Love Was Never Said

“Is it good?”

“Mm. Oou ueeo? (Yeah. Want some too?)”

“You eat more.

You’re barely the size of a peanut…….”

“Iaou aieo. (I’m not a peanut.)”

“Oh? Not a peanut?”

“Oeoe aaaeoo? (How do you even understand that?)”

“You think I haven’t listened to your babbling for a day or two?

I’ve got a knack for it. Just eat.”

He kept calling me a peanut…

After swallowing my food, I protested clearly.

“I’m not small, you know?”

Seriously.

I hadn’t properly stood up yet, but from what I’d seen in the mirror—

I wasn’t that small.

‘Not 180… but definitely over 170. Somewhere in between?’

Right now I looked pale and skinny, sure.

But once I recovered, I’d look bigger.

“Not a chance.”

The way Woo Jaeyoung shot that down made me grip my spoon harder.

“Out of everyone I’ve seen, you’re the smallest, Yoo Sowon.”

“Well, that’s because everyone around you is built like giant—”

“What did you say?”

“Please give me another piece of radish. Thank you.”

Clicking his tongue, he dropped a side dish onto my spoon.

“Chew properly.”

It had been about an hour since I said I wanted tofu pouches.

His men somehow managed to get them.

They must’ve rushed like crazy—

I almost felt bad.

‘Would’ve been better if it was a bit spicy…’

As I glanced around, I noticed a note stuck to the container.

[Not spicy. Said a baby will eat it.]

…What exactly do these gangster uncles think I am?

I had a guess.

But I chose not to dig deeper.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“It’s nothing…….”

Well. They tried.

“Hyung, aren’t you eating?”

“You eat.”

“I can’t finish all this.”

“Then leave it. Don’t force it and make yourself sick.”

His tone was rough, but—

He was clearly paying attention.

Still, he kept fidgeting, crossing his legs, leaning back—

Like he wasn’t used to this.

‘…Is he embarrassed?’

If he’d always been like this, maybe Sowon wouldn’t have run away.

That thought hit me—

And I slowly set my spoon down.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t get mad, okay? I’m just genuinely curious.”

“Let me hear it first.”

“It’s about… the baby.”

Crack.

The chopsticks in his hand snapped clean in half.

“…What about it.”

Every time the topic came up, he broke something.

Mental note: maintain a one-meter safety distance when mentioning babies.

“Are you really the father?”

“Hey.”

“No, I think it’s a valid question…….”

Sure, in romance novels, cheating is rare.

But real life?

Nothing’s guaranteed.

Since I didn’t know Sowon’s past, I had to question it.

Woo Jaeyoung exhaled sharply and tossed the broken chopsticks aside.

“You only showed me that test.

Didn’t even know how far along you were.

Didn’t know how you hid it either.

I was planning to ask once I found you.”

So… Sowon had been planning to run from the start.

It felt strange.

Unfamiliar.

But real.

“Sowon. Our tiny, reckless Sowon.”

“…Yes?”

“I might not know everything. But I know that much.”

“So you are the father?”

A vein popped on his forehead.

“I’m just really curious.”

“You’re asking because you forgot everything, right…….”

“Yes, hyung.”

“You’re really looking at my face, huh?”

…Huh?

He smirked crookedly.

“You think you’d roll around with anyone else? That alone would disgust you.”

The tofu pouch slipped from my spoon.

“…That’s some confidence?”

“If you’ve got eyes, use them. I’ve got standards too.”

I looked at him carefully.

Yeah, he looked rough. Dangerous.

But…

He was undeniably handsome.

Shirt slightly undone. Sleeves rolled.

Honestly—

‘He looks more like an actor playing a gangster than an actual one.’

Sure, someone could sleep with him once.

But that didn’t explain everything.

“Hm.”

I stared at his face.

“Maybe you could sleep together once…but not live together.”

If Sowon’s standards were just looks—

He wouldn’t have left.

Especially not with a child involved.

So looks weren’t enough.

Even now—

“…Yeah.”

He really was ridiculously good-looking.

‘If it were me… yeah, I’d feel gross imagining someone else.’

I calmly accepted it and kept eating.

But then—

Silence.

Too quiet.

I looked up.

And froze.

“…Hyung?”

Woo Jaeyoung was staring at me.

Eyes wide. Pupils tight. Veins visible.

My whole body went cold.

Pure instinctive fear.

“Yeah.”

His voice was terrifying.

But strangely—

Not exactly anger.

“f*ck. You’re right.”

Something inside him was boiling.

Red. Hot.

Swallowing him whole.

“Yoo Sowon.”

“…….”

“You loved me.”

“…….”

“But you never wanted to live with me.”

“Jaeyoung hyung.”

“Why?”

His voice cut like an arrow.

“You said I was everything. That there was no one like me.

That my face was your favorite thing. That my words mattered most.”

“…….”

“Wasn’t that love? No—it was. You said it was.

Then why didn’t you stay? Why did you run… even taking my child?”

I couldn’t answer.

I wasn’t Sowon.

I didn’t know.

Still—

He kept burning.

“You said you loved me every day. But never once planned to stay.”

“…….”

“And me? I never even said I loved you properly…but I just assumed you’d stay.”

I found the answer he never heard.

Should I say it?

Or not?

Which hurts less—

Ignorance or truth?

I chose truth.

Because the original Sowon chose silence.

And that silence—

Look where it led.

“Because you didn’t say it.”

His black eyes widened.

“You don’t know unless it’s said.

Understanding is hard.

Misunderstanding is easy.

Without direction, you get lost.”

“…….”

“Love alone isn’t enough to feel secure. But… I don’t think it’s entirely your fault.”

“…Why?”

He grabbed my shoulders.

Leaning close.

“So you’re saying it’s not my fault that you had no place beside me?”

I blinked slowly.

Ah.

This was easy.

Even without memories.

“Maybe they didn’t know how to feel secure.”

“Didn’t know?”

“You’re not born knowing everything.

If you don’t learn it, experience it, or imagine it—you just don’t know.”

“So…”

His face twisted.

“You’re saying you never learned it…never experienced it…never even imagined it…….”

His lips trembled.

And finally—

I understood.

What was boiling inside him.

It wasn’t anger.

It was—

Regret.