A small royal blue and gray box decorated with a ribbon was placed neatly next to the glass. I wondered why he had brought a dark navy shopping bag when he came to work, but it seemed the box was probably inside.
“‘Debauve & Gallais’ bonbons? Did you buy them on purpose?”
Shushu, recognizing the brand from just the box, looked delighted, as if it were a favorite.
“I need you to be in top condition for the event. Have some. You’ll be less nervous during the Q&A.”
He was saying it was a business consideration, but I already knew what the CEO’s business smile looked like. Right now, he looked even happier than Shushu who had received the gift.
The chocolates in the box were so meticulously crafted, each with a different shape, that it felt almost too precious to eat. A rich sweetness mingled with the coffee aroma spreading from the coffee machine that the manager had turned on. Ridiculously, it felt as if the source of the scent was not the chocolates, but Shushu.
I blankly stared at the CEO and Shushu, who looked as stunning as a magazine spread or movie poster. Then, I quickly poured Inwoo hyung a glass of champagne, who was complaining that even though there was a difference in sales, they were still both artists, but the treatment was so different, and he wasn’t even offered a glass of the champagne sitting right there, let alone expensive chocolates.
“I didn’t mean to bother Yeehyeon-ssi. The guy who should feel guilty isn’t even paying attention. Sorry. I’ll enjoy it.”
I managed a smile at Inwoo hyung as he said that, but it was just an awkward upturning of my lips.
Since it was a large-scale event, a PR agency had been hired, so there wasn’t much to do on the opening day itself. Yuni noona, who was practically the general manager, was supervising the final preparations on the second floor, but Juhan hyung and I were waiting in one corner of the office for the first part of the event to begin. It felt awkward just standing there, watching the conversations of people who were friendly with each other, and I wished someone would give me something to do, anything.
“Let’s share this. I can’t eat it all by myself anyway.”
“No, this is a gift, so you eat it all. You can take the leftovers home.”
The CEO gently stopped the artist’s hand as he pushed the box towards the center of the table, but after handing a chocolate each to the manager and Inwoo hyung, the artist targeted the CEO this time.
“Try it. The person who bought it should taste it too.”
Shushu picked up a leaf-shaped chocolate and held his arm out towards him, who was standing next to him. He narrowed his eyes as if contemplating for a moment while looking down at the chocolate, but soon bent down and took the chocolate.
Where was the person who frowned, saying he didn’t like sweets after eating Yuni noona’s ice cream? There wasn’t even a subtle change in his expression as he put the chocolate in his mouth.
All those scenes and conversations felt like a movie playing on a screen across a table, unrelated to me. Unrelated to me, yet evoking emotions, shaking my heart, making me root for someone, making me hate someone.
“It’s more delicious when we all eat together. Juhan-ssi, have one too. Did you not like sweets, by any chance?”
Shushu’s gaze, which had been directed at Juhan hyung, naturally reached me next to him.
“Oh… but this person is….”
And the soft, brown eyes wanted to know about my identity.
It was the first time we had made eye contact at such a close distance. He was not at all threatening, but I wanted to avoid the situation momentarily.
“I’m sorry. Was it uncomfortable?”
But there was no need for me to answer. The CEO, stepping forward with his hand on his shoulder as if trying to protect him, looked visibly flustered. In the next moment, a cold, quick command was directed at me.
“Can you give us some space? He’s very shy and gets uncomfortable around people he doesn’t know. How did no one think of this beforehand?”
At the end, he sharpened his voice towards the others in the office.
It felt like it had been a while. His way, his rhetoric, of not caring even a little about the feelings of others being hurt for the sake of someone precious to him.
It had only been a temporary lull recently, and it was nothing new. He had been that kind of person from the beginning. Juhan hyung and the manager were also precious to him, but they could be pushed down the priority list at any time when there was someone more precious.
So, there was no need to even talk about my feelings.
“A Wei.”
It was Shushu who broke the awkwardly stiff air.
The CEO turned around at Shushu’s words, and Shushu also looked up at the CEO as he spoke, so that unfamiliar title must have been referring to him.
Instead of using the title “Kun” like many others, Shushu was calling him by a different name. Unlike the tone so far, which was like a latte with a lot of milk, his voice was firm and resolute.
