No One Was Innocent Anymore

“Were you waiting long?”

Jeongha, who approached quickly, got into the car smoothly as if he felt no awkwardness at all and asked. Haeyoon shook his head.

“No, I just got here.”

“You really didn’t have to come pick me up.”

Jeongha spoke rather maturely. Of course, his words were a lie. From the start, Jeongha had wanted Haeyoon to come get him. His car was far from broken down; it was perfectly fine, parked in his building’s lot right now.

If Haeyoon hadn’t offered to pick him up first, Jeongha would have found some reason or another to make Haeyoon come.

There wasn’t any special reason. He just wanted to become a frequent, trivial variable in Haeyoon’s life. He wanted Haeyoon to move with him in mind. He wanted to fill the scenery, piece by piece, that had previously been occupied by Oh Jaeyeol or Ahn Seonwoo, with himself.

Now, whenever Haeyoon looked at the passenger seat of his car, he would think not only of Oh Jaeyeol and Ahn Seonwoo but also of Baek Jeongha. That’s what Jeongha wanted.

It was the first time he’d been so persistently fixated on something without a clear, defined goal. He hadn’t even decided what he wanted, or how, with Seo Haeyoon, yet his actions were becoming bolder and more proactive.

Seo Haeyoon was already a variable for Baek Jeongha. So, it was only fair that Baek Jeongha became the same for Seo Haeyoon.

“I owed you from last time.”

“Last time? Ah… when you were drunk?”

Jeongha deliberately replied in a teasing voice. Haeyoon didn’t say anything further, but his face was visibly flushed a little. Leaning over for a bit couldn’t even be called making a scene, but doing that in front of someone he wasn’t even that close to seemed to have been quite shocking for Haeyoon.

“You haven’t eaten, you must be hungry.”

Haeyoon, feeling embarrassed, changed the subject. Jeongha barely held back a bursting laugh and went along with it.

“Yeah. Very.”

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“Will you buy it for me?”

Jeongha asked while fastening his seatbelt. It didn’t hold much meaning. He had no intention of actually getting a free meal.

Haeyoon had become an adult and graduated before Jeongha, entering society earlier, but Jeongha had been born with money. There was no need for him to get free meals just because he was younger, and he never did.

“Of course I’ll buy it for you.”

“Something expensive too?”

“Yeah. Just name it.”

Yet, Jeongha kept joking, almost like he was acting coy. Watching Haeyoon take his jokes seriously was an added bonus. His fingertips kept tingling, so Jeongha clenched his fist tightly.

He never fully understood the sentiment of finding an older person cute, but looking at Seo Haeyoon, he felt like he grasped the whole meaning.

“Then let’s go. There’s a restaurant I like nearby.”

“Okay. Show me the way.”

Nodding, Haeyoon started the car. It seemed he wouldn’t have minded even if Jeongha had led him to the most high-end restaurant. It showed even in trivial moments. If he said he’d do it, he’d do it; he didn’t hesitate or weigh his words. Seo Haeyoon was that kind of person.

Surprisingly, Baek Jeongha liked that. He just liked it. It was an inexplicable feeling.

* * * *

“Seonwoo, is something going on?”

“Huh?”

Seonwoo, who was completely lost in his own thoughts, snapped back to reality at Jaeyeol’s sudden question.

Seonwoo, who had had business near Jaeyeol’s company, was having lunch with him after finishing his errand. It was their first lunch date in a while, as Seonwoo had quit his job right after Jaeyeol proposed.

It was Jaeyeol who had suggested the meal, but honestly, Seonwoo wanted to refuse. His mind was too chaotic to face Jaeyeol properly.

But he couldn’t be honest and turn him down. Seonwoo knew there was a subtle unease between them lately. Today’s lunch invitation was Jaeyeol’s effort to smooth things over. Refusing would only make the atmosphere worse, and he didn’t want that with the wedding so close.

“You just seemed really unfocused.”

Jaeyeol followed up. His tone was soft, but a hint of displeasure seeped through.

Annoyance flared up instantly inside Seonwoo. He was already exhausted from not sleeping a wink last night, and now he had to hear this from his boyfriend, not even a boss?

“Sorry, hyung. I haven’t been feeling well lately….”

Still, Seonwoo suppressed his emotions. He didn’t want to raise his voice at Jaeyeol, not when things had come this far. He already had enough complicated things on his mind.

“Really? I should have just told you to go home then.”

“…It’s fine. It’s good to have lunch with you, hyung.”

Fortunately, Jaeyeol didn’t press further. But this time, Seonwoo’s eyes narrowed. Was that all he had to say after hearing his partner wasn’t feeling well?

Instead of fussing and jumping up to buy medicine, Jaeyeol hadn’t even asked where he felt unwell. His comment about telling him to go home even carried an undertone of weariness.

