The weather was unusually sunnier than usual, and despite the cold wind, Josh was sweating lightly. It was just past lunch time and the inside of the restaurant was still crowded, but the tables outside were empty. Josh took a peek inside and then sat down at one of the outdoor tables with umbrellas.
"Another person will be arriving soon. Thank you."
When he quickly asked for understanding from the waiter who came to take his order, she smiled and left him a menu. He spent a boring amount of time looking back and forth at the thinly coated one-page menu, and soon after the appointed time, Dane showed up.
"Here, Dane." Josh, who was sitting at the table first, saw a familiar figure walking from afar and raised his hand. Dane was wearing a worn-out T-shirt and wrinkled jeans, and with his hair all matted, he looked like he could easily be mistaken for a homeless person.
"Darling isn't feeling well, so I left her at the hospital." As soon as he sat down across from him, Dane readily explained the reason, and Josh let out an exclamation like that.
"Is she okay? Is it something serious?"
Darling was a cat raised by Dane, and although she had no eyes or ears, she recognized Dane's presence like a ghost and would lean in on him. Dane also seemed to be indifferent to everyone in the world, but he made an exception for Darling. This time too, he spoke with a softer face than usual.
"No, it just seems like old age, and she hasn't been able to eat well since yesterday, so I went to the hospital, but they said there was nothing wrong and that she just needed some fluids."
"I'm glad."
"Thank goodness." Josh nodded at Dane's answer and turned to speak. "So, you're meeting me while she's getting the shot? When should you go back?"
Dane checked the watch on his wrist and immediately answered. "It closes at 5 o'clock, so I only have to go before then."
"Really? Have you eaten yet?"
When he handed him the menu he had received in advance, Dane seemed to glance over it half-heartedly, but then chose a sandwich, potatoes, and a drink.
"You look really tired. Do you have a lot of work to do?" Dane asked as he held up the menu again. As he said, Josh, who had slept in that day and woke up right before coming out, smiled bitterly.
It wasn't like he couldn't sleep. After rolling around in Chase's bed for a full day, Josh returned to his dorm, barely avoiding people's eyes, and fell asleep for over half a day again, looking like a corpse.
Even though he fell asleep, his back was still sore.
After that, as soon as he opened his eyes, he ate four plates of steak, emptied a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, downed a whole walnut pie, and as a bonus, he ate pizza, a hamburger, and five pancakes with a whole bucket of maple syrup on them. It was only later that he finally regained some of his senses and stamina. After that, he slept restlessly for several hours before finally regaining his strength. Fortunately, everyone misunderstood that he was scolded by Chase, so he was given the security guard's turn last.
How can he do that all day without eating?
Josh was deeply troubled. Chase ate very little for his size. He didn't seem very interested in eating to begin with, but he couldn't live like that. Although he appears to have a slim build, Chase is 6 feet 5 inches (1.95m) tall. In addition, there was no fat on his entire body, so he looked slim and thin, but the muscles covering his long frame made him look like he was peeling off.
Even so, he was quite solid. Watching Josh turn his body around as he pleased, his strength could not be ignored. If he learnt martial arts properly, even Josh would be a pretty tough opponent.
Nonetheless, Chase lost interest as soon as he had eaten just the right amount of calories. This was unthinkable for Josh, who is a big eater.
Come to think of it, does he have a favorite food?
Josh, who had thought that far, suddenly frowned. However, it was difficult for him to get better physically than now.
"It's just work." He hesitated and then ordered the menu he had selected in advance. Dane put a cigarette in his mouth without asking any more questions. Afterwards, the two sat across from each other and had a light lunch. As they talked about the little things that had happened, the conversation naturally moved to talking about the recent fire.
"There's not a day where there isn't a fire you know?"
Because there was no rain all year round, the air was so dry that fires were a daily occurrence. One day, a tree branch struck by the wind ignited a spark and started a forest fire.
Dane said it indifferently, but even so, there was quite a big fire recently. It was clear to him that he too was tired of evolving. When Josh, who belatedly discovered that he had a rather large bandage wrapped around his forearm, asked him why, he answered as expected.
"I got a little tanned while working."
"Oh my." Josh blinked in surprise and Dane said it was no big deal and he concluded his speech. However, when he thought about the chaos that had been going on for a while due to frequent forest fires and earthquakes, his wounds seemed unusual. Josh asked, eyeing his bandaged arm.
"Are you seriously injured? Isn't that it?"
"I got scorched in a few places, but it's no big deal," Dane, who had answered indifferently, suddenly frowned. He seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, but then he shrugged one shoulder and continued.
"I didn't know you were still working here, because you said you'd be back soon."
"Once the job was done, the contract was extended."
"It was?" Dane casually took a sip of his coffee, but soon Josh realized why he had suddenly contacted him and made an appointment. In short, he didn't know when they would meet again, so he tried to see his face one more time before leaving.
Dane has always been a strict individualist with a fierce personal pace, but there were rare occasions when he was seen to care like this. Of course, it was very rare and often difficult to notice, so most people passed by without noticing it, but when they noticed it, they were twice as moved. That's exactly how Josh felt right now.
"I might not go back."
Dane paused, holding his coffee cup. After a beat, he put down the teacup and opened his mouth. "What do you mean?"
Josh was inwardly puzzled by the unexpected reaction and answered honestly.
"I was thinking of moving here. I'm worried about my mother too."
"Okay?" Dane, still indifferent, took a large bite of his sandwich and began to chew it slowly. Josh, who was watching, opened his mouth.
"I'm actually getting married soon."
Suddenly Dane stopped chewing and looked at Josh. It was after he swallowed his food that the question came from him.
