Chapter 66: The Unwanted Meeting and the Wedding Dilemma

“Oh, no. I didn’t know either…”

“Really?”

“Th-then. Why would I lie?”

“But why…”

“Hmm?”

“…Never mind.”

Yeon-chae seemed to have something to say. His full, red lips parted a few times, but even after Yoonwoo waited patiently, they never fully opened. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Yoonwoo’s wrist. Yoonwoo’s eyes, usually gently downturned at the corners, widened in surprise.

“Let’s go, then.”

“Huh?”

Yoonwoo was pulled to his feet. He could only gape, unable to form a coherent reply. Though he desperately wanted to leave, he had intended to stay a reasonable amount of time, considering his friends’ reputations and the feelings of the innocent people they’d been set up with.

Standing awkwardly beside Yeon-chae, Yoonwoo bowed his head towards the stunned people seated around the table. Their eyes and mouths were wide open in disbelief.

“I apologize. We have something to attend to…”

“Why are you apologizing, hyung? They’re the ones who should be sorry.”

Yeon-chae’s long finger pointed directly at Myeong-tae and Woo-jae. Instantly, all eyes turned to them, and their faces flushed crimson. Woo-jae grumbled in a resentful tone.

“Hey, we were just trying to give you a surprise.”

“Speak truthfully. A surprise for whom? You should have just told us it was a blind date.”

“Would you have come if we told you?”

“I wouldn’t have.”

“…”

Stunned into silence, Woo-jae looked disgruntled, while Myeong-tae next to him was flustered, repeatedly muttering “I’m sorry, I apologize,” his apologies ambiguous as to their true recipient.

Ultimately, Yoonwoo was led away, his wrist still clasped by Yeon-chae. While he felt awkward leaving his friends in such a predicament and sorry for the innocent people who had been dragged into it, he secretly felt a surge of exhilaration, a profound sense of relief.

Having fallen asleep immediately upon arriving home, Yoonwoo had rushed out to meet the appointment, leaving him with an empty stomach. Yeon-chae, whose classes ended late, had also been pressed for time and busy getting ready, making it unlikely he had eaten dinner either.

Yoonwoo, holding Yeon-chae’s arm, who had been silent all this while, hesitantly asked.

“Why are you dressed up so beautifully?”

‘You should’ve eaten something instead. You must be hungry.’ That was what he intended to say, but when he met Yeon-chae’s sharp, triangular eyes, he lost his nerve.

“Uh… I’m sorry.”

Just as Yeon-chae had snapped at Myeong-tae and Woo-jae in the bar, Yoonwoo hadn’t done anything wrong and had nothing to apologize for. Yet, intimidated by Yeon-chae’s terrifyingly stern face, which had been fixed straight ahead ever since, Yoonwoo ended up stammering an apology.

He didn’t understand why Yeon-chae was so angry, but he felt he needed to soothe his mood first.

“The guys probably didn’t mean anything bad by it. Since both you and I kept backing out for no particular reason, they probably just thought we were being awkward and pushed us.”

“Whatever their intentions, I don’t care.”

“Hey, ‘those people’? They’re your friends…”

Though Yeon-chae often seemed kind and docile, there were times like this. He would act as if seniors, juniors, or peers were all just strangers unrelated to him. Yoonwoo tried to smooth out his furrowed brow as he tried to appease Yeon-chae.

“It’s true they made a mistake, but their intentions were good, so cheer up. They’re sorry too, okay?”

Yoonwoo’s phone had been constantly blinking with a barrage of messages from Woo-jae and Myeong-tae. Given the silence from Yeon-chae’s phone, it was clear that his friends were too intimidated by Yeon-chae’s furious departure to even dare apologize to him.

“Come on, cheer up. Be good. Let’s go eat something delicious. I haven’t had dinner, and I’m starving.”

Only then did Yeon-chae lift his head. The outer corners of his sharp, elongated eyes were downturned in dejection and tinged with a faint redness. Yoonwoo, slightly startled, instinctively reached out to Yeon-chae.

He cradled Yeon-chae’s clear cheek, gently stroking the area around his eyes with his thumb. Yeon-chae quietly kept his gaze lowered, accepting Yoonwoo’s touch.

“Are you tired? Your eyes look swollen…”

Yeon-chae had pushed himself the hardest while preparing for the team project. It was understandable that he would be upset, having been tired and irritable, then dragged to a forced blind date without even having a chance to eat.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Yoonwoo patted Yeon-chae’s cheek, which had now flushed red all the way to his ears. As if his mood had softened slightly, Yeon-chae finally spoke.

“I’m not mad at Woo-jae hyung or Kim Myeong-tae.”

“Oh? Then why?”

Yeon-chae seemed about to say something again. Yoonwoo clearly saw his well-formed lips part. It was the same hesitant expression he’d worn just before leaving the bar, when he’d asked, “But why…” Yoonwoo waited patiently once more.

