Chapter 32

— Mugyeol: Hey    [1:38 AM]

— Mugyeol: Who did you kiss? You actually kissed someone? No way, right?    [1:38 AM]

— Mugyeol: You can tell me.    [1:38 AM]

— Mugyeol: We’re best friends.    [1:39 AM]

— Mugyeol: Why aren’t you answering?    [1:43 AM]

— Mugyeol: Are you asleep?    [1:58 AM]

— Mugyeol: Wake up.    [1:59 AM]

— Mugyeol: I’m just curious.    [2:03 AM]

— Mugyeol: Seriously, just curious. Just tell me, I won’t do anything.    [2:14 AM]

— Mugyeol: You’re lying, right? Bluffing? This hyung knows everything.    [3:01 AM]

The first thing Yi-seon saw upon waking in the morning was a barrage of messages from Mugyeol. Peering at the screen with bleary eyes, he wondered what on earth this was and let out a heavy sigh. Several missed calls had also come through during the early morning hours, but having put his phone on silent while sleeping, he had not heard them. It seemed he needed to talk to Ham Su-ah quickly to put an end to this incident.

Whether by coming clean to Mugyeol or taking the secret to the grave.

Just as he picked up his phone to text Ham Su-ah—Thud, thud, thud! Someone began pounding on the front door as if trying to tear it down.

“Who is it?”

Startled, Yi-seon checked the intercom screen and saw Mugyeol shoving his face right into the camera. Yi-seon checked the time again. It was indeed 8:30 AM.

What is this?

Am I dreaming?

His heart began to hammer like a culprit caught in the act of doing something bad. He rushed over to unlock the door, and a blast of cold air greeted him first. Through the crack, a large hand forcefully shoved its way in and wrenched the door wide open. Stepping inside with the winter wind at his back, Mugyeol asked point-blank, “Hey. Who is it?”

“…Uh, yeah. Good morning.”

“Who was it? You lied, right? It’s total bullshit, isn’t it?”

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes this morning had been Mugyeol’s unhinged text messages, and the moment he woke up, he was confronted by the glinting eyes of a lunatic interrogator.

Claiming he had stayed up all night out of sheer curiosity, Mugyeol demanded an answer. True to his claim of pulling an all-nighter, the area around Mugyeol’s eyes—usually clear without a hint of shadow—was sunken and dark. Fatigue and irritation were heavily etched between his brows.

“I told you, it’s my privacy.”

“Since when is there privacy between us?”

“Why wouldn’t there be? By the way, are you going somewhere today too? You look pretty sharp.”

Stepping back a pace, Yi-seon scanned Mugyeol up and down. His attire today was more casual than yesterday’s, yet it was clearly styled for an important occasion.

Is he having that family gathering with Jeong Soram today? Or maybe an opera or musical date…?

A clean turtleneck paired with a black coat. Even though he was dressed in pitch-black from head to toe, he gave off a sophisticated and crisp impression rather than a somber one.

At Yi-seon’s compliment on looking sharp, Mugyeol’s rigid expression softened.

“I just wore whatever Driver Oh gave me. Does it look okay? Honestly, it’s not my style.”

“It’s obvious it’s not your style. But it really looks great. You look like an adult. It suits you.”

Normally, when a guy freshly out of high school dressed up out of the ordinary, there would be an awkward stiffness, as if he were clumsily imitating an adult. But Mugyeol showed none of that. Perhaps thanks to the tailored fit hugging his frame and his broad, straight shoulders, he looked genuinely impressive. His natural build and physique seemed to carry it effortlessly.

“Hmm…”

Looking down at his clothes, Mugyeol tapped the toe of his shoe against the floor for no reason. “Then should I ask him to get something similar for you, Ryu Yi-seon?”

Just as Mugyeol spoke with a faintly flushed face, the phone inside his coat pocket began to ring. With an annoyed expression, Mugyeol answered the call, “Yes. I’m on my way down now.”

It seemed someone was waiting on the ground floor. Ending the call, Mugyeol checked the entryway mirror, opened the front door, and firmly poked Yi-seon in the center of his chest.

“Anyway, we’ll talk about that later.”

“About what?”

“That.”

Evidently irritated again just by remembering it, Mugyeol’s brow furrowed deeply. But when his phone began ringing once more, he had no choice but to step outside.

“I’m going.”

“Yeah. See you.”

“Yeah.”

As soon as Mugyeol left after dropping by at dawn to turn his head upside down, Yi-seon grew anxious. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, he urgently shot a message to Ham Su-ah.

