At the sudden barrage of curses thrown his way, In-seok’s jaw dropped as he stared at Won-hyeok. Instead of the bright, smiling expression he’d worn in front of Han-gyeom earlier, he now had a vicious look on his face. It felt like the fear In-seok had briefly forgotten had come rushing back all at once.
“Y-you’re talking to me, right?”
“Then who the fuck else here besides you is a fucking bastard?”
“Why, what did I do—”
In-seok gave a dry little cough and leaned back against his chair. From a distance, it probably looked pretty defiant, but in truth, he was only trying to put some space between himself and Won-hyeok.
“Why is that kid calling you hyung?”
“Well… I am a hyung. What, at my age should I have him call me ahjussi instead?”
“You made him do it.”
“…”
For some reason, it felt like he absolutely should not say the wrong thing here.
“You told Kang Han-gyeom to call you hyung, didn’t you? Answer me.”
“Maybe not. Han-gyeom might’ve called me hyung first, y-you know.”
His voice trembled helplessly. In-seok remembered his past self, the one who’d told Han-gyeom right away to just comfortably call him hyung the moment they met, but he didn’t tell Won-hyeok that honestly. There was only one thought in his head:
No matter what, he had to get through this conversation safely.
But after hearing In-seok’s answer, Won-hyeok let out a scoffing laugh.
“That polite, innocent kid sure as hell wouldn’t have been the one to say he wanted to call you hyung first.”
An innocent kid? That didn’t sound like something that should be coming out of Won-hyeok’s mouth, and In-seok tilted his head.
“If you keep flapping your gums one more time, you’re seriously dead.”
“…you piece of shit with a rotten personality.”
Shuddering, In-seok turned half his body away from Won-hyeok.
“You—why did you have a meal alone with Han-gyeom? From what I heard, you were supposed to eat together with the café owner.”
“Ah, that’s…”
“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
In-seok, who had been about to explain that the owner had suddenly had something unavoidable come up and that was why the two of them ended up eating alone, stopped short. On purpose? He didn’t really understand what he meant.
“You wanted to eat alone with Han-gyeom, so you set it up that way, didn’t you?”
Even as Won-hyeok glared at In-seok, he kept watching the front. It seemed like he was on edge because he didn’t know when Han-gyeom might come back.
“What the hell are you talking about? Why would I?”
“Fuck, wasn’t it because you wanted to sweet-talk the kid and try something with him? You think I wouldn’t know that?”
“…”
“You’re an alpha too, so I guess you wanted to somehow catch Kang Han-gyeom’s eye.”
In-seok slowly set down the cup he’d been holding. Something about the direction of this conversation was strange. Won-hyeok was possessive, yes, but when he lost interest in something, he was just as ruthlessly cold about it. Like when he’d smashed that robot toy after someone else touched it.
If it had really been something precious that he wanted to keep cherishing, he wouldn’t have destroyed it like that.
That was why In-seok had naturally assumed he’d be the same with Han-gyeom. When Won-hyeok had first seen him with Han-gyeom and hadn’t said much, In-seok had figured, So he’s already lost interest again. And honestly, that had even reassured him a little.
But that tone of voice, and those eyes sharpened as if they might explode at any second, were completely different from the way he’d looked at that robot when they were kids.
“No, why the hell would I do something like that? Han-gyeom is just a dongsaeng I met at that café. A coworker, a coworker.”
“You’re lying again?”
“Hey, why are you so damn sure I’d have feelings like that for Han-gyeom in the first place?!”
Frustrated, In-seok raised his voice, but Won-hyeok showed absolutely no sign of backing down.
“Isn’t it obvious? You think bastards like you wouldn’t set your sights on someone that ridiculously cute and pretty?”
“…”
In-seok’s mouth fell open.
“Fuck, so you do know he’s pretty…. But Do In-seok, he’s a beta. I know he’s so fucking pretty you could mistake him for an omega, but wake up.”
Then In-seok slowly blinked. The words Won-hyeok had just said didn’t properly register in his head; his brain glitched out before it could even process them.
What the hell was he even saying right now?
So because Han-gyeom was too pretty and too cute, Won-hyeok thought every alpha in the world—including In-seok—would naturally be interested in him?
And that was why he was this enraged, like he was ready to kill someone?
In-seok had assumed Won-hyeok wasn’t serious. A guy who’d always believed there was absolutely no problem living life without dating or love had suddenly gotten himself a lover, so In-seok had figured there had to be some special reason behind it. But then what the hell was this?
He looked exactly like a boyfriend blinded by jealousy.
“Do Won-hyeok, I’m seriously really confused right now. It seems like you’re misunderstanding something…”
“Cut the bullshit about misunderstand—ah, Han-gyeom.”
