Chapter 74: Irrational Suspicion

“You were practically dying of happiness, sniffling and crying the moment you saw his face, weren’t you?”

In an instant, Chaewoo’s mind went blank.

Not knowing how to react, he stood frozen in place for a few seconds.

It was such an absurd accusation that he was genuinely confused whether Euigeon was bringing up some random topic just to be stubborn, or if he actually meant it.

Soon snapping back to his senses, Chaewoo let out a hollow laugh.

“He’s a close friend, so of course I was thrilled to see him!

Did you act like a complete dog in front of everyone just because of that?”

“Just because he’s a close friend?

Is that why you were crying, laughing, hugging, and secretly meeting alone in the waiting room the entire time you were watching that Alpha?”

“What the…”

“Is an Alpha who already has a lover that precious to you?”

Now what was he on about?

How twisted did one’s perspective have to be to interpret a greeting between friends who hadn’t met in years like that?

The more he listened, the more astounded he was by Euigeon’s bizarre logic.

Euigeon looked down at Chaewoo with cold, unyielding eyes, as if daring him to try and make an excuse.

“Even if you’re making up strange excuses, there ought to be a limit!

If you were going to act like this, why did you even come and ruin the whole mood?

He spent two years preparing for this recital.

Two whole years, do you understand?

You’re not a child, so do you really think how you acted at a senior’s recital from your own department was right?

Don’t come at me with that half-baked logic.”

“A strange excuse?

From my perspective, it’s an extremely reasonable suspicion.”

“…Are you genuinely suspecting something between me and Oh Minseong?

You… you’re seriously out of your mind.

That’s utterly insulting to me, and even more so to Minseong.”

Euigeon stepped right up to Chaewoo.

Though he wasn’t yelling or shoving him, it was glaringly obvious that Euigeon was in a far more agitated state than usual.

Those unreadable eyes flickered with dark turbulence, and his breathing was rough and heated.

Without missing a single movement or micro-expression from the flustered Chaewoo, Euigeon scrutinized him thoroughly before speaking in a rasping voice.

“Then how am I supposed not to be suspicious?

Throughout the entire performance, you were looking at another bastard with a face that looked like you were dying of pity and longing, damn it.

I barely held back from dragging you out right then and there.”

“……”

‘Talking to him right now is completely pointless.’

Chaewoo tried his best to push down the fury bubbling up to the crown of his head.

Perhaps because both of them were so worked up, the conversation was going nowhere, merely spinning in circles.

Euigeon persistently cornered him by lumping him together with Oh Minseong, and Chaewoo simply could not accept that attitude.

He had no clue what Euigeon had seen to conclude that he had a crush on Oh Minseong, nor did he care to find out.

At some point, Chaewoo naturally realized that further discussion would be entirely futile.

Euigeon was acting more irrational than ever before.

Explaining his friendship with Oh Minseong here would be nothing more than a waste of breath.

“Forget it, let’s stop.

Think whatever you want.”

Once he made up his mind, taking action was easy.

Chaewoo abruptly spun on his heel and headed toward the parking lot exit.

Instantly, Euigeon followed behind him.

“Where are you going?”

“……”

Feeling he wasn’t even worth an answer, Chaewoo ignored him and kept walking, only for Euigeon to cut in front and block his path.

“Are you going to that bastard?”

“I’m going to work, you crazy son of a b*tch.”

Had he completely lost his mind?

Why on earth would he suddenly go to Oh Minseong?

“Now that you know, move out of my way.”

“Then I’ll give you a ride.”

His voice was notably softer, yet still undeniably stiff.

Naturally, Chaewoo had zero intention of stepping foot into that car.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Would you want to get in if you were me?

Look at how you’ve been acting!

You’re… you’re really…”

Chaewoo glared at Euigeon, who stood blocking his path.

However, words suddenly caught in his throat.

What more could he possibly say to him now?

From the moment they arrived at the recital until now, the tangled mess of events had thoroughly drained him.

The curious glances of passing cars and people in the parking lot were also getting on his nerves.

Had he always been such an impossible person to communicate with?

A wave of disappointment and futility washed over him, sapping every ounce of strength from his body.

Lately, he must have been viewing Euigeon in far too positive a light.

He never should have done that.

Why did he go and harbor foolish expectations toward a purely transactional relationship?

Right, in a way, this was his own fault.

He should have been upfront with Euigeon before coming here, or simply not come at all.

If he really broke it down, the person who set off this endless chain of exhausting events was Seol Chaewoo himself.

Chaewoo drew a long, deep breath.

“I’m sorry.

I should have told you beforehand that my friend is an Alpha.

It’s true I didn’t mention it because I thought you’d take it badly.

I guess I felt subconsciously guilty.”

“Are you admitting right in front of me that Oh Minseong is special to you?”

“…If that’s how you want to take it, then go right ahead.

I already said that’s not it.

I have nothing more to say to you.”

Delivering his words like an ultimatum, Chaewoo side-stepped past Euigeon and walked away.

Euigeon followed and reached out to grab him again, but Chaewoo shook him off with all his might.