— Noona, are you free today by any chance? We need an emergency meeting about Mugyeol.    [8:45 AM]

Having likely slept in, Ham Su-ah only checked the message in the afternoon and showed up around sunset. Sitting side by side with Ham Su-ah on a bench by the apartment playground, Yi-seon gripped his hands tightly over his knees with a grave expression.

“Noona. Somehow… the topic of kissing came up with Yeon Mugyeol.”

“Why did you suddenly bring that up?”

“It just came out while talking about dating a girlfriend in the future. Anyway, that happened, but…”

“Yeah.”

“I think Yeon Mugyeol figured it out. That the person I kissed was you, noona.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one conclusion. It was because he suspected Ham Su-ah that he had spammed texts all night, pulled an all-nighter, and barged in early this morning demanding answers.

Because he had kissed the noona he had a crush on.

“Did you happen to tell him, noona?”

“Me? Of course not. Do I look crazy?”

“Well, that’s a relief, but… I’m worried it’ll cause trouble for you if Yeon Mugyeol finds out.”

“I’m fine. Relax your face.”

Ham Su-ah gently smoothed the furrow between Yi-seon’s brows. Submitting his face to Ham Su-ah’s touch, Yi-seon fidgeted anxiously with his clasped hands.

“You should’ve seen the look in his eyes, noona. It was terrifying…”

Just thinking about the terrifying expression he had faced first thing in the morning made him shudder.

Yi-seon imagined the fallout if Mugyeol were to discover the full truth. First, an enormous fit of rage was a certainty, and if things went south, the backlash might even reach Ham Su-ah. If his noona was guilty of anything, it was merely comforting a dazed younger boy out of concern.

Putting himself in Mugyeol’s shoes, it was a matter entirely worthy of anger. Whether it had been deliberate or accidental, the moment he found out, he would feel an immense sense of betrayal.

Kissing the girl his best friend had publicly claimed to love for years?

If that were posted online, it would be met with every kind of curse imaginable. It was a matter of friendship and basic moral code.

“Still, I think it might be better to just tell him. What do you think, noona?”

“Forget it. Don’t tell him.”

“Why? Because Yeon Mugyeol likes you so much?”

“That’s not it.” Ham Su-ah sank into thought for a moment. As if running simulations through her head, her gaze slowly drifted across the sky blazing with the colors of sunset. “It’s not a question of whether Mugyeol liked me. It’s because of Mugyeol’s personality.”

“His personality?”

“Yeah. What if he hits you? His fists are huge.”

“…Would he really hit me?”

“Who knows? If he feels betrayed, he might lash out with verbal abuse or demand to cut ties. Then you’ll be the only one getting hurt.”

Because you like him.

The words were left unsaid, but Yi-seon understood immediately what Ham Su-ah meant.

“For the peace of both of you, just bury it. That’s the best way.”

“But that’s deceiving Mugyeol.”

When Yi-seon hesitated under the weight of guilt, Ham Su-ah shook her head. “No, Yi-seon-ah. White lies exist in this world for a reason. And it’s not deceiving him. You’re just not bringing it up.”

Yi-seon hesitated. He wanted to throw himself at Mugyeol’s feet and confess everything, but with Su-ah directly involved, he couldn’t. Ham Su-ah affectionately tapped Yi-seon’s cheek.

“Why are you so scared? What did you do wrong?”

“I’m not scared, I just feel guilty.”

“Why are you always so naive? Want to kiss one more time to snap out of it?”

“…”

“Just pretend you don’t know anything. Let it blow over. As long as Mugyeol doesn’t know, it’s fine.”

Ham Su-ah gave a soft laugh as she playfully pinched and released Yi-seon’s cheek. Listening to Ham Su-ah’s calm voice, Yi-seon felt that perhaps he had simply panicked ahead of time.

Right. Mugyeol probably only asked out of curiosity. He’s always been overly curious. What’s the big deal about his best friend kissing someone? He’s probably done it with someone else too… Besides, I’ve never even asked Mugyeol who he’s kissed, right?

I’ll just gloss it over and placate him. As long as he doesn’t find out it was Su-ah noona, everything will be fine. I want to keep being good friends with Mugyeol, and Mugyeol is the most precious person to me, so this is the right choice. Noona told me not to say anything either, so it’s just a white lie…

Just as he tried to justify it to himself and smile back at her, a dark shadow cast over the bench. Before they could even register the darkness, a low voice dropped quietly above their heads.

“What is it that I don’t need to know?”

Yi-seon and Ham Su-ah froze, their faces locked in place.

“…”

“…”

After exchanging startled glances, the two of them finally came to their senses and slowly looked up together.

“I asked what it is I don’t need to know,” the low voice repeated, terrifying in its unnatural calm.

In the freezing winter air, Mugyeol stood before them, his expression frozen harder than ice.

❖ ❖ ❖