“I wasn’t asking how it happened, I was asking if you got hit.”
When Junyoung made the petty excuse that the former was asking about the method while the latter was just asking for a yes or no answer, Jaehyuk silently stared at him.
As if to say, you call that an explanation?
While sporting a dark blue bruise.
“Other people might not know, but people who’ve done martial arts can tell. It looks like it glanced off, but that’s still a solid hit. That kind of mark doesn’t come from just bumping into something.”
“When did you switch to being a doctor? I don’t recall asking for your diagnosis.”
“I’ve done quite a bit of sports too. Mainly martial arts. But did you really get hit?”
To Junyoung’s question, filled with unspoken amazement that it was Cha Jaehyuk of all people, mixed with joy, curiosity, and delight, Jaehyuk began to explain, uncharacteristically.
“It came so quickly I didn’t have time to dodge.”
“That fast?”
“No, it’s that the guy has terrible sleeping habits. Not just bad manners, but no common sense, no manners, and terrible sleeping habits too. He’s so hard to wake up that he sets his alarm to the emergency alert sound in the morning, and when I tried to wake him, he threw a punch. It was so fast that even though I dodged, it still grazed me. Seriously, with that skill level, he should be getting a black belt.”
“…You said he’s master level?”
“According to him.”
“Oh… That’s still impressive though? Despite the weight difference, he still threw a punch at you. Does he have no survival instinct?”
“He’s a megalodon.”
After saying that a creature that lived as the apex predator for 19 million years before extinction wouldn’t have survival instincts, Junyoung tilted his head in confusion.
“I thought you said he was a Chihuahua earlier?”
“He’s that too.”
Unable to make sense of this, Junyoung frowned and tilted his head.
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
“Nonsense.”
Admitting that he also thought it sounded strange, Jaehyuk leaned back in his chair and pressed his eyes, looking tired.
Though his face looked fine, Jaehyuk’s extremely irritable response made Junyoung look at him with concern.
“Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“No, I sleep well.”
“No, I mean you. You usually can’t sleep well if there’s just someone on the same floor.”
“That’s why I’m saying I’m sleeping very well. This is probably the first time I’ve slept this soundly since infancy. The problem is… he doesn’t get up.”
Confused by this strange way of speaking where the subject and predicate didn’t match, Junyoung tilted his head and asked for clarification.
“…So, you’re saying he can’t get up?”
“No, he won’t get up.”
“You?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“That guy.”
As the conversation became increasingly mysterious, Junyoung quickly put on the brakes before it got even more incomprehensible.
“Hey, wait, wait. So what you’re saying is that you, whom I was worried about, are sleeping better than expected, and Junghyun can’t get up in the morning? So he set his alarm to the emergency alert sound. And you, who woke up because of that sound, tried to wake him instead and got hit…”
He was about to say “got hit,” but Jaehyuk’s eyes were so fierce that he softened the words.
“No, almost got hit. And that’s why that area is…”
Without saying “looks like that,” Junyoung pointed to the area between his left cheekbone and temple and made a circular motion with his finger. Jaehyuk turned away with a face that said it was correct but he was annoyed anyway.
“Wow, is this what they call an antagonistic relationship in dramas?”
“How would I know?”
“Be careful. There’s no hope when antagonistic characters fall in love.”
To Junyoung’s concern that couples in movies or dramas who initially growl at each other suddenly engage in life-or-death eternal love when they fall in love, Jaehyuk looked at him as if ordering him to talk sense.
“That’s the most unnecessary worry in the world.”
“That’s a relief then. But don’t you have something more important to worry about than sleeping habits right now?”
“What?”
“Seo Yeonwoo.”
At that brief prompt, Jaehyuk finally remembered that he still hadn’t told Junghyun about Yeonwoo and the incredibly complicated family situation.
He had planned to talk about it last night, but it was postponed again because that guy fell asleep first.
“Did you tell him? About Yeonwoo and your brother and uncle?”
“…There wasn’t time.”
Hearing his somewhat excuse-like tone, Junyoung crossed his arms and made a comment.
“If there’s no time, you make time. If he hears it through another route later, you might unnecessarily give him leverage.”
“If he was going to hear it, he’d have heard it already.”
Though it seemed like a great secret, it was actually a well-known secret among those who should know.
Junghyun seemed to have decent information-gathering skills, so he probably had heard rumors from somewhere.
Likely exaggerated, minimized, or distorted.
“Still, you should make the first move quickly. He’s not an ordinary guy either.”
At those sudden words, Jaehyuk paused while pressing his forehead, then looked back at Junyoung and asked, somewhat displeased.
“…What does that mean?”
“I’ve been investigating him again recently. Though I don’t have a detailed report yet, just from what I’ve found, he’s not ordinary. And that rumor seems to be true.”
“…Rumor?”
