Chapter Text
“I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit”
— the 1, Taylor Swift
The blaring sound of alarm from his phone greeted his eardrums, interrupting his sleep. Slowly he opened his eyes and a sigh was escaping his lips. Morning was never his favorite and as much as he wanted to stay in bed all day, the time on the clock was demanding him to get up.
A groan slipped out as he forced himself to get up. It seemed his body was getting tired easily as he was now in his 30s.
After a session of shower, he was then dressed up in a neat navy shirt and neck nicely wrapped in a black silk tie. He stepped out of his room and went to the kitchen to make himself a cup of hot English breakfast tea.
He sipped his tea while checking any reports his subordinates sent him on his laptop. When the clock almost hit 9, he then turned off his laptop and went to his room again to grab his grey suit and bag.
“Eommoni, Abeoji, I’m leaving now. Abeoji, don’t forget to take your medicine!” He yelled, hoping his voice could reach both of his parents in their room before he grabbed the car key and left the house. On the weekdays every morning, this was the routine of a 34-year-old Lee Jihoon— nothing too special and out of ordinary, just like any other working adult.
He looked around while driving. His small orbs caught the sight of a lot of people walking on the sidewalk. He observed how each of them were doing different things. There was someone who walked their dog, someone who jogged, a mother holding her little daughter's hand while walking, and an elderly couple who walked holding each other’s hand. Each of them showed many kinds of different lives. It may seem simple, but compared to his own life that he saw as very dull and plain, those people’s lives looked more delightful to him.
He sometimes wondered if someday he doesn’t need to drive his car almost every morning or need to leave his house at 9 am or if he will have a different routine. But, he doubted his life would be different from what he had right now.
When he arrived at the company where he worked, immediately his subordinates greeted him as he walked inside.
“Good morning, Manager Lee!”
Jihoon gave them a nod and smiled as a response to their greetings. He entered the Sales Department room and walked to his desk that was placed at the corner.
A moment later after he sat down, one of his female subordinates walked to his desk with a gleeful smile. A cream colored square envelope was held in her hand.
“Excuse me, Manager Lee!” She called politely.
“Sorry to interrupt you for a moment, I just want to give you my wedding invitation!” She said while handing Jihoon the envelope in her hand.
“Oh? You’re getting married?” Jihoon asked while scanning over the cream colored envelope that was now in his hand.
“Yes! And I want to invite the whole Sales Department since everyone here has treated me so nicely, including you, Manager Lee. I hope you will consider coming to my wedding, Sir. I would appreciate that a lot.” She said, still with that smile that grew even wider as she bowed at the end of her sentence.
“Of course, I will come. You’re inviting me, how could I not go? Congrats on your wedding by the way.” Jihoon returned the smile.
“Oh, Chaeyeon, you’re getting married?” Another staff member in the room asked— seemingly eavesdropping their conversation.
“Really, Chaeyeon?”
One by one all the staff started to come near the bride-to-be, questioning the truth of her wedding.
Chaeyeon just laughed at all of her coworkers' reactions. “Yes! Yes! Please, wait! I’ll give each one of you the invitation.”
Everyone started to cheer and congratulate Chaeyeon one by one, livening up the atmosphere in the room.
“Manager Lee, the Director wants to see you.” Another Jihoon’s subordinate then informed him.
Jihoon excused himself and walked out of the room where a man who looked much older than him— who was known as the Sales Director -- was waiting for him.
“Quite lively inside, eh?.” The Director said, referring to the cheerful atmosphere inside the Sales Department room.
“Yes, Kim Chaeyeon just announced her wedding, so everyone is congratulating her right now.”
“Isn’t that lovely? Speaking of marriage, aren’t you also in your 30s, Manager Lee?”
“Pardon, Sir?”
“Don’t you also want to settle down, have a family and get married? I have a niece around your age who is also single. If you want I can introduce both of you.”
“Ah…” Jihoon hardly tried to keep the polite smile still clinging on his face. He knew for sure his smile was looking very awkward. A lot of questions entered his mind asking if the Director only wanted to see him just to talk about this and not for work.
“Thank you, Sir, for the offer, but I don’t have that kind of desire yet.” Jihoon politely said, still forcing the smile on his face. He rubbed his elbow, showing some discomfort.
