Hajin looked at Hahyun with contempt and said:
“Tsk, tsk, what wrong have you committed again…”
I was dumbfounded seeing Hajin’s behavior, which was the complete opposite of Hahyun who was sincerely repenting his sins. But looking at his genuinely innocent expression, I thought perhaps Hahyun might have done it alone.
But that wasn’t the case. Hahyun opened his mouth as tears dripped down.
“Last night. It really wasn’t on purpose.”
Huh? Last night? What did he do then…
“Hyung was so pretty, and even though you said not to do more, secretly…”
Hahyun’s eyes were shaking wildly as he spoke. I was so exasperated that I let out a sigh. What he did against instructions was wrong, but it was nothing compared to what he did today.
“Tsk, tsk, your bedroom manners are terrible.”
Hajin mocked Hahyun again. Hahyun ignored Hajin’s words and looked at me with a pitiful expression.
“Don’t be angry. When hyung gets angry, I really don’t know what to do. I feel so lost.”
“It’s not about last night, so put your hands down.”
Hahyun lowered his hands and quickly stood up. He seemed to want to come to my side.
“I didn’t tell you to come over. Sit there.”
Hahyun sat back down with a tearful face. Hajin twitched his eyebrows and said to me:
“Then what exactly is the problem? You wouldn’t be this irritable without a reason, right?”
Irritable? My face automatically scrunched up at the strangely annoying word. I glared at him, crossing my legs and folding my arms just like he was doing.
“I’ll give you a chance, so don’t you want to be honest first and ask for forgiveness? You must have a lot to feel guilty about.”
Hajin shrugged as if he were innocent. At times like this, he really made me want to die of annoyance. At least Hahyun was cute… I don’t know what Hajin had done well to be so shameless.
As I was glaring at Hajin, Hahyun suddenly interrupted.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but it must be something Hajin hyung did alone! Because I always confess everything when I feel even slightly guilty.”
Hahyun clicked his tongue at Hajin.
“Tsk, tsk, hyung, quickly apologize. When Juwon hyung gets angry, it’s really scary.”
Thinking about it carefully, Hajin was always the one plotting things behind the scenes. So does that mean it was really something Hajin did alone? I looked up to examine Hajin’s face. I couldn’t sense any particular emotion, but seeing his stubbornly closed lips, it seemed he wouldn’t admit it willingly.
“Did you do it, Hajin-ssi?”
“What did I…”
“The reporters outside.”
“I told you reporters are naturally persistent and vicious. They won’t leave until they get what they want…”
He was really pretending not to know until the end. Is his pride too hurt to admit and repent his sins in front of his brother? That’s when it happened. I caught Hahyun repeatedly poking Hajin’s side with his finger…
“Hyung, let’s just tell him. That’s better. Otherwise, Juwon hyung might really leave the house.”
Although he spoke into Hajin’s ear, I could hear everything because the distance was so close. Hajin flared up.
“What are you saying?”
While Hajin was feigning innocence to the end, Hahyun slid down from the sofa, immediately kneeled, and raised his hands.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that, now that you’re free from the wanted list, I was afraid hyung might leave us.”
“You suggested it?”
Hahyun bit his lip hard as he looked at Hajin, then shook his head.
“It wasn’t my idea, but… I agreed to it, so it’s the same. Hyung, are you going to hate me? You shouldn’t…”
As I listened to Hahyun’s words, I was looking at Hajin. The more Hahyun spoke, the more Hajin’s expression hardened.
“I clearly said I would stay here even after clearing my name, so why did you do such a thing!”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m not asking you to apologize, I’m asking why you did it.”
Tear tracks streamed down Hahyun’s flushed red cheeks. More tears flowed down, passing his chin and streaming down his Adam’s apple. He was so busy crying that he couldn’t answer. While I was waiting for Hahyun’s answer, Hajin abruptly stood up.
“Shit, this is too childish to listen to.”
I was so stunned by his behavior that I could only look up at him without saying anything. I wondered who was being childish and acting like this toward me. Even if he couldn’t kneel down and beg like Hahyun, couldn’t he at least apologize and say he was sorry? How can a person be so shameless?
