Driving back to Seoul, Ju-Hyeok had been silently watching the navigation system and suddenly realized something.
He asked through the rearview mirror, "Ah, but what about the car? Are we taking the subway back from Ah-Sung Station?"
It made sense to leave the car if they were planning to drink.
"Ah-Sung Station?"
Sang-Hyeon tilted his head in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah. You said chicken and beer."
"Do you think that's the only chicken place?"
"Eh...?"
Wasn't that where they were going? They had company dinners and even a fan meeting there.
"We'll just park where we usually do. I found a spot near there."
"You found one?"
When Sang-Hyeon was a new employee, he was always notoriously bad at finding good places to eat. Back then, their manager had confidently declared that Sang-Hyeon wouldn’t be choosing restaurants until he became a department head.
"It's not a bad place, is it?"
Ju-Hyeok naturally grew concerned over this.
However, Sang-Hyeon just smirked without giving any substantial answer.
***
Nothing much happened in the car afterward. Sang-Hyeon still seemed tired and dozed off while Ju-Hyeok just blasted music and focused on driving. Before long, they arrived in their neighborhood.
All that was left was to park the car. Not right in front of the house as they had to climb a long set of hellish stairs first.
In this hillside neighborhood, driving right up to their door was impossible. Instead, they had to park in the community public parking lot, which they paid for monthly.
"We're here."
Ju-Hyeok grunted as he got out of the car.
"Ah. Cars keep getting bigger, but why don't they ever increase the size of these parking spaces?"
Thump.
Ju-Hyeok slammed the door and vented his frustration. How was it that the cars were from 2030, but the parking spaces were stuck in the '90s?
"Let's go."
Sang-Hyeon, who had already slipped out, seemed ready to lead the way to the chicken place.
"Hey, what about the luggage?"
"Just move it tomorrow."
"Ah... Shouldn’t we move it first before going?"
"Hurry up. It’s about to close."
"Ah... Alright! Let's go!"
Even Ju-Hyeok, who hated putting off tasks, knew that carrying the luggage up those hellish stairs today would be too much. They decided to just leave it and go since the luggage was filled with items that wouldn't cause any issues even if they left them there for about a week.
***
“Phew.”
Exhaling white breaths into the cold air as they walked, Sang-Hyeon buried his hands deep in his thick coat pockets with his head bowed. Although he pretended otherwise, he was frantically brainstorming.
'How can I talk about it without hurting his pride?'
He needed to convince Ju-Hyeok to stay together. Depending on how Ju-Hyeok took it, this could either solve nothing or make things worse. That guy hated being pitied as much as being hated.
If Sang-Hyeon’s suggestion came off as pity, it would be over. Maybe it was better to pretend that he knew nothing and just pass it off.
'Hmm... Maybe.'
Could he pretend not to know and just ignore it? Sang-Hyeon had considered this option, but didn't like it. Something needed to be resolved.
‘So how should I say it?’
He thought about praising Ju-Hyeok for doing a good job. However, even that could be misconstrued the moment it left Sang-Hyeon's lips.
‘This is hard.’
Trying to do something out of the ordinary was proving difficult for Sang-Hyeon. Meanwhile, they had already arrived in front of the chicken restaurant. It was an old establishment with a worn-out sign.
Ju-Hyeok surveyed the surroundings of the chicken place and asked, "Hey. Is this place good? I'm picky about my chicken. Call me a chicken connoisseur, a chicken connoisseur."
Chicken connoisseur? That was something. Ju-Hyeok would gobble up any chicken like a vacuum cleaner. Sang-Hyeon swallowed these thoughts and scratched his chin.
"Uh...?"
Had he even checked the reviews? He had been coming to this place since childhood, so he never considered such things.
"I don’t know about the reviews. I used to come here a lot when I was young. It's a good place."
"But why haven’t I been here before...?"
Sang-Hyeon had never brought Ju-Hyeok here before. He thought about why he hadn't considered it before.
"... Maybe because I used to come here a lot with my grandma. The owner will ask about her."
"Ah..."
This place held too many memories of his grandmother, which perhaps made him unconsciously avoid it. It wasn’t just his grandmother.
"I used to come here a lot with So-Yeon too."
