Chapter 42: Promise of Tomorrow

“What are you doing?”

You could call it a crash landing.

Go Ha-jin’s lips ended up planted against Chae Woo-seok’s chin. Completely unaware of it, Ha-jin’s tense lips stayed stuck there motionlessly.

Only after hearing Woo-seok’s voice did the man finally jerk away in shock.

“W-What do you mean? …You said we should do it.”

Absurd.

Apparently he had worked up his resolve and put it into action, but the result was utterly useless.

First of all, he had kissed Woo-seok’s chin instead of his lips. And no matter how anyone looked at it, the whole thing was painfully clumsy.

All he had done was press his lips there stiffly, trembling so hard that even Woo-seok could feel it through the contact.

Calling it a kiss would’ve been embarrassing. Even the word peck felt too generous for what that was.

“You call that a kiss? As if anyone would get worked up from a kiss like that.”

“You weren’t that great either, you know?”

Even facing death, he still had to talk big.

Though he said that, Woo-seok honestly didn’t dislike it.

The smooth sensation brushing his chin brought back memories of a kiss he thought he had forgotten. He knew exactly what that small mouth felt like inside.

The way Ha-jin’s mouth and tongue tightened the moment a tongue slipped inside. The sensation of his tongue wrapping around it as though caressing it.

“How about it? Want me to show you again properly?”

Impulse surged through him. The urge to recreate that memory stirred restlessly.

Woo-seok tightened his hold around Ha-jin’s waist and cupped one side of his face. Then he lowered his upper body, closing the distance between them.

“Tomorrow!”

But the hurried shout stopped him before he could move any closer.

“What about tomorrow?”

“T-Tomorrow…. Not today.”

After unilaterally declaring that, Go Ha-jin fled the room.

Woo-seok clicked his tongue softly.

He hadn’t originally intended to do anything. But somehow, things had reached the point where he wasn’t sure he could stop himself anymore.

If Ha-jin hadn’t cut things off and run away when he did, something definitely would’ve happened.

“This is going to be interesting.”

What kind of nonsense would Ha-jin pull next to make him laugh?

A promise to have s*x of all things. That too was a first in his life.

****

“Hah, f*cking psycho. Crazy bastard…”

Go Ha-jin had bolted out of the house and was now running under the moonlight.

His heart was pounding so violently that exercising seemed like the only way to redirect his thoughts somewhere else.

Why the hell had he kissed the guy’s chin? Lips and a chin felt completely different, couldn’t he even tell them apart?

Thinking back on it now only irritated him more.

The plan itself had been perfect.

Cup Woo-seok’s face the way he always did. Press their lips together. Then slide his tongue through the gap between those closed lips, rub against Woo-seok’s tongue, and sweep through his mouth. Then strip his clothes off and…

But reality?

He had frozen stiff like a statue and merely shoved his lips forward. Even that had taken every ounce of courage he had.

His legs kept threatening to give out. His heart hammered so wildly he could barely breathe. It was like his nostrils had malfunctioned, he’d even forgotten how to breathe properly.

The whole thing had been a disaster.

And because of that, all his pointless frustration was currently directed toward the annoyingly composed Chae Woo-seok.

Even though, technically, Woo-seok hadn’t done anything wrong.

And why the hell had he suggested having s*x tomorrow too…?

Regret piled up endlessly.

“Hah… haa…”

He ran for quite a while.

Though it was night, lights installed along the path kept the road bright enough to run without difficulty.

But only after going quite far did he realize he had wandered into a forest he had never seen before.

‘What the…? Did I run so far I actually left the estate?’

Naturally, there wasn’t another person in sight. The only sounds filling the thick forest were the eerie cries of insects hidden in the grass.

Judging by the maintained path, he still seemed to be on the property grounds. But the woods surrounding him were far too deep for that to feel believable.

It felt as though he had been dropped into the middle of a mountain somewhere.

Step. Step.

As he steadied his breathing, he slowly continued forward.

After walking for a long while, a faint light finally appeared in the distance.

“Wow…”

The building up close had an incredible atmosphere.

It blended so naturally with the forest that it almost looked as though the structure itself had grown from the woods.

Compared to the main house or Woo-seok’s residence, it was much smaller, but it felt cozy.

He could roughly guess whose place it was.

There was no way it belonged to the servants. And aside from Woo-seok, there was only one other family member who would live separately like this.

It was probably Chae Jun-seok and Tae Seol’s house.

Crash!

Ha-jin stopped in his tracks.

The surroundings had been so silent that even the small sound of something shattering pierced sharply through the air.

It had come from inside the house.

But silence immediately returned afterward, making Ha-jin wonder if he had imagined it.

It wasn’t like he intended to go inside and ask for a glass of water anyway, so he turned around.

Just looking at the endless forest path stretching before him already felt exhausting.

This damn house was unnecessarily huge. How long would it take to get back?

Step.

Step.

Then suddenly, as he walked, Ha-jin felt something strange.

Every time he took a step, it sounded like another set of footsteps echoed behind him.

But whenever he stopped, the sound vanished completely.

The moment he became conscious of it, his heart began pounding. He swallowed hard.

Maybe because of the atmosphere, he couldn’t bring himself to look back.

