I Saw Him With Someone Else… And Broke

Haeyoon sat in the driver’s seat, his heart fluttering, as he peered out the window with anticipation. Though he wasn’t fully aware of it, he had even been humming just moments before. He was currently waiting for Jeongha.

He hadn’t told Jeongha he was coming. It was meant to be a surprise. Originally, he had an interview scheduled with a magazine today. That’s why he’d had to decline Jeongha’s suggestion to meet, but due to circumstances on the magazine’s side, the interview had been postponed.

So Haeyoon had come to Jeongha’s university unannounced. He knew when his classes ended, and he also knew that Jeongha hadn’t brought his car today. It was the perfect setup to surprise him.

Above all, Haeyoon was confident that Jeongha would be happy to see him show up like this. That confidence felt unfamiliar yet fascinating, and he wanted to savor this feeling a little longer.

What expression would Jeongha make when he spotted him? Would he stop in his tracks, surprised? Would his eyes go wide? Would he break into a bright smile and come running to him?

Imagining such trivial reactions kept making his heart race.

“He should be coming out soon….”

Haeyoon muttered, his voice still filled with anticipation, as his eyes diligently scanned the people passing through the campus gate.

What if they missed each other? What if something came up and he left through a different exit today? Just as he was cycling through these minor worries alongside his excitement, he spotted Jeongha passing through the gate in the distance.

“Oh…!”

Haeyoon let out an involuntary cry, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. The sound had been so loud that even though he was alone, his face flushed red. It wasn’t like they’d been apart for a long time, so even he couldn’t understand why he felt this happy.

While waiting for his heated face to cool down a bit, Haeyoon watched Jeongha’s leisurely approach from inside the car. There were several other people leaving the campus around him, but Jeongha stood out unmistakably among them.

His tall stature, solid build, handsome face and charismatic presence that made anyone do a double-take—it wasn’t just because Haeyoon knew him; Baek Jeongha was genuinely beautiful. In fact, quite a few people passing by cast glances his way.

However, there was one thing about Jeongha that could be considered a minor issue.

“Why is he so angry….”

Haeyoon muttered, amused. His expression couldn’t have been colder. There was a reason people glanced at him but didn’t approach.

A look of indifference to everything in the world, a face that at first glance seemed slightly annoyed, an aura that suggested he would ignore anyone who spoke to him because everything was a bother. This was the energy Baek Jeongha was currently radiating.

If Haeyoon hadn’t known him, he probably wouldn’t have approached him easily either.

But now Seo Haeyoon did know Baek Jeongha. He knew how boyish a face was hidden beneath that hard exterior, how adorable his expression became when he smiled playfully, how much warmth, kindness, and sensitivity he possessed.

Just as Haeyoon had finally cooled the heat from his face, he got out of the car and crept up behind Jeongha. Just as he was about to raise his hand to call his name—

“Jeongha!”

Haeyoon reflexively stopped and turned at the voice calling Jeongha’s name from a different direction.

“Ahn Seonwoo…?”

There, running toward Jeongha with an expression close to ecstatic, was Ahn Seonwoo. Haeyoon’s heart plummeted.

* * * *

Back alone in his car, Haeyoon gripped the steering wheel with both hands, rested his forehead on them, and tried to catch his breath. No matter how deeply he breathed, the suffocating tightness in his chest wouldn’t ease.

The moment he spotted Ahn Seonwoo, Haeyoon had hidden himself. It was an instinctive act. He had done nothing wrong, had nothing to be ashamed of in front of those two, yet he had still done it.

He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but he could tell from their expressions that it wasn’t anything bad.

After talking briefly, the two walked side by side, got into Seonwoo’s car parked right next to his, and disappeared from Haeyoon’s sight.

Haeyoon stumbled back to his own car, barely making it inside. His vision was blurry, and he couldn’t breathe properly; it was agonizing.

“Hoo… It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Haeyoon tried to calm himself down. It wasn’t like anything major had happened, so why was he acting so pathetically? It wasn’t like they were strangers. Ahn Seonwoo had known Baek Jeongha even before Haeyoon had.

“…….”

But no matter how hard he tried to dismiss it as nothing, he couldn’t erase the feelings he was experiencing right now. Haeyoon was clearly feeling anxious.

