Thwack—thwack—!
If anyone were passing by this villa right now, they would surely think there must be a shaman, or at least a shrine set up inside. Even Hongdan, who was continuously throwing salt and red beans at some beggar, considered his current actions a kind of exorcism ritual. Looking at just the gray polished floor, red beans were already scattered everywhere in complete chaos.
But what on earth should one use to repel an evil spirit that still wanders after being hit with 1kg of sea salt?
“Ah! It hurts! I said it hurts, Hongdan—”
“Then fuck off! Go to your own house!”
Thwack! Tha-ack—! Now even the bag of red beans was showing its bottom. If he’d known it would come to this, he should have bought more usually. Hongdan lamented while scratching the sack with his fingernails. But soon he felt wronged.
No, wait. How was I supposed to know this bastard would pull this shit?
Who could have possibly imagined that the person who treated a perfectly normal person like trash despite being the real trash himself, ultimately making him lose even their first child, would suddenly appear after a year and cling to him as if nothing had happened?
And at that, in a state of intelligence far lower than what he’d known, as if he’d really injured his head or something.
“Hongdan— I said I’m hurt— Who throws this stuff at a patient—”
And what the hell is with that disgusting way of talking!
Yeon Seonha was especially mountain-sized even among alphas. He was born with a naturally large frame, and he’d also exercised consistently, so for the four years after high school graduation, it really felt like his body was swelling every time you saw him.
In other words, that cutesy tone that you might or might not hear even from a petite omega male didn’t suit him at all—to the point it gave you goosebumps on the back of your neck.
Hongdan grabbed all the remaining red beans. He scattered them toward the nose of the bastard running at him.
“Ow!”
Ow? Ow—?
To think the great Yeon Seonha would crouch down holding his nose while making such an adorable interjection. Even while feeling satisfied at landing a direct hit as intended, he doubted whether what he was seeing was really him.
Did he have a hidden twin or something? That development would be more believable.
Yeon Seonha, bored without him, had sent his twin that he’d kept hidden behind his own shadow on a mission to disturb Choi Hongdan’s peaceful daily life. How dare someone like Choi Hongdan, worth less than a golden Matiz, dump Yeon Seonha who was acknowledged by all as equivalent to a Maybach S-Class.
If not that, Hongdan simply couldn’t understand the current situation. No, he didn’t have the confidence to understand it.
“Hongdan…”
While Hongdan was briefly lost in idle thoughts, Seonha, who had finished his exaggerated act, had sneakily approached. Hongdan stepped back accordingly while gauging how much red pepper powder was left in the house. If that wasn’t enough, he was fully prepared to grind black pepper into those annoying eyes as well.
Hongdan, having steeled his resolve, secretly reached behind his back to lift the door lock cover. But just then.
“Why are you being like this, really… I said I’m hurt here. Look. I got twelve stitches on my forehead too…”
Sniffle.
Oh my?
A sound of pathetic sobbing struck his eardrums. Hongdan’s head naturally turned toward its source. Though tilted somewhat crookedly.
“Huk…”
As soon as Hongdan’s gaze reached him, Seonha began shedding chicken-shit tears as if he’d been waiting. Drooping those sharp eyes and pouring water like an opened faucet, for a moment something surged up from the pit of Hongdan’s stomach.
Before his head could define what that emotion was, Hongdan’s foot moved first.
Whack!
“Agh!”
A direct hit indeed. Seonha clutched his left leg and hopped in place. Hongdan took advantage of the gap to quickly tap the keypad. To hurry inside the house before that bastard could resume his ridiculous theater.
The timing wasn’t late at all.
Slam!
“Hng… Hongdan… ah.”
The problem was those fingers caught between the door gap, turned deathly pale.
“You crazy…”
When he didn’t hear the sound of the door lock closing and turned around, Hongdan couldn’t help but be appalled. In the end, he had no choice but to open the door for Seonha with his own hands.
“Ah, I told you why don’t you just go home instead of holding out!”
