At Junghyun’s cold response that seemed to leave no room for compromise, he scratched his head in frustration.
If nothing had happened, he would have stubbornly refused or fought until the other person gave up, complaining about how he was doing whatever he wanted. But now he wasn’t in a position to do that.
And he didn’t want to. He disliked having uncomfortable conversations with him.
He knew this was typical avoidance. He also knew that resolving relationships this way was terrible, but just for now, he wanted to avoid awkwardness as much as possible.
For this one month, he wanted to do what the other person wanted, if possible.
It was awkward and uncomfortable, but there was no choice.
“…Understood.”
After accepting his proposal with a small sigh, the other’s voice also softened a bit.
“Someone will contact you in about an hour. I’ve explained your general lifestyle, but it’s better to discuss the specific details directly. You’ll have to keep moving together from now on.”
“…I will.”
The moment he finished speaking, a sudden silence fell.
The conversation stopped as if a thread had been cut.
In the suffocating silence that was awkward to the point of breathlessness, just like in the car on their way to work, Junghyun unconsciously raised his fingernails to the nape of his neck.
And then he was startled and stopped his hand as he was about to habitually scratch his neck.
He hadn’t realized it before because he rarely got flustered, but this was his habit.
He needed to be careful about this. Especially from now on.
As he put his clenched fist in his pocket to break the habit, the other person spoke again.
“I’ll be late today.”
At his usual brief notification about his schedule, Junghyun fidgeted with his hand in his pocket.
That meant they wouldn’t be going home together today.
Continuing the conversation that seemed to follow a manual, he resumed walking and answered as he usually would.
“Then I’ll go to bed first.”
While repeating what felt like scripted dialogue and walking down the quiet hallway, the other changed the subject.
“What about meals?”
“…Pardon?”
“Lunch.”
“Oh… not yet. I’m planning to eat a little later.”
“What’s on the menu?”
“…Anything…”
“Make sure to eat properly. You’ve lost a lot of weight lately.”
“…Me?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I haven’t noticed.”
When he said he hadn’t really noticed, even when looking in the mirror this morning, he heard the other person sigh.
“You’ve lost a lot. Noticeably.”
At this definitive statement, he thought about it and suddenly realized it might be true.
Among the greetings he’d heard recently, the most common ones were “You don’t look well” and “Is something wrong?”
Even that person had said the same thing yesterday, so he might appear thinner to him.
“…Well, I guess that could be the case. I eat and sleep well, but I’ve stopped drinking for three months…”
He caught himself mid-sentence. Come to think of it, he hadn’t had a drink for over three months.
He hadn’t even had beer since making a promise with Seojun at their honeymoon destination, so he was completely abstaining from alcohol.
And the moment he realized this, he unconsciously felt relieved.
That was good.
As he instinctively looked down at his belly and silently exhaled a long breath, the other person asked curiously.
“…Alcohol?”
“I told you I was quitting drinking.”
“Completely?”
“…Yes. Somehow it turned out that way.”
“…That’s good then.”
“Yes.”
While thinking that the old man would be pleased to hear he’d quit drinking and that he should mention it the next time they spoke, the conversation was cut off again.
The dialogue ended as if there were no more topics to discuss. Junghyun, hesitating about what to do, scratched his hair vigorously as if troubled.
Indeed, this kind of situation was uncomfortable and unpleasant.
At times like this, it was better to just be shameless.
So this time, he initiated the conversation.
“…Do you have lunch plans?”
He asked not because he was genuinely curious but because he just wanted to hear the other person talk. After a moment, the other replied.
“Yes. I have some documents for hyung.”
“Suhyuk hyung-nim?”
“Yes. There are things I need to sign.”
“Enjoy your lunch. I think I’ll have meat today.”
“…Alone?”
“It doesn’t matter if I eat four portions by myself.”
Going to a barbecue restaurant alone was awkward not just because of the atmosphere, but also because the minimum order was usually for two people. But if he ate four portions alone, it wouldn’t matter. Especially if he ordered soybean paste stew and rice too.
Anyway, he didn’t care what others thought.
“You could probably eat that much… but is it okay to go to a barbecue restaurant alone?”
