Chapter 42
“No?”
“You’re saying this tastes good?”
“…Well. It’s edible enough.”
Hahyun and I both shut our mouths at the same time. Hajin, who’d been looking back and forth between us, put his spoon down on the table as if he understood.
Hahyun smirked.
“Hyung, Juwon-hyung isn’t the type to fall for that. He’s not a kid—did you think he’d be happy if you just blindly praised him?”
Hahyun had hit the nail on the head about what Hajin was thinking. But I knew Hajin wasn’t careless enough to be so easily read by others.
If Hajin said something that didn’t match his true feelings just to look good, it had to be intentional.
What could be the reason for his sudden change in attitude?
While I was puzzling over this, Hajin cleared his throat and answered:
“It’s the first meal you’ve ever made for us. I appreciate the effort. How could I tell you to your face that it tastes like I’m going to throw up?”
Yes, this brutal honesty is much more like the real Hajin. But saying it tastes like he’s going to throw up? That’s too harsh. I was about to flip the table in anger, but decided to use a tactic that works better.
I bowed my head and weakened my voice.
“I’m sorry. I just felt bad for always eating your food, so I wanted to make something in return…”
Hahyun immediately responded:
“Hyuuung… No, it’s okay.”
When I looked over, Hahyun looked like he was about to cry, completely at a loss.
How can someone be so consistent? As I was looking at the ever-reliable Hahyun, I felt a hand touch the top of my head.
“It’s fine. Just the fact that you cooked for us is more than enough.”
“That’s right! We got pictures of you in an apron, so it doesn’t matter at all.”
He probably thought he was being comforting, but rather than comfort, I just felt embarrassed.
“Everyone should stick to what they’re good at. I’ll do the cooking.”
Hahyun got up from his seat and tried to head to the kitchen.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Hajin grabbed Hahyun’s hand.
“Let’s just order delivery. How long will it take if you cook now?”
Hahyun looked at Hajin strangely.
“You said you’re not going to work anyway, right? So what does it matter if it takes a bit longer?”
Though Hahyun hadn’t said anything wrong, Hajin’s face twisted severely.
“Just order delivery.”
Blue veins were bulging on the back of Hajin’s hand as he gripped Hahyun’s wrist.
He’s going to crush the kid’s wrist at this rate. Why is he acting like this over nothing? After hurting himself because he couldn’t control his temper.
Though I’d been pretending not to, I’d been worried about Hajin’s left hand from the moment he’d injured it. The bandage made it look uncomfortable even to hold a rice bowl, and it bothered me every time he winced when moving that hand.
Hahyun’s expression turned cold. Sensing another potential bloodbath, I quickly grabbed Hahyun’s other hand and rubbed it.
Gradually, Hahyun’s expression softened. I figured at this point, it would be much easier to pacify Hahyun than to deal with whatever was going on with Hajin.
“Hahyun-ssi, I’m hungry. Let’s just order food. This all happened because of my mistake, and I’d feel bad if you had to work. Stay with me.”
“…Really? These days, Juwon-hyung is truly so sweet.”
I laughed awkwardly, and Hajin stood up from his seat, cursing under his breath.
“I’ll order food. I’d like to help with the dishes, but my hand is like this.”
“Okay.”
***
Hajin ordered sandwiches for delivery and leaned back on the sofa in the living room. He could hear Hahyun and Juwon’s laughter drifting from the kitchen.
“If Hahyun-ssi has to work, I’d feel bad.”
Juwon’s words wouldn’t leave his mind. No, not just his words—the gentle gaze and tender actions Juwon showed toward Hahyun felt like they were tearing his mind apart.
‘What if they fall for each other and run away without me?’
The thought alone was horrifying. He had to do something before that could happen. Hajin’s mind began racing.
‘Should I send Juwon abroad first, then follow him?’
Every time a thought that went way too far crossed his mind, he clenched his fist tightly to suppress his boiling possessiveness. Blood was seeping through the bandage wrapped around his hand.
Hajin often lost his rationality when it came to matters involving Juwon, but fortunately, this time he stopped his thoughts there and laughed bitterly at himself.
‘How childish… What are you thinking, Seo Hajin?’
***
“I enjoy doing the dishes with hyung. It feels like we’re married.”
Hahyun stuck close to Juwon, talking constantly to keep him from thinking about anything else.
“Yes, I enjoy it too.”
However, what came back was a lifeless response.
‘Shit… I knew it would be like this.’
Hahyun knew that Juwon’s attention was completely focused on Hajin’s injured hand. After all, Juwon’s gaze had been fixed on it since they were in the dining room.
‘This is so annoying. I should have been the one who got hurt, not hyung.’
