This Time, I Chose Not to Endure

Normally, Haeyoon would have just shouldered it alone and moved on.
He didn’t want to worry his friends any further, friends who had rushed here on a weekend meant for fun.
Since it was his personal matter, it was right to overcome it alone.
He had already caused them stress over the same issue multiple times, and he didn’t want to burden them any more now.
Haeyoon would have chosen to endure and move on by himself.

“I got a wedding invitation.”

But this time, he didn’t want to.
This time, he didn’t want to do that.
It was too hard to just bear it alone and let it pass.
When he discovered Jaeyeol and Seonwoo together, and when he heard Jaeyeol’s absurd breakup declaration, Haeyoon had tried to just endure and move on.
Thinking that people’s hearts don’t follow our will, so there’s nothing to be done.
Thinking betrayal is painful, but there’s nothing more he could do, he tried to bear it until things got better.

“A wedding invitation…?”
“…From Ahn Seonwoo.”

But what did they do to that Haeyoon?
They summoned the already wounded person, rubbed salt in the wound, and carved him up with a knife all over again.
Was he supposed to just endure alone again?
While they continue their happy married life, was he supposed to endure and suffer alone again?

He didn’t want to.
This time, he didn’t want to just let it pass.
Even if his pride was already trampled into the ground, he wanted to do something to reclaim it.

“That goddamn bastard, is he f*cking crazy?!”
Sumin’s curse rang refreshingly in his ears.
It seemed like he might laugh, inappropriate as it was for the situation.
Sumin and Sua, with their similarly bold and unrestrained personalities, always got angry on his behalf, venting the curses Haeyoon never uttered despite all the dirty things he endured.

So, maybe it’s time for me, too, to do something instead of just enduring and letting things pass.
Maybe just once.

“Woojin.”
So Haeyoon spoke.

“Baek Jeongha….”
The moment that name left Haeyoon’s lips, the stream of curses pouring from Sumin and Sua’s mouths abruptly stopped.
The three of them waited for Haeyoon’s next words with a sense of ‘could it be…?’

“Can I really… get an introduction?”
It was a counterattack none of them had expected Haeyoon to make.

* * * *

“Seo Haeyoon?”
“Yeah. Why? You mentioned him before, remember.”
In a noisy corner of a bustling pub full of college students, Jeongha’s eyes sparkled as he took a leisurely sip of his beer while listening to his senior, Joochan, answer.

Though they were in the same department, they weren’t close enough to drink alone, but he had attended this meeting on the off chance there might be some news.
And indeed, a name had come up.

Joochan, watching Jeongha’s reaction subtly, likewise took a sip of beer to wet his dry lips.
Somehow, being with this guy Baek Jeongha always put him in a state of tension for no reason.
Even though he was the senior, and even a Beta who shouldn’t be particularly affected by Alphas.

“So… you’ll meet him?”
Wanting to wrap this up quickly, Joochan asked again.
The moment he lifted his gaze, his eyes met Jeongha’s, and Joochan hurriedly looked down at the snacks on the table.

Yeah. It was probably because of those eyes.
Baek Jeongha’s eyes had a quality that made people somewhat uncomfortable.
At times, they seemed to look down on people arrogantly, and other times, they seemed to regard people as mere inanimate objects he had no interest in.
At those times, Joochan felt like a pebble not even worthy of being ignored.

Seemingly uninterested in what Joochan was thinking, Jeongha spoke.

“You didn’t… tell him anything about me, did you?”
“Huh? Oh, no, no. Why would I…”
Even though Baek Jeongha used polite speech meticulously, it always felt like he was being spoken to informally.
Joochan wanted to end the conversation quickly and leave.
Honestly, he couldn’t understand what Omegas saw in a guy like this to chase after him so desperately.
No matter how handsome or wealthy he was, one should consider character, character!
While Joochan was busy with his own thoughts, Jeongha spoke again.

“Just… there’s no need for you to take an active role, senior. Just follow along if they request it. That’s enough.”
“Uh, yeah. Got it. I’ll let you know if there’s any other news.”
“Yes, thank you. If you have something urgent, you can go ahead.”
“Shall I? I do have something a bit urgent…”
Joochan laughed awkwardly but didn’t miss the opportunity and promptly excused himself from the table.
Jeongha, not caring whether he stayed or left, sat there lost in thought.

He’d heard that Ahn Seonwoo was getting married.
Frankly, to Baek Jeongha, Ahn Seonwoo was a non-entity, not even worth calling a fleeting connection, so he wouldn’t have cared whether he got married or not.
If his marriage partner wasn’t Oh Jaeyeol, that is.

“This is interesting….”
Jeongha muttered, tapping the side of his beer glass with his finger.
It was literally an interesting situation.
Ahn Seonwoo, who was Seo Haeyoon’s friend, was marrying Oh Jaeyeol, who was Seo Haeyoon’s lover.

The memory of Seo Haeyoon surfaced—his one-sided rivalry, his ignorance, his lonely, clear-eyed demeanor.
That face that looked like it couldn’t feel any emotion, yet tried so hard to be affectionate, was a bit pitiful, and had strangely stayed in his memory ever since.
And now he was being reminded of it in this way.

