132.
#I’ll stay with you, for life.
Although the food they ordered had arrived, Dawoon couldn’t eat even a single piece of sashimi. As he sat with a serious expression, eyes downcast and lips sealed, Hayun placed a piece of sashimi on Dawoon’s plate. Staring at the sashimi on his plate, Dawoon finally let out a long sigh.
“Let’s eat this and go to Seoul.”
Hayun, who was about to place another piece of sashimi on the plate, hesitated.
“Just eat first.”
Realizing that this wasn’t an answer to his statement but rather an attempt to brush it off, Dawoon raised his head and met Hayun’s gaze.
“You’ve won, hyung.”
Hayun silently stared back, seemingly confused by the sudden remark.
“I’ll stay with you. For life.”
At these words, Hayun’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“I’ll do as you want. I won’t run away again. So, somehow fix this engagement ceremony. You can do it, right? You don’t need to unnecessarily drag me into it.”
Hayun let out a dry laugh at the suggestion that he could resolve the situation without making a fuss about loving his brother or dropping any bombshells.
“Why do you have to go that far? I don’t care about the company.”
Dawoon pressed his lips together and glared at Hayun’s nonchalant response. Hayun just smiled, as if finding Dawoon’s reaction cute.
“How are you going to make a living? Surely you’re not expecting me to support you?”
Hayun only blinked in response to Dawoon’s question.
“Of course, I’ll do whatever I can, but does it make sense for an able-bodied person to just lounge around at home?”
“…You seem to be serious.”
Hayun muttered, staring quietly at Dawoon.
“You really intend to live with me for life?”
“That’s what I said. But not like this. I don’t want to hear you blaming me for ruining the company.”
“If you become unemployed, you won’t live with me?”
“That’s not what I mean, but…”
Dawoon, answering unconsciously, caught himself and closed his mouth upon seeing Hayun’s steady gaze. A gentle curve formed on Hayun’s lips. How could he be so relaxed in this situation? It really seemed like he didn’t care about the company at all.
“It’s just a waste. Someone like you, saying you’ll idle away in the countryside.”
Hayun’s smile deepened at this absurd excuse.
“Let’s say that’s the case.”
“It’s not just saying that…”
“Alright.”
Cutting off Dawoon’s words with a light tone, Hayun wrapped some sashimi in a lettuce leaf and held it out to him.
“Let’s eat first. They say even Mt. Geumgang is better viewed after a meal.”
“Can you even swallow food?”
“There’s no reason I can’t.”
Watching Hayun grin, Dawoon swallowed a rising sigh. He was the only one fretting and feeling anxious. Even if they left right away, it was questionable whether they’d reach Seoul before the engagement ceremony started, yet how could Hayun be so relaxed? Whether he understood others’ feelings or not, Hayun nodded for Dawoon to eat quickly. Reluctantly, Dawoon took the wrapped sashimi and put it in his mouth. The corners of Hayun’s eyes curved beautifully. It was a smile that could bewitch someone even in this situation.
“Eat slowly. We won’t make it in time even if we leave right now anyway.”
It seemed Hayun was aware that Dawoon was in a hurry. Dawoon looked at him, wondering what he meant by that, but Hayun’s continued composure suggested he wasn’t without a plan. Or at least, that’s what Dawoon wanted to believe.
“Promise me. What you said earlier, about staying by my side for life, promise you’ll never break it.”
As they were finishing their meal, Hayun wanted to reconfirm what Dawoon had said.
“Should I write you a promissory note?”
Dawoon asked, half resigned, and Hayun quietly smiled.
“If you’re offering to write something, I’d prefer something other than a note, but that’s for later. I believe you won’t break the words that came from your mouth.”
“I have a request in return.”
Hayun tilted his head at the mention of a request.
“Go to London.”
Hayun just smiled gently in response. Since he was already working at the London branch unless he quit the company altogether, he would have to return to London soon anyway. So that couldn’t really be considered granting Dawoon’s request.
“Leave Haram here.”
This unexpected demand made Hayun pause. Dawoon looked at Hayun, swallowed bitterly, and averted his gaze.
“I don’t have the courage to face Haram.”
Dawoon’s voice lowered, barely audible unless one was listening closely.
“Living with you, for me… For the rest of my life, I’d prefer not to run into Haram if possible.”
Hayun swallowed a groan in his throat. Only then did he realize what kind of resolution Dawoon had made. He had to choose between Jeong Hayun and Jeong Haram.
“Okay. I’ll do that for you.”
Even knowing what Dawoon was giving up, Hayun wanted Jeong Dawoon. Even if it meant Dawoon had to sacrifice and abandon more, he couldn’t let him go.
Dawoon turned his head to look out the window. Perhaps because the summer vacation season had passed, the coastline looked deserted.
