CTL 30

“They said you don’t eat spicy food at all.”

“……? How did you know that?”

Did I ever say it out loud? Yoongeon thought, retracing his past, as Seohwi placed a napkin in front of him and spoke.

“Last time at the restaurant, the CEO said it, didn’t she.”

“The CEO? Ah, my aunt…”

He had been wondering how on earth he knew, but it seemed he had overheard his aunt talking to his father at the restaurant. Yoongeon looked at Seohwi with surprised eyes. For a guy who was the most indifferent in the whole wide world, he had become quite affectionate, no, excessively affectionate and meticulous to this extent.

“I didn’t know you were listening to that.”

“I wasn’t listening on purpose.”

“Yes, I know.”

It was not some big secret, so he had no intention of scolding him for eavesdropping.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to see you there.”

“Ah, I don’t usually go there, but my aunt’s law firm and my mother’s foundation are near that restaurant. So when I have meals with the adults, I often go there.”

It was an awkwardly located distance from the company, so he did not go there often, but he had frequently gone there when having meals with his mother or aunt. At his words, Seohwi nodded his head as if he finally understood.

His mother was easygoing and not particularly picky about food, but his aunt had a very discerning palate, making it difficult to find a suitable restaurant. If a place was good enough to satisfy a person like that, it was not bad for Yoongeon either, so it was a place he would stop by occasionally when he thought of it. To think that place was the restaurant Seohwi’s parents ran. Should he buy something to bring next time he goes? Yoongeon found himself thinking about making a good impression on them without even realizing it.

“Anyway, it’s not that I’m a picky eater or anything.”

“There are a lot of people who can’t eat spicy food. People with childish palates usually can’t eat it well, you know.”

However, Seohwi brought up a comment that was impossible to ignore.

“…Childish palate?”

“…….”

When Yoongeon asked back, Seohwi looked at him with an ‘oops’ expression, then pretended nothing was wrong and ate a piece of sushi. Does he think everything will be fine if he just pretends not to know?

“Did you just call my palate childish?”

“…Did I?”

Seohwi asked back a beat too late, like someone who clearly had something to hide. When he stared at him coldly, Seohwi could not meet his gaze properly and looked away. At that moment, Yoongeon was so dumbfounded that he let out a scoffing laugh with a ‘huh’ and picked up a piece of sushi to eat.

“…….”

It was then. Suddenly, an unbearably spicy sensation tingled and stung the tip of his nose. The wasabi was so spicy that Yoongeon’s face contorted in an instant.

“Haha!”

He had even glared as if to say he could eat spicy things without any problem, but Yoongeon was utterly and miserably defeated by the spiciness. Yoongeon was resentful, but this was strangely suspicious. It was so spicy that for a moment, his headache and everything else completely vanished.

“What… are you laughing at. It’s not that I can’t eat spicy things, it just seems like there’s a lot of wasabi in this…”

As Yoongeon began to gather his excuses, Seohwi let out a small laugh, then meticulously removed all the wasabi from inside the sushi and pushed it in front of him. Who does he think he is, treating me like a baby? He glared, but Seohwi just went back to picking up and eating his own portion of sushi.

“Isn’t it spicy for you?”

“It is. I think this place puts in an unusual amount of wasabi.”

Yoongeon agreed and nodded his head at the remark that they usually put in less than this.

“This much is self-torture…”

It was an inappropriate thing to say for a person who engaged in self-harm on a daily basis, but it was not entirely wrong either. Kids these days eat things this spicy without batting an eye; if that is not self-torture, what is it? Yoongeon had eaten sushi often while dining with adults, but he had never been to a place that put in as much wasabi as this one.

Still, thanks to Seohwi removing all the wasabi, eating was no longer a torment. It was not a particularly high-class taste, but thinking it was decent enough, Yoongeon ate, and just as expected, as soon as he started to feel full, he quickly became indifferent to eating.

“Is it good?”

“It’s edible.”

From then on, Yoongeon watched Seohwi eat. For someone whose parents ran a famous restaurant, Seohwi had a simple palate. Well… come to think of it, even in the past when he lived as royalty, his palate had not been picky.

“Eat more.”

Perhaps feeling uncomfortable with him watching him instead of eating his own meal, Seohwi gestured with his chin towards the sushi placed in front of him.

“Why. You can’t eat it?”

At the look that seemed to ask if it was because he was a picky eater, Yoongeon shook his head.

“Because I’m full.”

Yoongeon replied and ate a little more of the food in front of him. It must not have looked good that he had stopped eating after only three pieces of sushi.

“You don’t have to force yourself to eat.”

“……”

He glanced at him, worried about getting nagged 괜히, and Seohwi let out a small sigh.

“I think it’s not to your taste.”

“Well…”

Yoongeon looked at the food placed in front of him.

“To be honest, I don’t really know.”

“What is it that you don’t know?”

“Just, the taste…”

It was not a matter of whether it tasted good or not, nor was it a problem like having lost his sense of taste. It was just that after becoming numb to everything, Yoongeon could not feel the happiness that humans feel in life. Even when he saw beautiful scenery or ate delicious food, he felt no great emotion. For him, who had become indifferent to everything, the only thing that stimulated him was Seohwi.

“…….”

Seohwi looked at Yoongeon, who was being vague, without a word, and then nodded his head.

“I see.”

At his thoughtless reply, Seohwi’s expression darkened. After contemplating for a moment, he asked if he did not want to eat. When Yoongeon, while still being mindful of him, said yes, he cleared the remaining food from in front of him without any lingering attachment.

“You don’t have to force yourself to do things you don’t want to do.”

All this time, it had been meals he forced himself to eat to fit in with others, but being told he did not have to, a corner of his heart felt relieved for some reason. But he was anxious because he could not tell what Seohwi was thinking.

“So, about that.”

While cleaning up the table after the meal, Seohwi spoke up. When he looked back, Seohwi continued to speak without even looking at him.

“I have something to say.”

“…Something to say? What is it.”

“Um…”

With his gaze fixed on the table, Seohwi smiled a little awkwardly.

“I think I’ve found the answer to the worry I was thinking about.”

“…….”

“Executive Director.”

After throwing away the trash, Seohwi finally met his gaze.

“I said I wouldn’t regret it, didn’t I.”

“…So what.”

He was about to ask what he was trying to say, but Seohwi smiled faintly and then shook his head, saying they should talk later.

“Now, let’s talk now, just.”

“It’s not something to talk about here. Let’s leave work together today.”

He spoke as if it were no big deal, but sensing something unusual, Yoongeon bit his lip and only looked at the floor. He felt anxious for some reason.