Chapter 43
Juwon, looking back and forth between the two, handed each of them a sandwich.
“Come on, what are you doing just staring at the food? Hurry up and eat. Ah, it looks delicious.”
They both wiped the expressions off their faces and smiled at Juwon.
“Hurry up! Eat!”
Hajin took a bite of his sandwich. With his mind elsewhere, he could barely taste it. As he mechanically chewed, he realized that Juwon hadn’t eaten anything yet. It was almost 11 o’clock—he must be hungry…
“Aren’t you eating?”
“Ah, I’m planning to eat later. My stomach doesn’t feel good. Maybe it’s because the bean sprout soup tasted so bad? Haha.”
At Juwon’s words, Hajin put down his sandwich and stared at him. Juwon’s facial muscles were trembling slightly.
‘Why is he trembling?’
Come to think of it, Juwon always seemed afraid when looking at him.
‘He doesn’t act like this with Hahyun…’
Hajin set his sandwich aside and cupped Juwon’s cheek with his uninjured hand.
“Your face fits in one hand. You’re still too skinny, so eat.”
“It’s just that I really don’t have an appetite. If I force myself to eat, I think I’ll throw up.”
Skipping one breakfast was no big deal. But as Juwon kept refusing while clearly tense, Hajin felt an unnecessary stubbornness rising.
Hajin tore off a piece of Juwon’s sandwich and held it in front of his mouth.
“It seems like our Juwon is being stubborn… Well, I have no choice. I’ll have to feed you with my injured hand.”
Understanding it was a threat disguised as a joke, Juwon opened his mouth. At that moment, Hahyun’s hand flew in and roughly knocked Hajin’s hand away.
“I’ve been watching, and this is seriously weird. He said he doesn’t want to eat. He said he feels like he’ll throw up if he eats, so why are you forcing him? Don’t you know that’s torture?”
Hajin pretended not to hear Hahyun and wrapped one arm around Juwon’s shoulder, pulling him into his embrace. It was like an adult trying to force medicine on a child who refuses to take it.
Then he brought the sandwich piece close to Juwon’s mouth again.
Juwon looked at Hajin with a surprised expression. Though Hajin’s face remained unchanged, there was madness in his eyes.
“I-I’ll eat it. So please let go of me.”
“Just eat like this. All you have to do is open your mouth.”
“…Okay.”
When Juwon opened his mouth, the sandwich piece went in. Even Hahyun, who had boldly knocked away Hajin’s hand earlier, seemed taken aback and could only blink.
Juwon forcibly chewed and swallowed the sandwich that tasted like nothing. Hajin didn’t take his eyes off Juwon until the sandwich disappeared from his mouth.
“…Do I need to eat more?”
“No, it’s fine as long as you ate a little.”
As Hajin’s arm relaxed, Juwon immediately escaped from his embrace.
Cough, cough. The forcibly swallowed sandwich got stuck right in the middle of his throat.
Watching Hajin insist on feeding him the sandwich, Juwon thought that Hajin, who had never shown his controlling tendencies before, was suddenly acting this way to punish him for not obeying.
‘What should I do? He’s lost it…’
Hahyun looked at Hajin with displeasure.
‘What the hell is the reason for this sudden outburst… It’s so frustrating.’
Just then, Hahyun felt Juwon’s touch under the table. Even though this wouldn’t suddenly make him feel better about the anxiety Hajin was causing, Juwon’s careful stroking of his hand was so sincere that it started to soothe his heart.
‘Haah…’
He sighed because the current Juwon was pretty, sexy, kind, cunning, and angelic all at once.
‘How can I get Seo Hajin out of here?’
Just then, a phone rang.
“Isn’t that coming from Hahyun-ssi’s phone?”
When Hahyun nodded, Juwon quickly told him to go answer it. Actually, Hahyun didn’t want to go, but thinking that obeying now would earn him more points with Juwon, he promptly stood up and replied with a smile.
“I’ll go answer the phone and be right back.”
Juwon smiled brightly at Hahyun. Enjoying the feeling of victory, Hahyun glanced at Hajin and saw his expression souring.
Whoever was calling, Hahyun planned to quickly end the call and return, which quickened his steps.
***
Once Hahyun disappeared, the already awkward atmosphere became even more uncomfortable. Every time Juwon turned his head, Hajin was staring at him with his lips pressed into a tight line.
