The conversation that had been flowing naturally suddenly stopped.
At first glance, his tone seemed as gentle and nonchalant as usual, but there was clearly a sharp thorn embedded in his words.
With that strange sensation, I slowly turned toward him, and he smiled as if nothing was wrong. Then he continued speaking.
“Use any car you like. There are more at the main house, so you can choose from there too. It might be good to go to the main house and properly greet everyone while you’re at it. If there’s a specific car you want, you can order it. If you don’t have a dedicated dealer, I’ll introduce you to mine.”
Smoothly changing the direction of the conversation, Jaehyuk moved around the island counter and picked up his coat and jacket from the chair. Then, continuing to walk, he went on.
“Go rest now. If you’re cold, turn up the heating. And contact Yoonho in advance. Tell him you’ll be taking a break for a while. Even if you think about retirement later, it would be good to rest at least until winter ends. It’s not a busy season anyway.”
As Jaehyuk passed by, making decisions about Junghyun’s future as if it were his own will rather than Jaehyuk’s intention, instinct told Junghyun to speak now.
That if he missed this moment, he might never get another chance.
He didn’t know why, but he had a premonition.
That Jaehyuk would never listen to anything he had to say going forward.
“Hyung…”
Anxiously, he put down his cup and called out to him.
This time they needed to have a proper conversation.
There was nothing good in dragging this out any longer.
For both his hyung’s sake and his own, today he needed to resolve this drawn-out situation.
As he hurriedly opened his mouth to catch him, feeling that it had to be now, Jaehyuk was once again faster.
“My busy schedule is winding down too, so it would be nice to go on a short trip. Since you’re not feeling well, stay domestic instead of going abroad. Snowboarding is good, but winter camping is also nice for proper rest. Oh, by the way, I also enjoy camping. Especially winter camping. I never told anyone about my camping trips because my friends would probably follow me. I used to just take off when I wanted to be alone, but now I can go with you. You’ll like it too. Since we have similar tastes.”
Faced with Jaehyuk’s continued one-sided attitude, Junghyun approached right behind him.
And just as he was about to call out to him again, Jaehyuk’s left hand covered his mouth.
Surprised by the hand blocking his lips as if telling him not to say anything, Junghyun held his breath. Jaehyuk met his eyes and whispered softly.
“Don’t say anything. Nothing happened between us, and nothing will happen in the future. So, don’t say anything. I won’t say anything either.”
“…”
“You’re smart, so you understand what this means.”
Junghyun already knew what Jaehyuk was thinking.
But he couldn’t bring himself to go along with it.
He had reasons why he could no longer maintain this marriage.
He couldn’t stall any longer.
He didn’t want to burden Jaehyuk or feel sorry anymore.
So he couldn’t pretend not to know as Jaehyuk suggested.
As he moved his lips to somehow start a conversation, Jaehyuk stopped him once more.
“The contract will proceed as planned. Remember? The final penalty.”
At Jaehyuk’s quiet whisper, memories from four months ago quickly flashed through Junghyun’s mind.
On the day he decided to marry Jaehyuk, he had recorded numerous possible scenarios in this marriage and detailed the penalties for each.
It was admittedly somewhat obsessive, but contracts are products of compulsion by nature.
If you don’t clearly define everything, loopholes eventually appear.
Knowing this well, he had detailed even seemingly unnecessary provisions, but there was one penalty that wasn’t written down.
The moment he recalled that clause, unknown even to the lawyers, he could no longer speak to Jaehyuk.
At least regarding this issue, Jaehyuk had the sole right to decide.
“From now on, you just need to faithfully follow the contract. Then there won’t be any problems. I like you and this life with you quite a bit, and I enjoy it. I don’t want to disturb the peace now. At least not right now. At the very least until Suhyuk hyung and Yeonwoo leave, we need to remain a happy couple.”
At Jaehyuk’s final words, Junghyun came to his senses.
Only then did he recall the original purpose of this marriage.
As Jaehyuk said, it wasn’t the right time yet.
He couldn’t make things more difficult for Jaehyuk.
At least, not now.
He had to wait until everything was completely resolved.
Having accepted that, he gave up on speaking further.