Without looking back, he briskly exited the parking lot.

Fortunately, the man did not pursue him any further.

Chaewoo headed for the bus stop closest to the building.

Without hesitation, he hopped onto the bus that happened to pull up right in front of him.

It didn’t matter which route it was taking.

He just desperately wanted to escape this wretched concert hall.

Otherwise, it felt like Euigeon would suddenly pull up in his car to catch him, or Oh Minseong and the other alumni would emerge to berate him for bringing such a person along.

Only after passing about two stops did Chaewoo get off the bus.

From there, he transferred to the proper bus heading toward his workplace.

It took quite a while since he had to transfer several times, but he didn’t mind.

He had set out with plenty of time to spare, so there was no reason to rush anyway.

***

“Hello.”

“Hey, Chaewoo.

You’re early.”

The manager, who was carrying a box from the storage room to refill the depleted toppings, spotted Chaewoo.

Chaewoo took the heavy load from her hands to move it, then went into the back room to change into his uniform.

After clocking in, he immediately started his shift.

Taking orders at the POS, assembling sandwiches, emptying trash cans, and sweeping the floor—the tasks looped endlessly.

Perhaps because of a discount promotion, the store was unusually packed today.

He didn’t even have a spare moment to comfortably use the restroom.

Normally, working in such a frenzy would clear his cluttered head, but the low spirits that had weighed him down since the afternoon refused to lift.

He had known all along what kind of person Euigeon was, how volatile and unpredictable his temperament could be.

Therefore, what happened today was nothing new, and he should simply brush it off and forget it.

Even knowing that, it was difficult to soothe the anger that flared up at random intervals.

It felt as if the soft, heartwarming emotions of nostalgia and touching joy he had experienced after so long had been violently shattered and stolen away by Beom Euigeon.

“Please add lots of olives.”

“Yes.”

Chaewoo gritted his teeth, shoveling olives into the sandwich with a furious hand.

Had he really asked for something that absurd?

All he did was congratulate a friend and share in his happiness.

Was staying quiet and composed really that difficult of a task?

“E-excuse me… there are way too many olives…”

At the customer’s hesitant remark, Chaewoo snapped back to reality.

Before he knew it, the sandwich in his hands was practically buried under a mountain of black olives.

“I’m so sorry.

I’ll make it again right away.”

Flustered, Chaewoo set the blackened sandwich aside and grabbed a fresh loaf of bread.

He really needed to concentrate now.

If he kept going like this, all the ingredients would run out before closing time.

Fortunately, he made no further mistakes after that.

He was thoroughly used to the work by now, and he had pushed through shifts on days far harder than this.

A while later, when his break finally arrived, Chaewoo took the ruined olive-loaded sandwich into the break room and sank into a chair.

Only now did he begin to feel hungry.

Nibbling on the sandwich between sips of his drink, he checked his phone out of habit.

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year) [3 Missed Calls]

“What now?”

Staring at the piled-up missed calls, Chaewoo set his sandwich down on the table.

At that exact moment, the phone vibrated as another call began to ring through.

– Beom Euigeon (3rd Year)

‘Has he completely lost his mind?

After causing such a scene, does he seriously still have things left to say?’

Instead of answering, Chaewoo carelessly shoved the phone deep into his locker beneath a pile of clothes.

It was obvious what kind of conversation would take place if he answered anyway.

If it were truly urgent, he’d leave a message or a text on his own.

For the time being, Chaewoo had zero desire to deal with him.

After pondering continuously while moving busy on his feet throughout his shift, he concluded that it would be best not to see Euigeon privately from now on.

Just as Oh Minseong had said, eating meals together, studying, and watching movies were activities meant for people who harbored genuine mutual affection.

It was utterly unfitting for a relationship bound strictly by paperwork drafted over calculated sums of money.

Crossing that line was precisely why things had become so messily tangled, leading all the way to this bitter disappointment.

If he had simply maintained a proper distance from Euigeon in accordance with being a Reset Partner, he wouldn’t have suffered such heartache today.

From now on, if Euigeon wanted s*x, they would have s*x; and once he became pregnant and gave birth, they would part ways as complete strangers—that was the proper sequence of events for them.

Expecting manners or consideration from a relationship with such clearly defined boundaries was a mistake from the very start.

Coldly drawing the line around his own role brought a wave of indescribable misery, but it was a familiar despair he had felt ever since his family had collapsed piece by piece.

Sadly, he was accustomed to this, and to some degree, resigned to it.

“……”

‘…Even so, I was really grateful that he waited for me at the festival back then.’

Even though he had always considered him an arrogant, obnoxious junior, somewhere along the way, Chaewoo seemed to have unconsciously started believing that he was a decent person.

Perhaps on that day in Cheongju, Euigeon had only waited out of crude possessiveness—simply unable to leave behind an Omega under his thumb alone so far away from Seoul—and it likely held no deeper meaning beyond that.

A bitter taste lingered in his mouth.

Even so, it was probably for the best that he had finally awakened to reality.