Chapter 44
***
Hahyun came out to the living room and was about to call for Hajin when he hesitated. The atmosphere between the two didn’t seem right. Judging by how Juwon was glaring at Hajin, they seemed to have fought, but he was confused because he couldn’t detect any particular emotion in Hajin’s expression as he looked at Juwon.
‘Yoon Juwon only shows his real self to me. I could accept all of him too…’
Hahyun deliberately stomped on the floor as he approached them. Hajin didn’t even turn to look at him, while Juwon looked at Hahyun with an expression that suggested he didn’t want to take his eyes off Hajin but had no choice.
Irritation welled up again, but Hahyun had a bigger goal, so he held it in.
“Did you take the call okay?”
“Yes. But you should have been the one to take that call.”
Until that moment, Hajin, who had shown no interest, turned his head.
“What do you mean?”
“It was Uncle Sanghyun.”
“Director Seo?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Hahyun briefly closed his mouth and frowned, pretending to be troubled. Hajin urged him to answer.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well… it seems Secretary Kim is plotting something again. But as you know, I’m not familiar with the industry, right? How could I understand what Uncle was saying?”
“And so?”
“I told him to tell you directly. Didn’t you get a call?”
As if anticipating what was about to happen, Hajin’s face twisted terribly. Just then, as if on cue, Hajin’s phone rang.
“Yes, Director…”
Watching Hajin’s face grow increasingly serious during the call, Hahyun inwardly cheered.
When the call ended, Hajin cursed and threw his phone. Then he glared at Hahyun with terrifying eyes. Hahyun responded shamelessly.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Did something happen?”
“Seo Hahyun.”
“What?”
Hahyun pretended not to know, tilting his head this way and that. Then, completely ignoring Hajin who was glaring at him, he sat down right next to Juwon.
“Hyuung, what were you doing while I was on the phone in my room?”
“Huh? What would I be doing? I was just here. It wasn’t that long…”
“I missed you. Don’t leave me now.”
Hajin looked at the two of them and sighed. Even though he knew Hahyun had done this to make him go to work, he couldn’t ignore Director Seo’s call.
It was an absurd situation where in the moment he’d lost his reason, Secretary Kim had revealed his ambitions at the company, and Hahyun had schemed at home.
After briefly considering what to deal with first, Hajin glared at Hahyun as if he wanted to kill him, then said to Juwon:
“What should I do? It seems I need to go to the company for a bit.”
“With that hand? Even if you go, you won’t be able to work…”
“Can’t be helped. I have things to handle now.”
“Indeed, Hajin-ssi is someone who knows his work priorities.”
Hajin stood up, feeling guilty.
‘Yes, I’m someone who doesn’t lose his reason unless it involves you.’
“I’ll be back. Let’s have dinner together.”
“Okay, take care.”
When Juwon tried to get up to see Hajin off, Hahyun grabbed him tightly and wouldn’t let go. Juwon pretended nothing happened, afraid that Hajin would notice and the two would fight again.
Fortunately, Hajin left without saying anything more. Juwon looked at the closed door and thought:
‘Why does this situation feel so unnatural?’
He sensed something was off but dismissed it as just a feeling.
***
It didn’t take long for me to realize that the awkward feeling I’d had when Hajin said he was going to work wasn’t just my imagination—it had a clear reason. About 10 minutes after Hajin left? Suddenly Hahyun started going wild.
“Hyung, now’s the time! It’s urgent! Hurry!”
Hearing his voice sound more desperate than ever, I thought something serious had happened to Hahyun.
“What opportunity?”
Hahyun tapped his chest as if frustrated.
“Can’t you tell from the atmosphere?”
“…What atmosphere are you talking about…”
“Hyung went to work!”
Excitement was plastered all over Hahyun’s face. What on earth was he thinking… Ah, he mentioned earlier that he’d prepared games—is he excited about playing them? How cute.
“You want to play games, don’t you?”
I said this while patting Hahyun’s head. Hahyun looked at me like I was crazy.
“Hajin-hyung has gone to work, and all you can think about is that?”
“…?”
“Ah, this hyung is really frustrating.”
After saying that, Hahyun jumped up from his seat and scooped me up in his arms. My body floated in the air. Suddenly being carried and unable to balance myself, I instinctively flailed my arms and legs.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Put me down. I don’t like being carried like this.”
“Whether you like it or not, we don’t have time now. We need to run away quickly while Hajin-hyung is gone.”
What? Run away? Why suddenly run away? Where to?
