Chapter 120
It was around the time when Seo-jung, having made good use of his chance to recover, was participating in the conversation with a more active attitude than before, feeling somewhat appeased.
As they were deep in conversation, Seo-jung, seemingly thirsty, picked up his coffee cup. The droplets on the cup slid down, trailing along Seo-jung’s arm. Once again, Cha Yoon was the first to notice this.
The part-timer had definitely put napkins on the tray earlier… Cha Yoon rolled his eyes, searching for the napkins. But surprisingly, he found the napkins in a place he hadn’t expected at all.
“Seo-jung, use this.”
Seo-jung reflexively turned his head at the voice calling him. There, the napkin he had been looking for was neatly placed on Park Woo-jun’s palm.
“Da-bin, you should put this under your cup too.”
“You’re right. There’s already some moisture under the cup. Thanks.”
“It’s nothing, just natural.”
As soon as the conversation ended, Park Woo-jun smiled at Cha Yoon. Cha Yoon read smugness on his face. He finally understood the meaning of the look Park Woo-jun had given him just 10 minutes ago. So, he was now throwing down a challenge to him.
It was an absurd situation, but there was no reason to back down. Cha Yoon didn’t avoid it and raised the corners of his mouth towards Woo-jun in return.
And so, a battle of wits began between the two men from “Please Take Care of My X”. The two men used all their senses to try their best to take care of Seo-jung and Da-bin. When Da-bin accidentally dropped her fork, they raced to get a new one, and when Seo-jung reached for a cake slightly far from him, they quickly moved to pull the plate closer to him.
That wasn’t all. If someone just rubbed their nose, they would rise as if ready to run to the counter, asking if they had caught a cold. When someone rubbed their eyes, they would reach for their wallet, saying they would go to the pharmacy to buy artificial tears. In short, they were overreacting as much as they could.
As this strange behavior from the two continued, Seo-jung and Da-bin finally noticed. Da-bin was the first to speak up.
“This is driving me crazy. What’s wrong with you two? Stop making a fuss and just sit still!”
“Yeah, we’ll tell you if we’re uncomfortable. Both of you, just relax.”
Seo-jung chimed in after Da-bin’s outburst. The words of the two hit Cha Yoon and Park Woo-jun accurately. The two men who had risen up sat back down awkwardly in their seats.
“I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
Da-bin looked over the two men who were now keeping their mouths shut, shook her head, and headed to the restroom with her bag. Left at the table, the three didn’t exchange any particular conversation. Only the two men who hadn’t been able to settle their competition properly were conscious of each other.
How much time had passed? It was Seo-jung’s phone that broke the silence flowing between the three. He checked the screen and stood up.
“I’ll just step outside to take this call.”
Seo-jung left the table with a casual remark. In the end, only the two protagonists of this commotion were left at the table. The already quiet space became even more subdued.
Cha Yoon rolled his eyes to look at Park Woo-jun. Seeing that face made his already irritated mood even worse.
He recalled his joyful mood when he had left the house this morning. How happy he had been at the thought of finally having a proper date with his hyung. But the reality was completely different.
How did it end up such a mess? The reason could be found quickly. Cha Yoon glared at the culprit who had ruined the entire day and finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Watch your behavior.”
Park Woo-jun frowned at Cha Yoon’s words cutting through the heavy air.
“What?”
“I’m telling you to make your stance clear. Don’t give false hope to this woman or that man.”
“……”
“That’s not courteous to either of them.”
Despite Woo-jun’s voice being lower than usual, Cha Yoon didn’t back down. Instead, he looked straight into Woo-jun’s eyes and retorted. The phrase “this woman, that man” might have felt a bit awkward, but oddly enough, what stuck in Woo-jun’s ears were different words.
Stance, hope… With these words firmly lodged in his chest, only one thought was in Woo-jun’s mind: ‘How did Cha Yoon know that I’ve been wavering because of Sae-young lately?’
He thought he had hidden it well, but for some reason, it didn’t seem to work on Cha Yoon. Woo-jun was thoroughly misunderstanding the situation.
“Yeah, it’s true that I’ve been a bit shaken because of X recently. I admit it.”
Woo-jun confessed more easily than expected. Cha Yoon nodded as if to say ‘go on’.