“I said I came to see you…”
The sight of him massaging his fingers that were starting to swell while shedding tears again was still quite pathetic, but Hongdan was fundamentally a soft-hearted person. He kicked off his sneakers as if throwing them and began running around the cramped house searching for the first aid kit.
Since he usually found even putting on a band-aid bothersome, he must have shoved it somewhere carelessly. The first aid kit itself was a housewarming gift from an old friend, not something he’d prepared himself.
“Ah, shit. Where the hell is it?”
Does this less-than-twenty-pyeong room corner self-replicate or something every time he looks for something? He felt like he’d already searched everywhere there was to search, but it was nowhere to be seen. Hongdan, whose mind was stolen by the first aid kit, didn’t even notice Seonha taking off his shoes and quietly entering inside.
Clatter—
“Ah, here it is.”
Finally, white plastic and a sky-blue handle revealed themselves in the very top shelf of the bathroom cabinet.
He wasn’t quite sure what thought process led to putting the first aid kit here, but anyway, the important thing was that he’d found it.
Hongdan stretched his arm out fully to bring down that square box. Then he turned around carelessly. Thinking that Yeon Seonha would naturally be waiting obediently at the entrance. But that was a stupidly complacent thought.
“Eek, what!”
“Hongdan, blow on it for me first. Hoooo—”
Seonha was standing right behind him, stuck close enough that if they were the same height, their noses would have bumped and then some. Holding out his severely swollen fingers.
He should have noticed from the thickened pheromones. Even though a year had passed, his nose still didn’t seem able to classify his pheromones as unfamiliar. Hongdan rubbed his startled chest.
Fuck, almost lost the baby.
Ah, it’s already gone.
He even finished that brief moment of self-torture. Then as if nothing had happened, he firmly pushed Seonha’s chest with his shoulder and strode out. Then standing in front of the entrance, he tapped the floor with his toes.
“Come here.”
It was clear hostility and condescension.
Hongdan didn’t give even basic hospitality to his ex-husband. Because he didn’t want to let him carelessly disturb the peace he’d finally regained after the divorce. Even Seonha, who’d been acting stupid the whole time, seemed to read this meaning as he didn’t move a single step from in front of the bathroom.
“Yeon Seonha. Come here before I call the police.”
Hongdan lowered his voice threateningly. Nevertheless, Seonha only shook his head, standing upright as if rooted to that spot. Hongdan’s voice rose even higher.
“Ugh, hey! You want to be on the news twice today? Getting your head cracked in a car accident wasn’t enough, you want to get arrested for refusal to vacate too? Your life must be boring these days, very much so.”
Seonha silently shook his head side to side again. Hongdan couldn’t tell whether what he wanted to punch with his fists right now was that stubborn mouth or his own stuffy chest.
“Judging by how you look, you’ll make a pretty picture in the article photo. The title will come out nice and flavorful too. ‘Yeonhwa Group 2nd Generation Yeon Seonha, Visits Ex-Husband’s House Right After Accident.’ Subtitle: ‘The Century’s Cinderella Couple, Will They Reunite Like This?’ Fuck, seriously.”
“…”
“Hey, then can our magazine do an interview too? I didn’t get a single penny in alimony. Your ex-husband, let me score some points at the company…”
“…That’s why.”
A small mumble flowed from his mouth that had only been making chin wrinkles while keeping his gaze lowered to the floor. It was an uncharacteristic speech habit for Yeon Seonha, who always pronounced every word clearly enough to stick in your ears, head, and heart. However, Hongdan alone managed to catch and understand it.
His brow gradually furrowed. Whether the reason was simply that Seonha’s voice was frustrating, or disappointment at himself for still being familiar with him, wasn’t clear.
“Right, that’s why…”
But.
“Why did we get divorced?”
Hongdan’s brow soon regained its straight shape.
“…What?”
At the foolish question that stopped all thought.
“I can’t even believe I was married to you, but why did we get divorced, Hongdan?”
As if he truly knew nothing, with deep gray eyes containing only purity, eyes he’d never encountered even once during the ten years they spent together.
“I don’t remember anything.”
Hongdan could only hope that the raging tide about to overwhelm him now was a mirage.
