Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 26

“Why?”

—If you don’t know, how would I? That’s why I told him. You can’t. Cha Haeshin is the ace of our bar. We have regulars who only look for him, so it would be a problem.

“So he offered you money?”

—…I got a little, a little! You’re sharp as a ghost. It’s not like I gave in because of the money, but anyway, this is a good thing for you, isn’t it? You don’t have to work so hard at the bar. Right?

“So you took the money and sold me out.”

—Haeshin-ah, why do you have to put it like that?

The boss’s voice was playful and full of laughter. Haeshin, too, continued in a somewhat calmer tone.

“Anyway, you’re still going to give me my salary, right?”

—Of course. Just take it easy this month. Don’t go working more just because you have free time. Money’s nice, but you’ll die at this rate, for real. Get some sleep, and eat something. For a young guy, you’re nothing but skin and bones.

“Yes, yes, I understand. Please say something nice to the customers who ask for me. I might be back soon.”

—Got it. And Haeshin-ah.

Haeshin, who was about to hang up to ask Taejun for the details, perked up his ears at the suddenly serious tone of his boss’s voice. The man, who wasn’t a good person by society’s standards but had always been quite warm to Haeshin, spoke.

—You’re not in any danger or anything, are you? It was bad enough with Jin Youngmin, and now Han Taejun… They’re not people guys like us should get involved with. You’ll only get hurt.

That voice brought back a very old memory. When Haeshin had decided to marry Jin Youngmin, among all the people who were making a fuss about how he’d hit the jackpot, the boss was the one who had opposed Haeshin’s marriage.

The richer a guy is, the harder it is to know what’s on his mind. They never do anything that would result in a loss, so it makes no sense that he’d marry you out of love. Think again. Even the day before the wedding, the boss had called Haeshin to give him this advice.

And in one of the timelines, he was also the person whose life had been horribly ruined after he responded to Haeshin’s plea for help.

“Yes, I know. I’ll be careful.”

—Okay. Call me if anything happens.

“Yes, yes, talk to you later.”

After hanging up, Haeshin just sat at the bus stop for a moment. A mixture of thrilling, sorrowful, exciting, and again sorrowful emotions muddled his mind.

Jin Youngmin’s reason is love, and Cha Haeshin’s reason is survival. Then what is Han Taejun’s reason?

“He should have just given that money to me, why give it to the boss.”

Muttering words he didn’t mean, Haeshin called Taejun. Once again, the sight of the bus he was supposed to take passing by was truly novel.

☂️

“Just eat.”

“Wow…”

Haeshin was genuinely impressed. Placed before him was a steak that made his mouth water just by looking at it. Haeshin was now sitting at the dining table in Han Taejun’s house.

“You didn’t make this yourself, did you, sir?”

“Why? You think I can’t?”

“Yes.”

Taejun was at a loss for words at Haeshin’s overly firm response. He had nothing more to say since it was true that he couldn’t actually cook.

“Shut up and eat.”

“Yes, thank you for the food!”

Haeshin answered cheerfully, as he always did. To repeat, a ghost—no, a regressor—who died after eating well looks better. Haeshin never turned down delicious food.

Watching Haeshin cut a large piece of steak and put it in his mouth, Taejun also picked up his fork and knife. After two failed attempts, this was finally a proper meal.

To think that having a single meal with Cha Haeshin was this difficult, it seemed the world was seriously out of whack.

“I have a lot of questions, is it okay to ask while we eat?”

“No.”

“But I’m really curious…”

“Are you trying to scare me by running out in the middle of a meal again? Just eat everything first, and we’ll talk.”

“Yes…?”

Haeshin didn’t press further and answered obediently. It had been quite a while since he’d eaten such good food with such peace of mind. It wasn’t bad to enjoy the moment.

“Eat slowly.”

It was Taejun who first broke the silence that had settled between them.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve gotten into the habit of eating quickly…”

Haeshin smiled awkwardly. Taejun gazed at him quietly. There was no need to hear the reason why eating quickly had become a habit. When you’re hounded by a lack of guaranteed safety and a constant shortage of time, savoring the taste of food must become a luxury.

“I wasn’t saying it to make you feel sorry… I’m saying you have no reason to eat quickly right now, so eat slowly.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

A hint of bitterness tinged Taejun’s eyes as he watched Haeshin consciously try to eat more slowly.

