That same morning at Han & Jung Law Firm.
The office was loud.
Phones rang. Lawyers argued over motions and evidence. A trainee tripped over a box of legal files and apologized to no one in particular.
But Taeha couldn't hear any of it.
He sat at his desk, files spread before him, a cup of untouched coffee growing cold.
A photo of a murder suspect stared up from a case file. He blinked, tried to focus. Couldn't.
The only thing he saw—
Hamin's face.
Eyes wide with quiet shame. Lips slightly parted as the director's hand moved up his bare chest. The sharp intake of breath. The bruises in the morning light. The forced indifference in his voice:
"Don't touch me. It disgusts me too."
It kept echoing in Taeha's head like a curse.
Why?
Why did it have to be him?
The boy he'd hurt most. The only person who had once looked at him with something like love. Or maybe just quiet admiration.
Back then, Taeha was popular. Handsome. Athletic. Every girl liked him. Every boy wanted to be like him.
Then came Hamin's confession.
Under the cherry tree in the School Corridor. Spring of senior year.
He still remembered the words he spat out like venom:
"Don't say that again. Don't come near me. You disgust me."
He didn't mean it. Not really.
But his classmates were watching.
And Taeha…
Taeha wasn't brave.
Back to Present – The Office
Minseok nudged his arm.
"Hey. Seo Taeha. You're zoning out again. What's going on with you?"
Taeha blinked, pulled his expression together, and pushed the file forward.
"Just a headache," he muttered.
Minseok raised an eyebrow but didn't press.
They both knew better than to talk too much about last night.
Especially not about Director Han.
But the Anger in Taeha's heart cant't Be Spoken.
His jaw clenched.
He remembered the director's hand sliding up Hamin's bare chest like he owned it.
The hickeys on his skin.
The way Hamin limped out of the hotel room.
Director Han had always been untouchable.
Old money. Powerful clients. Married, but not discreet.
Rumors always swirled, especially from the female escorts. Some said he got violent. Some claimed they were paid hush money. No one ever talked about the male ones.
No one ever dared.
Taeha wanted to hit something. But he couldn't.
He was just a mid-level associate. A cog in the machine. And in this firm, silence was survival—especially when his family owns the highest share in this law firm.
And his father, who Taeha loathes. He does not want any noise to reach him and make their relationship more bitter.
He'd tried to find Hamin once. After university. Quietly, without telling anyone.
All he heard was that Hamin's father had lost his business. That he'd disappeared soon after.
He never showed up at alumni meets.
No social media. No mutual contacts.
It was like he'd vanished from the world.
And now — all these years later — Taeha had found him again…
But like that.
With someone else's hands on him. Someone else's scent. Someone else's bruises on his skin.