother. She also liked to bake and present her cookies or bread to people around her. Unable to hold back any longer, Inseop accepted the envelope.

“How can I repay this favor?”

Looking at the boxes of side dishes piled up one by one, Inseob muttered. Promising that next time he would buy a better present, Inseop closed the refrigerator door.

He took a shower and read a book in bed. The hot evening air streamed in through the open windows. He checked the time. There were about two hours left before the schedule was over.

Inseop sent a text message to CEO Kim.

[Hello. Thank you for your hard work in this hot weather. Can you tell me who’s currently in charge of Lee Wooyeon.]

Anyone in the office knew the name and face roughly. It was because he was working hard on his behalf, so he thought he should go and say hello after the vacation is over.

Shortly thereafter, a text message came.

[Me.]

A cold sweat ran down his back at the short, thick letter. After hesitating, Inseop texted again.

[Are you okay?]

He regretted sending it and asking a useless question. No matter what, he was dating someone else.

The phone rang. It was CEO Kim.

“Hello. CEO.”

Inseop’s voice trembled a little.

When he heard CEO Kim’s voice sinking with fatigue, he felt guilty.

“Sorry. CEO”

He seemed to have told him why he was taking a break. Inseop would rather lie, as Lee Wooyeon would be put in an awkward position if he said no.

“It has improved a lot. Thank you for your concern.”

Lying was something he was still not used to. Seeing as to how his heart aches every time he tells a lie.

Inseop still didn’t know why Lee Woo-yeon asked him to take a break from work for the time being. If it was because he was concerned about her health, he would have let it go altogether.

“A road manager?”

Inseop was surprised and asked back.

It was the first time he heard about it.

“Am I no longer able to work?”

Inseop blinked his eyes. He did not understand why such conditions were applied to finding a manager.

“I’m pretty much fine with anyone.”

He heard the sound of skin slapping on the other side of the phone.

“Be careful. If you get bitten by a mosquito these days, it lasts for a long time.”

“I hope it’s someone who matches well with Lee Wooyeon.”

Inseop thought for a moment and then continued.

“It’s okay if they’re a good driver, but don’t show off their skills, and prefer quiet music. I think it would be nice to have someone who doesn’t eat food in the car, meticulously manages his schedule, and can give a proper review of Lee Wooyeon’s work. And it would be nice if it’’s someone who doesn’t boast about knowing Lee Wooyeon anywhere and isn’t interested in talking about other celebrities. and…”

“A person who doesn’t talk much.”

Lee Wooyeon especially disliked noisy people.

“Oh, no. It’s not like that…”

Inseop stuttered, his face flushing.

“I’m sorry for bothering you even more. By the way, CEO…”

“Do you have a reason to temporarily hire a road manager?”

He couldn’t understand Lee Wooyeon’s intentions. If he was getting on his nerves and letting him quit his job, he’d be done if he cuts him off completely. It was heartbreaking, but he was going to quit his job if that’s what he wanted.

“I didn’t misunderstand. Rather, I am more sorry. I said I would help, but it seems like I only caused trouble.”

He was ashamed. It was something he started out of concern in the first place.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The words sounded out of the ordinary.

“Okay. Goodbye.”

The call was immediately disconnected. Inseop picked up the book again after reading it, but couldn’t understand a single word, so he ended up closing the book.

He can’t fire him because he doesn’t have much… What does it mean?

As he was thinking hard about it, the words he heard earlier flashed through his mind. Inseop got up and ran to the bathroom to check the mirror.

“Is it that bad?”

Inseop touched his cheek with his hand. He looked even more gaunt than usual.

Was it because of his hair? Come to think of it, he hasn’t even thought about getting his hair trimmed because he’d been out of his mind lately.

Inseop put water on his hair and turned it over. The impression did not improve at all. When he was young, he believed that he would look mature when he turned 20, but now he didn’t know how vain that belief was.

He just realized that day by day.

Inseop stared at his pale face in the mirror.

