At Seongjo’s question, thrown with a grin, Yujeong put on an unfamiliar expression as if he had no idea what he was talking about. But of course, Seongjo had no intention of letting it slide just like that. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say “not a chance” and repeated exactly what Yujeong had said.
“I asked if you like Jeon Yujeong-ssi, didn’t I? I need to hear an answer.”
Yujeong looked at Seongjo without saying anything. The shameless “I don’t know what you’re talking about” expression he’d been wearing just moments ago was now gone. When Seongjo faced him without saying anything more, Yujeong was the first to speak.
“Shall we walk for a bit?”
Of course, Seongjo had no intention of pressuring him to give an answer right here and now, on this very spot. Seongjo nodded and then took the lead, walking toward the beach.
Watching Seongjo from behind, Yujeong spoke up.
“Those are dress shoes… will you be alright?”
“I’ll just consider it throwing away a pair of shoes.”
Seongjo answered nonchalantly. When he turned around, Yujeong’s expression was slightly frowning.
Did he come across as someone who didn’t know the value of things? But what he meant was that he could readily pay that cost and effort for a beach stroll with Yujeong.
Yujeong didn’t object any further and followed behind Seongjo. The two of them stepped onto the sandy beach and began walking along the shoreline.
The night air was chilly. Moreover, facing the sea, the blowing wind was particularly cold. Unlike when they first got out of the car, now they could no longer say it was merely refreshing.
Seongjo turned his head slightly to check Yujeong’s outfit. Even at a glance, the cardigan he was wearing looked thinner and colder than Seongjo’s suit jacket. After carefully scanning Yujeong’s clothing with his eyes, Seongjo took action without a word.
He took off his outer coat right there on the spot. At Seongjo’s sudden action of removing his jacket, Yujeong turned his head with a puzzled look. Before he could ask if he wasn’t cold, Seongjo beat him to it.
“Put this on. Your clothes are too thin.”
Yujeong neither accepted nor pushed away the outer coat Seongjo held out, simply watching quietly. As his outstretched hand became awkward, Seongjo showed a slightly troubled expression.
“My arm’s getting tired?”
Only then did Yujeong raise his head to face Seongjo.
“I’m not cold. Lee Seongjo-ssi, you wear it.”
It was a situation that should have been embarrassing, but actually, he didn’t really feel embarrassed. Yujeong’s expression as he refused Seongjo’s coat was so serious and grave that rather than feeling rejected, the feeling that he was more worried about Seongjo was much stronger.
As long as he was making such a stubborn expression, there seemed to be no point in arguing about it. Seongjo shrugged his shoulders as if he had no choice and put the jacket back on.
Yujeong, who had been staring at Seongjo in his thin dress shirt, only turned his head and started walking after he put his clothes back on.
Seongjo shoved his hands in his pockets and followed him, then lifted up the plastic bag that kept bumping against his leg. Taking out two bottles of drinks from inside, Seongjo poked Yujeong with the plastic bottle.
“Which one do you want? Out of the two.”
He said, holding out two bottles of fruit and vegetable drinks with strange designs. With an unreadable expression, Yujeong looked at the plastic bottles, then picked the guava orange one.
Yujeong examined the plastic bottle design closely. Seongjo watched with interested eyes as Yujeong soon opened the cap and took a sip of the drink. What kind of expression would he make? Would it still taste exactly the same as back then?
However, after taking a sip of the drink, Yujeong’s expression was very calm. Had it been renewed and reborn with a decent taste?
“Let me have a sip too.”
Yujeong readily handed the plastic bottle back. Seongjo tilted his head back to avoid touching his lips to it, but as soon as the contents wet his mouth, he grimaced. Pulling the plastic bottle far away, he lowered his head again and covered his mouth with his arm. It was to suppress the urge to spit it out right away.
“This seems even more horrible than before, doesn’t it? You have weird taste, Jeon Yujeong-ssi.”
Despite Seongjo’s grumbling, Yujeong’s expression was calm.
“It seemed fine. The taste was similar to before too.”
It seemed Yujeong had also tried this terrible drink before it was discontinued. Seongjo had wondered who would drink it for them to even renew it—it must have been because of people like Yujeong.