"Marriage, you?"
"Yes." Josh nodded his head and then asked mischievously. "Why, don't you believe me?"
"I don't." This time Dane nodded his head. Josh stopped and looked at his face. Then Dane continued speaking in his usual indifferent manner.
"I really thought you wouldn't get married, that you and I just met people and we had fun for a day, right? The last time you dated for a longer time, was it about a month or two?"
"There was a time when I went for up to three months."
"Anyway," Dane said, casually ignoring Josh's small protest. "I thought you really wouldn't be tied down to a formality like marriage. I wonder if your partner is great, that much at least."
It's the same for you too, Josh thought to himself, but then he realized why Dane was reacting this way.
He thought he was like him.
Josh suddenly felt mischievous as if he had seen what was inside his head.
"You'll be surprised when you find out who it is."
Dane also seemed a little curious and asked. "Who?"
It seemed like he didn't expect the other person to be a celebrity. When he thought of Chase, the corners of his mouth naturally fell, and Josh answered with a smile.
"He's a great beauty."
"Hmm..."
Dane showed an unusually surprised reaction. It was very rare for Josh to praise someone's appearance like this. When he thought about it, most people said things like, 'Is he pretty?' or 'He's cute.' It was the first time he showed off with such a mesmerized face.
How beautiful is he?
Dane, who had been thinking about it, suddenly opened his mouth. "Is it the guy you asked me to hide last time?"
"What? Yeonwoo? No!" Josh waved his hand hastily, looking surprised.
"He already has someone. You don't think I'll have an affair or anything like that, do you? I absolutely refuse to meet someone in secret."
Dane, who saw Josh with a straight face, paused for a moment and spoke indifferently. "You just have to hide and not meet him, right?"
"What?"
"There are cases where one can have multiple wives or multiple husbands at once, so shouldn't they all just have to agree?"
It wasn't wrong. In fact, he could even say it was true. It just didn't fit Josh's lifestyle.
"I don't like dating multiple people at once and I don't like sharing my partner with anyone else," Josh, who had said that far, suddenly frowned.
"Dane, how many people have you dated at once?"
Dane didn't respond to those words for a moment. The frowning and vague expression on his face was clearly a reminder of his memory. Josh immediately shook his head.
"No, it's okay. Don't say it."
When he looked later, he saw that Dane's fingers on the table were folded up to three. In response to Josh's straight face, Dane spread his fingers knowingly and leaned back in his chair.
"I have no intention of getting involved with anyone around you."
"Oh, of course it's normal," Josh got the word right away. "I would be very grateful if you would exclude both my alpha and my sister from the list."
"Who? Ah."
A beat later, Dane nodded. "Your younger sister who only dates losers."
"If only she started dating!" Josh immediately clenched his fists but then stopped. He saw Dane looking at him with an indifferent look on his face. After brushing his hair Josh continued.
"Anyway, you're not Emma's type, so she won't get involved with you, but I don't want to fight with my friend, so be careful."
"What did you say your sister looks like?"
Josh gave a simple answer to Dane, who frowned as he was trying to remember.
"She looks a lot like me."
"Oh." That was Dane's response. But it was enough to make Josh feel unusual.
"What? What was that reaction?"
Dane shrugged his shoulders in response to Josh's question.
"If there's a girl who looks just like you, I'm not really a fan," Dane laughed indifferently. "You're really not my type."
"I know. Thankfully."
After a lot of sarcasm, Josh lifted the chicken sandwich to his mouth. When Dane was halfway through his meal, he asked. "Is he that beautiful? In terms of level, what level is it?"
"Well..." Josh couldn't answer readily and hesitated for a moment. Because he couldn't think of anything as good as Chase, or even at a similar level. Instead, he presented a different standard.
"He did something really wrong, but I can't bear to scold him?"
Dane was seriously troubled. He was clearly thinking about what that meant. After being silent for a moment, he raised his head.
"For example, if it's a man, does that mean you can't hit him even if you want to?"
Josh was confused for a moment, feeling strangely as if something was right and yet wrong. Suddenly, he remembered Dane, who, while in the military, had punched a colleague who was beating up a noisy dog. When later interrogated by his superiors, his answer was clear.
The boss reprimanded Dane, saying he shouldn't hit his coworkers, but Dane's attitude didn't change.
Thanks to that, both of the guys who fought were sent to prison for two days. Unfortunately, the other person was hospitalized for nearly a month. Dane's thoughts didn't seem to have changed much between then and now. Josh scolded him as sternly as he would Pete or Chase.
"You shouldn't hit people or dogs..."
Dane frowned, but Josh spoke without further explanation.
"I warned him verbally, but he said with tears in his eyes that he didn't think he did something wrong, so I couldn't say anything more."
"Hmm..." Dane made a strange noise.
Josh immediately responded to the exclamation, which was clearly a jeer.
"What? That reaction is..."
"Well..." Dane narrowed his eyes and laughed at him. "Aren't you deceived? There are many cases where they pretend to have done nothing wrong right in front of your eyes."
Josh paused at the word 'acting'. Dane continued after seeing Josh's reaction.
"People are always deceiving others, Josh."
Although he was well aware of his misanthropy, Josh did not readily admit it, but he couldn't deny it either. Looking back, Chase was an award-winning actor. When he remembered his acting skills, which received rave reviews every time he filmed a movie, he later became suspicious.
"...No way," he shook his head as if it couldn't be true, but his doubts had already settled in.
Looking at Josh like that, Dane added indifferently. "Try it next time."
And he casually ate the rest of his sandwich in one bite.