By Zephyria 
“Baek-han hyung, you’re joking, right? You’re kidding me, aren’t you…? A knucklehead like me in graduate school….”
Seo Baek-han ignored Cheon Seung-pil’s pathetic pleas through the crack in the door and stepped out of the entryway. Contacting the Yoonra Foundation directly might be the quickest way to get rid of that bastard. He wouldn’t have the energy to bother him while dealing with his family, who were dead set on him going to graduate school.
He wanted to throw away all the side dishes, but he couldn’t because he kept thinking about how Joo Tae-hyun especially liked them.
What did his mood matter? Joo Tae-hyun liked them.
“Th, then I won’t graduate from college! I’ll keep deferring, so you know! Hyung? Are you listening? Aaaagh!”
Whatever. Seo Baek-han moved the fairly heavy shopping bag inside. If Cheon Seung-pil’s graduate school plans would help Joo Tae-hyun even a little, he would make sure he got his master’s degree no matter what.
Still, a small but not shabby confession that Joo Tae-hyun would like, considering his complicated feelings… It was the first time he’d received such a difficult task.
Of course, it was just a concern, not something he disliked or found annoying. Since falling in love with Joo Tae-hyun, there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t want to do.
—Tacos? Seriously, is Seo Baek-han feeding him that kind of crap every day?
The employee clearing the next table was gradually eavesdropping on the harsh voice coming from the phone. He probably didn’t understand what was being said, but Joo Tae-hyun was bothered and repeatedly pressed the volume down button to lower the voice.
“No, Hyung. I wanted to eat it, so I came out alone.”
It was a fact-based excuse, but Joo Sang-woo, who loathed Seo Baek-han, was interpreting it as he pleased.
「Can I get you something to drink?」
Joo Tae-hyun gestured to stop the employee, who was about to return to the kitchen but approached him in a friendly manner, and turned his body toward the wall.
The employee at the cheap diner that Seo Baek-han and he used to frequent remembered Joo Tae-hyun. He’d received a pretty big tip, so it was no wonder he remembered. He must have been taking a long time clearing the table just to try and strike up a conversation.
“Really, Hyung. I was hungry after leaving the lab, so I stopped by.”
He’d never told Seo Baek-han, but he strangely craved the overly salty and spicy food here sometimes, so he often stopped by afterward. For various reasons, like being stressed while writing his thesis, or suddenly thinking of it while messaging Seo Baek-han in Pyongyang.
—Well, if that bastard had any conscience, he wouldn’t have come to our house. Haa. If it weren’t for what the Lotus Flower Palace asked, I wouldn’t have let that Seo Baek-han set foot in Seoul, let alone America.
Joo Tae-hyun awkwardly smiled in response to his Hyung’s harsh swearing, which he would never have uttered in front of him in the past.
He was glad that his family no longer treated him like a sugar cookie, but he wasn’t comfortable because it was due to all the accidents he’d caused.
—Come to think of it, Seo Baek-han must have decided to become a bastard now, because he and Assemblyman Seo are—.
Joo Tae-hyun readily agreed, knowing that his second Hyung couldn’t say anything bad to him and was only scolding Seo Baek-han. If Seo Baek-han hadn’t been hurt in his place, his family wouldn’t have let him come and go from their house.
—Oh, and Mom and Dad are visiting Washington soon, so when the dates are set, you take care of getting rid of that guy, Tae-hyun.
“Okay.”
Until he truly accepted his lukewarm decision to forgive Seo Baek-han depending on what he did, his family would need their own time. Just as he couldn’t easily express his negative feelings in front of his family, they still didn’t know how to say unpleasant things to their youngest, whom they had only given love to.
Even though the beginning of the matter wasn’t very pleasant, everyone agreed that it was an inevitable process. He thought he had become an adult by experiencing various things… It was arrogance. Just as age rings are steadily carved into a huge old tree over a long period of time, there seemed to be no end to growth.
Joo Tae-hyun lightly organized the dishes, pressing down on his slightly swollen eyelids. His head was heavy because he hadn’t slept a wink last night.
“Sang-woo Hyung, I was thinking of going to Korea for a bit when I finish this research… Do you think it’ll still be noisy here and there?”
His family advised him not to move unnecessarily because the domestic media and overseas paparazzi were watching with bated breath. It was an excuse his family had made up, worried that Joo Tae-hyun might feel disturbed if he set foot in Seoul and remembered this and that. Don’t worry about this for the time being, don’t feel sorry for not being able to visit, and just study as much as you want.
—Hyung wants to see our baby soon. Maybe… um, is something wrong?
“Nothing’s wrong, just… Of course, writing a thesis isn’t easy… I don’t even want to look at academic journals these days.”
—Haha. So there are times when Tae-hyun, you don’t like studying either.
Joo Tae-hyun swallowed his trembling breath so his second Hyung wouldn’t hear and pretended to be nonchalant.
“I can’t keep running away like this. Mom and Dad must be tired from traveling such long distances every time… I have to go. I miss my Hyungs and Noona, too. And my nephews and nieces….”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that he wanted to visit the Ancestral Burial Grounds. Even if he did visit Seoul this time, he probably wouldn’t be able to bring himself to go easily. Maybe it would be difficult not just this time, but the next time too.
But as always, he wanted to try.
