Chapter 24: Even Your Silence Hurts.

‘Sitting alone in a house with absolutely nothing in it like this, what thoughts did he have every day?’

‘Did he consider caring for his home, or even himself, meaningless because in this life, revenge was the only thing that mattered?’

Yoojun tapped the table with his fingertips, tap, tap, like a man on edge.

Sayoung’s attitude, seeming to have thrown his entire life away for the sake of revenge, went beyond bothering or uncomfortable—it was displeasing.

No matter how he thought about it, staying away from such a crazy person was the best course of action.

Why on earth was he sitting here, not just continuing a relationship with him?

“Here…. I only had one type of bean, so I just brewed that. I’m not sure if it will suit your taste.”

In the meantime, Sayoung brought the cup with ice among the two filled with coffee and placed it in front of Yoojun first.

Since he was using crutches, he couldn’t carry both at the same time.

Steam rose from Sayoung’s cup.

Whenever he limped, the hot coffee in the cup sloshed perilously close to the brim.

Even that sight was incredibly uncomfortable for Yoojun.

A single word asking for help would have sufficed.

He could have easily moved the coffee cup for him.

Yet, Sayoung stubbornly didn’t ask for a single favor from Yoojun, who was sitting right in front of him, and so Yoojun also remained seated, merely watching his precarious movements.

Perhaps even this was part of a plan.

Yoojun reflexively tensed his body, wary of him.

If he truly intended to seduce him, this seemed like the timing for it.

He could intentionally fall or stumble to buy Yoojun’s attention, naturally fall into his arms, or release pheromones while pretending it was a mistake or that he wasn’t good at controlling them.

Regardless of whether they were Alphas or Omegas, there were still plenty of people who used such classic and childish methods, even in this day and age.

Unless it was a sudden, unprepared rut, Yoojun wasn’t easily affected by others’ pheromones, but there was no harm in being careful.

There was no telling what lengths Sayoung might go to for his goals.

“……!”

However, from the moment he placed the hot coffee cup safely on the table to the moment he struggled to sit in the chair, Sayoung made no mistakes.

He didn’t make a fuss about losing his footing and collapsing pitifully, or spilling coffee and burning his hand.

Yoojun’s mind became complicated again.

Then when and how does he plan to approach me?

Yoojun, who was adding to his suspicions while taking a sip of coffee, paused momentarily.

It occurred to him that if Sayoung had decided to do something to him in this house right now, he might have spiked the coffee.

Drugs that cloud the reason and self-control of an Alpha or Omega and forcibly induce a rut or heat cycle were circulated openly enough to be a social issue.

There were types of drugs that were difficult to detect even just an hour after ingestion.

If Sayoung, having reached a dead end in life, had the goal of making Yoojun sleep with him by any means necessary, it was a card he could play at any time.

While Yoojun was gauging the taste of the coffee remaining in his mouth with an uneasy feeling, Sayoung asked.

“…Is it not to your taste?”

There truly seemed to be not an ounce of hesitation in the eyes asking that question.

Yoojun grew irritated by all these contradictory sensations unfolding before his eyes.

The Yoon Sayoung of those days, full of vitality, whom he saw in the work last night; and the Yoon Sayoung now, dry, gaunt, and emaciated.

The Yoon Sayoung who seemed to have no lingering attachments or desires in the world, and the Yoon Sayoung who abandoned all other opportunities for revenge.

Those inconsistent images tangled dizzily, dragging Yoojun’s mood down to rock bottom repeatedly.

“That… thank you again.”

“…….”

“For various things… and for listening to me.”

And above all, what made Yoojun the most annoyed was the sight of Sayoung thanking him with an innocent-looking face without any overt gestures, contrary to his expectations.

Yoojun slammed the cup he was holding down nervously and spoke to Sayoung.

“Yoon Sayoung-ssi.”

“…Yes?”

Sayoung’s reaction, opening his eyes wide like someone flustered by Yoojun’s sudden attitude, was equally unpleasant.

If he acted like someone worn out and jaded, he would have accepted it.

If he were bundled up in malice, or hell-bent on properly using Yoojun and tried some clumsy seduction, it would have felt at least less offensive than this.

“Stop pretending to be nice and innocent.”

Sayoung looked at Yoojun with a blank expression.

That very point was also what made Yoojun uncomfortable.

Among the people involved in this affair, the one with the darkest purpose is Yoon Sayoung.

Also, assuming everything Sayoung said is true, the trashiest person among them was Han Jaewoo.

