“You really don’t know anything?”
“…Yes.”
When Lee Hyeonseok asked, I debated whether to use formal or informal speech, then just decided on formal speech. This bastard in front of me was 24 years old before his possession, younger than me. I’d thought he was some old geezer, but the fact that he was actually younger than me made me feel considerable resistance to using formal speech. The Confucianism inside me wriggled in protest, but anyway, we were the same age now. I could use formal speech to someone the same age who just had a bit more, I compromised with the Confucianism inside me.
“Good. Then how and when did you end up like this.”
Lee Hyeonseok, who had no way of knowing about my brief internal conflict, just leisurely crossed his arms and observed me as he questioned. As someone who’d frequently appeared in the media in a bad way, every single word and action was rude. I doubted his upbringing, then soon realized he was an illegitimate child of a successful company and accepted it.
“It’s been about half a year—I went to sleep and woke up like this.”
“Kim Hyeonmin…. Looking at that unfamiliar name and your appearance, you’re an extra.”
“An unfamiliar name?”
“……”
I acknowledged that my appearance was ordinary, but the phrase “unfamiliar name” bothered me. I asked while pretending to talk to myself, but he shifted his gaze elsewhere and pretended not to hear. Does this bastard think ignoring me makes him the winner? Seeing as he seemed to know more than me about whatever this was, I decided to compose my voice as much as possible and ask while pretending to be polite.
“Wait, do you happen to know the contents of this book?”
“Hah….”
As if I’d hit the mark, he even frowned and sighed. He uncrossed his arms, lightly ruffled his hair, then spat out curses. He seemed ashamed of the fact that he knew the contents. Well, for a corporate illegitimate child who goes around doing all kinds of bad things to be reading an omegaverse BL novel where the protagonist is a man loved by multiple people—it was an embarrassing genre to mention to anyone given his position.
“You know it too though. Why are you talking like I’m the only one who knows.”
Still, perhaps thinking I was connected to this book, he surprisingly confessed readily. Maybe he felt a sense of camaraderie. But oh my, how unfortunate, what should I do about this. I lowered my eyebrows slightly and made a somewhat awkward expression. It was to carefully yet firmly draw a line with Lee Hyeonseok.
“I don’t know it though.”
“Where do you get off lying like that.”
At my answer, Lee Hyeonseok denied it in disbelief. He probably was convinced my words were a lie, even snorting in disbelief. Well, I wouldn’t have believed it either, but since I didn’t want to be misunderstood, I first stared intently at Lee Hyeonseok with a serious face.
“……”
Only then did Lee Hyeonseok seem ready to listen to me, as his incredulous face began to harden. I continued with that momentum, staring intently into his eyes and speaking as seriously as possible.
“No, really. It was my work colleague who read this novel, and that colleague said, ‘It’s an unusual worldview called omegaverse, and it’s a childish story where multiple main characters fall in love with the protagonist and all live together, but it’s surprisingly fun to read while turning your brain off.’ That’s all…. I don’t even know the plot of the book….”
“……”
As if understanding that I wasn’t lying, Lee Hyeonseok said nothing. Though it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t. Anyway, perhaps flustered, he couldn’t withstand my gaze and turned his head away. I caught a glimpse of him closing his eyes. He was probably trying to organize his thoughts while recalling the contents of this book.
“So, hyung, you know it then?”
He seemed somewhat pitiful, but that was that, and what mattered was that he knew the contents of the novel. Not only power but even knowledge of the future—life really was unfair. I decided to be much kinder to him even if I found him very annoying. The word “hyung” came out quite naturally. Right, if you know more than me, that makes you the elder.
“I didn’t read it either.”
“Of course. Naturally.”
He made a belated excuse. I decided to believe him. Honestly, whether he read it or not didn’t matter at all. Though it was a bit… whatever. But Lee Hyeonseok frowned. I wondered in confusion if he could even hear my thoughts.
“You don’t believe me.”
“Huh? No. I believe you.”
However, Lee Hyeonseok seemed suspicious of my docile behavior. I didn’t know what he wanted me to do. But if I said I didn’t believe him, that clenched fist would obviously come flying at me. In any case, I acted more actively like I believed his words before that fist—which looked like it would send me to the hospital with just one hit—could fly at me, but perhaps that annoyed him more as Lee Hyeonseok grabbed me by the collar.
“Let me tell you something first.”
“What are you doing!”
Fortunately, instead of hitting me, Lee Hyeonseok’s action of grabbing my collar and pulling me toward him while acting threateningly stopped due to a sudden voice. Despite being an angry voice, somehow I could sense they were acquainted with Lee Hyeonseok, no, Han Hyeonseok. Han Hyeonseok with a face showing he was in a bad mood from being interrupted, and me with eyes wide in surprise, turned our heads toward where the voice came from.
