By Zephyria 
After returning to the department store, In-ho called Ryu Soo-hyun. He had blocked the number but hadn’t deleted it. He had simply left it there for no particular reason.
“Where are you.”
Ryu Soo-hyun answered exactly after the third ring. He had been waiting for In-ho’s call, but he didn’t let it show.
“Come down to the parking lot.”
After explaining his location, In-ho tossed his phone aside and closed his eyes. He massaged the back of his stiff neck and let out a heavy sigh. Feeling stifled inside the car, he rolled down the window slightly.
Unfamiliar emotions were making him feel suffocated. At the center of those emotions was a small, fragile Omega. He had no idea how to deal with Haon, who was different from him in every way—from the environment they grew up in to their personalities and ways of expressing themselves.
He thought he finally understood, but it seemed he had misjudged.
Various thoughts crossed In-ho’s mind as he narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected Haon to feel this difficult. Until the time they drank together, In-ho thought the remaining year and a half would unfold easily.
Because he thought Haon liked him.
But was that not the case? Haon’s reaction in refusing the clothes he gifted him had left In-ho confused.
He had assumed that anyone would naturally be happy to receive a gift from someone they liked. He thought that shopping would cheer up Haon, whose mood had been dampened after meeting Ryu Soo-hyun.
However, he was wrong. Haon’s behavior defied all of In-ho’s expectations.
Click, clack. At the sound of footsteps echoing from a distance, In-ho, who had been staring blankly at the steering wheel, opened the car door.
As he stepped out with the shopping bag he had tossed in the passenger seat, Ryu Soo-hyun, who was approaching the car, tilted his chin up with a haughty air and spoke.
“Why bother coming out? Let’s just talk while sitting.”
Glancing around the nearly empty parking lot, he walked toward the passenger door instead of toward In-ho.
“My legs hurt from walking so much. I want to sit.”
Click. He tried to open the door, but In-ho had locked it before he could.
In-ho then approached Ryu Soo-hyun directly and handed him the shopping bag. When Ryu Soo-hyun crossed his arms and refused to take it, In-ho simply threw the bag at his feet.
“In-ho hyung!”
“Was this too precious for you?”
Inside the bag were the clothes and shoes Ryu Soo-hyun had left at In-ho’s house. In-ho took out his wallet, pulled out a few checks, and tossed them on top of the shopping bag. It was the cost of the clothes Haon was wearing.
“Why are you making such a fuss over clothes? How childish.”
In-ho took a step closer to Ryu Soo-hyun and tilted his head slightly. Ryu Soo-hyun’s face flushed red; overcome with humiliation, he lost his words and his clenched fists trembled.
“You’re the one who left them behind on your own. If you cherished them, you should have taken them.”
In-ho lightly nudged the shopping bag on the ground with the toe of his black shoe. Haon had only mentioned that Ryu Soo-hyun saw the clothes and claimed they were his. But there was no way that was all.
“Why? Does it feel disgusting that someone prettier than you is wearing your clothes?”
He could tell just by looking at Haon’s pale complexion. Ryu Soo-hyun must have said something to crush his spirit. No doubt he had wounded his pride.
The moment that thought occurred, In-ho’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He recalled his own action of forcing clothes he had chosen arbitrarily upon Haon under the guise of a gift.
Seeing Haon always wear the same clothes, he had constantly wanted to buy him something new. Without considering the recipient’s feelings.
“Of course it feels disgusting.”
While In-ho was chewing over his thoughts, Ryu Soo-hyun stepped on the shopping bag. He crushed the million-won checks under his shoe without hesitation and flashed a sharp smile.
“The level of the person you’re seeing after me is that pathetic; how could I not be disgusted?”
He knew that Seo In-ho didn’t give his heart to the people he slept with. That was why, when he was blocked, he didn’t go and demand answers but instead looked for opportunities to run into him by chance. Of course, since In-ho hadn’t been showing his face at drinking parties lately, he had always come up empty.
He wondered if In-ho had grown tired of playing around… to think he had cut off contact because he was blinded by a brat like that.
“I’ve given you all your clothes, so don’t even think about coming back to the house.”
In-ho ignored Ryu Soo-hyun, cut the conversation short, and turned around. He had no intention of exchanging long words with him in the first place.
“It’s him, right? The whore Jung-hyuk hyung bought.”
However, Ryu Soo-hyun blocked In-ho’s path and continued to provoke him. He stood right in front of the door with his arms spread wide so that In-ho couldn’t open it. Having given up on acting haughty, he now looked utterly pathetic.
“Do you know the rumor that you’ve been played by a whore, hyung?”
Ryu Soo-hyun spoke as if doing him a favor, claiming he was telling him out of concern. In reality, no such rumor existed. He had made it up after hearing about what happened at the club party from Park Jung-hyuk.
“Surely you’re not living with him?”
Did he already know it was a lie, or did he just not care?
In-ho merely looked down at Ryu Soo-hyun with dry eyes.
“Why won’t you let me into your house? Are you really living with that guy? Is that it?”
“Move.”