I was momentarily confused by this unexpected statement, but when I realized he was seriously planning to escape, I hit Hahyun’s shoulder hard as he headed down to the garage.
What about Hajin if we run away like this? No, that’s not even the important part—I’m a wanted person! What if I get caught while going around with Hahyun who’s making plans without thinking? I’d be arrested as a murderer right away!
A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind simultaneously. Though I disliked being trapped between the brothers, it was far better than going to prison.
“Ah, no. Hahyun-ssi, let’s calm down first…”
I tried to stop him, but it wasn’t enough to dissuade Hahyun, who was not only brutally strong but also already frenzied. What could I say to change his mind?
Even while I was thinking, Hahyun kept moving without stopping. When we reached the garage while I was still in his arms, in my urgency, words burst out involuntarily:
“I’ll hate you forever!”
At that moment, Hahyun’s movements stopped abruptly. Looking at his eyes, they were blank. I could tell how crazed he’d been, and I felt sorry for him.
I’m crazy too. To feel sorry for someone like this…
I sighed, hugged Hahyun, and patted him.
“Hahyun-ssi, let’s go back inside and listen to what I have to say first, and if you still want to run away with me after that, do as you wish.”
Hahyun’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Hahyun warned me several times not to go back on my word later and carried me back into the house.
While being carried by him, I pondered how to bring this madman back to his senses. The best approach would be to use both carrot and stick…
Even after entering the house, Hahyun still held me as he sat on the sofa.
“Hahyun-ssi, you need to put me down.”
“Why?”
“Because we need to have a face-to-face conversation.”
“I can see your face right now too.”
After dealing with such absurd arguments once or twice, I decided to just give up. What’s important now isn’t winning an argument with Hahyun, but preventing myself from becoming a fugitive.
I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and stared at Hahyun. When our eyes met, his grew round.
“Is this how you want to talk, holding each other?”
Hahyun nodded with a dazed expression.
“Yes. Then listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
I thought he would nod again, but he scowled.
“No. Now that I think about it, if I listen to you, my resolve might waver. I should have put you in the car and run away when we were outside earlier…”
Here he goes again. I immediately turned serious.
“If you had done that, I would have hated you forever. Is that okay with you?”
After some deliberation, Hahyun parted his lips.
“It’s not okay, but… it’s better than trembling with fear that you might run away with Hajin-hyung. Even if you hate me, at least I can still be with you.”
Hahyun’s eyes began to redden. I haven’t even done anything yet, and he’s already crying.
When I first saw Hahyun cry, I was flustered because I didn’t know why he was crying, but recently, whenever I saw him cry, I kept wanting to comfort him.
“Hahyun-ssi, why are you crying?”
Hahyun nodded.
“I’m anxious. Didn’t you see what Hajin-hyung was doing? Not going to work, deliberately getting hurt to get attention, not wanting to leave your side… Why do you think he’s doing that? He’s probably planning to run away with you and leave me behind.”
I’d thought all day that Hajin was acting differently than usual. But would Hajin really try to separate me and Hahyun? I couldn’t be certain, but what was clear was that Hahyun was anxious about it and wanted to run away with me.
“And so?”
Hahyun’s eyes widened again. His tears seemed to have vanished.
“What do you mean ‘and so’… We need to run away quickly…”
His voice trailed off, as if lacking confidence. I didn’t miss this opportunity and pressed him.
“You don’t seem to trust me. Do I look like someone who would elope with Hajin-ssi without telling you?”
Hahyun couldn’t answer and just blinked.
“Of course, if you forced me with strength, I’d have no choice.”
“See, I knew it…”
I glared at Hahyun to stop him from saying crazy things again. His brown eyes trembled. Seeing someone stronger than me waver at just my gaze kept weakening my resolve.
“Even if you took me away by force, I would have found a way to convince Hajin-ssi and come back. So trust me.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust Hajin-hyung, and that makes me anxious.”
Feeling like this would go in circles, I quickly changed the topic to shift the mood.
“Stop thinking strange thoughts. Let’s play the games you prepared.”
Hahyun hit his chest with his fist as if frustrated.
“Is this the time to play games?”
Yes, if you think the person you love is going to run away with a rival, you wouldn’t be in the mood for games. I understood, but right now I had no choice but to insist.
“I’m not running away. So choose. Do you want to play games with me? Or do you want to run away and live with me hating you forever?”
“We can just play the game.”
Hahyun said gloomily as he stood up.