However, Yeon-chae eventually shook his head with a sigh.

“No. I got too angry… It’s not your fault, hyung… I’m sorry.”

“Huh? No, no. Why are you sorry?”

Yeon-chae, with his slumped shoulders, looked both adorable and pitiable. Feeling at a loss, Yoonwoo reached out and wrapped his arms tightly around Yeon-chae’s shoulders. Yeon-chae, still hunched despite his broad shoulders that could never truly fit into Yoonwoo’s embrace, lifted his head slightly. His clear gaze met Yoonwoo’s directly.

“So, hyung didn’t know it was a blind date and just went out?”

“Oh? Yeah, I just thought we were going to have a get-together, a celebratory meal among ourselves. The guys worked hard, and you were tired too.”

“A get-together… at a bar like that?”

“Haha, you’re right. I wanted to go to a barbecue place, but the guys insisted on that bar for some reason. I’m a fool for falling for it.”

Yeon-chae fell silent again, gazing intently at Yoonwoo, who was smiling with crinkled eyes. Feeling his stare, Yoonwoo met his eyes and asked, “Why?”

“No, nothing.”

“What is it?”

Yoonwoo’s laughter rippled lightly through the air. His joyous mirth, scattering like dust motes, felt so tangible, so bright.

‘But why did you talk as if the two of you were meeting at the bar?’

That was what Yeon-chae had wanted to say. But the words wouldn’t leave his lips. So, Yeon-chae lowered his head, hiding his face in Yoonwoo’s embrace, and pouted his lower lip.

Yoonwoo fell into deep contemplation, a wedding invitation laid out before him. The neatly printed invitation bore a date set for a month hence, right after final exams and at the start of vacation. Though it was merely a small gathering for family and close relatives, a wedding was still a wedding.

Yeon-chae plopped down in the seat opposite him and handed over a lemonade. For himself, he had brought his usual iced Americano.

Yoonwoo took the lemonade with both hands, sipping loudly through the straw as he asked.

“Is that good?”

He gestured with his chin towards Yeon-chae’s iced Americano. Yeon-chae simply smiled, then offered an incomprehensible answer.

“Because it’s not sweet.”

“What’s the point of drinking something that isn’t sweet?”

“For its unsweet taste.”

Realizing the unbridgeable chasm of their tastes, Yoonwoo sighed. To Yeon-chae, who silently questioned him with his eyes, Yoonwoo simply replied, “Nothing,” and lowered his gaze back to the invitation. Yeon-chae tilted his head.

“What’s wrong?”

This time, he asked aloud. Yoonwoo felt a pang of annoyance at Yeon-chae’s handsome face, blinking innocently without a care. ‘Here I am, burdened with so many worries.’ Yoonwoo grumbled inwardly, then waved the invitation at Yeon-chae. He only received a blank, puzzled stare in return.

Yoonwoo tapped the invitation against the table, a troubled expression on his face.

“I’m debating whether or not to tell people.”

Yoonwoo had never imagined a day would come when he’d grapple with such an absurd dilemma. He had always assumed his wedding would be a grand affair, inviting everyone he knew to celebrate with him. Yet, here he was, contemplating whether to even inform his friends about this hastily arranged marriage. For the first time in a long while, Yoonwoo felt a profound sense of self-doubt.

“…You don’t want to tell them?”

“Huh?”

‘What was that?’ Yoonwoo, lost in a rare moment of self-pity, failed to notice Yeon-chae’s complexion changing with every sigh he uttered. When he looked up, startled by Yeon-chae’s low, rough voice, Yeon-chae’s cheeks had already paled to an alarming bluish tint.

Yoonwoo’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing his bewildered expression, Yeon-chae gripped Yoonwoo’s wrist with a firm ‘thud’ and urgently exclaimed.

“Are you regretting it? It’s too late to back out now!”

“What?”

‘What are you talking about?!’ Yoonwoo gasped, silently screaming internally before managing to clear his throat.

“Hey, it’s not that… I’m fine with telling people, but it’s because of you.”

“Because of me? What about me?”

“You’re only twenty-one, you know.”

A rebellious look returned, as if asking what that had to do with anything.

“Hyung is only twenty-three.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

He reached out and gently patted Yeon-chae’s cheek, and only then did Yeon-chae’s gaze soften. At moments like these, he was unmistakably a child. Yoonwoo smiled, letting his eyebrows droop in resignation. Yeon-chae’s face remained tense.

‘Has he truly never worried about something like this? What’s so great about a sudden marriage without love that he can always be so carefree and happy?’

Yoonwoo, with no other choice, began to explain patiently.

“We’re not getting married after dating, are we? It’s just how the situation turned out.”

“…Yes…”

Yeon-chae mumbled his reply, his cheeks already puffed out with what seemed to be dissatisfaction.