Chapter Text
Sung Hyunjae could never understand the public’s taste in films.
To be precise, as the CEO of the Seseong multinational media group, he did possess business acumen that allowed him to consistently select scripts resonating with people’s feelings the most. There were even film critic magazines trying to keep track of his business decisions as a reference for a “good” movie.
Of course, as a good leader, he would never turn down the chances of free advertisement and even accepted several interviews talking about his script selection criteria.
Vibrant special effects stimulated senses, gentle whispers evoked enchanting hallucination, regretful farewells brought tears to audiences’ eyes. For Sung Hyunjae, there was a formula to choose a good script, a formula that tore daily interactions into fragments which were easy to manage and manipulate and to build an ideal world that integrated all daydreams.
In his eyes, filming was no difference to his daily life. Predictable, and full of déjà vu. To some point in his life, he deliberately deconstructed things, wishing to see new possibilities, but all his searches went in vain. Humans' intentions were still easily discernible to him.
How tedious.
Sung Hyunjae look at the summary report submitted by the market research department for the company’s latest romance movie. People were praised for the delicate portrayal of emotions. He expected such comments. But “a strong sense of immersion” was also highlighted by some viewers.
Immersion? What did the comment even mean? The movie was a clichéd story between a company CEO and his clueless, innocent new assistant. Honestly, he didn’t understand why someone would want to date their bosses. Being good at sensing people’s feelings, he did put himself into different circumstances.
As a good leader, he had a clear understanding of how his subordinates thought of him. Respectable, admirable, but also intimidating. As his assistant Kang Soyoung said, no matter how grateful a pretty face was, once it was tied to the company's performance, it wouldn’t be more attractive than real money and bonus days off.
Although he didn’t think this was the only reason for his employees to be terrified by him. There was a subtle sense of estrangement, as if he were not a human to them, as if he had the power to crush them. Considering his social status, this probably was not a lie, but why would he do such a thing? It’s not even fun.
By all means, Sung Hyunjae was impressed by his assistant’s courage to say such things in front of his face. Even if the novelty wore off quickly, Sung Hyunjae did appreciate the little entertainment Kang Soyoung had brought to his boring life.
Honestly, he didn’t even mind role-playing the assistant part, giving the assumption that the "blunt intruders" narrative would be fun. But who can, or he should say, who dared be the CEO he could bump into? There’s a particular police officer Sung Hyunjae wished he could play the “alpha CEO” part, but he had already blocked Sung Hyunjae; alas, life was full of pain.
Sung Hyunjae sighed and decided to skip all his afternoon work. He cared less about his status, but being your own boss did have some advantages, such as running away from tedious workload and enjoying the beautiful sunshine.
There’s a heathland close to the Seseong headquarter that was a simple 20-minute drive. Sung Hyunjae got out of his car freely and stepped into the path covered with knee-high weeds, into the wilderness. He followed the dirt path worn by human footsteps. Sunlight streamed through the tall broadleaf trees. Autumn had crept onto the path, turning fallen leaves into a vibrant carpet filled with reds and hues. In the distance, the high-pitched roar of stags echoed, signalling the breeding season.
Sung Hyunjae wasn’t sure why he’d chosen this heathland. He wasn't the cynical type to think animals were better to get along with than humans. Animals, including homo sapiens, all had patterns, and to some extent, can be understood. That means predictable, which was boring to him.
Perhaps it was human instinct? A desire for the raw, primal vitality of the wilderness before fading away in a predetermined life that he yearned for?
Sung Hyunjae walked leisurely towards the source of the deer's roar. The land normally was safe. Deer were timid creatures that could be startled by humans, and even rutting stags rarely attacked people.
He might be too confidence with his clairvoyance. When he found out something was off, it was too late to run. The sound he heard was not only just the roar of stags. The land trembled, and an entire herd was running toward him.
"Peace! Peace! Peace! Stop! Oh God, stop! Peace! Come back!" A panicked young voice sounded.
The last thing Sung Hyunjae saw was a fireball chasing the whole herd of deer charging towards him. A fireball?
"Bang!" Before Sung Hyunjae was knocked unconscious by the lead stag, he still couldn't figure out what the hell that fireball was.
Every clichéd CEO romance story began like this: a clumsy assistant accidentally spills coffee on their CEO's expensive three-piece suit during an important business meeting, tearfully insisting they'd pay for the suit at full price. With no reason, then, the CEO would admire the assistant's stubbornness and utter the famous line: "You’ve piqued my interest."