It was Lee Juwon, the protagonist of this novel. Lee Juwon had a moderate build, neither large nor small. On top of that, white skin, sharp eyes, and red lips. A true beauty. Indeed worthy of being called the protagonist.
“You….”
Unlike me who was surprised at meeting Lee Juwon like this, Lee Hyeonseok’s face was crumpled as much as possible. In that crumpled face, quite complex emotions were visible. It was an expression like he’d seen something terrible he shouldn’t associate with, like he’d seen someone’s unsightly state, and also showed self-loathing as if confronting a dark past.
“I thought you’ve been quiet lately, but you’ve been bullying kids like this behind the scenes?”
Perhaps because he was the protagonist, Lee Juwon had quite thick guts. The fact that he was unfazed even seeing Lee Hyeonseok’s expression was truly admirable.
“Han Hyeonseok, let go of that hand right now!”
Lee Juwon was very arrogant. It was an attitude as if he believed Han Hyeonseok would never lay a hand on him. No matter how crazy Han Hyeonseok was about Lee Juwon, their relationship recently couldn’t be good even as a figure of speech, so I thought this was too reckless a move. I was anxious just watching.
“I said let go?”
When Han Hyeonseok showed no sign of listening, Lee Juwon raised his voice even more angrily than before. It even seemed to contain irritation. Before I knew it, Lee Juwon had come right next to me and was glaring at him. Watching Han Hyeonseok’s attitude of not listening to him, he even let out a scoff as if dumbfounded. Please, I wished he would just leave me out of this.
Lee Hyeonseok remained silent without a word. Scared of such Lee Hyeonseok, I couldn’t take my eyes off Lee Juwon. Because I felt like I’d regret it if I looked at Lee Hyeonseok’s face right now. Lee Hyeonseok remained immovable, just holding my collar without saying anything.
“……”
The three of us, including me, didn’t open our mouths as if we’d planned it. In the suffocating atmosphere, I just wanted to faint. When I unconsciously let out a faint groan from the mental distress, Lee Juwon grabbed Han Hyeonseok’s arm that was holding my collar. Only I seemed surprised, as Lee Hyeonseok didn’t move an eyebrow.
“I said, let go!”
Lee Juwon raised his voice and forcefully pulled Han Hyeonseok’s arm away. Lee Juwon was slightly shorter and thinner than me, so I wondered if he could pull it away no matter how hard he tried, but fortunately he obediently yielded to that force.
“Are you okay?”
As soon as Lee Juwon pulled Han Hyeonseok’s arm away from me, he checked my condition. While I was grateful and touched that he saved the victim, no matter how I looked at it, Lee Juwon’s actions only seemed like pouring oil on burning flames. Rather than feeling fortunate, at this point I was just scared.
“Well, I, no. I’m just…”
Watching me speak stupidly, not knowing what to do, Lee Juwon patted my back as if he understood everything. It would have been meant to comfort me, but I wasn’t grateful at all. Whether he was fearless or clueless, I didn’t know, but for someone like me who was both timid and perceptive, it was just agonizing. Unlike my discomfort, Lee Juwon had a clear face without a worry.
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. If that bastard bullies you, tell me.”
Lee Juwon said confidently with a smile, as if telling me to just trust him. No, what exactly can you even do for me? Having lost words for how to respond, I glanced at Hyeonseok once. At the fierce eyes visible for a moment, I immediately dropped my head from his face to the ground.
Thinking Han Hyeonseok had done something due to my sudden action, Lee Juwon hid me behind his back and started getting angry again. I was curious what he was relying on to be this confident. Even if he was relying on Cheon Jaekyung or Han Taeseok, if they weren’t here right now he might get beaten, yet he was acting out like this. In fact, unless he’d learned boxing or jiu-jitsu and knew how to defend himself, it was an incomprehensible action.
“Since I don’t even glance at you anymore, you changed your approach? I’m really going crazy because of you.”
The one going crazy was me. I felt like I’d go crazy and then insane. Whether it was Han Hyeonseok’s personality or Lee Hyeonseok’s personality, it wasn’t a personality that would just leave me alone if they used me as a scapegoat—whether burying me in the ground or drowning me in the sea. Now I could only pray that I wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.
“You.”
Hyeonseok, who had been silent all this time, finally opened his mouth. His low, sunken voice even had murderous intent in it. Lee Juwon seemed quite flustered too, almost unconsciously stepping backward, and I was so scared I just crouched there staring at the ground.
