112.
#Maybe It’s Better to Go Abroad
“You would have run away. Without a moment’s hesitation.”
Unable to deny Hayun’s words, Dawoon just swallowed dryly. Hayun smirked and reached out to gently caress Dawoon’s cheek. His hand moved down to touch Dawoon’s nape. The feeling of fingertips brushing against his skin made Dawoon’s shoulders instinctively hunch. Soon, Hayun’s fingers wrapped around his neck. Though he didn’t squeeze tightly, it sent a chill down Dawoon’s spine, making him squeeze his eyes shut.
“You were too young.”
His calm voice sounded particularly cold.
“If you were cast out like that, you wouldn’t have thought deeply about how to live afterwards. You would have just been shocked at not being part of this family and concluded that you had to leave.”
Hayun’s fingers unwrapped from around Dawoon’s neck. Then he gripped Dawoon’s chin and lifted his face. Dawoon reflexively opened his eyes to find Hayun’s face right in front of him.
“I had to protect you. From Grandfather, from Haedo’s selfish relatives.”
His tone and expression suggested he saw nothing wrong with this.
“Don’t make excuses.”
Dawoon said, looking straight at him.
“Even if that was true when I was young, you should have told me the truth when you first laid hands on me.”
Not revealing the truth even then was Hayun’s selfishness. It was his utterly personal desire not to let go of Jeong Dawoon.
When Dawoon pointed this out, Hayun, who had been staring intently at Dawoon’s face, smirked.
“I told you. I won’t let you run away.”
His answer was as good as admitting to Dawoon’s words. Dawoon gritted his teeth and tried to swat Hayun’s hand away. But this time, Hayun grabbed his wrist.
“Even if you know everything now, nothing changes. You’re still Jeong Dawoon, and you’re still my brother.”
At Hayun’s words, Dawoon let out an incredulous laugh.
“No one in the world does such things to their brother.”
“Don’t misunderstand.”
At Hayun’s warning, Dawoon frowned, wondering what he meant now.
“You seem to think I slept with you because I knew the truth, but that’s not it. It would have been the same even if we were blood-related.”
Dawoon couldn’t even sigh at the words that came clearly, one by one. It really seemed that whether they were blood brothers or not didn’t matter to Hayun. Looking into his dark, gleaming eyes that reflected Dawoon, he couldn’t fathom the extent of Hayun’s obsession.
“Isn’t this fortunate for you?”
“Fortunate…?”
“You were troubled because we were brothers, right? Now that you know the truth, there’s no reason to be troubled anymore.”
“Hyung!”
Dawoon’s voice rose in genuine shock. This caused nearby people to turn and look at them.
“Fortunate? Do you really think that? How can you… Do you know how I felt? Every time, how I felt towards you…!”
“So that aversion, it’s meaningless now, isn’t it?”
Unlike the agitated Dawoon, Hayun remained cold and calm. His reaction made Dawoon’s heart sink even more. No matter how much Dawoon yelled and suffered, it didn’t reach Hayun. It seemed that all Hayun cared about was whether Jeong Dawoon moved according to his will or not.
“Let go!”
Dawoon stood up and shook his wrist hard to break free from Hayun’s grip. He wanted to shake him off and go anywhere. It didn’t matter where. Anywhere without Jeong Hayun.
“Calm down.”
“I said let go!”
As much as Dawoon tried to break free, Hayun’s grip tightened. His grip was strong enough to hurt Dawoon’s wrist, but Dawoon didn’t care. His heart was so constricted, so painful, that he couldn’t feel pain anywhere else.
“Where are you trying to go?”
“What does it matter to you? It’s none of your business. Let go! I said let go!”
“Jeong Dawoon!”
For the first time, Hayun raised his voice. Startled by the sound, Dawoon’s body leaned forward with the pulling force. Before he could react, Hayun grabbed the back of Dawoon’s head with his other hand and crashed their lips together. It was by the Han River, with quite a few people passing by. In such an open space, Jeong Hayun was kissing Jeong Dawoon.
Dawoon, who had frozen in shock, soon tried to push Hayun away with all his might. But he couldn’t escape the grip on the back of his head. Even when he punched Hayun’s chest and shoulders, Hayun didn’t budge.
Hayun’s tongue invaded Dawoon’s mouth, entangling messily. Struggling made it even harder to breathe properly. The violent and prolonged kiss made Dawoon increasingly dizzy. The hands that had been hitting Hayun lost their strength. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and let Hayun do as he pleased.
After a long while, their lips finally parted.
“Have you calmed down a bit?”
Hayun asked, still with their foreheads touching. Dawoon took deep, audible breaths. He was too scared to look around. People were probably all staring in shock.
