Chapter 14
“Why do you care where I’m going? I’m going somewhere you won’t be, so let go of me!”
Cheong-yeon shouted in the alley, losing control. The normal Do-heon would have backed off by now, but for some reason, today he was persistently trying to persuade Cheong-yeon.
“If you dislike those people, I won’t invite them starting next week. I’ll make sure you never have to see them.”
Cheong-yeon, who had been walking urgently, almost out of breath, stopped abruptly. Then he faced Do-heon.
“Why are you only thinking of this now? Did you think I was dancing with joy seeing those people? Am I asking for such great consideration? Why are you so desperate to torment me?”
“I didn’t know you hated it so much. I didn’t know you were coming today either.”
“Hah…”
At this excuse that barely qualified as one, Cheong-yeon lowered his head. Tears that had been welling up at his chin dropped onto the concrete ground.
Cheong-yeon couldn’t control his trembling body. While trying to calm his breathing by looking at his feet and biting his lower lip, he suddenly noticed the neat shirt he was wearing.
The shirt he hadn’t wanted to wear today but had been forced into by Do-heon. The moment he saw it, his stomach turned again before he could even calm down.
Cheong-yeon tore it off like someone whose body was on fire.
“Don’t think about forcing this kind of shitty clothes on me anymore. Who do you think you are when we’re not even in a relationship anymore! Don’t interfere with what I wear or what I do. I’ll do what I want to do, say what I want to say, and wear what I want to wear!”
After throwing the shirt to the ground as if having a seizure, Cheong-yeon shouted with a voice mixed with tears. In just his thin knit top, breathing roughly and glaring at Do-heon with murderous eyes, he belatedly realized he had spoken informally to him.
But Do-heon didn’t seem to mind much. Instead of pointing out the informal speech, he bent down to pick up the shirt Cheong-yeon had thrown. Then he called Secretary Shim and told him to bring the car over.
“You look pale. I’m going to tell Grandmother that you’re not feeling well and that we have to leave. When Secretary Shim arrives, lie down in the car.”
Do-heon placed his hand on Cheong-yeon’s shoulder and spoke while looking into his eyes.
Faced with his infuriatingly calm demeanor, Cheong-yeon, who had been shouting like a madman just moments ago, lost all his fighting spirit.
Different from his desire to reject Do-heon and walk away alone, he had no strength left in his body. Besides, Do-heon was gripping his shoulder quite firmly, as if he had no intention of letting go.
“Answer me, Yoo Cheong-yeon.”
“…I don’t want to.”
You don’t have the right to hold me anymore. You have no justification to tell me what to do. So why are you tormenting me again?
Various resentful thoughts floated through his mind. But it was as if his vocal cords had turned to stone, making it difficult to force out his voice.
“Sigh…”
As if he hadn’t just been shouting and causing a scene, Cheong-yeon suddenly lost his strength and staggered, losing his balance. If Do-heon hadn’t been holding him, he might have fallen. However, Cheong-yeon pushed him away.
Being close to him didn’t calm him despite Do-heon’s pheromones; rather, it made his breathing unstable. They were truly the worst match.
“Director.”
At that moment, a familiar car stopped in front of the two, and Secretary Shim got out from the driver’s seat.
“Get in.”
Do-heon ordered Cheong-yeon. Cheong-yeon stepped back as if he hadn’t heard.
Do-heon let out a short sigh, and instead of trying to persuade Cheong-yeon further, he approached and lifted him up. As his body was suspended in the air and strong arms wrapped around him, Cheong-yeon began flailing his limbs.
“Don’t touch me. Just leave me alone, please. Let go…! If you don’t let go now, ugh… I’ll call the police.”
Cheong-yeon sobbed as he desperately pushed Do-heon away. Being next to him made him feel small and miserable.
But it was beyond his strength to completely break free from Do-heon on his own. Even though Cheong-yeon threatened him with tears, Do-heon acted as if he couldn’t hear anything and held him tighter, laying him down on the back seat of the car.
“Where should I take you?”
“To the hospital.”
“Understood.”
“No! I said no! I absolutely won’t go. I’m getting out of here. I don’t want to go to the hospital!”
“…”
“I want to go home. Let me go home… *sob* please.”
Cheong-yeon pleaded through tears. Do-heon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Whose home.”
“Ji-han’s, Kim Ji-han’s… home.”
“…”
“I don’t want to go, ugh. I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
Lying on the seat with his arm covering his eyes, Cheong-yeon barely managed to speak.
