“…”
“…”
The silence had continued on for more than 10 minutes now. He glanced sideways due to the growing discomfort but quickly avoided the gaze from sharp eyes giving him a death stare. The air in the car was also particularly cool and stinging, reflecting its owner’s mood. Ha Joyoon habitually rubbed at his arms a few times and soon pulled the seatbelt with clumsy hands. A silent signal for them to get going instead. Seeing that, Shin Kwonjoo sneered and pressed the red button on the belt. Tak!- With a sharp sound, the belt quickly returned to its original position.
“What’s your reason?”
The cold voice shot at him.
“Are you not going to say anything?”
He pressed for a reply without giving any time to answer. Still, Ha Joyoon really didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to tell him.
The eyes looking blankly at him made Shin Kwonjoo impatiently sweep a hand over his forehead and loosen the knot of his tie. Habitually looking for his pack of cigarettes, he checked his inner pocket a few times before giving up soon after and we spitting out a few curses.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
The angry stare hinted at his anger. Ha Joyoon observed him without saying a word, breathing evenly.
“For the past few days you’ve been pretending like you don’t see me, not saying anything even when it looks like you have a lot to say, avoiding my calls…”
“…”
“Did you think I’d be foolish enough to not notice?”
“Sunbae…”
“Just tell me what you’re trying to do.”
He flared up, unable to hold in his anger. It wasn’t an easy task to respond to someone who was as relentless as an iron storm. Especially for someone like Ha Joyoon who was awkward with words. No matter what he said, it seemed to provoke Shin Kwonjoo lately, and so Ha Joyoon carefully chose his words, trying to express his intentions without timidity.
“But I never said no to sleeping with you…”
“…What?”
His handsome face crumpled up dumbfoundedly. His dark eyes showed that his anger had soared to its limit. Shin Kwonjoo emphasized each word as he spoke, suppressing the crimson fire that had burned in his head repeatedly for the past few days.
“Are you kidding me?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qtja?”
Ktf lccbmfca ibbx bo miefifrrcfrr oegatfg ojccfv atf oijwfr bo atf wjc’r jcufg. Lf kjr rfglberis mbcafwqijalcu ktja ab vb klat atf qfgrbc lc ogbca bo tlw ktb tjv yffc jnblvlcu tlw obg atf qjra ofk vjsr.
“Dea…”
Gfrqlaf atf reoobmjalcu jawbrqtfgf, Lj Absbbc mbcalcefv ab raeaafg bea kbgvr gfujgvifrris, ralii miefifrr.
“We’re only sex partners… Shouldn’t that be enough?”
“…What?”
“I feel like I’ve been giving you a hard time with my personal issues all this while…”
Recalling the turbulence of emotions that kept him awake over the past few months, Ha Joyoon quietly expressed them to Shin Kwonjoo.
“It must’ve been uncomfortable dealing with my inability to control my emotions, too.”
“…”
Shin Kwonjoo, who was about to argue, closed his mouth for a moment. His narrowed eyes were obscure as he stared at Ha Joyoon. Rubbing his neck awkwardly, Ha Joyoon carefully revealed a piece of his heart.
“It seems I’ve been emotionally reliant without realizing it. Which might’ve made me cross the line. The rules you mentioned when you first suggested our arrangement… I’d like to follow them now.”
December. The year would be coming to an end soon. Rumors were circulating in the company that a young branch director would be decided within the next three to four months. Although Ha Joyoon was indifferent to rumors of others, he strangely found it difficult to ignore rumors related to Shin Kwonjoo. Despite wanting to avoid him, Ha Joyoon’s eyes and ears collected information related to him little by little.
Three to four months, at best. That was the remaining time left between him and Shin Kwonjoo. It was only fair that he gradually put an end to their relationship as well. Even though there was never really a relationship to begin with… He knew Shin Kwonjoo would want this, too.
But unlike his expectations, the man listening to excuses only frowned as time went by, as if he had been caught off guard.
“I won’t cling unto you until you have to leave.”
He wanted to say that Shin Kwonjoo had been a huge comfort to him, ‘Even though I know it wasn’t your intention, both your fair indifference and coldness, and your clumsy consideration for me, were things I needed most at the moment.’
“I might’ve taken our relationship too emotionally all this while… I shouldn’t have but I didn’t realize that since it’s my first time in this kind of relationship. Please forget my previous embarrassing actions.”
