“…Busan.”
“What?”
Ha Jun-seo turned his body away. Choi Sang-hyuk repeated in a low voice,
“He’ll be in Busan. Beyond that, I don’t know yet.”
Ha Jun-seo fully turned around and crossed his arms. His piercing gaze locked onto Choi Sang-hyuk, calculations flickering rapidly in his eyes. Choi Sang-hyuk waited for him to speak.
“So you’re saying we should work together?”
“I don’t need to team up with you. I can find him on my own just fine.”
“Then why are you telling me he’s in Busan?”
“Because you and I both know why Seo Ha-yoon ran away.”
At Choi Sang-hyuk’s words, Ha Jun-seo pressed his lips tightly shut.
“He didn’t leave because of the past with Seo Chang-seop. That much is obvious. In the end, there’s only one reason. He couldn’t handle being caught between you and me. He couldn’t choose you, and he couldn’t choose me either. So the only choice left was to leave us both behind. And he knew damn well we wouldn’t just let him walk away, so he ran.”
“I already told Ha-yoon,” Ha Jun-seo said with a bitter expression. “To do whatever he wanted. Whether he chose you, or me, or even both of us—I’d be fine with that.”
At that, Choi Sang-hyuk scoffed.
“And if Ha-yoon chose me, you’d really just back off, huh?”
“I told him that too. No matter what he chose, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.”
“And that,” Choi Sang-hyuk shot back, “is exactly why he ran.”
He criticized Ha Jun-seo, who, instead of looking guilty, questioned him right back with a brazen face.
“And what about you? If Ha-yoon chose me, would you back off without a fight?”
Choi Sang-hyuk was about to say yes. From the moment he started being a part of Seo Ha-yoon’s life, he had decided—if the day came when Ha-yoon wanted to leave, he would let him go without hesitation.
But now, at this very moment, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. His head, his heart—they were both screaming at him that he absolutely could not.
“See? You can’t either,” Ha Jun-seo mocked with a smirk. Choi Sang-hyuk had no response.
“I don’t want to take the risk of losing Ha-yoon. And neither do you. That leaves only one option—sharing him.”
Grit.
The grinding of Choi Sang-hyuk’s teeth rang sharp and violent.
He’s still young. A guy in his prime screwing around out of curiosity with someone else—fine. That, Choi Sang-hyuk could endure. But the idea of sharing Seo Ha-yoon’s entire life? That was unbearable.
“If Ha-yoon was ever going to choose between us, he wouldn’t have run like that. If he had any intention of picking one of us, maybe he’d have felt guilty, maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to face the one left behind—but he wouldn’t have needed to run. But he abandoned both of us and fled with nothing but the clothes on his back. That means he couldn’t choose either of us.
“But I know one thing for sure.” Ha Jun-seo’s voice was steady, unwavering. “Ha-yoon likes me. He’ll never be able to leave me behind.”
“I spent two years with Seo Ha-yoon.”
“Yeah. Two years. That’s a long time. I acknowledge that gives you a certain stake in this. Meeting him first was fate, if you want to call it that. So, I’m willing to concede the position of the main partner to you. You should know, that’s a huge concession on my part. But think about it—how lucky would you be to have someone like me as a concubine? Where else would you find such luxury? Am I wrong?”
The terms “main partner” and “concubine” didn’t really apply to relationships like theirs, but for someone with Ha Jun-seo’s pride to even suggest such a thing—it was an enormous compromise on his part.
Choi Sang-hyuk remained silent. Taking his silence as agreement, Ha Jun-seo smiled slightly.
***
It was a bright, sunny day.
The wind wasn’t too cold, just the right amount of crispness to make the morning pleasant. From the moment he left for work, he was in a good mood.
On his way, he exchanged a silent nod with the dog he always saw at the same time every morning, then arrived at the café. As always, his day started with putting on his apron and giving the store a thorough cleaning.
About an hour after opening, two young women, who had recently started coming in at the same time every day, entered the café again.
“Two iced Americanos, please.”
Even though they always ordered the same thing, it was only polite to wait for the customers to place their order first before assuming.
“Two iced Americanos, correct?”
He confirmed the order as per the standard routine, took the card for payment, and passed the order ticket to the back. Since iced Americanos were prepared quickly, most customers simply stepped aside to wait.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
One of the customers hesitated before speaking. Keeping a polite smile on his face, Kim Min-seok waited patiently. Since he had started working here, he’d lost count of how many times customers had tried to hit on him. By now, he had become quite skilled at handling these situations.
