#103
It seemed like Cha Do-hyeok had definitely eaten something wrong today. Suddenly showing up at his house saying he couldn’t end the contract, that he didn’t want to break up. He kept spouting incomprehensible things.
To begin with, Ha-seong had no intention of ending this contract. Of course, someday the day would come when this contract would truly end, but that wasn’t now.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Ha-seong waved his hand to calm Do-hyeok, who was charging at him like a bulldozer.
“Sorry, but where exactly did you start misunderstanding what? I never had any intention of breaking the contract with you.”
Ha-seong decided to stop testing the waters. He’d just asked out of curiosity, but receiving an unexpected uppercut made him come to his senses, and he thought he needed to quickly correct this misunderstanding.
“Hyung said it. You said to think about the contract again. And today too, you didn’t come to work without any notice.”
Do-hyeok still had a serious expression. Hearing those words, Ha-seong realized there was a reason behind Cha Do-hyeok’s behavior. It seemed Do-hyeok had interpreted his words about thinking about the contract again in a different way.
“…Hey, let’s go inside first. Don’t do this outside.”
Everyone passing through the alley glanced once at Do-hyeok standing in front of the black sedan. They all had expressions wondering if that famous guy was the #1 ranked Cha Do-hyeok. If someone recognized him, things would get troublesome.
“Do you have any morning raid business left?”
“No.”
“Then let’s go inside and talk.”
Ha-seong pointed to his house. Do-hyeok hesitated for a moment then nodded. Ha-seong quickly entered the password and opened the door. He didn’t forget to turn his head and gesture for Do-hyeok to come in as he went inside.
“…Excuse me.”
It was such polite speech that was unimaginable coming from Do-hyeok’s mouth. If Won-hyeok or Woo-bin had heard those words just now, they would have been shocked and fallen over, if Shin-woo had heard it, he would have sighed deeply with eyes that said life was all meaningless, and if Han-bit or Dal-pyeong had heard it, they definitely would have cursed in disbelief.
It was only possible because it was Ha-seong’s house. Do-hyeok actually entered nervously, taking off his shoes. A house of monotonous size that wasn’t extremely large but wasn’t too small for living alone. This was Do Ha-seong’s house.
“Sit there for now.”
Ha-seong pointed to the sofa and slipped into the kitchen. Do-hyeok obediently followed those words and went to the sofa to sit down properly. Ha-seong’s house was very neat. It had a different feeling from Do-hyeok’s clean house, which was clean because it was spacious but didn’t have many furniture or belongings.
Everything was positioned exactly in its proper place, and nothing was carelessly scattered about. So he lives keeping his house this neatly organized, Do-hyeok thought, feeling some inexplicable flutter when he sensed a gaze from somewhere.
“It’s the pig.”
When he turned his head, he saw a pig peeking out just its face from what appeared to be Ha-seong’s bedroom, looking at Do-hyeok.
Oink? The pig made a strange sound while being wary of Do-hyeok and having an expression that seemed to ask why he was in this house. Do-hyeok slowly approached the pig and crouched down.
“You, do you sleep with hyung on that bed?”
[No! I got hit on the head when I climbed on the bed once, so I sleep on the floor.]
But unable to understand the pig’s words, Do-hyeok interpreted it as he pleased and soon narrowed his eyes.
“Lucky you.”
[Lucky? Sleeping on the floor?]
Just then, Ha-seong walked out from the kitchen. He looked at the pig and Do-hyeok facing each other.
“What are you two doing when you can’t even communicate? Pig, go into the room for a bit.”
[Yes!]
Since returning from long-term recuperation at Shin-woo’s house, the pig had become much more obedient. The pig answered loudly and slipped into the bedroom.
“Here, by the way, I only have instant coffee at home.”
Ha-seong handed coffee with a fragrant and sweet aroma to Do-hyeok, who had sat back down on the sofa.
“It smells like hyung.”
“What?”
“Maybe because it’s hyung’s house, hyung’s scent is vibrating everywhere.”
Ha-seong was about to sit next to him but froze in place like a stone. Meanwhile, Do-hyeok, who had said such an incredible thing so casually, was just sipping his instant coffee.
“Hmm, anyway.”
Ha-seong cleared his throat to wrap things up and sat next to him. Of course, he didn’t forget to leave a little gap, but Do-hyeok, who was watching this intently, stared at Ha-seong with an expression full of dissatisfaction.
“What, why.”
“Are you being formal with me?”
As if he didn’t like that gap, Do-hyeok said something that sounded familiar. Ha-seong had said the exact same thing to Do-hyeok when he tried not to stick close to him in the elevator last time. Getting those words thrown back at him like this felt a bit strange.
Ahem, Ha-seong cleared his throat again and moved his butt closer to him. Only then did Do-hyeok show a satisfied expression and finish his coffee.
“Anyway. What did you mean by that?”
“What?”
