“Study abroad?”
Hwan’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Who does he think he is?”
That was the first thing Hwan burst out after hearing Huiseo’s story. He was so bewildered and dumbfounded that such rough words popped out without even passing through a filter. Seeing that Huiseo didn’t immediately scold him, it might mean he agreed to some extent.
It was truly that absurd.
Even when Hwan imagined Huiseo going to study abroad alone, his heart ached unbearably. But to make matters worse, who was he going with? With that bastard? The two of them going ha-ha-ho-ho? Just imagining it for a moment made every part of Hwan’s face crumple.
No way. Absolutely not. Even if dirt—no, even if something worse than that—got in his eyes, it was an unbearable sight. In that case, there would be no choice but for that bastard to die and for him to die too.
‘I’ll defect or whatever and chase after him to scalp that bastard!’
Hwan’s breathing grew rough.
But he soon tried hard to calm down. Thinking positively, this bastard Choi Yuwon had missed his timing again. He had no idea such a situation would arise, but fortunately for him, thanks to Hwan’s past fumbling, the two had already talked about Huiseo’s study abroad in advance.
Huiseo had clearly said he wouldn’t go. Hwan believed that answer.
“You rejected him, right? That bastard’s face must have been funny, but I didn’t get to see it.”
Hwan answered without a shred of doubt. However, Huiseo’s response was completely unexpected, and it was Hwan’s face, not Yuwon’s, that became ridiculous.
“…I told him I’d think about it.”
“What…? Why?”
Hwan’s mouth hung open in surprise.
No, why? You clearly said no before. You did. But now that the possibility actually appeared before your eyes, did your heart change? Now that it’s come to this, did it seem like it would be good to go? Of course, he couldn’t say he didn’t understand such feelings. But still….
Hwan’s gaze at Huiseo trembled.
To such a Hwan, Huiseo added as if making an excuse.
“If I didn’t say that, he didn’t seem like he’d let it go….”
“…And?”
“……”
Hwan was actually more curious about what came after and perked up his ears, but regrettably, Huiseo’s story didn’t continue. It was because he suddenly closed his mouth after saying only that much. From Huiseo’s standpoint, it wasn’t something he wanted to mention with Hwan in front of him.
‘I could have rejected him outright. That’s what I wanted to do, naturally.’
However, what Huiseo worried about was this.
If he rejected him, wouldn’t Yuwon’s resentment be directed at the imperial family, or at Hwan?
Even now, he was creating a strange atmosphere around Hwan, showing his displeasure. If he rejected his proposal, Huiseo thought he would likely try to harm innocent Hwan with high probability.
It was equally dangerous for the imperial family.
It was obvious he was constantly watching for opportunities to plant seeds of discord in the imperial family. Though it was very unpleasant and hurt his pride to be swayed by a mere high school kid with some money, the current imperial family had no other choice.
So Huiseo tried to buy some time with the words “I’ll think about it.”
If Yuwon’s actions seemed unusual, he needed to immediately inform Kang and furthermore His Majesty about the situation and discuss countermeasures. Of course, it would be best if he could end it on his own before things got to that point. However, Huiseo clicked his tongue softly, thinking that dealing with Yuwon wouldn’t be as easy as expected.
That was the reason, but Hwan, who had no way of knowing, couldn’t hide his confused expression while watching Huiseo’s complicated appearance.
‘…What if Huiseo….’
Huiseo, belatedly noticing Hwan exercising such terrible imagination again, added.
“What’s wrong? Don’t worry. I told you I won’t go.”
Though it was the answer he inwardly hoped for, it didn’t truly console Hwan.
Wasn’t he a truly shameless bad guy for being happy to hear that?
No, actually, he was already a bad guy. When there was a more comfortable and better path for the person he liked, and even knowing that, he blocked his eyes and ears and threw a tantrum to stay by his side—if that wasn’t a bad guy, what was?
‘Not even enough to be a bad guy. Trash. I’m trash.’
Having nothing to say, Hwan’s sigh deepened as he hung his head low.
What broke Hwan’s reverie was Huiseo’s question that immediately followed. Perhaps to change the atmosphere, Huiseo asked as if he had been very curious.
“By the way, I saw someone at their company. It seemed like they were trying to tell me you were calling? How did they know? Hwan-ah. Do you know that person by any chance?”
In fact, the reason Huiseo couldn’t make other excuses to Hwan and could only be honest was also because of that person he met at the company. It seemed like he would be caught immediately no matter what he tried to hide.
