[ID or Email]
yshh97417
[Password]
“……”
He typed in the ID without hesitation, but when it came to the password, he couldn’t easily enter it. Only the mouse cursor blinked continuously in the white password field.
It wasn’t that he’d forgotten the password because it had been a while since he last logged in. Since they’d decided on it together when they started sharing the ID, there was no way he could forget it. Nevertheless, Hongdan’s fingers were frozen as if someone had anesthetized them. In his ear with the headset half-worn, Seonha’s playful low voice rumbled.
‘We should reset the password too, then.’
‘Why?’
‘So you can memorize it well.’
‘You think I can’t memorize a measly twelve digits?’
‘Just in case, you know, just in case.’
‘Well, it’s your ID anyway, so do whatever you… Ah, has this guy lost it! Why would you make the password something like that!’
‘If I make it something like this, you’ll never forget it.’
“Ah, fuck, why would you set something so shitty as a password?”
Hongdan grimaced and just scratched the back of his head roughly. But his reluctance to drive Tico was the same as it had been eleven years ago. In the end, what he had to choose was already decided. Perhaps from the moment he entered this place.
To prevent the disaster of having to bite the keyboard, Hongdan first took a deep breath and exhaled. He refused to incur any more losses because of Yeon Seonha. Then, to avoid typing it twice for no reason, he carefully typed each character one by one.
i, m, s, h, w, i, f, e, S, 2, S, 2.
[Launching game]
“…Fucking hell, really.”
The spinning loading icon couldn’t be more hateful.
***
It had been quite a while since the sunlight enveloping the streets had faded. Now the villa complex relied only on the faint moonlight and the occasional streetlamps. Nevertheless, the shadow Seonha had been waiting for all this time still showed no signs of appearing.
Seonha looked once more at the digital clock placed on the living room cabinet. Before he knew it, a 1 was blinking in the first digit. For a moment, he had to barely hold back his teeth from grinding.
“Fuck, really…”
The hand tousling his bangs was equally rough. His gaze, fiercer than usual, was clearly revealed. It was completely different from the face Hongdan had grown familiar with recently. If he were to open the front door and come in right now, he would immediately feel the dissonance and leave. Even knowing this, Seonha couldn’t organize his expression.
Was he not going to come home at all now?
…Because I’m here?
Because he doesn’t want to see me?
“Ha.”
Seonha pulled at his collar and let out a rough breath. However, the pressure didn’t improve at all. He was only wearing a single t-shirt, and though nothing was wrapped around his neck, his breathing was constricted for no reason.
Looking back, it seemed he’d been like this during Hongdan’s first absence too.
The day he last left the courtroom, the night when Yeon Seonha was completely erased from Choi Hongdan’s life. He had boldly headed to the club he always used to frequent.
No, actually, even that had been three years. Since having relations with Hongdan, he hadn’t even glanced at that neighborhood. Back then, the passing days, the tomorrows with Hongdan that were decreasing, felt maddeningly precious.
So in the end, that day too—one-night stand my ass—he met no one, just drank himself silly and returned home. Lying on the empty bed, he kept scratching his neck while chasing Hongdan’s pheromones that had long since faded.
Again, suffocating.
Considering he’d had a sort of practice back then, why was this so unbearable?
Would it have been different if Hongdan, when they met again, had been completely cold to him?
“No, not at all.”
If that were the case, he would have gone crazy in a different sense. Diligent love and all that aside, he’d be lucky if he wasn’t caught for kidnapping and confinement. That’s how desperate Seonha was for Hongdan. He couldn’t tell exactly when this terrible thirst had started. He only knew that he was a moron who couldn’t properly live even a single day without Hongdan.
Seonha turned his head to stare out the window.
Still, the street was annoyingly quiet.
In the end, his head couldn’t hold up any longer and dropped heavily. Just because his return home was delayed, there was nothing he could do. That fact was too powerless.
He didn’t even need to come home, he just wanted to know where he was right now at least…
While he was quietly despairing like this.
‘Why, you fucking bastard.’
“…Ah.”
‘You’re just an ex-husband worse than a stranger, so stop clinging to me.’
Suddenly, there was a memory that flashed through Seonha’s mind.
That bastard he’d wanted to kill consistently over the years—Jung Hyeonchan.
