“Well? I guess he likes women.”
The answer was so anticlimactic it made his tense question feel foolish.
Come to think of it, Choi Yeon-jun had said the same thing. A wise answer to a foolish question.
“Well, in the States, it’s common to bring your significant other even to casual get-togethers with friends, right? So at first, everyone just assumed that’s what he was doing. If you have a girlfriend and don’t bring her, you’re seen as someone with a problem, so what can you do?”
The problem was after he returned to Korea. Every time Seo Baek-han came back to Korea, he brought a different girlfriend, and the adults started to talk about it.
“These people here say that dating and marriage are separate, but it’s obvious what he’s up to. Crown Prince is a bit slow, but he’s still the Crown Prince! Seeing him throw such a fit, saying no one, not even the imperial family, can interfere with his personal life, the adults get the picture. Wow, Seo Baek-han is serious, like this.”
“R-Really? Is that how it’s interpreted?”
“Of course. Sweetie, don’t even think about getting married until you get used to this kind of talk. Got it?”
So that’s how it was. He was just a little, no, actually very surprised that Seo Baek-han’s girlfriends kept changing. But he hadn’t imagined so many people were involved behind the scenes, or that there was a subtle power struggle. He just… felt like a child, feeling upset for no reason after hearing Choi Yeon-jun’s story.
“And in the meantime, neither Assemblyman Seo Hong-gyu nor Director Ahn Ye-seon stopped their sons from doing whatever they wanted… They figured if they sent their precious daughter to that family, she’d suffer terribly, so they all backed off.”
“…I see.”
“Well, if Seo Baek-han starts looking for a match in earnest, they’ll all line up.”
Joo Tae-hyun unknowingly felt relieved, then tilted his head, unable to understand himself.
What was he relieved about? And why did he want to understand Seo Baek-han’s actions?
Whether he met men or women, whether he changed lovers every other day, the spark Seo Baek-han had ignited in him wouldn’t disappear.
Seo Baek-han was the one who expanded Joo Tae-hyun’s small world, and that wouldn’t change.
Even if Seo Baek-han didn’t consider that summer night special at all.
“So, sweetie.”
Joo Yun-woo carefully placed her hand on Joo Tae-hyun’s cheek, her eyes looking somewhat blurry. Perhaps it was the reflection of the road lights pouring in through the car window, but it seemed as if tears were welling up in her eyes.
“Your sister… hopes you’ll like someone other than Seo Baek-han.”
“…Huh?”
Joo Tae-hyun momentarily forgot how to breathe. He could feel his pulse racing from the cheek where Joo Yun-woo’s fingertips touched. Thump, thump, thump. The slow, steady heartbeat suddenly intensified, as if about to burst.
It felt as if someone was ruthlessly trying to steal the last bastion Joo Tae-hyun had desperately tried to hide and conceal. The wild throbbing, as if it couldn’t bear to leave his body intact, made Joo Tae-hyun instinctively clutch his chest. It hurt so much around that area that he couldn’t stay still.
“…S-Sis. I-.”
“Whether they’re an Alpha, a Beta, a man, or a woman, it doesn’t matter, I just hope it’s someone who cherishes you as much as our family does, someone who can only give you love…”
“…”
“Seo Baek-han might be a good person. I admit he’s amazing for his age. But he’s not a good man by any stretch of the imagination.”
“…”
“Tae-hyun. Dating, marriage, it’s not enough to just like someone. The more sincere you are, the more you’ll get hurt.”
Joo Yun-woo sighed deeply. She seemed relieved, as if she had finished a long overdue task, but also worried about her confused younger brother.
Joo Tae-hyun repeated, ‘No, Sis, no…’ before finally hanging his head.
…Admiration?
No, he must like him.
No, he definitely likes him.
He likes Seo Baek-han.
A person he’d barely met, someone he’d unilaterally contacted and only exchanged messages with occasionally, someone who saw him as a mere child, someone who was also an Alpha, and someone who even calculated his relationships, someone who, as his sister said, definitely didn’t seem like a good man…
Before he could deny it, his entire face turned red as if it were burning. He felt ashamed that his most cherished person had caught him feeling sick at the sight of Seo Baek-han with his girlfriend, and then desperately trying to find even the smallest crumbs of clues to understand him.
He was embarrassed that his feelings were so obvious to others, and he was dumbfounded that he had only realized the direction of his emotions after Joo Yun-woo had pointed it out. Joo Tae-hyun couldn’t say anything for a long time.
“H…How did you know?”
“At first, whenever Seo Baek-han’s name came up, you’d smile so happily that I thought, ‘Oh dear, that sly fox has charmed my brother too.’ I just thought it was that. But then, at some point, you became very cautious whenever Seo Baek-han’s name came up. Like you didn’t want anyone to see what you were thinking or feeling.”
“…”
“That’s when I knew. Our sweetie likes Seo Baek-han.”
“…”
“But, sweetie. If you like Seo Baek-han that much, it’s okay to just like him. Even if you end up living with someone else, no one can ever touch your true feelings. So just… don’t think about trying to use my connections to get close to Seo Baek-han. If it doesn’t work out? You don’t have to get married. You can live alone.”
She said that love was the one thing you could never hide, but what was so great about a guy who wouldn’t even let you express your feelings properly? Joo Yun-woo then made a loud smacking sound with her lips, like a cow chewing its cud.
“That’s why your sister isn’t getting married either… Still likes Cha So-jin.”
“…Huh?”
“If that wasn’t the reason, why else would I be drinking alone, leaving my sweetie all alone?”
Joo Yun-woo threw a handful of bitter chocolate into her mouth and chewed for a long time.
Joo Tae-hyun didn’t know what to say, so he just unwrapped a chocolate for Joo Yun-woo.
His sister liked So-jin.
No, wait. But… didn’t his sister say earlier? So-jin was…
“Yeah, Cha So-jin is getting married. She probably still doesn’t know I like her.”
“…”
“So, seeing you like that made me feel a bit sentimental… Your sister just wanted to be a bit of a nag for once.”
I just want my sweetie to be happy and not make the same mistakes I did, Joo Yun-woo said, resting her forehead on Joo Tae-hyun’s shoulder.
“Sis.”
“Yeah.”
“…Thank you.”
“If you’re thankful, don’t like Seo Baek-han.”
“…”
“Oh, you’re not answering?”
Joo Tae-hyun adjusted his position a few times so that his sister could lean comfortably on his shoulder, then listlessly stared at the dazzling night view of Seoul through the car window.
He likes Seo Baek-han.
But even if that’s how he feels, would anything really change?
Joo Tae-hyun was just curious and puzzled as to when this feeling, which should have started with admiration and ended with praise, had grown so uncontrollably.
Unlike before, he would be seeing Seo Baek-han more often at 〈Haechi〉, and wouldn’t his illusions about him naturally shatter then? He vaguely thought so.
In fact, Joo Tae-hyun wasn’t in a state where he could make an objective assessment of Seo Baek-han, as Joo Yun-woo or Choi Yeon-jun had done. He simply lacked too much absolute information about him.
Perhaps he was adding illusions to his memories, giving his heart to someone who didn’t even exist in reality?
So, if he met him often, he would be okay. Joo Tae-hyun stubbornly recalled the aching sensation he felt when Seo Baek-han didn’t remember the place where they had first met, the feeling that his heart was crumbling.
Yeah. It hurts like this.
And yet he likes him.
Unrequited love.
First love.
He wasn’t a fool, so if that happened a few more times, he would come to his senses.
And the next morning, he received a message from Seo Baek-han.