Chapter 18: A Misunderstanding and a Mysterious Companion

Silence. A prolonged silence stretched endlessly.

Lee Cheongshin’s green eyes, which had been radiant with passionate desire moments before, now dimmed. Doyoo swallowed a dry gulp, cautiously rising from the bed.

He didn’t forget to hastily refasten his uniform, which had been on the verge of being completely removed.

Though he worried Cheongshin might stop him, fortunately, Cheongshin remained still. He said nothing until Doyoo had buttoned every part of his uniform and securely fastened his jacket.

Cheongshin simply watched Doyoo. Unable to bear the gaze, Doyoo carefully called out to him.

“Lee Cheongshin-nim?”

Doyoo gasped. Beneath the moonlight, the sight of transparent tears silently streaming from the beautiful man’s eyes made his heart plummet to the floor.

The image, which had seemed only sensual, instantly transformed into a desolate, sorrowful, and piteous impression, all due to that single stream of tears.

Though the body before him was undeniably that of a robust, healthy man, an unsettling fragility, as if he might crumble at a touch, filled Doyoo with bewilderment.

“Why, why are you crying?”

“Were you just toying with me all this time?”

“Huh? M-me?”

Doyoo’s voice involuntarily rose. He blinked in utter confusion.

“Everything—your eyes sparkling like dewdrops on a petal as you smiled brightly at me, your carefully chosen loving words, even your willingness to surrender your body to my touch—was it all an act to manipulate me, knowing I loved my senior?”

“What?!”

“You thought I was a suspect, so you played with my feelings to secure evidence?”

The beautiful man’s gaze sharpened. Yet, those green eyes held not malice, but the peculiar wretchedness of someone deeply wounded. Doyoo was vulnerable to such a look. He tentatively moved closer to Cheongshin.

“W-wait a moment, Lee Cheongshin-nim. You… you love me?”

The word felt awkward even to utter. It was exceedingly rare for Doyoo to feel or speak of love.

As he posed the question, however, Cheongshin’s gaze, which returned even before an answer, caused Doyoo’s face to flush a deeper crimson.

“Yes, I love you, Doyoo.”

“…! Stop, please stop crying. I’m so sorry. I was so dense; I only thought it was a ploy for a suspect to lure a victim. I’m sorry!”

Upon witnessing fresh tears welling up in Cheongshin’s eyes the moment he finished speaking, Doyoo was at a complete loss.

Cheongshin embraced Doyoo. Doyoo wanted to push him away when Cheongshin rested his chin on his shoulder, but feeling like a culprit himself, he gently hugged Cheongshin back, patting his back as if to say, ‘Please stop crying.’

Thus, once again, Doyoo failed to see Cheongshin’s face, now perfectly composed as if he hadn’t cried at all, sporting a peculiar, knowing smile.

After comforting Cheongshin, Doyoo stepped out of the house and immediately encountered Seong Heeyu, who was chatting with other team members.

“Finished already? I even cast a shielding spell just in case. Why not enjoy yourselves a little longer?”

“Team Leader!”

“Just a joke.”

It certainly didn’t feel like a joke, Doyoo thought, but he didn’t press the matter.

He felt like a criminal. The gravity of his offense—mistaking the Association President’s son, his highest superior, for a suspect and attempting to arrest him—weighed heavily on him.

Doyoo’s expression grew gloomy as he considered the wasted manpower caused by his actions and the inevitable ridicule the Special Division would face from other departments once the news spread.

While no one in the Special Division likely cared as much about other departments as he did, the mere thought of their potential resentment turning towards him was exhausting.

“Then let’s head to headquarters, Doyoo-ssi. The Association President has summoned you.”

At those words, Doyoo seriously contemplated jumping into the river he’d pass on the way. However, knowing such an attempt would surely fail with Seong Heeyu accompanying him, he walked listlessly, like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

Suddenly, he tripped over something on the ground, his body lurching forward. Caught off guard and disoriented by the abrupt incident, he couldn’t regain his balance.

Doyoo thought to himself as he helplessly fell, ‘I just wish I could hit my head on the floor and pass out right now.’

However, Doyoo’s wish was thwarted by a strong hand that firmly gripped his body.

“Are you alright?”

“Hwi-ya…”

Yeon Baekhwi, the most notorious mage of Special Division Team 1 and a senior peer to Doyoo, looked at him with a frown. His eyes clearly conveyed a reproachful, ‘Why did you just stand there?’

“Thanks for catching me.”