“Hyung, are you crazy? Why are you protecting a piece of trash!”
Thump! Ryu Soo-hyun’s back hit the car body. In-ho grabbed him by the collar, slammed him against the car, and pressed against his chest.
“The piece of trash here is you.”
In-ho pressed his knee down between Ryu Soo-hyun’s legs as a warning and spoke in a low voice.
“Stop spreading fake rumors about others and manage your own reputation. I played with you for so long because I felt sorry for how people talked about you.”
“Ack!”
He released Ryu Soo-hyun’s collar and shoved him aside. Leaning against the rear door, Ryu Soo-hyun staggered, letting out a dry cough.
In-ho opened the car door without even glancing at him. However, Ryu Soo-hyun clung to In-ho’s wrist persistently. His reddened eyes were thick with lingering attachment.
“Do you like him?”
No way. How could that be, Ryu Soo-hyun thought. There was no way Seo In-ho could actually like someone.
“Yeah.”
However, a light answer followed, shattering his expectations.
In-ho shook off Ryu Soo-hyun’s hand and sat in the car. He tried to close the door, but an agitated Ryu Soo-hyun clung to it like a leech.
“Don’t make me laugh. Do you think I don’t know you’re saying that just to cut me off?”
Blocking the door with his leg and his body, Ryu Soo-hyun seemed to have forgotten all shame. His face was full of a desperate longing for In-ho to look at him again.
“With your personality, how long do you think it’ll last? A month at most.”
“Move your leg.”
“Be honest. You’re already bored of him. He’s getting annoying, isn’t he? Aren’t you regretting letting him into your house?”
“I said move it.”
After giving a final warning, In-ho started the engine. He looked ready to drive off even if the leg wasn’t moved.
“You look at your own family like they’re insects.”
Before he stepped on the accelerator, Ryu Soo-hyun’s final words drew In-ho’s gaze. Hoping for a chance in that gaze, Ryu Soo-hyun clung to him pathetically.
“I can understand everything about you, hyung.”
He truly liked In-ho. After learning all of In-ho’s private circumstances, his feelings had grown even stronger.
“Your personality isn’t normal. You can’t trust people, and you can’t open your heart to anyone.”
Leaning his upper body in, Ryu Soo-hyun moved closer to the driver’s seat. He reached out a long arm and fumbled between In-ho’s thighs.
“I’ll stay by your side. Go meet whoever else you want until you’re bored of them. I’ll wait for you.”
He whispered softly and bit In-ho’s lower lip. Just as he tried to open the lips and push his tongue inside—
“Mmph!”
His lip was suddenly and mercilessly bitten.
“Hng, tongue, mmmph—!”
Startled by the terrible pain, as if his lip were being torn off, Ryu Soo-hyun pushed In-ho’s shoulder away. But In-ho didn’t budge.
A beast-like sound echoed from Ryu Soo-hyun’s throat, filled with terror.
He let out a loud cry and burst into tears, trying to seek help from the surroundings. It only lasted a few seconds, but to Ryu Soo-hyun, it felt like an eternity.
“You sexually harassed me first. I’m the victim.”
Finally releasing his lip, In-ho pointed with his eyes toward the parking lot CCTV.
He took out a tissue, wiped the blood from his mouth, and pulled out a few more to hand to Ryu Soo-hyun. Pale as a ghost, Ryu Soo-hyun sat slumped on the ground, staring at the tissues dropped in front of him.
Haon had been just as pale as Ryu Soo-hyun was right now. Seeing that expression made In-ho feel a bit better.
“Move your leg.”
At In-ho’s nonchalant voice, Ryu Soo-hyun hurriedly pulled his foot away from the car. He simply held his mouth with both hands in silence until the car drove away.
He thought his flesh had been torn, but it was only a small amount of blood; no severe wound remained.
Ryu Soo-hyun truly believed his lip had been ripped off. In-ho’s empty, black eyes had drenched him in fear. The terror he felt while looking into those eyes amplified the pain more than twofold.
* * *
In-ho pulled the rearview mirror to check his mouth. With an indifferent face, he wiped away the remaining traces of blood from the corner of his mouth and looked down at a phone notification.
Another call came from an unsaved number. In-ho pressed decline and gripped the steering wheel again. A satisfied smile spread across his clean lips.
He finally understood how Haon felt. In-ho realized that his actions must have wounded Haon’s pride.
Tap, tap, tap. He lightly tapped the steering wheel, pondering how to apologize. He wanted to convey his feelings as naturally as possible so that Haon wouldn’t feel burdened.
That I just wanted to give Haon-ssi a gift. That I wanted to do something for him, whether it was clothes or anything else, and so I acted on my own without asking about his taste—
“Too long…”
As he organized his words in his head, he rubbed his chin. If it were this long, Haon would probably drift off again while listening. He had to speak to Haon as briefly and clearly as possible.
Buzz—
Just then, Haon called. In-ho chuckled and happily pressed the call button. Since he had been thinking of that pale face, receiving the call put him in a good mood. Haon-ssi must have been thinking of him too.
“Yes, Haon-ssi.”