“Soohyun-ah. I’d like you to call me more softly.”
Seokhyeon’s face, which had been smiling since the moment he found Soohyun, cooled coldly. Soohyun wiped away the pooled tears and opened his eyes straight.
“After doing such things to me…. You can say the word ‘worried’ now?”
“Soohyun-ah, that was my mistake. I apologized saying I was wrong….”
“Jang Seokhyeon-ssi!”
The gazes of people in the cafe focused on the two. Soohyun bit his lips.
“Soohyun-ah.”
“I don’t want to talk with you anymore.”
The fact that he was facing this man was too terrible. Soohyun put his hand in his pocket and fumbled with the medicine he brought in preparation for a possible attack.
“I have things to say. That’s why I told you to come out.”
Soohyun got up. If he stayed in his seat even a little longer, he would lose consciousness. The moment Soohyun tried to leave, Jang Seokhyeon grabbed Soohyun’s wrist.
“Sit down. I’m talking nicely right now. I guess you don’t care what happens to Choi Seojun?”
Seojun, that’s right. The reason he came out here was all because of Seojun. Because he didn’t want to cause him harm….
“……”
Soohyun’s body, which had clenched his fists before he knew it, trembled. Soohyun had no choice but to sit back down.
“Good, nice. Now do you feel like talking?”
“What do you want?”
He wanted to maintain a calm attitude, but his voice was already trembling miserably. In fact, even sitting in front of this bastard was too much for Soohyun.
“You know well what I want, Soohyun.”
“What?”
“I still love you, Soohyun-ah. I got divorced last year too. Let’s start over.”
Seokhyeon still didn’t let go of Soohyun’s hand. Soohyun tried to shake off his hand, but couldn’t escape from Seokhyeon’s hand that had firmly applied strength.
“You’re crazy. You… you’re really crazy.”
“That’s right. I went crazy because of you. It’s the same now. You really don’t know my heart?”
Seokhyeon’s eyes curved gently. He felt like going crazy because Soohyun’s reddened eyes were so lovely. He wanted to push him down on a bed right now.
“There’s no way I’d know the heart of a crazy bastard like you.”
“That’s right. That can be. Soohyun-ah, I understand everything. I’ve changed from before. I’ve become more understanding too. That’s why I’m overlooking you living with Choi Seojun.”
Overlooking? You’re overlooking me? Soohyun bit his lips and trembled his jaw.
“You… how can you say… such words….”
“Soohyun-ah. Soohyun-ah.”
Even while watching Soohyun tremble, Jang Seokhyeon showed a gentle smile without changing his expression. To others, it might just look like a good-natured face, affectionate and wonderful. But to Soohyun, he was the devil itself that dragged his life into hell.
“It’s all in the past. I can help you. I’ve been looking into it hard too. How to fix your pheromone gland….”
“Sto-stop, stop it.”
Soohyun covered his ears with both hands. This man still… is still obsessed with pheromones. Seokhyeon hadn’t changed at all from five years ago. Not at all from that time when he cornered Soohyun to the edge of a cliff for the reason that he couldn’t smell pheromones from him.
“You don’t look well. Should we go to the restaurant you liked next time? Or you can come to my house.”
Soohyun kept his mouth shut. He bit his lips hard enough to bleed, desperate to keep the scream from leaking out. Seokhyeon very affectionately stroked Soohyun’s cheek and lightly kissed him.
“I’ll go. Answer the phone well. And this… is a gift.”
Seokhyeon took out a document envelope from his chest, placed it in front of Soohyun, and left as is. Only after hearing the bell that rang when the cafe door opened and closed did Soohyun realize that bastard had left.
“…Heuk.”
Only then did the tears he had been holding back flow down his cheeks.
“How… how could this….”
Soohyun grabbed a tissue. He roughly wiped the tears that wet his cheeks and picked up the envelope Seokhyeon had left. When he put his hand inside the heavy envelope, it felt hard and sharp.
“This is….”
Inside were photos. Dozens of photos with images of Seojun and himself. From watching a movie at the drive-in theater to embracing each other and kissing, even images inside Seojun’s villa were captured.
