My Only One Chapter 1.3

Cheap medicine. It was cheap goodwill. Everything Jinseo had received from everyone except himself had been just like that.

Just then, a vibration sounded from his pocket. Jeonghan, who had taken out his phone, swallowed the same medicine he had given Jinseo and checked the text message.

[Car number 3198. Verified the owner’s name. Jung Hajun, age 26, currently undergoing heir training at a competitor of Chairman Cha’s group…]

Jung Hajun. It was a name he had known for several years. He was the first sunbae Jinseo had become close to at university, when he was twenty-one.

He hadn’t realized their relationship was special enough for him to drop Jinseo off right in front of his house. The thought that there was something he didn’t know about Jinseo was extremely unpleasant. As he was suppressing his irritation, putting the cup down as if to throw it, a new text message soon appeared on the screen.

[And it seems there was some friction between Mr. Kim Sangcheol and the young master Jinseo today. Will it be all right to leave it as is?]

Jeonghan turned off the phone screen without even replying to the question. It wasn’t something that needed an urgent reply.

The time left until Jinseo graduated from university was just a little over a month. By then, he himself would be an adult. When he entered university, his status as a student wouldn’t change, but even that was satisfying.

When he turned twenty, he would leave this house and live with Jinseo. Even if it was far from school, he wanted to live alone with him in a quiet and cozy space. That was why no hindrances could exist.

Jeonghan mulled over Hajun’s name once more. In the darkened kitchen, only Jeonghan’s eyes shone brightly.

Jinseo felt his mind was in a daze the entire time he was getting ready for school. The painkillers he had taken yesterday must have been quite strong. He had momentarily forgotten that Jeonghan brought back stronger medicine every time he went to the hospital.

Thanks to that, he had been able to ignore the throbbing muscle aches and sleep soundly, but it was difficult to shake off the effects of the medicine easily.

He barely came to his senses thanks to the cold air that blew in as soon as he opened the front door. As he stepped out the main gate, half-burying his face in the collar of his overcoat, Jeonghan in his school uniform greeted Jinseo.

Jeonghan, who was staring intently at Jinseo, who looked somewhat bare for the cold weather, took off the black scarf he was wearing. And without hesitation, he wrapped his scarf around Jinseo’s neck.

“What’s this, it’s suffocating.”

“Stay still. It’s cold.”

Jinseo immediately slapped Jeonghan’s hand away and expressed his refusal, but it was completely futile.

Jeonghan, who had been snickering to himself and had even tied the finishing knot, opened his mouth.

“You’re going to school, right?”

High school started at 8:00. But it was now well past 8:30. Jinseo, realizing that Jeonghan hadn’t gone to school yet, opened his mouth with a puzzled expression.

“You’re late…”

Just then, a black sedan slowly stopped in front of Jinseo and Jeonghan. When the car came to a complete stop, Secretary Kang, who was in the driver’s seat, got out and bowed his head toward Jinseo and Jeonghan. Jinseo also awkwardly returned the bow, following Secretary Kang. Jeonghan, who was watching this, naturally opened the back seat door. Then he stepped aside slightly and looked at Jinseo.

“I told you we’d go together.”

“…Hey.”

“Hurry and get in. I’m late, so I’m in a hurry.”

His expression didn’t look rushed at all. Jinseo made a dumbfounded face for a moment, then glared at Jeonghan.

“I told you I’m fine.”

“What are you going to do if that bastard who hit you follows you?”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

Jinseo shifted his gaze from Jeonghan to Secretary Kang. Then he bowed his head deeply, raised it, and opened his lips.

“I’m sorry to trouble you. I’ll walk.”

“Hyung.”

Jeonghan hurriedly grabbed Jinseo’s wrist, but Jinseo immediately shook off Jeonghan’s hand. He was about to ignore him and walk away, but Jeonghan’s flat voice was heard.

“Are you going to abandon me and leave again?”

His chest felt tight, as if something heavy was pressing down on his insides. The goodwill that Jeonghan forced on him was so uncomfortable it was suffocating. The same went for those words he spat out so casually. Jinseo stopped the step he was about to take.

“I’m just worried about you, hyung.”

Unlike before, a voice filled with worry came from behind. Jinseo, who had only turned his head to look at Jeonghan, stared at his direct gaze, then looked at the back seat door that was still not closed.

“…Okay.”

He ended up complying. Even though he had clearly expected it would turn out this way. He had tried to be defiant, but that one sentence from Jeonghan had paralyzed his will to resist.

“Get in quickly. We’re late.”

Jinseo said to Jeonghan after getting into the back seat. Jeonghan, who smiled as if he was finally relieved, immediately sat down in the seat next to Jinseo.

The car, which had been stopped at the end of a short squabble, started off.

Jeonghan’s face was beaming the whole way to school. What was he so happy about when all they were doing was just riding in the car together? Jinseo secretly let out a small sigh. Then he briefly glanced at Secretary Kang, who was visible in the rearview mirror.

It was clear his father would say something if it got to his ears. After all, he wouldn’t be able to accept that the reason for Jeonghan’s tardiness was just because of him.

He shifted his gaze out the window with a feeling of resignation, as if he would just listen to the nagging and be done with it.

I want to escape. To a place where no one knows me.

If someone had heard him, they would have said he was complaining despite his good fortune. We adopted and raised an orphan brat in a rich house, and he doesn’t even know gratitude. But it had been quite a long time since Jinseo had started to find this house unbearable. The period when he had struggled tooth and nail not to be abandoned had also already passed.

