Ha-min watched Ye-jun for a long time.
Yejun opened his eyes and was surprised to see Ha-min still next to him.
“Manager..? Why are you still here..”
Ha-min responds to Ye-jun's words with a sly smile.
“I’m going to take care of Yejun.”
Although Yejun felt burdened by Ha-min's actions, he was still grateful that Ha-min thought of him.
“Haha.. but it’s hard if you keep doing it..”
Ha-min says as he slowly helps Ye-jun get out of bed.
“It’s not hard at all. I need to eat. What do you want to eat?”
“Haha..! I’m not hungry so I don’t have to eat...”
Gulp-
There was a moment of silence as a loud noise came from Yejun's stomach.
Ha-min laughs at Ye-jun's growling sound and says.
“Hahaha! Even if you’re not hungry, you should eat. Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll buy it for you.”
Yejun says with a blushing face.
“…It doesn’t matter.”
Ha Min says with a playful expression at Yejun's reaction.
“Anything.. Then I’ll choose.”
“Wh..what are you doing..!”
“Huh? Yejun hyung told me to pick anything, so I’m choosing one right now?”
"Uh..no.."
Yejun was dumbfounded by Hamin's confident words. Stunned by Hamin's attitude, Yejun looked at him, and Hamin burst out laughing at Yejun's reaction.
"Hahaha, just kidding, how about some pork cutlet?"
"yes.."
As Ha Min orders pork cutlet and puts down his phone, a staff member comes into the hospital hallway and speaks.
"Manager Yoo Ha-min, I have a call for you. Would you like to answer it?"
"Who is it?"
“…This is Kim Hee-seo.”
Ha-min sighed deeply when he heard the name. Ye-jun was obviously taken aback by the girl's name.
"Heeseo...? Are you a woman? Why are you sighing..."
After receiving the phone from the employee, Ha-min gestured for Ye-jun to wait a moment before answering. As soon as he picked up, he heard a pretty woman's voice.
"Hamin oppa~ Why are you avoiding my calls? You said you were going on a date with me~"
Ha Min responds as businesslike as possible to the woman's coquettish tone.
"Yeah, I'm a little busy. What's your business?"
"Wow~ That's too much, when will we meet, Ha Min oppa!"
"Sorry, I have something to do right now, so I'll hang up."
After speaking firmly, Ha-min hung up the phone. Then, as soon as he saw Ye-jun, he returned to his affectionate voice and expression, as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry, bro. Where was I? Oh, the food's here! I'll bring it."
Ha-min brought the food and served it to Ye-jun with a smile. Ye-jun, who had already heard the entire conversation, was secretly upset. But he couldn't show it, so he asked casually.
“Are you…a close friend?…haha”
Ha-min seems to have misunderstood Ye-jun, so he hurriedly explains.
"Huh? No. She's not my girlfriend. She's just... someone I know..."
"Ah... someone I know..."
"Someone you know? What kind of person is that... someone you know would act like that???"
"Brother, I'm not interested in other women at all. The only person I'm interested in is..."
Ha-min looked at Ye-jun with a trailing edge, but eventually hung his head without saying anything.
“…Anyway, that’s it, hyung.”
Yejun is flustered by Ha-min's unexpected reaction and waves his hand.
“Huh? No, I just think that person really likes Ha Min.. haha”
Ha-min listens to Ye-jun's words and speaks firmly.
"No? Absolutely not. I'm not interested either, but this guy...he said he liked me, but there's no way we'll continue."
Yejun felt relieved without realizing it at Ha-min's words.
"...Am I relieved now? You're crazy, Nam Ye-jun..."
“Haha..! I just.. If I were a woman, I think I would have liked someone like Ha Min..! Haha”
"What the hell is Nam Ye-jun saying?"
Ha-min was thrilled by Ye-jun's answer.
“Huh? Haha.. Yejun hyung too..”
“ㅋㅋㅋHaha, Mr. Ha Min is handsome and has a kind personality. He’s also popular at work..”
Ha-min's ears turned bright red at Ye-jun's praise, his voice rising an octave and he turned his head slightly. And unlike usual, he stuttered, as if something was broken.
“Haha..ha..no, well, I..I am handsome. Hehe.”
Yejun smiled at the sight of the broken Ha-min.
“Haha, Mr. Ha Min, you’re so funny right now.”
Ha-min laughed along with Ye-jun, who was smiling. And then he thought.
‘Ah, Yejun hyung is so lovely.’
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From then on, Ha-min continued to care for Ye-jun and also worked with him at the company. A few days later, when Ye-jun was discharged from the hospital, Ha-min and Ye-jun went to work together. After Ye-jun sat down, Ha-min brought the work he had done for Ye-jun from his desk and handed it to Ye-jun.
"Yejun, I helped you out a bit while you were in the hospital. But you're still a patient, so don't overwork yourself and leave work early today."
"thank you..!"
Yejun was thrilled to receive Hamin's materials. The work was so perfectly done that Yejun had little to do. He gazed at Hamin's finished materials with a deeply moved expression. Hamin, seeing this, found Yejun so endearing that he wanted to hug him.