Why had Ahn Seonwoo come to see Baek Jeongha? Could he really still not have given up on him? But Seonwoo was already married to Oh Jaeyeol. He had said they were in love, couldn’t live without each other.

Had seeing Baek Jeongha at the wedding made him want him again? Was he still, overwhelmingly beautiful, making Seonwoo covet him? Had he decided he couldn’t let someone like Seo Haeyoon take him away?

So he would take Baek Jeongha away, just like he had taken Oh Jaeyeol from him. To have him for himself.

“Seo Haeyoon, stop.”

Just before the swamp of emotion rising from the pit of his stomach could swallow him whole, Haeyoon banged his forehead on the steering wheel and forced himself to speak in a cold, harsh voice.

What kind of pathetic sight was this? It was absurd, bewildering. It was laughable, this crumbling over something that wasn’t even catching them tangled together.

Even if Seonwoo still had feelings for Jeongha, that was something for them to sort out; it had nothing to do with him.

He mustn’t be mistaken. He and Baek Jeongha weren’t real lovers. He had no right to jealousy, to vigilance, to anything, no matter who Jeongha met, slept with, or showed interest in.

“…….”

Reaching that thought, Haeyoon, feeling dejected, raised his head and leaned back against the headrest.

Was this jealousy, then? What did he think he was? What was Baek Jeongha to him, that he would feel such things? It was absurd, and at the same time, his own position, which wasn’t even entitled to jealousy, felt hollow. How should he define this feeling?

“I’m really losing my mind.”

Haeyoon bitterly mocked himself and started the car. He should have just not come. Or at least called Jeongha first. Regret was useless.

* * * *

“…Yeah. Jeongha.”

Jeongha’s call came just as Haeyoon arrived at his studio. Honestly, Haeyoon had both been happy and afraid to receive his call. He was relieved that Jeongha hadn’t forgotten about him even while with Seonwoo, but he was also anxious about what he might hear.

Afraid of sounding unnecessarily upset, he cleared his throat several times before answering. Jeongha’s voice, both welcome and painful, came through.

“Hyung, where are you?”
“Me? I’m at the studio….”
“The studio? What? Didn’t you say you had an interview today?”
“Ah… yeah, I did, but it suddenly got postponed… I was actually about to call you….”
“Oh, I see. About that… I can’t talk long right now, but I wanted to let you know something first.”
“Huh? What, what is it?”

The words “let you know something” made his chest tighten, and he stammered. His heart pounded as if it would burst. He recalled the image of Ahn Seonwoo approaching Jeongha with an inexplicably excited face. Without even realizing what he was so afraid of, Haeyoon held his breath.

– Actually, I’m with Ahn Seonwoo right now.

When Jeongha openly admitted to meeting Seonwoo, Haeyoon’s legs gave way, and he slumped onto the sofa. He felt like crying, but he couldn’t tell if it was from relief or sorrow.

“Seo… Seonwoo…?”
– Yeah. He suddenly showed up at the university. So we’re together now, but we’ll just have a meal and then part ways.
“Mm-hmm….”
– As for why I’m having a meal with Ahn Seonwoo, I’ll explain in detail when we meet, but….

As Jeongha continued to explain, Haeyoon’s frantic mind gradually began to settle. Because each of Jeongha’s words sounded different to him.

– I just… didn’t want to feel like I was hiding the fact that I met Ahn Seonwoo, so I called you first.

So this was all consideration. For Haeyoon. Telling him not to be anxious, to be at ease, that Ahn Seonwoo was still nothing to him. That’s what Jeongha kept saying. Haeyoon could hear it clearly in his voice.

It was strange. Jeongha didn’t know. He had no way of knowing that Haeyoon had already seen them together, that he was struggling with anxiety. How could he comfort Haeyoon in the most appropriate way at the most appropriate time?

– Would it be okay if I stop by a little later?
“Yeah. Yes, that’s fine.”

Though he worried that his eagerness might show in his voice, Haeyoon couldn’t stop himself from agreeing enthusiastically. The fact that Jeongha was coming to see him right after meeting Seonwoo gave him a strange sense of stability.
– Okay. I should go now. I’ll call you later.
“Yeah. See you later.”

He hadn’t wanted to hang up, but Haeyoon tried to act mature and ended the call. As soon as the dial tone sounded, the strength drained from his body, and he collapsed onto the sofa. He was breathless, as if he’d run a long distance.