Chapter 81: The Subordinate’s Stance

“……So, Kevin wants to stay at our place for a few days. What do you think? If you’d rather not, I’ll send him to a hotel.”

Yeon-chae cautiously broached the subject, subtly observing Yoonwoo. He seemed to have noticed Yoonwoo’s less-than-favorable expression.

“Oh, come on. Just let me stay for a few days. I’ll be good, okay?”

Kevin grinned brightly, clapping Yoonwoo’s shoulder. He was truly cheerful, outgoing, unreserved, and utterly oblivious.

It was baffling how he and Yeon-chae had become friends, as Kevin seemed precisely the type Yeon-chae wouldn’t tolerate.

Not only had he called at the most crucial moment, disrupting everything, but now he intended to stay for days in their newlywed home. Yoonwoo felt a surge of irritation unlike any he had experienced before.

“Uh, what do you call her? Hyungsu? Jaesu?”

Even amidst this, Kevin fumbled, unsure how to address Yoonwoo. Yeon-chae added, his voice laced with displeasure, “It’s ‘Jesu’.”

“Oh, right. Jaesu. My dear Jaesu. I have nowhere else to go, and I don’t know my way around. Earlier, I got lost and almost got kidnapped by some bad person if Yeon-chae hadn’t come for me! What if you kick me out and I get sold to a shrimp boat? Then our kind Jaesu would live the rest of their life tormented by guilt!”

“I said, it’s ‘Jesu’.”

Kevin, however, looked like he could survive working on a shrimp boat for a long, healthy, and robust life. Yoonwoo felt no need to harbor any guilt.

Yet, Kevin’s relentless attempt to instill guilt did not cease.

“Aren’t I just utterly pathetic? I don’t know anyone in Korea, and I can’t speak Korean. I’m as fragile as a newborn fawn. It would be best if you just let me stay here and protect me. Right? Huh?”

Yoonwoo opened his mouth but found himself speechless. He couldn’t even begin to fathom where to start refuting Kevin’s claims.

Everything Kevin had said, from beginning to end, was patently false. After much deliberation, Yoonwoo settled on just one point.

“……You speak Korean perfectly well, though.”

“Oh, really? Hahahaha, thanks! I get that a lot!”

‘He wasn’t complimenting you…’

Watching Kevin’s thoughtless expression as he roared with laughter, his eyes crinkling until they disappeared, Yoonwoo felt his resolve drain away in real time.

Strictly speaking, Kevin hadn’t done anything wrong. His timing for the call had just been a bit unfortunate.

It felt stranger to be so on edge by himself. Yoonwoo couldn’t even understand his own feelings, leaving him somewhat dejected.

Kevin, with his innocently cheerful face, seemed to be genuinely trying to make a good impression, yet Yoonwoo felt like he was the only one being petty and sensitive. ‘But was Kevin truly trying to make a good impression?’ he wondered.

Yoonwoo sighed softly and decided to change his perspective.

Yeon-chae’s (presumably) only friend had returned from America after several years. Yeon-chae hadn’t seen him in a long time, and they likely had much to catch up on.

Given that Kevin claimed to know no one in Seoul, Yoonwoo couldn’t bring himself to simply kick him out.

It was only for a few days, after all. He resolved to tell Kevin to make himself comfortable until he returned to the States. Just as Yoonwoo made this decision and opened his mouth, a voice cut in.

“Just go to your brother’s house. Why stay at someone else’s place when you have a perfectly good home?”

Yeon-chae’s voice, accompanied by a click of his tongue, reached Yoonwoo’s ears.

“Huh?”

Yoonwoo snapped his head up. Both Yeon-chae’s and Kevin’s gazes were fixed on him. Yoonwoo’s eyes flashed with a chilling glint.

“You have a house here?”

At Yoonwoo’s furious question, Kevin adopted a bewildered expression. ‘Why on earth is he looking so confused?’ Yoonwoo fumed internally. ‘His lies have been exposed! He should at least pretend to be embarrassed!’ His patience was wearing thin.

Regardless, Kevin continued to babble, seemingly having forgotten what he’d said just three seconds prior.

“Of course I do! My parents’ house! It’s super close, like, a ten-minute walk from here. And they have a really cute, big, talkative dog. Want to see a picture?”

‘Is he talking about himself?’ A vein throbbed in Yoonwoo’s forehead.

He had never been this angry before. Unable to contain himself, he finally burst out, shouting,

“What?! You just said you didn’t know anyone and didn’t know the way! Your parents live ten minutes away, so why on earth are you here?!”

The big, talkative, but not-so-cute Kevin didn’t flinch.

“Oh, come on, I came here without my mom knowing! If she finds out I skipped all my classes to come play, she’ll kill me! Hahahahaha.”

“Ha…”

Yoonwoo had assumed Kevin was a second-generation Korean immigrant who had come to Korea alone after several years, knowing no one. Instead, he was just a delinquent exchange student who had snuck away to play without his mother’s knowledge.

Completely losing all will to fight, Yoonwoo pressed a hand to his forehead.

Kevin was set to stay at Yoonwoo and Yeon-chae’s house until his return to America.