Though, it was indeed a surprise to Sung Hyunjae that “coffee” would turn into… a herd of deer?
He woke up in complete darkness. It was a starless night, but his intuition kept warning him that he had been watched, as if the unseen crescent moon in the darkness was observing him.
“Clicking.”
The door was opened by someone, and the dazzling white light from the corridor streamed into the room. A fine, delicate feature walked in with a takeaway food box in his hand.
“Oh, you are awake! How do you feel now? Do you feel pain?” Sung Hyunjae recognised the voice. He was the man who had frantically shouted to the fireball’s name, was it peace, before he was knocked away by the stag.
His silence seemed to make the young man uneasy. The man hurriedly stepped forward to check on him, even putting up four fingers to test if he could still see.
“Is peace your pet’s name?” Instead of answering the man’s question, Sung Hyunjae only cared about what he wanted to know.
"Ah…you remember? That’s great, at least you don’t have a brain injury, ahaha…” the man chuckled dryly. "Um, hi, I'm Han Yoojin, a graduate student at Haeyeon University. Peace is a rescued cub taken care of by our lab. I… I will take full responsibility for today's accident, so please don't blame the child!” Han Yoojin bowed solemnly, apologising to the man who was clearly rich.
What a classic drama, the apology after spilling coffee. Sung Hyunjae may have had a lingering effect of being hit by a deer, and slowly pondered which part he might be in the CEO romance.
“How are you going to take responsibility for this? Paying for the medical bill?”
“Of course! This is the bare minimum!” Han Yoojin replied without hesitation.
It felt more similar to the CEO romance plot. “No offence… but I don’t think a graduate student has enough resources to pay off the bill, let alone take the responsibility?” Sung Hyunjae raised one eyebrow in questioning.
Surprisingly, Han Yoojin wasn’t irritated with his insult nor shameful with the truth he exposed. The young man just gave him a sheepish but suggestive smile, as if he had already thought about any possibilities. “Sir, this is a public hospital, the one covered by the national health insurance.”
Han Yoojin had never thought that he would be trapped in a clichéd romance. From his point of view, he was just a hardworking graduate student who worked days and nights to feed himself and his adorable younger brother.
Han Yoojin didn’t consider himself to be someone with special talents. To feed the family, he had no choice but to grasp every opportunity he had, doing literally any job he could find. Luckily, in an animal conservation event, the host, who was a professor from Haeyeon University, noticed that the animals were remarkably friendly towards him. Even species with eccentric personalities that were difficult to cultivate in animal protection centres showed higher survival rates under Han Yoojin’s attention. Although these little creatures still had low willingness to interact with other human or even their own kind, it was a huge progression just to keep them alive.
With his newly discovered talents in cultivation, Han Yoojin was admitted to his special position in the university. Although he was still questioning himself internally all the time, his motto was to seize every opportunity.
One of the animals under his protection was a Borneo Bay Cat, an endangered feline with rich chestnut red fur, endemic exclusively to the island of Borneo, Indonesia. The population was estimated at less than 2,500 individuals in the wild. As a mid-level carnivore, it primarily feeds on small vertebrates, including rodents and birds.
The research on the Borneo Bay Cat was limited, and its habits were hard to fully portray. The one Han Yoojin was taken care of seems to be a little different, a little bit too aggressive and isolated, while his fur was more red than his species, like fire.
“You are peace!” Han Yoojin told the kitty, who only showed attachment toward him, “Love and peace are the only way for cultivation.” Han Yoojin gently scratched Peace’s chin, satisfied to hear his purring.
The weather was too nice to waste, Han Yoojin looked outside and thought, “Peace, let’s go out, shall we?” In a good mood, Han Yoojin had no idea how much trouble his intrusive thoughts would bring him.
The lab for animal conservation was next to a large heathland. Although the safety rules did required staff to always ensure animals were on leash when walking them in the wilderness, Han Yoojin was too soft when seeing Peace scratched his neck, seemingly uncomfortable with the collar.
“Peace, you need to stay obediently by Daddy's side and not run around, okay?" Han Yoojin took off the collar and stroked the fire cat’s head.