The old Juwon wasn’t like this, but the current Juwon was someone who cared more for the hurt and vulnerable—someone sensitive, kind, and affectionate.
Every time Hahyun saw how Juwon had changed to become even more desirable, he felt more desperate than before, which made him want to cry.
“Hic…”
He bit down hard, trying to hold back tears. This caught the attention of Juwon, who was washing dishes.
‘What’s this? He’s paying attention to me. Should I cry more?’
Having successfully drawn Juwon’s attention, Hahyun burst into pitiful tears. If crying could get him attention, he was willing to cry a hundred or a thousand times.
“Sigh, why are you crying again? You just said you enjoyed doing the dishes with me. I said I enjoyed it too.”
“Sometimes when I’m too happy, I feel like crying. Haven’t you heard the song that says love is tears?”
“Oh my…”
Hahyun’s tears were dripping down into the sink.
“I know you think I’m pathetic, hyung. A big guy like me crying over nothing all the time. But today, I have a real reason to cry.”
Juwon asked with a tired expression:
“What is it?”
Hahyun glanced toward the living room, lowered his voice significantly, and put his lips close to Juwon’s ear.
“You see, today was supposed to be my day off. And Hajin-hyung was supposed to go to work.”
“Yes.”
“So I had everything prepared to play games with you, since it would be just the two of us at home.”
“What games?”
Juwon’s face flushed red as he asked, clearly wondering what Hahyun was thinking about.
‘Is he thinking something dirty?’
Inwardly chuckling, Hahyun continued:
“Alkkagi and Jenga.”
Juwon asked in surprise:
“Ah, Alkkagi?”
Just a moment ago, it seemed like Juwon had been misunderstanding with some naughty thoughts, but his excessive reaction to “Alkkagi” was odd.
Hahyun tilted his head.
“Don’t you know Alkkagi? It’s the game where you place go stones and flick them with your fingers.”
“Ah! I know it. The game where you lose if the go stone goes off the board.”
“Yes, but did Alkkagi do something to offend you? Why are you so surprised?”
Juwon’s eyes darted around as if flustered.
‘So cute…’
Hahyun urged for an answer with a mischievous smile.
“What is it? Why can’t you say?”
But the fun was short-lived as Juwon quickly regained his composure and answered calmly:
“I didn’t know you liked those kinds of games. Haha, sounds fun.”
Watching Juwon’s awkward laughter, Hahyun felt a pang of guilt. The actual goal wasn’t the game itself but the penalties for losing—though Juwon didn’t seem to have thought that far.
Hahyun, who’d been planning penalties like “the loser takes off an item of clothing” or “the loser gives the winner a kiss,” became gloomy again at the thought that Hajin had ruined his enjoyable plans.
“But now it looks like we can’t play because hyung isn’t going to work.”
“We can play together, all three of us. Games are more fun with more people, right?”
Hahyun glared at Juwon with raised eyebrows for saying such nonsense.
‘He must be crazy. Not even understanding why I prepared the games…’
Realizing that his attempt at comfort had actually made Hahyun angry, Juwon quickly corrected himself:
“Ah, you wanted it to be just the two of us. Well, we can still play today and then again next time. Hajin-ssi can’t keep skipping work forever.”
Hiding his planned penalties deep in his heart, Hahyun smiled innocently at Juwon.
Since Juwon was a kind person who didn’t know Hajin well, he probably didn’t realize that now that Hajin had started being seriously wary of Hahyun, there might never be another opportunity for them to be alone. Hahyun was determined to send Hajin to the company today, before his guard went up even further.
Of course, he couldn’t let Juwon figure out what he was thinking.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Just then, the doorbell rang. When Hahyun and Juwon quickly finished with the dishes and went to the living room, Hajin was setting up sandwiches and drinks on the table.
“Aren’t we eating in the dining room?”
“Let’s just eat casually here.”
Watching Hajin unwrapping the sandwiches and inserting straws with his injured hand, Juwon took the straw from him.
“Why are you doing this with your injured hand? I’ll do it.”
Hajin spoke with a pitiful expression:
“Oh, thank you. You’re the only one who thinks of me.”
Watching this, Hahyun felt like he was about to explode.
‘Should I go tear my hand open right now?’
Though he desperately wanted to, Juwon had already said he’d hate anyone who hurt themselves on purpose forever, so it was too late. Instead, Hahyun took the drinks from Juwon, inserted straws, and placed them in front of everyone.
“Hyung, enjoy your meal.”
“Yeah.”
The moment Hahyun said this and raised his head, his eyes met Hajin’s, who was glaring at him like he wanted to kill him. He realized with certainty that Hajin’s wariness, which he’d been sensing since their argument about going to work, wasn’t just his imagination.
