Chapter 90: Too Late to Turn Back

I ran without even a moment to organize my thoughts.

I ran straight out of the center, running nonstop until I spotted an empty taxi.

There wasn’t any special reason.

I had simply realized it now.

That I didn’t want to send Jaeyul to Lee Rihyeon.

That the idea of the two of them meeting because of my foolish choice wasn’t okay at all.

The moment I belatedly became aware of the feelings I hadn’t realized before, I had no choice but to run like this.

To catch Jaeyul before it was too late.

“Whew, it’s rush hour, so the roads are really jammed.”

It had already been hard enough just to catch a taxi, and of all days, the roads were completely clogged today too.

Passing a single traffic light took getting stopped two or three times.

“…Still, please go as fast as you can.”

As the traffic crawled frustratingly slow, I couldn’t help worrying that Jaeyul might have already arrived at the meeting place.

I kept calling Jaeyul over and over, but for some reason, the call never connected even once.

I desperately ran a hopeful scenario in my head, telling myself that Jaeyul must also be stuck on this horribly congested road.

A distance that would normally take only ten-something minutes ended up taking far longer than expected.

The moment the taxi stopped, I paid and started running again.

My breath rose all the way to my throat from sprinting at full speed for the first time in a while, but I couldn’t stop.

Instead of the elevator packed with people, I ran up the stairs.

Even then, only one thought filled my mind.

No matter what, I had to stop Jaeyul from meeting Lee Rihyeon.

There were actually quite a few reasons why the two of them shouldn’t meet.

Not only had I fallen into Lee Rihyeon’s trap and arranged a fake date against my will, but Jaeyul’s opinion hadn’t been reflected at all in that decision.

In a way, that was probably the biggest problem.

I, of all people, who should care the most about Jaeyul’s feelings, shouldn’t have ignored his will like that.

And as I kept running and thinking it over, I realized that beyond all those forced excuses, the biggest reason was simply that I didn’t want this.

Why didn’t I want it?

That was….

“Jaeyul, haa… Jaeyul…!”

Only after running until my legs trembled did I finally reach the meeting place.

And among the many people there, I spotted Jaeyul at once.

Sweat drenched my face, but the moment I saw the person I’d been desperate to find, strength surged back into my body as if I’d never been tired at all.

At my urgent call, both Jaeyul and Lee Rihyeon, who was standing in front of him, turned their gazes toward me at the same time.

Lee Rihyeon stared at me with an expression as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Hyung…?”

Was I late?

Or not?

As I squeezed out the last of my strength and walked quickly toward them, I tried to grasp the situation, but it was hard to tell what was going on.

Seeing that they weren’t seated yet, it didn’t seem like I was very late, but the fact that they were already facing each other made it feel like I was.

I stood facing Jaeyul, catching my breath.

That was when an unwelcome face came into view behind him.

“Agent Jin Sehyun? Fancy meeting you in a place like this.”

“Oh my, you’re that SS-rank guide…?”

Director Han Dongil and a middle-aged couple I had never seen before.

Judging by how their curious gazes and facial features closely resembled Lee Rihyeon’s, they must be his parents.

Only after confirming their combination did I fully grasp the situation.

This wasn’t a simple date.

I didn’t know what kind of circumstances led to it, but Lee Rihyeon had intended to introduce Jaeyul to his family.

The more I understood the situation, the more anger boiled up inside me.

I was furious at Lee Rihyeon for lying even to me when I was trying to help him, and also at myself for sending Jaeyul out without knowing this was the kind of place it was.

Still, I couldn’t explode in anger here.

Getting Jaeyul out of here came first.

Without saying anything else, I grabbed Jaeyul by the wrist.

“Let’s go.”

Jaeyul followed without a word, letting himself be pulled along by my grip.

“Hey, where are you going?

Wait, Seon Jaeyul!

The adults are here, what do you think you’re doing right now!”

I heard Lee Rihyeon’s flustered shout from behind, but I walked even faster.

Thankfully, Jaeyul didn’t seem to have any intention of going back to Lee Rihyeon, following just half a step behind me at my pace.

But just before we exited the restaurant, a voice made my hurried steps come to a halt.

“Did you really… plan this with Lee Rihyeon?

Did you bring me out here on purpose?”

Ah, so he’d already heard about it.

I desperately wanted to deny it, to say it wasn’t true, but I didn’t even know how much he’d heard, and in any case, that part was true.

I had realized too late that it was the wrong choice, but it really was a belated realization.

I should never have made such a foolish decision in the first place.

Unable to respond, and too embarrassed to even look at Jaeyul, I stood there with my back to him.

That was when—

“I really don’t understand you sometimes, hyung.

What were you even thinking…

Haa, never mind.

Saying this wouldn’t mean anything to you anyway.”

