Chapter 119
He knew what that statement intended.
The thought “so it was going to be like this after all” came to mind. Despite vaguely foreseeing it, he felt strange when Do-heon actually held him back.
“Hmm, then…”
How should I respond? Should I suggest having tea at home? It would be awkward to explicitly invite him upstairs to stay overnight.
With Do-heon scanning his face with that intense gaze, opening his mouth felt tremendously burdensome.
While Cheong-yeon was carefully choosing his words, his phone started ringing.
“Just a moment.”
Startled by the vibration in his pants pocket, Cheong-yeon quickly took out his phone.
And to escape the awkward atmosphere immediately, he answered the call without properly checking the caller.
“Hello?”
—Honey. Did you get home safely?
“Ah.”
Moon Hee-jin’s voice clearly spreading from the speaker.
Cheong-yeon’s face instantly crumpled. For a moment, he almost blurted out a curse.
—You know what. No matter how I think about it, what happened today doesn’t make sense. Don’t you think so too, Cheong-yeon?
The car interior was so quiet that Moon Hee-jin’s voice resonated particularly loudly even without putting the phone to his ear.
Cheong-yeon had no desire to listen to her unpleasant lecture, at least not now. Especially not with Do-heon beside him.
“If it’s about that again, I’m hanging up.”
Just as he was about to press the end button to hang up, Do-heon beside him stopped him.
—Who are you to hang up on me? Does it make sense for you to enter this family empty-handed and take all that share?
Moon Hee-jin, unaware of anything, laid out words as unpleasant as they were explicit. As she always did with Cheong-yeon.
—Honestly, it’s not just a small amount. I didn’t say anything because I have dignity and didn’t want to blush, and Grandmother was there too… but you should know your place. Right?
“…”
“…”
Cheong-yeon bit his lower lip as he stared at Do-heon.
There was no change on his face as he gripped Cheong-yeon’s hand, preventing him from ending the call. He merely focused on Moon Hee-jin’s voice with that characteristically impassive expression.
‘Just hang up.’
Cheong-yeon mouthed to him, but Do-heon didn’t even blink.
—That Do-heon kid only cares about his own business anyway, so replacing an Omega like you is quick for him. I’m thinking of introducing him to a decent Dominant Omega that the family had in mind originally, so don’t harbor any foolish hopes.
“…”
—Even temporary distractions have their season. You know Do-heon best, don’t you?
Cheong-yeon tried once more to shake off Do-heon, exerting force on his arm. But again, he couldn’t free his hand, which was firmly held by him.
—You’ve been good at recognizing your place all this time, honey. So let’s not overinterpret things just because he’s being a bit nice.
“What are you going to do if I overinterpret?”
Unable to suppress his agitation, Cheong-yeon retorted.
Moon Hee-jin laughed as if she found his response amusing.
—Well…? Should I set you up with other Alphas? Should I make Do-heon completely detach even what little connection he has with you?
“That wasn’t true.”
Cheong-yeon refuted with a voice trembling with anger. Forgetting that Do-heon was right beside him, he unknowingly reacted to Moon Hee-jin’s provocation.
As soon as he heard the words “set you up with other Alphas,” his emotions immediately escalated. She must be referring to the photo taken at a gathering that Cheong-yeon had attended with Do-heon in the early days of their marriage, where he was surrounded by Alphas and smiling.
That photo, deliberately taken and sent by Moon Hee-jin and Park Jong-wook, became the cause of Cheong-yeon’s first major fight with Do-heon.
Despite knowing that Do-heon extremely disliked him mingling with other Alphas, Cheong-yeon had no other choice. Most people at that gathering intentionally treated Cheong-yeon as if he didn’t exist because his background and traits didn’t match.
Do-heon had disappeared, saying he was going to discuss business, and in that situation, the only place where Cheong-yeon could sit and at least have a conversation like a human being, not a doll, was with that group of Alphas.
The moment when Do-heon looked at him with contemptuous eyes after seeing the photo was still vivid. It was an incident that remained a deep wound for Cheong-yeon, painful even just to recall.
—Oh my, honey. Is the truth important? You’ve already experienced it. He absolutely doesn’t trust you.
Moon Hee-jin laughed even louder than before, as if she had heard something amusing. It was loud enough to hurt the ears, causing his brows to furrow involuntarily.
—I heard Do-heon was very angry that day. Would you be okay if that happened again?
Cheong-yeon’s breathing became increasingly rough at her provocation. Feeling like memories he didn’t want to recall were being forcibly unearthed, his eyelids trembled each time he closed and opened his eyes.