“The only reasons not to go to a barbecue restaurant alone are if you don’t have money or teeth.”
When he said he had both money and teeth so he would go, he heard the other person laugh softly.
It felt like the awkward atmosphere had finally eased a bit.
Somehow feeling like the air had suddenly become warmer, he relaxed his shoulders and tapped the floor with the tip of his shoe. Meanwhile, he heard a small noise from the other end of the call.
“Hyung seems to have arrived. Enjoy your meal.”
“Yes. You enjoy your meal too.”
“I will.”
After ending the short call with final greetings, Junghyun stood in the middle of the hallway and took a deep breath.
Then, he soon lowered his head and scratched his hair as if embarrassed, then sighed again and raised his head.
This much was a good conclusion.
Things would gradually get better from now on.
Thinking this way made him feel somewhat lighter.
At least he could breathe a little easier now.
He wouldn’t see the other’s face today, but tomorrow would definitely be better than this morning.
And they could solve things little by little.
Bickering all day from morning, fighting and getting angry, then ignoring each other when it became tiresome, then fighting again, and teasing when the other got heated up.
Come to think of it, they had fought quite a lot over the past three months.
That person had said he’d fought more with him in a month than he had with everyone around him his entire life.
In a way, it made sense.
That person wasn’t someone who would fight with others in the first place.
As a dominant Alpha and the Hanju heir, he was fundamentally particular but unexpectedly kind and affectionate.
So of course someone like me would cause problems, Junghyun thought with a bitter smile as he turned around and headed toward the office.
It was almost lunchtime, so he hurried to the office to finish his work before then. He sat down at his desk and was about to turn on his laptop when he saw his face reflected in the black screen.
It wasn’t very clear, but he definitely looked gaunt.
He was living luxuriously, to the point where he could confidently say there had never been a time in his life when he ate and slept better, yet he was losing weight.
“Ah…”
He seemed to understand why.
Besides pregnancy, they say the best diet is mental strain, and it seemed he had worried about this matter more than usual, unlike himself.
Concerned that it might have caused significant stress, he lowered his gaze.
He couldn’t see properly because of his thick coat, but it seemed fine.
No, it would be fine.
But he should probably visit a hospital.
There were a few concerns.
Until now, he had been careful not to leave any traces, but the situation had changed.
It would be difficult to track him if he went to a hospital in another region and didn’t leave his name. Or he could even go to a nearby foreign country.
He decided to search for a suitable hospital soon, using a business trip as an excuse, as he turned on his laptop.
Just as he clicked on an attached file to check the documents, his phone in his pocket rang with a message notification.
Since he had many ongoing matters, there were many potential contacts. He quickly checked the message and saw it was from Yongwoo.
[Heo Yongwoo] The number I asked about this morning. Say you were introduced by Yoon Sojin. He’s often out on jobs, so sending a message is faster than calling. But why suddenly need a private investigator?
That was fast.
Surprised that he had already found out what he had requested in the morning, Junghyun saved the contact information added below the message. Then he immediately sent a reply.
[I have something to investigate. Thanks. I’ll buy you a meal.]
Sending a mechanical message as brief as possible so that the guy wouldn’t notice anything, he was about to look at the screen again when an immediate reply came, as if he had been waiting.
[Yongwoo] A meal, not drinks? It’s unusual for Lee Junghyun not to suggest drinking these days. Are you being managed?
As expected, Yongwoo, with his unnecessarily sharp perception, was excellent at detecting even the smallest changes that others didn’t notice.
It was annoyingly troublesome, but he couldn’t fool this guy anyway. So he vaguely deflected the point.
[It’s been three months of abstinence. Hyung cleared out all the alcohol at home.]
[Heo Yongwoo] Talk sense. You’re not the type to stop drinking just because of that.
This guy definitely knows me too well.
He’s not a minor, so if alcohol was removed from home, he could just buy it outside.
Bars are everywhere in this world, and even if not at bars, alcohol is standard at all restaurants, and liquor stores are piled high at nearby convenience stores.
So if he’s not drinking, it’s by choice.
At least for him it is. He’s not the type to stop doing something just because he’s told not to.
And his friends know his rebellious nature too well.
[I’ll tell you the details later. Let’s meet soon.]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