“But Cha Yoon, ‘Please Take Care of My X’ itself is a show made for that. It’s natural to be drawn to new people and then waver towards X once in a while. That’s the kind of place it is. Human emotions don’t cut cleanly like slicing radish. Isn’t it stranger to feel nothing when faced with someone you once loved deeply? Should this be something to be criticized?”
Woo-jun’s words would have resonated with many ordinary people. The unfortunate point was that Cha Yoon didn’t belong to that category of ordinary humans.
“If it was someone else, I wouldn’t have said anything. Whether you messed with three or four people, I wouldn’t have cared. But you messed with the person I like.”
“……”
“The person I like might get hurt because of you, how can I just sit back and watch? You might be able to do that, but I can’t.”
Woo-jun was at a loss for words at Cha Yoon’s serious demeanor, which he had never seen before. As he was about to speak, Cha Yoon continued to reveal his feelings.
“You said it’s possible to waver. Well, at least by my standards, it’s not. Since the moment I realized I liked that person, I’ve never wavered once.”
Cha Yoon was about to say what he wanted to say most – that if Woo-jun’s feelings were less than this, he should give up on Ki Seo-jung.
“I see, I don’t know when your feelings for Da-bin grew so much, but I understand how you feel. But I also…”
“No, wait. What are you suddenly talking about?”
Woo-jun leaned back as Cha Yoon frantically waved his hands to stop him.
“Huh?”
“Why is Shin Da-bin sunbae’s name coming up here?”
Why is Shin Da-bin’s name coming up, he asks. At such an obvious question, Woo-jun was beyond dumbfounded, he was flabbergasted. Is he really asking because he doesn’t know the reason?
“…Well, because the person you like is Da-bin. We’ve been talking about Da-bin all this time.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Why would I like that sunbae?”
He doesn’t like Da-bin? As the conversation took an unexpected turn, Woo-jun tilted his head slightly to the left and asked.
“Then, who is this person you say you like?”
“Obviously, it’s our hyung!”
“…Huh?”
Our hyung? Hyung? Did I hear that wrong? At the questioning reply, Cha Yoon shouted as if delivering a final blow to Woo-jun.
“The one I like is Ki Seo-jung!”
The loud shout reached beyond the table to Da-bin who was walking back and Seo-jung who was walking beside her. At that startling volume, Seo-jung stopped in his tracks.
Woo-jun, whose eyes met with the approaching Seo-jung, blinked rapidly. Let me clarify, Woo-jun wasn’t someone with a mental illness like homophobia. He was just shocked to hear a coming out in a situation he hadn’t expected at all.
“Oh, well… That can happen. When a person likes another person, what does gender matter? In the first place, what I think isn’t important anyway. Right… Oh, then are you and Seo-jung both…”
Woo-jun was rambling without knowing what he was saying and raised his hand to point in the direction where Seo-jung was standing. At this, Cha Yoon started jumping up and down even more frantically than before, as if he had heard something absurd.
“Are you crazy? No, it’s not like that! I’m just following hyung around because I like him, but hyung doesn’t have any feelings for me! It’s just me liking hyung one-sidedly!”
The panting voice raised its decibels even more. Unable to bear the sound piercing his ears any longer, Seo-jung rushed to Cha Yoon’s side.
“Cha Yoon, what are you saying by yourself? Can’t you speak properly? If you talk like that, people will misunderstand and think it’s true. Cha Yoon, you don’t like men.”
Seo-jung, who had almost collapsed into the seat next to him, grabbed Cha Yoon’s hand tightly. He didn’t forget to send a signal, frowning as if to say ‘please come to your senses’.
Cha Yoon, who had been meeting his gaze, quickly rolled his eyes downward. Looking at Seo-jung’s hand firmly holding him, Cha Yoon spoke with a solemn expression as if he had made a big decision.
“That’s right. I don’t like men.”
Yes, that’s good. That’s it. Keep explaining it like that. You’re doing very well.
Seo-jung held hope that this situation could be resolved. As he was nodding his head like that, he had to tightly close his eyes at Cha Yoon’s next words.
“I just like Seo-jung hyung. You could call it Ki-Seo-jung-sexual, something like that.”
Ah, Cha Yoon, you crazy bastard.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