It was scary, but seeing his injured hand made Juwon feel sorry, which made him even more curious about why Hajin was acting so differently than usual.
To break the awkward silence, Juwon started folding the packaging wrappers scattered on the table one by one. As he folded the paper vertically and then shaped it into a square, Hajin’s voice came from beside him.
“When things are awkward no matter what you do, you don’t have to do anything.”
At Hajin’s words, Juwon tapped the neatly folded paper and snapped back:
“Is that an order too? If it’s an order, I’ll obey. I have to listen, or you’ll force me like before.”
Hajin grabbed Juwon’s arm. Juwon looked at him with an expression that said, ‘Of course, I knew it.’
“Was it that bad that I asked you to eat a little?”
“No. I don’t like it because I know why you did it. But what’s the use in disliking it? Did I ever have a choice?”
Hajin could only look at Juwon with a bewildered expression. He was displeased that Juwon, who had been docile and compliant until now, was suddenly showing his teeth.
Moreover, he never acted this way with Hahyun, so why…
“Of course you have a choice. Eating is for your own good, but cleaning isn’t for you.”
“Why do you get to decide what’s good for me? Do I look like an idiot who can’t tell the difference between concern and control? This isn’t concern.”
Hajin exhaled deeply. He would rather die than apologize by admitting he’d temporarily lost his rationality due to possessiveness and anxiety, but without explaining the reason, Juwon wouldn’t let it go.
Juwon turned to face Hajin again.
“You don’t like that I’m angry? You want me to forgive you?”
Though it was embarrassing, Hajin quietly nodded.
“Then tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“You’re going to pretend you don’t know? Fine. Then I’ll ask step by step.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why didn’t you go to work? I heard your excuse about doing it for Hahyun. Besides that, tell me the real reason.”
“…”
Hajin remained silent, turning his gaze away. Seeing his expression, Juwon immediately understood that no matter how much he used both carrot and stick, Hajin’s mouth would never open.
***
Hahyun rushed to his room and quickly picked up his phone. The screen showed “Director Seo Sanghyun.”
“What’s this about?”
Sanghyun was his father’s younger brother and the only relative who had taken Hahyun’s side since he was young. More fitting to be called “uncle” than “little father,” he had a completely different personality from Hahyun’s father, and they were close enough to keep in regular contact.
The company’s directors, including Secretary Kim, worried that Sanghyun, who was both a relative and the largest shareholder after the Hajin-Hahyun brothers, might reveal his ambitions. However, Sanghyun, who had strong artistic tendencies, showed no signs of such ambition.
Hahyun pressed the call button with half curiosity and half delight.
“Uncle, what’s up?”
- Are you doing well?
“Of course. There’s no reason I wouldn’t be, now that there’s no one bothering me.”
- It’s nothing major, but I thought I should ask you too.
“About what?”
- Secretary Kim keeps contacting me, saying that with the shares he and I hold combined, we could easily change the current owner…
Having heard this much, Hahyun could guess how the situation was unfolding without hearing the rest.
Secretary Kim had revealed his ambition to team up with Sanghyun to oust Hajin, then install Hahyun as a puppet to run the company.
Hahyun’s eyes lit up as he listened to his uncle’s explanation, which matched his expectations perfectly.
- So I’m asking what you want to do. In my opinion, although Hajin is adopted, he knows the industry better after working as a model for so long. So I’d prefer to leave things as they are…
“That’s what I think too. You know, if it weren’t for Hajin-hyung, I might already be dead.”
- Yes, I know. My nephews have been through a lot.
Just as they were about to hang up, a good idea flashed through Hahyun’s mind.
“Uncle! Wait, don’t hang up yet. I don’t want Hajin-hyung to misunderstand me, so if you have time today, could you drop by the company and tell him directly?”
- You could tell him yourself, do I really need to go?
Hahyun smoothly told a lie without even wetting his lips.
“I just feel so sorry toward Hajin-hyung. I want to be able to face him with a clear conscience. I’m also worried that he might come to dislike you, and most of all, I want him to know that he’s a member of our family and that you care about him.”
The emotional Sanghyun responded with a moved voice as soon as Hahyun finished speaking.
- Our Hahyun has grown up so much. Alright, I’ll go and tell him.
“Thank you.”
As Hahyun hung up the phone, the corners of his mouth were raised high.