If what Cha Haeshin told him yesterday was true, then there was a high probability that the marriage between Jin Youngmin and Cha Haeshin had been coerced. It was impossible that someone who saw his father in Jin Youngmin to the point of having a seizure just by making an assumption would have wanted to marry him.

“Sir, this is really delicious.”

Oblivious to the other’s complex feelings, Cha Haeshin smiled with a genuinely happy face over a single piece of steak and said. In that fleeting moment, Han Taejun’s thought that he wanted to protect that smile of Cha Haeshin’s became a secret known only to Han Taejun himself.

☂️

“Can I ask my questions now?”

After finishing their meal, the two sat facing each other at a table in the reception room. The coffee placed in front of each of them was, of course, not brewed by Han Taejun.

“Go ahead. What are you curious about?”

Taejun leaned back comfortably against his chair as if to say he didn’t care what he asked. He knew what would be asked but didn’t want to bring it up first.

Haeshin, who seemed nervous, took a sip of his coffee and finally opened his mouth.

“Why did you make it so I don’t have to go to the bar?”

“Why are you asking me that? You’re the one who asked for it.”

Taejun calmly spat out the answer he had prepared in advance. Haeshin’s eyes widened.

“I did? When?”

“You asked me to help you. To stop Jin Youngmin from following you around.”

“Ah…”

“If Jin Youngmin puts his mind to it, he can find you wherever you work, but a bar is particularly bad. It allows him to openly spend time with you in a closed-off space.”

Haeshin nodded. That was true. Not now, but as time went on, Jin Youngmin would more and more blatantly call Cha Haeshin into a private room.

“From Myungjin’s perspective, there’s nothing to gain from a scandal about a department head frequenting a cheap bar, but it seemed like Jin Youngmin would keep going as long as you were there.”

“Yes…”

“Quitting would be the best option, but you said that job is precious to you. Good pay, lots of regulars who tip well. So I gave you a short vacation, while we sort out Jin Youngmin.”

Haeshin silently took another sip of coffee. His own lips feeling dry for some reason, Taejun followed suit and drank his coffee, and Haeshin spoke.

“So you went as far as to give my boss money to give me a paid vacation? You did, sir?”

“…Yes.”

“You know that’s a bit of a strange answer.”

“So what if it’s strange? Are you going to challenge me on it or something?”

Han Taejun, of course, knew it was a strange answer. After all, there were much easier paths he could have taken.

He could have just given Cha Haeshin money and told him to leave, or used violent methods to make him scram, or if not that, he could have just properly threatened Jin Youngmin to stop him from seeking out Cha Haeshin. Han Taejun had the power to do so.

And yet, Han Taejun was ambiguously hovering around Cha Haeshin, handling the matter in the most inefficient way.

“How could I dare challenge you. I just… want to ask. Respectfully.”

“…”

“What your real reason is.”

“A real reason…”

“Department Head Jin Youngmin’s reason for constantly seeking me out is clear. That man has feelings for me. Whether it’s love, or he just wants to play around for a night, I don’t know, but it’s clear there are personal feelings involved. That can be a reason.”

Han Taejun’s ambiguity was Cha Haeshin’s hope. In Cha Haeshin’s excessively predictable world, only Han Taejun was unclear. That’s why Haeshin thought Han Taejun was a means worth challenging.

At the same time, Taejun’s ambiguity was also a risk factor. At one time, Haeshin had thought of Jin Youngmin as a hope. He’d hoped that he might end his misfortune. As a price for that wrong choice, Haeshin was wandering in a hell with no foreseeable end.

Now that he had seen a spark of hope in Han Taejun, Haeshin wanted to see if that spark could grow into the form he desired.

“But you have no reason, sir. Don’t tell me it’s because you feel sorry for me. There are plenty of people more pitiful than me. There are people younger than me, who are still being abused, so why do you pity me to this extent? You said you weren’t even trying to make me approach Jin Youngmin.”

And those words shook Taejun. Han Taejun knows a Cha Haeshin who is still being abused. Only Han Taejun knows the Cha Haeshin who becomes unhappier and more miserable before being murdered.

What is my reason, you ask?

Taejun bit his lip. Because in my hell, you’re the only straw I can grasp at right now. And also because you are pitiful enough to evoke compassion from me, the protagonist of this hell. It was suddenly suffocating that he couldn’t speak these reasons, which were so clear.

“Do you perhaps have… an unusual sexual preference?”

At that moment, Cha Haeshin suddenly blurted out something strange.