London…
Joo Tae-hyun swallowed a bitter smile.
He had never even applied to a university in London. Sure, there were people who brought up studying abroad earlier, but he couldn’t recall any mention of London at that time…
Seo Baek-han was, as always, polite. The way he kindly confirmed that he had not a single ounce of interest in him was almost admirable.
“…Yes.”
So what could he do?
Seo Baek-han was someone Joo Tae-hyun could never hope to defeat. And now, at this moment, he had crossed a line that should not have been crossed, leaving him with no choice but to concede and step back.
All that was left for him was a final farewell, and even knowing that, cowardly Joo Tae-hyun hesitated several times. Yet, Seo Baek-han waited. It felt less like kindness and more like a form of compensation, as if he were making amends for the red mark he had left on Joo Tae-hyun’s wrist.
“Well then… Happy New Year, Hyung.”
“Yeah, you too. Study hard.”
With that, Seo Baek-han lightly tousled Joo Tae-hyun’s hair. It was casual enough not to ruin the hairstyle that had been meticulously styled by a professional, yet it didn’t feel overly formal or awkward either.
It felt like a playful gesture, a formal apology for rejecting his confession.
However, the way he turned his back was merciless.
Joo Tae-hyun stood there for a while, as if nailed to the spot, staring blankly at the back of Seo Baek-han’s head as he faded into the distance.
If he knew that Joo Tae-hyun was watching him, he might find it disgusting. After all, he wasn’t even his type, and if he happened to turn around and catch sight of him, it would be a disaster. Despite these worries, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from him.
Fortunately, Seo Baek-han never once looked back at Joo Tae-hyun.
Joo Tae-hyun rubbed his dry face and tapped on his phone screen. After booking a flight ticket to the United States, even if it meant a layover, he sent a message to the family group chat.
He would be leaving for Washington today.
Eighteen, nineteen, and twenty years old.
Joo Tae-hyun’s memories of this period were hazy.
He had just studied relentlessly. Even when he was in Korea, he was a diligent student, but after coming abroad, he threw himself into his studies as if he were a person possessed.
He studied so hard that it drew criticism, as if he were reinforcing the stereotypes about Asians, to the point where people even speculated whether he was a namesake of that conglomerate heir from Korea.
He didn’t care what people said. Joo Tae-hyun needed something to immerse himself in. Even now, whenever he had a moment to spare, he thought of Seo Baek-han and the night of the year-end party. So he couldn’t afford to give himself any breaks. He had to keep pushing himself without rest.
Maybe… it would get better.
He was only twenty years old; surely he wouldn’t suffer because of Seo Baek-han for the rest of his life.
“…It will get better, I can forget.”
After that incident, he immediately deleted Seo Baek-han’s contact information.
Joo Tae-hyun no longer trusted himself, not even slightly, as he had been carried away by the atmosphere, speaking out of turn without being drunk.
He thought it was better to prevent any embarrassing incidents from happening again, so he took that action.
He knew blocking was the most definitive way, but that was difficult. After all, he was still a member of 〈Haechi〉. He had submitted an application to participate minimally as a student studying abroad, but…
It would be a waste to give up his full membership in 〈Haechi〉. He still had enough sense to realize that.
And someday, at the very least, if Seo Baek-han got married, wouldn’t he have to send a congratulatory message?
This was a matter of courtesy that Joo Tae-hyun had to show as the youngest member of the DH Group, regardless of his personal feelings.
…Using that excuse, he couldn’t bring himself to block him, and instead, he had only erased the name.
But it was a futile action. In fact, Joo Tae-hyun had memorized Seo Baek-han’s contact information. Both the number he used in Korea and the one he used in the United States.
“Hey, Joo Joo. I heard Seo Baek-han really cares about you?”
Maybe it was because he had just been thinking about Seo Baek-han’s contact information. At the sudden mention of his name, Joo Tae-hyun involuntarily flinched.
“Seriously, he’s such a funny guy. Sometimes he seems like a malfunctioning AI, you know?”
It was Cheon Seung-pil, the grandson of the Yoonra Foundation, who attended the same school.
“Totally expressionless, but his actions are all over the place.”
“…Where’s Seung-a?”
“She went to the store.”
Cheon Seung-pil and Cheon Seung-a were fraternal twins, running a small but solid educational foundation. They had come to study abroad around the same time and had occasionally exchanged greetings.
Cheon Seung-a was following a path similar to Joo Tae-hyun’s, having graduated high school early and entered college early, while Cheon Seung-pil was hopping around several small language schools in the area without much commitment. He had heard three months ago that if he didn’t pass the program this time, he might lose his student visa… but seeing him still roaming around the East, it was clear he had bribed the language school.
