Worries, Conflicts, and.... (6)
He wandered through the dream, realizing it was a dream. He looked around, ears perked.
"...Please, sob sob."
The familiar sound of sobbing reached him without fail.
"Please, I beg you. Please..."
A woman sat crumpled on the floor, weeping.
"I know you have their daughter. Help me. Let me see her."
Her desperate, heartfelt pleas soaked into his chest.
"Even if she gave up the inheritance... she might still have something passed down to her. Please help... Please..."
Cornered, the woman begged and begged again. She knew it was nonsense, but she clung to any shred of hope.
"My husband is sick. His heart's failing. They say he'll die soon. Save my husband. Save my son's father. Please... sob sob."
An infant was cradled against the woman's chest.
"If this goes on, I won't survive either. How have we even lived this far... Please, sob sob sob."
Tears streamed from the woman's haggard face, pooling on the floor and forming puddles. He realized once more that it was a dream. But he could never forget the flood of tears that had drenched that woman's face that day.
He couldn't speak. Lucid dreams sealed his lips tight. And that day, too, he had to stay silent. His heart ached, but he pretended not to notice. To avoid wounding any of the girls there, everyone present had to turn a blind eye to the desperate woman. They had to be heartless. And the woman, pushed to the brink at the bottom of the world, had to break.
"......"
Hwayeong blinked in bed for a moment after waking. She struggled to sit up and opened the drawer in the corner of the master bedroom. Rifling through it, she pulled out a photo and gazed at it silently.
A photo of a young child. The boy with no first birthday photo—she'd felt sorry for him and rented a lavish room the next year for a grand party. Hwayeong stared endlessly at that photo.
"It's fine, just spill it."
"........"
"For real. From the moment you ghosted my texts yesterday, I've been braced. Whatever you say, I can take it. Promise."
Steam rose from the coffee, amid the café's bustle, but Seonghwan just stared at Yun-su in silence.
Is that the look of someone ready? One wrong word and he'll swing a bat at me.
No escaping reality on campus—he'd dragged Yun-su, who tailed him even to the library, to an off-campus café. Seonghwan usually preferred cold drinks, but intense thirst hit him today, tempting a one-shot; he ordered hot coffee instead.
"Sigh..."
Seonghwan sighed unwittingly, and Yun-su pounced.
"Why the long face? Spill first, sigh later. Think of me—I'm dying here."
"Uh... you talk to Yesul separately today?"
"Saw her face, yeah. No big reactions. Looks normal at a glance, but you know that vibe? Like she's drawing a line now. Couldn't even chat properly."
Hmm... yeah, dumping this on her won't fly.
Seonghwan gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"Seems her heart's turned for sure. Tried talking yesterday... she seemed set on breaking up with you. Pretty resolved."
He couldn't say she'd thought that way long ago. Or about the six-month countdown.
"Whew..."
Yun-su grimaced, leaning back as if he'd suspected it before Seonghwan confirmed.
"Knew it..."
"......."
Seonghwan gave him space to think, sipping his coffee silently. No amount of bracing kills that tiny hope until the verdict drops. He'd crushed the seed—now, just wait.
Yun-su straightened and met his eyes.
"What do you think?"
"About?"
"Why'd Yesul flip like that? Any guesses?"
"Asking me?"
"If you'd heard from her, you'd have told me already. I know you don't know much. But vibes, right? I wasn't there, but you felt something."
Seonghwan flinched. His heart stung.
Fuck, vibes? She straight-up confessed. Sang old songs in the taxi. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Guilty inside, but he couldn't show it. Technically not the perp, but not bold enough to spill every detail.
"Haa... well, see."
"A guy?"
"...What?"
Before Seonghwan could respond, Yun-su cut in with his hunch.
"It's a guy, right? You felt it too? That's why you held back?"
"What're you—"
"What else? I'm asking if Yesul's got another dude."
Seonghwan flinched.
"Heard anything? Or some hint you overheard. Someone I know?"
Flinch. Flinch.
"Wait... some guy from our school? Makes sense—she just went school-home-school. If a guy's in the picture, school's the spot."
Flinch. Flinch. Flinch.
Yun-su's words poured like rain; Seonghwan jolted each time.
This guy's sharp or clueless? No fucking clue.
Absurd watching Yun-su deduce another man right in front of him—the prime suspect. Yun-su knew better than anyone, yet skipped himself in the math.
"Let's find him."
"Huh?"
