“Ahem!”
Chairman Yeon let out an embarrassed cough, took up his cane, and made his way hastily out of the room. Munyeong quickly pulled himself out of Haejeong’s arms and called out with a bow toward the retreating Chairman Yeon.
“Oh, g, good night…!”
Feeling like he had to say something, he called out in a rush — and Chairman Yeon, who had been moving with some difficulty, simply raised one hand slightly in acknowledgment. Given the commotion Haejeong had caused, Munyeong had fully expected to be ignored — but he wasn’t. Something in Munyeong softened, warmth spreading through him. This had never happened to him before… it felt strange. It wasn’t acceptance, exactly…, but it didn’t feel like being cast out like a stranger either. This subtle, indescribable feeling made Munyeong feel just a little lighter.
After the whole spectacle had passed and the two of them were finally left alone, a deeper wave of embarrassment crashed over Munyeong. It had been a full month since he’d last seen his face, after all. And after all that chaos on top of it, the embarrassment made it hard to even look at him. He felt like he should say something, but….
“Let’s go.”
Haejeong moved faster. Taking his hand again after the embrace, he walked out of there at a brisk pace. There was something about the back of him that looked almost excited, and Munyeong found it oddly disarming. But he followed without a word.
Once outside the estate, his car came into view. It seemed he had kept a driver waiting — one driver was there, waiting with obvious tedium. Haejeong pushed Munyeong into the back seat and gave the driver a brief instruction.
“Home.”
No sooner had he said the word than the driver began to navigate smoothly. The moment of being side by side with him in the back seat rather than somewhere separate felt strange. And he was still unsure of what to bring up first.
“You heard, right?”
But again, it was Haejeong who spoke first. Unable to contain the excitement still bubbling up in him, he asked.
“…What?”
“Father’s words. You heard.”
“…….”
“He said if I do well, he’ll allow us.”
“……Oh…….”
Munyeong gave a slow, measured nod, his voice coming out stiffly. Haejeong’s expression was composed but his lips, trembling just barely, parted slowly.
“You might still find it hard to look at me…….”
“…….”
“But I… I did, did try…. you know?”
Haejeong clenched his fist. His gaze scattered, like someone anxious and unsettled.
“I deliberately didn’t contact you…….”
“…….”
“And I didn’t come to your place…. Waiting is something I’m genuinely terrible at….”
“…….”
“Even so, until you were a bit… okay again…… I held myself back all the way until then.”
He was rambling without seeming to know what he was saying. Munyeong watched him quietly in his flustered state and waited in silence for him to finish.
“And the approval…….”
“…….”
“…The approval’s been given too.”
“…….”
“So isn’t it…okay to, to accept me now…?”
Whether he lacked confidence, or whether saying these words was just that hard for him, Haejeong couldn’t hide the embarrassment and trailed off at the end, completely at a loss.
He had been hesitating over the words, lips moving without sound, when their eyes met by chance. His gaze, which had been darting around unable to settle anywhere, landed squarely on Munyeong’s — and Haejeong stopped, holding that gaze. Under Munyeong’s steady, direct look, Haejeong seemed to think for a moment, and then set his jaw with a resolute air.
“…No.”
“…….”
“Accept me.”
The hesitant Haejeong added the words again. The restless flicker in his eyes quieted considerably, and he swallowed a dry lump in his throat, his face taut with tension. And then the tips of the fingers gripping him were visibly trembling. Munyeong took in every gesture, every glance of his, and focused on the voice that followed.
“…I won’t do anything like compensation.”
Unable to quite meet his gaze, he opened his mouth again with care — yet with the resolve of a man who had made up his mind, bracing himself solemnly.
“I’ll just… make it up to you.”
“…….”
“Saving me, acting like a complete ass to you, acting like a child about it. I’ll just… spend the rest of my life by your side making it up to you.”
“…….”
“……Is that not okay?”
Haejeong asked, looking utterly broken. Anxiety was spilling over in his eyes.
How much he must have agonized over these words through the past month came through without a word needing to be said. Not only was there dark stubble on his face, the skin beneath his eyes was sallow and his complexion had grown rough. The firm jaw line that had once been solid had grown sharp to the point of severity from the weight he’d lost.
Something felt out of order — it seemed like he should have said this before getting his father’s approval, not after…… but Munyeong didn’t mind either way. He had already, in some measure, braced himself from the moment he had started running toward Haejeong. For the first time, to try being greedy. Even if he got punished later for reaching beyond his place, right now he just wanted to see him. He had run like a man possessed all the way to the front of his company.
Munyeong slowly pulled back and faced him. Without avoiding the questioning look that followed him as he drew away, he parted his lips quietly.
“…I’m sorry.”
“……What?”
Munyeong hesitated and watched his reaction carefully. Haejeong’s face — apparently reading it as a rejection — looked as though he’d taken a blow from a stone. The shock coming off him was so palpable that Munyeong had to fight down a startled laugh. Courage was something he needed too. Munyeong swallowed a dry lump in his throat as well. Unsure of what to say to make it sound right, he reached for nothing but the honest truth.
“I lied to you.”
He held his gaze, eyes resolute, enunciating every word clearly. Something like this might never come again in his whole life. His neck flushed hot with shyness and awkwardness, but he knew this was not the moment to shy away. With a decided expression, Munyeong continued carefully.
“Back then.”
“…….”
“You asked me. …Whether I hadn’t liked you all along.”
Munyeong gripped the fingertips he had let go of, holding them firmly. The anxiety and unease were his too. That someone could want him like this was something he had never even dared to dream — and something he had believed would never happen in this meager life of his. That someone would be on his side, that someone would get angry on his behalf, that someone would genuinely like him — he had always believed those things would never exist in his insignificant life.
“I thought the answer was no.”
“…….”
“How could I…like you, over more than ten years. I thought that was impossible.”
Munyeong’s voice, calm and settled, trembled just barely. He laid out his innermost feelings one by one in his usual composed, unhurried way. The moment he had run all the way to the company because of Haejeong — the man right in front of him — the sincerity that had made his chest feel like it would burst, he conveyed it now to the person it belonged to.
“But I was wrong.”
“…….”
“…I don’t think I fell for you again.”
“…….”
“I think it was just from back then, all along.”
“…….”
“…The whole time.”
“…….”
“I think I liked you.”
Haejeong’s face went slowly, utterly blank. Munyeong held his gaze as steadily as he could, and brought the words he had been slowly drawing out to their close.
“…For more than ten years.”
