CH 30

When I got out of the building, Director Lee was waiting for me. I was expecting it. The embarrassment hit immediately. I said something useless during the day. Now I’m not sure how I should look at Director Lee. Unaware of my complicated mind, Director Lee walked toward me. Looking at his posture, he appeared to be concealing something behind his back. My spine was tingling with goosebumps. The siren sounded. Watch out! Watch out!

“Joo-hyuk-ssi.”

“Director. Have you been waiting for me?”

“How about having dinner together? It’d be nice to have a drink as well.”

The hand hidden behind the director’s back was hesitant. What did he keep hidden? I hoped he had a habit of holding his hands behind his back. That’s ridiculous. There’s something there. People passing by cast a glance at Director Lee. There’s something behind him.

“Yes, it’s okay.”

Anything if you don’t bring the stuff behind you.

“I have something I want to give to Joo-hyuk-ssi.”

“Ugh.”

It’s here. I take a deep breath. It’s a tense situation. The time has come to reap the seed I sowed that morning.

Director Lee’s elbow was the center of my attention. It comes out, it comes out, it comes out…

The one that comes out of Director Lee’s hand is a single rose. My inner voice screamed. It was a complicated scream. First of all, receiving roses in the middle of the street is embarrassing. Second, it felt good to see the rose, so I’m embarrassed. The end result is that it is embarrassing. I put my hand over my mouth. I think I’m going to die of embarrassment.

“Well, I thought it would be embarrassing, but I really wanted to give it to you. I wanted to buy a hundred anyway, but I thought that would be too burdensome.”

“Ugh.”

“And Joo-hyuk-ssi’s embarrassed face is really cute.”

I take the rose from Director Lee’s hand. Wow, I’ve never received a rose from my boss in my life. I take a look at the rose. The petals are smooth and red.

A cute and handsome Alpha with a rose. It’s like something out of a drama. Except for one thing: I’m a Beta. It doesn’t matter if I’m a Beta. Well, that’s for sure. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I’m a Beta. Betas can date Alphas as well.

“It’s okay. I like tacky things.”

When I saw the rose, I just smiled. Everything is perfect. Quitting work, handsome Director Lee, and fragrant roses.

It’s sadly perfect.

My vision darkened as I blinked, and only the rose caught my attention. For a brief moment, all of the city’s lights appeared to have been turned off. The murmurs of passersby were distant. Those people became the audience. The actors here are Director Lee and me. Director Lee’s smile is perfect. Even the props are beautiful. However, one actor is missing.

Seol Ki-do’s face comes to mind. Not the handsome face, but the stupid face that wept in the small theater flickered before my eyes. A face with a white runny nose and a sweaty neck.

“I really like tacky things.”

I locked my gaze on Director Lee. This implementation is perfect. I felt a subtle incongruity. Director Lee gave me a clean and fresh rose. How was the rose that I gave to Seol Ki-do? The tips of the petals were a little withered and dark.

“Tacky thing…”

Director Lee wrinkled his eyebrows and smiled.

“You’re being sarcastic, right?”

I looked at Director Lee and smiled.

“Ah, it really is tacky.”

***

I had a normal dinner with Director Lee, though it was at a high-end sushi restaurant. I sat down, but my knees ached from the tightness of my pants. Even when seated cross-legged, Director Lee maintained a straight back. In other words, he’s a scam character. Director Lee created a slightly dangerous-man-like atmosphere in the oriental interior. A man who could have one or two dragons tattooed on his back.

Director Lee offered me a cup of sake. Indeed, the overall atmosphere painted Director Lee as an overseas mafia. I took the drink politely as well. After drinking this, I feel like I need to make some big negotiations.

Director Lee’s dimple appeared again. I really like that dimple.

“Are you going to drink a lot today?”

“No. I’m not. I will be unable to walk if I do.”

“Have you ever been unable to walk?”

“It happened quite a lot when I was in college…”

Director Lee smiled as he looked at me. It’s both burdensome and enjoyable. My heart is racing. When I become conscious, there’s no end to it. I keep my gaze fixed on the hand on the table. The silver wrist watch resembles a scene from an advertisement. To be honest, I shouldn’t say it, and I certainly shouldn’t think it, but I think his wrist is very sexy.

