Luke seemed even more perplexed as he couldn’t figure out why Jaekyung didn’t like it. Still, he lowered his head, clearly aware of the fact that he had been rejected, but Jiheon felt sorry for his gloomy look and deliberately said it was no big deal.
“Jaekyung is one year older than you, right? In Korea, we don’t usually call someone with a one-year gap ‘hyung’.”
Jaekyung frowned as he watched Jiheon casually saying something that would make the 50 million Confucius in this country scorn while trying to appease a foreigner who knew nothing.
“Hyung, do you live in a different Korea than me?”
Jiheon kicked Jaekyung’s foot under the table to shut him up.
“By the way, Luke speaks Korean really well.”
Jiheon mentioned, opening his nugget box.
“Your pronunciation is so good that I’m amazed every time I hear it. You must’ve studied really hard.”
Fortunately, in response to Jiheon’s compliment, Luke smiled politely and shyly, as if he had never been gloomy just moments ago. He began stuttering about his experiences learning Korean.
While Jiheon listened attentively. Jaekyung, on the other hand, remained silent, focusing solely on his hamburgers and fries.
“So, Noah said that I know how to speak Korean now, so he asked me if I was stupid!”
“Noah does say a lot of stupid things.”
Luke laughed at Jiheon’s response.
“But Noah is kind. He is stupid and mean.”
Luke defended Noah with contradicting words, perhaps trying to be a bit playful. Jiheon supported him by saying:
“I understand. He’s overly honest, but it doesn’t mean he has a bad personality. He’s a good swimmer and a hard worker. He’s a great athlete.”
Luke enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Then, he cautiously broached another topic.
“Honey, you’re a swimmer too, right? You’re not doing it anymore now?”
Considering that he knew about Jiheon’s athletic career, which he had never mentioned, it was evident that Luke had talked about various topics with Noah.
‘How much did Noah tell him? Did he mention that I’m the person in the Berlin Championship video that Jaekyung always watches? Did he say that Jaekyung still has feelings for me and that I’m an Omega?’
Jiheon contemplated, recalling his conversations with Noah during the Pan-Pacific.
“No, I’m not. I’ve completely retired.”
Jiheon carefully used both the English words “retire” and “farewell,” fearing that Luke might not understand the term in Korean.
“Then why don’t you become a coach?”
Luke seemed curious about why he had pursued work at an agency rather than coaching after retiring. Jiheon automatically smiled at Luke’s direct and somewhat clumsy way of speaking, which seemed like a child struggling to articulate his thoughts.
“Not everyone can be a coach.”
Jiheon responded with a smile.
“People who are good at teaching should do it. But I’m not good at guiding anyone.”
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but Jaekyung spoke up next to him.
“You’d do well, hyung.”
Jiheon thought Jaekyung wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out he was listening after all.
“Coaches should be someone like you rather than a bunch of bastards who think they can succeed by constantly scolding, cursing, and hitting someone. A coach should be strict with themselves and generous to others. That way, athletes will understand and follow them.”
Jiheon felt a bit embarrassed by the sincere praise and tried to respond half-jokingly, being mindful of Luke across from him.
“Hey, you’re saying this now? If I had been your coach, you would have driven me crazy and never listened to me.”
“Oh, what kind of nonsense is that?”
Jaekyung sighed as if it was absurd and then spoke with a serious face again.
“I’m not joking. I listen to you better than anyone in the world. I only listen to what you say, hyung.”
“Here, I’ll give you this. Now have some conscience.”
Jiheon said as he handed over the card with the receipt on the tray. Jaekyung really accepted it and said:
“It’s not the company’s card, is it? Can I really use this?”
“No.”
Jiheon quickly took the card back.
“What is that? You gave it to me and then took it back. How petty.”
Jaekyung pouted as he spoke. Jiheon almost said, ‘Do you even know my credit card bills for this month are a mess because of the bed you broke?’
Fortunately, he made eye contact with Luke right before he spoke and was able to close his mouth, but this time Luke spoke as if he had been waiting.
“Excuse me, Honey, do you have, uh, s-someone you like, or a girlfriend right now? Or a boyfriend?”
Jiheon had no time to be baffled by the sudden question.
“Why are you curious about that?”
Jaekyung interjected as he crumpled the hamburger wrapper. Luke was asking Jiheon, but when it was Jaekyung who answered him, Luke was startled and flinched.
“It’s, it’s just Honey is handsome… and cool….”
Looking at Luke stuttering more than usual, Jaekyung said coldly.
“What does that have to do with you?”
Luke’s expression instantly froze at Jaekyung’s abrupt and somewhat cruel tone. Jiheon felt uneasy as he watched Luke bow his head with a pale face. He understood why Luke had asked the question and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
In fact, Luke’s real intention behind his question was likely related to the relationship between Jiheon and Jaekyung. He probably wanted to ask whether they were dating or if they were lovers. However, Luke was hesitant to ask directly, fearing it might be considered rude. So, he decided to pose the question to Jiheon instead.
‘Would he at least be relieved if I tell him that I don’t have a boyfriend or anything like that?’
