Chapter 45 Part 1

Chaeheon was the one who broke the increasingly awkward silence.

“Where would you have seen that?”

“Is that so?”

“Are there still people who fall for such lines these days?”

At Chaeheon’s scoff, Han Jeong-min thought, ‘But Lee Jun fell for it with me, didn’t he?’ and let it slide. However, his eyes were still on Lee Jun, unable to shake the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before. Lee Jun met his gaze while taking a sip of his drink.

What if he remembered Haein here? It seemed best to tell him who I was and get straight to the point…

“If by any chance the two of you meet when I’m not around…” Chaeheon said, taking Lee Jun’s glass.

“Don’t pretend to know him, Han Jeong-min.”

“Wow, how am I supposed to interpret that?”

“It means don’t do anything that makes my boyfriend uncomfortable.”

“You…”

Han Jeong-min, speechless with surprise, spoke as if challenging him to go all the way.

“Do you know I feel like I’m being introduced to someone to marry, not just your boyfriend?”

Feeling the strange atmosphere, Han Jeong-min, who was saying he felt like he had to be careful, seemed flustered.

“Is that for real?”

Chaeheon didn’t deny it, which made it seem true. Seeing Han Jeong-min, who looked like he didn’t know how to react, Lee Jun interjected.

“It’s not like that. I heard you’re the same age as Chaeheon, so can we speak informally? I’m twenty-seven, so…”

“Of course, Senior.”

“You’re quite charming.”

Having finished observing Han Jeong-min, he didn’t mind speaking to him. Rather, he thought Han Jeong-min should continue to be receptive.

‘I have so many questions to ask.’

For that, he would have to willingly participate in the conversation.

“I’m sorry it’s just us out here. Do you happen to be dating anyone?”

“To be honest, my fingers have been curling up since earlier, and I was regretting coming out alone.”

Han Jeong-min muttered Chaeheon’s past actions under his breath and shook his head. He touched his forehead as if he hadn’t thought of it at all, then spoke brightly again.

“But there’s no one for me to bring along. I’m single right now.”

“Really? I thought you’d be popular.”

At Lee Jun’s compliment, Chaeheon’s eyebrows twitched in displeasure, but Lee Jun ignored him. Han Jeong-min in front of him was more important than Chaeheon’s mood right now.

Instead, he gave Chaeheon a silent signal to bear with him by taking his hand, then looked at Han Jeong-min. Understanding the signal, Chaeheon sighed, rested his chin, and looked off into the distance.

“If Senior says so… I’m not unpopular. If I dated everyone who confessed to me, I’d have to change partners every week.”

“And not date someone you like?”

“Someone I like, you see…”

As Han Jeong-min paused in thought, Lee Jun bit the inside of his cheek to hide his anxiety and waited. He had asked the question himself, but now he was so shaken, unable to say anything and just feeling tormented inside.

“I haven’t had anyone I’ve liked so far.”

“Ah…”

Lee Jun let out a sigh. It wasn’t an unexpected answer, but hearing it still made his stomach churn.

“It’s not easy to like someone, is it? But I want to date. So I date people who like me.”

“You have a very clear view on relationships.”

‘You live with such a terrible view on relationships.’

Lee Jun, at a loss for words, simply picked something from Han Jeong-min’s statement to respond. But Han Jeong-min seemed to take it as a joke, grinning widely and pointing at Chaeheon.

“For me, it’s at least a week, but for Chaeheon, it’d probably be a day. Changing partners every day wouldn’t be enough. Should he even switch day and night?”

The arrow suddenly turned to Chaeheon, causing him, who had been quiet, to frown.

He was about to ask why he was being dragged into this, but Han Jeong-min was quicker.

“I’m just saying you’re that popular.”

The problem was that it might not sound good to Lee Jun.

Chaeheon noticed first, frowned, and was about to say something to Han Jeong-min. Feeling Lee Jun’s hand, which was holding his, tighten, Chaeheon turned his head to look at him.

Lee Jun didn’t look at Chaeheon. Instead, he looked at Han Jeong-min and replied to what he had said.

“What does that matter?”

Lee Jun took Chaeheon’s chin and turned it towards himself. At that action, making him look at him, Chaeheon blinked twice and then smiled.

“He only looks at me.”

Being popular was irrelevant. Only then did Chaeheon understand why Lee Jun had placed his hand on his chin. And rather than being displeased, his smile deepened even more, as if he liked it.

“Ah… right. Since the two of you are already dating, everything else is useless.”

Han Jeong-min awkwardly nodded and raised his glass. He drank his alcohol, not caring that the melting ice was causing drops of water to fall from the cup.

“I hope you find a good match too.”

Watching Han Jeong-min, Lee Jun spoke with a meaningful tone.

“A good match, like Senior, someone very jealous?”

“That would be good too. Someone who wants you all to themselves. Someone who can’t tolerate anything else would be perfect for you.”

‘So that even if he were to find out about Hae Sol’s existence later, he wouldn’t be in a position to claim her.’

“I hope such a person… appears.”

Han Jeong-min forced a smile and replied. He seemed to feel that something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

“Before that, you should change your way of thinking. Meet someone you truly like.”

“What’s the point of meeting someone like that? I can’t even marry them.”

‘What does that mean?’

At Han Jeong-min’s seemingly aggrieved reaction, Lee Jun leaned in, wanting to hear more.

“I’m going to marry through an arranged meeting anyway, so I can be a little free until then, right?”

“Tsk, what if you date like that and someone brings your child to you?”

At Chaeheon’s sudden chiding, Lee Jun was so startled his heart nearly dropped. He wondered if Chaeheon knew that Hae Sol’s father was Han Jeong-min. But Chaeheon wasn’t looking at him, so he couldn’t gauge his thoughts. Then Han Jeong-min spoke up.

“Am I like Jung Yu-han? I don’t live as carelessly as he does.”

‘Jung Yu-han? I don’t know who that is, but it seems like a similar incident.’