“Isn’t what the public thinks more important to you than what I think, Mr. Cruz?”
“……”
Hugo looked genuinely startled, but quickly returned to his usual expression. There was a part of Yeon Yiseo that was tempted—to seem like a good person in Hugo’s eyes. But he reminded himself why he was even here in the first place: because Hugo had threatened him.
If he tried to smooth things over with a comforting word, sure, the atmosphere might warm up. But that would be it. Yeon Yiseo had no desire to become lovers with Hugo. And if he was going to have to reject him eventually, better to cut things off now than let them fester.
Keeping his expression steady, Yiseo began speaking slowly.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Wait, Yiseo—”
As Yiseo began to turn away, Hugo grabbed his arm. Then, as if startled by his own action, he let go.
“……”
Hugo hesitated, clearly wanting to say something. But in the end, it was Yiseo who spoke first.
“You must be tired. You should get some rest.”
Even though he could tell Hugo had more than just a goodbye in mind, Yiseo still chose to part ways. He briefly considered thanking him for not doing anything to him when he was vulnerable, but decided against it. He realized there was no need to be grateful for someone acting like a decent human being.
Leaving behind only a brief farewell, Yiseo walked out of Hugo’s home. Hugo offered to drive him, but Yiseo firmly declined. There was no reason to accept such a gesture.
His feelings were complicated. Physically, he felt much better than when he’d first stepped into 432 Park Avenue—he couldn’t deny that. But he kept wondering if what he’d said to Hugo at the end was really the best he could’ve done. It wasn’t like he could change anything by thinking about it now, yet he couldn’t stop replaying it in his head.
Still, even if he went back and relived that moment, Yiseo wouldn’t change his thoughts or how he treated Hugo. After all, it was Hugo who’d taken the first step to ensure they couldn’t go back to being just friends.
It was unfortunate, but it was what it was. No matter how desperate someone might be, returning to a good relationship with someone who’d threatened you by exploiting your weaknesses? Maybe someone else could do it—but not Yeon Yiseo. That was impossible.
He’d more or less expected it, but it still left him feeling down. No one feels good about breaking things off with someone they knew, even a little. Trying to ignore the heaviness in his chest, Yiseo looked up at the sky for a moment, then resumed walking.
Not wanting to go straight home, he headed to Central Park for the first time in a while. It was the weekend and the weather was nice, so there were lots of families out and about. Strolling through the relaxed, open atmosphere of the park helped him feel a little better.
He stayed there until sunset, then made his way home.
As he was about to climb the stairs, Yiseo saw his landlord coming down and greeted her. But the landlord, Elena, looked at him with wide eyes and said:
“Are you okay?”
“Excuse me?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yiseo asked again in confusion. Elena tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear and continued.
“Well, a friend of yours told me you’d been in an accident. But…”
“W-What? That never happened.”
“…Oh dear… Oh no…”
At her gasp, which burst out more like a wail, a chill ran down Yiseo’s spine.
“W-What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
“Well, the person who said you’d been in an accident also said they urgently needed surgery money… so I gave them back this month’s rent. Oh my goodness, what have I done…!”
Yiseo couldn’t quite process what he’d just heard. He couldn’t believe something like that had actually happened.
“Who… who was it?”
“He said you’ve known each other since you were kids. His name was, um…”
No way.
“……Jeremy Kuttner?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
As far as Yiseo knew, Elena was usually a shrewd, no-nonsense kind of woman. He couldn’t understand how she’d ended up giving Jeremy his rent money back. He clenched his cold hands into fists and then slowly relaxed them, wetting his dry lips.
“How did this happen…?”
“Well, he recognized me. Said I was your landlord. He asked me directly if I was the owner of the place you lived in, and when I said yes, he said you’d been in a car accident and needed emergency surgery, but didn’t have the money… He asked if I could just return this month’s rent.”
The sharp glint in Elena’s aged eyes flickered each time she looked side to side.
