# Chapter 26
“…Bastard.”
The last meeting with Cha Jaehyun. That guy said he was going to America with a satisfied face.
When Hanryul faced that shameless expression that didn’t show even the slightest reaction, rage exploded in his heart like a fuse being lit.
It was unimaginable that Jaehyun was leaving. Originally, he had no intention whatsoever of overlooking the guy’s malicious behavior. Watching his increasingly bold actions, Hanryul had vowed to somehow gather evidence of his crimes and stop him.
But that snake-like, cunning bastard seemed to sense this and played the America card, pulling out halfway through.
Until now, he had thought of him as just a pathetic guy who followed his dirty instincts. This meeting dealt Hanryul an unexpectedly huge blow.
However, as time passed, peace came to his heart. Like the calm after a storm, life without that guy was the very embodiment of tranquility and peace.
Sometimes painful fragments of the past would freshly surface, but that was nothing. Time would solve everything.
Not long after he left, an accident occurred where Hanryul dropped his phone in water. Thinking he was paying a hefty price for that guy’s departure, he casually visited the service center.
“Umm… customer, there’s a location tracking app installed on your phone. Did you know that?”
That crazy bastard, never fails to disappoint to the very end.
When he discovered that somehow a GPS tracker had been installed on his phone, Hanryul was outraged again, but knowing how malicious and harmful that person was, he decided to put all his feelings about him behind.
‘Fine, even if I couldn’t get revenge, this is for the best. Go die a miserable death in a foreign country.’
Coincidentally, new opportunities began to come into his life after that guy left. As if they had been waiting for the existence called Cha Jaehyun to disappear.
“Hanryul, there’s an offer for you to be the lead in a music video. It’s for a famous idol’s comeback title track, so this is definitely beneficial for you. You’ll do it, right?”
“Of course! Thank you so much!”
“Haha, don’t thank me, thank the casting staff. Now you’re on your way to success.”
The male lead in a famous idol’s music video. With this dreamlike opportunity that suddenly came to him, happiness welled up inside, and he savored the feeling of moving step by step toward his dream.
Moreover, the filming location was at a beach in Orange County, California. He couldn’t contain his excitement for his first overseas shoot.
* * *
“Cut! That’s a wrap! Great job, everyone!”
The shoot ended successfully as well. Hanryul smiled broadly upon hearing the cheerful “cut sign” announcing the end of filming. As if he had forgotten all the hardships he had endured.
The beautiful scenery of late afternoon with the sun setting subtly, people looking relaxed. After all the filming was done, Hanryul wanted to freely walk around during the remaining time and fully enjoy the beauty of the city.
‘Cha Jaehyun?’
While walking alone, Jaehyun came into Hanryul’s view. Even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, it was Jaehyun.
There are many incredible coincidences in the world. But among all those coincidences, to experience such a shitty one. To encounter that bastard of all people in this vast land.
Seeing him even here made his mood plummet mercilessly. That guy’s pretense of being normal further fueled Hanryul’s anger.
Jaehyun seemed to have forgotten everything about the past. Pretending to be normal, he was walking down the street chatting with people who appeared to be his friends, as if he were just an ordinary college student.
If he had a gun, he felt like he would run over and pull the trigger at that guy right away.
Seeing him looking happy, resentment began to build in his heart. He thought he had put all his feelings about that guy behind him.
But when he saw the face of that guy smiling normally as if he had erased everything from the past, the desire for revenge buried in his heart exploded again. Eventually, Hanryul began following him without even realizing it.
Following behind, a luxurious house that was presumably where that guy lived soon appeared. He sat on the steps in front of the entrance door, looking at the sky as if he had something to think about.
‘Sky? What a load of crap.’
Seeing Jaehyun’s seemingly peaceful expression, he couldn’t stand it anymore.
If he had been causing trouble here too, Hanryul would have thought, “You’re still the same bastard,” and moved on. But seeing him acting so nonchalant as if he had shed all his faults and been reborn, it was infuriating.
Hanryul finally thought of a small way to surprise him.
* * *
“Read it quickly.”
After reading the paper Seo Hanryul threw, I let out a hollow laugh. The paper contained nothing significant.
It said that the hotel reservation had been unexpectedly canceled due to overbooking.
What does he want me to do? The hotel was canceled, does he want me to book a new one for him? But would he really have come looking for me just to ask for such a trivial favor? And how did he even get here?