Ignoring him is the answer in times like this.
I turned my gaze away from him and asked Hahyun again.
“I asked why you did it. I have no intention of letting this go today, so answer me.”
“I did it because I was anxious and scared. Even though hyung said it’s okay now, I make a lot of mistakes. I don’t know when you might be disappointed… And also… well…”
Actually, I already knew why they did it without needing to hear it.
After his mother’s death, Hahyun spent his childhood practically abandoned. He must have lived in constant fear amid abuse, and then had to feel betrayal from Juwon, whom he fell in love with for the first time. Considering what he had gone through, it would be more surprising if Hahyun had a healthy mind.
Nevertheless, I could be as generous as possible toward Hahyun, who regretted his mistakes and tried to fix them. However, I could not forgive the shameless Seo Hajin, who went upstairs without a single apology even though everything had been revealed.
Swallowing my seething anger with a sigh, I approached Hahyun and lowered his hands.
“If you’re anxious, tell me. Then I’ll comfort you as much as you need. Try this one more time. I really won’t let it slide next time.”
“Yes. Yes… Thank you, hyung.”
Hahyun hugged me tight and kissed me all over my face. His body was trembling so much that it made my body shake too.
* * *
Why was Yoon Juwon so pretty and kind?
Hahyun thought as he sat quietly on his bed, waiting for Juwon to come out after washing. He wanted to shower together, but today of all days, he had to suppress all his desires and appear well-behaved. After all, he was allowed into Juwon’s room even though it wasn’t his turn, simply because he had repented his wrongdoing.
“Seo Hajin is such a fool. If it were me, I would have at least tried claiming I had nothing to do with it.”
He couldn’t help but smile, satisfied with his scheme that turned a crisis into an opportunity.
Hiring extras to pose as reporters and station them in front of the house was entirely Hahyun’s idea.
What if Juwon ran away when he wasn’t even a wanted person anymore and they hadn’t prepared even minimal preventive measures?
He wanted to stick by his side and keep close surveillance 24 hours a day, but Juwon’s threat that he wouldn’t even speak to him forced him to come up with this scheme.
Of course, when Juwon caught on faster than expected, his heart shrank with fear of being hated by him. But Hahyun would have made the same choice even if the same situation arose again.
After all, Juwon didn’t run away, and he would be by his side tonight too.
But a long time had passed, and Juwon still hadn’t entered the room. Could it be that Hajin had snatched Juwon away in the meantime?
Feeling anxious, Hahyun quickly got up and went outside.
* * *
How could someone be so shameless?
Even under the warm water stream, Juwon’s mind was filled with thoughts of Hajin. To think he would manipulate an innocent kid, placing fake reporters in front of the house to prevent someone from moving, and then pretending he had nothing to do with it…
“Hajin hyung is much more insane, I tell you.”
“He’s a complete fox.”
Whenever these things happened, Hahyun’s warnings seemed all too true, making his skin crawl despite the hot water he was showering in.
That’s when it happened. The door flung open, and Hajin appeared.
I definitely locked the door, didn’t I?
“H-how did you get in… No, why did you come in?”
As I turned around, he was standing in front of the closed door with his arms folded.
“How did I get in? Don’t you know the locks inside the house can be easily opened?”
His voice was sharp. I hurriedly covered my private parts and said:
“I told you I don’t want to see you tonight.”
“I know, I didn’t come in to spend the night either.”
“Then what?”
Looking at his face, his expression was a mess. It seemed he was unhappy about the change in the rule of spending the night with one person at a time in rotation. It was absurd that he would make such an expression when he was the one who had done wrong. There’s a limit to being shameless…
“There’s something you’re seriously misunderstanding.”
“What? Are you going to say you had nothing to do with it again?”
“Yes. Because it’s the truth.”
I turned off the switch, extinguishing the light. Covering my body roughly with a towel, I said:
“Would you believe that if you were me? Hahyun admitted it readily even knowing he would be scolded, but you only denied it. So whose words would you believe?”
“This is driving me crazy, really.”
He irritably ran his hand through his hair. His expression looked so genuinely aggrieved that he could be an actor.
