Chapter 35: A Ruined Match

“How could you go on a blind date without even telling me?”

“……?”

Hyunwoo couldn’t understand why Hyunjin was acting like this.

To suddenly show up and say something like that—what was going on?

He didn’t know how Hyunjin had even found out about the blind date, but there was no reason to shout like that in a crowded place.

Flustered, Hyunwoo stood up and took a step toward him.

“Hey, what are you even—”

“I believed everything you said!”

“……?”

Suddenly, Hyunjin buried his face in his palms and began to wail loudly.

Hyunwoo blinked in shock, then felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

It felt similar to when he had once crashed Hyunjin’s blind date before the regression—though Hyunjin’s outburst now was a little different in form.

“……!”

Hyunwoo instinctively looked toward Dabin sitting across from him.

The man who had been smiling pleasantly just moments ago now wore a look of utter disgust.

When his gaze shifted from the crying Hyunjin to Hyunwoo, his expression twisted as if looking at trash.

“No, it’s not what it looks like—”

This was a complete misunderstanding.

Because of Hyunjin’s strange behavior, it probably looked like Hyunwoo was a cheating boyfriend caught red-handed—but that wasn’t the case at all.

Hyunjin was his younger brother.

However, unlike Hyunwoo, Hyunjin rarely appeared in public.

After learning that he wasn’t Chairman Joo’s biological son, he’d grown withdrawn, and the chairman had completely lost interest in him.

Besides, the two didn’t resemble each other at all.

Even if Hyunwoo told someone who didn’t know them that Hyunjin was his brother, they probably wouldn’t believe it.

With no other choice, Hyunwoo turned back to Hyunjin.

“Let’s not do this here. Let’s talk outside.”

He said it only to stop Hyunjin from making a bigger scene—but that, unknowingly, deepened Dabin’s misunderstanding.

Hyunwoo reached out his hand toward the still-hysterical Hyunjin.

Tap.

“……!”

But someone grabbed his arm.

Hyunwoo turned in surprise—and saw Seunghyuk looking down at him with a cold, unreadable expression.

“You…”

“……”

What was Seunghyuk doing here?

Hyunwoo was at a loss for words.

Seunghyuk didn’t say anything, just stared at him with a fiery gaze.

Even without speaking, his presence alone carried a crushing pressure.

Unable to bear it any longer, Dabin suddenly stood up.

“Mr. Joo Hyunwoo. I may be someone who plays around, but even I don’t bring my lovers to crash my blind dates.”

“No, wait—”

“I thought we understood each other, but this is disappointing.”

“Wait a second—!”

Without listening to Hyunwoo’s protests, Dabin turned and walked away.

Hyunwoo wanted to chase after him, but Seunghyuk still had a tight grip on his arm.

He could only watch helplessly as Dabin’s figure disappeared, then turned to face the other two.

“What the hell are you two doing?”

“……”

Hyunwoo shouted in anger.

Hyunjin, who had been pretending to cry, peeked through his fingers to make sure Dabin was gone, then slowly lowered his hands.

Seeing that, Hyunwoo clenched his teeth.

“Joo Hyunjin, do you even realize what you’ve just done?”

“But, I…”

“This wasn’t just some simple blind date! It was something that could affect business between Moonseong and Gaha! You just ruined that—do you understand?”

“……”

Hyunwoo directed his anger at Hyunjin first—the one who had caused the scene.

Sure, before his regression, Hyunwoo himself had once ruined Hyunjin’s blind date in a similar way.

But the situation now was entirely different.

A blind date involving an omega son and an alpha heir carried a completely different weight.

Besides, Hyunjin wasn’t even Chairman Joo’s biological child.

If that fact came to light, it would be nearly impossible for him to marry well into another powerful family.

If the chairman found out about this, there would be chaos.

Far worse than what had happened when he had done it.

Hyunwoo’s scolding came from genuine concern, but Hyunjin didn’t take it that way.

Tears welled up again as Hyunjin looked at him resentfully.

“But you went on the blind date instead of me! You don’t even like doing this sort of thing!”

“When did I ever say that?”

