CI 3.16

Although there had been a slight crisis, everything had ultimately been resolved smoothly, but Son Yeo-il’s mind still contained one worry.

Is that guy from earlier still bothering Won Hee-yeon? Was it okay to leave him behind like that?

While lost in these pathetic but serious concerns, the taxi arrived at the hotel. After considering waiting for Won Hee-yeon in the lobby, he sent a message saying he would check in first and went up to the room alone.

Having splurged on a romantic promotion package, the room was decorated romantically. Rose petals were scattered on the bed, and a wine bottle and wine glasses were set on the table.

The atmosphere was impressive, but Son Yeo-il couldn’t get excited no matter how much he tried. Whether because too much had happened today or because he was alone in a hotel they were supposed to come to together, he just felt drained. Son Yeo-il was about to collapse onto the bed but sat in the chair at the table instead, worried about messing up the rose petals.

Won Hee-yeon will like the rose petals. But when is he coming?

Barely five minutes after entering the room, Son Yeo-il became anxious. Outside the window, Seoul’s night view twinkled like the stars in the night sky, but Son Yeo-il’s heart remained dark.

He wasn’t worried that Won Hee-yeon might be in danger. Even if a few wimps like Koo Dae-hyun ganged up on him, Won Hee-yeon could subdue them without even batting an eye.

What troubled Son Yeo-il were groundless delusions about what Won Hee-yeon might be doing now, whether he might be spending time with that man from earlier, or if they really knew each other from before.

I know Won Hee-yeon wouldn’t betray me. I know, but…

Feeling unsettled, Son Yeo-il opened the wine bottle on the table. Thinking it would be lonely to just wait, he filled a glass, deciding to wet his lips.

Once he started sipping, one drink naturally led to another. The wine prepared by the luxury hotel was fragrant yet slightly bitter, and Won Hee-yeon was absent for much longer than Son Yeo-il had anticipated. The wine bottle was already half empty.

What is he doing? This is way too late.

Just as anger was starting to boil up, someone knocked on the door. When Son Yeo-il rushed to open it, there stood Won Hee-yeon with a beaming smile on his face.

“Wow, this hotel is really nice!”

Annoyed, Son Yeo-il turned his head away without welcoming him and went back into the room, but Won Hee-yeon excitedly looked around the hotel room as if thrilled about something. Then, noticing the wine bottle and glass on the table, he asked in surprise.

“Hmm? What’s this? Did you drink alone?”

Instead of answering, Son Yeo-il raised his eyebrows questioningly, meaning to ask what had kept him so late. Won Hee-yeon laughed heartily as if even that expression was cute, then hummed a tune while putting his hand in his jacket pocket.

“Ta-da-da-da! Don’t be surprised, babe. Do you know what I’ve brought?”

His tone suggested that he had prepared something amazing. Despite being upset, Son Yeo-il mumbled curiously, “What is it?”

“Here, take a look at this.”

Won Hee-yeon moved close to Son Yeo-il and held out his phone. What he showed was a screen of an open chat room where someone had sent several photos to Won Hee-yeon.

“Who is this person?”

“Well, you know that guy from earlier. The man next to that worm-like bastard. After you left, that worm-like bastard couldn’t control himself and was getting all worked up and causing a scene, so the man must have thought this wouldn’t do and followed me, leaving that worm-like bastard behind.”

As Son Yeo-il had suspected, that man had his eyes on Won Hee-yeon. While Son Yeo-il lit up with anger thinking “That guy!”, Won Hee-yeon continued his explanation as if recounting an adventure.

“His flirting was quite uncomfortable, but he seemed like someone with a loose tongue who couldn’t lie. So I played along gently and persuaded him, and he poured out a bucketful of insults about that worm-like bastard. That bastard really makes people angry in so many ways.”

The overall story seemed like good news, but Son Yeo-il kept getting caught on peripheral expressions like ‘flirting?’ and ‘gently persuaded?’

“So I told him, ‘Ah, if you give me information, I can deliver justice!’ And that man sent me all of this. Take a look. What do you think? Isn’t this enough to finish it in one strike?”

It was a situation Won Hee-yeon could be proud of. The photos sent by Koo Dae-hyun’s partner revealed Koo Dae-hyun’s true nature in detail. The two had exchanged several obscene messages and photos, most of which occurred after Koo Dae-hyun’s engagement to Oh Yu-na.

There were even comments suggesting he had multiple partners, and instances where he whined to reluctant partners, asking if they couldn’t just bring in someone else for a threesome.