As if someone had changed a lightbulb, Won-hyeok’s expression transformed in an instant. The moment he saw Han-gyeom, the harsh line of his mouth—just moments ago twisted with anger toward In-seok—softened immediately. Watching that happen right in front of him, In-seok couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
Do Won-hyeok would definitely do well as an actor later in life. That kind of facial acting, switching expressions that fast. Honestly, In-seok felt like applauding.
“Sunbae, I think this place must be famous for cake. I saw it while I was on my way to the restroom.”
“Yeah? Why?”
The second Han-gyeom sat back down beside him, Won-hyeok treated In-seok like air and focused only on Han-gyeom’s words.
“There were seriously so many cakes in the display case.”
“Really?”
He concentrated with all his might on every single syllable Han-gyeom spoke.
In-seok stared fixedly at Won-hyeok with the eyes of a scholar studying some rare phenomenon. That expression right now was not that bastard’s true self. He was wearing a mask. That was why In-seok had been even more convinced that Won-hyeok wasn’t sincere about Han-gyeom.
But now that he looked again, that expression actually seemed quite sincere.
It didn’t look like Do Won-hyeok merely acting to hide his rotten personality. It looked like the true face of Do Won-hyeok itself.
In-seok thought that the man called Do Won-hyeok was really the kind of person you could never fully understand no matter how long you knew him.
After that, once the three of them had more or less finished their drinks, they naturally got up to leave. Won-hyeok handed Han-gyeom his car key and told him to go get in first.
Realizing the cousins still had things left to say to each other, Han-gyeom told them they could come slowly and went outside first. In-seok wanted to grab onto Han-gyeom like he was a lifeline, but he couldn’t.
“Hey. What kind of guy is the owner of that café?”
“Not ‘what kind of guy’—he’s older than you. And if you’re having the same misunderstanding about him that you had about me earlier, stop it. Hae-jun hyung doesn’t feel that way about Han-gyeom either, and in the first place, he’s an omega.”
He felt a little sorry for revealing someone else’s secondary gender to a third party like that, but he had no choice. If he didn’t at least draw that line somehow, it felt like this bastard’s suspicion and pointless anger might end up turning toward Hae-jun too.
“You’re sure?”
Maybe because hearing he was an omega eased his guard a little, Won-hyeok didn’t press further about Hae-jun.
“I’m telling you, it’s true. Have you only ever gone through life being fooled…? If you’re that concerned, then why don’t you come by sometime yourself?”
“Even if you hadn’t said that, I was going to.”
As if asking what kind of stupidly obvious thing that was supposed to be, Won-hyeok abruptly rose from his seat. Taking his wallet out of his pocket, he walked toward the counter, and In-seok looked at his back in confusion.
“I’d like one of each flavor of every cake you have left, all boxed up, please.”
Why was a guy who didn’t even like sweets buying cake?
That thought crossed In-seok’s mind, and then he paused. Come to think of it, Han-gyeom had looked pretty excited earlier while talking about the cakes. No way… was he buying them for Han-gyeom?
He’d never exactly been a welcome presence to begin with, but today more than ever, In-seok felt like his cousin was completely insane.
“Do In-seok. If you want to live a long life, solve that first.”
After getting the cakes, Won-hyeok walked back over to In-seok, who was still standing there.
“Ah, what now?”
“That thing where Han-gyeom calls you hyung. If, after today, the word ‘hyung’ comes out of Han-gyeom’s mouth for you again… then, well. You can imagine for yourself whatever happens next.”
As Won-hyeok stepped in close with the air of someone making a threat, In-seok instinctively shrank back.
“So what I’m saying is… conduct yourself accordingly.”
The hand that patted his shoulder two or three times carried a lot of meaning. From far away, they might’ve looked like cousins with a warm bond, but after being threatened and warned like this, In-seok honestly felt like crying right then and there. Won-hyeok, on the other hand, seemed refreshed now that he’d said everything he wanted, and he left the café first with light steps.
Lamenting how on earth his life had gotten this tangled, In-seok dragged himself along weakly. When he stepped outside, Han-gyeom was standing near the shop. Despite being told to get in the car, it looked like he’d stayed outside the whole time.
Won-hyeok approached Han-gyeom and held out the cake box. He didn’t know why, but In-seok suddenly just wanted to stand at a distance and watch the two of them.
Won-hyeok handed over the cakes and explained something, and right after that Han-gyeom’s face lit up as if a light had been switched on. In-seok watched, almost entranced, the shy flush blooming over his cheeks like ripe peaches and the eyes full of affection directed at the other man—then this time he shifted his gaze to Won-hyeok.
“…”
A faint smile rested on Won-hyeok’s face as he looked down at Han-gyeom, who was checking out the cakes from every angle and looking delighted as though he’d just gained all the happiness in the world.
It wasn’t that exaggerated smile from earlier. It was a smile that naturally rose up for the other person, and seeing it, In-seok felt a truly unfamiliar sort of emotion.
“So that bastard can make a face like that…”
In-seok scratched at his head for no reason.