Instead, he pretended not to notice and quickened his pace.

That was when it happened.

The footsteps behind him suddenly sped up, clearly moving faster than his own. The distance closed rapidly, as if they had never been far apart to begin with.

Right as he debated whether to sprint into the woods…

“Brother-in-law.”

The voice from behind made him stop cold.

All the tension that had built up instantly melted away.

“Haah… you scared the hell out of me, Hyung-nim…!”

“Sorry, sorry! I spotted you through the window, so I followed you out. Then you started sprinting off all hunched up like a squirrel, and it was so cute I decided to tease you a little. Did I scare you?”

It was Chae Jun-seok.

For some reason, he looked endlessly amused, laughing so hard he practically seemed ready to roll across the ground.

Still, hearing another person’s voice in the silent forest made Ha-jin feel like he could finally breathe again.

And unlike what Ha-jin had feared, Jun-seok didn’t seem dangerous at all.

But what was with the squirrel comparison?

“Completely. I seriously hate pranks like that, okay?”

“Our house is insanely secure though. Why are you so scared? You can’t see it, but the security system is airtight. Nobody could ever sneak into this estate. At least here, you’re completely safe.”

“I know, but… it’s nighttime, so…”

“True enough. But what are you doing all the way out here this late? Looks like you’ve even been sweating.”

“Ah, just exercising. Night jogging.”

Chae Jun-seok moved to walk beside him.

Apparently he really had just come out from the house, judging from his light clothes and slippers as he matched Ha-jin’s slow pace.

Seeing him quietly hum to himself, it seemed he had no idea what had happened earlier between Tae Seol and Lee Ah-seong.

“Brr, it’s cold.”

“Really? Probably because you were sweating. Here, wear this. You’ll catch a cold otherwise.”

“No, it’s okay-!”

He moved fast too.

Jun-seok quickly removed the cardigan he was wearing and draped it over Ha-jin’s shoulders before Ha-jin could protest.

For a second, Ha-jin considered refusing, but the night air was a little chilly, so he accepted it instead.

Walking beside him, Jun-seok suddenly stepped ahead and began walking backward while facing Ha-jin.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Does Woo-seok treat you well? That guy’s personality is rough as hell, so I worry.”

“I-It’s not that bad…. He treats me pretty well, actually.”

Even as a lie, Ha-jin couldn’t claim Woo-seok had a good personality.

Anyone could tell this wasn’t some marriage overflowing with love, but there was no reason to openly discuss the reality of their relationship either, so he dodged the topic vaguely.

“If things get hard, tell me. Not sure how much I can really help, but at least I can listen to you complain. I’d appreciate it if you listened to my complaints too.”

“So… like friends?”

“Exactly! Let’s be friends.”

Jun-seok still wore a bright smile.

Maybe… this man had originally been cheerful by nature. He really did seem easygoing.

And hadn’t he married Tae Seol out of genuine love without caring about conditions or status?

Tae Seol really was lucky to live with someone like him.

“We’re here already. Next time you come walking near our place, make sure to call me first, okay?”

By the time their pointless chatter finally ended, they had already arrived back at Ha-jin’s house.

Maybe because they had walked so leisurely, the distance, which should have felt far, seemed to pass in an instant.

It had been a surprisingly… nice nighttime walk.

“Got it. Thanks for today.”

After seeing Jun-seok off, Ha-jin entered the house himself.

Now that he had sweated everything out, his thoughts weren’t nearly as chaotic as before. He just wanted to wash up quickly and go to sleep.

“Where’d you go?”

“For a walk.”

“Guess people pick up extra clothes while they’re out walking these days too?”

‘Ah… I was supposed to return this.’

He had forgotten.

The cardigan draped over Ha-jin’s shoulders was now dangling from Woo-seok’s hand. Woo-seok held it delicately between his thumb and index finger like it was trash, his brows furrowing instantly.

“Give it back. It belongs to your brother.”

“You met Hyung? More importantly… are you hurt somewhere?”

“Who’s hurt? Me? No.”

“Then what’s this?”

Now that he was under bright lighting, Ha-jin noticed it too.

There was a faint bloodstain on the sleeve.

“Did Hyung-nim get hurt…? He looked fine though…”

“…It’s probably nothing serious. He won’t die from a scratch like this.”

‘Look at this guy’s personality.’

His own brother might’ve been injured, and he genuinely didn’t seem to care at all. If anything, the way he casually tossed the cardigan far away almost made it seem like he hoped Jun-seok was hurt.

For a brief moment, Ha-jin actually wondered whether he should switch husbands instead.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we continue what we were talking about earlier?”

“What now?”

“What now?”

“What… exactly are we talking about, Woo-seok?”

The walk had definitely worked wonders.

Seeing how he could now tolerate even Woo-seok acting like an elementary schooler over one sentence without losing his smile.

He decided he should probably start running every evening from now on.

“What, didn’t we make a promise?”

“A promise about what?”

For once, Woo-seok hesitated.

The unfamiliar sight nearly drove Ha-jin crazy with impatience.

After wavering for a moment, Woo-seok seemed to steel himself. With a firm expression, he placed both hands on Ha-jin’s shoulders and spoke.

“So… what time are we having s*x tomorrow?”

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