When he went back to his desk after discussing work with the Director, the wedding invitation laid on the table caught his attention there.
Marriage.
He sighed. Deep inside, Jihoon actually despised that word. He always hated it every time that topic was brought to him, he wished people would stop asking him about it. But, later that night when he got back home from work, his mother decided to just irritate him even more.
“Son, do you know my friend, Sunhee? Her daughter is single.” Jihoon’s mother said as the son just entered their house.
“What has that got to do with me?” Jihoon asked with some annoyance in his tone while he took off his shoes. He knew where this conversation was going.
“What else? Sunhee and I agreed to introduce you two to each other. Isn’t it about time for you to think about marriage?”
Again, with these marriage bullshits.
He sighed deeply.
“I already told you I don’t have any interest in that.” Jihoon sternly said while loosening his tie roughly.
“At least try to meet her first, maybe you will like her. How long will you keep saying you don’t want to get married? All my friends’ children are already getting married. Me and your father only want you to give us some grandchildrens.”
Jihoon shut his eyes for a moment and held his breath before he let out one harsh sigh. This morning's conversation with the Director already annoyed him so much and now his mother made it worse. He didn’t have any energy to debate with his mother, so he grabbed his car key again.
“I’m going out!” He said while turning and walking towards the door, putting on his shoes again.
“Where are you going this late? You’re always hanging out so late lately. If you have a girlfriend just introduce her to us!”
Jihoon didn’t reply back and just shut the door close behind him after he stepped out. He drove away to a place where his mind could think of and that was a bar hidden in the street of Gangnam.
He parked his car in an empty space in the parking lot. He entered the bar. It was filled with just men inside. At some tables could be seen some of them embracing others intimately.
Jihoon immediately sat down at a seat at the bar counter. The bar was quite spacious and it had a luxurious feel to it with all-black interior.
A moment later a man who seemed younger than Jihoon, wearing a tight black turtleneck that wrapped his buff muscular body approached him.
“Hey, pretty, are you alone?” That young man asked seductively.
“Sorry, but I’m not in the mood.” Jihoon said, making that man then left him.
“So, what do you want to drink?” The bartender then came and asked Jihoon.
“Whiskey or something stronger.”
“Something bothering you?” The bartender asked again while he grabbed a whiskey bottle from the shelf. He then grabbed a rocks glass, filled it with ice. He poured the beverage into the glass and then served them in front of Jihoon.
The bartender and also the owner of the bar, a tall skinny young man with long hair named Seo Myungho, was Jihoon's close friend. Jihoon was a regular customer in this bar for so long and that made him know Myungho quite well. This bar had always been a place for Jihoon to hang out, especially when he was in a displeased state like this moment.
Jihoon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair that had gotten pretty long. “It’s just everyone keeps bringing all these marriage bullshits. I’m sick of it.” He took a gulp of the liquor and felt the liquid start to burn his throat.
“Even after 7 years, you haven’t gotten over it?” Myungho asked carefully and looked at Jihoon cautiously.
Jihoon didn’t answer and kept sipping his drink. His expression shifted from annoyance to a more somber and then filled with emptiness. Myungho didn’t ask anymore and just left Jihoon drinking alone throughout the night.
He was kind of regretting his choice of drink. He knew he was a lightweight, yet he was forcing himself to drink a strong liquor like whiskey. His head felt dizzier as he stood up and walked out of the bar.
His vision was a bit hazy and his steps were wobbly. He knew he couldn’t drive back home in this state, so he walked towards a sidewalk, in hope a taxi would pass by there.
His steps became more unsteady as he walked and his head got more dizzy. Clumsily, he stumbled at his own foot, causing the gravity to pull his body towards the ground. But, before his body could even touch the ground, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Jihoon could feel his back now leaned on the person’s body who was taller than him and that person was holding both of his shoulders, preventing him from falling again. After balancing himself and he could stand up perfectly, Jihoon then turned his head to the person behind him.
“Thank y—”
Suddenly his tongue felt numb and all his words sucked back to his throat. Jihoon couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol influencing his head that he started to hallucinate, but he only could stare wide-eyed at the person who held him. His heart started to beat faster, like it was about to explode at the shock he felt. Because why was this person that he saw was the one he had wished they wouldn’t cross each other’s path again, Kwon Soonyoung, his ex-husband?