Chapter 27

– Shall we meet at 12 o’clock?

“Sure.”

He didn’t have anything to do for today anyway, and having already decided on the meeting place, there was no hesitation in accepting the time. Haon immediately accepted Baek Chan-kyung’s suggestion.

– See you later then.

“Yes. I’ll hang up now.”

With a brief farewell, the call ended. Already feeling tired at the thought of an unexpected outing due to the sudden appointment, Haon prepared to leave. It was because he generally didn’t enjoy going out.

“…Did I just agree to this for no reason? But since he wants to apologize, I feel bad about continuing to refuse.”

Haon tried to soothe his discomfort and prepared to go out. He should have breakfast, do some physical training, and then go to the meeting place.

Although he usually didn’t have a proper meal, he made an effort to have breakfast on days when he woke up early.

Haon grabbed his wireless earphones and plugged them into his ears. Then, he stiffly moved his stiff neck from side to side and headed to the restaurant.

* * *

The Center cafeteria offered a variety of menus. Even for breakfast alone, there were Korean dishes with rice and side dishes as the basics, and also Western options like pancakes and cereal.

However, Haon paid no attention to the appetizing food and instead grabbed a protein shake with powdered milk and a freshly brewed hot Americano.

Then he found a seat with a good view outside.

As he slowly sipped on his protein shake and enjoyed the outdoor view, his view suddenly got blocked. It was because of Cha Yugeon sitting across from him.

“…What do you want?”

“…”

Haon asked sharply, and Cha Yugeon said something. However, he couldn’t hear anything because the song he was listening to was reaching its high notes in the climax. Irritated by the fact that he had to talk with Cha Yugeon, Haon eventually took out his earphones, curious about what he was saying.

“What the… were you wearing earphones?”

“Yeah. I was wearing earphones. Anyway, why did you have to sit in front of me out of all these seats?”

“I can sit wherever I want, right?”

Cha Yugeon occasionally did say the right thing. But Haon felt frustrated because it was because Cha Yugeon was the one saying it.

Haon shook his head at Cha Yugeon’s unarguable words and then stood up with a tray containing his protein shake and Americano.

“Are you done eating?”

“No. I’m going to sit somewhere else to eat.”

“Why?”

“Just because. I can sit wherever I want, right?”

Haon repeated Cha Yugeon’s words.

Then, Cha Yugeon’s expression crumpled like a discarded receipt. Regardless, Haon found another seat.

Just when he thought he could finally eat comfortably, Cha Yugeon once again sat in front of Haon.

“…What’s your problem?”

“Let’s talk.”

“What talk?”

“Just, you know, this and that?”

At Cha Yugeon’s senseless words, this time Haon’s face creased. It wasn’t frequent, but lately Cha Yugeon had been saying unreasonable things. Just like now. What did he mean by having a talk about this and that?

“…”

“You only had that for breakfast? You should eat a proper breakfast. So, you won’t be weak.”

“…Oh yeah, you eat a lot.”

The quiet and peaceful meal was ruined. Haon looked at Cha Yugeon’s plate with discontent in his eyes and replied soullessly. His plate was filled with rice and each side dish container was full. There were even three fried eggs on top of the rice.

“What’s that? Milk? No, judging by the color, it’s probably powdered milk?”

“It’s a protein shake.”

“Ah, a protein shake. Yeah, you should have those.”

Haon tried to glare at Cha Yugeon with all his might as he sat there eating. However, Cha Yugeon seemed either oblivious to Haon’s glare or pretending not to notice, fully focused on his meal.

Watching him like that was beyond absurd. Why on earth would someone suddenly appear and engage in meaningless conversation with someone who was clearly enjoying their meal silently?

“But seriously, what are you doing?”

“What?”

With a sigh as if he couldn’t understand, Haon rubbed his temples and sighed deeply.

“We’re not the kind of people to have this kind of conversation, are we? Why suddenly act so familiar, pretending to be all buddy-buddy?”

Haon was genuinely curious. So, he looked directly at Cha Yugeon’s face and asked. In response, Cha Yugeon also looked straight at Haon without avoiding his gaze.

“Let’s just try it, let’s have a talk.”

“What?”

“If having this kind of talk makes us closer friends, well… Let’s give it a try.”

Haon was taken aback by Cha Yugeon’s unexpected words. It was hard to believe that Cha Yugeon, who used to pick fights with him and even threatened his life, would suddenly suggest becoming closer. What kind of change in attitude led him to say such things?

“Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Why, is there a problem?”

“It’s not that, but…”

Due to Cha Yugeon’s confident inquiry, Haon’s voice trailed off weakly. Then, memories of all the things Cha Yugeon had done to him flooded back, making him feel a surge of anger.

“Don’t you have something to say before saying that?”

“…”

Feeling a pang of guilt, Cha Yugeon closed his mouth. Haon glared at him with displeasure. Then, realizing it was just a waste of time, Haon stood up from his seat without even taking a sip of his coffee.

“Just a moment…!”

At that moment, Cha Yugeon’s urgent voice stopped him. Haon looked down at him with a cold gaze. Cha Yugeon whimpered like a pitiful puppy. His usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be found.

“What is it? If you have nothing to say, then I’m leaving.”

“Sorry…”

Cha Yugeon offered a brief apology in a subdued voice. Haon froze in place, not expecting to receive an apology from him.

“Sorry. I know it’s sudden and might catch you off guard. But I truly mean it when I say I’m sorry.”

Unsure of how to react, he simply stared at Cha Yugeon. He hadn’t expected the day to come when he would hear an apology from him.

So, Haon was left speechless, feeling overwhelmed with confusion, not knowing whether to accept the apology or not.

“Until now, I’ve been acting… like trash. I admit it. But you’ve also had your own way of getting back at me. Like making… a part of me… invisible.”

“…Pfft.”

Haon, who had been lost in thought, burst into laughter at the mention of ‘that.’ In response, Cha Yugeon’s face twisted with displeasure.

Haon had expected Cha Yugeon to get angry, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he just rubbed his face with his hand in frustration.

Everything Cha Yugeon had said or done to Haon until now couldn’t just disappear with one apology. But despite that, Haon couldn’t help but find Cha Yugeon a bit amusing.

“Yeah, well… fine. I understand. It was a drunken mistake, but I also feel somewhat sorry about it.”

Haon sat back down quietly and offered a half-hearted apology. It was an impulsive and alcohol-induced action, but he had never expected it to make the other person d*ck invisible.

In response, Cha Yugeon scratched his neck awkwardly. And thus, an awkward silence hung between them.

“…Not drinking your coffee?”

It took a while for Cha Yugeon to speak up. Haon glanced at the slightly cold Americano in the meantime. He took a cautious sip, but it still felt hot to his sensitive tongue.

“It’s hot.”

“Why would you drink hot coffee if you can’t handle it hot drink?”

Cha Yugeon furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand. Haon replied honestly without hesitation. Yet, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of strangeness from having such mundane conversations with Cha Yugeon. But well… it wasn’t as terrible as he had thought.

“Drinking cold coffee makes my stomach ache.”

“Are you an old man or something?”

“Why are you picking a fight again?”

Haon’s eyes narrowed sharply. Cha Yugeon glanced at him stealthily and avoided eye contact. Seeing this, Haon couldn’t help but burst into a laugh in disbelief. Soon after, Cha Yugeon also awkwardly coughed a few times as if he found himself funny. Haon felt that the air between them had softened just a little bit.