Sometimes, So-Yeon would tag along and they would enjoy the chicken his grandmother bought. Sang-Hyeon used to grumble that it was a waste of money to buy chicken for So-Yeon. His grandmother would scold him every time, asking how he could live without sharing such things with a friend. He actually only complained because he felt embarrassed about not being able to share something better.
"Anyway, let's go inside."
Entering after a long time made Sang-Hyeon's heart flutter a bit. He loved the atmosphere here as a child. Everyone always looked happy and it was especially lively on days when soccer games were on.
"I thought, ‘What's the use?’ Avoiding it just because we're close. After all, it's delicious."
"Right. It's delicious."
With that, Ju-Hyeok tore into another piece.
"So, it's the same with you."
"...?"
While eating chicken, Ju-Hyeok suddenly blinked.
"Rather than keeping a distance because we're close, I felt it was right to keep going with you."
"!"
Ju-Hyeok felt surprised by the sudden change in topic.
"Then, we should keep going together. Were you planning to betray me?"
Sang-Hyeon jokingly pretended not to know, but it was futile.
"What kind of fool thinks that just because they’re close, they should stick together?"
Sang-Hyeon kept pushing the point.
"Sometimes, being close means you can't be together."
Ju-Hyeok's face turned red. Hearing this, he realized Sang-Hyeon had known all along.
Sang-Hyeon knew and Ju-Hyeok knew.
Ju-Hyeo answered with a serious expression, "In most cases, being close means you do things together."
Sang-Hyeon nodded.
"That's right. There are cases where you do things because you're close and cases where you can't because you're close. Do you know what that means?"
"...?"
"Being close and working together really has nothing to do with each other. You work together because you're good at your job. And if you're not good, you can't work together."
Ju-Hyeok thought for a moment and replied, "... Still, others won't think that way."
Sang-Hyeon already expected Ju-Hyeok to say this. He was the type to care about what others thought.
"Do you know the reviews for this place?"
Sang-Hyeon pointed at the chicken.
"I don't know."
"It's 3.9."
"... Really?"
This taste was only a 3.9.
"There are quite a few people who don't like this old-fashioned fried chicken. They don't even do review events."
"Ah..."
Ju-Hyeok secretly thought the latter was the reason while looking at the steaming chicken.
"If you had stayed at Ah-Sung, what do you think your rating would be? You know, like those dating apps where they rate everything from salary to age to appearance."
Ju-Hyeok gulped down his beer. It was an embarrassingly boastful answer.
"Well... it would probably be quite high."
"It would almost be perfect. Born with a silver spoon, tall, handsome, going down an elite path, and being recognized in a major corporation."
Ju-Hyeok scratched his head. He didn't know what to say to the sudden barrage of praises.
"But why did you leave Ah-Sung? Why give up a perfect life?"
A perfect life and a perfect rating on a dating app.
Ju-Hyeok exclaimed in disbelief, "No, what does a perfect score on a dating app have to do with life!?"
"Yeah, that's how it is."
Unexpectedly, Sang-Hyeon returned to the main point.
"The way others see us is just like a dating app rating. It's just a shell."
"...!"
"Someone might see it as being swayed by personal connections to work with you, but what can we do? The reality is different, isn't it?"
Sang-Hyeon's steady eyes focused on Ju-Hyeok as if seeing right through to his heart.
"You're an outstanding person. Everyone who has worked with you at Ah-Sung knows that. Even those who disliked you recognized your ability."
Sang-Hyeon's gaze didn't waver at all. No one would think he was lying.
"Nobody who has worked with you thinks of you as just a manager. In my eyes, you're already a representative of management. You work like a CEO and you think like one. It's just that you don't have the paperwork to establish a corporation. You’re just missing the shell, but your core is already that of a CEO."
Light passed through the glass of beer and refracted. Perhaps that was why Ju-Hyeok's eyes shook so much.
"... So, I'm already working with a big company. There's no need to go anywhere else."
Sang-Hyeon smiled awkwardly.
"Ah. I wasn't going to say this in case you went somewhere better."
Ju-Hyeok said nothing. There was no need to cover up this moment with the shell of words.
Sang-Hyeon had fully conveyed his thoughts to Ju-Hyeok and he was right. Everyone knew. Even if everyone was just him and Ju-Hyeok. Both of them knew.
"Still, it wouldn't be like this anywhere else. We work well together, don't we?"
They were the best partners.