That day when he’d raged like thunder in the morning and came home late without a word, Hongdan had been drinking with that bastard too.
Thinking carefully, though the process was similar, today it didn’t seem like he’d come back to him like that day. The black eyes Hongdan had shown when he’d sneaked a peek yesterday evening resembled the moment he’d spoken of divorce to Seonha.
However, finding Hyeonchan was a different matter. Seonha knew that right after Hongdan divorced him, he’d stayed at Hyeonchan’s place for a while.
He picked up his phone without hesitation. He’d already gotten that bastard’s phone number from Director Do a while ago.
Ring ring—ring ring—
The connection tone was long.
Given the time, there was a high possibility he was already in bed. But of course, Seonha had no intention of being considerate of that situation.
Ring ring—
Pick up.
Ring ring—
While I’m being gentle.
Ring ring—
While I haven’t decided to kill you yet.
Ring ring—
Pick up.
“—Who is this…”
Fortunately, the ringing stopped before Seonha’s patience ran out. Seonha swept back his bangs that were poking his eyes once more and spoke in a low voice.
“It’s me.”
“—So who are you…”
“Me. Choi Hongdan’s husband.”
“—What?”
It was a voice where the drowsiness that had been thickly clinging had instantly vanished. Seonha willingly yielded the opportunity for the other party to get angry. A fully excited opponent was five times easier than a calm one when it came to extracting the information he wanted.
“—Fuck, why are you Hongdan’s husband? I heard you got your head smashed by a truck—did your intelligence drop too?”
“We’re getting back together. I never intended to break up with Choi Hongdan in the first place.”
“—You’re talking shit, you crazy bastard. Unlike someone, Hongdan didn’t hurt his head, so he has absolutely no intention of remarrying.”
“That’s unknown. Just like how you don’t know we’ve been living together for a month now.”
“—What…?”
Seeing his voice change once more, it seemed like a proper hit had landed. Seonha let out a small sneer.
Anyway, still utterly stupid. Even though eleven years had passed since then, Hyeonchan always missed the point. While he knew everything about Hongdan, he’d never once guessed the direction his heart was heading.
“Mm…”
Teasing this idiot further here would certainly be quite enjoyable. But right now, he didn’t have even 10 seconds to spare. It was time to achieve the purpose of continuing this terrible call. Seonha asked quietly to the opponent who’d lost his words.
“Are you with Hongdan right now?”
After maintaining silence for a while, Hyeonchan seemed to grasp the situation and answered in a mocking voice.
“—Yeah. He’s sleeping next to me. From now on, I’ll be keeping him…”
Seonha also caught on to the correct answer.
“He’s not there, is he?”
“—……”
“And you haven’t received any contact from him today either.”
If he really had him, it was obvious he’d desperately try to hide it. Not provoke him like this.
Seonha’s lips curved into an even more bitter smile. In fact, he almost burst out laughing at the reaction that didn’t stray from his expectations at all. It had been worth listening to that bastard’s voice for 3 minutes. He put down his phone without regret.
“Thanks. I really love that Hongdan is friends with a half-wit like you. Sleep well.”
“—Fuck, I do have him…!”
Click.
A belated urgent cry was heard, but it was cut off by Seonha’s long, straight fingers. The phone rang about three more times immediately after, but Seonha didn’t answer. He considered turning it off entirely, but stopped in case Hongdan might contact him.
“Whew…”
His breathing was much easier than before. At least he didn’t need to rip apart the innocent t-shirt anymore. He still hadn’t found out Hongdan’s location, but it was significant that he’d confirmed it wasn’t the worst-case scenario at least. Seonha slowly rolled his head back against the sofa backrest.
“Then maybe he’s at the company dormitory or something…”
Buzz—
Just then, the phone vibrated briefly.
“……”
Given the circumstances, there was a high possibility it was a message containing someone’s profanity. Nevertheless, he felt like he should check it right away. Seonha flipped over the phone that had been lying face down and unlocked it.
“Ah… Choi Hongdan, really.”
Soon, a smile spread across his lips as he checked the contents.
[Yeonhwa Card Approval
11/25 23:43
55,000 won
NS Korea Co., Ltd.
Cumulative 55,000 won]
“When you do this, how can I give you up?”
Hongdan still belonged to him.
