BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 12: his conflicted heart

<OST: eight - IU PROD. & ft. SUGA>

"Hoseok-ssi, I've noticed that your attitude at work and towards me has been terrible. It has always been like that, but even more lately."

"Is that so?" Hoseok asked. "May I have some solid examples, Namjoon-ssi?"

Namjoon pursed his lips at the sound of Hoseok calling his real name.

"Work has ended right now-" Hoseok said coolly as he held up his watch. "So I can call you Namjoon-ssi if I want, am I right?"

Namjoon let out a sigh as he began packing up his things on his table. "You want solid examples? This, itself, is an example."

"It doesn't interfere my work-" Hoseok said with a small chuckle. "I'm sure you know this, but I'm a person who knows how to draw a clear line between my work life and my private life. When I work, I work hard. But other than that, I don't owe anyone anything."

"Oh, really?" Namjoon glanced up from his desk briefly. "How come I vaguely remember that what happened this morning was during work hours?"

"It was 8:59am to be exact, Namjoon-ssi-" Hoseok tapped at his watch passive-aggressively. "You can trust me with that, I'm very precise with my timing. That's why I always come close, but I'm never late."

Namjoon pursed his lips.

"And by right, I didn't do anything wrong this morning." Hoseok carried on. "I wasn't slacking or anything, I was just talking to my friend during non-office hours. But out of respect for you, as my boss, I came to fulfil your orders after all to hear what you have to say. I do a lot of things to appease you, including making an effort to come early this morning, if you even noticed. Anyway, it's getting late. May I leave now?"

"Okay, fine." Namjoon put down his bag on his table and looked up at Hoseok. "Let's just say that wasn't during office hours-"

"It wasn't."

"Okay, let's just say-"

"You can omit that part, because it's the truth."

"Fine-" Namjoon clucked his tongue agitatedly. "Even if-"

"That sounds just as bad-"

"Hoseok-ssi!" Namjoon finally exploded. "May I talk? This is precisely what I'm talking about, why do you have to overcorrect me all the time?"

"Precision is important for a news reporter."

"You are frustrating to talk to, you know that?" Namjoon exclaimed as he picked up his bag and headed towards the door. He turned around and looked at Hoseok. "Do you have any plans to change?"

"I will change if I see a need to," Hoseok said quietly.

Namjoon stood at the door with his hand on the knob. He stared at Hoseok for a few seconds, observing him quietly. "You don't like me at all, do you?"

Nodding slowly, Hoseok let out a cynical scoff. "So you noticed."

"And all this... because of Kim Chungha?"