He went this far to gather and send all this? This should completely resolve everything.

Things had worked out so well that it was astonishing. If they simply printed out the files Won Hee-yeon had received and submitted them to court, all claims would be accepted without even needing to carefully draft a written statement. Since it was directly reported by a party to the conversation, there was no room to dispute the evidence collection procedure.

Oh Yu-na would not only break off the engagement as she wished but would also collect substantial compensation, and Head Attorney Bae would be delighted to have successfully completed another case.

Above all, the revenge Son Yeo-il desired could be achieved. He had thought that avoiding Koo Dae-hyun was the best he could do, not even daring to contemplate revenge, but it wasn’t that Son Yeo-il didn’t want to see Koo Dae-hyun’s downfall.

It seemed the day wasn’t far off when Koo Dae-hyun’s social standing would crumble—the son of the representative of Koo & Chang Law Firm and the son of an elder at Shinbaraum Church, which he was so proud of.

“You did well, Won Hee-yeon.”

Son Yeo-il praised Won Hee-yeon for achieving magical results. It was a situation that called for applause, embraces, and kisses, but the atmosphere was quite gloomy. He was only saying “well done” with his mouth, while his expression remained half-frozen.

“Hmm, it was nothing.”

Only then did Won Hee-yeon notice something was wrong and began to study Son Yeo-il’s countenance. He seemed to be pondering why Son Yeo-il had such an expression at the moment when everything seemed to be going their way.

He might be misunderstanding that Son Yeo-il was experiencing a letdown after achieving his revenge or was immersed in regret while recalling past times with his ex-boyfriend.

However, Son Yeo-il’s mind was currently filled with thoughts about Won Hee-yeon, not Koo Dae-hyun. Even the elation of being able to achieve revenge took a backseat to that.

Why do I feel so upset and irritated?

Even though it was for gathering evidence, the fact that Won Hee-yeon had exchanged words with a man who was showering him with flirtation, or that he had communicated with him even through an open chat, bothered him.

It’s a good thing. It really is a good thing, but…sigh.

Thinking about it carefully, there was nothing to feel upset about. Won Hee-yeon probably didn’t enjoy humoring a man he wasn’t interested in. Rather, he had sacrificed for Son Yeo-il’s sake, so it would be unfair for Son Yeo-il to criticize that part.

But his thoughts continued to spiral, and his rigid face wouldn’t relax. Feeling frustrated, Son Yeo-il turned his gaze to the half-finished glass.

“…But what’s happened to my husband? Why did you drink half a bottle of wine alone?”

At that moment, Won Hee-yeon asked softly as he tried to gently take the glass in front of Son Yeo-il. He seemed to think Son Yeo-il shouldn’t drink anymore.

But Son Yeo-il, full of resentment, moved faster and snatched the glass out of his hands first. Then, in front of the startled Won Hee-yeon, he demonstratively raised the glass and drained the remaining few sips of wine.

“Phew…”

As he exhaled a breath full of alcohol, the intoxication he hadn’t felt until then came all at once. Son Yeo-il shook his head with a shiver and belatedly answered.

“I just drank it. I was bored waiting up for you.”

“Did I come too late? Right? Made my husband bored.”

“No, well, you came to help me, and thanks to you, everything seems to be resolving itself well…”

Son Yeo-il’s lips were increasingly protruding in a sulky manner. Even while trying to figure out why Son Yeo-il was suddenly becoming sulky, Won Hee-yeon found him irresistibly cute.

“Oh my, but looking at you again, our baby looks so pretty dressed like this. The glasses suit you well too.”

Come to think of it, Son Yeo-il had been sitting drinking wine without even thinking to take off his shirt, let alone his glasses. Son Yeo-il raised his dissatisfied eyes to look Won Hee-yeon up and down.

Won Hee-yeon was still in his white short-sleeved T-shirt and ripped jeans. His excessively handsome appearance made him even more annoyed. With the alcohol rising, Son Yeo-il displayed his boiling anger.

“Won Hee-yeon looks more handsome, you know?”

The content of his words was a compliment, but the tone was confrontational. While Won Hee-yeon briefly pondered which rhythm to match, Son Yeo-il began to pour out the discontentment he had been harboring.

“Huh? But since this afternoon, just like that. Huh? The hairstylists all complimenting you! At the bar too! Everyone staring! Coming over to talk! Patting your shoulder like this and leaving!”