“Anyway, is that really true?”
“I’m not a robot, I’m a person.”
“What are you talking about? I was shocked when I heard that Seo Baek-han actually cares about you. I’ve never heard anyone say that about him before.”
Ah…
In the midst of trying to forget, erase, and act like it didn’t matter, the sudden mention of his name startled him, and he didn’t catch the rest of the conversation… It was just nonsense that wasn’t worth responding to. That was typical of Cheon Seung-pil.
He had been roaming around Manhattan like it was his own home. It seemed he had gone to New York to pick up some useless gossip from the Korean community.
“Do you know that the Crown Prince started a scholarship foundation?”
As usual, Joo Tae-hyun intended to let it go in one ear and out the other, but then he suddenly brought up the royal family. Joo Tae-hyun quickly glanced around to see if there were any Koreans nearby. It wouldn’t be a big deal to speak ill of the country’s leader in a place where no one was around, but Cheon Seung-pil didn’t know the limits, so he needed to be cautious. Especially since he sometimes found himself in photos or videos.
“They invited all sorts of people for the launch ceremony, even Seung-a went. But apparently, the son of the Pungjeon Group was there too.”
“Pungjeon Group? I’ve never heard of it.”
“What was it… They developed a blood glucose self-monitoring sensor or something, and suddenly they became well-known. But it seems that kid made some comments about you at the launch ceremony. What did he say? Something like you’re disgusting because you’re an Alpha?”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all! Some kid whose face you don’t even know called you disgusting!”
“No, there must have been some context to the conversation.”
“Umm… I’m not sure about that. Anyway! The problem is that his dad got invited by the Crown Prince.”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been struggling to understand why his and Seo Baek-han’s names were being mentioned, quickly grasped the situation upon hearing about the Crown Prince’s invitation.
“Looks like they got some orders from a VIP to stir up the feelings of those Trait/Phenotype folks.”
It wasn’t even a grand assumption. It was just a common occurrence.
But then Cheon Seung-pil leaned in closer to Joo Tae-hyun. As if he had some huge secret, he whispered in a cautious voice.
“Well, that could be it. But I heard Seo Baek-han got really angry and humiliated the son of Pungjeon Group.”
“That’s…”
“Oh, who doesn’t know that Seo Baek-han and the Crown Prince don’t get along? But that doesn’t mean he’s the type to take sides in public like that.”
“…”
“So, did you not know that Seo Baek-han cares for you like a real brother? He was making a fuss saying not to touch you? …Huh? Why do you look like that? You didn’t know? Apparently, this happened quite a while ago.”
Joo Tae-hyun didn’t know how to respond and returned to focusing on his paper.
“Oh, so! If you’re close with Seo Baek-han, you should have told me! I want a recommendation letter from Stanford. Or even Pyongyang University… Anyway, can you get me just one recommendation letter from Seo Baek-han? Huh?”
Cheon Seung-pil kept pestering him, but Joo Tae-hyun pretended to be busy reading his paper.
“Ugh, damn. This guy always has the same expression, so it’s impossible to read him.”
“Are you sure you’re not just too simple?”
“This is real!”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell him; it was just that Joo Tae-hyun had nothing to say.
Seo Baek-han stood up for him? He even cared for him like a real brother? And this had happened a while ago?
There must be a reason why Seo Baek-han acted that way. He would casually ask his older brothers or sisters later, but for now, he suspected it was an attempt to ruin the Crown Prince’s scholarship foundation launch.
‘DH’s Joo Tae-hyun’ was still effective and useful to him. Well, as long as Seo Baek-han found a way to use him beneficially, he had no complaints. However…
Joo Tae-hyun blamed the paper that he was reading with his eyes but couldn’t process with his mind, and thought of Seo Baek-han again.
Quite a bit of time had already passed.
They hadn’t even exchanged formal messages. The last words they had shared were a promise to see each other at the year-end party…
Yet, whenever he heard Seo Baek-han’s name, or thought of him, why did it feel like his heart was being pierced and aching as if it were wide open?
Now that he was far from his sight, shouldn’t he also be far from his heart?
He hadn’t lived that long, but in a way, he had spent his entire life in unrequited love, and yet Joo Tae-hyun still couldn’t grasp this damned feeling.
He had nurtured these feelings without even getting Seo Baek-han’s permission, so why couldn’t he cut them off at will?
─ …So it turns out that Pungjeon Group was colluding with the Crown Prince in that way.