Somehow that person seemed to know he was there, and even knew the fact that a call was coming from Hwan. How did they know that? Huiseo was amazed beyond puzzled. What on earth is their identity?
Huiseo looked at Hwan with curious eyes.
“…Huh?”
So Hwan, who had been ready to dig a tunnel into the ground with self-loathing until just now, was startled and raised his head. He had been so distracted thinking he needed to find Huiseo quickly that he only knew he’d committed it, but hadn’t prepared for Huiseo to ask like this.
He had worried about trouble from rumors spreading outside, but this was an unexpected ambush.
‘If I say I don’t know them now, wouldn’t that be even stranger?’
Sweat dripped down Hwan’s back.
“…Uh, I know them. They, contacted me first, and said they coincidentally saw you.”
“How do you know them? Aren’t they a company employee? You don’t seem to have any points of contact.”
“…An, an internet club?”
“What? You do that kind of thing too? What did those people gather for?”
Whether worried that Hwan might be doing something needless, or perhaps because the person happened to be from Myeongwoon Group that Yuwon attended, Huiseo grilled him more persistently than usual. But there was no way he could tell the truth.
‘A place where people who like you and me as a couple… gather….’
Even if his mouth were torn, he couldn’t say such words in front of Huiseo.
Because of that, Hwan’s face turned pale as he struggled to find the most innocuous and ‘inconspicuous’ answer. What did they gather for? Hwan, who had been rolling his eyes here and there, soon stared intently at Huiseo’s face waiting for his answer. Then he opened his mouth as if possessed.
“…Those, who like, cute things, a gathering of people.”
Fortunately, Huiseo seemed to accept it casually.
“Cats, dogs, something like that? There really is all sorts of stuff.”
“Yeah…. On the internet, there’s, all sorts, of stuff.”
When Huiseo nodded obediently, only then could Hwan let out a sigh of relief.
But his burning ears were hot, so he had to hastily cover them with both hands lest he be caught.
***
[Thank you]
[But I’m not a prince]
Hwan sent his thanks for that day’s incident and suddenly made another unconvincing denial.
‘Well, at least pretend to be fooled.’
At the far too belated struggle at the level of covering one’s eyes and going “boo,” Juyoung with the nickname ‘GoldenApple’ couldn’t help but click her tongue. How will our Hwan survive this harsh world being so careless? Despite wanting to scold him, she still obediently gave an answer.
[Yes I know]
She did so in case he was afraid rumors might spread. She didn’t know how much he’d believe it, but still, saying this much seemed like it would make Hwan’s heart a little more comfortable.
Then after a long silence, Hwan left a message.
[Thanku]
Then suddenly fled in a hurry.
‘…If even this is funny and cute, I’m already done for, right?’
Juyoung looked at the chat window left alone, then soon flopped down on the bed as if falling backward.
She really had an incredible experience.
Looking back again, she still couldn’t believe it, so she even pinched her innocent cheek once. But then thinking carefully about it, this might not entirely be a good thing.
If she were in Hwan’s position.
Now there was someone particularly watching her. While everyone else was running wild and playing under the protection of anonymity, it was as if only she had revealed her face and name. So it seemed Hwan wouldn’t be able to freely enjoy HwanHui’s Garden like before.
Perhaps from now on, logins would become infrequent, or perhaps… he might never log in again.
Because of her.
‘…That would be sad.’
But wasn’t there nothing she could do about it? She tried to soothe her sad feelings, saying if she could forget by hitting her head, she’d gladly do so, but there was no other way.
What she could do was make a resolution not to deliberately cross-check IDs to search for him even if Hwan changed his nickname out of concern.
But such worries seemed to be merely Juyoung’s unfounded fears.
After that, Hwan….
‘He doesn’t care at all?’
It was absurd. He didn’t even make an effort to change his nickname at the very least.
She could clearly see when he was logged in, and likewise, he could clearly see when she was logged in. Even after such an incident between them, there was absolutely no difference from before. That was the problem.
‘No, is this a good thing?’
Since he had no hesitation at all in continuing his activities at the bound ghost level.
[ImJoseonHwan: Author-nim I’m waiting for the next chapter so much I’m holding my breath until you comeㅇ]
He left such comments without hesitation.
The person himself enthusiastically responded to a novel written about himself. Is this okay? They’re kissing and going wild? Others might not know, but Juyoung, who knew all the circumstances, found her own face burning. She even felt respect.
‘This kid is really, the real deal.’
It was sincere.
‘Mom, I struck the real deal!’
Her insides, barely holding back from screaming at the top of her lungs for the world to hear, were burning pitch black again today.
