97.
#Isn’t It Strange?
After scouting filming locations all morning, Choi Seon-gyeom rubbed his neck, feeling tired.
“Isn’t this too much? We arrived past midnight yesterday, and you’ve been dragging us around since dawn.”
Choi Yu-na turned and smiled brightly at his complaint. “You’re the one who approved the schedule, writer.”
Embarrassed by the reminder that he hadn’t been paying attention during the meeting, Choi Seon-gyeom laughed awkwardly. It was his mistake for not anticipating such a tight schedule.
“Let’s eat. We’re all working to make a living, after all,” he called out loudly. The rest of the group checked their watches and agreed it was lunchtime.
“There’s a good horse meat restaurant nearby. How about that?” someone suggested. All eyes turned to Choi Seon-gyeom, ready to head there if he agreed.
“Horse meat sounds good. Let’s go,” Choi Seon-gyeom readily agreed. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t far, just a 5-minute drive to the Aewol-eup beachfront. A large building indicated it was quite a famous place.
“Go on in. I’ll be right behind you,” Choi Seon-gyeom said, letting the others enter first, assuming they’d handle the ordering. He headed towards the beachfront in front of the restaurant building. After spending the entire morning inland, he wanted to take a deep breath while looking at the sea.
The beach was quite crowded, probably due to the restaurants and cafes lining the shore.
“Nice,” he thought. The open feeling of the sea was always good no matter when he saw it. As he stretched widely with a pleased expression, his gaze stopped on someone’s back in the distance.
It looked familiar, but he thought it strange since he shouldn’t know anyone in Korea, let alone Jeju Island. Thinking it might be a mistake, he still stared intently due to the familiar feeling. When the person turned around, he let out a small gasp of recognition.
It was Jeong Dawoon. He felt a mix of surprise and pleasure at seeing him in Jeju, which he hadn’t expected. Unlike when he saw him in Seoul, Dawoon’s expression seemed more relaxed. He was even smiling gently.
“I didn’t know he could make such an expression,” Choi Seon-gyeom thought. Dawoon had smiled when talking to him before, but it was quite different from now. The smile he had shown Choi Seon-gyeom was mixed with proper courtesy, giving an impression of someone well-educated and raised properly.
But now, it was as if a transparent layer had been peeled away. Wondering who that childlike smile was directed at, Choi Seon-gyeom turned his head in the direction Dawoon was looking.
“Jeong Hayun…” he muttered. Although he had only seen him briefly once before, Jeong Hayun had an unforgettable appearance.
Since Jeong Dawoon and Jeong Hayun were brothers, it wasn’t strange for them to be together. They might have come to Jeju for some fresh air on the weekend. But hadn’t Dawoon mentioned a younger brother too? Had they left him behind?
As Choi Seon-gyeom watched, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, his eyes gradually narrowed. Jeong Hayun, who had been standing at a distance, approached Jeong Dawoon and reached out to ruffle his hair. Until then, Choi Seon-gyeom thought it might just be an older brother treating his much younger sibling like a child.
But then Jeong Hayun’s hand moved down slightly and lightly touched Dawoon’s earlobe. Dawoon didn’t avoid his hand. He just stood still, looking at Jeong Hayun. A gentle smile played on Jeong Hayun’s lips too. The two exchanged some unheard conversation while maintaining eye contact. Then Jeong Hayun took Dawoon’s hand and held it. Dawoon seemed to shake his arm as if telling him to let go, but soon appeared to give up.
Choi Seon-gyeom’s gaze returned to Dawoon’s face. Despite trying to shake off the hand, his expression didn’t show much displeasure. He just calmly turned his head to look at the distant sea while his hand was held. Jeong Hayun’s eyes followed Dawoon intently. His gaze was fixed solely on Jeong Dawoon, as if nothing else mattered.
A moment later, the two started walking slowly, still holding hands. As they walked along the beach, some people stared at the two grown men holding hands, but neither seemed to care much.
Choi Seon-gyeom watched their retreating figures until they were quite far, belatedly realizing he had been frowning deeply. He raised a hand to smooth out the wrinkles between his brows before turning away.
Why did he feel so uneasy? Brothers? Could what he just saw be explained under the name of brotherhood? At the charity event, he had thought he was being unnecessarily sensitive, but what he saw today was even less comprehensible.
To anyone watching, they looked more like lovers than brothers. Even if it wasn’t him, anyone else would have thought similarly.
Jeong Hayun’s gaze towards Jeong Dawoon was more blatant than at the charity event. His affection was overflowing, visible to anyone. Was that brotherly affection? Because of their large age gap? No, it was clearly different.