I thought Seo Hanryul might make some outrageous demand I couldn’t handle, but when he handed me this not-even-funny piece of paper, all kinds of thoughts began to surface.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Can’t you read? It’s exactly as it says. The hotel I reserved has been canceled.”
“So what? I’d appreciate it if you could clearly state what you want.”
Not only was it hard to believe Seo Hanryul had come all the way to America, but seeing the paper he handed me made me think the current situation was utterly pathetic.
“The reservation was canceled, so I have nowhere to stay right now.”
Was he really causing a scene in front of someone else’s house and coming all this way just to tell this shabby story? I suddenly wondered if Seo Hanryul was an idiot.
“Ah… I see. So you’re asking me to book a hotel for you instead? Fine. How many nights do you need? According to the paper you gave me, it’s two nights and three days, is that enough?”
The tension gradually eased. I don’t know why Seo Hanryul was looking for me, but since I said I would do anything for him, he must be making this kind of trivial request.
Seeing his absurd behavior, I finally thought that the person in front of me resembled the Seo Hanryul I had seen in the novel. The male protagonist in the novel who occasionally showed childish aspects.
“Do you think I called you just to book a hotel?”
Seo Hanryul countered with a serious face, contradicting my expectations. Then what on earth does he want?
“Did you come all the way here to play a guessing game with me? What do you want, then? I’d appreciate it if you could clearly state what you want instead of beating around the bush.”
“I’ll need to stay at your place for two nights and three days.”
What kind of crazy talk is this now?
“If the hotel was canceled, shouldn’t you just book a new one? Why do you need to come to my house specifically?”
I couldn’t understand why Seo Hanryul wanted to come to my house. A hotel cancellation due to overbooking isn’t a positive thing, but it’s an ordinary occurrence that can happen if you’re unlucky. The only thought in my mind was to book any hotel and get rid of him quickly.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. I said I’ll be staying at your place.”
“We’re not communicating at all. Why do you need to stay at someone else’s house? And we’re not exactly on good terms, are we? I’ll book you any hotel you want, so stop saying these strange things.”
“Cha Jaehyun.”
Seo Hanryul called my name. He suddenly shows up in front of my house, drags me out, and now says he wants to stay at my place. Such an unheard-of, novel demand.
“You clearly said before, didn’t you? That you’d do anything I wanted. So now I’m telling you what I want. Why are you saying something different now?”
Right, I did say that. That I would grant anything he wanted. But why specifically does he want to come to my house? It’s already overwhelming living with Han Woojin, and now an uninvited guest wants to join? Even if he said he’d come in for just one hour, it was a request I absolutely didn’t want to grant.
Moreover, Seo Hanryul, who extremely detests Cha Jaehyun, wants to come to Cha Jaehyun’s house of his own accord. I was curious about the reason.
Perhaps… does Seo Hanryul enjoy suffering? That strange inclination that wasn’t even explained in the novel.
“You haven’t been making any sense from the start. Fine, alright. It’s not impossible. But why specifically my house? I need to hear a reason at least.”
“Do I even need to give you a reason? If there’s no problem, just shut up and let’s go to your house?”
It was strange that Seo Hanryul was so insistent on entering my house. Does he have something to find in my house? I was dumbfounded by Seo Hanryul’s unexpected behavior that I hadn’t anticipated, but since it was obvious he would cause a scene if I refused, I thought I should step back for now and let him into the house for urgency’s sake.
“Staying at my house for two nights and three days. Is this all you’re asking for? Fine, alright. I said I would grant anything. But I refuse to continuously comply with such absurd demands in the future. Let’s settle all requests at once.”
“No, do you think just staying at your house is the end of it? You’re shortsighted. After the two nights and three days, I’ll give you what you call ‘requests’ all at once.”
Seo Hanryul glanced at me and smiled annoyingly. I thought he was at least easy to understand. But seeing his puzzling behavior now made my head start to throb.
“Fine. Two nights and three days. During those two nights and three days, prepare all your demands as you said. I’ll grant them up to that point. But after that, it would be better not to think about getting involved in such matters again.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Alright. The situation seems to be resolved for now. Let’s head back to the house first.”
I have no idea what this situation is. In the end, I accepted Seo Hanryul’s strange request as it was and headed home with him.
