Chapter 133

Why is Ms. Miyoung here?

The instant Yeonhoo registered that she was in the apartment, it was like someone had dumped ice water over his head.

Only then did he become fully aware of what he looked like.

He was sitting on Kwon Mieon’s lap.

Yeonhoo shot upright so fast it was almost as though he were shoving Kwon away.

“Uh, um... sorry.”

Flustered, Yeonhoo looked like someone who’d just been caught cheating.

Kwon’s expression dimmed slightly at the sight, and he stood up after him.

“Kwon Mieon! Where are you? Is he not even home...?”

Kang Miyoung was still calling for him from the living room.

Yeonhoo glanced toward the door and started cautiously,

“Ms. Miyoung’s outside right—”

A large hand clapped over his mouth.

“Shh.”

Why are you covering my mouth?

Yeonhoo blinked in bewilderment.

Kwon removed his hand, then headed toward the bedroom door.

Is he going out?

Yeonhoo awkwardly followed behind him, only to walk straight into Kwon’s back when he suddenly stopped with one hand on the doorknob.

“I’m here.”

That was all Kwon said.

Before Yeonhoo could respond, the door opened, then slammed shut again with a bang.

Left alone, Yeonhoo stared blankly at it in confusion.

Then voices drifted through the firmly closed door.

Yeonhoo held his breath and pressed his ear against it.

“What are you doing here?”

“You were home? What the hell have you been doing that you won’t even answer your phone?”

“Why’d you come over out of nowhere?”

“You think I wanted to? Mom told me to bring you some food!”

“Give it to me. I’ll put it away. Tell her I said thanks.”

“What about thanking me? What have you even been doing lately that you never answer?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“You don’t even have a job....”

“Whatever. You dropped it off, right? Then leave.”

“Why are you pushing me?!”

Footsteps moved toward the kitchen, then back toward the entryway.

Miyoung’s grumbling voice continued.

“Oh, right! Since I’m here, I should grab the bag I left.”

“Bag?”

“I think I left the bag I brought the food in last time. Knowing you, it’s probably still in that storage room—”

Click.

“Hey, Kang Miyoung. Wait!”

Before Kwon could stop her, the door opened.

“I don’t want to look at you either, so I’ll just find it and get out, okay? But shopping’s annoying without it, so—huh?”

Miyoung’s chatter abruptly stopped.

She blinked slowly.

“...What?”

Because inside the room she’d assumed was storage stood Mo Yeonhoo, frozen awkwardly in place after failing to find anywhere to hide.

Yeonhoo stared back at her, every bit as startled as she was.

As the two of them stood there caught in mutual shock over meeting in such an unexpected place, Kwon’s outstretched hand remained suspended uselessly in midair.

“A customer...?”

Miyoung was the first to break the silence.

“Hello....”

“Why are you here?”

What was he supposed to say to that?

Yeonhoo’s lips parted, but no words came out.

He glanced behind himself.

Two computers sat side by side, both running the game.

“You were playing with Kwon Mieon? But why... here? Wait, are you two this close? What is going on?”

The questions came rapid-fire, one after another.

Yeonhoo’s mouth went dry.

How am I supposed to explain this...?

He couldn’t exactly say, I thought Kwon Mieon was you in-game, so I kept following him around until he caught me, and lately we’ve been hunting for spies.

“I told you to leave.”

While Yeonhoo stood there unable to answer, Kwon finally moved.

He quickly grabbed Miyoung by the shoulders and tried to drag her away.

“Kwon Mieon! Wait a second...!”

Bang!

Miyoung planted her feet as if she intended to resist, but Kwon was much faster.

In an instant he hauled her out, shut the door, and disappeared.

Left alone in the room again, Yeonhoo rubbed at his chest.

That scared me.

Miyoung’s sudden voice.

The door flying open without warning.

None of it had been remotely expected, and his heart was still pounding from the shock.

“Why are you in such a hurry? I said I can leave on my own! Hey, hey, my shoes—!”

A noisy scuffle came from the entryway.

His surprise faded quickly, replaced by curiosity.

Yeonhoo crept back toward the door.

Then Miyoung’s urgent question rang out.

“Before I go, just answer this! Were you two already close?”

“You’ve got your shoes on, right? Then stop—”

“How does something like this even happen?”

