Sunjeong’s question, reflected in his large eyes, asked what on earth had happened.
Sunjeong watched the strange expression Jinhyeok made—unable to tell the truth in front of Taeon right now—and seemed to think something over before letting out a deep sigh and saying, “Just go for now.”
“I’ll be in the car.”
Jinhyeok spoke in as calm a voice as possible and fled to his car. He needed to quickly complain about all this injustice to Yoonwoo and get comforted.
Once Jinhyeok disappeared, Taeon’s expression relaxed a bit, but his serious demeanor remained.
“What happened? Did he make you angry? You’re not hurt, are you?”
At Sunjeong’s words, Taeon let out a slightly hollow laugh.
“I was the one grabbing him by the collar.”
That was true. But Sunjeong knew Taeon well. Taeon never carelessly threw punches in any situation. He wasn’t interested enough in others to get that angry at them in the first place.
“Jinhyeok must have done something to deserve it.”
Taeon found it strange how Sunjeong’s voice turned indifferent in an instant.
He didn’t understand why Sunjeong was so calm when someone had tried to hit his boyfriend.
“Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”
Under the dim lighting of the parking lot, Taeon stared intently at Sunjeong’s face for a moment.
A face that didn’t know hurt. Or more precisely, a face that only Taeon had hurt. He didn’t want to see this face twisted in pain anymore.
After briefly contemplating what to say about Jinhyeok, Taeon soon let out a small sigh and said,
“Don’t trust people so easily. Look into them properly.”
His roundabout way of speaking—worried that telling Sunjeong the truth about Jinhyeok might hurt him—seemed to provoke Sunjeong even more. The look in Sunjeong’s eyes as he gazed at Taeon sharpened.
“What on earth happened? Tell me honestly.”
Taeon’s head was complicated as he stared at Sunjeong’s two large eyes looking at him.
He didn’t want Sunjeong to get hurt, but if he avoided this moment, the hurt would only be greater later.
“That, that bastard, no, Go Sunjeong, your boyfriend…”
“Yeah, what about my boyfriend?”
“…It seems like he’s also seeing someone else. Probably.”
Taeon felt miserable saying this.
When he had faced Jinhyeok alone, he couldn’t control the anger he was feeling for the first time in his life. But in front of Sunjeong, Sunjeong’s feelings mattered more than the hot rage boiling inside him.
Sunjeong had already been hurt so much while liking Taeon himself…
After a long silence, as if truly hurt, Sunjeong finally opened his mouth.
“How do you know that?”
“…”
“I’m asking how you know.”
“I heard him on the phone with someone here earlier. Calling them honey or whatever and saying he loved them.”
He couldn’t bring himself to mention the recording. At first, he’d done it to prove the truth in case Sunjeong doubted him, but now that Sunjeong was right in front of him, he was most worried about him getting hurt.
In front of Sunjeong’s face slowly hardening, even Taeon’s heart began to ache.
He had only hoped for him to meet a good guy, a decent alpha…
“I see.”
The voice that came from Sunjeong’s mouth, as if lost in thought, was unexpectedly plain.
“Well, I guess that can happen…”
“What do you mean that can happen?”
Taeon’s words burst out harshly in that moment.
While there might exist fools in this world who would accept their lover cheating on them with “that can happen,” he thought Go Sunjeong shouldn’t be one of them. And even if Sunjeong accepted it, he knew he wouldn’t let that bastard off the hook.
“Well, I’m fine.”
“What exactly is fine about this situation?”
At Taeon’s words, Sunjeong wore a very faint smile. Then he said,
“I liked you, Yoon Taeon, for a long time, you know.”
“…”
“You’re not going to insist now that you didn’t like me back then, are you, Yoon Taeon?”
“That’s…”
Not knowing what Sunjeong was trying to say, Taeon grew anxious.
“Anyway, I’m used to it. Liking someone who sleeps with other people besides me. So I don’t get hurt easily.”
“…”
“So I’m fine.”
“…”
“Thanks for worrying, and thanks for getting angry on my behalf because you thought I’d be angry.”
“…Go Sunjeong.”
“Anyway, it was nice seeing you today. Take care. See you again.”
I shouldn’t let Sunjeong go right now, Taeon’s body lost its strength.
‘I’m used to it. Liking someone who sleeps with other people besides me. So I don’t get hurt easily.’
The fact that the bastard who made these words come out of Sunjeong’s mouth was none other than himself made him feel like throwing up.
As he blankly watched Sunjeong’s retreating figure in his hazy consciousness, Taeon soon came to his senses.