"What? The asshole Yesul's hooked on."
Fuck...
Seonghwan, intimidated by Yun-su's fiery glare, hurriedly dissuaded him.
"Whoa, slow down. Nothing's confirmed."
"You think I'm wrong? Does it make sense for Yesul to ghost me out of nowhere? Other reasons? Sure, girls can snap on a whim. I get it. But is Yesul like that?"
Of course not. Seonghwan knew Yesul longer than Yun-su's relationship—maybe more. Not her style to screw people over on a mood swing or ditch suddenly.
That's why... she waited so long, drop by drop eroding rock. Sudden to you, but not her.
Maybe Seonghwan triggered it, but her long wait was real. He calmly shared.
"But does she seem the type to ditch you cold for some other guy? Fall head over heels that quick? Kinda fishy."
"Yeah, could be off. Another guy, or just a passing fancy... not sure. But yeah, I felt off about us before."
"Off?"
First Seonghwan heard. Weeks ago, they seemed solid.
Off how?
Yun-su scratched his head miserably, then explained.
"Was too embarrassed to say. Remember White Day? When you rushed over?"
"How could I forget?"
"That day... I gave her a ring. Not candy crap—real deal, to show my heart."
"Whoa... didn't know."
"Sigh... If it was brag-worthy, I'd have said. Set up wine, fruit by the pool—romantic. Slipped in the ring case as a gift. But she went quiet."
"Just caught off guard?"
"Nah, eyes don't lie. Awkward, like it didn't fit. Not a cheap couple ring—0.2-carat diamond."
"Holy shit..."
Yun-su had gone all-in for that day. Pricey for a student, but sincere for forever.
"Used my military savings. Promised a proper one-carat next time. Thought it'd touch her. But guess what she said?"
"........."
"Why push when the future's uncertain? Take it back. Mood? Fucking wrecked. Forced a laugh, said I'd aim for her birthday. But fuck, still stings."
"Maybe she really felt burdened..."
"No! Her face said it. Hits different now. If true... pathetic, but that ring gaze wasn't for me."
"...What?"
"Staring at it, lost in thought—like picturing her wedding ring. Dreamy, not for me."
Fuck...
Unnatural, playing along. Pitiful Yun-su spilling his guts.
"Not just that. Before, too. Honestly, Yesul baffled me sometimes. Unpredictable? Made me question if I was boyfriend or just bro. Happened a lot. Classes, meals, library... occasional movies, coffee. Felt off for lovers."
"Some couples are like that... maybe?"
"Nah. But with you? Different. White Day villa? Agreed 'cause you came. Han River bikes, drone show, Everland day trip—all with you. Blurring friend-me and boyfriend-me normal?"
Damn... we're both idiots. Yeah.
Seonghwan got Yesul's hints; Yun-su still missed them. Inexperienced fools overlooked signals swarming them.
"When I faded as lover, some guy steps in as man—explains this. Without him, she'd stick as special friend. Not distance like now."
Solid logic. If Yun-su was just elevated friend, no new spark, she'd continue as usual. But dead wrong.
Her feelings pointed to Seonghwan long ago. Yun-su just missed it in service.
"...Got it. So what? My head's a mess—keep it simple."
"Yours? Yeah... awkward wedge."
"Cut it. Talk."
"Said it. Find him. Bring her back."
"Cough!"
Hot coffee refluxed; Seonghwan hacked.
"Finding's one thing. How 'bring back'? Grab his collar?"
"Dunno. Find first. Ugly's fine. Don't care what they think. Bluntly? Need closure. Confirm him, accept it. Ugly process okay. If possible, win her back. If she rebounds disappointed, it's a blip. I'll wait like she did."
Dead serious...
Seonghwan saw Yun-su's heart. Yesul wasn't a fleeting fever to him. Made it worse.
"So... what do you want from me? Quit 'finding' vague—spell it out."
"You know I can't stick to her like before. She's pulling away."
"So?"
"You hang with her now."
"What?"
"Meals, library, weekends studying, walks... That. I'll step back so she recalls our value, old times. You fill in. If you spot another guy's shadow, tell me. Please."
"You nuts? Fuck, who—"
"Know you got your own time. But right now, you're her only lean. Don't wanna lose our thread through you. Please."
"No... you brainless fuck..."
Infuriating. In Mafia, Yun-su'd be ultimate patsy—zero radar.
Fuck this cursed... NTR world unfolding, cuck hubby style.