Son Yeo-il scolded seriously, but Won Hee-yeon, looking at him, had a strange expression with her lips subtly twitching. It was similar to when he was trying to hold back laughter after Son Yeo-il had confessed that he had no experience before meeting Won Hee-yeon.

“Are you laughing? Why are you laughing?!”

“Oh my, it’s funny. I wasn’t laughing. I just…thought our baby was even showing jealousy for me.”

Ah. That jealousy. At this point, Son Yeo-il had to acknowledge it. Son Yeo-il seemed to either be very jealous in general or at least unable to control his jealousy specifically regarding Won Hee-yeon.

He couldn’t understand Won Hee-yeon being on edge about everyone who brushed past him, but in fact, Son Yeo-il was the same kind of person. A mature, cool relationship was completely unrealistic for both of them.

Son Yeo-il’s cheeks were turning red. Not because of the wine, but because of embarrassment. He had felt jealousy because of Won Hee-yeon many times before, but had only suffered internally. This was the first time he had openly growled like an incarnation of jealousy.

Am I acting unseemly right now? Son Yeo-il, who was highly self-critical, suddenly had such a doubt. The answer to that question was obviously ‘Yes.’ In the past, he would have been busy blaming himself, but Son Yeo-il had trained his heart while receiving compliments in Won Hee-yeon’s prison of praise over the past few months.

So what if I’m unseemly!

Thinking of an uncharacteristically brazen sentence, Son Yeo-il stood up abruptly and asked Won Hee-yeon.

“Why? Am I not allowed to be jealous?”

“Of course, you are. Our baby can do whatever he wants to do.”

Won Hee-yeon gave Son Yeo-il the right answer this time too. Whether it was affection, love, or resentment, it was okay to express honest emotions to Won Hee-yeon. Even if that led to showing an unseemly appearance, it was all okay.

Because Won Hee-yeon was ready to accept Son Yeo-il’s wide-open heart entirely. And because loving someone with all your heart sometimes makes a person look unseemly. Son Yeo-il clenched his fists and shouted in an unseemly manner.

“Yes! I’m jealous! I hate people looking at Won Hee-yeon and if I think they’re flirting with you, I want to grab them by the collar! Because!”

The more he shouted, the hotter the back of his neck became with embarrassment. But at the same time, Son Yeo-il felt an unprecedented sense of relief. So this is what it feels like to fully confront your emotions—it was heart-poundingly exciting and amazing.

“Because Won Hee-yeon belongs to me!”

After shouting all of that, his heart began to pound painfully. Affirming to himself that “This person is mine,” he felt a surge of pride though he hadn’t done anything particularly remarkable.

Son Yeo-il quietly looked up at Won Hee-yeon standing before him. Won Hee-yeon seemed dazed, as if intoxicated by the words “mine.” His flushed face was so lovable that Son Yeo-il wanted to shower him with everything. Since he had already acted boldly, it seemed appropriate to become even bolder.

Considering whether to grab him by the collar, Son Yeo-il instead firmly pressed both hands against Won Hee-yeon’s chest and pushed him while taking steps forward. The moment the back of Won Hee-yeon’s knees, who had been slowly backing away, touched the bed, Son Yeo-il pushed him harder and made him fall.

The large man obediently lay down on the bed as if he had been waiting for this all along. Son Yeo-il hadn’t understood why Won Hee-yeon was so fixated on rose petals, but seeing the petals scatter beside his lover’s face from above stirred something within him. Son Yeo-il immediately straddled Won Hee-yeon’s thighs, and then leaned down to press their lips together.

“Mmm, hmmm.”

It was the first time Son Yeo-il had led a kiss. While he tried his best to move his lips and flick his tongue, his movements were clumsy like a puppy fumbling around, due to both intoxication and lack of experience.

But since this puppy belonged to Won Hee-yeon, Won Hee-yeon could get sufficiently excited just from the mere touch of their lips. The air in the room and both their body temperatures began to heat up.

Won Hee-yeon, who had been quietly receiving Son Yeo-il’s kisses, soon displayed his mischievous habit as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. Taking advantage of Son Yeo-il’s concentration on the kiss, he wrapped his hands around Son Yeo-il’s waist, then gradually moved them downward until he firmly grabbed his buttocks.

“Hik!”

Though reflexively shuddering at the tingling sensation, Son Yeo-il deeply furrowed his brow. Normally, he would have been busy getting flustered thinking, ‘Won Hee-yeon touched my butt!’ but today was different. Having managed to pin Won Hee-yeon down for once, he wanted to maintain control of the situation.