Miyoung suddenly sounded delighted.

“Actually... I’ve been kind of curious about him.”

Kwon seemed to stop moving.

For a moment, only Miyoung’s lowered, excited voice carried through the apartment.

“I’ve never felt this way about a customer before, and we barely know each other, so I couldn’t exactly just make a move. But if he’s close with you... doesn’t that mean he must be a pretty decent guy? You don’t get close to just anyone.”

“.......”

“So could you introduce us properly?”

Yeonhoo’s eyes widened.

This was the first time he’d learned that Kang Miyoung had been interested in him too—that she’d been holding back all this time.

Ms. Miyoung was interested in me?

He hadn’t noticed at all.

They’d barely even had what could be called conversations.

Yeonhoo had always been the nervous one, while Miyoung spoke to him easily enough whenever they crossed paths, so he’d assumed his feelings were completely one-sided.

And yet she had liked him too.

“Come on. Introduce us.”

Maybe this was exactly what Yeonhoo had always wanted.

The woman he’d fallen for at first sight was asking to be introduced to him.

So why was he...

...not happy?

For someone who had once thought he’d do anything for Kang Miyoung, he felt neither happy nor excited.

He barely felt anything at all.

Why don’t I feel the way I used to, even after seeing her?

Sure, her arrival had been sudden.

But back then, just the sight of her would have set love songs and wedding bells ringing nonstop inside his head.

Actually, it’s not just now. At some point, being around Ms. Miyoung started feeling completely normal.

Somewhere along the way, Yeonhoo had stopped thinking about her.

No.

It was more accurate to say he had completely forgotten about her.

Even now—

“Hey! Kwon Mieon! I’m seriously asking you to introduce—”

The thought of trying to say something to her wasn’t what occupied his mind.

“You’ve got your shoes on. Leave.”

Bang.

The front door slammed shut.

Footsteps came back toward the room.

A presence approached rapidly, and then the door opened.

Yeonhoo had been staring at the floor, lost in thought.

Almost involuntarily, he lifted his head.

The moment his eyes met Kwon’s, the thought he’d been uncertain about became clear.

Yeah. Kwon Mieon is the one I care about.

Yeonhoo didn’t know whether what he felt was the same kind of attraction he’d once felt toward Kang Miyoung, or whether it was nothing more than curiosity.

He had never been this conscious of another man before.

He had never felt anything quite like this.

But one thing was certain.

Right now, Yeonhoo was more aware of Kwon Mieon than anyone else.

Way more than Ms. Miyoung.

Some kind of feeling had taken root inside him for the man standing in front of him—something strong enough to push even his forty-sixth passionate crush aside.

He still had no idea what that feeling was, but....

This is kind of embarrassing.

Yeonhoo’s face turned scarlet so quickly it looked ready to burst.

He hurriedly turned his head away.

Because of that, he didn’t see—

“Yeonhoo.”

—the way Kwon called him in a low voice.

“Uh, y-yeah. Did you see Ms. Miyoung out okay? Wow, that surprised me. Right. Should we finish the game first? I mean....”

Yeonhoo rambled incoherently, growing redder by the second, barely aware of what was coming out of his own mouth.

And he failed to notice Kwon’s expression growing stiffer and colder with every word.

“Yeonhoo.”

Yeonhoo stopped mid-ramble.

At some point, Kwon had closed the distance between them and placed both hands on his shoulders.

Hearing Kwon call him simply by his name, without the surname, sent a strange thrill through him.

Yeonhoo pressed his lips together.

...Huh? What is this?

The hands on his shoulders felt different from Kwon’s usual touch.

Kwon was normally gentle with him.

Now his grip was so tight it felt almost as though he were trying to crush Yeonhoo’s shoulders.

Pain made Yeonhoo frown faintly.

He looked up—

and sucked in a breath.

Something was wrong with Kwon’s expression.

Yeonhoo had never seen him look like this before.

That was the only way to describe it.

His eyes were filled with a coldness Yeonhoo had never witnessed, fixed directly on him.

Kwon searched every inch of Yeonhoo’s face.

Then—

“...Ha.”

A bitter, mocking laugh escaped him.

“You really are....”

And then came the words.

“You’re that fucking crazy about Kang Miyoung, huh?”