RB 20

Eunho always carried a tablet PC wherever he went. Even now, he was eating while watching a video on the pad. Until now he had focused only on using his left hand, but from now on he also had to imitate Choi Yoonho’s behavior.

The video was like a textbook to him. He ate following Choi Yoonho in the video, even matching the pace of his chewing. When the man on the screen pushed his plate away, Eunho did the same, and when he leaned his back at an angle, Eunho’s posture tilted too.

-Ah, no taste.

“……”

But he could never bring himself to recite the lines. With his lips tightly closed and his brow furrowed, Eunho stayed silent, and Seo Taehwa, who had been watching, snickered and lowered his head.

“Ah, Eunho-ssi, your expressions are getting more varied. Cute, really cute.”

“I’m sorry… I still can’t follow the words.”

“That’s for later, so it’s fine. Your actions are already looking pretty similar. You have better observation than I expected.”

For nearly a week, Eunho practiced sitting posture and eating habits. Each time, Seo Taehwa stayed at his side correcting him.

The one with good eyes was actually Seo Taehwa. Since he had watched Choi Yoonho more closely than anyone, he caught even the smallest errors without missing them. Despite his kind tone, when it came to training, Seo Taehwa was strict. Thanks to that, Eunho learned quickly, but the fatigue built up just as much.

When Eunho paused the video and rubbed the back of his neck, Seo Taehwa’s warm palm quickly covered his neck and massaged it for him. Seo Taehwa spoke gently.

“It’s tiring, right? It’s worse because you’re using muscles you usually don’t use.”

“Am I doing well?”

“Hmm… about six out of ten?”

So strict. Eunho let out a breath close to resignation and fixed his posture again.

“Tell me when I reach ten.”

Seeing him diligent and devoted to his task, Seo Taehwa only smiled.

‎

‎

It was close to midnight.

Eunho sat at the dining table, concentrating on writing practice. With his serious face, he looked like someone drafting a thesis, but what he was scribbling was basic Hangul tracing that preschool children would do. The only difference was that Choi Yoonho’s handwriting was faintly printed on the paper.

While he copied the letters hundreds of times, Seo Taehwa sat across from him, chin on hand, half-asleep. Eunho glanced up at his drowsy face, then knocked lightly on the table.

“Hyung… go in and sleep.”

“Hmmm. Ugh, what time is it?”

“11:54.”

“Yeorok said he’s coming at midnight.”

Seo Taehwa rubbed his eyes and straightened his back. To wake himself up, he slapped his cheeks a few times, then looked blankly at Eunho’s worksheet. Seeing the letters crawling like worms, he chuckled softly.

“Cute, so cute. Feels like I’m teaching a little nephew to study Hangul.”

He said “cute” like a habit. Every time he said it, Eunho sighed. To him, Seo Taehwa’s “cute” only meant he was still immature.

“Let’s stop here for today. You’ll get cramps in your fingers.”

Seo Taehwa took the mechanical pencil from Eunho’s hand and even closed the notebook for him. Before Eunho could react, the messy table was quickly cleared.

Eunho pressed down his slightly trembling fingers and glanced at the wall clock. 11:58. The promised time was just around the corner.

Why was he so nervous over this? Probably because he was about to meet the highest authority in this house. As his shaky breath left him, the sound of the annex’s front door opening reached his ears. Seo Taehwa quickly stood up.

“Always on the dot.”

It was exactly midnight. Eunho tried to stand as well, but Seo Taehwa pressed down on his shoulder. It meant there was no need to go greet him.

The sound of slippers sliding on the floor came. Soon after, two tall men entered the dining room. Eunho rose awkwardly and bowed to Choi Yeorok and Secretary Hong.

“Why are you out here?”

Yeorok spoke as he took off his jacket. Seo Taehwa smoothly received it and replied.

“I was curious what you were up to, so I stayed.”

“You don’t think I’d bully Sim Eunho-ssi?”

Yeorok gave a faint smile. His eyes moved past Seo Taehwa and fixed on the thin young man.

Eunho was helping Secretary Hong set the table. His expression was plain, but his reddened ears showed that he had clearly heard what was just said.

“Someone has to serve, right? You wouldn’t make Namyeong do it.”

“I’ll handle it, so don’t interfere and go sleep.”

“Ha, I forced myself to stay awake waiting, and the first thing you tell me is to get lost. Don’t make Eunho-ssi drink too much. He has a schedule tomorrow, don’t mess it up…”

“Taehwa, I’m tired right now.”

Yeorok cut him short.

Quick-witted Seo Taehwa immediately closed his mouth. Holding the jacket in hand, he turned and tugged Hong Namyeong by the sleeve. The blunt Secretary Hong followed without a word. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to bow politely to Yeorok.

When the others disappeared, the dining room fell silent. Eunho pursed his lips awkwardly and rubbed his forearm. He had no gift of words like Seo Taehwa. All he could do was sit in silence.

While Eunho stood stiff, Yeorok moved around the dining room. He stopped in front of the glass rack, considered, and chose two clean wine glasses. Then he took a bottle of water and another glass and walked to the table where Eunho was standing.

