7MoH 2.4

Never in his life had he encountered such a difficult person. Jeong-in was someone he simply couldn’t predict using his usual logic or methods. What was even more incomprehensible was his own desire to keep Jeong-in close.

Just then, bright headlights shone from behind Chase, and a red Camry stopped right behind his car.

It was Suzy who got out of the car. She immediately recognized who owned the luxury sports car uncommon in this neighborhood.

“Chase?”

Chase raised his head and saw Suzy carrying a large bag emblazoned with a grocery store logo.

“Hello.”

“Why are you sitting out here? Why not go inside?”

“Well…”

Chase trailed off vaguely. He couldn’t find the right words to explain. Suzy hitched up the large bag while waiting for Chase’s answer. It looked heavy even at a glance.

“Let me take that.”

Chase quickly got out of the car and took her luggage. Suzy massaged her arms and shoulders, apparently relieved of the weight.

“Jeong-in seems a bit low on energy these days. I’m on my way back with lots of meat and side dishes.”

Suzy said with a smile. She briefly looked Chase over, then added,

“If you haven’t had dinner, would you like to join us? Though it’ll be Korean food again.”

Chase felt relief rising within him. It felt like finding an unexpected, strong ally.

“Would that be okay?”

“You’re Jeong-in’s friend, of course it is.”

Suzy answered casually and began walking toward the house.

What kind of reaction would Jeong-in have seeing him? Chase entered the house behind Suzy, filled with tension that made his throat go dry.

As soon as they entered the hallway, Suzy called loudly toward the top of the stairs.

“Jeong-in! Mom’s home!”

Her voice echoed through the quiet house. After a while, there was a small movement from the second floor. Chase felt his heart begin to beat rapidly. Like before a big game. No, even more tense than that.

Jeong-in, coming down the stairs, stopped halfway. He still wasn’t wearing glasses. His calm expression froze the moment he spotted Chase.

“…Prescott?”

Jeong-in’s voice mixed bewilderment with a hint of irritation. Chase could read his face clearly. The message “What are you doing here?” was distinctly conveyed.

He needed to act before Jeong-in could refuse him. Chase quickly turned toward Suzy.

“Where should I put this?”

“Oh, in the kitchen please. Just place it on the table.”

Having been to Jeong-in’s house before, Chase naturally headed to the kitchen. He set the heavy bag on the table and took a light breath.

Suzy followed him into the kitchen, casually putting on an apron and washing her hands as she said to Chase,

“It’ll take some time. Go upstairs and hang out with Jeong-in.”

Chase agreed and turned around, only to meet Jeong-in’s eyes as soon as he left the kitchen.

Jeong-in wore a serious expression with a slightly furrowed brow. Biting his lip when troubled seemed to be a habit. Though Chase thought it was cute, this wasn’t the time to leisurely admire such things.

“…Let’s go.”

Speaking as if resigned, Jeong-in began climbing the stairs. Chase quietly followed him.

As soon as they entered his room, Jeong-in closed the door and firmly crossed his arms over his chest. A clear sign of displeasure.

Pretending not to notice Jeong-in’s attitude, Chase looked around the room and spotted a stuffed animal on one side of Jeong-in’s bed.

“Snowball! Daddy’s here!”

Sitting on the bed, Chase made a fuss, pulling the plush toy into his arms like a father reuniting with a lost child. He wanted to soften Jeong-in’s cold attitude, even with a silly joke. But Jeong-in wasn’t so easily swayed.

“What are you doing here?”

Chase quickly held the stuffed animal to cover his face. Letting Snowball take the icy glare instead, with just his eyes peeking out, he made his excuse.

“Your mom saw me by chance and invited me first. She said to stay for dinner.”

“I’m sorry. Tell mom you have something urgent and just go.”

The smile that Chase had been struggling to maintain gradually disappeared from his face. He put down the stuffed animal and looked up at Jeong-in standing in the middle of the room.

“Why should I do that?”

“It’s uncomfortable.”

Chase simply couldn’t understand Jeong-in’s attitude that had changed so suddenly, like flipping a hand.

“Last week, you and I weren’t uncomfortable. Why should things suddenly change?”

Jeong-in’s expression suggested that he couldn’t understand Chase either.

“Of course things should change.”

“Why? Why should they change? I don’t like it. I want to eat with you like before, talk with you, hang out with you.”

“Hang out? Are you a child?”

Jeong-in looked at Chase as if he were a kid throwing a tantrum. But Chase couldn’t stop speaking.

“This is unfair.”

His voice was full of resentment. It felt like he was losing Jeong-in over something he hadn’t done wrong. Watching him, Jeong-in sighed deeply, as if giving up any attempt to persuade him.

“That’s how life is. Accept it.”

