Chapter 8
However, the moment his name was called, Cheong-yeon froze, feeling his breath catch in his throat.
Contrary to his hope that Do-heon would pretend not to know him, Do-heon called his name. With no other choice, Cheong-yeon stiffly turned his head.
Then, he made eye contact with Do-heon, who was just getting out of the car. Do-heon, dressed in a perfectly fitted suit without a single wrinkle, approached Cheong-yeon’s side.
“I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Do-heon’s gaze swept over Cheong-yeon. It was no wonder, as his appearance was completely different from when he lived in this house.
Cheong-yeon felt his mouth dry, but he tried to act as if nothing was wrong and faced him. However, every time Do-heon’s gaze touched his face, his back stiffened uncontrollably.
“I was just coming out after packing my things.”
“Already?”
“Yes. There wasn’t much to pack.”
“Where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”
Do-heon asked, tilting his chin. Naturally, he reached out to take the shopping bag Cheong-yeon was holding.
Cheong-yeon reflexively stepped back.
“It’s a nice night, so I’ll just walk.”
It was the middle of the night, completely dark, not a nice night as he said. Do-heon glanced at the black sky once and then looked back at Cheong-yeon.
“Where should I have your things delivered?”
“Ah, there’s no need to deliver them. This is all I have.”
“It seems too little.”
“Does it?”
Cheong-yeon acted as if he would leave through the gate at any moment. Do-heon looked up at the sky again.
“It’s too dark.”
“The streetlights are on, so it’s bright.”
Cheong-yeon smiled brightly as usual and pointed to the bright streetlights.
“It’ll take a long time to walk to the station.”
“So what, I’ll walk a bit.”
A brief silence passed between the two.
Cheong-yeon felt extremely uncomfortable in this moment facing him. Just pretend not to know me. Why did he have to call me out and make me feel awkward like this? He never does anything as I wish.
“Okay, then.”
With a concise answer, Do-heon checked his wristwatch with a clean movement and turned around. That indifferent attitude used to be infuriating, but now it was helpful.
Cheong-yeon hurriedly left the garden and stepped into the alley. Only then did he feel like his blocked breath was finally released.
Thus, the two passed each other in a way that was too fleeting to even be called a reunion.
*
“Watch carefully. To do a personal broadcast, communication is extremely important. For example, when a donation comes in, what should you do? You have to immediately say thank you. Thank you, TomBibi, for the donation.”
“Do you have to drag out the end of your words like that?”
Cheong-yeon, who was drinking beer, pointed out Kim Ji-han’s greasy tone. Ignoring the disgusted gaze, Kim Ji-han generously passed on his live broadcast know-how to Cheong-yeon.
“Winking as a reaction is also good. Like this.”
“Sigh.”
“Want to go a little further?”
“No?”
“Then stand up straight from the chair. And then, rub your neck and chest with your palm. Watch carefully.”
“No, I said it’s enough. Can’t you hear me?”
Cheong-yeon was disgusted by Kim Ji-han’s sticky dance moves. He couldn’t bring himself to hit the benefactor who had fed and sheltered him for the past few weeks, so he clenched his fists and fiercely suppressed the surging violence.
“Enjoy it, just do it.”
Kim Ji-han whispered in a fatal voice, and Cheong-yeon felt like his stomach was churning, so he pounded his chest.
“Ugh. But didn’t you only get comments saying they were pissed off at your dancing videos?”
“That’s the point. That guilty feeling is the killing point.”
“Sigh… It’s hitting me.”
“See? You also monitored the comments. You’re already hooked.”
Cheong-yeon shook his head, saying he couldn’t do it. Kim Ji-han, who enjoyed the immediate reaction, giggled and gulped down the remaining beer in the can.
“Just kidding. Even I think you don’t suit personal broadcasting. You said you wanted to act, right? Why don’t you prepare for an audition while you’re at it? You were a visual member with me in DEX, too.”
For a moment, Cheong-yeon, who had sighed heavily, flared up.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I was the sole center.”
“That’s funny. That was only in the very beginning.”
“Wow. You should monitor properly. Who called you a visual?”