“Don’t worry so much.”

Doyoo couldn’t help but chuckle at Yeon Baekhwi’s words.

He knew that this taciturn colleague, who had been waiting furthest away during the operation, had come all this way specifically to comfort him. He couldn’t help but smile.

Though Yeon Baekhwi maintained a distance in private, they were always attentive to Doyoo in professional matters, offering warm words of solace for any mistakes.

“Thanks for looking out for me. Anyway, I’m sorry because of me. You came during your mission, didn’t you?”

Once Doyoo had completely regained his balance, Baekhwi turned and said, “I have to go right away then. See you later.”

“Okay. Be careful on your way.”

Baekhwi’s eyes narrowed. Although their mouth was hidden by a mask covering their nose and mouth, Doyoo knew, just like himself, that they had smiled for a fleeting moment.

“Your complexion looks much better.”

As they got into the car heading to headquarters, Seong Heeyu, who had already settled in the back seat while Baekhwi and Doyoo were talking, spoke up. Doyoo flinched and darted his eyes, noticing a chocolate-flavored snack in Heeyu’s hand.

Anyone unaware of the situation would simply look at Seong Heeyu, with his youthful appearance, and think, ‘Oh, the child is eating his favorite snack. How cute,’ feeling only pleased. But Doyoo, who knew the truth, was anything but at ease.

Seong Heeyu, dressed in his Kardan uniform rather than civilian clothes, eating chocolate snacks, signified extreme displeasure.

And since the cause of his ill mood was undoubtedly Doyoo, Doyoo suppressed the urge to cry and quietly gripped the steering wheel.

The crunching sound of snacks from the backseat made his hands instinctively tighten on the wheel.

He wished he could have pretended not to hear if he had already started driving, but there was no command to start, only the sound of chewing. Unable to bear it any longer, Doyoo, feeling like a criminal making a public apology, opened his mouth.

“Team Leader, I am truly sor—”

“Doyoo-ssi.”

The crunching sound of the snack ceased.

“Yes.”

“Let me be clear, Doyoo-ssi, this is not something you need to apologize for or bow your head over.”

“But I misunderstood…”

“Even if you misunderstood, the evidence you submitted was sufficiently rational for Kardan to act. And I was the one who decided and executed this operation. It’s my fault, and it’s right for me to take responsibility.”

“Team Leader…”

“Let me reiterate clearly. Doyoo-ssi, you have no need to feel guilty or bow your head. Of course, you’ll have to bow when you greet the Association President, though.”

Looking back, Doyoo saw the youthful face break into a playful smile. He knew Seong Heeyu’s words were correct, but his heart remained heavy.

Doyoo bowed his head to Seong Heeyu, who had resumed eating his chocolate snack, then asked, “Shall we depart?”

“Ah. Not yet. We’re waiting for someone.”

“Yes, understood.”

Doyoo didn’t know whom they were waiting for, but assuming it was just another team member, he patiently rested his hands on his knees.

Thanks to Seong Heeyu’s firm words, his restless discomfort quickly turned into a more relaxed state.

He was still apprehensive about being summoned by the Association President, but thinking he could relax a little until they reached Kardan headquarters, the tension in his face naturally eased.

However, after a short while, Doyoo spotted the face of the person approaching the car, gasped in astonishment, then, realizing his blunder, he clamped his mouth shut.

His mind was a maelstrom of confusion. Why was Cheongshin, whom he had just managed to leave behind, approaching this car so immaculately dressed?

Doyoo wanted to believe Cheongshin was merely out for a walk, having lost sleep. But it was a futile hope.

“Have you been waiting long?”

Cheongshin, who sat in the passenger seat rather than the back, asked tenderly, as if speaking to a lover. Doyoo hesitated. From the back, the crunching sound resumed.

Snapping back to attention at the sound of Seong Heeyu eating his snack, Doyoo visibly trembled as if burned, and replied, “I haven’t waited long at all. Team Leader, was the ‘person we were waiting for’ Lee Cheongshin-ssi?”

“Doyoo 선배, if you call me Lee Cheongshin-ssi one more time, I’ll just—Mmph.”

“Doyoo-ssi, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“No, no! Nothing at all!”

Doyoo already knew that even if Seong Heeyu’s body was that of a child, his mind was older than Doyoo’s. So, there was no real need to cover Cheongshin’s mouth. Yet, Doyoo simply couldn’t allow Cheongshin to brazenly utter such embarrassing words in front of others.