Bad Relationship

Two weeks ago, when they drank together, he had finished a bottle of whiskey and still managed to walk straight, hail a taxi, and go home.

But now things were different.

“You don’t look convincing in that state.”

Jaehyuk gestured for him to get up, but Junghyun was being ridiculously stubborn.

“My heart hurts too much to stand up. I’ve received a deep emotional wound.”

“I see. You definitely look more heartbroken now than when you were dumped.”

“Love can be found again, but these guys who’ve been perpetual 6th place finally made it to the postseason after 12 years, even won the first game to get my hopes up, and then made a complete mess of the second game. Why do these bastards always lack stamina? I swear I could pitch better than that guy—how about using me as a pitcher?”

Jaehyuk quietly looked down at Junghyun, who was making strange job requests with a haggard face after just two hours.

Certainly…

“You actually might be good at pitching…”

For some reason, he thought so.

It wasn’t specified in detail in his profile, but judging by how lightly he moved, his good elasticity, and how he made almost no sound when walking, his core muscles seemed quite strong.

So, he probably was quite athletic.

“I’m good at all sports. I’ve been doing them since I was young. Mostly combat sports though.”

“Combat sports?”

“Special forces martial arts, judo, kendo, occasional surfing, I’m a good swimmer too… Snowboarding in winter. A bit of climbing too. Ah, I should have played baseball instead.”

“You really might be good at it. I’ll take you home, so get up.”

At Jaehyuk’s look that said stop being difficult and get up, Junghyun finally lifted his heavy bottom. He then picked up his jacket, the loosened tie, and the phone he had kept face down throughout the game.

“I’m not going home. So let’s just part ways here.”

“If not home, where are you going?”

“We lost, so I need to drink the alcohol of sorrow.”

“And if we had won?”

“Then I would drink the alcohol of joy.”

Saying that either way he’d be drinking, just with different emotions, Junghyun slung his jacket over his right shoulder and started walking.

Without staggering.

At least outwardly, he looked fine.

But he had drunk quite a bit.

“You seem to have had enough already?”

As he spoke, Jaehyuk glanced back at the table, scanning the four beer cans, one wine bottle, and one champagne bottle rolling around. It might not seem like much, but both the wine and champagne had quite high alcohol content.

Normally, someone who drank that much should be feeling the effects.

“That amount doesn’t even register with my liver.”

“If it registered with your liver, you’d already have cirrhosis.”

“I’m still okay for now.”

“I’m just curious, but you’re not an alcoholic, are you?”

“Not yet.”

“Plans?”

“Soon?”

When Junghyun suggested he might develop it before thirty, Jaehyuk seemed to think about something briefly, then moved on as if it didn’t matter.

“As long as you’re functional until the wedding, it doesn’t matter.”

He had already concluded that Junghyun was an alcoholic.

Convinced that otherwise he couldn’t drink like that in broad daylight, Jaehyuk headed toward the door as if there was nothing more to say, and Junghyun followed behind him with a smile.

“You don’t like alcohol, do you?”

“I don’t like alcohol or baseball.”

“Congratulations. You’ll live a long life.”

“If you know that, why don’t you cut back?”

“What’s the point of living long without alcohol and baseball?”

“That sounds like something a typical addict would say.”

“That’s why you should give up on the marriage.”

“As long as there’s no record, it’s fine.”

“What if I spill everything in that house?”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s the only escape route from the house.”

“Why do you think I’d want to escape?”

“Well? Why would you?”

At the implication to answer himself, Junghyun sensed that not only had Jaehyuk completed all investigations about him but had also finished profiling his personality.

And quite accurately at that.

“You certainly seem to have investigated me thoroughly… but I’m still not going to marry you.”

After expressing his intention one more time as he approached the door and opened it, Jaehyuk gave a strange smile.

It wasn’t implying “you’ll end up marrying me anyway.” Rather, it was a look that said he was desperately coveting something.