—I don’t want to use this for the wrong purpose. Call me when you’ve made up your mind.
It was clearly a note written by Seokhyeon. Soohyun put the note back in the envelope along with the photos. He wanted to run away somewhere to avoid Seokhyeon, but the only place Soohyun could go was Seojun’s house. He couldn’t go to the rooftop room where he had been curled up, or to Chaeho’s house.
As soon as he entered Seojun’s house, Soohyun hid the document envelope with the photos in a deep place. Although he knew he should burn and destroy the photos that shouldn’t come out into the world, seeing the photos with Seojun’s smiling face fully captured, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
‘I see…. That’s how it was…. It was.’
Only after meeting Seokhyeon again did Soohyun realize his feelings for Seojun. He hated that he would get hurt and was afraid he would get involved in bad things because of himself.
Just as he wished for his own happiness, Soohyun also wished for Seojun to be happy, to smile at him like he does now.
‘I… I… Seojun-ssi….’
He had hoped that this surging emotion he had for Seojun wasn’t love. That he was just grateful for the favor he gave. He couldn’t even answer “me too” in the ear of him who had fallen asleep, telling himself that.
‘I… love him….’
Soohyun decided to endure if he could just get through this terrible man called Jang Seokhyeon this time, then Seojun could be safe.
He didn’t not know that everything he showed was sincere, but because he had lived a healthy life. Someday there would come a day when he would tire of his terribly distorted self, so wouldn’t it be enough to endure Jang Seokhyeon until then?
He didn’t want the person he loved to know his past and be in pain, or to pity him. Once was already enough for that.
“Seojun-ssi… I’m sorry.”
Soohyun took out his cell phone.
“It’s me.”
[Yeah, Soohyun-ah. Did you get home safely?]
“…What do you want?”
Soohyun held the cell phone and bit his lips. He needed to make clear what Jang Seokhyeon wanted. Continuing the conversation with Seokhyeon, who hadn’t changed from five years ago to now, itself gave him pain as if being heated by fire, but Soohyun had something he wanted to protect.
[What else. I want you. I already said it earlier. Let’s start over.]
“That my body… became like this because of whom…. You… know too well. But how can you say let’s start over to me?”
His hands and feet trembled. When he thought it was a life with nothing more to lose, it was Jang Seokhyeon who pushed Soohyun down into the abyss.
[…Anyway, you’re having sex with Choi Seojun now too. It’s not that uncommon for an omega to have sex with several alphas. Besides, it’s been five years. Why are you so weak, Soohyun-ah.]
“…What?”
He didn’t want to tremble while talking with this man. He didn’t want to cry either. Soohyun covered his mouth with his hand. Already more tears than he could control were pouring from his eyes. He hated that his sobbing would flow through the receiver to Jang Seokhyeon’s ear.
[I’m also reflecting on what happened then….]
Soohyun couldn’t continue speaking anymore and hung up the phone as is. He even turned off the power completely, then crouched in a corner of the room and cried for a long time.
* * *
“Lee Soohyun-ssi, you don’t have to overwork yourself. You don’t look well.”
“No. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
A year after sending Jeongwon away, Soohyun started working again. Soohyun, who couldn’t shake Jeongwon’s last appearance from his mind, threw himself into work. After starting work at a fairly large-scale cafe run by an individual, Soohyun came to work without missing a single day and worked hard.
“Still, you could take a day off. We’re grateful. Because Soohyun-ssi does the work so well.”
“Thank you.”
Despite his slightly sad expression, Soohyun was still beautiful. Even the cafe owner saw Soohyun who came for an interview and fell for his appearance, deciding to hire him immediately.
Ding-dong—
Although it was originally a place with good business, after Soohyun entered, the cafe was bustling all day long. The rumor that a beautiful part-timer had entered spread quite widely, and some people came from far away on purpose to see Soohyun.
“May I take your order?”
“What? Yes, yes… um….”
Soohyun’s daily routine was always the same. Every morning he came to work first and prepared for opening, and three times a week he worked until closing time. Although he didn’t actively interact with other employees, both the owner and employees liked Soohyun, who quietly and silently did his work well.