“You look pretty tired yourself, hyung?”

This time, Seonwoo subtly put some bite into his question. Did Jaeyeol think he had no complaints just because he wasn’t voicing them? If they were keeping score, it was Oh Jaeyeol, who drank and came home late without much contact even with the wedding looming, who was the bigger problem.

He had no idea what Ahn Seonwoo was thinking right now. No clue who was currently shaking Ahn Seonwoo up.

Seonwoo’s grip tightened on his fork. The message he received from Jeongha last night kept flashing before his eyes.

“It’s just… I’ve been busy with wedding preparations, same as you, I guess.”

“Yeah. Right.”

Seonwoo replied insincerely and forced some food into his mouth.

Baek Jeongha, who had dropped such a massive bombshell last night, hadn’t contacted him since. Even after daybreak, he’d tried calling several more times, but Jeongha didn’t even pick up.

Back when Seonwoo had thrown away all his pride and clung to him, Jeongha hadn’t given him the time of day. Now, years later, when he hears Seonwoo is getting married, he suddenly does this? He couldn’t figure out the reason.

He could make plenty of hopeful assumptions. Maybe Jeongha had actually been regretting it all along. It’s common to not realize someone’s worth while they’re by your side and then feel a void after they’re gone, finally recognizing your feelings.

Perhaps, having acted so cruelly in the past, he hesitated to reach out directly and only had his feelings stirred up when he heard about the wedding. Because it was his last chance. Once he’s really married, there would be no opportunity for regrets anymore.

So, he could guess Jeongha had contacted him while still confused and unsettled himself.

But on the other hand, his attitude was too ambiguous. The wedding was right around the corner, yet aside from sending a couple of vague messages, there had been no other gesture.

Just yesterday was like that too. He acted in a way that clearly showed he wanted to stop Seonwoo’s wedding, only to immediately pull back. As a result, once again, it was Ahn Seonwoo left pacing in anxiety. It was downright maddening.

If only he’d express his feelings a little more clearly. If he’d just say, ‘Choose me, not Oh Jaeyeol.’

Then. Then I wouldn’t hesitate.

“If you’re done eating, should we go? You should go home and rest, Seonwoo.”

What cut through Seonwoo’s deepening thoughts was Oh Jaeyeol’s voice, still stiff. Seonwoo looked at Jaeyeol, one eyebrow raised.

With his marriage partner potentially being stolen away right under his nose, Jaeyeol, oblivious and treating him indifferently, seemed like a fool.

Oh Jaeyeol was clearly a great catch. Especially for the stiff Beta, Seo Haeyoon, he was more than Haeyoon deserved. Handsome, capable enough to already be securing a position at a reputable company. His affectionate manner toward his partner had even made Seonwoo feel bitter several times back when Jaeyeol was dating Haeyoon.

The problem was, all of that seemed utterly worthless and trivial the moment it was compared to Baek Jeongha.

“Yeah, let’s go. I was really out of it today, I’m really sorry.”

But instead of getting more irritated on the spot, Seonwoo let his eyebrows droop and spoke in a coquettish tone.

While he couldn’t compare to Baek Jeongha, Oh Jaeyeol was, by any objective standard, a perfectly good marriage partner. The fact that having him would make Haeyoon miserable was an added bonus. Unless Jeongha clearly stated his intentions and came forward aggressively, Seonwoo had no intention of overturning the board himself.

Snatching Oh Jaeyeol away, getting branded a scumbag by everyone around in the process, had been a significant blow to Seonwoo too. To undo that, he needed something more definite than those ambiguous messages that left an escape route open.

And Ahn Seonwoo knew that once Baek Jeongha set his mind on something, he was the type to seize what he wanted, even if there were obstacles bigger than a wedding in the way.

If Jeongha really reached out. If he asked Seonwoo to choose him, not Oh Jaeyeol, it wouldn’t even be a dilemma for Ahn Seonwoo.

Having sorted his thoughts, Seonwoo linked arms with Jaeyeol and spoke in a rare, coquettish voice.

“Come home early today, Hyung. I’ll… make up for lunch.”

As he finished speaking, he released a subtle pheromone scent, just strong enough for Jaeyeol to catch. Jaeyeol’s hardened expression softened immediately.

Of course. There was no way Oh Jaeyeol could stay angry at Ahn Seonwoo for long.

Having never properly been with an Omega since his school days until now, Jaeyeol was still weak to Seonwoo’s pheromones. He couldn’t possibly resist.

Seonwoo met Jaeyeol’s eyes, winked cutely, and started walking.

Even if Baek Jeongha truly wanted him, Oh Jaeyeol was an insurance policy he absolutely had to hold onto until Jeongha decided on his course and actively pursued him.