The reason his father couldn’t cast him out was simple. It was because if he sent out the adopted son who had been helpful in creating his good image, the company he ran would take a hit.

Rather than live his whole life being used for that purpose by him, he wanted to cut ties as quickly as possible and run away. Graduation was in about three months. After that, he would get a job right away and leave the house. In any case, the person who would become the heir to his father’s company was Jeonghan.

If he were to be given a position, would it be something like Jeonghan’s secretary? He found himself pathetic for thinking such things, and a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

“What are you thinking about?”

Jeonghan’s voice broke his train of thought. It was a pretty quiet sound, but it seemed he had heard it. When he turned his head toward Jeonghan, he was sending a gaze full of curiosity toward him.

Jinseo, who felt no need to reveal his inner thoughts, shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Did you get someone you like?”

At the question that had suddenly changed course, Jinseo made a bewildered face. Unlike his own dumbfounded self, Jeonghan’s expression was quite serious. Jinseo, barely avoiding Jeonghan’s gaze that wouldn’t leave him, opened his mouth.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing like that.”

Thanks to Jeonghan’s question, Hajun’s face flickered before his eyes. Come to think of it, I said I’d buy him a meal, when should I treat him?

Would it be okay to contact him once? About eating before the weekend…

Hajun was always a busy person. So he was hesitant to suggest it so easily.

Just then, the car slowly came to a stop. Looking out the window, he saw the back gate of the school. Jinseo, who had slung the bag he had loosely put down as soon as he got in the car, bowed his head toward Secretary Kang and expressed his thanks. And as he opened the door, Jeonghan’s voice came from behind.

“I’ll come pick you up when your classes are over.”

At Jeonghan’s words, his brows narrowed slightly. Riding in the car once was enough.

“It’s okay. I don’t know when I’ll be done.”

“You can just contact me.”

“What if I finish in an hour?”

“I can just come out during my lunch break.”

“Secretary Kang is busy. Don’t be a bother, I’ll see you at home.”

He hurriedly got out of the car in case Jeonghan tried to say something else. He could see Jeonghan’s sullen face through the closing door, but he pretended not to see it. Thud—the car door closed.

His reflection was visible in the tinted window. Jinseo looked at his mottled face and Jeonghan’s scarf wrapped around his neck for a moment, then took a deep breath. He immediately moved his feet and headed for the back gate. He hid his face in the scarf, leaving only his eyes exposed. It was ridiculous that someone younger than him was taking care of him, but the scarf was useful in its own way.

But is he really going to come again when my classes are over? He sighed deeply at his troubled heart. The back gate was the one closer to his house, but it seemed he would have to leave through the main gate when he went home. It was much better to avoid him than to run into him. Jinseo, who was thinking that, gradually increased his pace.

The back of his head tingled the whole time he was in class. People who recognized Jinseo each whispered to the person next to them at least once. Since he had had a fight at school that one wouldn’t easily see even in the bar districts late at night. It seemed the rumor had spread in an instant.

Jinseo ran out of the classroom as soon as his last class ended. And he let out a breath as if he were exhaling a stuffy one. He had thought he didn’t care about other people’s gazes as long as it didn’t reach his father’s ears. But having so many eyes on him at once like this was a different matter.

He had recently been personally experiencing how draining it was to receive people’s attention. Jinseo roughly wrapped the scarf around his neck and buried his face in it like before. He didn’t want to feel the gazes pouring on him even in the hallway.

With the intention of getting out of school quickly, he looked only at the ground and quickened his pace. Just as he was about to exit the building’s first-floor entrance, he bumped into the chest of someone who was coming in.

“Ah, I’m sorr…”

“Is a snowman your concept?”

He was about to apologize immediately, but a playful voice came from above his head. When he lifted his head, he met eyes with a smiling Hajun.

His expression brightened in an instant upon unexpectedly encountering a welcome face.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to see you.”

At Hajun’s words, which came out naturally as if they had made a prior appointment, Jinseo’s heart unexpectedly started to pound. His thought process had stopped for a moment, and he was at a loss for words, so he was just staring blankly at Hajun, when he spoke first.

“I was worried I wouldn’t run into you if I came late. I’m glad.”

“Ah… If you had contacted me, I would have gone to you.”

“Surprise. It’s no fun if you know in advance.”

Hajun spread his palms wide and spoke in a funny way. At that, Jinseo, still hiding his face, laughed quietly. The path to school and the path out had been difficult, but seeing Hajun’s face made him feel like all his troubles were melting away.

Hajun looked at such a Jinseo and opened his mouth.

“You don’t have any plans today, right?”

“…Did you really come to see me?”

Jinseo was dumbfounded. It was because until just now, he had thought Hajun’s words were half a joke. After all, Hajun, who was always surrounded by people, almost never had a day without plans.

At Jinseo’s dazed words, Hajun replied without erasing his smile.

“Yeah, I was thinking of having a drink with Jinseo today.”

“Ah… of course I don’t have plans.”

He shook his head to emphasize that he had no plans. Both his parents were on a business trip, too. It was a perfect day for a drink. And to be at a bar alone with the person he liked. He absolutely couldn’t refuse.

Jinseo was filled with a fluttering excitement blooming inside him. And he followed Hajun, who said he knew a good place, and moved from the spot.

The bar Hajun took him to was one where quiet music was playing. The place, illuminated by minimal orange lighting, was a suitable place for a private conversation. As soon as he entered, the heat from the heater made his face flush. Hajun, who sat down in the seat guided by the waiter, ordered familiarly. Jinseo watched Hajun and untied his scarf. Only then did he remember Jeonghan’s words to contact him when his classes were over.