Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 16

“Are you making fun of Myeongjin?”

“Ah, no, hyung, that’s not it……!”

“It’s absurd that you’re chasing after someone like that, but what, marriage? You’re asking me to help with that?”

“Hyung, I……”

“Youngmin, you must think I’m extremely easygoing, huh?”

Youngmin’s face turned white at the sight of Taejun chewing out his words with a gentle smile.

If Jin Youngmin knew how to trample on the lives of the poor, Han Taejun knew how to subdue those who swaggered around because they had a little something. At first, he had interfered without knowing anything and made the wrong choice, but now it was different.

At that moment, a completely different emotion began to stir within Taejun, amidst the rising irritation and anger. It was a kind of exhilaration. For the first time since this inexplicable regression began, Taejun had found something he could rectify. It was a strange feeling.

“I warned you.”

“…….”

“Sort it out. Stop going to those cheap bars, it’s unsightly.”

As if his pride was hurt, Youngmin clenched his lips tightly. Even so, there was nothing he could do. Both Han Taejun and Jin Youngmin knew that.

“I’m leaving first.”

Taejun pushed his chair back noisily and stood up. Seeing Jin Youngmin’s distorted face, he felt a thrill. It was a new sensation, one he felt he could become addicted to.

☂️

“Wow, there really are neighborhoods like this.”

Taejun muttered with a dazed expression as he stood in front of the long stone staircase. Of course, he knew. He had seen it in pictures and videos. But the feeling of this place, the so-called “slum,” when he saw it with his own eyes, was distinctly different.

Yes, Taejun was currently in the neighborhood where Cha Haeshin lived. Surprisingly.

“Going up and down this every day……”

Taejun said, lightly placing one foot on the stairs. Even though he exercised regularly, he felt a sense of dread. The luxurious car he had driven couldn’t even pass the entrance of this narrow uphill road.

He didn’t quite understand why he had come here. From the moment he stormed out of his dinner with Jin Youngmin, only one person had been on Taejun’s mind.

Cha Haeshin.

The very person who had given Taejun such unexpected thrills.

Come to think of it, it was only natural. Taejun had always felt like he was being dragged along. For some, regression might be an extraordinary opportunity, but not for Taejun.

Taejun didn’t have anything desperate he wanted to achieve, even through regression. He already had enough money and fame, his life wasn’t arduous enough to want to change it, and he had no one to take revenge on.

For Taejun, regression wasn’t an opportunity, but a constraint. He had been wandering lost until now because he didn’t know what choices he needed to change. But now, only now, he had found something he needed to change for the first time.

It didn’t matter if it wasn’t the right choice. Even if he regressed again tomorrow, he knew what he had to fix, so it was okay. At least until he confirmed that this choice wasn’t the answer to end his confusion, it felt like he had a compass he could use.

So how could Cha Haeshin not come to mind? After returning home and lost in thought, Taejun couldn’t stand it any longer and ran here at this early hour.

Taejun slowly began to climb the stairs. He couldn’t remember the last time he had climbed such high stairs on his own two feet. The feel of the uneven ground beneath his feet was equally unfamiliar. This was a world that Han Taejun hadn’t even looked into, even after so many regressions.

Did Cha Haeshin want to escape this neighborhood? Taejun wondered, listening to the sound of small pebbles crunching beneath his shoes. When he married Jin Youngmin and left this place, when he moved into a nice house that he had never imagined, how did Cha Haeshin feel?

Was he scared? Or did he feel a little excited? How much did Cha Haeshin know about Jin Youngmin’s true nature back then?

Did he dream, even if it wasn’t love, that they could build a happy future together?

To be honest, Taejun felt a faint sense of debt towards Haeshin. Objectively, it wasn’t Taejun’s fault. At least, Jin Youngmin was always a docile younger brother in front of Taejun. So, it couldn’t be said that Haeshin’s misfortune was Taejun’s fault just because Taejun meddled a little for his cousin.

But why couldn’t he ignore it? Why did he keep feeling this awkward sense of guilt?

“Sigh……”

Reaching the top of the stairs, still lost in his unanswered thoughts, Taejun let out a long breath and took out a candy from his pocket. It was a scene that called for a cigarette, but it was alright. After all, the person who fit least in this scenery was Han Taejun himself.