Suddenly, the call of a stag echoed from afar. The entire wilderness seemed to be filled with restlessness due to the breeding season, and Peace was clearly disturbed. By the time Han Yoojin remembered that autumn wasn't the best season for a domestic cat to roam freely, no matter how wild the little cat was, it was too late to stop the rocket from being fired. Peace had already run off towards the deer herd, who were simply enjoying their mating season.
"Peace! Peace! Peace! Stop! Oh God, stop! Peace! Come back!" Han Yoojin desperately chased after Peace, but the fire cat was summoned by its wild instincts and ignored its beloved caretaker's cries. It’s a chain reaction. The herd was frightened and fled in panic. Han Yoojin watched helplessly as a seemingly clueless well-dressed man appeared in front of the herd, who was roughly shoved aside by the leading stag and elegantly collapsed to the ground.
Ah… would Haeyeon University reimburse medical expenses incurred by a cat accident? Surely not.
Would he be able to pay off medical bills for a guy who had probably only ever received treatments from his concierge doctor?
Absolutely not.
Umm…anyway, using public healthcare resources when needed was always legit, right?
“Sir, this is a public hospital, the one covered by the national health insurance.” Han Yoojin secretly praised the public healthcare system in Korea.
It’s understandable that the other person wouldn't immediately recognise it as a public hospital, though, as Han Yoojin did pay out-of-pocket fees for a single room, out of guilt. He desperately hoped the man hit by the stag was just temporarily confused and not actually suffering a concussion. Dear god, please send him back to the animal conservation channel, don’t let him trap with this domineering CEO novel.
"…" The man said nothing but only stared intently at Han Yoojin with his bright golden eyes. Han Yoojin’s sympathy and conscience were already overflowing and even grew more aggravated.
“Sir…please let me know anything you want! I will try my best to compensate you. Do you have any relatives or friends you want to contact? Oh, sorry, I don't even know your name yet."
Sung Hyunjae wasn’t sure how people usually handle a car… deer accident, but this was the first time someone sought public resources after causing him trouble. Honestly, this might be a normal thing for most people; people from different social classes rarely have a chance to interact, after all. But the young man was treating him as if he weren’t someone who would break his bank account, just a poor man who needed to be taken care of. He’s intrigued.
...Besides, there weren’t many people who had pets who can chase deer to bump into others... Speaking of which, what kind of creature is that? From what Han Yoojin said, it seemed to be a rescued animal.
“That red creature, what’s it anyway?”
“Please don’t call peace a thing; he has a name called Peace.” Han Yoojin frowned disapprovingly. For the first time since they met, he was defensive for something, not himself but his pet. “Peace is a Bornean Bay Cat! They only inhabit the island of Borneo. Over twenty years ago, they were thought to be extinct. But new footage of them in the wild was recorded in 2018. There are only 2,500 or fewer individuals left in the wild. Our Department of Animal Science at Haeyeon University is so lucky to have successfully kept one!"
Han Yoojin, who was always easily overly excited when talking about his kids, turned into a proud fatherly mode, as if sprouting cat ears similar to his little fireball kitten on his head, and kept going with his “fun fact of peace 101.”
"Because there's limited data available, zoologists can't easily identify their behavioural patterns. I myself can only infer from my interactions with Peace. OH, speaking of Peace, he's so adorable! Have you seen his golden-red fur shimmering in the sun? What a handsome, good boy."
"Hmm, I am not sure if I’ve seen his appearance clearly. I only saw a fireball chasing a herd of deer?" Sung Hyunjae watched Han Yoojin’s metaphorical cat ears drop, and a slightly mischievous thought and satisfaction crept into his mind. "I don't have many friends either. What should I do?" He blinked innocently with his long eyelashes.
"Oh... I see... Don't worry, I'll take care of you until you don’t need me.” Han Yoojin awkwardly scratched his head, opening the food box he brought. "Would you like to eat something first? I made some gukbap. You need to eat and gain some energy to think about the next step."
As the lid opened, the aroma of gukbap filled the room, whetting Sung Hyunjae’s appetite. The man was used to relying on high-protein powder and health supplements, but was craving the food made by the stranger in front of him. Did Han Yoojin actually believe that he had no one to call? Taking care of him as long as he needs, that’s a very bold but careless promise.
Before Sung Hyunjae could react to Han Yoojin’s promise, a few steady knocks broke the silence on the ward door.