With a heavy sigh, Jaeyul twisted his wrist and shook my hand off.

The wrist I thought I’d been gripping tightly slipped out of my grasp far too easily.

“Jaeyul…!”

Jaeyul, who had been following behind me, walked forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

The distance between us gradually widened.

Startled, I opened my mouth to make excuses of some kind, but the moment I heard Jaeyul’s low, sunken voice, I couldn’t even begin.

“I’ll head out first.

Today is… haa, I’m just too tired.”

It sounded emotionless, but to me, it felt cold enough to make my heart drop.

So cold that my legs froze in place.

I couldn’t stop Jaeyul as he walked away with long strides.

My feet wouldn’t move, and neither would my mouth.

It had been a long time since I’d seen Jaeyul turn his back on me so coldly.

The first time since he was eighteen.

Back then and now, it was clearly my fault, so making excuses felt pathetic.

Honestly, reacting with anger like that was probably the natural response.

After all, it was no different from me and Lee Rihyeon deliberately deceiving him.

Jaeyul’s reaction was far worse than I’d expected, and my thoughts came to a complete stop.

How on earth… was I supposed to resolve this?

“Haa….”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Just as I let out a suffocating breath, I heard a sharp voice behind me, one I hadn’t heard in quite some time.

My insides were already a mess, and now I had to deal with the very person who had made things worse.

My irritation naturally flared up.

“What do you mean, what am I doing?

And what about you?

Are you on a date with your parents or something?”

My words spilled out unfiltered, my emotions already frayed.

But wasn’t this a situation where I had every right to be angry?

Even I, who had set up the date, felt like this—how shocked must Jaeyul have been when he suddenly faced strangers?

But Lee Rihyeon seemed to think differently.

He didn’t argue back, but I could clearly see the blazing anger filling his eyes.

Thinking, Fine. Go ahead and show your temper for once, I met his gaze without backing down.

Then, in the blink of an eye, as if I’d been seeing things, his expression changed completely.

And words I never expected spilled out of his mouth.

“…I’m sorry, hyung.

I ended up putting you in an awkward position for no reason.

There were circumstances I couldn’t help, but… looking at this situation alone, you have every right to be angry.”

His voice and expression were filled with sincerity.

So much so that I wondered if I had truly misunderstood him.

No, maybe I really had misjudged him.

Because of what happened in the past, I’d never fully erased my suspicion toward Lee Rihyeon, and even now, I was in an uncomfortable situation because of him, which only amplified my dissatisfaction.

“Haa… let’s talk later.”

Without adding anything else, I turned and headed toward the elevator.

I didn’t have the emotional capacity to worry about trivial things right now.

Jaeyul, who had turned his back on me and disappeared, was a far more serious issue.

They say people mature as time passes, and maybe that’s true.

When I first fought with Jaeyul as a kid, he skipped breakfast and avoided me, leaving my heart aching.

Back then, it hurt so much and felt unbearable.

Now that he was an adult, Jaeyul didn’t directly avoid me, but he was making me uncomfortable in a different way.

Clatter.

The silence surrounding the table where we sat facing each other made it hard to breathe.

Between Jaeyul and me, seated across from one another, not a single word was exchanged.

Only the mechanical movement of spoons and chopsticks.

The quiet was so deep that even the clinking of dishes sounded unusually loud.

It was that kind of silence, heavy enough to choke on.

“…Jaeyul….”

Clack.

The moment I forced myself to speak, unable to endure a silence that didn’t suit us at all, Jaeyul set his chopsticks down and rose from his chair.

“I’ll head to work early today.

I’ve got something to take care of in the morning.”

He didn’t lash out at me or openly show his emotions, but that was unmistakable…

He was seriously angry.

It felt like a dark aura was billowing around him.

No, it even felt like the ‘X’ from my memories had resurfaced.

That’s how cold the back of my neck felt.

Whether it was a one-sided notice or not, Jaeyul finished saying what he wanted and left the house alone.

“Haa… this is driving me crazy, seriously.”

“Phoo….”

Only now that Jaeyul was gone did Poppy, who had been holding her breath like she was dead, finally let out a deep sigh while looking at me.

It wasn’t like I was the only one feeling suffocated.

Honestly, if he had just yelled or snapped at me, I could’ve taken it all.

As much as it took for him to cool off.

But with him acting like he was angry and yet not, it was hard for me to even start a conversation.

On top of that, the moment I opened my mouth, he’d avoid me and leave, making it hard to even apologize.

Still, I should probably take comfort in the fact that this wasn’t the worst-case scenario, where I couldn’t even see his face.

If we could at least sit facing each other like this, the chance to apologize and make up would surely come someday.

As time passed, maybe Jaeyul’s anger would ease a little too.

…Hopefully.