Ha Joyoon calmly conveyed his thoughts, resting his nervous heart. Shin Kwonjoo’s eyes flashed cold for a second as he remained silent. His expression changed at every moment as if he didn’t like something. Unfamiliar with the subtle changes he noticed, Ha Joyoon gently eased his heart.
Aside from Kang Taejung and his family, Shin Kwonjoo was probably the one person he met with the most. Maybe they had only gotten closer since they began to sleep together these past few months, and these weren’t substantial feelings. He felt a dull pain press at his heart for a reason he couldn’t decipher. An unfamiliar sensation that seemed familiar. That wasn’t a good sign, he thought, frowning slightly.
“Are you done making your own conclusions?”
“Sunbae.”
“You were acting that way because of something as simple as this? You have a lot of pointless thoughts, Ha Joyoon.”
The man who had been acting unlike himself and listening attentively, now folded his arms with a lofty expression. He snorted as he gave a calm response, showing no signs of the previous irritability on his face a few moments ago. At the sudden change in the air, Shin Kwonjoo skillfully pulled on the seat belt he had unfastened without giving Ha Joyoon the chance to be flustered. Click.- At the same speed as when it was loosened, the black strap was fastened firmly across his body once more.
“Enough.”
He spoke in a resolute manner. His eyes were also firm, refusing to listen to anything else.
“You don’t have to worry if it’s because of a ridiculous reason like that. It’s not the first or second time you’ve thought or acted that way, so I got used to it at some point.”
“Sunbae.”
“Emotions, clinginess or embarrassing actions towards me, I’ll accept or reject them however I see fit.”
“…”
“So don’t avoid me again like you did now. If you don’t want to see me go crazy, that is.”
The man let out a deep sigh and roughly swept through his hair. He looked more nervous and tired than usual, but on the other hand, he also seemed relieved. Seeing him that way, Ha Joyoon’s heart was unable to keep calm.
What in the world was he saying?
An invitation similar to an order, but still like an invitation…
Ha Joyoon stared at Shin Kwonjoo dumbfoundedly, clutching onto the seat belt diagonally fastened over his body. Fierce eyes stared at him as sharp as a blade. Eyes that contained feelings that words couldn’t express, eyes that would not allow their inner thoughts to be revealed.
“Could it be that…”
“Are you going to give some other weird excuse this time?”
He frowned and gave a disapproving look.
Now and before, the motions and expression on his face as he looked at Ha Joyoon were the exact same, but unlike before, Ha Joyoon couldn’t easily question it.
“…No, it’s nothing.”
“You’re becoming more wishy-washy.”
“…”
His lips that opened and closed several times eventually stayed tightly closed, unable to say anything.
“Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Let’s go have a meal.”
Having heard an answer he didn’t like, Shin Kwonjoo let out a sigh and inserted his smart key. The running sound of heavy engine reverberated inside the silent car.
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say you’re not hungry. Just eat.”
“…Okay.”
Shin Kwonjoo spoke bluntly and immediately moved the gear to drive, stepping on the accelerator. The car carrying two people quietly slipped out of the parking lot.
The view outside the window quickly changed from a dark curtain tightly blocked on all sides to a scene that was dazzlingly clear. The faces of the two were dimly reflected on the car windows, both of their expressions looking like they were deeply immersed in their own thoughts. Shortly after driving onto the road, the car came to a stop at a signal.
Shin Kwonjoo’s impassive face was fixed to the front as he spoke,
“Let’s go to your next check up together.”
“…”
“Don’t just come alone and leave secretly like you did today.”
“…Okay.”
His fingertips trembled. As he held his forehead in frustration, the car window rolled down and a cool breeze from outside swept into the car. Shin Kwonjoo quietly sent a sideways glance his way, but his eyes were still fixed on the front. Cluelessly unperturbed and audacious. Who was the one breaking boundaries here? The intolerable curiosity suddenly stirred up within Ha Joyoon.
Unlike his tightly closed lips, an emotion recklessly intruded through the distorted and broken gap in his heart without so much of a sound, carefully but painfully knocking on his heart once more. Not wanting to carelessly attach a name to such feelings, Ha Joyoon closed his eyes and chose to ignore the name of that indistinct form of emotion.
😍
As funny as it is… it’s also frustrating to deal with somone like Shin Kwojoon, you’ve set the rules, laid down the lines and yet you don’t follow them, makes it hard for Ha Yojoon…
Thanks for the chapter ♡♡♡♡♡
Ha joyoon….. 🙏🏽
It’s the first time I want the ML ends up alone… Nobody is worth a penny