Jeong-in’s tone was cold and his face expressionless. He’d been smiling plenty at school, but not toward him. Chase felt irritation rising at Jeong-in’s attitude.

“Why aren’t you wearing glasses?”

Chase suddenly brought up. Jeong-in’s brow furrowed at the question with unclear intent.

“The frame broke. And the lenses got scratched.”

“You didn’t fix them?”

“I left it to be fixed. They said it would take a few days.”

Chase nodded, but still couldn’t shake the doubt lingering in one corner of his mind. What really bothered him was something else.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Who is Justin?”

“Justin?”

“That day, the person you were waiting for. You came down calling that name.”

Jeong-in maintained silence for a while, quietly looking at Chase. His unwavering black eyes seemed to question Chase’s right to ask such things.

“What does that have to do with you?”

“I’m curious.”

Showing this much interest in someone he didn’t even like was wrong. Jeong-in made no effort to hide his weariness, as if tired of such interest and questions, letting out a sigh close to a lament.

“Haa… Prescott.”

“Chase.”

“…What?”

Being called by his last name was now unbearable. He wanted Jeong-in to call him by his first name. No, actually, he’d prefer an even more intimate way of address.

“Call me Chase.”

Jeong-in’s eyes widened in surprise, and he hesitated for a moment. But soon he turned his head away, avoiding Chase.

“No. I don’t want to.”

Jeong-in’s voice trembled slightly as he continued. As if he’d heard something hurtful.

“…Vivian Sinclair calls you that.”

“So what?”

Seeing Jeong-in, who was clearly upset, Chase felt confused. It was like they were speaking different languages.

Still, he wanted to soothe Jeong-in’s feelings as best he could. He wanted to comfort him somehow.

“I’ve known her since we were two. She calls me that because she saw my mom calling me that.”

“…I don’t care.”

“Then why did you bring up Vivian?”

Jeong-in bit his lip again. Watching this, Chase tried to gauge Jeong-in’s feelings.

Was he jealous? Or did he not want to be treated the same as Vivian?

“You’re really… too difficult.”

Chase ran his hand roughly through his hair with a deep sigh. Finally, he decided to share a story he had never told anyone.

“Vivian and I aren’t dating. We never have been.”

Jeong-in’s expression hardened at Chase’s words.

“But…”

Chase Prescott and Vivian Sinclair were always together. Known as Bellacove’s official couple, the history of the two who had repeatedly dated and broken up over a long period began in middle school.

“It was just convenient for both of us.”

Chase calmly continued his explanation, as if he had read the doubt in Jeong-in’s eyes.

“She needed a trophy to show others, and I needed an excuse to avoid unnecessary attention. Vivian has a nasty temperament. Most people didn’t approach me because they were afraid of her.”

Vivian’s influence had been significant in allowing Chase to stay quiet without being caught up in unnecessary romantic entanglements or rumors, despite being at the center of numerous parties.

Jeong-in had a contemplative look on his face. He seemed to be probing the gap between what he thought he knew and reality.

Chase held a faint hope, but Jeong-in soon shook his head, blocking that possibility.

“Whatever the story is… it’s none of my business anymore.”

Jeong-in, not even looking at Chase, conveyed nothing but disconnection.

“Jay, are you really going to be like this?”

“…”

“Jay.”

Chase called Jeong-in with a voice like a sigh, running his large hand over his face.

Lately, it was always Jeong-in who made him smile, who brightened his day.

Parties with alcohol and loud music, women exchanging suggestive glances like it was a game. For the first time, he realized he could enjoy himself without those things. A slice of pizza with sand on a plastic plate, the greasy fries from a modest diner—they tasted much better than food from fancy restaurants where reservations were nearly impossible to get.

Just reading a book in the same space made his heart feel full, and when he saw those black eyes with their moist gleam, he found himself confessing things he’d never told anyone, as if in a confessional. It brought him a greater sense of liberation than aggressively tackling someone on the field to steal the ball.

And now Jeong-in wants to end all of that.

Chase felt like he was trapped in a maze with no visible exit. While searching for a way out, he felt himself sinking deeper into a pit. He couldn’t breathe, like an insect caught in a carnivorous plant’s trap.

“Jay.”

Jeong-in still kept his gaze fixed on the window, not even looking at Chase.

“I’m talking to you. Look at me, Jay.”

Jeong-in reluctantly looked at Chase. His black hole-like eyes with their mysterious light shone quietly. His skin was paper-white, as if all existing pigment had gone to his eyes, which were so black that Chase always felt like he was being pulled in.

“Let’s be clear. You’re saying you can’t hang out with me anymore because you like me, and I rejected you?”

“…Yes.”

“Why?”

At Chase’s question, Jeong-in looked as if he was the one who couldn’t understand.

