Chapter 58: A Line Slowly Breaking

“Hyung, you said you ate breakfast, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

In truth, he hadn’t eaten anything since last night.

But after everything that had happened, and with Hyunjin sitting across from him, he was too tense to feel hungry.

Hyunwoo nodded and smiled awkwardly.

“Then talk with me for a bit.”

“…….”

The seriousness in Hyunjin’s voice made Hyunwoo stiffen again.

He followed him in silence and sat down across the table.

“Why didn’t you call me last night?”

“Ah, that’s….”

He obviously hadn’t been in any condition to contact Hyunjin yesterday.

He had just rushed to Hyunseok’s place without thinking.

Driving in that state was a miracle in itself.

He really needed to take better care next time.

Or rather, make sure such things never happened again.

Hyunwoo shook his head and answered.

“Joo Hyunseok said he needed someone to talk to, so I went to his place…. I thought I’d just listen for a bit and come back right away, but I ended up knocking out first….”

“The doctor told you not to drink, remember.”

“I thought a little would be fine….”

“Ha….”

“…….”

Of course Hyunseok never asked for advice.

It was him who barged in.

But a small lie like this should be fine.

Hyunseok even helped create the alibi anyway.

Hyunjin sighed, looking displeased.

“Hyunseok-hyung and emotional talk. That doesn’t match at all.”

“He may seem carefree, but he’s not like that.”

Hyunjin’s suspicion was reasonable.

But Hyunwoo stuck to his story.

Hyunjin knew what Hyunseok was really like, but since Hyunwoo insisted, he simply nodded.

“Alright. I’ll believe you.”

“Hyunjin….”

“No matter what you say, I’ll believe you.”

“…….”

He already knew Hyunwoo was hiding something.

But he was telling him he would let it go anyway.

Hyunwoo couldn’t say anything back.

“So you don’t have to act like you’re walking on thin ice around me.”

“Hyunjin….”

“Okay?”

“Yeah….”

Hyunwoo nodded, a little overwhelmed.

For some reason, Hyunjin felt far more forceful today.

There was even a sharpness in his eyes.

For the first time, Hyunwoo felt small in front of him.

He simply listened without protest.

After all, he felt far too guilty to lift his head.

As he sat there like a sinner before judgment, a vibration buzzed in his pocket.

Bzz, bzz.

“……!”

Hyunwoo took out his phone and froze.

A name was displayed on the screen.

[Lee Seunghyuk]

Hyunwoo quickly stood up.

“H-Hyunjin. I’ll just take this call real quick.”

“Alright.”

Hyunjin smiled softly and nodded.

Hyunwoo felt relieved and walked away.

“…….”

As soon as Hyunwoo entered another room, Hyunjin’s smile disappeared.

He didn’t know what Hyunwoo was hiding.

But his gut told him it wasn’t good.

The story about Hyunseok was absurd.

Falling asleep so early he couldn’t answer the phone was strange too.

Most of all—
the T-shirt Hyunwoo was wearing didn’t match his suit pants at all.

That was Seunghyuk’s shirt.

Hyunjin recognized it instantly.

He had seen Seunghyuk wearing that exact same shirt multiple times at school just recently.

Hyunjin’s expression twisted.

He didn’t want to imagine what must have happened.

But the thoughts forced themselves into his mind anyway.

And the fact that Seunghyuk also hadn’t come home last night made it worse.

“…Damn it.”

Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm the boiling in his chest.

He sat at the table silently, trying to keep his thoughts from spiraling.

Tak.

Once the door to the room closed behind him, Hyunwoo answered the call.

He carefully lifted the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

…

“…?”

There was no response at first.

Hyunwoo frowned and checked the caller ID again.

It was definitely Seunghyuk.

Was he not fully conscious yet?

Maybe he dialed without realizing?

A hundred possibilities crossed his mind.

“Hyung…”

“Seunghyuk? You’re back to your senses?”

A quiet voice finally came through.

Hyunwoo blinked in surprise.

Then Seunghyuk spoke again.

“Why did you leave me?”

“What?”

His tone was lower than usual.

Calm.
Too calm.

And he remembered everything from last night — apparently.

Hyunwoo was caught off guard.

“You just left me there. How could you?”

“What are you talking about? Do you know how much trouble you caused me?”

“…Sorry.”

At least he knew he had been a burden.

Hyunwoo clicked his tongue.

If anything, this kid should be grateful he didn’t get left on the street.

Then Seunghyuk continued.

“But… can you come pick me up?”

“Your rut is over?”

“Yeah. We finished once last night, remember?”

“Hey—!”

Hyunwoo almost yelled, but remembered Hyunjin was in the other room.

He lowered his voice quickly.

“You remember that? Most people don’t remember things clearly during rut.”

“How could I forget? It was precious.”

“…God.”

So he remembered everything.

Hyunwoo exhaled.

“Then if you’re fine, just come home yourself.”

“You took my clothes with you.”

“…”

Hyunwoo looked down at the shirt he was wearing.

Right.

His own shirt was ripped yesterday, so he ended up wearing Seunghyuk’s.

He bit his lip in frustration.

He wanted to say something sharp, but he held it back.

“Fine. I’ll come. Just stay where you are.”

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

“Haa…”

Hyunwoo ended the call and let out a long breath.

His head throbbed.

What was he going to tell Hyunjin?

He pressed his fingers to his temples.

“Ugh…”

First things first — he needed to change clothes.

He went into the dressing room and chose another shirt.

He stared at Seunghyuk’s shirt for a moment.

If he returned this shirt, Hyunjin would definitely notice.

He didn’t realize Hyunjin already had.

So he chose a plain black T-shirt instead — something Seunghyuk could wear without drawing attention.

He put the shirt into a shopping bag and walked out carefully.

Hyunjin was still sitting at the table, not moving an inch.

“Hey, Hyunjin…”

“Hyung.”

“I… something came up. I need to go out for a bit.”

“What?”

Hyunjin shot to his feet and stepped closer.

“It’s the weekend. What kind of business?”

“It’s not work, just… something happened.”

“…”

Hyunjin’s eyes lowered to the shopping bag.

He couldn’t see what was inside, but he stared at it hard.

“I’ll be right back. Eat first, okay?”

“Hyung…”

Before Hyunjin could say anything more, Hyunwoo quickly slipped out the door.

He could feel Hyunjin’s gaze burning into his back the whole way.

Tak.

“…”

The door closed.

Hyunjin stared at it silently.

‘Hyung… What am I supposed to do?’

If he had shouted or cried, would Hyunwoo have stayed?

He clenched his fists.

Seunghyuk’s words echoed in his head.

I’m not planning to stay as just a good younger brother.

Hyunjin stood there for a long time, feelings boiling over.

“Ugh…”

Hyunwoo got into his car and shut the door hard.

Pain shot up his spine and he winced.

His body was still recovering from being dragged into Seunghyuk’s rut.

And he hadn’t eaten since last night.

Now that the conversation with Hyunjin was over, hunger hit him all at once.

“Maybe I should eat before going…”

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while thinking.

Bzz. Bzz.

“Huh?”

His phone vibrated in the cradle.

He glanced at the screen and frowned.

Someone was calling him again.