Jaehyuk then removed the hand covering his mouth. Then, gently rubbing the corner of Junghyun’s eye with his fingertip, he whispered affectionately.
“Live as before, as if nothing happened. Exercise together, go shopping occasionally, go camping or traveling. Then, everything will be okay.”
Jaehyuk must know that’s an unreasonable insistence.
Trust that has been cracked once cannot be restored. And the same goes for broken relationships.
He just wants to believe it’s possible. Or he doesn’t want to think about it. Or maybe he’s given up…
“Go rest now. Don’t think about anything. Sleep, and when you wake up, everything will be fine. Your face has become a mess these past few days.”
As Jaehyuk’s voice resonated in his ear like hypnosis, Junghyun lowered his head without saying anything, and Jaehyuk kissed the corner of his eye.
Closing his eyes at the tender kiss, like comforting a disobedient child, Jaehyuk soon embraced his head.
As Junghyun was held in Jaehyuk’s arms, the sweet yet somehow lonely and cool scent of midwinter spread.
His heart fluttered at the cold water scent he loved so much.
It was a strange feeling—somewhat sad but also happy.
* * *
Junghyun, who had fallen asleep right after returning to the bedroom, woke up slightly and opened his eyes.
He blinked a couple of times.
When he had fallen asleep, faint sunlight was coming through the gap in the curtains, but now it was completely dark.
It seemed to be after sunset.
Around 6 or maybe 7 o’clock.
Judging by his recent napping pattern, it seemed about three or four hours had passed.
He should get up soon.
It’s not good to just sleep, but when he tried to sit up, his body wouldn’t move well.
Or rather, something was pressing down on his body.
Looking down at the heavy weight on his waist, he saw Jaehyuk’s arm wrapped around it.
Since he had definitely been alone when he fell asleep, he turned around, puzzled, and saw Jaehyuk’s peaceful sleeping face.
This was surprising.
Although they had slept in the same bed for three months, he had only seen Jaehyuk sleeping a few times.
No, not just a few times—this was the third time.
Once on their honeymoon, once a month ago, and now.
For someone who claimed to be sensitive and woke up at the slightest movement in the house, he was sleeping quite soundly.
Jaehyuk must have been quite tired too.
The previous two times had also been when Jaehyuk was quite exhausted.
Both of them had been losing sleep for days.
At that thought, a laugh suddenly escaped.
It’s funny to say they’d been losing sleep when they had been sleeping so much, but that was actually the case.
While they had certainly slept, they hadn’t entered deep sleep, remaining in a half-conscious state, so they hadn’t recovered from fatigue.
And they had woken up in between sleeps and had strange dreams.
He had thought all of this was due to hormonal and physical changes from pregnancy, but judging by how deeply he had just slept, it wasn’t just because of that.
He had been anxious inside for the past five days.
He clearly knew something had happened—or rather, something should have happened—but nothing had changed, and that was frightening.
The fact that he didn’t know when or where something might explode.
But now he felt comfortable.
Perhaps because a conclusion had been reached, his mind was more at ease than ever.
He understood Jaehyuk’s thinking.
If rumors of their divorce were to spread now, things could unnecessarily become more complicated.
That’s not what Jaehyuk wants. And he doesn’t want it either.
He doesn’t care what happens to the contract, but he at least wants to thank Jaehyuk for the cocoa can and handkerchief he received.
If he can’t be of help to Jaehyuk, he should at least not cause him harm.
Suhyuk hyung and Yeonwoo hyung will soon be leaving to study abroad.
He had heard it was planned for a month from now, so he only needed to endure until then.
Things would work out somehow. After that, he could naturally leave too.
The divorce papers are with the lawyer, so they just need to be filed at the appropriate time. He had also prepared a power of attorney with his lawyer, so it could be done anytime.
Jaehyuk would decide the timing.
He was worried whether he could hold out in this state until then, but it would work out somehow.
No, he felt it would work out.
This child would also need time to spend with his father for about a month.
And he needed time too.
Separations require preparation.
He had struggled because the partings with his mother and Seojun had been too sudden.
A month would be just right.
It was an adequate amount of time to settle all the things he had wanted to do but couldn’t bring himself to do.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