“I just asked who you were, why are you being like this? You’re going to make me look weird.”
He shut his mouth at the artist’s scolding, but that didn’t restore my distorted mood. No, the more I listened to Shushu taking my side, the more I felt like my very existence was becoming miserable, beyond just feeling bad.
Since when did you listen to other people so well? I felt a rough urge to criticize the CEO, who had shut his mouth at his few words.
“I’m sorry, Shushu-nim. I was so out of it that I didn’t even introduce you. This is a new Phantom employee who joined recently. Seo Yeehyeon.”
At the manager’s introduction, I stepped forward and bowed my head.
“Hello, I’m Seo Yeehyeon.”
“Nice to meet you. Please understand that he says strange things. He’s a bit rough around the edges, right? He wasn’t like this before, but I think he’s getting more prickly as he does business.”
“No, it’s okay.”
Superficially, it sounded like he was concerned about my feelings, but in reality, it felt like he was protecting the CEO. I was amazed at my own cynicism in interpreting his kindness that way. I didn’t want anyone to notice, so I quickly erased it from my mind.
Inwoo hyung got up with his empty champagne glass, pushing the chair back a little noisily. It was an action that clearly revealed his displeasure.
“Whether it’s in the past or now, he’s still the same when it’s not a situation where he benefits, right? He only pretended to be nice in front of you, so you remember him differently. At least he’s learned to force a smile while doing business, so he’s actually more developed now.”
“It wasn’t that bad….”
At Inwoo hyung’s attack, Shushu defended him in a hesitant voice, and
“Leave it. It’s not wrong to say that I was only different in front of you.”
He didn’t particularly try to hide his long-standing favoritism towards Shushu.
The past meant before Phantom, so of course, Shushu wasn’t an affiliated artist of Phantom at that time either. I could now easily imagine him being a nice guy only in front of Shushu even back then.
“Is there such a thing as a good man? I’ve never seen one.” – The words he said at the manager’s dining table, could it have been a self-mockery about himself not being able to be a completely good man to anyone?
That thought flashed through my stiff mind, but I couldn’t confirm it, and it was unrelated to me. It was even less of a thing to be absorbed in at this moment.
“He’s an affiliated artist. I’m so sorry for the late introduction. We’ll be seeing each other often in the future, so please take care of me.”
Although there was a distance between us, so we didn’t shake hands, Shushu smiled brightly at me. It was a smile that seemed valuable just for the beauty of the smile itself. But this time, I couldn’t even force a smile at the corners of my lips.
“I… please take care of me too.”
My voice, which seemed to be fading away, was buried by the CEO’s voice that followed as soon as I finished my greeting.
“No one’s going to say anything to you for not taking care of greetings. Take care of yourself first today, rather than that. You’re not even going to be able to eat a single chocolate.”
He seemed worried to the point of being anxious that Shushu would be called to the Q&A without even tasting a single one of his favorite chocolates.
Just as Shushu had barely swallowed one chocolate and emptied about half a glass of champagne, Yuni Noona opened the office door.
“CEO, please check the finishing touches on the photo wall. Shushu-nim, please take a look at the manuscript with me for a moment.”
As soon as Yuni Noona disappeared into the inner reception room with the manager and the artist, Inwoo hyung, who had been standing by the window, distorted his expression towards him.
“The overprotection is still the same. He makes the manager take on all the bad roles and tries to play only the good roles himself. He manipulates everything from behind and subtly pretends it’s not him.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
He didn’t even bat an eye at Inwoo hyung’s attack. He was just focused on putting the chocolate box that Shushu had left behind back into the shopping bag.
“I’m not saying anything about the overprotection, but stop coddling only Shushu while sacrificing other people around you. How can you only see one thing when you’re so good at multitasking and using your head when doing business?”
“…….”
Inwoo hyung sighed at his expression, which showed that he didn’t understand at all. I knew that what Inwoo hyung was trying to say was for my sake. But I wanted him to stop.
As they left the office together, Inwoo hyung gripped his shoulder with some force.
“Why do you have to say things like that? We think of it as your original personality and just let it go… but it’s really hard to watch from the side….”
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