Ha-min speaks to Ye-jun without the employees knowing.
'are you okay?'
Yejun smiled brightly at Hamin and gave an OK sign with his hand.Ha Min also beamed, sending the same signal. The employees, seeing this, began to murmur at Ha Min's behavior and expression, something they'd never seen before. Among them, Manager Kang, furious, clenched his fists and spoke.
“…where did all these gay kids roll in from..”
Manager Kang spoke sarcastically, making sure only Ye-jun, the most vulnerable and perpetual target of bullying, could hear. Ye-jun heard Manager Kang's words, but tried to pretend not to hear and continued with the rest of his work.
Lunch time_
When lunchtime came, Yejun and Hamin went down to the cafeteria together. Yejun, who always ate alone, naturally suggested going to a corner. Then, Manager Kang suddenly grabbed Yejun.
“Hey rookie, are you eating alone? LOL”
Kang Dae-ri sneers at Ye-jun. Ye-jun is angry, but he can't help but laugh it off.
“Uh..ah..yes..haha”
"yes..?"
Yejun, whose boss had always been a harasser, loathed the idea of having lunch together. Unable to refuse immediately, he hesitated, and then Ha-min appeared behind him.
“Yejun, I decided to have dinner with you.”
Surprised by Ha-min grabbing his shoulder and speaking, Manager Kang turned around to look at him. Ha-min's tall stature and stocky frame made Manager Kang look very small due to his broad shoulders. When the restaurant staff looked on, Manager Kang smiled, thinking this was his chance to speak.
“Haha, isn’t our manager being too biased towards Yejun?”
“Um...um...you two, calm down...first.”
Manager Kang cuts off Yejun and speaks sarcastically.
“Ah, I see.. Are you two dating? I heard you’re a new gay guy~”
“Huh..?”
Yejun was taken aback by Kang Daeri's words. He had never liked a man before, so what on earth could he mean?
When Ha-min heard Manager Kang's words, his face instantly hardened and he looked straight at Manager Kang. His expression was cold, a far cry from his usual kind and gentle image towards his employees and Ye-jun.
“Manager Kang, please choose what you want to say and what you don’t want to say.”
Yejun stutters and answers.
“I’m… not… gay..”
When Yejun stuttered and denied it, Manager Kang became even more excited and sneered.
“…I’ve never really liked a man..”
Manager Kang now openly mocks and ridicules Ye-jun.
“Hey, what about your girlfriend? I heard you’ve never had a girlfriend before, lol. You even look like a girl.. tsk tsk.”
“Uh..that’s…”
Ha Min eventually got angry at Manager Kang's continued rudeness and stepped forward to stop him.
"Stop it, Manager Kang. This is beyond abuse of power."
“No, sir. I’m just saying that because I’m worried. If you’re gay, it’ll have a negative impact on the company, right? Haha.”
Hearing Kang's words, Ha-min's voice lowered and became solemn. Ha-min, now a completely different person than usual, spoke to Kang.
“Stop it, Manager Kang.”
Manager Kang, frightened by Ha-min's appearance, couldn't say anything else. Instead, he glared at Ye-jun and left. Ye-jun was heartbroken by Manager Kang's sudden attack. Finally, he picked up his tray and went back to the return area to speak to Ha-min.
“…I’m sorry, I don’t have an appetite.”
Ha-min looks at Ye-jun with concern and says.
"Are you okay, Yejun?"
Yejun forced a smile as he spoke, afraid that Ha-min would be too worried about him, and turned around.
"Haha.. It's okay. Eat and come. I'll go up first."
Ha-min watched Ye-jun walk up to the office, carrying a tray. A complex expression of emotion crossed Ha-min's face.
"Haa..just leave that kid..."
After finishing his meal, Ha-min returned to the office. After eating quickly and returning, Ha-min looked around the office and saw only Ye-jun. Ha-min bought some coffee for Ye-jun and approached him, handing him the coffee and speaking quietly.
"Yejun, drink this and cheer yourself up."
"Haha..thank you."
Ha-min looked at Ye-jun's face with a worried expression and spoke quietly.
"...You were surprised at lunchtime? Don't worry, I'll protect you, because things like that happen now."
Yejun listened to Ha-min's words, fiddled with his coffee, hesitated to answer, and then opened his mouth.
“Why is Mr. Ha Min trying to protect someone like me?”
Ha Min hesitated after hearing Yejun's answer, but then answered with a warm smile.
"Why are you treating Yejun hyung the same way? Yejun hyung is more precious to me than anyone else."
Yejun felt a lump in his throat as he heard Ha-min's answer. He smiled sadly and said,
“..Thank you. For saying that..”
Ha-min thinks for a moment and then speaks to Ye-jun.
“…Hyung Yejun, do you like the ocean?”
“The sea?”
"yes."
“I like it, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there.”
“Then would you like to go with me?”
“Huh? When?”
“This Saturday.”
If it had been the usual Yejun, he would have lied and run away, saying he had a prior engagement, but this time he didn't want to refuse Hamin's offer.
“…Okay. Let’s go to the sea.”