Jiheon wondered as he observed Luke’s gloomy demeanor.
‘Well, Luke probably hoped for that answer as well. If I say I don’t have a boyfriend, it implies that I’m not in a romantic relationship with Jaekyung.’
However…….
“Why? If I say I don’t have one, who are you going to introduce to me?”
Jiheon playfully responded with a smile.
“Or maybe you want to do it, Luke? Becoming my boyfriend?”
He intentionally said it as a joke to ease the tense atmosphere, but it seemed to make Luke even more embarrassed.
“What? No! It’s, it’s not like that!”
Luke abruptly stood up, waving his hands frantically.
“I know. It’s just a joke.”
Jiheon also quickly clarified in surprise.
“I’m sorry. I was just joking.”
Jiheon gave Luke his untouched iced Americano and urged him to drink it to calm down. Luke accepted it and sat back down.
Fortunately, with the cold drink and caffeine taking effect, Luke seemed to gradually regain his cool. Jiheon waited for him to fully calm down and apologized sincerely once more.
“I’m sorry. It really was just a joke.”
“No! It’s fine. It was my mistake.”
Luke actually seemed to think he had overreacted. He kept his head down, staring at the table with his reddened face. His child-like and dejected appearance tugged at Jiheon’s heart.
“No, it wasn’t your fault, Luke. It was mine, really.”
Jiheon reassured Luke in a soothing tone, wanting to put his mind at ease.
“Actually, it’s a bad habit of mine. I tend to change the subject when people I meet through work ask about personal matters. We’ve had a long conversation today and become a little closer, but you’re primarily Oliver’s assistant. I suppose I’m still a bit embarrassed to share such personal stories.”
Jiheon explained this gently, breaking it down as if he were speaking to a young child. Luke nodded, understanding Jiheon’s explanation without any issue.
“I’m sorry. I shall not, uh, I mean, I will not… ask you anymore.”
Luke seemed to have realized that his question was inappropriate. However, when Jiheon saw him apologizing profusely with a look of extreme distress, he once again found the situation somewhat peculiar.
It felt even stranger to see Luke making a fuss over something so insignificant, like shouting loudly when he made a minor mistake. Rather, Jiheon felt guilty for having embarrassed the young man unnecessarily with his sensitivity. He urgently spoke to reassure Luke.
“No, you can ask. It’s not a big deal.”
Jiheon smiled with a somewhat sheepish expression.
“Instead, you can ask when we become closer in the future. I’ll tell you too.”
Jiheon said, still smiling.
Luke seemed even more perplexed as he couldn’t figure out why Jaekyung didn’t like it. Still, he lowered his head, clearly aware of the fact that he had been rejected, but Jiheon felt sorry for his gloomy look and deliberately said it was no big deal.
“Jaekyung is one year older than you, right? In Korea, we don’t usually call someone with a one-year gap ‘hyung’.”
Jaekyung frowned as he watched Jiheon casually saying something that would make the 50 million Confucius in this country scorn while trying to appease a foreigner who knew nothing.
“Hyung, do you live in a different Korea than me?”
Jiheon kicked Jaekyung’s foot under the table to shut him up.
“By the way, Luke speaks Korean really well.”
Jiheon mentioned, opening his nugget box.
“Your pronunciation is so good that I’m amazed every time I hear it. You must’ve studied really hard.”
Fortunately, in response to Jiheon’s compliment, Luke smiled politely and shyly, as if he had never been gloomy just moments ago. He began stuttering about his experiences learning Korean.
While Jiheon listened attentively. Jaekyung, on the other hand, remained silent, focusing solely on his hamburgers and fries.
“So, Noah said that I know how to speak Korean now, so he asked me if I was stupid!”
“Noah does say a lot of stupid things.”
Luke laughed at Jiheon’s response.
“But Noah is kind. He is stupid and mean.”
Luke defended Noah with contradicting words, perhaps trying to be a bit playful. Jiheon supported him by saying:
“I understand. He’s overly honest, but it doesn’t mean he has a bad personality. He’s a good swimmer and a hard worker. He’s a great athlete.”
Luke enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Then, he cautiously broached another topic.
“Honey, you’re a swimmer too, right? You’re not doing it anymore now?”
Considering that he knew about Jiheon’s athletic career, which he had never mentioned, it was evident that Luke had talked about various topics with Noah.
‘How much did Noah tell him? Did he mention that I’m the person in the Berlin Championship video that Jaekyung always watches? Did he say that Jaekyung still has feelings for me and that I’m an Omega?’
Jiheon contemplated, recalling his conversations with Noah during the Pan-Pacific.
“No, I’m not. I’ve completely retired.”
Jiheon carefully used both the English words “retire” and “farewell,” fearing that Luke might not understand the term in Korean.
“Then why don’t you become a coach?”
Luke seemed curious about why he had pursued work at an agency rather than coaching after retiring. Jiheon automatically smiled at Luke’s direct and somewhat clumsy way of speaking, which seemed like a child struggling to articulate his thoughts.
“Not everyone can be a coach.”