As Yoonwoo glared at the back of Kevin’s head, who was cheerfully unpacking in the guest room, Yeon-chae quietly approached, whispering apologetically.

“I’m sorry, hyung. Just bear with it for a day or two. He’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

“But he said he’d be here until he goes back to America…”

“That’s his plan, but he’ll be dragged away by his mother soon enough.”

“He said he snuck out without his parents knowing?”

“He does this all the time, so his mom installed a phone at their American house. If he doesn’t answer calls there for a few days, she’ll come looking for him.”

“Oh… really?”

Only then did Yoonwoo’s expression soften slightly.

‘He does this all the time, huh.’ American universities were said to have exorbitant tuition fees, and skipping all those classes during the semester to come play in Korea was unimaginable for Yoonwoo.

Out of sheer concern for the wasted tuition, Yoonwoo wanted to immediately contact Kevin’s mother and tell her to come retrieve her son. There was no other reason; he truly just found the tuition too precious to waste.

Hesitantly, Yoonwoo asked,

“Can’t you just contact her? What if she worries…”

“Oh, no, she doesn’t worry.”

Yeon-chae waved his hand dismissively, as if the idea was absurd. It had been a long time since Yoonwoo had seen such a carefree smile on his face.

Yoonwoo gazed up at Yeon-chae, his eyes unfocused.

Yeon-chae seemed to be in high spirits, thanks to Kevin’s visit.

“If he doesn’t answer, it’s obvious he’s come to Korea, and I’m the only person Kevin knows here. He always comes to our house. His mom usually gives him a few days.”

“Oh…”

Kevin hadn’t been entirely untruthful. Amidst all his rambling, there was one kernel of truth.

“When I lived in America, Kevin looked out for me a lot. Even if he seems a bit strange, he’s kind once you get to know him. He’s a really close and important hyung to me… Thank you for letting him stay, hyung.”

“Uh, right…”

The part about Yeon-chae being his only friend in Korea turned out, coincidentally, to be true.

Yoonwoo was truly reluctant, but he had no choice but to accept Kevin.

Kevin, a “really close and important” person, existed within Yeon-chae’s limited social circle, which Yoonwoo had believed consisted solely of himself. Kevin’s presence clung unpleasantly to Yoonwoo’s palate, like gritty sand.

Yoonwoo wanted to continue their earlier conversation, but he simply couldn’t find an opportune moment.

The conversation, ‘Yeon-chae, I have something to tell you. Do you… like me?’ was not something he could bring up when a third party might suddenly burst in, cracking jokes only they found amusing, and roaring with laughter.

Yoonwoo tried to wait for Kevin to be absent, but Kevin would tag along with Yeon-chae to classes and return with him when he came home.

In their large house, Yoonwoo was either alone or in a trio, with Kevin included. No matter how hard he tried to create the right atmosphere, that moment never returned.

‘He really shouldn’t have let Yeon-chae answer that call. He should have insisted it was spam until the very end.’ In reality, it was no different from spam, so it wouldn’t have even been a lie.

Yoonwoo glared at Kevin, who was sitting at the kitchen island, idly rolling a basketball with his index finger.

This time, he was pestering Yeon-chae to go play basketball.

“Alright. Let’s go after dinner.”

Yeon-chae nodded, busily chopping ingredients. On the induction stove, the *doenjang jjigae* bubbled softly. Yoonwoo rolled his eyes. Tonight, too, his chances of being alone with Yeon-chae were ruined.

“Jesu, you come too. How about you and I team up for a 2-on-1? Good, right? It’s good!”

“No, I…”

“Yoonwoo hyung can’t.”

Yoonwoo was about to hesitantly decline, but Yeon-chae swiftly cut off Kevin’s suggestion. “What? Why!” Kevin protested, furrowing his brows.

Yeon-chae merely shrugged, then flashed a subtle smile.

“Our baby will be startled.”

There was a quiet pride in his expression. A momentary silence descended upon the dining table.

Eventually, Kevin, his eyes wide like sugar plums, stammered,

“A… a baby? Jesu already has a baby?”

“Yeah. A baby. My baby.”

“Oh… really? That was fast. Hey, you’re only twenty-one. Hahahahaha. Marriage and a baby, all at super speed. I’m totally surprised. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Oh, come on, you should have told me this the moment we met! Well, I guess I’ll have to go to the mall tomorrow. I’m going to buy my nephew a gift!”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Wow, our Yeon-chae is really off the market now. When you just said you were married, it felt like playing house, but with a baby now, it feels totally real!”

“Doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, totally.”

“Right, so…”

Yeon-chae suddenly pulled Yoonwoo close, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Yoonwoo, who had been glaring indignantly at Kevin’s antics, let out a flustered “Uh-uh-uh” as he was practically enveloped in Yeon-chae’s embrace.

From above his head, a firm voice resonated.

“Stop trying to flirt with Yoonwoo hyung.”

‘Hmm?’

Yoonwoo blinked, speechless at the sudden, unexpected turn of events.

“Oh, come on. I just thought Jesu was cute! Why are you so guarded? Do you really think I’d actually try to seduce Jesu? Hahahahaha.”

Only Kevin’s thoughtless laughter echoed loudly through the kitchen.