“Officer Song! What brings you here?” Han Yoojin looked at Song Taewon, who stood outside the door in surprise.
As the laboratory Han Yoojin stayed aimed to protect endangered animals, the research team sometimes had police officers accompany them to ensure their safety when they went on field missions. Han Yoojin met Song Taewon in one of such missions.
Han Yoojin was attracted to Song Taewon from the very beginning. Who wouldn’t find a man with extraordinary patients to animals, and Han Yoojin himself in particular, attractive? Besides, he had never complained about researchers' unreasonable demands. Well, reasonable for animal protection purposes, just a little bit dangerous. A little bit, Han Yoojin could assure.
Han Yoojin also had an undeniable urge to take care of Song Taewon. He didn’t look like someone who needed to be worried, but Han Yoojin could sense suppression around him, as if Song Taewon had never been at ease for a second in his life. As a nurturer, he could not stand to see anyone being hidden in a shell that constrains themselves. Thus, he had passionately invited Song Taewon to go out for a walk with him in the wilderness in their field mission, probably too passionate that Song Taewon seemed to be shocked.
Han Yoojin wasn’t the type of people who love to twist others’ wishes, but he was suborn enough in terms of taking care of others. It was probably Han Yoojin’s cat-like eyes that were too deceptive. Song Taewon did go out with Han Yoojin several times. But one night when they went out… Well, the officer has been avoiding Han Yoojin for a month ever since!
Han Yoojin did try to keep his gaze in a polite manner, but wow, he still secretly glanced at the tall man’s chest, which was the same as he remembered.
As if noticing Han Yoojin’s gaze, Song Taewon swayed slightly and barely managed to stay still. "May I come in?"
“Oh, of course.” Han Yoojin stepped aside to let Song Taewon in and closed the door. When he turned around, the room was already filled with awkwardness.
“My my, look who comes to visit me! Officer Song is finally caring about his pathetic friend, leaving hopefulness in the hospital, what a great honour!”
Han Yoojin didn’t know a patient could act so animated.
Before coming to the hospital, Song Taewon hadn't realised how arduous this mission would be.
Since finishing his mission to protect a research team for animal protection, he had thrown himself into busy work, forcing himself to forget the "accident" of that night.
Song Taewon belonged to the Criminal Investigation Department, technically, but his overly rigid personality often led to a bad review on his annual performance, and he was used to being called to other tasks that no one wanted to take. Like today, a simple accident shouldn’t be something he should worry about, but still, he was called to handle it.
It was rumoured that someone had unleashed a cat into a heathland, who then injured someone. Pet owners nowadays should take more responsibility. He already prepared a pipe of safety speech for the person who can’t control their pet.
Song Taewon hadn’t expected to run into Han Yoojin at the hospital, who seemed to be the suspect of the accident. It’s okay, his professionalism compelled him to enter the ward.
Then he saw the victim, Sung Hyunjae, CEO of Seseong Group.
Song Taewon had been proud of his excellent police professionalism. But really, he wanted to escape. Could someone call the police for him, please?
Han Yoojin rolled his eyes at the man on the hospital bed. Although Sung Hyunjae was here because of his naughty pet, trying to arouse his sympathy with lies was still unforgivable.
Thanks to Officer Song, Han Yoojin finally knew who was the victim hit by a deer. He wondered what had happened between them, as Song Taewon was on pins and needles when talking to Sung Hyunjae. Song Taewon emphasised that they were not friends, but Sung Hyunjae was just someone he needed to protect in a previous mission. But look at Sung Hyunjae, he displayed a doting, compliant demeanour, as if he was cast off but would accept anything Song Taewon said to him.
Suspicious. Han Yoojin was not convinced that nothing had happened between them.
Han Yoojin insisted on walking Song Taewon to the parking slot after he finished his check-up and was about to leave. He felt as if a cat was scratching his heart, curiosity relentlessly pursued him, compelling him to ask, "Did you reject me because of him?"
“There’s really nothing going on between us!” Song Taewon weakly defended himself, while not really knowing why he felt guilty when answering Han Yoojin. The truth was what he already said: they had never been in any relationships, unless the constant bouquet sent by the Seseong CEO counted.
“But that’s not the point. Han Yoojin should find someone better than me. I can be a danger to your life.” Song Taewon flew away in his tiny red car, leaving Han Yoojin behind. He could feel Han Yoojin staring at his retreating figure.