Don’t Touch Me

“It’s not that….”

Jaeyeol was flustered.

When he had drunkenly shown up at Haeyoon’s doorstep, he had been somewhat confident.

This was Haeyoon, who, even after all that cruelty, had ultimately wished him happiness.

He had hoped that if he showed up looking unhappy, drunk and broken, perhaps Seo Haeyoon would look at him again.

But the moment he heard Haeyoon’s voice, devoid of any concern, he sobered up, and at the same time, Jaeyeol realized.

That his expectations had been nothing but drunken bravado.

Their eyes met in the air.

Only Oh Jaeyeol’s eyes trembled with unease.

Haeyoon spoke to Jaeyeol, who couldn’t easily continue.

“If you don’t have anything specific to say, I’m going in.

I’m a little tired today.”

“Haeyoon…!”

Jaeyeol, as if desperate, grabbed Haeyoon’s wrist as he walked past, acting as if even hatred was gone.

To Haeyoon, who turned back with a tired face, Jaeyeol hurriedly spoke.

“I… Haeyoon, look at me.

Huh?

I’m so tired….”

Honestly, Jaeyeol himself didn’t know exactly what he wanted to say.

He just, just wanted to get Haeyoon’s attention somehow.

He wanted Haeyoon to wonder why he had been drinking, why he had been crouched here at this hour.

Haeyoon silently looked at Oh Jaeyeol.

Over Jaeyeol’s flushed, drunken face, the image of a boy laughing brightly in the sunlight long ago flickered.

He thought they had met when they were too young.

He had mistaken just the length of their time together as knowing the other completely.

It was just that they had been lucky enough not to see each other’s lowest points.

Because they hadn’t had that chance, Haeyoon had thought Oh Jaeyeol was a brilliantly shining boy of destiny.

When in reality, he was someone who could easily crumble before such a cheap seduction.

Someone who could be this pathetic to the very end.

What on earth had Seo Haeyoon loved about Oh Jaeyeol all this time?

At this point, a strange thought even crossed his mind: should he be grateful to Ahn Seonwoo?

If Seonwoo hadn’t interfered, if he hadn’t provided the chance to see Oh Jaeyeol’s true nature, Haeyoon might have realized it far too late.

But that didn’t mean the devastating wounds had disappeared.

Haeyoon coldly shook off Jaeyeol’s hand that was holding his wrist and spoke.

“What hurts, hyung?”

“…Huh?”

“You married a lovely Omega, started a happy family, and you’ll even have the child you wanted so badly… what hurts?”

As Haeyoon spoke and stepped closer to Jaeyeol, Jaeyeol stepped back without thinking.

Even though Haeyoon hadn’t acted threatening, a chill ran down his spine.

Haeyoon continued slowly.

“It’s not like your beloved lover cheated on you, or you were betrayed by a trusted friend, so why… are you in pain?”

His voice wasn’t filled with anger.

He didn’t look particularly hurt or sad.

It wasn’t a bitter lament.

Seo Haeyoon just seemed a little hollow.

That, for some reason, made Jaeyeol afraid.

When they met last time, it seemed like there was still a little space for him in Haeyoon’s heart, but now, Haeyoon was looking at him like a pebble on the road.

“Ha, Haeyoon….”

“Yeah.

You probably have your own struggles, hyung.

But you have Seonwoo, hyung.”

Ahn Seonwoo, who had come flaunting the ring he bought to share with Baek Jeongha, and Oh Jaeyeol, who came drunk and said he was struggling.

In a way, they were a well-matched pair.

Their attitudes when they appeared before him were proof that their marriage wasn’t smooth.

He didn’t particularly want to enjoy their unhappiness, but at least he didn’t dislike getting closer to the outcome Baek Jeongha wanted to give him.

“So from now on, things like this… tell Seonwoo, not me.”

“…….”

“I’m going in first.”

But that didn’t mean Haeyoon had to listen to their complaints.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Haeyoon turned away.

“Ah…!”

“Haeyoon!”

In that moment, Haeyoon’s body swayed.

Jaeyeol, who had been staring blankly at Haeyoon turning away, called out to him like a scream and hurried over to support him.

“Don’t touch me!”

But Haeyoon, even while swaying, pushed Jaeyeol away with all his might.

