57.
#The Reason for Anger
Dawoon suppressed a sigh and approached him. Even as Dawoon stood right in front of him, Hayun ignored him. As Dawoon reached for the empty glass on the bar to pour the whiskey Hayun had set out, Hayun grabbed his wrist.
“Not for you.”
Dawoon let out a bitter laugh at those words.
“I’m not a minor anymore.”
“Says the guy who passes out from beer.”
At those words, Dawoon’s fingers lost their grip on the whiskey bottle. He had to admit that whiskey might be too much for him. Giving up on the alcohol, he sat down next to Hayun. Hayun emptied his glass in an instant and refilled it with whiskey. Dawoon frowned as he watched, wondering if it was okay for Hayun to drink so hastily when they had barely eaten dinner.
“What exactly are you angry about?”
Hayun’s hand paused briefly as he was lifting the glass to Dawoon’s question. He let out a small laugh before bringing the glass to his lips. The transparent brown liquid could be seen disappearing into Hayun’s mouth.
Dawoon quietly watched him without pressing further. Defying grandfather was no small matter. It was unclear how grandfather would react, but it certainly wouldn’t be favorable for Hayun. Was the issue with Dawoon and Choi Yu-na worth taking on such disadvantages?
But Dawoon couldn’t pinpoint exactly what aspect had angered Hayun. Was it because grandfather tried to match Dawoon with Choi Yu-na? But such things were common. Even for Hayun, though not yet, if he were to get married someday, it would likely be arranged by grandfather or chosen based on the company’s interests at that time.
While Dawoon was bewildered, he wasn’t angry at grandfather for trying to match him with Congressman Choi’s granddaughter. He had been somewhat prepared for the possibility of an arranged marriage, even though he would prefer to marry for love. Ironically, part of him felt that at least grandfather considered him as part of the Haedo Group. It wasn’t a pleasant situation, but it meant he had some use to grandfather.
So it was hard to understand why Hayun was angry about the attempt to match him with Choi Yu-na. Hayun knew well that it was something they would have to face sooner or later, just with a difference in timing.
Was it because the match was Choi Yu-na? Because her birth was as complicated as Dawoon’s?
Thinking about it that way, Dawoon couldn’t even sigh. That would be Hayun showing favoritism. No matter how much Hayun defended him, in everyone’s eyes, Jeong Dawoon was flawed. It seemed ridiculous to only consider Choi Yu-na’s circumstances while ignoring his own.
“Did you mean what you said earlier?”
At this sudden question, Hayun looked at Dawoon with just his eyes.
“About you meeting Senior Yu-na instead of me.”
“…What if I did?”
Hayun’s voice was low. For some reason, Dawoon’s heart beat anxiously at the returned question. Why did he feel so unsettled? Not wanting to reveal his state, Dawoon averted his gaze from Hayun.
“It might not be bad.”
His words seemed to contradict his thoughts. In truth, he wanted to say he disliked it. It wasn’t because the person was Choi Yu-na. He was afraid of Hayun falling in love with someone, dating, and getting married. It would be the same even if it were Haram in the future, not Hayun.
Not everyone has a happy marriage. Trust is easily broken. He didn’t want to believe that his father had an affair with his secretary, but even his mother had been his father’s mistress. When the balance of emotions crumbles like that, one might want to die together out of excessive love. He didn’t want to lose precious people for such reasons ever again.
He was aware that there was a problem with his thinking. When he was younger, he vaguely disliked everything. Liking someone was almost a disaster for Dawoon. But he knew that wasn’t a normal way of thinking. Despite the risks, most people date, marry, and live together.
I will never love anyone.
He made that promise to himself, but he couldn’t force Hayun or Haram to live that way. Especially Hayun, who was the heir to the Haedo Group.
“Not bad?”Â
Hayun’s murmur pulled Dawoon out of the swamp of thoughts he was sinking into.
“I don’t think grandfather would allow it, but… Senior Yu-na seems like a good person, if we just consider her.”
As soon as he answered, he felt a piercing gaze from beside him. Turning, he saw Hayun had completely turned his body to face Dawoon. All expression had disappeared from his face. His statue-like face without expression felt even more chilling.
Dawoon wished Hayun would say something, but he remained silent. He just quietly stared at Dawoon as if he would bore holes in his face. Just as the gaze was becoming unbearable, Hayun snorted and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t trust people too easily. How can you be sure she’s a good person? You’ve only known her for barely a month.”
