Chapter 34 Part 2

Lee Jun picked up his cup to drink coffee, and Chaeheon got up again. As Chaeheon, who had returned after dimming the living room lights, settled onto the sofa, Lee Jun picked up the remote and restarted the movie.

Lee Jun set down his coffee, leaned back against the sofa, and at the touch of the soft fabric around his head, he merely lifted his eyes. It was a new, dry towel.

“Alright, the movie’s on, so there’s some background noise, and I’ve given you a towel to dry your hair, so talk.”

Chaeheon leaned one arm on the sofa, held his coffee in the other hand, and looked at him.

“The reason you suddenly pushed me away.”

“Just watch the movie.”

Lee Jun used the towel on his head as an excuse to turn his face away from Chaeheon.

So this was it.

Park Geon-u hadn’t bothered to hide that it was an excuse, and in the end, Chaeheon had drawn him in to find this out. As Lee Jun kept his eyes fixed on the movie without a word, Chaeheon stared intently, then blurted out.

“It feels like seeing a meticulously reassembled piece fall apart the morning after. Kind of futile, wouldn’t you say?”

Chaeheon, stating that was his situation, waited for any answer. How much time passed? Lee Jun lowered the towel and quietly began.

“What is that meticulously reassembled piece?”

“I didn’t expect you to ask that.”

It was as if Lee Jun had caught onto his words, and Chaeheon’s lips curved upward in amusement. Seeing him ponder what to use, Lee Jun said.

“How about a broken glass cup?”

Perhaps due to the sharpness conveyed by the word ‘broken,’ Chaeheon raised an eyebrow.

“No matter how well you piece it back together, it can’t return to its original form. Instead, it just looks fragile, as if it might shatter again.”

As Lee Jun’s quiet words continued, Chaeheon’s brow simply furrowed. Chaeheon precisely understood what Lee Jun was trying to say.

Meaning: “You and I are already broken, and trying to put us back together would only result in an unstable relationship.”

Lee Jun didn’t state the reason for suddenly putting distance between them. He was simply asking Chaeheon to reflect on their current situation. Lee Jun tries to push away, and Chaeheon tries to pull closer. It might seem like they could stick together because they aren’t actively pushing each other away or pulling apart, but in reality, that’s not how it works.

As the atmosphere grew heavier with neither of them speaking, Chaeheon’s expression suddenly changed.

“What is it?”

Lee Jun leaned back from Chaeheon, who was grinning like a madman, and asked.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I’m with you, Senior.”

“Did you forget everything we just talked about?”

“How could I forget? We had a very serious conversation. It’s just that the important thing is that you, Senior, are in front of me right now.”

“What kind of…”

“I thought, ‘Why is he doing this to me?’ and drew you in, and now we’re facing each other like this.”

Chaeheon was smiling, saying he liked that. Lee Jun sighed at Chaeheon’s foolishness, then lamented almost giving in.

He should be angry, telling him to stop messing with his feelings, but a few words had lightened his mood. It was like a rollercoaster, the atmosphere soaring then plummeting, absolute chaos.

Still, what’s not right isn’t right.

“Just how long are you going to keep this up?”

This was less a question seeking an answer and more a sigh, but Chaeheon kindly provided one.

“Until the very end.”