NOVEL NEXT Episode 51
Episode 51
“…Are you okay?”
However, contrary to expectations, the two couldn’t go anywhere after coming out and their feet were tied on the spot. It was because of Seung-hyun’s rapidly worsening physical condition.
“If I take my medicine… it will be fine. Just a moment, just wait a bit until the medicine kicks in.”
After experiencing it a few times, he always kept the medicine in an easily accessible place. Jung-hoon, who was a bit skeptical, looked at Seung-hyun with slightly anxious eyes and asked.
“…I guess your health is quite poor? Since you carry medicine around.”
“It’s nothing… you don’t need to worry about it. It happens from time to time, but if I take my medicine well, it’s fine.”
In the novel, there was never a time when Seung-hyun’s symptoms weren’t resolved with medicine, so it should be fine. Seung-hyun thought so and got up from his seat.
But strangely, he felt a bit dizzy. His condition had never been this bad before. If there was a time, it would be shortly after becoming “Han Seung-hyun”, when he drank without considering this body’s condition.
“I definitely didn’t drink alcohol…”
“Let me know when you feel better. We have plenty of time.”
Jung-hoon said with a kind face, as if not rushing. Once the prey was caught, showing an impatient side would only backfire.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
That attitude was a bit effective, so Seung-hyun ended up judging Jung-hoon as a pretty good person in a short time. Seung-hyun, who loosened up a bit, spoke to Jung-hoon first.
“Ask anything. If it’s something I know, I will answer sincerely.”
“…Do I seem that much like a first-timer?”
The question that came out was so trivial that it made him chuckle absurdly. At the question asked with a serious face, Jung-hoon asked back in surprise.
“Here… you mean?”
“Yes. Last time too, and this time, I heard that. I even did some preliminary research and looked into what actions would be natural…”
A newbie shows it from head to toe, but that part is probably the biggest reason. Jung-hoon took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and said.
“Putting everything else aside, Seung-hyun, you seem like the type to show what you’re thinking. Even earlier when talking about your ideal type.”
And there was no need to mention that such an aspect piques the interest of guys who can’t leave this field and look for partners. Jung-hoon thought so and exhaled the cigarette smoke.
“Ideal type… why? Isn’t it normal? Don’t most people like that kind of person…?”
“It’s not a unique ideal type, but it’s excessively specific.”
Moreover, he doesn’t seem to have noticed, but anyone who saw Seung-hyun’s face while talking about it would have noticed.
‘He said he’s not dating anyone… but seeing him make that face just thinking about it, is it a long-time one-sided love or a recently broken up lover? No. The lover with the personality he mentioned earlier doesn’t seem like the type to leave such marks…’
“Specific…?”
He seemed to be getting drunk little by little without realizing it. Shall I take him to the hotel before teasing him more? Jung-hoon roughly put out the cigarette he was smoking and placed his hand on Seung-hyun’s shoulder.
“Anyway, it’s not an important story, right?”
“That’s… true.”
Seung-hyun nodded with a slightly dazed mind. What does my ideal type matter? It’s not like I can date anyway.
“I called a proxy driver, so they’ll arrive soon.”
What Seung-hyun was allowed was only a short-term relationship that could satisfy both sides. For example, the kind of relationship the man in front of his eyes wanted.
Seung-hyun nodded, thinking so. Before long, a man walked towards the two.
Since he walked towards the two without hesitation, Seung-hyun, thinking he was the proxy driver, kept staring at the ground without even raising his head.
But strangely, just by looking at the way he walked, he felt a sense of familiarity. These shoes too, it seemed like he had seen them somewhere.
“……”
It can’t be. Seung-hyun slowly raised his head. With each little rise of his gaze, his conviction of who the person approaching was grew stronger.
“…Why are you here?”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
As if he had run over, he was panting a little. The urgent-looking appearance of a person who was always leisurely and playful. It was even a bit unfamiliar.
“Is he… someone you know?”