Taeon’s mistakes were Taeon’s to bear. But he couldn’t use that as a reason to let Sunjeong get hurt now.
***
“Why are you causing trouble? I’m cooperating quietly and well with you.”
Sunjeong, who had gotten into Jinhyeok’s car, said with a completely serious expression.
Getting goosebumps from Sunjeong’s coldness, Jinhyeok fumbled and said,
“I thought it was all over. Not contacting Yoonwoo for two whole hours was too hard. Is it a crime to talk on the phone with my lover?”
“Ha, our house is 20 minutes from here, and we’re going to see Yoonwoo soon, so are you joking right now…”
The words couldn’t continue. Someone suddenly knocked loudly on the car door. Confirming through the window that the owner of this noise was Taeon, Sunjeong made a surprised expression.
We finished everything we had to say today, so why suddenly?
Unlike earlier when Taeon’s expression had hardened at the words Sunjeong had spat out, Taeon’s face now looked peaceful.
However, Sunjeong could sense Taeon’s state of mind from the force in his movements as he roughly tried to open the passenger door, which obviously wouldn’t open.
At this rate, he’s going to break the car. Jinhyeok’s car is expensive.
Sunjeong finally opened the door.
“What’s wrong?”
As soon as he saw Sunjeong’s face, Taeon’s relieved appearance came into view.
“Don’t go with that bastard.”
“What?”
“Don’t go with that fucking bastard.”
Jinhyeok flinched at the curse directed at him—one he’d never heard in his life. But as Sunjeong said, Jinhyeok had to cooperate properly. He had to make up for his recent mistake too.
So he decided to do his best in the role-playing given to him.
“What business is it of yours?”
His voice was perfect for the role of Sunjeong’s dominant alpha boyfriend who found Taeon’s interference disagreeable.
But what came back was Sunjeong’s cold gaze. One that straightforwardly contained the question, ‘What are you doing?’
“Jinhyeok, don’t worry about him. Anyway, why can’t I go?”
“Go Sunjeong.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think how I treated you should be a reason for you, Go Sunjeong, to be treated like this. There’s no need to create new wounds.”
Taeon’s words trailing off seemed to be because of what he had done to Sunjeong.
“Anyway, get out. Don’t go with that bastard.”
“…”
Sunjeong looked up at Taeon with a steady gaze. Taeon’s desperate eyes clearly reflected Sunjeong.
“Jeonhyeok, just go home first for now.”
“Ha…”
Unable to let go of his attachment to role-playing until the end, Jinhyeok frowned and looked toward Taeon, acting like the bratty dominant alpha young master often seen in dramas. He was inwardly scared of Taeon’s firm gaze, but he was safe since he was in the car and Sunjeong was next to him.
When Sunjeong got out of the car, Taeon grabbed Sunjeong’s wrist firmly but not painfully, as if afraid he might go somewhere. Then he headed outside.
After being only in the dark parking lot, the air felt cool when they came outside.
Where is he going?
Taeon walked slowly while holding Sunjeong’s wrist. Sunjeong followed him.
The place where Taeon stopped was a wide riverbank with people jogging or walking their dogs here and there. Taeon stopped in front of the large river cutting through the city.
“We came all the way here. You don’t like walking. Sorry.”
“Then give me a piggyback ride.”
It was when Sunjeong still found going to school difficult.
Back then, Taeon often came to visit Sunjeong’s house or took Sunjeong out.
On an ordinary weekend, the two of them came out for what they called a Han River picnic, ate convenience store ramen, and took a walk after getting full, and Sunjeong easily made a tearful face saying his feet hurt. He had indirectly told Taeon, who was walking briskly, that they should sit on a bench and rest now, but Taeon had quietly bent down.
‘Get on my back.’
Sunjeong, who had briefly looked at Taeon’s back—which seemed completely like an adult’s even though they were still wearing the same school uniform—practically threw himself onto Taeon. Even so, Taeon’s body didn’t budge at all and firmly carried Sunjeong on his back.
‘Oh my, you’re actually giving me a ride.’
‘You told me to.’
It was then that Sunjeong first learned that the warmth surrounding a person’s body could be so affectionate.
Though asking for a piggyback ride was a joke, Sunjeong quickly changed the subject since Taeon seemed like he might actually give him one.
“I think we covered the main point in the car earlier. Why did we really come all the way here?”
“First of all, it was important that you didn’t go with that bastard…”
“Even so, I live with him.”
“…”
At Sunjeong’s words, Taeon’s breath caught. To think he was even living with a guy like that.