It would be nice to be a manly and mature person who someone can lean on. If they have any concerns, he can give advice.

Then the phone rang. Inseop, who was running out of the room thinking that he should answer the phone quickly, slipped and fell at the entrance of the bathroom.

“Ack”.

Inseop, who fell down, grabbed his waist. A groan came out automatically. He ran back up and grabbed his cell phone in case it got cut off.

“Hello.”

“Well, I got it late because I was doing something. I’m sorry.”

Inseop lifted up his clothes. The red swelling seemed to be bruising.

“What do you mean bad?”

Inseop quickly lowered his clothes and asked back. Lee Wooyeon smiled softly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I didn’t do anything bad. I was just checking to see if I fell and got bruises near my stomach.”

“What?”

He had to take it as a silly joke, but Inseop swept down his hot stomach and apologized.

“Yes, I did.”

Lee Wooyeon always asked for Inseop’s diet when he talked on the phone, perhaps because he had a habit these days. If he glossed over it, he asked again persistently until he heard the exact answer.

“I had cereal and fruits for breakfast, and for lunch…”

At lunch, he skipped a meal to see the cats at Yoon Ahreum’s house.

He bought food for someone else’s house, but he also opened the refrigerator in the house and took out something to eat.

Lee Wooyeon’s voice had a note of displeasure.

“I ate a lot for dinner! I ate a lot. I’m not fully digested yet.”

“I went to Yoon Ahreum’s house. Arthur’s a little sick, but she said she didn’t have anyone to look after him. I was alone. We just had dinner together.”

Lee Wooyeon asked back in a tone of disbelief.

“…Yes.”

“Not much, but they seem like good people. And they trust in someone like me.”

Inseop added quickly.

“And I told them that I am dating someone. Don’t worry.”

A similar topic came up at a dinner party earlier, so Inseop quickly said that he is dating someone.

“I’ll tell them later!”

Lee Wooyeon burst into laughter at Inseop’s words as if he had made a promise.

Inseop listened quietly to the ringing over the phone. It was the laugh he hadn’t heard in a long time. He felt better.

“Me? What’s the matter?”

At the sudden confession, Inseop’s face grew hot. When the sound of Lee Wooyeon’s breathing reached his ears, his stomach rumbled.

“…Isn’t that a good thing?”

Inseop barely answered.

“You can catch me as much as you like.”

Lee Wooyeon burst into laughter again. He didn’t know why he laughed, but Inseop was fortunate that he had the talent to make Lee Wooyeon laugh. Then he suddenly missed Lee Wooyeon.

“When can I go back to work?”

When talking on the phone, Lee Wooyeon was friendly as usual. But when he was asked when he could go to work again, he always answered like it was someone else’s business.

“I… . Are you not happy with me driving?”

“Then I will drive.”

That’s exactly what Lee Wooyeon said as if he knew Inseop’s intentions.

“Yes. I spoke on the phone earlier. You don’t need a road manager. You’ll have to pay twice as much, and the CEO cares about it for nothing. I will pay more attention to driving and do well.”

“But…”

It was frustrating not knowing Lee Wooyeon’s intentions. As he was about to ask why, a phone call rang.

Lee Wooyeon’s voice quickly sharpened.

“America. My mother must have called.”

Inseop quickly checked the number and answered. Come to think of it, today was the day he usually spoke to his parents.

“Should I call you back when the call is over?”

“Oh, that…”

It was a shame He still had things he wanted to say, and he wanted to hear more of his voice. However, it was as Lee Wooyeon said. He couldn’t ask someone who came home from work late tonight to wait for an unexpected call. Inseop realized for the first time today that he had such a selfish side.

“Good night. Have a nice dream.”

He wanted to say that he missed him, but he was afraid that he would put pressure on him.

The call was disconnected. At the same time, the call waiting sound also ended. Inseop let out a sigh.

“… I’m such an insolent guy.”

Inseop mulled over several curses towards himself and went through the call list.

He found his mother’s number and called.