He’d said it because he wasn’t the type to bat an eye at the threat of calling the police. But for some reason, at the shoddy threat he’d spat out with the desperation of grasping at straws, the powerful grip that had been holding Yiyoung’s arm fell away. Following that, he heard Ki Taeseong stammering.
“Wha… what, hey. You, what?”
Yiyoung turned around in puzzlement without even having time to feel relieved at not being helplessly dragged into the house. Soon he shouted with an expression of constant shock.
“Chahyun-ssi!”
Chahyun was grabbing and pulling Ki Taeseong by the collar.
Chahyun growled lowly toward Ki Taeseong without even glancing at him, as if he couldn’t hear Yiyoung’s call.
“Are you the ‘trash’?”
Yiyoung was more surprised by Chahyun’s murderous gaze than by his sudden appearance.
***
Looking at it this way, Chahyun had never been angry at Yiyoung.
All the expressions he’d thought Chahyun had hardened in anger at him until now were merely sulking. Seeing his face now, there was a clear distinction between being angry and sulking spitefully.
Chahyun contorted his expression even more fiercely and asked Ki Taeseong again.
“Who are you?”
“Uh… Bae Yiyoung, what the fuck is this guy? Your lover?”
Ki Taeseong pointed at Chahyun and asked Yiyoung.
Though flustered at being suddenly grabbed by the collar by a stranger, he showed no sign of being scared at all. And for good reason—Ki Taeseong, who’d made his living with his fists, couldn’t feel physically threatened by a rich young master who’d obviously been raised preciously at a glance.
Once he adapted to the situation, it was obvious he’d come out far more belligerently than Chahyun. In that moment, Yiyoung suddenly came to his senses and squeezed between Chahyun and Ki Taeseong.
“Chahyun-ssi! No. This person isn’t that trash, but…”
Yiyoung rambled incoherently while struggling to separate the two men who were quite closely attached. As he was doing so, somehow it felt like being caught between giant rocks. Yiyoung stood with his back to Ki Taeseong and broke into a cold sweat while pushing against Chahyun’s chest.
‘What on earth did they eat to grow so big?’
Both of them, incredibly solid too, showed not even a hint of budging. Chahyun didn’t move an inch at Yiyoung pushing him away with all his nursing strength, then lowered his gaze and suddenly became sulky. Chahyun grumbled at Yiyoung.
“Don’t tell me you’re taking this person’s side right now?”
It was completely the opposite! No matter how you look at it, isn’t this a situation to worry about you?
Ki Taeseong wasn’t simply foul-tempered but had actually been an organized crime gang member. Whether by height or build, Chahyun was by no means a slender pretty boy either, but he was at best the youngest of a chaebol family. Even if skilled at martial arts, it was obvious he’d get beaten to a pulp if this thug started a dogfight.
If by any chance Chahyun succeeded in retaliating against Ki Taeseong, that would be more problematic. It would be troublesome if Ki Taeseong smelled money from Chahyun and clung to him under the pretext of settlement.
The best policy was for Moon Chahyun not to get involved with Ki Taeseong at all.
Troubled about what words to use to make him understand this situation, Yiyoung said in a fluster.
“No. I’m not taking anyone’s side.”
Then Chahyun twitched his lips as if flaring up. Since he had the momentum to pour out questions he wanted to ask like a machine gun right away, Yiyoung urgently shouted.
“He’s my mom’s boyfriend!”
“…What?”
For a moment, Chahyun stared at Ki Taeseong with a dumbfounded expression. It made sense to be surprised since couples with such a large age difference weren’t common. Though it wasn’t intentional, thanks to that the sharp atmosphere seemed to ease, so Yiyoung hurriedly continued his explanation.
“Mom, he’s mom’s lover. He said he came because there’s something to discuss about mom. So there’s no reason for Chahyun-ssi to fight with this person.”
Chahyun glared at Yiyoung with suspicious eyes. Yiyoung said again in a pleading tone.
“Really.”
“……”
Chahyun had an expression that didn’t trust Yiyoung’s words one bit. Even if he believed the fact that Ki Taeseong was his mother’s boyfriend, it was because it must have looked like he’d been threatening Yiyoung until just now.
No, he did threaten him. Still, it wasn’t to a degree Yiyoung couldn’t handle alone, nor was it the first time he’d experienced it. If Chahyun got involved, it would only become more complicated.