Jeong Dawoon’s demeanor was also quite different from the charity event. He seemed to accept Jeong Hayun’s attitude too naturally, even though he should have been put off by it.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed strange…
“Writer!” Choi Yu-na’s voice called out. Turning around, he saw her coming out of the restaurant looking for him.
“The food is here. Come in and eat quickly.”
“Ms. Choi Yu-na.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know Jeong Hayun?”
Surprised by the sudden mention of Jeong Hayun’s name, she nodded with a stiff expression.
“Last time, I thought I was mistaken. But no matter how I look at it, it’s strange.”
Not understanding what he was trying to say, Choi Yu-na just blinked.
“Or am I experiencing a cultural difference because I’ve been away from Korea for so long?”
“What do you mean…?”
“Do brothers over twenty hold hands and walk in Korea these days?”
“Pardon?”
Seeing Choi Yu-na’s surprised response, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“I mean Jeong Hayun. Isn’t it strange?”
He knew his questions were disjointed, but that reflected the chaos in Choi Seon-gyeom’s mind.
“No matter how I look at it, that’s not how you look at a younger brother. How can that be?”
“Ah…” Choi Yu-na let out a low sound as if she understood, but quickly closed her mouth with a look of realization and frowned.
“You seem to know something.”
“No,” she quickly denied, shaking her head.
“…Even if I did know, I couldn’t tell you anything.”
After a moment of silence, she grimaced as if troubled.
“So there is something.”
“…”
At Choi Seon-gyeom’s certainty, Choi Yu-na turned her head, avoiding his gaze.
“Could it be that Jeong Hayun’s feelings for Jeong Dawoon are not brotherly?”
Again, Choi Yu-na didn’t answer. But looking at her expression, the answer seemed clear.
“For someone who said they hadn’t been in contact with Jeong Dawoon for over three years, you seem to know a lot, Ms. Choi Yu-na.”
That was equally suspicious. He hadn’t intended to pry, but her attitude seemed unusual, so he stared at her. Seemingly uncomfortable with his gaze, Choi Yu-na took a small breath and raised her head.
“I was almost engaged to Dawoon before.”
Engaged? Given that she referred to it as ‘before’, it must have been three years ago. Considering Dawoon and Choi Yu-na’s ages at that time, Choi Seon-gyeom frowned involuntarily. They were too young to be talking about engagement.
“There were some family circumstances involved. In the end, Dawoon’s brother intervened and broke it off.”
Considering that Jeong Dawoon was the second son of the Haedo Group’s main family, it wasn’t impossible. Rather, it was surprising that Choi Yu-na, whom he hadn’t considered, was from a family that could discuss marriage with the Haedo Group.
“After that, Dawoon’s brother, that is, Jeong Hayun, came to see me separately.”
At these words, Choi Seon-gyeom’s eyes narrowed.
***
After parking the car at the villa, Hayun turned to look at the passenger seat and chuckled. Dawoon had fallen asleep with his forehead against the window. He hadn’t noticed earlier because Dawoon wasn’t very talkative to begin with.
He could carry him in like this, but he might wake up if touched. After some consideration, Hayun reclined the car seat slightly to prevent Dawoon’s neck from being bent awkwardly. He left the engine running so the air conditioning wouldn’t turn off.
He gazed at Dawoon’s sleeping face. Dawoon definitely seemed more relaxed today than usual and had smiled more. Although Hayun had taken him abroad a few times before, he had never seen Dawoon this relaxed.
It was as if the constantly tense kid had finally put down some burden.
Knowing the reason for this, a bitter smile escaped Hayun’s lips.
He had really panicked this morning. Even though he knew it was unlikely, his heart had dropped when Dawoon was nowhere to be found. What if he had let his guard down? What if Dawoon had left for abroad directly from Jeju with his grandfather’s help? Thinking like that, he couldn’t maintain his composure.
Thinking about it again, it was Hayun who had brought Dawoon to Jeju, and since it wasn’t planned, there was no way his grandfather’s side would know about this.
“How foolish,” he muttered self-deprecatingly, sitting up straight and leaning back against the seat. Although he hadn’t shown it, Hayun too had been on edge to the point where he couldn’t think straight. He was worried that even the smallest mistake might lead to an unexpected situation.
If something like that were to happen, if by some error he lost Jeong Dawoon, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to maintain his sanity. Jeong Dawoon was Jeong Hayun’s heart. A heart he absolutely couldn’t live without losing.
