Chapter 40
After a dinner with no conversation whatsoever came to an end, Yuwon quietly began washing the dishes. Amid only the clattering sounds echoing through the space, Jeonghyeok leaned crookedly against the wall, glaring at Yuwon.
He could definitely feel the gaze, yet Yuwon silently scrubbed the dishes. Every time he placed a washed dish on the drying rack, he could have at least glanced once toward where Jeonghyeok stood, but he didn’t spare him a single look.
So he’s determined not to open his mouth even if it kills him.
Ever since Jeonghyeok hadn’t responded to that ridiculous suggestion about sleeping in separate rooms, Yuwon had been in this state the whole time.
He said he’d never dated anyone before, but that seemed like a complete lie. Look how he manipulates people’s hearts like this. A sigh naturally escaped from his frustrated feelings.
“Haa…”
Despite his gentle appearance, he had a knack for tormenting people. The way he smiled brightly at others elsewhere, then only raised his voice in front of him. Here Jeonghyeok was, ready to abandon his job and everything else to hole up somewhere in the mountains with just the two of them, yet Yuwon got angry over being prevented from meeting one friend? It was completely disagreeable.
Having finished the dishes, Yuwon began wiping up the water around the sink. Even amid these rising feelings of resentment, Jeonghyeok’s capable hands and straight nape caught his eye.
Jeonghyeok let out an inaudible chuckle. The old saying from adults about living off someone’s looks came to mind. Yes, I’m living off his looks. That’s what he’d have to answer. There was nothing he could do about it. He could only blame himself for being such a crazy bastard.
This was exactly why it wouldn’t work. Even in situations where Yuwon was deliberately being spiteful, he still looked so pretty that Jeonghyeok didn’t want to let him out anywhere.
From the moment Yuwon said he was meeting Sohyeon, Jeonghyeok’s mood had been thoroughly sour. He’d called hoping to hear Yuwon’s voice, only to be told he was going out to meet someone else—of course he’d be upset.
Still, he’d let it slide at first. Because it was Yoon Sohyeon, not just anyone else. He knew she was the only part-timer Yuwon had relied on when working at Cheolpan-jip.
But when Yuwon rejected his touch in front of the cafe, Jeonghyeok felt something crack in his head. When he asked why Yuwon was avoiding him, Yuwon said it was because they were outside. It wasn’t a hug or a kiss, so being mindful of others’ attention was distasteful, but he’d roughly let that slide too.
What turned all that patience to nothing was Yuwon’s smile that he saw through the window. He was smiling so brightly that if something had cracked before, now it felt completely shattered.
It was the first time he’d ever felt such an emotion, but Jeonghyeok could define it perfectly. Jealousy. He couldn’t deny it, and he had no intention of denying it. Looking at Yuwon smiling at the woman sitting across from him, he felt jealousy so severe it was embarrassing to voice.
Yuwon didn’t even know how to lie. Even if he was happy to see Yoon Sohyeon, couldn’t he have glossed over it moderately in front of Jeonghyeok? It had been so long, he was so happy to see her. Without any thought of hiding his feelings, he gave various reasons, but Jeonghyeok didn’t want to hear any of it.
However, the anger that had blazed like fire had long since cooled. Instead, Yuwon was annoying. No, perhaps “hurt” was a more fitting expression.
Jeonghyeok recalled the people who had passed through his life. Those fleeting, meaningless connections whose names and faces were all hazy.
Strangely, though they had no particular common traits, they all frequently used the word “hurt.” At the time, that word didn’t really register with him. It was incomprehensible to begin with. What had they expected from him to feel hurt? He’d never planted such expectations. Instead, he’d only grow tired of whoever said such things.
Could it be that he was now paying the price for the sins he’d committed against all of them? Such an absurd thought suddenly occurred to him.
If that were the case, then forget everything else—he just hoped Yuwon wasn’t the same kind of person as him. It would be terrible if Yuwon grew tired of him just for expressing hurt feelings.
Jeonghyeok watched Yuwon with his arms crossed. After hanging up his apron and shaking the water droplets from his hands, Yuwon headed toward the bathroom, walking right past Jeonghyeok. It was blatant disregard.