Yet, looking at him, Yoojun couldn’t shake the feeling that he, acting prickly toward him, had become the worst person among them.

Yoojun thought the cause lay somewhat in that face and attitude of Yoon Sayoung.

“Why does someone who claims they’ll exact such meticulous revenge keep acting so pitiful? It’s detestable.”

He wasn’t just talking about today.

In fact, from the moment he heard Sayoung’s story at the hospital, Yoojun had been thinking that all along.

He acted like a single wildflower by the roadside.

Sayoung’s appearance likely had the biggest influence on the atmosphere that made anyone want to hold and protect him, but Yoojun thought his way of speaking and attitude had just as much impact.

I mean that attitude where he lures the partner he said would act as a lover into his home, and instead of releasing pheromones, he says thank you with a sorrowful face.

“…….”

Sayoung stared blankly at Yoojun’s face without a word for a moment.

Yoojun thought that this time he might really get angry, and if he did, the icky and foul mood he was feeling might dissipate a little.

However, from Sayoung’s lips, which parted after a long while, flowed words he had vaguely expected instead of what he had hoped for.

“I apologize.”

“…….”

“I’ll be careful.”

Be careful about what, exactly?

Does he even know what the problem is?

Is that submissive attitude, regardless of who he’s dealing with, the result of Han Jaewoo controlling him and wielding him according to his mood for a long time, or what?

“Ah, this is really annoying.”

“…….”

“Forget it.”

Eventually, Yoojun, whose mood had soured over everything in general, spat out his emotions as they surged and stood up from his seat.

Because he wasn’t curious at all whether Sayoung stood up, looked at his back, or made a miserable face while he walked to the entrance without saying goodbye.

Yoojun didn’t look back as he left that creeping house.

Unable to properly grasp the reason why he was this angry, Yoojun decided to blame it all on Yoon Sayoung.

****

“…….”

In the space where Yoojun had vanished in an instant, Sayoung sat with a blank face for a while.

Honestly, he didn’t quite understand what had just happened.

Did I make a mistake?

Sayoung calmly reviewed his actions since entering the house with Yoojun.

Aside from brewing and serving coffee, Sayoung hadn’t done much.

He hadn’t said many words either.

The only words Sayoung had spoken were the question asking if he wanted cold coffee and a thank you.

Sayoung stared blankly at the coffee in the seat opposite him, which remained almost untouched.

He hadn’t done anything specifically to make him angry, but perhaps because of that, the reason for his anger seemed to become clear.

Yoojun simply, just simply, hated Yoon Sayoung.

It was clear that even without any particular action or special words, his existence alone was hateful and annoying.

So even a simple word of thanks must have been so displeasing to him.

‘I just hate you. Seeing your face itself annoys me. Don’t you understand what I’m saying?’

A familiar voice rang sharply in his ears.

It was Han Jaewoo’s voice, not Yoojun’s, but it didn’t matter whose it was.

After all, the emotions Yoojun felt toward Sayoung wouldn’t be much different from Jaewoo’s, and even if it wasn’t to that extent now, it would become so before long.

A human being who is frustrating, pathetic, and has not a single charm left to be looked upon favorably.

Sayoung didn’t care if one more person thought that way now.

He only hoped that Yoojun’s mind wouldn’t completely change due to today’s events, causing a setback in the plan.

‘It’s not my nature to meddle in other people’s business, but let me say one thing.’

The words Yoojun had said when they accidentally met in the restroom that day brushed past his ears like the wind.

The Yoojun before his death was someone who had never experienced Sayoung up close.

So he knew he shouldn’t attach special meaning to those words, but he couldn’t help recalling them suddenly like this.

After swallowing the words that had become the source of a small trust toward Yoojun, Sayoung silently rose from his seat, poured out all the coffee remaining in both cups, and came out to the living room.

His body and mind were both so exhausted that he wanted to rest for a while.

After gazing at the empty living room with dry eyes for a moment, Sayoung soon turned and walked toward the smallest room in the house.

That was Sayoung’s bedroom.

Sayoung had a ‘home of his own’ that he had cherished and held dear for a very long time.

Because even while dreaming of revenge, the memories of love were persistent, and the loss was still painful.

Sayoung left all the spacious areas of the house, to which he hadn’t properly attached his heart until now, and laid his body on the small bed prepped in the smallest room.

Hoping that this moment was not a dream dreamt atop the cold asphalt, Sayoung let himself be carried away by the slowly approaching drowsiness.