With the stale taste remaining in his mouth, Seongjo nodded his head sullenly while his face remained scrunched up.
Watching him, Yujeong spoke. It was a very out-of-the-blue topic.
“What did that message mean?”
“What message?”
“The one about making sure this doesn’t happen again next time.”
Because that out-of-the-blue comment was about Yeongbeom, Seongjo hesitated for a moment. It seemed he needed to clearly address this before asking his own question. A sigh escaped from Seongjo’s lips.
“…It’s about that guy, the one I used to see… Because something like last time can’t happen again.”
“I talked it out well and sent him back that time. Amicably.”
Was it just his imagination, or did the “amicably” tacked on at the end seem to lack credibility?
Seongjo smiled faintly before answering.
“I didn’t want to make things difficult for Jeon Yujeong-ssi because of a guy like that. And I need to cut him off cleanly at some point anyway.”
As he spoke, a sigh naturally came out. When he let out a breath mixed with a sigh, his disheveled hair flew up lightly.
“I thought I’d dealt with it definitively… Well, it’s mostly my fault for not knowing he was that kind of guy even after seeing him for so long.”
“Don’t talk that way.”
Yujeong answered. In a voice that, unlike him, showed a hint of being upset. At those words, Seongjo’s eyes lit up as he looked at Yujeong. Yujeong turned his head slightly to the other side and muttered.
“…Don’t see that person anymore. Whether it’s cutting him off cleanly or whatever… I don’t like you giving him attention even in that way.”
“Do I worry you that much now?”
To think he could hear such honest words from Yujeong’s mouth. Seongjo threw out the question as if teasing, but in truth, it wasn’t said for the sake of teasing.
Yujeong, who had turned his head, also seemed to swallow what he was about to say after seeing Seongjo’s quite serious expression, closing his mouth. Seongjo felt that now was the opportunity.
“What about you, Yujeong-ssi—what did you mean when you asked earlier?”
“…”
“It’s better to be clear about these things. Did you mean whether I like you as a person?”
He had said he didn’t like Seongjo giving even negative attention to his ex-boyfriend. Having said something like that, it couldn’t possibly be about mere human fondness. Yet the reason he asked it that way was different. If Yujeong still wanted to be cautious, he was willing to wait for that time.
Yujeong didn’t answer right away but quietly looked into Seongjo’s face. However, he didn’t hesitate for very long.
“That’s not what I meant. What you’re thinking is correct.”
Slowly and carefully, he answered. With clear pronunciation, without any vagueness, Yujeong continued.
“I like Lee Seongjo-ssi, but… I told you earlier, didn’t I? That I overthink things.”
What on earth was making him worry so much? He couldn’t understand it. Seongjo squinted one eye slightly and smiled questioningly.
As Seongjo saw it, the problem was the existence of an ex-lover who seemed full of lingering attachment and obsession toward Seongjo himself. If he was hesitating because he was worried that interference might continue, or because he felt awkward thinking Seongjo’s relationship with him wasn’t fully resolved, Seongjo would understand a hundred times over.
However, Yujeong didn’t seem to be hesitating because of that. Rather, it was as if the problem lay with himself…
“I don’t like it when someone says they like me but then adds qualifiers like ‘but this’ or ‘but that.'”
Instead of bluntly demanding “what exactly is the problem?” and pressuring him, Seongjo muttered as if joking.
“What are you thinking about so much? When I see you like this, Teacher Jeon, it seems like your head is only filled with worries.”
At those words, Yujeong faced Seongjo with a faint smile. As if there were still many things that bothered him, but even so, he couldn’t help but smile despite himself.
For his sake as he seemed troubled, Seongjo didn’t say anything more and waited for him. After a long while, Yujeong spoke.
“Lee Seongjo-ssi, can you love someone who hides a lot?”
What came from his mouth was still a puzzling statement. Seongjo looked at Yujeong with a slightly stiffened face.
Can you love someone who hides things?
It was a difficult question to answer right away. It seemed he could only give the obvious answer that it depended on what they were hiding. However, Seongjo’s thought was that once you fell in love, you could embrace and overlook most secrets.
After maintaining silence for a moment, Seongjo finally chuckled and said,