Even though he knew that it didn’t matter how Do-heon reacted now, his body reflexively tensed whenever that topic came up.
—I’m not saying you should completely let go of what you’ve received. I’ll give you some crumbs, so take that and wrap things up cleanly. You should know when to be satisfied. Grandmother’s inheritance is too much for you, Cheong-yeon.
Cheong-yeon wanted to end the call now. This time, he was determined to press the end button somehow, even if Do-heon tried to stop him, but Do-heon took away the phone that Cheong-yeon was holding.
—You don’t want to quit your acting career just as you’re getting established, right?
‘Give it back!’
Cheong-yeon grabbed his arm and urged in a small voice.
—Last time, you came and begged. To help you not get divorced from Do-heon. This time, even if you come and beg to continue acting, I won’t give in like I did then.
“Ah.”
Eventually, even the story Cheong-yeon didn’t want to bring up flowed from Moon Hee-jin’s mouth.
When his relationship with Do-heon cooled due to that cursed photo, Cheong-yeon was plagued with anxiety every day. Fearing that Park Jong-wook, who occasionally encountered Do-heon on business, might drop strange hints to him, he finally went to Moon Hee-jin and Park Jong-wook and begged them. To help ensure he wouldn’t get divorced from Do-heon.
Looking back now, it was a very young and simple idea. But at the time, there seemed to be no other option. There was no one on his side in the family, and even his husband distrusted him, so he believed that Moon Hee-jin or Park Jong-wook would have more influence on Do-heon than he did.
It was something he never wanted Do-heon to know about, but he hadn’t expected it to reach his ears this way.
—I don’t know why Do-heon is so concerned about someone who can’t even get pregnant.
“Moon Hee-jin.”
—Back then, I really… Huh? Hello?
“Give it to me!”
—Who’s there with you?
The car interior became noisy with the voices of Cheong-yeon, who was extremely irritated, and Moon Hee-jin, who was confused.
“Have you been talking nonsense to Yoo Cheong-yeon like this all along? How many times? How often?”
“Just hang up. It’s my phone!”
—What? Is Do-heon there with you? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?
“You don’t need to know, and we’ll talk when we meet later.”
As Cheong-yeon reached out to snatch the phone, Do-heon quickly ended the call.
Do-heon straightened Cheong-yeon’s body as he lost his balance and fell toward him, then returned the phone.
The chaotic car interior instantly regained its silence.
“…”
“…”
Cheong-yeon’s tearful breathing was completely disheveled.
“Since when?”
Do-heon asked in a calm voice. Compared to Cheong-yeon, whose heart was beating violently as if it would burst from the shame of having his flaws exposed, Do-heon remained as composed as he was before Moon Hee-jin’s call.
“What do you mean?”
Cheong-yeon avoided his gaze and put the phone in his pocket. He desperately wanted to go up to the officetel quickly. Otherwise, he felt like he might burst into embarrassing tears right here.
“Since when has Moon Hee-jin been talking to you like this?”
This time, Do-heon’s voice deepened. Judging by how his sentences were broken in the middle, he seemed to be barely maintaining his composure.
Cheong-yeon wished Do-heon would pretend not to know. It was already miserable enough without him prying.
“Why are you curious about that, Director?”
“Because it’s something I didn’t know. Has Moon Hee-jin been threatening you with such ridiculous nonsense all along?”
“…”
“Tell me.”
“Why are you angry at me?”
“I’m asking if you begged Moon Hee-jin.”
Do-heon urged him to explain the events he wanted to forget. He was intimidating, as if he wouldn’t let him go until he got the answer he wanted.
Yet when he actually needed help back then, Do-heon hadn’t even shown interest.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to go directly to Moon Hee-jin and hear it from her.”
“Are you joking? It’s all in the past, so just let it go! Pretend you didn’t hear it.”
As soon as Cheong-yeon finished speaking, Do-heon started the car. Fearing he might really drive to Moon Hee-jin’s house, Cheong-yeon grabbed his arm, which was holding the steering wheel.
“Why are you going there? Are you crazy?”
“If you don’t tell me, I have no choice but to hear it from Moon Hee-jin.”
“It, it’s been like that since we got married.”
Just as Do-heon was about to step on the accelerator, Cheong-yeon hastily spoke up.
“Since we got married? Continuously?”
Do-heon asked, turning only his head toward Cheong-yeon.
Due to gripping the steering wheel tightly, his hand turned pale as blood couldn’t flow properly. Above it, his veins were visibly raised, making the surface bumpy.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