Soon came the sound of water pouring from behind the bathroom door that closed with a click. Jeonghyeok went to the sofa, leaned back deeply, turned on the TV, and waited silently for Yuwon.
After a while, the sound of water stopped and the hair dryer roared loudly. After waiting another long while, the bathroom door quietly opened. Yuwon emerged with a towel around his neck, having taken a longer shower than usual.
Jeonghyeok gazed at his reddened cheeks and asked, “Done washing up?”
“…Yes.”
As if he hadn’t expected to be spoken to, Yuwon paused briefly before answering.
An awkward silence followed. Jeonghyeok just kept looking at Yuwon silently, while Yuwon gripped his innocent towel tightly.
Since he’d kept his mouth terrifyingly shut throughout dinner, Jeonghyeok had thought they wouldn’t talk at all today. He’d planned to wait for an opportunity to give a perfunctory “good night” greeting before lying down on the sofa, but here Yuwon was, firmly occupying his position.
Yuwon rolled his eyes, thinking of ways to break this awkward situation. He knew that speaking considerately would be best, but his pride wouldn’t allow it. Thanks to that, needlessly sharp words popped out.
“Hurry up and go in. I’m going to sleep here.”
“…”
As if he’d heard nothing, Jeonghyeok rested his arm on the sofa and looked at Yuwon sideways. Yuwon deliberately put force into his eyes. Just meeting that straightforward gaze somehow felt like losing.
“Let’s really sleep in separate rooms.”
“Then what, are there fake separate rooms too?”
At the sulky retort, Jeonghyeok burst into a chuckle. He kept getting feisty, but this side of him wasn’t bad either.
Actually, whatever Yuwon did right now was all good to him. They said in relationships, the one who likes more loses, and that was exactly his situation. He was perfectly losing.
But he couldn’t indulge him any further. Separate rooms of all things—that was unacceptable.
“Who said I’d let you sleep in separate rooms?”
Jeonghyeok lifted his body from the sofa and stretched out his arms. He wrapped his arms around Yuwon’s waist as he stepped back in surprise, and in one swift motion, sat Yuwon on his lap.
“L-let go of this!”
Though he shouted quite loudly, Jeonghyeok didn’t release his arms. Instead, he trapped Yuwon’s lower body tightly between his legs so he couldn’t move. He even gripped Yuwon’s wrists. With his whole body restrained, Yuwon made struggling sounds.
“I’m sorry for getting angry.”
Pulling their bodies closer together, Jeonghyeok whispered.
“Try thinking about it from my perspective too.”
“Wh-what…!”
“Would you really be okay with it? Me drinking coffee alone with another woman?”
“…”
Suddenly, Yuwon’s struggling movements came to a complete halt. A vivid scene had appeared in his mind.
The setting was a cafe with an open view. A woman in a tight black dress and Jeonghyeok in an even blacker suit sitting face to face. The two were chatting amicably. When the woman covered her mouth and laughed, Jeonghyeok smiled gently as if pleased by the sight.
Even the image of them holding hands and leaving the cafe together was drawn in great detail, though it wasn’t particularly necessary.
While his imagination ran wild, his chest area ached with sharp pangs. He should have been able to confidently say that having just a cup of tea was nothing at all, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
It wasn’t okay at all. No, he hated it. The thought of ajeossi being with some unknown woman—just thinking about it made him sick.
As the strength left Yuwon’s body that had been struggling just moments before, Jeonghyeok narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why aren’t you answering?”
Though Yuwon still kept his mouth firmly shut, his expression was clearly different from before. The fierce look in his eyes had completely disappeared, and his clear pupils were trembling finely.
“Tell me. You hate it too, don’t you?”
Though the answer was already written all over his face, Jeonghyeok persistently pressed for Yuwon’s response. Even if it was childish, he couldn’t help it. He wanted to hear the answer he desired, even if it had to be this way.
After maintaining silence for a while, Yuwon soon made a small movement. Nod, nod. Too embarrassed to move much, he just bobbed his head slightly. Even that was satisfying enough, so Jeonghyeok gently cupped Yuwon’s cheek.
“Now you understand how fucking shitty I felt?”
A tickling breath brushed against his ear. It was a voice that made even crude words mixed with profanity feel like whispers of love.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