Dawoon let out a low breath as the tension dissipated at Hayun’s words. So that was the issue.
“You’re right.”
He nodded in agreement with Hayun’s words. The idea that Choi Yu-na was a good person was just his own opinion. Hayun, who had dealt with more people than him, might see something different.
“At least, that’s how she seemed based on what I’ve seen and experienced.”
After Dawoon limited his evaluation of Choi Yu-na to just a personal opinion, Hayun turned his head without saying anything. He was already refilling his empty glass with whiskey. Dawoon worried if it was okay to drink whiskey at that pace, but he didn’t think Hayun would listen if he tried to stop him.
“Are you not going to tell me what you’re angry about?”
When Dawoon asked the initial question again, Hayun raised one corner of his mouth crookedly and twirled the glass in his hand.
“If I tell you, can you fix it?”
Hayun retorted while looking at the brown liquid swirling in the glass.
“If it’s something I can do.”
After all, Dawoon disliked seeing Hayun angry or in a bad mood.
Despite Dawoon’s sincere answer, Hayun didn’t look at him. He just stared at the glass of swirling brown liquid. His eyes narrowed, and he chuckled to himself over some thought before downing the drink in one go. Dawoon’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight.
“Stop drinking.”
He snatched the whiskey bottle away as Hayun tried to refill his glass. Hayun turned to look at Dawoon and just wiggled his fingers, indicating he wanted the bottle back.
“There’s plenty of other alcohol even without that. If you keep interfering, I can go out to drink.”
Dawoon’s face hardened at the implication that taking just this bottle away was meaningless, but he eventually returned the bottle. It seemed better to let Hayun drink in front of him than to let him go out and drink in his current state.
***
Phew. The long exhale was heavy with the scent of alcohol. Dawoon rubbed his finger over the water droplets on his glass. Since Hayun had absolutely forbidden whiskey, he was drinking from a bottle of champagne he had opened. Even though he had chosen one with a low alcohol content, his cheeks felt hot after just a couple of glasses. Having blacked out once before, he just kept his glass filled without drinking more once he started feeling the effects of the alcohol.
“We should apologize to Senior Choi Yu-na.”
Hayun turned at Dawoon’s mutter, which sounded almost like he was talking to himself.
“Even if you didn’t like grandfather’s approach, you went too far earlier.”
Dawoon looked down at the glass in his hands, even as he felt Hayun’s gaze on him.
“She must have been hurt. Definitely.”
He had been worried about her the whole time. The way she was disregarded by her family felt too familiar, and he couldn’t shake it off as something unrelated to him. How hurt and upset must she have been, coming to a strange place only to be insulted by someone who was practically a stranger?
“Tell her to get an apology from her grandfather. He’s the one who created that situation in the first place.”
Hayun firmly blamed Congressman Choi and Chairman Jeong who had set up the event.
“If he really cared about his granddaughter, he wouldn’t have tried to use her as his pawn.”
At these words, Dawoon gripped his glass tightly. Hayun wasn’t simply talking about pushing for an arranged marriage. If Congressman Choi truly valued Choi Yu-na, he should have tried to match her with Hayun, not Dawoon. As Hayun had pointed out earlier at the gathering, they considered her flawed, which is why they tried to match her with Dawoon, who they also saw as flawed.
Could that be why Hayun was angry? Because everyone at that gathering considered not only Choi Yu-na but also Dawoon as flawed people?
It made sense, considering Hayun had always stood up for Dawoon whenever their aunt disrespected him.
“You shouldn’t have done that. It would have been over if you had just endured that moment.”
Dawoon muttered, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t anything new, so he wasn’t particularly surprised.
“Is that why you got angry enough to confront grandfather?”
He subtly asked again, not having received a proper answer earlier.
“That, and…”
Hayun trailed off. As Dawoon turned his head, he saw Hayun bringing the glass to his lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed as the alcohol went down. The whiskey bottle that had been full was now more than half empty. Maybe it was time to really stop him from drinking.
“Hah…”
While Dawoon was pondering, Hayun stood up first. As he took a step, seemingly intending to go somewhere, he staggered, startling Dawoon who quickly reached out to grab his arm. Fortunately, Hayun managed to grab the bar table himself and didn’t fall, but he shook his head as if dizzy.
