Sitting on a spacious table, Kangwoo was expressionless, similar to how he looked a while ago. Heewoon stepped back hesitantly and asked,
“…Why?”
“I did say you could follow me around, but now that you’re doing it for real, I feel a bit weird.”
Right. Kangwoo had said before that Heewoon could follow him. Though he said it a bit jokingly. Heewoon relaxed a bit.
“Looking at your expression, you must have forgotten that I said that before. Then it’s alright for me to get mad, right?”
“Huuuh?”
“You’re roaming around at night without my permission.”
Heewoon’s eyes widened. His face turned pale, and he opened his mouth.
“I-I didn’t forget! That’s why I came here.”
“….”
Kangwoo frowned slightly, then he grabbed Heewoon’s neck from behind, and pulled him forward. The frightened face came closer.
“You’re the one who said you wouldn’t lie anymore. Don’t you remember?”
At that moment, Heewoon felt the solid touch of pliers in his mouth. The taste of bitter iron and Kangwoo’s lively eyes came to his mind.
“I-I remember that.”
“But.”
“…S-Sorry. I forgot you said it was okay to follow you. I forgot.”
The tension in the hand gripping his chin eased. Kangwoo sighed.
“Lately, you’ve been getting on my nerves. What’s wrong? Hmm?”
Kangwoo lightly stroked Heewoon’s cheek, then tapped it a couple times. He loosened his grip but it was enough to instil fear in Heewoon.
“I was wrong, Kangwoo. I did forget what you said, but the reason I’m suddenly going out at night… It was because I was curious. You’ve been busy everyday…”
Kangwoo’s firm lips softened slightly.
“So. Did you go out here without saying anything because you want to wear a cast again?”
“No! I don’t want that, Kangwoo.”
Heewoon shook his head, face paling. He took a step closer towards Kangwoo, grabbing his arm like clinging onto him. Kangwoo’s gaze lingered there for a moment.
“D-Did you, without telling me…”
He might not be secretly meeting that woman. Seo Kangwoo wouldn’t need to hide it from himself. Heewoon looked straight at Kangwoo. Heewoon cleared his throat and asked.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
He didn’t expect to say this in a situation where he was at a disadvantage. He should have asked for it after more interrogation.
However, a sudden doubt crossed his mind. Could he actually interrogate Seo Kangwoo? They weren’t in that kind of relationship, were they? Heewoon only needed to do as Seo Kangwoo wished.
Heewoon’s eyelashes dropped down. Kangwoo glanced at it and gnashed his teeth. Then, he let out a sharp laugh.
“You’re still spouting that bullshit.”
As Kangwoo stood up from the table where he had been sitting, Heewoon took a step back. It was his instinctual movement.
“Do I seem like I’m joking, Sunbae? Fuck, a girlfriend?”
“B-But it’s true.”
“Am I lacking something to you?”
Kangwoo grabbed Heewoon’s fair neck. He didn’t put any force, just held it around, but Heewoon’s eyes widened, frozen.
“Why do you keep doing stupid things?”
Heewoon spat out a mild cough. He wasn’t being choked, so only a cough came out.
Kangwoo, gazing at Heewoon’s neck trapped in his loose grip, withdrew his hand. The cold fingertips brushed against the back of the neck as he moved away. With a light touch on Heewoon’s cheek, Kangwoo spoke.
“Are you like this because I’ve been easy on you?”
“….”
Heewoon met Kangwoo’s cold gaze. It was a gaze he hadn’t experienced for a long time. It should be frightening, but it bothered what Heewoon had been enduring so far.
“…You… You’re meeting a woman!”
The voice, pulled up from below his chest, scratched Heewoon’s throat as it popped out. Immediately, his throat hurt, and he coughed. Kangwoo furrowed his brow.
“Me?”
“I saw it. You got a message from a woman.”
Watching Kangwoo’s expression, which seemed to imply that he didn’t understand it, Heewoon’s eyes flared up.
“Her name even has a heart next to it.”
Even though Heewoom was angry, his voice sounded shaky, as if he were about to cry. Trying to control himself, Heewoon continued.
“You even made calls to her in the study.”
“…Ah.”
Now, Seo Kangwoo seemed to recall something. Heewoon didn’t stop.
“Did you go out on the weekend to meet that woman? What am I? Do you just leave me at home to have sex…”
“Stop.”
Kangwoo interrupted. His eyes flickered.
“If I just wanted sex with you, I’d tie you to the bed. Why would I bother feeding and dressing you?”
“….”