Despite living in America for over seven years, Jeong-in still had the values of a native Korean who couldn’t understand Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin remaining friends after divorce.

It had taken him years to naturally see Steven, his mother Suzy’s ex-husband. Of course, even now it wasn’t completely comfortable.

“Then why are you doing this?” 

Jeong-in’s voice grew sharp as he asked.

“You want to keep hanging out as friends even though you know I like you? Because that’s what you want? That’s really selfish.”

There was suppressed emotion in Jeong-in’s voice. If you know someone likes you but has no intention of reciprocating, shouldn’t you help them move on? Isn’t it a courtesy to keep your distance?

The two of them in the same room were physically close, but their hearts were infinitely far apart.

Chase protested.

“If we hang out again and get close, your feelings might change.”

“How can you so easily… Why is everything so easy for you people?”

“You people? I don’t know who you’re referring to, but don’t make blanket accusations.”

The difference in values between the two people who grew up in different environments was significant.

To Koreans, love is something fateful. The emotion of love is absolute, and a relationship that has gone wrong is irreversible, a destiny that has already been disrupted.

However, many Americans perceive love as an emotion that changes and moves. They believe that hearts can change through effort and choice, and even failed relationships can continue in another form. They believe that one rejection is not the end of life, and the form of love can change into friendship or take other forms.

Moreover, Chase didn’t even belong to the category of those ordinary Americans.

Love? Wasn’t that just a marketing tactic sold in movies to make money?

To Chase, love was neither serious nor sublime. He didn’t believe in the romantic love that the world spoke of. How could he? All the love he had witnessed was transactions, desires, and mere whims.

Just looking at his surroundings, the answer was clear. Though known to the public as a romantic love story, his mother and father, who had married for political reasons, were each having affairs, and they weren’t even faithful to their affair partners.

And what about his friends? A meaningless repetition of confessions, breakups, and new meetings.

Michaela, who had confessed to him, was now madly in love with Alex Martinez, and Ava Winslow had been in a serious relationship with Max Schneider before dating Brian Cole. Is there anything else that changes so easily and is so fleeting?

“Your feelings could become friendship, and we could be friends.”

“How can a person’s heart change so easily?”

“Then do you want to say it’s eternal? Even five-year-olds don’t believe that.”

As the two exchanged words one by one, a heavy silence flowed between them, leading to a temporary stalemate. It was clear that both were hurt.

Chase knew that Jeong-in wouldn’t change his mind easily. Jeong-in always spoke gently with a somewhat intimidated voice, but thinking about it, he had always been firm. Perhaps he was quite the stubborn type.

Jeong-in was half-turned, looking out the window. The hazy moonlight that came through the window gently settled on his shoulders as if embracing them.

Chase looked at his formidable opponent with a complex expression.

Jeong-in was different from the people Chase had met so far.

Calculation and ambition hidden in gentle smiles, flattery and pretense attached to exchanged compliments and laughter. Chase was accustomed to such things.

But Jeong-in had a nobility that never mixed with that secular world, a courage that wasn’t afraid to stand outside the frame.

His clear, unclouded eyes sometimes made Chase uncomfortable. It felt as if his inner self was nakedly exposed, as though through an X-ray. When facing Jeong-in, where neither pretense nor facade worked, he felt like he was standing disarmed. But that feeling wasn’t necessarily unpleasant.

Jeong-in had his own center. Perhaps that’s why being with Jeong-in felt like floating on calm water. That quiet sense of stability that only someone with self-assurance possesses. Chase had never met such a person in his life.

“If you want something, you fight for it. Only losers give up.”

Suddenly, the words his grandfather used to say came to mind. That you must always get what you want, and whatever you do for it, you can always find ways to justify it later. That the moment you lay down your weapons, you are defeated.

But Chase had never seriously taken those words to heart in his life. Because everything came to him even before he wanted it. In his world, possession was more natural than effort, and he learned to accept rather than yearn.

Only Jeong-in was different.

Chase wanted to keep Jeong-in by his side somehow. He had a strong intuition that if he lost him now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“I don’t know how two men date. I’ve never once thought about it.”

Jeong-in’s brow furrowed at Chase’s sudden statement. If the question was whether Jeong-in was gay, that was something Jeong-in himself wondered about. He couldn’t deny that he liked Chase Prescott, but that didn’t mean he had any desire to develop a relationship with him. After all, not every fan who likes a celebrity dreams of dating them.

Chase, unaware of Jeong-in’s internal dilemma, continued speaking.

“If dating is the only way I can talk and laugh with you like before, then fine. Let’s date.”

Jeong-in whirled around to face Chase. His face showed disbelief.

“…What? What did you just say?”

“I said let’s date.”

Chase looked up at Jeong-in seriously. And in that moment, he came to a surprising realization about himself.