Chapter 260
And my prediction hit the mark beautifully. Starting with "Wait, how the hell do you know Ise-hwa?" and progressing through "How does Ise-hwa know you suffered because of my case?" all the way to "What do you mean you're helping Ise-hwa?"
I answered as best I could without revealing that I'd incurred a debt to her over Dongjin's matter and joined her campaign team. I didn't want Dongjin feeling unnecessarily indebted if he found out.
In any case, Dongjin beat me to the punch that day—he left early and paid before I could even try. So I ended up getting a free meal out of him. Fine up to that point. The trouble started when he suggested one more round for drinks and we headed to a second spot.
But the real problem? I had no clue what the issue was. My memory cut off crystal clear.
"Urgh... how much did I drink?"
My stomach churned with nausea, sending me back and forth to the bathroom from the crack of dawn. Knowing how hyped Kang Minjae was for the team dinner tonight, I still fired off a KakaoTalk message—I wasn't even sure I could make it to the office.
That was it—no rant about drinking on a dinner night. I'd figured he'd flip out, but he didn't. Weird. But I had no bandwidth to puzzle over his feelings. I genuinely felt like I was dying.
"Haa."
By 2 p.m., things had settled. For someone like me who rarely gets hammered no matter how much I drink, this meant I'd gone way overboard with some seriously strong stuff. Probably because the guilt from my past life had eased up after fully saving Dongjin—tension released, mood lifted, and I let loose. Still, what the hell happened?
I remembered going to the second spot with Dongjin, but after that? Blank. I must've gotten home via designated driver...
Should I text Dongjin? "Not picking up." Off today, probably sleeping in. I looked like hell from all the morning heaving anyway, so I headed to the bathroom to clean up.
A hot shower revived me a bit. While scrubbing, I racked my brain—did I blab anything stupid to Dongjin in my drunken state? Nothing surfaced. No way I spilled that this was my second life or that I'd killed him in the last one, right?
"...What the."
Deep in thought, I stepped out of the bathroom—and there was Kang Minjae, parked on a dining chair.
"Second-life lawyer, sir. Gut settled down yet?"
...What?
"What're you talking about?"
Chills raced down my spine, but I played it cool, tying my bathrobe sash. To hide my face, I toweled off my dripping hair.
Damn it—did I really let slip about my second life while wasted? That's why I never touched booze in my previous life. Afraid I'd spill all the Wooshin intel I'd gathered.
"You said you're in your second life."
"When did I."
"Yesterday, when I asked how everything went exactly to plan—isn't there some divine power at work?—you told me not to tell a soul. Said it's because it's your second life. Don't you remember?"
The horrific word glowed above Kang Minjae's head. I didn't want to believe it.
"You're messing with me."
I tried to sound nonchalant again.
"You messing with me, sir?"
"I'm human too—can't I joke around? I was drunk."
Truth be told, getting outed as a reincarnate wasn't the end of the world. No hard rules against it; I'd just chosen to keep it under wraps. No real upside to spilling it—especially since it offered zero merit. Sure, in a pinch where I needed instant credibility thanks to foreknowledge—like Kim Jeongu's suicide attempt—it might come in handy. Otherwise? Futile. No one would buy it anyway, and if they did, I'd end up on TV as tabloid fodder or dissected in some lab. Plus, how many would try to exploit me?
"You bought that? Kang, you're too pure."
"Nah, of course not. Who would? I was just goofing because it was hilarious, but you took it like a documentary. Made me feel dumb."
That welcome word floated above him. I nearly sighed in relief—clamped it down, of course.
"So why'd we meet yesterday? And how'd you get into my place?"
Asking that, I suddenly had a hunch.
"You called me while you were out with Dongjin hyung. Told me the passcode on the way home. Rang the bell, no answer, so I let myself in. Sorry."
Bingo. Time to check my call log. Yup—11 a.m. call to Kang Minjae.
"Hold up. Dongjin hyung? Since when's Dongjin your hyung?"
"Since yesterday."
Incredible charisma. Reminded me of Jo Bongjun and Choi Jonghyeon calling him hyung after one car ride—when we still weren't fully casual.
"You remember nothing from yesterday?"
"...Nope."
"First time seeing you that smashed."
"Did I say a ton of crap?"
"Nah. Just the second-life bit. Oh! And you kept apologizing to Dongjin hyung—no reason given, but every chance you got."
...Horrifying. But at least I didn't explain why to Dongjin. Silver lining? Never drinking again. Got careless 'cause it was a comfy drinking buddy...
"Dongjin hyung said he worked hard to get you wasted. Haha."
"Dongjin tried to get me drunk?"
"Yup. You never get sloshed, so he wanted to see you let loose—kept toasting, pouring straight shots only. Haha."
Everything clicked. No way I'd chug mindlessly—explains the blackout.
"Anything else? Any other screw-ups?"
"Screw-ups? Hmm..."
Kang Minjae rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Long pause, no dice—probably nothing major.
"Ah!"
"...What."
That "Ah!" screamed something—tension spiked.
"You called me Minjae-ya."
"So?"
False alarm. I'd braced for bombshell; it was nothing.
"What do you mean 'so'? Means we're psychologically closer now. You always ice-queen me as 'Kang'!"
"Psychological distance? So I was keeping you at arm's length?"
"Exactly—you had walls up. But deep down, I'm not 'Kang' to you; I'm Minjae. That's the point."
"Big deal."
"Hah, call me Minjae again then."
"Why not? You're younger, my junior in school and work—no reason I can't."
"Right? So say it: Minjae-ya."
His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Now you want it, so I don't."
"Agh, why? We've worked together three years already. Anyone else would've been 'Minjae-ya, you bastard' by now. Even Lee Ye-jin calls me Minjae—why stick to 'Kang'?"
"Titles don't matter. We're close enough—stop seeking constant proof. Makes me seem like a jerk."
"Not a jerk, but how's this close?!"
Kang Minjae was full-on pouting like a kid now.
"You arm-wrestle with Dongjin hyung, curse casually, shove shoulders—but never with me! Yesterday you let a stranger call you hyung, but not me."
"Dongjin's been my friend since kids; you're not. Hell, why am I even justifying this to you?"
"You! You just said 'you'!"
"Yeah, you."
He beamed, stifling giggles, trailing me to the dressing room with sly vibes.
"Juhan hyung~"
Has he lost it?
"Don't push it."
I shut the dressing room door firmly.
When I emerged dressed, he was back at the table. I'd planned to lounge all day—no office. Why show up? To rib me?
"Kang, no work? Why house-call during hours?"
He grumbled as I headed out.
"...Said you're seeing your parents. Asked me to drive."
Still sulking from my shutdown.
"I asked you to drive? Or did you insist when I mentioned visiting them?"
"..."
Nailed it. Blackout-level drinking meant massive intake—no driving, even afternoon, long haul or not. Smart of him to push. DUI scandal for a lawyer? Catastrophic.
"Fine. Bus it."
"You'll get carsick."
True.
"And your mom said she misses me."
That too. Did I really blab all that?
"Hang on. Grabbing stuff."
"Take long?"
"Nah, got some red ginseng recently. For them."
"Staying over?"
His eyes lit up like a kid at camp.
"No. Visit and drive back tonight."
"They'll want you overnight."
"Then you go first; I'll crash."
"..."
"Skipping tomorrow too?"
"Tomorrow's Saturday."
God, Kang Minjae was such a hassle.