“He’ll resent me, won’t he?”
The subject was missing, but it was obvious who he was thinking about. Hayun didn’t give any answer. Haram was still young, so of course he would resent them. Before knowing the whole truth, he would resent Dawoon for leaving without a word, and later, when he learned everything, all that resentment would be directed at Hayun. But that was fine. Hayun had long since prepared himself to bear everyone’s criticism.
“Were you really going to give up everything?”
Dawoon asked, still fixing his gaze out the window.
“Yes. That was the plan.”
Hayun answered calmly. He had told many lies to Dawoon before, but this time he was sincere. That’s how desperate he had been.
“You’re a fool too, hyung.”
With those words, Dawoon said nothing more.
***
Dawoon wanted to return to Seoul, but Hayun suggested staying one more day. In front of the anxious Dawoon worried about the engagement ceremony, Hayun called Director Park.
“Proceed with what we prepared.”
That was all he said. To the bewildered Dawoon, Hayun just quietly smiled.
“Are you sure it’s okay not to go?”
Dawoon asked anxiously.
“You said to handle it somehow. That I could do it if it was me.”
Hayun answered in a gentle voice while patting Dawoon’s head. Though still showing signs of nervousness, Dawoon just nodded at Hayun’s words.
Still not feeling reassured, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
“Even if something happened, it won’t be on the news now. We’ll probably know by tomorrow morning. Or tonight’s news. My engagement isn’t important enough to be breaking news.”
Hayun said, taking the remote and turning off the TV again. Dawoon looked displeased but seemed to think it made sense, so he closed his mouth and turned away. Then he brought Hayun’s mobile phone. He turned it on and held it out to Hayun.
“Unlock it.”
It seemed he wanted to search the internet since he couldn’t watch the news. This time, Hayun obediently unlocked it with his fingerprint. There wouldn’t be anything to find in searches right now anyway. Indeed, unable to find anything, Dawoon fiddled with the phone for a while before giving up with a sigh.
“Are you that anxious?”
Hayun asked with a smile, to which Dawoon retorted that it would be strange not to be anxious.
“Come here.”
When Hayun sat on the sofa and beckoned, Dawoon just stared at him blankly.
“I’ll show you what you’re curious about.”
He turned on a tablet PC and showed the screen to Dawoon.
“Oh?”
Dawoon’s eyes widened. On Hayun’s tablet PC, a live view of the engagement ceremony venue was being shown.
***
As time passed and neither Hayun nor Choi Yu-na appeared, the people sitting around the round tables in groups of three or four began to murmur.
Chaos erupted on Choi Yu-na’s family’s side. Even this morning, when they couldn’t reach Choi Yu-na, they had hoped against hope. None of them dared to imagine that Choi Yu-na would disobey her grandfather’s orders and flee abroad. Moreover, the other party was Jeong Hayun of Haedo Group. They thought there was no reason for her to refuse someone with all the perfect conditions.
It was only when the engagement ceremony time was imminent that they realized Choi Yu-na wouldn’t come, but they couldn’t bring themselves to announce the cancellation of the engagement first. They couldn’t guarantee what would happen in the future if they stood up the vice president of Haedo Group. Choi Yu-na’s father was making a fuss, saying they should find someone who looked like Choi Yu-na, but of course, it wasn’t something they had prepared in advance, so there was no way to find a similar person immediately.
Chairman Jeong, for his part, couldn’t hide his anger. When he heard the report that Jeong Hayun had disappeared and no one knew where he had gone, he had already anticipated this situation. Even when Hayun had agreed to the engagement, he hadn’t fully believed it, but when he heard that Hayun had personally gone to persuade Choi Yu-na and accompanied her to fit her engagement dress, he thought maybe Hayun had really given up on Jeong Dawoon.
“Call Director Park.”
He ordered in a low voice, gritting his teeth. His secretary wore a troubled expression.
“He’s already here. But Director Park says he doesn’t know where the Vice President is either…”
Thwack! Chairman Jeong struck the floor with the cane he was holding. The secretary swallowed his words and bowed his head.
“If it was going to be like this, he should have canceled earlier!”
Chairman Jeong’s voice rose a notch. The secretary thought that if Jeong Hayun had said he would cancel earlier, Chairman Jeong would have dragged him to this place even if he had to tie him up, but he didn’t voice this thought.
The murmuring of the people was getting louder. Now, someone needed to step forward and apologize, saying that today’s engagement couldn’t proceed.
Just as Chairman Jeong, frowning, was about to step forward in front of the people, a voice flowed from the large screen at the front of the engagement hall.
[Hello, this is Jeong Hayun.]
All eyes turned to the screen, where Jeong Hayun appeared in formal attire.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