Pushed back unexpectedly, Jaeyeol looked at Haeyoon with a shocked expression.

Haeyoon’s face had gone pale, and he seemed barely able to stand on his own.

Yet, Haeyoon was acting as if even being touched by Jaeyeol was more horrible.

“You… you…….”

Jaeyeol stammered.

This moment was more shocking than any situation he had faced before.

Jaeyeol was not immune to Seo Haeyoon rejecting him with his entire body like this.

“Please just… just go….”

Haeyoon was now leaning against the wall, gasping for breath.

It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any moment.

Yet, Haeyoon was rejecting him, determined not to accept his help.

Jaeyeol bit his lip tightly.

He felt his drunkenness clearing completely.

Seo Haeyoon’s complete rejection, something he hadn’t felt even at the moment of their breakup, shook Jaeyeol’s soul.

Jaeyeol, who had never been hurt by Haeyoon even once, couldn’t handle this unfamiliar sensation.

Even knowing he shouldn’t leave Haeyoon like this, he didn’t have the confidence to endure being pushed away again.

In the end, Jaeyeol, biting his lip, had no choice but to flee from that place.

“Haa…….”

Only after Jaeyeol disappeared from sight did Haeyoon, leaning against the wall and gasping, collapse to the ground.

Even though his apartment was only a few steps away, he had no strength left.

Fighting to stay conscious, Haeyoon searched for his phone with trembling hands.

He instinctively pressed the call button, and it connected to the person he had just spoken to.

– Are you home?

A kind voice came through, clearly from someone who had probably been waiting for his contact all along.

Just hearing that voice relaxed him, and Haeyoon mustered his last bit of strength to speak.

“Jeongha, I… right now….”

– What, what’s wrong?

Are you sick?

Where are you?

“I’m at home… right now….”

He wanted to explain properly so as not to worry him too much, but he had no energy left.

– Hyung!

Seo Haeyoon!

With Jeongha’s urgent voice calling his name, Haeyoon lost consciousness.

* * * *

“Is this why he was so insistent on keeping me away….”

Jeongha muttered as he looked at Haeyoon, still unconscious on the hospital bed.

His face, devoid of color and dry, looked pitiful.

Fortunately, there was nothing seriously wrong with Haeyoon’s body; it was simply a result of prolonged overwork.

It was a problem that wouldn’t have occurred if he had been eating and sleeping well, but he must have been pushing himself, lost in his work.

Jeongha let out a sigh.

“Please stop scaring me like this….”

He whined, even though he knew Haeyoon couldn’t hear him.

Right now, he was sitting calmly, but when he had received Haeyoon’s call, his heart had almost stopped.

But compared to the shock of finding Haeyoon collapsed in front of his apartment after rushing over, that was nothing.

Thinking of Haeyoon collapsed alone in the cold dawn air, even if it was inside a building, made his heart ache.

What if he had been farther away?

What if Haeyoon had passed out without even being able to call properly?

Even knowing it was already over, Jeongha’s mind raced with useless hypotheticals, worrying alone.

Because Haeyoon was that precious.

Because he didn’t want even a single hair on his head to be hurt.

Because he desperately wished for him not to be in any more pain.

“Captivating people like this….”

Jeongha’s hand gently stroked Haeyoon’s face, which had regained some color.

“Mmm….”

In that moment, Haeyoon let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes.

Jeongha flinched slightly but didn’t take his hand away from Haeyoon’s face.

Blinking slowly, Haeyoon looked around, and his gaze finally landed on Jeongha.

Jeongha put on the gentlest expression he could and spoke.

“Are you coming to?”

“Ah…….”

“You really… you know you have a talent for scaring people, don’t you?”

It was a scolding, but his voice was far too kind.

Haeyoon just looked at Jeongha’s face without answering, then finally spoke.

“I’m glad.”

“Hmm…?”

“I’m glad you’re here, Jeongha.

I was so… scared that Oh Jaeyeol might be by my side….”

Just before losing consciousness, even in that urgent moment, Haeyoon had worried that Jaeyeol might come back.

He would rather lie on the cold ground than accept Jaeyeol’s help.

The moment he opened his eyes and saw Jeongha’s face, he felt as if he had been saved by him once again.

He was endlessly grateful and reassured by Jeongha, who had rushed over and stayed by his side even though he hadn’t explained the situation properly.