“You told me you had no intention of getting married!”

“That’s…”

Right after his regression, Hyunwoo had said that to clear up Hyunjin’s misunderstanding about Seunghyuk—but he hadn’t realized it would be taken this way.

At a loss for words, he hesitated—and only then noticed the people around them whispering.

“…Let’s talk outside.”

With Dabin storming off in anger and now a public argument breaking out, gossip was inevitable.

If the chairman heard about this, things would get even worse.

Frowning, Hyunwoo decided to take the two of them and leave the hotel.

“Loud scene you’ve got here. Mind if I join? This is getting interesting.”

“…….”

Oh great.

Why was he here now?

The familiar, grating voice made Hyunwoo turn around with a grimace.

Cha Kwon-oh stood there, smirking.

“…This has nothing to do with you, Director Cha. Please, go about your business.”

“Oh, I think it has everything to do with me.”

“……?”

At first, Hyunwoo didn’t understand what Kwon-oh meant.

He was used to the man saying random, irritating things just to get under people’s skin.

But then Kwon-oh’s gaze shifted—from Hyunwoo to Seunghyuk.

Seunghyuk was still gripping Hyunwoo’s arm tightly.

A sly grin crept up on Kwon-oh’s lips.

“I’m the one who told him you were here on a blind date.”

“…What?”

Hyunwoo turned to Seunghyuk, startled.

Seunghyuk’s face remained expressionless, but his eyes burned with hostility toward Kwon-oh.

They’d been in contact? Since when?

Hyunwoo was more shocked by that than anything else.

And the fact that he was shocked made it even worse.

“You… you know Director Cha?”

“No. I don’t.”

“……!”

Seunghyuk’s curt reply came as he turned away.

His response was so cold it would’ve embarrassed even Kwon-oh himself.

“……?”

Hyunwoo was confused.

Before the regression, the two had gotten along quite well.

In fact, Seunghyuk had joined L&S—the rival company to Moonseong—because of Kwon-oh’s suggestion.

He remembered how the two had often been seen together back then.

But now…

‘Come to think of it, after that program launch, I didn’t really see them together anymore.’

There had been rumors of tension between Seunghyuk and L&S after that launch.

Some said foreign corporations had approached Seunghyuk after seeing his performance.

At the time, Hyunwoo had been too busy dealing with Moonseong’s aftermath to look into it.

If their fallout happened after that, then there shouldn’t be any bad blood yet in this timeline… should there?

Hyunwoo absentmindedly followed behind Seunghyuk, who was still dragging him forward by the arm, staring at his back in confusion.

“Hey now, don’t just walk off. After all, I did help you out.”

“……”

But Kwon-oh was persistent.

Following them out of the hotel, he kept running his mouth.

“I have nothing to discuss with you.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Deputy Director.”

“……”

God, what an irritating man.

Hyunwoo’s face twisted in disgust.

Every word Kwon-oh spoke made him want to punch something.

He didn’t want to engage any further—but if he didn’t say anything, the man would probably follow them all the way home.

So he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“So, are you planning to follow us home now?”

“Oh? You’re inviting me?”

“……”

Unbelievable.

Hyunwoo’s head throbbed from the stress.

He couldn’t even find the strength to respond.

“No, you’re not,” Seunghyuk said flatly.

“Hmm. But you three live together, huh?”

“……”

Kwon-oh’s gaze dropped to where Seunghyuk was still holding Hyunwoo’s wrist.

Seunghyuk hadn’t let go once.

Hyunwoo had no idea why.

To anyone watching, it must have looked absurd—two men, both alphas, one gripping the other’s arm so tightly.

Of course, Hyunwoo was the one being held, not the other way around.

Letting out a long sigh, he looked at Seunghyuk.

“Hey. Let go of my arm.”

“……”

“It hurts. Let go.”

“…Does it hurt?”

At that, Seunghyuk immediately released him.

It hadn’t actually hurt, but Hyunwoo didn’t feel bad about lying.

After all, Seunghyuk had grabbed him first without asking.

Rubbing his newly freed wrist, Hyunwoo turned back to face Kwon-oh.