Life is truly unpredictable, Jeongha thought as he took another sip of beer and stood up.
He thought waiting to see what choice Seo Haeyoon would make might also be quite interesting.

* * * *

“Sigh….”
Haeyoon let out a deep sigh in front of the cafe.
He felt an indescribable sense of self-loathing for having ended up here.
The problem was that even while feeling this self-loathing, he didn’t want to just give up and go back.

A chilly autumn breeze brushed past Haeyoon.
Each day was getting noticeably colder; it seemed winter would come soon.
Come to think of it, his anniversary with Jaeyeol wasn’t far off.
Since they started dating in November, when the cold wind began to blow, he used to feel his heart swell with the thought, ‘Ah, we’ve spent another year together.’
Now, pushing aside those worthless reminiscences, Haeyoon slowly entered the cafe.
Out of habit, he had arrived quite early, so it seemed Jeongha hadn’t arrived yet.
Haeyoon took a seat by the sunny window.

Ahn Seonwoo must be busy preparing for his wedding with Oh Jaeyeol right now.
He couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.
It was self-deprecating.
While Seonwoo prepared to marry Haeyoon’s ex-lover, Haeyoon was about to go on a blind date with Seonwoo’s first love.
Where else would you find a tragicomedy like this?

‘I can’t live without Baek Jeongha. I’m dying, Haeyoon-ah. I really think I can’t go on, what should I do… Huh? Please bring Jeongha to me. Tell him I’m dying… Please persuade him, Haeyoon-ah…. Please…!‘
Seonwoo’s desperate voice, as if something terrible was about to happen, echoed in his ears.

Despite the harsh treatment he received, Seonwoo couldn’t easily get over Baek Jeongha.
It was a side of him he had never shown before, despite repeatedly meeting and parting with many people.

Baek Jeongha was by no means a good person to have a one-sided crush on.
He was incomparably indifferent and cold compared to the lovers Seonwoo had met before.
Even if they became lovers, it didn’t seem like that attitude would change.
Yet, seeing his friend suffering, unable to forget him, hurt Haeyoon as if it were his own pain.
It was only natural that Haeyoon found Jeongha disagreeable.

To be honest, Haeyoon sometimes thought he’d like to punch that handsome face.
While chasing after Baek Jeongha, Seonwoo was always miserable and anxious.
Haeyoon believed that was somewhat Baek Jeongha’s fault.
While it’s natural not to date someone you don’t have feelings for, among friends, you naturally side with your own.

‘Where else would you find an Omega like our Seonwoo? How many Alphas are trying hard to win Seonwoo’s heart?‘
He knew it was an unfair judgment, but Haeyoon always thought from Seonwoo’s perspective and took his side.
Haeyoon didn’t know what words Baek Jeongha had used to finally reject Seonwoo.
But he did know how desperately Seonwoo cried and hurt that day.
Given that Ahn Seonwoo, who vowed he would never give up on him, never approached him again after that day, it must not have been an ordinary, cruel remark.
Being firm in rejection doesn’t necessarily require humiliating someone’s feelings.

Haeyoon sincerely hoped Seonwoo would never meet a man like Baek Jeongha again.

‘Baek Jeongha said he’ll meet you once.‘

So when Woojin said that, Haeyoon felt an indescribably complex mix of emotions.
While making the suggestion, he secretly hoped Jeongha would refuse or ignore it.
But since he agreed, Haeyoon felt regret for having done something unnecessary, yet at the same time, a sense of anticipation also bloomed.

Why did Baek Jeongha agree to meet me?

Naturally, he wondered.
Haeyoon’s intentions were clear, but from Jeongha’s perspective, there was no reason whatsoever to meet Haeyoon.
Does he not even remember me? He thought that too.
Seonwoo was a dazzling Omega.
Not just in looks, but in pheromones too.
According to other manifestors, he possessed a scent that could literally ‘bewitch’ Alphas.
Haeyoon, being a Beta, couldn’t smell pheromones, but that didn’t change the assessment of Seonwoo.
With his cute, lovely appearance and outgoing personality, Seonwoo easily won people’s favor and became friends with them effortlessly.
In school, Haeyoon, who had trouble making friends easily due to his quiet personality and sharp-looking face, always met new friends through Seonwoo.
He was always grateful to Seonwoo for that.

Well, that’s not important now anyway.

In any case, it was unlikely that the faintly existing Beta friend by that Seonwoo’s side would have left much of an impression on Baek Jeongha.
They’d only shared a few meals, so it wouldn’t be strange if he didn’t remember his name at all.
He might have thought it was just an ordinary blind date.

At that moment, the cafe door opened with a cheerful bell chime.
Haeyoon reflexively turned his head to see who had entered.

‘Baek Jeongha is my last. I’m definitely going to marry him.‘
The voice of Ahn Seonwoo, swollen with dreams, echoed.
From across the room, Baek Jeongha, who had immediately recognized Seo Haeyoon, began walking slowly toward him.