MM 117

Before long, Do-won opened the car door. Yu-young, who had been silently observing his face for a moment, lowered his head and got into the car. Do-won’s expression was completely unreadable, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Perhaps he felt embarrassed to show this side of himself in front of Yu-young, and maybe… he was a little angry with him too. After all, he had fought with his mother again, unable to hold back. It was only a matter of time before the confrontation he’d had with Mrs. Lee reached Do-won’s father, and that would likely put Do-won in a difficult situation as well.

“Aah…”

A sigh escaped involuntarily. Sitting in the passenger seat with his head lowered, Yu-young flinched when Do-won suddenly came closer after getting into the driver’s seat.

“…!”

Yu-young instinctively shrank back. But seeing Yu-young shrink like that, Do-won sighed briefly, leaned over, and fastened his seatbelt for him. Soon, the car began moving smoothly forward.

“…”

“…”

An oppressive silence filled the car. It had been awkward and uncomfortable when they were with Mrs. Lee earlier, but this discomfort was on an entirely different level. Do-won, his face stern and eyes sharply focused on the road ahead, seemed deeply angry.

Yu-young’s heart started racing as he glanced sideways at Do-won. Lately, he had only seen Do-won’s kind and soft expressions, so he was probably not used to seeing him looking so angry. The sight of Do-won like this made him feel as though he might burst into tears for no reason.

‘Calm down… I shouldn’t make this worse.’

It was Do-won, not Yu-young, who had been insulted by Mrs. Lee and had left without even having a proper meal. So, it wasn’t appropriate for Yu-young to get teary-eyed stolen contentin this situation. But still, he couldn’t understand why he felt like crying.

At that moment, Do-won’s hand suddenly reached over and gently took Yu-young’s hand.

“Han Yu-young.”

“…Yes, Team Leader.”

Do-won looked at him briefly and gave a small, forced smile. Today, that smile didn’t seem genuine at all, and it quickly faded from his face.

“You must have been very shocked. I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“It’s because of me that you got hurt, something you didn’t deserve.”

Yu-young looked at Do-won, surprised. Wasn’t Do-won angry with him? True, Yu-young had sided with Do-won and almost got slapped by Mrs. Lee, but still, he had been the one to escalate the situation.

So, he had thought Do-won might blame him or be upset, but Do-won’s face, as he sincerely apologized, showed no such signs.

The warmth of his hand wrapping around Yu-young’s and the familiar scent of his pheromones made Yu-young feel comforted, but at the same time, it kept poking at some part of his heart, making him feel even more overwhelmed.

For some reason, Yu-young just wanted to cry. As he lost himself in those thoughts, his eyes began to burn with hot tears. He was startled and tried to stop himself, but before he could say anything, a tear had already fallen down his cheek.

“Han Yu-young.”

Do-won’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…Are you crying?”

“Ugh, sniff.”

It would have been proper to say no, to deny it. There was no reason to cry right now. But strangely, instead of saying it was okay or that it wasn’t true, Yu-young just cried out like a child unable to control his sorrow.

Do-won, with a tense expression, pulled the car over to the side of the road to find a place to stop. He turned on the hazard lights, unbuckled his seatbelt, and fully turned his body to face Yu-young.

“Han Yu-young. Look at me.”

“Ugh, I’m fine… hic…”

“Han Yu-young. Yu-young. Please, look at me. Okay?”

This was the first time Yu-young had seen Do-won like this—flustered and at a loss. The person who was always composed and able to handle any situation was now frantic, trying to comfort Yu-young in the midst of his tears.

Do-won urgently pulled Yu-young into his arms, holding him tightly. As Yu-young’s sobs deepened, Do-won gently patted his back, trying to calm him down.

“Han Yu-young… Please don’t cry. I didn’t think it through. I should’ve made sure you weren’t uncomfortable.”

Yu-young, nestled in the familiar warmth of Do-won’s [Read on]embrace, finally understood why the tears had suddenly come. It wasn’t because of the insults from Mrs. Lee. He could easily brush off something like that.