“About his mother’s side and the infertility.”
At those brief words, Jaehyuk reacted as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“So what?”
“Didn’t he tell you about that?”
“No need. I told him first.”
Technically, he hadn’t directly told him but had probed the subject, but it was true that Jaehyuk had brought it up first.
Quite indirectly, though.
“…You told him?”
“It’s better to be clean about such things.”
It’s neater to give a hint that you know, to prevent gossip later.
Since he held the upper hand anyway, there was no need to use complicated strategies.
“So, how did Junghyun react?”
“He asked if that’s why we’re getting married, and laughed.”
Surprised by this unexpected response, Junyoung couldn’t laugh anymore.
“He laughed?”
“Yes.”
“But that would be his biggest weakness?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a reason for divorce anyway.”
Of course, if you put it that way, but normal people tend to get angry or shrink when their weakest points are touched.
The fact that he laughed at that point was a bit concerning.
Even for a human AI, that’s a bit strange.
“…The more I hear, the less ordinary he sounds.”
“He’s not an easy-going personality.”
“But no matter what, it’s the biggest risk to him, and if he laughs when hearing about it… honestly, it’s a bit creepy.”
“It could be. But that’s not what’s important.”
At Jaehyuk’s indifference that suggested it wasn’t his concern either way, Junyoung stared at him intently for a moment.
As if trying to dig into his thoughts, and Jaehyuk frowned as if telling him to stop that searching look.
Seeing his usual reaction, Junyoung shrugged and lowered his gaze.
It was the normal Jaehyuk. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“Anyway, I’ll dig a bit more. It’s a bit hard to uncover since his name wasn’t used, but if I focus on people who worked at that hospital at the time, something should come up. That would make the divorce grounds easy to settle.”
“Don’t worry. There are plenty of other grounds for divorce.”
When Jaehyuk said that divorce was possible right now just based on the sleeping habits and violent tendencies, Junyoung easily agreed on that point.
“That’s true. Surprisingly, many divorces happen because of small issues like sleeping habits, food preferences, or hobbies. Anyway, let’s have lunch together. I’m on my way to work now.”
“No, I have an appointment.”
“With whom?”
“The Chihuahua or the megalodon.”
At this incomprehensible metaphor again, Junyoung asked directly.
“Hey, what does that mean? What’s with the Chihuahua?”
“Long story. Since my face looks like this and people are whispering, we agreed to have lunch together. While having lunch, we’ll finish the conversation we couldn’t have.”
“That’s a good idea, but… for some reason, isn’t he a bit big for a Chihuahua?”
To the comment that he’s not small and cute like a Chihuahua, Jaehyuk responded as if it was nonsense.
“He’s small for a megalodon.”
To Jaehyuk’s retort that it’s just a metaphor so what does it matter, Junyoung immediately understood that was true too.
It’s just a metaphor for temperament after all.
“If you’re having lunch together anyway, go somewhere private and clearly talk about Yeonwoo and your brother. And about your uncle too. It would be better if he didn’t know, but he can’t not know while living together for a year, so make the first move and frame it as not a big deal.”
“He said he has his own circumstances for agreeing to marry, so our circumstances don’t matter. We agreed not to ask or be curious about each other.”
In fact, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for our side to reveal weaknesses first, but it’s something he’ll find out anyway, so it’s just about disclosing it. And there are things that guy needs to be careful about too.
That was Jaehyuk’s judgment, but Junyoung thought a little differently.
“Hearing that makes me more uneasy. Why exactly did that guy want to marry you?”
“I told you, didn’t I? He said anything goes. He’s not interested.”
“What if you get backstabbed?”
“Then I’ll deal with it when the time comes. Handling a guy like that is so easy it’s not worth preparing for in advance.”
“…Right, that’s the Cha Jaehyuk I know. Oh, by the way, friends are asking to meet this weekend. I should introduce them to the megalodon, I mean Chihuahua.”
“I told you we’re going on our honeymoon this weekend, right?”
“Then what about Friday?”
“We’re leaving Friday night.”
“For how long?”
“4 nights, 5 days.”
“Going domestic? Surfing?”
“Surfing and climbing.”
“…It’s good that you share hobbies with your partner. But let me warn you in advance, don’t be surprised if you meet someone on your honeymoon.”
At Junyoung’s concern, Jaehyuk frowned.
“…You guys wouldn’t dare follow us, would you?”
“Not me. I don’t have a surfing hobby. But I’m not sure about the other guys.”
“You guys…”
He was about to tell them to stop when the intercom rang. Reflexively, Jaehyuk pressed the button.
“Yes.”
– Your wife is here.
Hearing those words through the intercom, Junyoung grimaced.
“Wife” – if there was one person who least matched that word, it would definitely be Junghyun.
Chihuahua would suit him better.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