“Sit down. No need to stand.”

“…Yes.”

Eunho swallowed hard and sat down carefully. Opposite him, Yeorok leaned back in comfort and fixed his gaze steadily on Eunho’s face.

“You look tense.”

“A little.”

“Relax. Do you think I will eat you alive?”

“I feel like… I might get scolded.”

“Scolded? By me?”

“By the Chairman’s standards, I fall far short. I worry that I will be a burden to someone as busy as you. Since I really don’t know anything, you will probably feel frustrated.”

Yeorok laughed out loud, something rare. It was the first time Eunho ever heard his real laughter. Eunho lifted his gaze. Choi Yeorok covered his mouth to suppress the laughter.

“Then of course you should be scolded, what else can be done?”

“……”

“I already know Sim Eunho-ssi’s level. I’ve made a plan suited to that. I don’t expect you to be a genius. But if the results are too slow compared to the effort, that would be a problem.”

Eunho swallowed again. But his mouth was so dry that there was hardly any saliva to go down his throat.

Chairman Choi Yeorok had the kind of smooth speech that left people burdened. He told him not to be nervous, yet he was tightening the noose even more.

“Don’t make my time wasted.”

“I will do my best.”

“Not just your best. Perfectly.”

“Yes. I will keep working hard until I become perfect.”

Yeorok smiled briefly. He seemed timid, but he knew how to give a solid reply. The fact that it was not bluffing but sincere also pleased him.

Yeorok pulled the box placed in the center of the table toward himself. When he opened the cover, dozens of small glass bottles were neatly lined up. He took out the set of cards enclosed in the box. Holding them like a poker dealer, he picked out ten cards.

“Sim Eunho-ssi not knowing the taste of wine is because you don’t have enough experience with flavors. This is one of the training methods sommeliers use. You can learn the different aromas found in wine with an aroma kit.”

He took out glass bottles according to the numbers on the cards. Soon enough, finger-sized bottles were standing in front of Eunho.

“I’ll give you thirty minutes. In that time, study and memorize the scents.”

Eunho placed his hands on the table. He first unfolded the cards that Yeorok handed over. The cards listed fruits like lemon and raspberry, flowers, herbs, even earth and leather scents.

After that, he compared the smells from the bottles with the names on the cards to learn the scents. So this is what lavender smelled like. The scents he had only heard the names of before were unfamiliar, but they imprinted clearly in his mind.

Before he knew it, Eunho was focusing completely on memorizing the aromas. He poured all his attention into smelling and remembering, no matter that someone was staring straight at him from across the table.

Meanwhile, Yeorok opened the wine he had brought and poured himself a glass. Having just finished a tight schedule, he was considerably tired. He tilted his neck side to side, then drank a sip of wine.

Sim Eunho studying hard, had become his entertainment. The space between Eunho’s brows was tightly furrowed. It seemed to be an expression that appeared whenever he concentrated.

That’s a bad habit, Yeorok thought to himself, stroking the grain of the table with his hand.

“Thirty minutes are up.”

Eunho slowly raised his head. It seemed he had finished memorizing much earlier but had held on persistently until the end without wasting time.

Yeorok poured wine into a glass and slid it across to him. Then, in front of Eunho, he lifted his own glass deliberately.

“The thinner the wine glass, the more expensive it is.”

“…Why?”

“Because it brings out the taste of the wine better. Even with the same wine, the taste changes depending on the glass you drink it from.”

Eunho found it hard to understand, but he nodded. His gaze was already fixed on Yeorok’s fingers holding the glass. He had thought it before, but his fingers were long and straight, unusually beautiful for a man’s hands. When such hands held a wine glass with elegant curves, it naturally drew eyes.

“This is called swirling. When you swirl wine, the aromas trapped inside awaken. Think of it as a habitual action before drinking wine.”

Eunho copied Yeorok and turned his glass. The red wine inside swayed like the hem of a luxurious dress.

“Gently.”

“Yes.”

Eunho’s brow furrowed again. For something as simple as swirling wine, it seemed almost excessive how focused he was.

“When you lift the glass, you normally avoid touching the bowl as much as possible… but Choi Yoonho just grabbed it and drank. He put the stem between his middle and ring finger and lifted it as if supporting the bowl.”

“Like this?”

Eunho held the wine the way he had seen and heard. Since it was his first time holding a wine glass properly, and with his left hand, his posture looked awkward.

“……”

Yeorok stared at him without speaking. Seeing his expression, Eunho immediately felt troubled. It was clear he was not satisfied…

No matter how much he tried to imitate, his left hand refused to obey. He adjusted the angle of his fingers this way and that, but he could not make it look as natural as Choi Yeorok’s.

“What do you think the problem is?”

Eunho’s clumsy movements froze.

Yeorok tilted his chin and observed closely, studying what was wrong. His gaze was sharp, and Eunho became stiff like a statue.

At that moment, Yeorok pushed off the table and stood. While Eunho only blinked, he came behind him and bent down.

“Loosen your hand.”