Jung-hoon, who was caught in the middle, asked awkwardly. For now, they were acquaintances, so Seung-hyun slowly nodded.
‘Didn’t he say he’s not dating anyone? No, this… might be even more dangerous than dating.’
Jung-hoon swallowed his saliva slightly. Despite being someone he liked and seemed easy to handle, whom he found after a long time, he didn’t even feel regret. That’s how scary the momentum of the man in front of his eyes was.
The feeling that if he intervened, he wouldn’t see a good end. Jung-hoon observed the two for a moment and quietly left with the proxy driver who had arrived.
“It’s a bit awkward to do this on the street.”
“…Get in. I’ll take you home.”
“I didn’t even drink, I can go alone.”
“You’re saying that because you can’t see your own face, but Seung-hyun, you’re not in a state to drive home right now. Hand over your car keys.”
At the scary face he was seeing for the first time, Seung-hyun unknowingly handed the car keys to Jae-young. It was only long after leaving that he thought about why he was so nervous.
“……”
“……”
Unlike usual, Jae-young drove without saying a single word. The atmosphere was so different that it felt like a different person from when he would talk to the point of being annoying every time.
Seung-hyun wasn’t the type to initiate conversation in the first place, so there was only bleakness circling in the car on the way home without a word.
How did he know I was here? He wanted to ask, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
The distance to home wasn’t that far, but perhaps because there was no conversation back and forth, it felt much longer than usual.
The house arrived after staring out the window at the passing scenery like that. Even after arriving, Jae-young didn’t get out for a long time and just stared outside still.
It was like he was cooling his anger. In the end, it was Seung-hyun who broke the silence.
“…Thank you for driving me. It’s late, so now… go back.”
“Go back, you say. In this situation now.”
However, those words had the opposite effect, far from sending Jae-young back. Jae-young’s eyes looking at Seung-hyun lit up.
“This was your business, just this?”
“……”
“What were you thinking going to such a place? If I hadn’t searched for you, if I hadn’t arrived there at that time…”
It was like he had witnessed a scene of his lover cheating. For a moment, Seung-hyun, who thought that appearance wasn’t unpleasant, quietly looked at Jae-young.
“No reply, and when I asked around with the thought of ‘what if’, I heard you were at a bar known for its bad quality guys. I was worried something might happen…”
From his appearance of speaking while ruffling his hair, Seung-hyun could feel how much he was worried about him. Even while being annoyed, feeling affection was a bit unfamiliar yet pleasant for Seung-hyun.
‘It’s like we’re dating.’
But he soon realized it wasn’t something to be happy about. This situation was dangerous. As if one more step would make them a special relationship. No, even if he didn’t deliberately take one more step…
“Why on earth…!”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“…What did you say?”
“You’re talking as if we’re something.”
Maybe it was an opportunity. For Jae-young who keeps trying to cross the line, and for himself.
“Why did you go there, you ask? Isn’t the reason for going to such a place obvious?”
“What…”
“Isn’t it a place you go to find someone to spend the night with? I’m not a clueless kid, did you think I went without knowing?”
At those nonchalant words, Jae-young blankly stared at Seung-hyun. It was a face that didn’t properly understand what Seung-hyun was saying.
“It’s no different from the day I first met you, Ju Jae-young.”
In Seung-hyun’s voice saying it was nothing special, Jae-young failed to notice the slight trembling. The pale complexion visible under the faint streetlight, and the slightly tense look were also obscured by the words coming out of Seung-hyun’s mouth.
“I think it’s good to make it clear on this occasion, don’t act as if we’re something special. You have no right to interfere with a friend’s sex life.”
“……”
“I was startled earlier so I couldn’t say this… but it’s a nuisance. Clearly.”
Did it sound nonchalant? Seung-hyun stared straight at Jae-young while saying words contrary to his heart. Jae-young’s expression, which Seung-hyun’s gaze reached, began to change little by little.