That he had to have this.

“Let’s say goodbye here.”

“It’ll be crowded with people.”

“No. It’s better if we’re not together anymore. So, that’s it. Thanks for the owner’s box, but let’s not see each other again. Not even by chance.”

Waving his right hand, Junghyun unilaterally ended the meeting and started walking toward the emergency stairs.

Fortunately, Jaehyuk didn’t try to stop him any further. He just continued to stare with that inscrutable smile.

Though that smile and gaze were irritating, Junghyun didn’t want to spend any more time with him, so he opened the door to the emergency stairs and went outside.

He had expected strict security around the owner’s box, but there weren’t as many guards as he thought.

Thanks to that, he could go straight to the emergency stairs without hindrance and check the floor.

It was the 4th floor.

But the owner’s box had different corridors from the regular audience seats. Despite coming to this stadium for over 10 years, he’d never been in this area, even by mistake. Considering that the 4th floor was also seating for spectators, it meant there was a completely separate corridor.

“…I’ll find my way out somehow…”

It was just a baseball stadium, and if he wandered around, he’d eventually find an exit.

Prepared to call security if needed, Junghyun headed down the stairs without a plan.

The priority now was to sever ties with that man.

Whether by chance or fate.

More easily than expected, Junghyun came down the emergency stairs, found an exit, quickly left the baseball stadium on that Saturday afternoon, and headed to the nearby subway station, finally checking his phone.

Without much thought, he turned on the screen to contact his friends to meet at a bar, but there was no need.

There were 208 missed calls that had come in without his knowledge. Plus, messages had piled up.

“What the hell? Did I die?”

Even if I had a terminal illness, I wouldn’t get this many calls from everywhere. Did they find out I did something wrong? There were too many possibilities to even guess.

It could be work-related, so as he was unlocking the phone to check notifications, a call came in even faster.

It was Uncle Juwon.

With impeccable timing, Junghyun pressed the call button and started walking down the crowded street.

“It’s me. I just left and I’m on my way now.”

As he tried to get ahead by saying he was about to call, a shout burst through even faster.

— “Of course you are! The game just ended!”

“What? How did you know I was at the baseball stadium?”

— “Everyone in the country knows, not just you! Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but at least all baseball fans know!”

“…Baseball fans? What are you talking about?”

— “What do you mean ‘what’? I told you to go out and get rejected politely, not go watch the weekend wild card game’s second match, which was predicted to have over 10% viewership, and broadcast a kissing scene live!”

At Juwon’s rapid-fire scolding, Junghyun held the phone a bit away from his cheek and asked back as if it were nonsense.

“What are you talking about? What broadcast? What kiss?”

Asked to explain properly as he couldn’t understand, another shout came through.

— “Who would know if not you? Before the game even started, the two of you sitting in the owner’s box and kissing was broadcast live!”

“Who?”

— “You!”

“…Me?”

— “Yes! You!”

“…This is news to me.”

— “Then who’s that person in the explicit video circulating on the internet? Your doppelgänger? A twin I didn’t know about? Or have you now become a ghost haunting the baseball stadium?”

“Well, I was in the owner’s box, but…”

It was broadcast live, and occasionally showing the owner’s box during games is common, so that made sense, but Junghyun tried to recall if he had kissed that person, and he had no such memory.

They were together throughout the game, but there was no plausible physical contact during that time. Not just during the game, but from the moment they first met, even when they were in the same car, they never got closer than 50 centimeters.

From the beginning, he was someone who required a wide personal space. Though he appeared elegant and courteous on the outside, that person clearly had boundaries.

And Junghyun himself as well…

“Ah…”

He sighed at the memory flashing through his mind.

It seemed that right before the game when Jaehyuk whispered in his ear, it was caught by the broadcast camera, and that scene must have looked like that on camera.

Come to think of it, why would he whisper in a soundproof room?

Impressive.

“As expected, he’s smart…”