I want to die.

I’m digging a hole with a strange sense of self-blame in my consciousness, and then Director Lee talks to me.

“Did your friend take you home? The friend I saw then?”

“Oh, Ki-do?”

“Ki-do? Is his name Ki-do?”

Director Lee smiles as he closes his eyes. His eyes are similar to Ha Won’s. The hand with the watch tapped the table. It looks like water splashing on a calm surface. His fingers are also quite long. They remind me of mine that I flicked foreheads with when I was in college and went to MT.

“You seem to be very close. Is it the friend you talked about back then? You were covered with his pheromones.”

Director Lee smiled brightly. I don’t know which part made him smile. Why are you not eating? Director Lee is like a talking portrait. His gaze is fixed on me. When I picked up a piece of sashimi, I felt like I was the one being eaten. The soft texture of raw flesh stimulates the tip of my tongue. My attention is drawn to Director Lee’s smiling face. I drink some alcohol. My heart is racing so quickly. I want to die.

“Um, yes. He’s a drinker. Ki-do is my college junior, a celebrity, and he appeared in a drama for a while… ”

“Oh, I wondered where I saw him, that drama my aunt often watches… I think I know.”

Director Lee muttered. Drama…

“He is handsome, your friend.”

“No one hates a handsome man.”

I poured alcohol into Director Lee’s glass. Director Lee received it quite politely.

“I’m handsome too.”

I smiled as I looked at Director Lee. Director Lee smiled sadly and poured the alcohol into his mouth.

“I know. That’s why I’m worried.”

We can talk a little more comfortably after a little bit of alcohol. We talk about a lot of trivial things, starting with the fact that our elevator appears to be slow. I’m a little dizzy, but it’s bearable. Director Lee, who appeared to be fine, is annoying and keeps pouring me alcohol. Director Lee kept drinking without pause. I’m not sure about anything else, but I know Director Lee has a strong liver.

“I don’t want to talk about work in private. So I want to ask you something personal. What kind of friend is Seol Ki-do?”

I’m conflicted. I have a lot of responses. If it’s his body measurements, I can look them up on the web, and there are a lot of stories from his college days. We got into a lot of stupid accidents after we graduated from college. One is a silly story about drinking and stuffing a karaoke microphone in a bag, but it was true. We returned the mic the next day.

“I don’t know what you are asking about.”

“What kind of person is he to Joo-hyuk-ssi?”

“Family?”

The rose Director Lee gave me caught my attention. I take it in my hands and smell it. There is a faint scent. The smell of dust, sweat, and musty mold in the basement.

“He’s family, family, family. I can’t function without him. I’m not sure what he thinks, but that’s what I do.”

Director Lee extends his hand. Director Lee’s hand crossed the table and lifted my chin. He is careful. Director Lee asks calmly,

“Do you know what that sounds like to an Alpha?”

“Are you more interested in him than me? No, you can’t.”

He smiled bitterly. Oh, he just smiles when I drink. Director Lee smiled and returned to his seat. Director Lee just rubs his wrist.

“I can’t win over Joo-hyuk-ssi.”

I can’t seem to let go of the rose. Because my hands were sweaty, the plastic bag kept trying to slip out of my grip. I gently grasp the bottom of the rose in my hand. My fingers brush against the cone’s sharp base. How do you get such a sharp edge? It requires skills. A skilled hand. In the end, my finger got pricked. Oh, it hurts a bit. It’s hurt here. Director Lee sighed.

“Joo-hyuk-ssi, I will always be there when you drink. Anywhere.”

“I drink often with Ki-do.”

“Don’t make me jealous.”

“You have to seduce me, you can’t be jealous. I told you to seduce me. I’m confident that you can move on.”

Director Lee refills my glass. The flavor is bland. I think I’m drunk because I couldn’t feel anything. Is Director Lee all right? No, the liver is beyond saving. We’ve already gone through a few bottles…

I said as if I had suddenly thought of it,

“But you can be jealous. Be a little jealous of Seol Ki-do. That’s okay.”

“Why?”

Ugly faces, crying voices, drinking, and I think we drank that day as well.

“Don’t let me be swayed.”