“I mean, at first, of course I said no. But he sounded so desperate, and then he showed me an old photo of you two together when you were little… So I believed him. Anyone in my shoes would’ve done the same. But now that I hear your side, I guess he wasn’t a complete stranger. So you do know him, right?”
Elena’s final words snapped Yiseo out of his daze.
“Well, maybe it was my mistake, but either way, since you’re the one who can contact him, you’ll have to sort this out yourself.”
“What? But, ma’am—”
“I’m not saying you have to pay the whole rent all at once out of moral obligation. I can be flexible like that.”
Yiseo quickly opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Elena raised her hand in a silencing gesture. Her tone had turned cold, and it left Yiseo stunned. She continued speaking.
“I’ll be more careful next time, okay?”
Next time? They both knew there wouldn’t be one. Yiseo could hardly breathe, suffocated by her attempt to brush this off.
“But you returned the rent without my permission. You just chose to believe him.”
“I can see this conversation’s going to drag on. If you’re unhappy with my decision, maybe you should start looking for another place.”
Gone was the gentle attitude from before. Elena was drawing a firm line now. Her cold, dismissive tone made it clear no amount of arguing would change anything.
It felt like being pushed off a cliff. To Elena, it was just a nuisance. But to Yiseo, it meant losing an entire month’s rent—an enormous blow.
Was it fair to shove the burden of deciding whether to put up with it or move out entirely onto him, just so she could avoid accountability? If he left this place now, he had nowhere to go and no time to find something else. To get a place similar to this one, he’d need to spend at least $300 more than his current rent. And even then, there was no guarantee he’d find one.
Living in New York left him with few choices. Even the $2,000-plus he paid now was a heavy burden. If it went up any more, he wouldn’t be able to afford it. Maybe it would be different if he didn’t have other leaks in his budget. But with money going to Jeremy every month, he couldn’t make any hasty decisions.
He briefly thought of Seo Eunwoo, someone who could legally help him in a situation like this. But asking for help would mean explaining everything, from start to finish. He didn’t want to do that. It might be different if it were a total stranger, but he didn’t want a friend—if Eunwoo could even be called that—to know about his circumstances.
And if he sought out another lawyer, he’d have to factor in consultation fees, legal costs, and time wasted. It would be a net loss. Not a smart choice for Yiseo.
“……”
Elena took his silence as acceptance. Before walking away, she added one last comment.
“It’s unfortunate things turned out like this. I hope you can sort it out with him.”
“……Yes.”
He heard her footsteps going down the stairs. Yiseo opened the front door and stepped inside. His chest was tight with frustration, and he had no idea what to do next.
He tried calling Jeremy. As expected, he’d blocked Yiseo’s number. No matter how many times he called, the result was the same. Eventually, Jeremy turned off his phone entirely.
“……Ah…!”
Yiseo felt rage rise up uncontrollably. He nearly threw his phone in a fit of anger—but stopped himself just in time. If it broke, that’d just be another expense. …God, it was pathetic.
The photo Jeremy had shown Elena was probably one taken when they were kids. Yiseo had no idea why Jeremy still had that picture. He was nothing more than a past Jeremy wanted to erase.
Letting out a long sigh, Yiseo collapsed onto the sofa. No matter how badly he wanted to cut him off… he just couldn’t.
“Do you want to come over to my place next week? I’m officially inviting you.”
“…An invitation? But that’s Christmas Day.”
“Exactly. My mom and dad said it’s fine. They want you to spend Christmas with us too.”
“Really? Are you sure it’s okay?”
“It is, I promise…!”
An invitation for Christmas—he couldn’t believe it. And it was a white Christmas, too, with snow falling. Yiseo had spent an entire week pouring his heart into making a thank-you card for Jeremy’s family.
On Christmas Day, he got permission from his foster guardian, Rosa, and headed over to Jeremy’s house. No matter how hard he tried to stay calm, he couldn’t help feeling excited. He checked again and again on the card tucked carefully inside his coat to keep it dry. The rustling sound of the paper echoed softly.
