BHB 13

After confirming they were alone, Yeowon took a deep breath. His face showed that it took great courage to speak.

“Okay, I made a mistake yesterday.”

Yeowon readily admitted his mistake and apologized. He didn’t expect to do it so quickly, but Taegang’s twisted words made Yeowon feel guilty.

“I’m sorry. Really sorry.”

“……”

“That’s good, right? Now you can talk to me again, can’t you?”

As Yeowon spoke as if clearing the air, Taegang quietly looked down at him. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Yeowon frowned at the direct gaze. Seeing Taegang’s motionless response to the apology, irritation began to creep in.

“But was I the only one who did wrong?”

As Yeowon added this, as if unleashing what he had been holding back, Taegang finally let out a faint smile.

“That’s right. You were the one who did wrong first.”

“Are you saying it was wrong for me to fool around with a guy?”

“…It was wrong that you’ve been hiding it from me all this time.”

“Why would I brag about that to you?”

The conversation felt like a broken record. Taegang didn’t back down at all and denied his own fault.

“So should I have found out that way?”

“……”

“At school, when I saw that, how much—!”

Yeowon abruptly stopped speaking. It was to swallow the words that seemed about to burst out. If he said how confused he was when he saw that, he felt Taegang would pry sharply. Though he usually seemed insensitive, he was frighteningly perceptive.

“Never mind. Forget it. Let’s stop.”

Yeowon ended the conversation on his own and pulled out a cigarette pack from his back pocket. He put one in his mouth and irritably flicked the lighter. As the flame touched the end of the cigarette, a calm voice interjected.

“Keep talking.”

“What?”

“How did you feel when you saw that?”

Yeowon looked up at the repeated question as he was about to light up. His eyes met Taegang’s directly.

“How did you feel that made you so angry?”

“…I was surprised, that’s all.”

“That’s not it. That’s why you were so cold to me for days.”

“Don’t nitpick my words.”

“Yeowon.”

Taegang called softly, like a song. It was a tone out of place in this situation.

“If you’re going to apologize, do it properly.”

At these words, Yeowon felt so dumbfounded he forgot to breathe for a moment.

What the hell is this guy saying?

As Yeowon exhaled in disbelief with an incredulous face, Taegang calmly snatched the cigarette from his hand. Then, taking a long drag, he smirked.

“You should clearly state why you were angry, what you did wrong, and apologize properly.”

“……”

“Even elementary school kids learn that.”

When Yeowon looked at him as if to ask if he was mocking him now, Taegang exhaled smoke and skillfully tapped off the ash with his long fingers.

“Are you messing with me?”

“I’ll apologize for one thing too.”

“……”

“I knew you wouldn’t like it, but I called those guys to drink.”

Yeowon’s face hardened even more at these unexpected words.

“But I didn’t know you’d come here today. I didn’t particularly want to show you that scene.”

He tapped off the half-burnt cigarette ash once more. It was a leisurely and bored gesture.

“You know what kind of bastards they are.”

“……”

“Just now, they were thinking of drugging your drink. But you still say things like that?”

The ridiculous reason was so absurd that Yeowon couldn’t even laugh. Taegang seemed indifferent to whether Choi Youngdoo’s group spiked drinks or took photos. He just calmly continued speaking while finishing his cigarette.

“You always do things you hate.”

“……”

“It makes you pay attention to me.”

It was a childish reason. And an unexpected one.

Yeowon couldn’t close his gaping mouth, his face astonished. He felt like he should say something, but didn’t know what.

Soon after, as if he had finished speaking, Taegang flicked the cigarette butt with only the filter remaining onto the ground and dusted off his hands.

“Go back and enjoy yourself.”

“……”

“I’ll leave first.”

At these words that sounded like a final farewell, Yeowon’s frozen face subtly changed. At that moment, he recalled Taegang disappearing to eat with Jeon Chaemin. Back then, he had also left without attachment, saying he was going to have a good time.

“Where are you going?”

For some reason, Yeowon had a feeling that Taegang wouldn’t just go straight home.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to that sunbae?”

Along with the strange premonition, the words burst out immediately. Taegang’s calm gaze flickered slightly.

“Are you going to that senior now because you think I’ll dislike it?”

“……”

“Or are you two actually dating properly?”