Heewoon swallowed a shaky breath. He was terrified of Kangwoo, but he tried his best to keep his eyes sharp. When their eyes met, Kangwoo turned his head and smiled wryly.
“Sunbae, you’re quite scary when you’re angry.”
He didn’t sound scared at all. Heewoon felt the anger lurking underneath him growing stronger and stronger.
“Who is Jiyoung?”
Kangwoo’s lips twitched. After wiping his mouth with his hand, he stroked his neck.
“You’ve misunderstood it. Sit here for now.”
Kangwoo tapped the table. When Heewoon pretended not to hear, Kangwoo grabbed his waist and sat him on the table. Embarrassingly, Heewoon’s body hovered momentarily in the air against his will. He tried to get down, but Kangwoo told him to sit down again, so he decided to sit quietly.
“I told you to ask me everything.”
Even with Kangwoo’s words, Heewoon didn’t lift his head. His gaze continued to focus on the boundary between the floor and the wall. Watching Heewoon like that, Kangwoo perplexedly scratched his forehead.
“Here, see this.”
Suddenly, Kangwoo’s phone was held out towards Heewoon. Heewoon alternated between Kangwoo and the phone, eventually accepting it and lowering his head. It was a KakaoTalk conversation. A person named [Royal Tour Han Jiyoung] with several one-sided messages. Most were photos and files, but at the bottom was a file named ‘Hawaii Main Attractions’. Heewoon read through it, including a message which said ‘Is it okay to call about this?’
This looked unmistakably like…
“This person’s name…”
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a problem with the app, or that person might have set their name differently.”
Heewoon clenched his mouth shut and stared at the phone.
[For Mr. Seo Kangwoo and Mr. Woo Heewoon, the reservation is completed.]
It seemed to be from a travel agency. As he stared at it blankly, the phone had disappeared from Heewoon’s sight. He slowly raised his head and looked at Kangwoo.
“You thought I was cheating on you?”
A faint smile appeared on Kangwoo’s face. His lips were pouting on their own, so Heewoon bit them tightly and released them. Kangwoo laughed as he watched Heewoon’s white lips quickly fill with crimson.
“So that’s why you followed me.”
His voice was gentle. Sorry, I kept it a secret to surprise you. Despite the soothing tone, frustration escaped Heewoon’s lips.
“I thought you were busy with work, but… you were chatting with a woman… I was so…”
Heewoon bit down on his trembling lips, then opened them again.
“You were the one who led me to misunderstand, yet you strangled me… Uhhh .”
At the end of his small and shaky words, tears finally burst out. Tears rolled down his cheeks and dangled at the edge of his chin.
“When did I strangle you?”
Laughing absurdly, Kangwoo put his arm around Heewoon’s shoulders and wiped away his tears. He spoke softly, his voice low and gentle.
“I thought it was like when you asked me if I had a girlfriend before. That time, Sunbae, when you were acting like we’re not a couple…”
Heewoon felt a shiver. If he said he felt that they weren’t a couple even right now, his throat might really be strangled. Heewoom unknowingly trembled, and Kangwoo hugged him a bit tighter. Just as his nose started running, Kangwoo clicked his tongue.
“Are you cold?”
“Yeah,” Heewoon replied, leaning his cheek against Kangwoo’s chest. Kangwoo caressed the other cheek gently with one hand.
“Why aren’t they coming out? Stupid idiots.”
Kangwoo said, looking at the door. When Heewoon raised his eyes slightly, Kangwoo explained.
“Sunbae, they can’t know that you’re here. Wait here for a bit, then you can leave.”
“Ah… okay.”
Heewoon recalled the old man’s face and the bloodied unrecognizable face he had seen earlier. His neck and shoulders stiffened. Kangwoo gently pat Heewoon’s arm and removed his suit jacket.
“It’s not that cold…”
Kangwoo put his jacket on Heewoon and buttoned it up. Standing in front of Heewoon while buttoning it up, Kangwoo looked directly into the reddened eyes. He placed his hand on Heewoon’s shoulder and lightly traced the eyes with his thumb. His lips slowly parted.
“I won’t cheat. How can I look at anyone else when I’m with this?”
‘This’ must have referred to Heewoon.
“Ask me first before you get suspicious. Don’t do stupid things.”
“…”
“Aren’t we a couple?”
When Kangwoo scratched Heewoon’s eyes harshly, he could feel a sharp pain. Heewoon looked into Kangwoo’s eyes. And he understood. Seo Kangwoo was currently being lenient on him.
Become a member in my ko-fi to get early releases!
Make me feel happy and supported by leaving a comment!