“You said that earlier. That thing about… not wanting to break up with me. Being by my side… ah, anyway! What did you mean by that?”
That voice was spinning round and round in Ha-seong’s head without leaving for a moment. Trying to say those words himself made him feel embarrassed, making it hard to even get them out of his mouth.
Ha-seong had never heard such words in his life. Words that the protagonist might say to someone they love in dramas or movies. Such words that tickled his feelings were all unfamiliar to Ha-seong, who had been worked like a dog as a hunter.
Moreover, it was very strange that the person who said those words was Cha Do-hyeok. Could a man say such things to another man? It didn’t feel at all like asking him to stay together as just a close hyung.
But what was even stranger was Ha-seong’s own feelings upon hearing those words. Those words weren’t disgusting or ridiculous, but mysteriously made his mood soar.
His mood floated up as if he’d become a refreshing cloud swimming in the high, clear autumn sky. The mysteriously tickling feeling was a bonus. If there was one thing he could know for certain, it was that this was definitely not a negative emotion.
“Why do you keep asking? I mean it literally. I want to keep being with hyung.”
“…You.”
Ha-seong took a deep breath, steeling himself. Then he opened his mouth again.
“Don’t tell me you like me?”
“Yes.”
“Huh?”
Such quick acknowledgment and response. Ha-seong almost dropped the coffee cup in his hand.
“In… what sense?”
Just as a hyung he wanted to rely on? Or as a hunter senior stronger than him? Or could it really be romantic feelings? Ha-seong was curious. What words would come out of that mouth? And what kind of answer was he hoping for?
“That’s…”
Do-hyeok swallowed his words with a rather serious expression.
“I’m not really sure. Does there have to be a meaning?”
Like a student who had been solving problems well but got stuck on a high-scoring, high-difficulty problem, Do-hyeok showed an expression that said it was difficult. His meaning was that he just liked being together, so did there have to be some meaning attached to that?
Do-hyeok was originally someone clumsy with emotions. For most people, when they felt 1, it was natural to think of or associate the next thing, 2, but Do-hyeok wasn’t like that. What he felt in that moment was everything, and connecting that to other emotions or feelings was still impossible for him. Perhaps it was natural for Do-hyeok, who absolutely lacked the necessary clues to reach such conclusions—that is, “experience.”
Since that incident of being sucked into a dungeon when he was young, this was the first time he’d wanted to be with someone and hated imagining a future where he couldn’t see them anymore, so it was even more insufficient for solving this difficult problem.
“Hmm. Well, it’s not that kind of thing…”
And another person with an absolute lack of experience. That was Do Ha-seong.
Usually when one person couldn’t get their bearings, if the other person stepped up to play a guiding role, there would be no problem at all. But Ha-seong was just as unable to get his bearings as Cha Do-hyeok.
Ha-seong, who had never experienced, let alone felt, romance, attraction, or any similar emotions even once, couldn’t possibly guide Do-hyeok, who had become lost in such emotions and couldn’t find his destination, right now.
“Then hyung should tell me now. What’s this talk about the contract then?”
Because of Ha-seong’s offhand remark and today’s behavior, Do-hyeok had suffered quite a bit. Do-hyeok, who was always a clear-minded realist, had spread his wings of imagination dozens of times while driving to this house. Imagining Ha-seong ending the contract and leaving him.
Fortunately, Ha-seong had said earlier that he had no intention of breaking the contract.
“Yeah. I didn’t know you’d misunderstand, but I have no intention of breaking the contract. Not yet.”
“Then what about saying to think about it again?”
“That’s also literally what I meant. I wanted to think about the contents of our contract. Baek Sa-jin was caught, but whether he’s the culprit behind the artificial gates or not hasn’t been revealed yet.”
“That’s right.”
“Baek Sa-jin is a prime suspect and artificial gates haven’t been opening since then, so in a way it seems like my role is ending, but honestly I have a feeling that something more important will come out of Baek Sa-jin. There’s still no definitive evidence that he’s the culprit behind the gate incidents.”
That day when he carried the collapsed Do-hyeok on his back and left the Management Bureau after his rampage. While listening to Woo-bin’s words of gratitude, Ha-seong had thought about it. Would this really end so easily? If Baek Sa-jin really committed all these series of events, then his role should be considered over, but Ha-seong still felt uneasy.
If he said his role seemed to be over so let’s part ways and turned around, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep because of this strangely lingering uneasiness. So Ha-seong planned to maintain the contract and dig deeper until this feeling was resolved, even if Baek Sa-jin was caught.
Ha-seong slowly conveyed that thought to Do-hyeok in an organized manner.
“I just wanted to tell you my thoughts, so I said that, but I didn’t know you’d take it that way.”
“Then speak more simply. I was surprised.”
“And one more thing.”
Ha-seong put down his coffee cup on the table with a determined expression.
“This is what I really wanted to say—let’s add just one more clause.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