Yiyoung looked up at Chahyun with eyes that were not just desperate but even teary. Without realizing it from anxiety, he grasped Chahyun’s sleeve and lightly shook it while bouncing on his heels, as young children commonly do when pestering their parents. Yiyoung said in a wheedling tone.
“Don’t be angry…”
Then for some reason, Chahyun’s expression softened.
Not just that his expression softened, but the cold and aggressive atmosphere surrounding him completely melted away. Chahyun, whose even tensely raised shoulders had relaxed, smoothly released Ki Taeseong’s collar in a somewhat deflated manner. With half-unfocused eyes blinking at Yiyoung, his expression showed he wasn’t even conscious of what he was doing.
Even Yiyoung furrowed his brow at his sudden change in attitude, finding it strange. Just then, he heard Ki Taeseong snorting behind him.
“What a fucking show you’re putting on. Are you filming a drama?”
Then Chahyun raised his characteristically indifferent and cold gaze. Yiyoung gasped and turned around.
Come to think of it, Ki Taeseong had been the problem from the start. Ki Taeseong was looking back and forth between Yiyoung and Chahyun with eyes that seemed dumbfounded at being suddenly treated like a sack of barley.
Yiyoung opened his mouth before Ki Taeseong grasped the situation and got angry about having his collar grabbed. In the brief moment of wondering what words to use to send him away, Chahyun spoke in a completely calm, refined tone.
“I understand what Bae Yiyoung-ssi meant about inheriting from his mother the habit of meeting trash.”
Yiyoung flinched, doubting what he’d just heard. Then he slyly raised his gaze toward Ki Taeseong.
The insult Ki Taeseong hated most was trash. That’s why Yiyoung had saved his contact name as Trash. When Ki Taeseong found out about that fact, he’d blown up at Yiyoung too. If his mother hadn’t yelled at Ki Taeseong to make him come to his senses, even Yiyoung didn’t know what might have happened to him.
Sure enough, Ki Taeseong had a puzzled yet strangely offended expression.
Though he didn’t understand Chahyun’s meaning at all, he seemed to have reacted to the word “trash.” Ki Taeseong slowly frowned toward Chahyun and asked.
“What does that mean?”
“I said trash. That’s you.”
Chahyun clearly explained what he’d said earlier, almost kindly.
“Whatever the reason, you use force on someone half your size? Who does such a thing if not trash?”
That damn mouth of his.
Yiyoung squeezed his eyes shut and thought.
‘So he has to say every single thought that comes to mind even if it kills him? Can’t hold back even for a brief moment?’
Of course, it wasn’t wrong. But that’s why it seemed like it would grate on the nerves even more strangely. Since even Yiyoung had repeatedly gotten more upset at Chahyun’s correct words, he could guess what Ki Taeseong would be like.
Ki Taeseong was silent for a moment, as if slowly understanding Chahyun’s words. Soon Ki Taeseong’s booming shout rang throughout the entire alley.
“What?!”
Startled by that sound, when he snapped his eyes open, he could see Ki Taeseong’s fiercely contorted face. Yiyoung instinctively stretched both arms back and wrapped them around Chahyun’s waist. While stepping backwards with his back against Chahyun’s body, he quickly made excuses.
“Taeseong hyung, no. This person doesn’t mean you’re definitely like that, he originally talks…”
Ki Taeseong approached in step with Yiyoung’s backwards steps and warned in a low tone.
“Move aside. Know that today is your lover’s death anniversary.”
He’s not my lover. But since it wasn’t the time to argue about that, Yiyoung puffed out his chest to inflate his frame. Even so, he couldn’t cover even half of Chahyun, whose build was like a door.
Then, as if Chahyun’s back touched the wall, he didn’t step back any further. Nevertheless, Yiyoung stepped back to avoid Ki Taeseong until his sneaker soles scraped the ground. Chahyun’s solid chest pressed even more firmly against his back. Ki Taeseong threatened with a face red and purple.
“I said move aside. Before you get beaten up together with your lover.”
“That’s right. Bae Yiyoung-ssi, move aside. Let’s see what happens.”
Yiyoung, having gone pale, shook his head vigorously as an answer to both of them.
Still, if Yiyoung kept blocking until the end, Ki Taeseong might let it go. Ki Taeseong had never hit Yiyoung even once after he became an adult.