Yeowon finally managed to ask the question he had found difficult to voice. He had mulled over this question many times, afraid of hearing that they were really dating.

Taegang didn’t answer immediately. He observed Yeowon for a moment before speaking quietly.

“We’re not dating.”

“Ha.”

Isn’t that even more ridiculous?

“If you’re not even dating, how can you…?”

How could they have such sensual and explicit s3x? Yeowon pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He knew Taegang had casual relationships, but he didn’t know he was the type to sleep with someone he wasn’t even dating. He had never thought of him as someone with a high s3x drive to begin with.

“What, do you have separate people you like and people you sleep with?”

Taegang just lifted one corner of his mouth without answering.

“Don’t cross the line.”

“What?”

“I said, don’t cross the line.”

“Ha. Since when did we have anything like a line between us?”

“Well. Since you started meddling in my private life?”

“What private life between you and me? Since when did we care about such things?”

“Yeowon.”

“……”

“There are things I don’t want to talk about too.”

“…Ha. Since when? I’m a bit shocked right now. Are you really the Lee Taegang I knew?”

“This is why I didn’t want to talk about it.”

The more they talked, the less Yeowon understood Taegang. The person he thought was closest to him in the world now felt like the farthest.

Taegang tried to leave first again. As he was about to leave Yeowon still confused, Yeowon called out to stop him.

“Don’t go.”

“……”

“Don’t go to that sunbae”

Yeowon spoke clearly.

“Why?”

“I think you become strange when you’re with that senior.”

It was an unreasonable reason, but Yeowon was sincere. Taegang let out a faint smirk.

“Is that all?”

“What else?”

“I’m asking if that’s your only reason for telling me not to go.”

“What else do you need?”

Yeowon raised his voice, breathing heavily. He felt irritated by Taegang’s leisurely gaze and tone that seemed to keep testing him.

“Han Yeowon, you’ve been strange lately.”

“You’re the strange one.”

“You keep being petty.”

“I’m acting like I always do.”

“Don’t be stubborn.”

“You’re the one being stubborn. Since when did you start meeting people I don’t like?”

“It has happened before. Like today. To get your attention.”

“…I’ve paid enough attention, so can you stop now?”

“I told you not to cross the line.”

“What’s this line you keep mentioning?”

“Don’t interfere with who I meet or who I have s3x with.”

“Ha.”

Yeowon exhaled in frustration, running his hand through his hair. It was turning into an emotional argument.

“What if I do interfere?”

“Will you going to get it up for me instead?”

“…What?”

For a moment, Yeowon almost stumbled over his words, thinking he had misheard. But the other person continued brazenly.

“I’m asking if you’ll take their place.”

Yeowon stared blankly at him, speechless. Seeing Taegang’s nonchalant expression after saying such a shocking thing, something he had never even joked about before, Yeowon felt utterly deflated. His mind went blank, leaving him breathless instead of answering.

Right now, the Taegang in front of him didn’t seem like the Taegang he had known for 15 years. The cold aura emanating from him seemed to pierce deep into Yeowon’s core, leaving him unable to speak for a while. Not only could he not speak, but he couldn’t move from that spot for some time. Even as Taegang left and disappeared from sight, he couldn’t move his feet. That’s how sorrowful this moment felt.

**

Afterward, he went back to the club and drank like a madman. He couldn’t hear the others telling him to drink slowly. Drinking ruthlessly without regard for alcohol content, at some point his memory faded. All he vaguely remembered was Jo Suchan trying to wake him up when he lost consciousness, and a scene of him leaning on someone heading somewhere.

Yeowon’s eyes opened automatically to a savory smell. It was the smell of food that would never come from his own house. The rich scent of doenjang jjigae and the nutty aroma of grilled fish…. Yeowon’s eyes widened. As he came to his senses, he realized he wasn’t sleeping in his own home. Startled, he sat up to find himself in a simple room he had never seen before. One bed and one desk. It was an ordinary room with a subdued blue tone creating a modest atmosphere.

“You’re finally awake?”

The door opened abruptly, and Do Youngjae appeared, looking like he had just showered. Dressed casually and roughly drying his wet hair with a towel, Youngjae looked down at the dumbfounded Yeowon with disdain.