Living Together Wasn’t in the Plan

For a moment, Haejin thought he had misheard.

But seeing Beomwoo watching his reaction and the quiet blush spreading to his ears, he thought, ‘Ah, I heard correctly.’

Suggesting they live together in this situation… must mean cohabitation, right?

He understood the words, but he had no idea why that was a solution, and it was a bewildering proposal.

As Haejin stood flustered, unsure how to react, Beomwoo explained, as if to clarify he didn’t mean anything improper.

“I’m not saying this with any impure intentions. I know you may not trust me… but I truly won’t do anything.

We’d use separate rooms, live separately, just give the impression of living in the same house.”

“B-but, wh-what’s the point of giving that impression…?”

“Even if it’s just for show, if you’re with me, Jeong-yeon won’t be able to touch you easily.

Honestly, a bodyguard—it’s a competition of who hires the more capable person, isn’t it?

In the worst case, he could hire someone tough to take down the bodyguard or something.

But if I’m there myself, he won’t act rashly.

And it’s also a more deterrent method.”

When Haejin asked, unable to shake his rising suspicion, ‘What kind of method is that?’, Beomwoo answered stiffly, as if there were valid reasons for everything.

His demeanor was as logical as when he proposed the business marriage in his past life.

Listening to Beomwoo’s explanation, it did make sense.

Given his behavior so far and the fact that he did nothing when they ended up sleeping together last night, it seemed he wasn’t speaking with impure intentions.

But while his mind understood, his feelings were conflicted.

They weren’t suggesting doing anything while living together; rather, they were drawing a clear line.

Yet, his heart pounded, and his face grew hot as if he was imagining more.

Beomwoo had initially shown some embarrassment when proposing cohabitation, but perhaps he had been worried Haejin might misunderstand.

Now that he had clarified his intent, he didn’t seem as awkward as when he first brought it up.

While he was calm, if Haejin blushed now, he would seem like the one with strange thoughts.

So, Haejin tried hard to act unfazed and spoke evasively, as if it was difficult to accept readily.

“I-I understand it might be a good deterrent method… but wouldn’t Hyun-nam object?

He’s the one who insisted things should be fair, that you helping me was unfair and dates should be equal… Even if Jeong-yeon can’t formally protest because of what he did, Hyun-nam can, right…?”

Even if it was a strategic proposal, cohabitation was hard to accept readily, and it was a legitimate concern.

They knew he lived here and were wary of Beomwoo, so surely they were watching?

If Beomwoo lived here, they would find out immediately.

They might even already know about this meeting.

Haejin expressed concern that Hyun-nam would surely protest, but Beomwoo replied as if it was no big deal.

“If it comes to that, we’ll just say we’re dating and have fallen for each other.”

“Wh-what?”

F-fallen for each other? Is he joking? Is this a time for jokes?

Moreover, Beomwoo wasn’t the type for frivolous jokes, making it even more absurd.

When Haejin looked at him with a blank face, as if to say, ‘What nonsense is this?’, Beomwoo explained with a humorless expression, as if it wasn’t a joke.

“The reason they demanded fair dating opportunities was to ask to be considered marriage candidates, right?

We’ll just say that after meeting, you genuinely developed feelings for me.

That I fairly earned the opportunity to meet you, and we decided to try living together.”

“……”

“It’s just about saying that.

Not everyone who dates and lives together gets married, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

You don’t have anyone special you’re seeing right now anyway.”

Listening to the calm explanation, Haejin forgot his nervousness about the cohabitation proposal and slowly nodded, thinking, ‘Well, that’s true…’

Come to think of it, he had told them he wasn’t meeting Beomwoo as a marriage candidate but out of necessity for help, but the brothers hadn’t listened.

Regardless of his circumstances, because he met Beomwoo privately unlike what he said at their first meeting, they demanded ‘opportunities’ for themselves too—a chance to make an impression as a spouse candidate.

That’s why Hyun-nam prepared a fancy cruise for their date.

The day he had an ordinary date with Beomwoo, watching a movie and chatting at home, was also a legitimately given dating opportunity.

If he said they clicked that day, developed into lovers, and decided to live together, it wouldn’t seem problematic.

Hyun-nam might be suspicious and displeased, but he probably wouldn’t do something crazy like Jeong-yeon.

He had a sense of victimization, but he seemed more reasonable than Jeong-yeon.

So then… is cohabitation the answer?

The thought of living with him was uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to give up safety.

As Haejin bowed his head, trying to calm his tumultuous feelings, Beomwoo, perhaps interpreting his silence, stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“I just suggested it because it seemed like a good method.

You don’t need to feel pressured to refuse. I didn’t bring it up to pressure you.”

“Ah, okay…”

Although Beomwoo said it was okay to refuse and to answer without pressure, Haejin couldn’t think so easily.

He wasn’t good at refusing in the first place, and it was clear that Beomwoo’s suggestion was the most effective method.

It was just a temporary strategy to block Jeong-yeon’s further approaches.

A minimal defensive line, since they didn’t know what Jeong-yeon might do next.

Jeong-yeon might give up and back off after failing his plan, but someone who did such things and even used drugs might act more impulsively.

It was hard to believe he would easily give up after this incident.

Even Haejin grabbing Beomwoo last night was because he was afraid of being alone, worried Jeong-yeon might come and do something else to him.

He was calmer now than then, but that was temporary because Beomwoo had been with him.

If he left, he didn’t know how anxious he would become.

Because of that, he couldn’t refuse outright and was lost in thought.

Beomwoo, perhaps realizing Haejin was seriously hesitating, spoke again.

“I know you must have a lot on your mind and it’s a sudden suggestion, so it requires thought.

But… accidents can happen unpredictably, so I’d like you to decide on this issue right away.

Whatever method you choose, I need to prepare accordingly.”

“Ah, th-this… right now?”

“Yes.”

R-right now? He wants a decision right away?

When discussing whether to report Jeong-yeon earlier, he said not to rush and to think slowly, but now he’s pressing for an immediate answer about this issue.

It felt rushed and bewildering, but if Jeong-yeon was someone who could harm him, making a quick decision was correct.

Accidents don’t come at convenient times.

If Beomwoo was pressuring him unreasonably, he would protest, but since that wasn’t the case, he couldn’t say anything.

With a troubled expression, Haejin seriously reconsidered the methods Beomwoo had proposed.

Perhaps because he had heard the cohabitation option, the first method of having a bodyguard and the second method now felt terribly ordinary.

The problem was that they now seemed less safe than the privacy issue.

As Beomwoo said, Jeong-yeon and Beomwoo were from the same family and likely had similar abilities to hire people.

It wasn’t about who was more capable, but about whom they hired—and that didn’t inspire confidence.

…So, cohabitation still seemed the safest.

Is this right…?