“You’re crazy.”
As Dawoon muttered resignedly, Hayun let out a chuckle. The fact that he could laugh in this situation proved he was truly out of his mind.
“Let’s go home. Haram is waiting.”
As if nothing had happened, Hayun started walking while holding Dawoon’s wrist. Dawoon looked down at his captured wrist and followed silently.
Just moments ago, his emotions had been boiling to the point of madness, but thanks to that absurd kiss, all the fight had drained out of him. He also couldn’t stay here any longer because of the people staring and whispering.
“What if someone recognizes you and reports it to the media?”
“It was dark, so they probably couldn’t see our faces clearly. And people are less interested in others’ affairs than you think.”
“You’re too complacent. What if something happens because of this?”
“If it makes the news, should we make an official announcement while we’re at it?”
“…”
Dawoon couldn’t tell if Hayun was serious or joking, but it was absolutely something that should never be done unless he had been shot in the head. He didn’t want to even imagine such a situation, so he didn’t respond.
“Maybe it would be better to go abroad.”
After a while, Dawoon muttered as if talking to himself. The fact that he thought it might be better to go abroad rather than have Jeong Hayun cause trouble domestically made him feel like he was going crazy too. Well, how could anyone stay sane in this situation? It was impossible to endure without going mad.
“You’ve thought well.”
There was a hint of amusement in Hayun’s voice. Dawoon walked silently with his head bowed low.
Right. What’s the use of resenting and getting angry now?
Thanks to Hayun’s cold response, Dawoon’s head was also cooling down.
***
When they returned home, Haram, who seemed to have been waiting, came running out and clung to Dawoon’s waist.
“Hyung, why didn’t you answer your phone? I was worried.”
At these words, uncharacteristic for a child, Dawoon apologized while patting Haram’s head.
“Did something happen?”
Haram looked up at Dawoon’s face and asked. Dawoon shook his head.
“Hyung…”
“I’m a bit tired. I’ll go up first.”
Perhaps because there was no strength in his voice at all, Haram seemed to have more to say but stepped back obediently. Haram watched Dawoon go up to the second floor for a long time before turning to look at Hayun standing beside him.
“Did you two fight?”
At the child’s question, Hayun just smiled faintly.
“Don’t bully Dawoon hyung!”
He had been asking why they fought, but now he was assuming it was definitely Hayun’s fault.
“I didn’t bully him.”
“Yeah, right. It looked like Dawoon hyung had been crying.”
Hayun smirked at the thought that the child was quite perceptive for his age, which made Haram pout.
“Even if you’re his hyung, I won’t let it slide if you make Dawoon hyung cry.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“That…”
He hadn’t thought that far, it seemed. His lips moved silently, but unable to find an answer, he ended up puffing out his cheeks.
“If you want to protect someone, you need to become strong first. Strong enough that no one dares to mess with you.”
At Hayun’s advice, Haram looked up at him blankly.
“Is that what you did?”
Even if he was just a child who didn’t know much, he had picked up things from what people around him were saying. He must have heard that Grandfather had collapsed, that Hayun was currently the de facto leader of Haedo Group, and that this was unusual for someone Hayun’s age.
Instead of answering, Hayun just smiled and patted Haram’s head.
“I should go check on Dawoon. Don’t go bothering him tonight, just go to bed early.”
“If you’re telling me not to bother him, why are you going?”
Though he talked back, this much was enough to ensure Haram wouldn’t bother Dawoon. Knowing this, Hayun just smiled and went up to the second floor.
Standing in front of Dawoon’s room, he hesitated whether to knock, then just opened the door and went in. Dawoon wasn’t visible in the room. Wondering if he had gone somewhere else, Hayun headed towards the bathroom. He could hear water running inside, so it seemed Dawoon was in there.
“Jeong Dawoon.”
He knocked on the door and called out, but there was no answer.
“Dawoon. Jeong Dawoon.”
He called again while knocking on the door, but still no answer came. Getting a bad feeling, he tried to force the door open, but it was locked from the inside.
“Jeong Dawoon! Open the door, now!”
As he pounded on the door and tried to forcibly turn the doorknob, there was a rattling sound. He was considering breaking down the door if necessary when it opened with a click.
“You…!”
Dawoon stood there, not wearing a single thread. Seeing him soaking wet made Hayun’s heart sink. At the same time, he was relieved that the worst scenario he had imagined hadn’t happened.
Reaching out to embrace Dawoon’s shoulders, Hayun swallowed a groan. Whether from being doused with cold water, Dawoon’s body was ice-cold.
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. I just wanted to cool my head a bit.”
Dawoon pushed against Hayun’s chest to separate them.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