Jiheon responded with a smile.
“People who are good at teaching should do it. But I’m not good at guiding anyone.”
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but Jaekyung spoke up next to him.
“You’d do well, hyung.”
Jiheon thought Jaekyung wasn’t paying attention, but it turned out he was listening after all.
“Coaches should be someone like you rather than a bunch of bastards who think they can succeed by constantly scolding, cursing, and hitting someone. A coach should be strict with themselves and generous to others. That way, athletes will understand and follow them.”
Jiheon felt a bit embarrassed by the sincere praise and tried to respond half-jokingly, being mindful of Luke across from him.
“Hey, you’re saying this now? If I had been your coach, you would have driven me crazy and never listened to me.”
“Oh, what kind of nonsense is that?”
Jaekyung sighed as if it was absurd and then spoke with a serious face again.
“I’m not joking. I listen to you better than anyone in the world. I only listen to what you say, hyung.”
“Here, I’ll give you this. Now have some conscience.”
Jiheon said as he handed over the card with the receipt on the tray. Jaekyung really accepted it and said:
“It’s not the company’s card, is it? Can I really use this?”
“No.”
Jiheon quickly took the card back.
“What is that? You gave it to me and then took it back. How petty.”
Jaekyung pouted as he spoke. Jiheon almost said, ‘Do you even know my credit card bills for this month are a mess because of the bed you broke?’
Fortunately, he made eye contact with Luke right before he spoke and was able to close his mouth, but this time Luke spoke as if he had been waiting.
“Excuse me, Honey, do you have, uh, s-someone you like, or a girlfriend right now? Or a boyfriend?”
Jiheon had no time to be baffled by the sudden question.
“Why are you curious about that?”
Jaekyung interjected as he crumpled the hamburger wrapper. Luke was asking Jiheon, but when it was Jaekyung who answered him, Luke was startled and flinched.
“It’s, it’s just Honey is handsome… and cool….”
Looking at Luke stuttering more than usual, Jaekyung said coldly.
“What does that have to do with you?”
Luke’s expression instantly froze at Jaekyung’s abrupt and somewhat cruel tone. Jiheon felt uneasy as he watched Luke bow his head with a pale face. He understood why Luke had asked the question and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
In fact, Luke’s real intention behind his question was likely related to the relationship between Jiheon and Jaekyung. He probably wanted to ask whether they were dating or if they were lovers. However, Luke was hesitant to ask directly, fearing it might be considered rude. So, he decided to pose the question to Jiheon instead.
‘Would he at least be relieved if I tell him that I don’t have a boyfriend or anything like that?’
Jiheon wondered as he observed Luke’s gloomy demeanor.
‘Well, Luke probably hoped for that answer as well. If I say I don’t have a boyfriend, it implies that I’m not in a romantic relationship with Jaekyung.’
However…….
“Why? If I say I don’t have one, who are you going to introduce to me?”
Jiheon playfully responded with a smile.
“Or maybe you want to do it, Luke? Becoming my boyfriend?”
He intentionally said it as a joke to ease the tense atmosphere, but it seemed to make Luke even more embarrassed.
“What? No! It’s, it’s not like that!”
Luke abruptly stood up, waving his hands frantically.
“I know. It’s just a joke.”
Jiheon also quickly clarified in surprise.
“I’m sorry. I was just joking.”
Jiheon gave Luke his untouched iced Americano and urged him to drink it to calm down. Luke accepted it and sat back down.
Fortunately, with the cold drink and caffeine taking effect, Luke seemed to gradually regain his cool. Jiheon waited for him to fully calm down and apologized sincerely once more.
“I’m sorry. It really was just a joke.”
“No! It’s fine. It was my mistake.”
Luke actually seemed to think he had overreacted. He kept his head down, staring at the table with his reddened face. His child-like and dejected appearance tugged at Jiheon’s heart.
“No, it wasn’t your fault, Luke. It was mine, really.”
Jiheon reassured Luke in a soothing tone, wanting to put his mind at ease.
“Actually, it’s a bad habit of mine. I tend to change the subject when people I meet through work ask about personal matters. We’ve had a long conversation today and become a little closer, but you’re primarily Oliver’s assistant. I suppose I’m still a bit embarrassed to share such personal stories.”
Jiheon explained this gently, breaking it down as if he were speaking to a young child. Luke nodded, understanding Jiheon’s explanation without any issue.
“I’m sorry. I shall not, uh, I mean, I will not… ask you anymore.”
Luke seemed to have realized that his question was inappropriate. However, when Jiheon saw him apologizing profusely with a look of extreme distress, he once again found the situation somewhat peculiar.
It felt even stranger to see Luke making a fuss over something so insignificant, like shouting loudly when he made a minor mistake. Rather, Jiheon felt guilty for having embarrassed the young man unnecessarily with his sensitivity. He urgently spoke to reassure Luke.
“No, you can ask. It’s not a big deal.”
Jiheon smiled with a somewhat sheepish expression.
“Instead, you can ask when we become closer in the future. I’ll tell you too.”
Jiheon said, still smiling.