Like when he was young and seriously wondered what ‘Joo Tae-hyun’ wanted to do, not the youngest son of DH Group. Like when he did his best to become someone who wouldn’t be lacking as Seo Baek-han’s spouse. Like now, when he was doing his best to keep the feelings of hating and resenting someone from consuming him.
—Let’s talk again when the exact schedule is set. It all depends on when the thesis draft is finished, right?
“Yeah. I won’t overdo it either-.”
「Oh? You’re here after a long time!」
As the old door creaked open, the employee made a fuss and reached out in the direction he was sitting. He wondered why he was doing this when there were plenty of empty seats, so he glanced back… Seo Baek-han, looking unusually flustered, was looking at him.
—Okay, you know your health is the most important thing, right? Take it easy and study.
For some reason, it felt unreal, and Joo Tae-hyun blankly blinked.
—Tae-hyun? Youngest? Oh, can’t you hear me? Hello?
“…Ah, Hyung. The signal suddenly got bad. I’ll call you again later then.”
He ended the call somewhat hastily, so his second Hyung would probably be suspicious, but this was the best he could do for now. Since all his movements were being reported anyway, he would be furious with betrayal once he found out he’d run into Seo Baek-han. He thought he should leave a message in advance so his Hyung wouldn’t feel bad, but… Joo Tae-hyun couldn’t do anything from his seat until Seo Baek-han slowly walked over and sat down in front of him.
Given Seo Baek-han’s preference for clear endings, he would probably bring up the conversation they’d had yesterday again. It wasn’t enough that he’d stayed up all night in the study, but he’d run away from him this morning as if fleeing. He wasn’t ready to talk to him about this topic again yet.
Let’s not turn away anymore and accept it, let’s be brave and visit the Ancestral Burial Grounds someday. That’s what he’d resolved. But having a resolution in his heart and sharing that feeling with Seo Baek-han were completely different matters…
“Why are you doing this here, not eating proper food?”
But Seo Baek-han acted as if he could see into Joo Tae-hyun’s noisy mind.
He took off his coat and casually hung it on the back of the tall chair, and Seo Baek-han said playfully. The same voice, the same tone as usual.
“Cheon Seung-pil came by a little while ago. He was so proud of himself, saying he’d brought the side dishes you like.”
Instead of asking how his lab work was or how he was feeling now, Seo Baek-han brought up a completely different topic. It was a part of everyday life that had become natural for him to share these days.
Thanks to that, the light gradually returned to Joo Tae-hyun’s slightly shaken eyes.
Whenever everything suddenly felt overwhelming and difficult, he would lock himself in the study like last night and abuse himself. He wasn’t reading books or drafting theses. He was just going over his own weakness all night, scolding himself and reflecting.
Compared to the past, the frequency of this bad habit had definitely decreased. Rather than blaming himself for his weakness, he accepted that it was natural to have times like this. If the branches weren’t dangerously shaken and bent by the raging storm, they would break, wouldn’t they? He thought it was a series of processes that had to be let go of, so he spent much less time scolding himself.
However, yesterday… the topic he had been avoiding was suddenly mentioned, and he shrank back without realizing it. Rather, once he acknowledged that this sadness and depression were irresistible, he felt relieved.
And…….
“I put them in the fridge, but I think you should eat them soon. They’re things that spoil easily.”
Seo Baek-han acted as if he knew all this about him. He wasn’t neglecting or turning away. It was an attitude that could only be shown because he understood him better than anyone else.
If he thought it was a relief that Seo Baek-han was Seo Baek-han… if he felt reassured rather than someone who was trapped in a ruined past to atone… was he a little strange?
“Oh, and I heard he’s planning to get his master’s degree?”
“Cheon Seung-pil? He’s going to graduate school?”
“Yeah. He said he wanted to come to a school in Washington, so I cheered him on.”
Joo Tae-hyun, who had been caught up in unnecessary emotions, was stunned as if he had been hit by a sudden downpour. Cheon Seung-pil in graduate school? What nonsense…….
“Did Hyung push him?”
“No? It’s Cheon Seung-pil, like you said, Tae-hyun. Is he the kind of guy who would obediently study just because someone told him to?”
That’s what he meant. How could someone who seemed unlikely to even graduate from college go to graduate school? And he was even going to leave Manhattan and come to Washington?
“Above all, I hate Cheon Seung-pil. I’m sorry to you, but.”
As Seo Baek-han said, it didn’t seem likely that he, who loathed Cheon Seung-pil, would let Cheon Seung-pil come to the same area as him. Seriously… could there be a more mismatched combination of words? Cheon Seung-pil and graduate school.
“By the way, have you been here often? I didn’t know.”
“…Not often.”
“I miss it sometimes too. I guess that’s why I look for junk food.”
Seo Baek-han pointed to the menu for the employee and ordered the food he used to eat often, then winked playfully.
“Assemblyman Seo would be appalled if he heard that. He’d say your taste level has dropped.”
“Ah, so that’s why it’s more appealing? Because I want to upset the great Assemblyman Seo.”
Joo Tae-hyun ended up letting out a hollow laugh at his acting, which seemed so innocent as if he had never done anything bad.
“I suddenly thought of this diner… I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
There was a strange excitement in his gesture as he swept back his bangs that had fallen comfortably.
“Especially today, at this moment.”