☂️

“Wow……”

Seeing the handsome man standing in front of the dilapidated house gate, Haeshin stopped walking and let out a gasp. Unexpected things had been happening since the last loop, but today took the cake.

Han Taejun standing in front of Cha Haeshin’s house. Even with the eyes of someone who repeated regressions, it was hard to believe.

White smoke billowed from between Taejun’s lips, which were holding a long stick. At first, Haeshin thought it was a cigarette, but looking closely, it seemed like a candy, and the smoke that was pouring out mercilessly was his breath.

Winter in the slums was colder than in the bustling city. Standing in the place where the coldest and sharpest wind blew, the man in a coat that looked like it had never been touched by a speck of dust seemed to have come from a different world.

Even if the president came, let alone a third-generation chaebol, they could only come up here on two feet, and the thought of Han Taejun walking this path in this cold made Haeshin laugh, despite the incongruity of the situation.

Managing his expression so as not to offend Taejun, Haeshin quickly approached him and opened his mouth.

“Hello, CEO.”

“Oh my, you scared me.”

Taejun was overly startled. It was a reaction that didn’t quite suit the striking handsome man standing under the dim streetlight. Feeling embarrassed, Taejun cleared his throat and fiddled with the back of his head.

It was all the more embarrassing because he had been thinking that his toes were going numb. Even though there was no way Cha Haeshin could have known that.

Cha Haeshin immediately bowed his head.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you……”

“Ahem, I wasn’t that startled.”

“Yes……”

Though he looked clearly startled, Haeshin agreed for now. There was no need to embarrass him.

“Do you always finish at this time?”

“Ah, I finished a bit early today. It wasn’t closing time…… How long have you been waiting?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Ah, yes……”

While answering obediently, Haeshin glanced at Taejun. Only the tip of his nose was a little red, which meant he hadn’t been waiting long. It was unlikely that someone like Han Taejun would be shivering in this cold for a long time just to see Cha Haeshin.

Meanwhile, Taejun crunched the now tiny candy and spat the stick into a nearby trash can. Haeshin asked,

“Do you eat that kind of candy, CEO?”

Having impulsively come here, but now at a loss for words after meeting Cha Haeshin, Taejun frowned at the unexpected question.

“Is this really the time to be surprised by such a thing?”

“I was just curious. I thought someone of your stature would only eat, like, handmade candies made by a special French chef or something.”

“What nonsense……. Shouldn’t you be more surprised by the fact that I came to see you?”

“Well, it’s less surprising than when you came to the store since we’ve met before.”

“You’re not even asking how I knew where you live.”

“You knew where the store was, so how could you not know where I live? Was it hard coming up here?”

Haeshin’s retorts, not yielding an inch, were absurd yet not unpleasant, and Taejun felt a laugh bubbling up inside him. It had been a while since he’d had such an unpredictable conversation.

When you visit someone you barely know, someone you’ve never told your address to, unannounced, they tend to get scared, don’t they? Taejun thought that Cha Haeshin would at least be wary or afraid of him.

But Cha Haeshin was the opposite. Far from being scared or intimidated, he seemed almost pleased to see him.

“It wasn’t that hard.”

“You look cold……”

“I’m fine.”

“Your nose is red……”

“……Are you making fun of me?”

He was even subtly teasing him. When Taejun asked back with a deep frown, Haeshin waved his hands exaggeratedly.

“No, no. Of course not! It’s just……”

“…….”

“It’s just that I’m happy to see you, CEO.”

After finishing his sentence, Haeshin let out a breathy laugh, “Hee—.”

Taejun stared at his face. Funny enough, he felt a sense of relief.

When you repeat the same time period countless times, you tend to accumulate data on most of the people around you. Similar conversations repeat, and even if the situation changes, the reactions of the people around you mostly don’t deviate much from expectations.

Taejun hated that. He was sick of moving within a set script, hearing predetermined lines. But conversations with Cha Haeshin were different. Funnily enough, for the first time in a long time, Taejun felt like he was talking to an ordinary person, not an actor.

Did I miss these moments? Taejun clenched his fists at the unknown, thrilling emotion.