Bad Relationship

Chapter 1

At first, I thought it was a joke when he said we should continue our conversation at the baseball stadium.

The baseball stadium I knew wasn’t exactly a place for conversation.

But conversation was possible at the stadium. And even with a full parking lot, parking was available.

“…So this is what the owner’s box is like…”

That is, if you’re a VIP who uses the owner’s box.

Exactly three minutes after sitting down, we immediately left the restaurant, took the elevator not to the parking lot but to the first-floor entrance. A car was waiting in front of the hotel entrance. We took it, barely making our way through congested traffic to the baseball stadium. I thought we’d enter the already packed parking lot, but the car headed to a place I’d never seen before.

The car turned onto an unfamiliar road and headed to the VIP parking lot. Inside, we parked right in front of the elevator under the guidance of the parking attendant. After getting out of the car, we were escorted with great care by security personnel to this place—the owner’s box.

In the spacious area overlooking the entire baseball field, there were luxurious sofas and tables that seemed out of place in a baseball stadium. The tables were filled with all kinds of food and drinks—beer, wine, champagne, as well as pizza, pork belly, chicken, and more.

Looking back at him with fascination at the extravagant interior, he was leaning back in his chair with the most disinterested expression in the world.

“You don’t look like someone who enjoys baseball…”

“I don’t.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Because you need to watch baseball and I need to talk.”

He meant it was a choice to satisfy both our wants simultaneously.

The problem was…

“Did I say something like that?”

“Not exactly in those words. You were completely drunk, ranting that if the Elephants end their season in summer baseball again, you’d shave the head of the team owner who wouldn’t buy pitchers. And you put me in a headlock saying you’d absolutely get table seats this time or quit being a fan.”

Come to think of it, that does sound like something I did.

Right, I did that.

While badmouthing my ex, the conversation suddenly shifted to overcoming it with baseball.

“…I don’t think your head will be shaved, so you don’t need to worry.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not my head. More importantly, if you’re done admiring the place, shall we get back to the main topic?”

“Let’s do that.”

Thinking I couldn’t refuse a conversation after being given access to the owner’s box, I leaned back in my chair when the screen of my phone, which I’d tossed on the table, lit up.

It was a notification from my friends’ group chat.

[Heo Yongwoo] Where r u? [Yoon Jisung] The game is about to start. [Heo Yongwoo] R u coming?

With the game time approaching, my friends seemed to be pestering me, so I quickly replied.

[I’m at the stadium but with someone else right now. You guys watch without me for now.]

While rapidly typing my message, he asked:

“Your friends?”

“Yes. Those guys from last time.”

I pointed to the second-floor table seats directly below the owner’s box, and then remembered my phone call with Yongwoo.

“That friend who was with you last time told Yongwoo this morning that something interesting would happen soon. Is this what he meant?”

Though the answer was already obvious, I wanted to confirm if there might be other events planned. He slightly frowned.

“…Junyoung?”

“If the hyung who was with you two weeks ago is named Junyoung, then yes.”

When I said I don’t usually remember names of people I spontaneously join at drinking gatherings, he clicked his tongue.

“That guy talks too much.”

“So that means he knew about today’s blind date too?”

“Of course he knew. He’s the one who investigated you.”

“Investigated?”

“Your basic personal information, specs, family background, household, friendships, criminal record, et cetera.”

“Are you really planning some kind of terrorist attack?”

Just as I was asking if he needed a trustworthy comrade, my phone buzzed with more message notifications, so I switched it to silent mode and put it face down.

“…Your friends are still noisy.”

“It’s our first postseason in 12 years.”

For the past 12 years, they’d always finished 6th or 7th place, missing the postseason by just one game margin, which made this year’s wild card game especially meaningful. But his face remained indifferent.

True to his appearance, he showed absolutely no interest in baseball—a perfectly apathetic face.

“It’s just playing with a ball.”

Seeing his expression that showed complete disinterest in the postseason and wild card game, Junghyun returned to the main point.

“Going back to our previous conversation, why did you choose me?”

“That’s something you should answer, isn’t it?”

As this guessing game continued, Junghyun opened a can of beer from the table and looked him in the eyes while responding.

“It’s not because you fell for me, and it doesn’t seem like it’s because of your self-centered, overbearing, and selfish personality forcing me to come to this blind date… Then, just for fun?”

“The story about getting dumped while eating jajangmyeon was amusing. And how you didn’t follow your ex who ran away because the dongpayuk was too delicious. But I’m too busy to waste time for such reasons.”

“Then I can only think you came out to reject me… Let’s make this simple, shall we? The game will start soon, so why would someone as important as you have a blind date with someone as lowly as me?”

Even with a rank difference, one would only suspect ulterior motives if the gap was significant. Between an S-ranker and an F-ranker, the S-ranker has nothing to gain.

Forcing a connection, one could argue there might be merits like emotional bonding or exchange, but unfortunately, he wasn’t that warm or sensitive a person.

And it seemed the other party was similar in that regard.

So, urging him to just state his purpose without wasting more time, the man smiled.

As if he was quite pleased.

“You definitely seem smarter than your brother.”

At the sudden mention, Junghyun showed the first sign of agitation since meeting him.

“…Brother?”

“Your older brother, Lee Jeonghoo, was my high school classmate. We’ve grown somewhat distant recently, but we’re still relatively close friends. Actually, I was surprised when I saw your profile because I’d heard Jeonghoo only had one younger brother named Jeongmin. He always said he only had alpha brothers below him.”

This was exactly the kind of thing his older brother would say, so Junghyun wasn’t surprised at all. He just accepted it as expected.

“That’s not entirely wrong. I live separately anyway, so I don’t even think of us as brothers. Probably if one of us died, I wouldn’t even attend the funeral? Actually, no. I would go—to watch.”

Shrugging that his relationship with his older brother was worse than that of strangers, existing only on family registration documents, Junghyun downed his beer in one go. After placing the empty can on the table, the man leaned deeply back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests, and stared at him.

Once again, it was a gaze slowly observing him. But it was different from before.

Rather than evaluating, it was a sharp look as if piercing through his mind. Smiling as if to say ‘look all you want,’ Junghyun opened a new beer can and raised it when the man casually spoke.

“To be honest, I was suspicious at first. Meeting by chance at a bar and sitting together, then coincidentally receiving your profile by email the next day, and opening the file to find my friend’s half-brother… When coincidences pile up like that, people usually call it fate, but…”

After pausing there with a smirk, he continued slowly with a piercing gaze.

“I call that deliberate.”

In other words, I’m suspicious of you. Junghyun smiled, pleased with this response.

And he immediately returned the same phrase the man had just used.

“You’re definitely smarter than my brother.”

At this playful remark, the man laughed as if he’d expected it.

That was a bit irritating.

Usually, this kind of attitude would make people annoyed, hurt their pride, or anger them, but this man seemed to enjoy it strangely.

It felt unsettling.

Something didn’t feel right.

To be precise, it felt like he’d provoked the wrong opponent.

So, he hurriedly continued the conversation.

“Normally it would be stranger not to be suspicious at that point… but being as intelligent as you are, why did you go to the trouble of raising my rank just to bring me to this blind date?”

Directly asking him to stop wasting time and explain why he’d dragged him out on a Saturday afternoon during prime time on the day of the postseason wild card game’s second match, the man narrowed his eyes and smiled.

As if he was truly pleased.

Eerily so.

“Since neither of us seems the type to beat around the bush, I’ll speak plainly. Right now, I need someone with an insensitive, shameless, and live-for-today character.”

The words “That’s you” were implied but unspoken, yet they rang clearly in his ears.