Chapter 117: The Moment Everything Became Clear

Since there was no urgent message expected anyway, and Jitae seemed to be busy working all day, Wooju figured it wouldn’t matter even if his phone died, so he left it as it was.

After chatting for a few hours, it was completely late at night when the three finally left the restaurant.

“So… hic, you know how pretty my Miyeon is……”

“Pretty enough to be your ideal type for a thousand years.”

Wooju cut in automatically, like a reflex, finishing Hyunjin’s sentence.

“You bastard, I knew it from the moment you started drinking fast.”

Suhyeok supported Hyunjin and got into the taxi he had called earlier.

Since their houses were in the same direction, Suhyeok took responsibility for the drunk one tonight.

“Wooju.”

Before the taxi left, Suhyeok rolled down the window.

“Get home safe. Thanks for the meal. I’ll treat next time.”

“Yeah. Take Hyunjin home properly. Call me.”

As the taxi slowly drove away, Wooju stared at the dark alley for a moment before dragging his feet forward.

The restaurant wasn’t far from his house, so he hadn’t brought a car.

Dragging his shoes along, Wooju walked down the familiar road.

Even though it was past 9 p.m., the streets were still crowded since tomorrow was the weekend.

Some people staggered drunkenly like Hyunjin, while others walked happily with friends or lovers, chatting excitedly.

Among all of them, there was only one person with a gloomy face—Gang Wooju.

The summer night was extremely humid.

With the monsoon season approaching, it had been raining almost every day, but today was unusually clear.

That didn’t make it any less hot.

Fanning himself with his hand, Wooju tried to cool down the sweat dripping down.

Even for short distances, it seemed better to use a car in this brutal summer.

With that thought, he entered his apartment complex.

“Huh?”

At that moment, he spotted a suspicious figure lingering near the main entrance from afar.

Dressed entirely in black, with a ball cap pulled low, the person kept looking around as if checking the surroundings.

At first, Wooju thought it might be a delivery person, but there was no helmet, and no motorcycle nearby.

The scene reeked of suspicion, making Wooju instinctively quiet his steps.

It could be nothing, but if it wasn’t, confronting them recklessly could be dangerous.

Step by step, he approached carefully.

Then—

“He’s not answering……”

A familiar, complaining voice reached his ears.

At that moment, Wooju relaxed instantly, rushed forward, and grabbed the person’s shoulder.

“Won Jitae?”

“Gang Wooju!”

As expected, the suspicious figure was none other than Won Jitae.

He lifted his cap slightly, removed his mask, and smiled brightly at Wooju.

Seeing that face—one he hadn’t expected to see today, after a whole week—

ironically, something exploded in Wooju’s mind.

It felt like fireworks went off, like a giant bell rang, stopping all thought.

The brightness of that smile seemed to spread through his entire body, heating him up.

‘If you still don’t understand, meet him and see his face. Then you’ll know for sure.’

“Where were you? Your phone was off, so I was worried.”

At that moment, Wooju finally understood what Seokhyun, the self-proclaimed dating expert, had meant.

“My schedule ended earlier than expected. I was going to contact you, but before I knew it, I was already in front of your house.”

Wooju stared blankly at Jitae, who kept talking nonstop.

He had thought he would go his whole life without understanding love or romance.

Not knowing what it felt like to like someone didn’t stop him from living his life.

And honestly, he never needed it.

When he first heard about Jitae’s long-held feelings, he was simply surprised.

Even when he realized Jitae wasn’t just an ordinary person to him, it didn’t fully hit him.

He had even doubted whether a man could truly love another man romantically.

But now—

standing face to face like this—none of that mattered anymore.

You didn’t need some grand turning point to fall for someone.

Like clothes slowly getting soaked in drizzle, love had seeped into Wooju the same way.

“Gang Wooju? Are you mad I came without telling you?”

Won Jitae had quietly, slowly, taken root inside him.

“…How did you endure all that time with these feelings?”

His eyes burned.

It felt like his blood was heating endlessly as it rushed through him.

On this hot summer night,

Gang Wooju—a lifelong single who had no interest in love—

finally fell, completely and beautifully, to Won Jitae’s sincere and passionate love, hotter than the summer heat itself.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“…I missed you.”

Jitae flinched.

He awkwardly lifted the corners of his lips and nodded slightly.

“Me, me too.”

“But, Wooju… you do realize that I like you, right?”

“Yeah. You run toward me like a dog wagging its tail whenever you see me. How could I not know?”

“Then don’t say things like that. You might not know, but to someone with unrequited love, that’s basically torture.”

Jitae let out a weak laugh, brushing his hair back under his cap as if trying to compose himself.

“Then is it okay if it’s not one-sided?”

“What?”

“If it’s mutual… can I say I missed you?”

Jitae blinked blankly.

Then, like a broken robot, he froze completely.

“As you said, I’ve never been in one-sided love, so I don’t know. But now… I do know something else.”

Even as he spoke, Wooju scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

He had never imagined saying something like this in his life.

“So this is what it means to like someone.”

“Li-like? Who…?”

“You idiot. Who else is here besides you?”

Jitae let out a low sound, then looked up at the sky before glancing down again.

His eyes darted around for a few seconds before he suddenly covered his mouth.

“What’s wrong with you……”

Wooju muttered, embarrassed.

“Really? You’re not joking? You… like me? Gang Wooju?”

Jitae’s voice suddenly rose.

Worried someone might hear, Wooju quickly looked around.

Thankfully, no one seemed to be nearby.

“Say it again. You like me? You’re lying, right?”

“Do you want it to be a lie?”

“No.”

Jitae shook his head fiercely, like a child refusing to let something be taken away.

“But it’s just… hard to believe……”

Suspicion really was a problem.

With a sigh, Wooju grabbed Jitae’s hand firmly.

Before Jitae could react, he pulled him slightly closer and lifted his heels.

Peck.

The sound of their lips meeting rang clearly.

Wooju had kissed him.

Sometimes, a single action held more power than a hundred words.

No matter how many times he said “I like you,” this one moment would hit harder—that’s what Wooju believed.

“……”

And he was absolutely right.

Even in the dark night, Jitae’s face turned as red as a burning sweet potato.

“H-hey, your nose is bleeding…!”

Blood suddenly started flowing from Jitae’s nose.

But Jitae himself just stood there, stunned, face burning.

Wooju panicked, searching his pockets before realizing he had no tissues.

Grabbing Jitae by the nose bridge, he forced his head down.

Quickly entering the apartment code, he rushed inside and pressed the elevator button.

Of all times, the elevator felt unusually slow coming down.

“Wooju, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, right.”

Blood was still dripping, yet he sounded so calm.

Holding Jitae in position, Wooju stayed alert, worried someone might come in.

After all, a grown man holding another man’s head like this didn’t look normal.

And what if someone recognized him as actor Won Jitae?

Fortunately, no one came until the elevator arrived.

Still supporting Jitae, Wooju stepped inside.

For a reunion after several days apart,

it was a rather ridiculous scene.

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