The real reason for his overwhelming emotions was something else. It was the fact that someone as kind and precious as Do-won was being treated like this. And by no one else but his mother.

Suddenly, Yu-young remembered the first time he had visited Do-won’s family home. Back then, Do-won had shared some of his personal story with Yu-young. At the time, he had felt a dull ache in his chest, wanting to comfort him.

How long had Do-won been subjected to such humiliating words from his own mother? How much pain had the young Do-won endured? The boy who had taken thousands of photos just to remember his mother, only to be called disgusting for doing so. How much did that hurt him? Those thoughts brought fresh tears to Yu-young’s eyes, and they just kept flowing.

But Do-won, thinking Yu-young was crying because of what Mrs. Lee had done, was desperately trying to comfort him, rubbing his back and gently reassuring him.

“Han Yu-young. I’m sorry. I’ll make sure something like this never happens again.”

“That’s… sniff, that’s not it, Team Leader…”

Yu-young wiped his tear-streaked face and lifted his head.

“It’s just… I don’t know if it’s presumptuous of me…”

“…I really hated how your mother… treated you like that, Team Leader. The way she keeps bringing up your biological mother, it’s too much. And… the photos, they just seemed so amazing to me… They were as great as the photos from my favorite photographer.”

Seeing Do-won’s face stiffen oddly at the mention of the photos, Yu-young slightly changed his words, even as he continued to sob.

“…No, they were just a tiny bit cooler than those from my favorite photographer. Ugh. Ah, anyway… I’m not crying because I’m upset with your mother, so… you don’t have to worry about it.”

“…….”

“But… I really hope your mother stops treating you like that. I can’t… stand it anymore.”

Yu-young fumbled with his words, pouring out his frustration, and after venting, he slowly began to calm down.

It was only then that embarrassment and shame began to creep up on him. With his swollen eyelids, Yu-young squirmed, trying to pull away from Do-won’s arms. He felt so embarrassed about crying like a child and didn’t want to show his tear-streaked face.

But as Yu-young tried to slip away, Do-won’s arm tightened around him, pulling him back in.

“Han Yu-young.”

His deep, pleasant voice was warm with a smile.

“Were you worried about me? Enough to get angry for me?”

Do-won was smiling now. The man who had been anxiously checking his face moments ago seemed completely different. Yu-young, still with his tear-streaked face, glared at him, and Do-won’s smile only widened in response.

Do-won’s long, graceful fingers reached up to gently brush through Yu-young’s hair. As always, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and patted his hair, pulling Yu-young into his arms again. Then, he kissed the top of his head. So naturally.

The gentle smile on Do-won’s face, his eyes full of affection, all seemed to soften Yu-young’s frustration. No matter how angry Yu-young got, the sight of that handsome face seemed to calm him instantly. With Do-won wiping his tears, Yu-young found himself smiling in disbelief at the situation.

“…Yes. You’re such an… important person to me, Team Leader.”

Once the walls came down, the words unauthorized copycame flowing out. Normally, he would have never dared to say something like that.

Now, he couldn’t deny it any longer. It was something he had been meaning to say all evening, though he had been too nervous to do so. With his body leaning against Do-won’s warmth, the words he hadn’t been able to say before started to spill out, without anyone prompting him.

“You’re so important to me… It made me angry to see you being treated like that.”

“…….”

“That’s why… I ended up speaking back without thinking.”

“…….”

“…I’m sorry.”

Yu-young hesitated for a moment before snuggling deeper into Do-won’s embrace. Thump. Thump. Thump… The sound of his quickened heartbeat was soothing, adding to the pleasant flutter of excitement in his chest.

The warmth of Do-won’s arms was just as comforting. He was the kind of person who made Yu-young feel that words he never thought he could say could just flow out naturally. In Do-won’s reassuring embrace, Yu-young gradually began to find peace. With his eyes closed, he wanted to stay there forever, just being held.