Perhaps something else had occurred.

“You were a subject of interest, you know.”

“…Was I?”

“After you scouted Lajin, the interest in you intensified.”

As soon as Lajin’s name came out of Sunwoo’s mouth, Jaehun’s face wrinkled.

He didn’t feel good. No, it was an overwhelming emotion that couldn’t be expressed with such words.

“Calm down. I came to ask Jaehun sincerely.”

“Even so, there’s no one impolitely pestering Lajin anymore, thanks to her wise handling each time.”

But pledging to do so terrifiedly created a crack in his calmness.

Ah, were there people pestering her impolitely?

He didn’t know at all because she hadn’t said a word about it.

He couldn’t blame only her. Whenever he saw Lajin, his heart would inexplicably stir, and it was Jaehun himself who proclaimed the principle of ‘never touching each other’s private lives.’

Lajin’s only fault was faithfully following her superior’s orders.

Oh, why did his past self draw such a strict line?

Jaehun clenched his fist under the table.

It’s nerve-wracking.

Perhaps… Does Sunwoo even know that Lajin’s favorite food is banquet noodles and her favorite movie genre is romance?

“We met a week ago.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

With a bright smile, Sunwoo provocatively spoke, causing Jaehun’s eyes to roll.

“Why… well, we just meet whenever our schedules align.”

“Lajin didn’t say that.”

“Oh? Then, did she deliberately take time out of her busy schedule to meet? If I had known, I would have bought something more delicious. I’ll have to do that from now on.”

Jaehun’s pupils chilled as he gazed at Sunwoo.

“It seems like you cherish Lajin a lot.”

Sunwoo didn’t avoid that gaze.

“Indeed. Since the first time we met, she’s been the person I cherish the most.”

A strange tension lingered between the two.

In fact, Sunwoo deliberately made remarks to provoke his feelings.

Every time Jaehun revealed possessiveness about Lajin, it irritated him.

Whatever relationship they had, it was bound to end soon.

“It hasn’t been long. It’s not a serious relationship.”

“Not a serious one? So, does that mean you just casually met for a short time?”

“Just… it just happened like this accidentally. It’ll end soon.”

“End it?”

“Yes.”

“Is Lajin the one who said she’d end it?”

“It’s not like that. It just naturally seems to be heading that way.”

Throughout Lajin’s ambiguous words, and when he found out she was even considering leaving Seoul, he had a lingering concern that she might know about his feelings toward her. Or maybe she had caught on.

So, was Sunwoo using Lajin and planning to discard her as he pleased?
“It might be difficult to pack up and leave right away, but if there’s a grace period, it might be okay.”

“As expected, it seems like it’s been tough for you. Especially considering the decision to leave Seoul.”

In response, Lajin didn’t say anything. Her silence seemed to imply some agreement with his words.

Abandoning the foundation of one’s life and heading to a new place is an incredibly challenging task. Something must have happened between Jaehun and Lajin.

“Jaehun, you seem to have a lot of interest in Lajin.”

“…Ha.”

Can’t you tell by my attitude now? About the relationship between Lajin and me?

“We spend most of the day together. It’s hard not to care.”

“Haven’t you been interested in whatever Lajin was doing all this time?”

He wanted to say it outright. That we are lovers.

One of the third contract clauses came to mind. He would do everything to ensure that the contract wouldn’t leak out.

Lajin, who was already sensitive to contracts, would not appreciate being provoked.

But even after hearing such words, staying silent was frustrating.

‘I just need to say it directly.’

Jaehun, fidgeting with his cufflinks, tilted his head slightly.

“I’ve heard that you’re quite close to Lajin. It doesn’t seem to be just that.”

“Huh? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“The reason I care so much about Lajin. I guess I didn’t tell you.”

A faint smile crept up on his lips as he looked at Jaehun. There was a sense of ease and even superiority in his gaze.

In the past, Jaehun might have felt overwhelmed by this attitude, thinking that there was something special between Lajin and him.

However, Sunwoo, who knew the inside story, found it amusing.

“Why did you want to see me today? It’s not to ask about my well-being.”

Instead of responding to my words, Sunwoo turned his gaze elsewhere, irritating Jaehun.

But compared to what followed, Sunwoo’s words until now meant nothing.

“Jaehun, is it because of Lajin that you called me today? Trying to change Lajin’s feelings?”

Pause. The hand that had been fiddling with the cufflinks froze.

“Change her feelings. What are you talking about?”

Ah. Sunwoo looked uncomfortable at Jaehun’s words.

“Sorry.”

“What for?”

“I shouldn’t have pretended to know?”

So, what?

“Two people… decided to break up.”

Jaehun blinked his eyes slowly. Something’s strange. My hearing is fine. My ability to understand language through my eardrums is also the same.

But I can’t seem to comprehend Sunwoo’s words.

“If it’s because of that, I’m sorry.”

“You. Did you know about the relationship between Lajin and me?”

Sunwoo, with a regretful expression, remained silent. His demeanor was an immediate answer.

“…Since when?”

“Jaehun.”

“Tell me.”

As if there was no other choice, Sunwoo opened his mouth.

“A week ago, when I met Lajin alone, I found out.”