“Could you… give me your phone number? You’re just so handsome… I’d love to stay in touch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, miss. Due to personal reasons, I don’t use a phone.”
“Huh?”
The young woman blinked, clearly taken aback. A moment later, her expression shifted to one of embarrassment, and she nodded awkwardly. Just then, the drinks were ready.
“Enjoy your drinks.”
Kim Min-seok handed them over with the same friendly tone, as if the request for his number had never happened. The two women quickly took their drinks and left.
“You turned them down again?”
His coworker, who had grown fairly familiar with him, sidled up and asked.
“I didn’t really turn them down. She asked for my number, and I told her I don’t use a phone, that’s all.”
Kim Min-seok watched the women leave, a slight twinge of guilt in his expression.
“That’s basically the same thing as rejecting her. Who in this day and age doesn’t have a phone? You should’ve just told her you didn’t want to give it to her.”
“I just told the truth. Why lie?”
“Anyway, those customers probably won’t be coming back for a while.”
At Kim Min-seok’s comment, his coworker clicked his tongue and headed to the back.
By noon, a steady stream of customers had filled the café. He had taken so many orders and processed so many payments that he had lost count. The bright midday sun cast a harsh backlight through the windows, making it difficult to see the customers’ faces clearly. After handing over a completed order, Kim Min-seok greeted the next customer with his usual friendly tone, without even looking up.
“May I take your order?”
“Yes. Three iced Americanos, please.”
The customer’s voice was oddly smooth.
Kim Min-seok mechanically entered the order on the register, but his fingers hesitated. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the customer.
Against the backlight, the silhouette stood out first—a tall frame with broad shoulders, the kind rarely seen even in bustling Haeundae. A cap was pulled low over his head, and sunglasses obscured his features, but the warm smile playing on his lips beneath the lenses was unmistakable.
“…!!!”
In a moment of sheer panic, Kim Min-seok foolishly crouched down behind the counter, as if hiding himself would help. A shadow loomed over him almost immediately.
“What are you doing? Do you think covering just your eyes makes you invisible, like some kind of desert camel?”
The amused voice was laced with laughter.
Kim Min-seok cautiously peeked up.
Ha Jun-seo had leaned over the café’s ordering window, grinning as he watched Kim Min-seok’s ridiculous attempt at hiding.
“What’s going on?”
His coworker, who had been making drinks in the back, approached with a puzzled expression.
“Oh, we know each other. Just catching up for a moment.”
Ha Jun-seo answered easily, as if it were nothing, then lightly tapped the café window frame with his fingers.
“Three iced Americanos. Hurry up and ring me up, will you?”
It had been two months—no, nearly three—since Kim Min-seok had left, and now, here was Ha Jun-seo acting as carefree as ever. He was too stunned to think straight. He had been so sure that he had disappeared without a trace. How had Ha Jun-seo found him? Was he alone, or had Choi Sang-hyuk come with him? His mind raced with questions, but his body, conditioned by weeks of routine, moved on its own.
He took Ha Jun-seo’s card and processed the payment. When he handed it back, Ha Jun-seo accepted it with an easy smile.
Kim Min-seok glanced between the inside of the café and Ha Jun-seo, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, Ha Jun-seo simply stood there, grinning, waiting for his order. Other customers were lined up behind him, but his sheer presence was so overwhelming that no one dared to tell him to move. Instead, they exchanged hesitant glances, sensing that something unusual was going on.
“Three iced Americanos are ready. Would you like them on a tray?”
Kim Min-seok asked in an automatic tone as he received the completed drinks from the bar.
Ha Jun-seo nodded.
Kim Min-seok placed the three iced Americanos on a tray and handed it over. A pair of pale, elegant hands accepted it. Then, just as smoothly, Ha Jun-seo leaned forward, sticking his head through the café window, and addressed the coworker inside.
“Mind if I borrow Ha-yoon for a bit?”
Ha Jun-seo’s sudden question made the barista inside, who had been watching the interaction, startle in surprise. But after a moment of hesitation, they nodded.
“I’m busy right now. There are a lot of customers waiting.”
Kim Min-seok hurriedly protested.
But Ha Jun-seo only smiled, showing no intention of moving until Kim Min-seok came outside.
“Hey, just go for a bit.”
Sensing the tension in the air, the barista gave Kim Min-seok a nudge, whispering.
In the end, Kim Min-seok stepped out of the café and approached Ha Jun-seo.
“Let’s walk.”
Ha Jun-seo said, turning. Kim Min-seok followed, glancing back at the busy café every few steps.
Even though the person he had longed for over the past three months was now right beside him, it still didn’t feel real.