“Tsk. This guy is really ignoring people. Actually, in this industry, looking like you, which is hard to approach, is rather poison?”
“What are you talking about?”
Cheong-yeon picked up a sticky pig’s trotter, dipped it in shrimp paste, and snorted. After that, the meaningless bickering with Kim Ji-han continued.
“But why are you eating so much, Yoo Cheong-yeon?”
After sitting face to face with Kim Ji-han at the dining table for a while, the delivery container was soon empty.
They ordered enough for two men to fill their stomachs, but Cheong-yeon ate non-stop, and soon the pig’s trotters and makguksu were gone. The beer was also completely finished.
“Ji-han. It’s been a while since I ate pig’s trotters, and it’s so damn delicious. Is late-night snacking this good?”
Cheong-yeon smiled with a full stomach and patted his belly.
“…Yeah. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“At Moon Do-heon’s house, I couldn’t eat late-night snacks. Even if I tried to boil ramen lightly, the kitchen auntie had sharp ears and would pop out even if she was doing something else.”
“Wow. That must be burdensome.”
“Right. And somehow… anyway, in that house, everything seems to be noticed.”
“Oh? Don’t cry again. If you eat well and then cry, I’ll kick you out.”
“It’s crying acting. This is a basic skill for actors.”
“Nonsense… Are you seriously thinking of challenging acting? No joke?”
“Yes. I originally joined DEX to act.”
“Really? Now that I think about it, I heard from across that the hyung who was our manager during our activities started a management company…”
“Huh? Manager Kim Kyung-seop?”
“Yes. It’s been a year or two, I think. Should I contact him while I remember? It’s better to have something than to headbutt the ground completely without an agency.”
Cheong-yeon nodded, rolling the chopsticks in his hand. At the same time, he tried to recall as much information as possible about Kim Kyung-seop, who was the manager of DEX. But he didn’t remember much.
He wasn’t a particularly enthusiastic person, nor was he someone without sincerity. He had a feeling of living by appropriately compromising with reality.
“Yeah. Just ask him.”
“Okay. I’ll contact him. Should I roughly tell him about your situation, even if not in detail?”
“There’s nothing to hide now. Anyway, even if I keep it a secret that I’m a divorced man, it’ll spread around…”
Cheong-yeon’s voice trailed off gloomily. Maybe because of the alcohol, the unpleasant things he experienced before the divorce started to come to mind.
Due to his job, Do-heon had to attend various gatherings. And it was common practice for spouses to attend together at places where key figures in the business world gathered. Except for purely business-oriented occasions, Cheong-yeon also attended all gatherings with Do-heon.
However, Cheong-yeon couldn’t blend in with them and always lingered on the outskirts. Even if he managed to join the conversation, it never led to a deep discussion, and the political and business people considered Cheong-yeon’s recessive omega trait as an unforgivable flaw.
If it had been a stranger who was rude, he could have easily ignored and overlooked it. What tormented Cheong-yeon the most was the JT owner’s family.
They always subtly excluded Cheong-yeon from the gatherings, and if he tried to join the conversation, they would turn the topic to something Cheong-yeon didn’t know or mention the dangers of recessive traits to humiliate him.
Do-heon was a man who was not interested in such petty human relationships from the beginning. Throughout their married life, his only concern was work. He focused on gaining recognition for his abilities to compensate for his innate defects, and the only thing Do-heon wanted from Cheong-yeon was to have a child.
‘These are the photos sent to me. Explain yourself.’
A few days after another boring gathering where he was left out, Do-heon called Cheong-yeon into the living room as soon as he returned from work and handed him an envelope.
Inside were photos of Cheong-yeon, holding a wine glass, surrounded by alphas and smiling at the gathering.
It wasn’t that he didn’t remember that moment, but Cheong-yeon had no explanation. The others didn’t include him in the conversation, and the only ones who talked to him were the alphas who had a crush on him.
Even if he pushed them away, there was no place for Cheong-yeon in the gathering. He couldn’t just stand against the wall like a screen for hours. Mixing words with them was an inevitable choice for Cheong-yeon.
‘That day, I just talked with those people. What should I explain?’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