“…Alright.”
Do-heon looked down at Cheong-yeon, who was crying and asking to be taken to Kim Ji-han’s home instead of his own. Feeling a tightness in his throat, he loosened his perfectly tied necktie, pulling it down.
Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the face of Cheong-yeon, who was lying with his head on Do-heon’s knee.
“…”
Cheong-yeon, who had been closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing, slowly opened them at the soft touch on his cheek. Through blurry vision, he saw a white handkerchief. It was the same as the one he had packed in his suitcase when he left home.
As soon as he saw it, his emotions that had just calmed down stirred again. His stomach churned as if he was carsick.
Cheong-yeon closed his eyes tightly again and pushed away Do-heon’s hand. If he didn’t, he felt like he might cling to him without realizing it.
As soon as the car stopped in front of the alley, Cheong-yeon opened the door and ran to Kim Ji-han’s house like he was escaping. Even after arriving home, it took him a long time to calm his excited mind.
Kim Ji-han had left a note saying he had a dermatology appointment, and Cheong-yeon spent several hours alone in the room, groaning under the covers as if suffering from a fever.
Thinking he might be coming down with something, he pulled out a thicker blanket and waited for the chills to pass.
Perhaps due to the emotional exhaustion, drowsiness overwhelmed him. After a good nap, thankfully his body felt much lighter.
When he had left Grandmother’s house, it felt like the world was collapsing, but now the hyperventilation symptoms were gone, and his body had stopped trembling like an aspen.
“Ha… what does it matter now? This is so fucking embarrassing.”
Although it was fortunate that his condition had recovered quickly, Cheong-yeon felt utterly ashamed of what had happened today.
Even if he couldn’t have landed a blow to those people who had been barely hiding their sneers, he shouldn’t have run away like that.
Moreover, the fact that he had been carried by Do-heon to the car while crying and brought here made Cheong-yeon even more flustered. I should have just pushed him away and come back alone. Why did I cry in the first place? It wasn’t something to get so worked up about and sob hysterically.
Thinking about how pathetic he must have looked today, he wanted to kick off the blanket, run around the neighborhood screaming.
“Ah. I’m so pathetic, so pathetic.”
I shouldn’t have gone after all. Cheong-yeon muttered with the mentality of a soldier defeated in battle.
But he didn’t truly regret it. Because he got to see his grandmother. Although he had left abruptly without saying a proper goodbye, he would go again next week anyway, so that wasn’t a big problem. The problem was his shattered pride.
As his clouded mind gradually cleared, Cheong-yeon realized that he had fallen asleep still wearing his outdoor clothes without changing. Neat-freak Kim Ji-han would definitely scold him if he found out.
While hurriedly rummaging through his suitcase to change into comfortable clothes, Cheong-yeon suddenly paused as he remembered something. Come to think of it, the pants he was currently wearing weren’t what he had originally wanted to wear, but what Do-heon had forced him to wear.
“Ah, I should have taken them off right there and thrown them back at him.”
He felt somewhat resentful about still wearing them. But actually taking them off and throwing them would have made him look truly insane… It was an annoying but unavoidable choice.
Like someone with anger management issues, Cheong-yeon suddenly and roughly took off his pants and slammed them to the floor. Imagining they were Moon Do-heon rather than pants relieved his stress and made him feel quite a bit better.
Kim Ji-han, who had said he would be taking a day off, was probably out having fun, as there was no sign of him even late at night. In the end, Cheong-yeon laid out the bedding and went to sleep alone that day.
Perhaps because he had taken a long nap during the day, sleep didn’t come immediately. As he stared endlessly at the dark ceiling, he felt inexplicably melancholic.
It felt particularly lonely not having anyone to rely on during days like this. He considered calling his uncle, but knowing that he would faint and lecture him upon learning about his divorce from Do-heon, he couldn’t bring himself to make contact. His uncle was the type who would tell him to go back and beg Do-heon regardless of his circumstances.
His deceased father and uncle were typical Alpha and Omega. His uncle had never been in good health, and his condition had deteriorated further after giving birth to Cheong-yeon’s older brother and Cheong-yeon.
For this reason, having barely ever worked himself, he firmly believed that an Omega must always depend on an Alpha’s financial support. On top of that, both his father and uncle had never understood why Cheong-yeon, a Recessive Omega, had chosen to struggle in the entertainment industry.
After fiddling with his phone for a long time, contemplating whether to contact his father or brother, Cheong-yeon eventually fell asleep without calling anyone.
