PA 36

At the somehow familiar voice, Yejun slowly raised his head. He saw Junhyuk standing right in front of him. Yejun looked at Junhyuk with eyes full of disbelief.

“It’s tough, isn’t it?”

“…”

At Junhyuk’s question, Yejun’s mind went completely blank, and he couldn’t manage any reply. Even seeing Junhyuk standing right in front of him, Yejun couldn’t believe this situation at all. However, upon seeing Yejun again, Junhyuk felt his own chaotic heart calm down.

Junhyuk left the bewildered Yejun behind, approached the memorial portrait, lit an incense stick, had a moment of silent prayer, and placed a flower in front of the picture. Then he returned to Yejun, the chief mourner, and bowed his waist to show his respect. Junhyuk’s eyes caught sight of Yejun’s faintly trembling hands.

It was then. The entrance of the funeral hall became noisy, and the sound of someone entering the mortuary was heard. Junhyuk’s brow furrowed at the sight of Yejun’s face turning paler by the second. It was just as Junhyuk had expected. Sanghyeon entered the mortuary, stood next to Junhyuk, and spoke to Yejun in a calm voice.

“My deepest condolences.”

Seeing the father and son, Yejun couldn’t say a word and only trembled with both hands. Just then, Yongsik, who had been in the mourners’ waiting room, rushed into the mortuary with the Sirius members and began to speak fussily.

“Oh my goodness, Chairman! You came all the way here?”

“CEO Song, you’re going through a lot as well.”

After giving an awkward smile, Yongsik jabbed Suho in the side, and Suho and Wooju reluctantly came forward and greeted Sanghyeon.

“Hello.”

After a brief greeting to Sanghyeon, Wooju approached Yejun, whose complexion had worsened considerably, and whispered.

“Yejun, go into the family room and rest for at least an hour. You’re going to collapse at this rate.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Listen to your hyung. I’ll watch over the mortuary.”

Wooju said, as if urging Yejun. To be honest, Yejun also wanted to escape this uncomfortable situation. He was about to quietly leave the mortuary and go into the family room for a while.

“Yejun.”

Junhyuk called out to Yejun, who was about to enter the family room, in a low voice. Yejun pretended not to hear and tried to enter the family room, but Junhyuk grabbed Yejun’s hand as he was about to close the door.

“Go back.”

“No.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Lee Yejun.”

Just then, the sound of people approaching from the opposite side of the bent corridor was heard.

Junhyuk pushed Yejun, who was standing with the threshold between them, and entered the family room. In the pitch-dark room where the lights weren’t even on, Junhyuk hugged Yejun tightly.

“Cha Junhyuk!”

Unable to even raise his voice, perhaps conscious of the people passing by, Yejun pushed Junhyuk away with great desperation. Junhyuk stared blankly at Yejun, who had managed to push him away, with a look of futility in his eyes. His gaze, now accustomed to the darkness, landed on Yejun’s thin cheeks.

“Why on earth are you so thin?”

“What’s it to you?”

Yejun deliberately avoided Junhyuk’s sorrowful gaze and retorted coldly. To Junhyuk, Yejun, with his frosty glare and refusal to even make eye contact, seemed so unfamiliar.

“Lee Yejun.”

“…”

Yejun turned his back completely to Junhyuk, pushing him away with his entire body.

“You make me uncomfortable. I’d like you to leave this room.”

In that moment, Junhyuk’s chest ached sharply. On the other hand, he also felt a surge of anger towards Yejun. However, unable to bear a situation without Yejun, Junhyuk was merely the weaker one. His pride was not an issue at all.

“I’ll sort out the matter with my father somehow.”

Junhyuk stood in front of Yejun again and said, as if pleading.

“Cha Junhyuk, are you crazy?”

“You don’t have to worry about anything, just stay behind me.”

At the sight of Junhyuk, who had completely shed his pride and was clinging to him, Yejun’s eyes trembled faintly.

Ah…

Yejun felt something hot welling up heavily from deep within his chest. This was the Yejun who had mingled his body with Sanghyeon even at the moment his mother was hovering between life and death. The memory of tumbling around messily with Sanghyeon on the bed came back vividly, and Yejun bit his lower lip hard.

No, absolutely not.

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Yejun!”

“How are you going to solve it?”

“…”

Yejun deliberately put on an even colder gaze and began to tear into Junhyuk’s heart.

“So, can you give me more money than Chairman Cha?”

“Yejun…”

“I want to succeed as a celebrity and earn a lot of money too. What can you do for me?”

“Yejun, you liked me too.”

“I don’t want to fall out of favor with Chairman Cha.”

Junhyuk stood in front of Yejun, who was turning to leave the room, blocking his way. He roughly grabbed Yejun’s thin shoulders.

“Do you mean that?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

Yejun barely held back the tears that were welling up and looked up at Junhyuk with wide eyes. Then, he painfully spat out sharp words.

“The person I need right now is Chairman Cha. So let go of me.”

At Yejun’s words, it felt as though Junhyuk’s heart had been wretchedly thrown onto the cold floor. Junhyuk’s trembling gaze, his eyes filled with deep hurt and sorrow, landed on the corners of Yejun’s eyes. Complex emotions towards Yejun swirled chaotically in his mind.

When he thought he had to give up Yejun, the world was a dead gray. But the moment he saw Yejun again, Junhyuk knew. The world had come back to life, it was colored again, and it was breathing again.

“Cha Junhyuk, I said let go.”

“…”

Yejun twisted his body, trying to shake off Junhyuk’s hand that was holding his shoulder. However, at the sight of Yejun rejecting him, Junhyuk’s painfully numb heart twisted bizarrely.

If I let go now?

The thought that Yejun would vanish as emptily as white sand slipping through his fingers made Junhyuk feel as if someone was tightly squeezing his heart. The grip of Junhyuk’s hands on Yejun’s shoulders tightened.

“It hurts.”

No.

A crazed gleam swirled in Junhyuk’s sad eyes.

“No, I can’t give up.”

“Cha Junhyuk!”

Yejun collapsed on the spot and shouted loudly. It was then. Someone knocked roughly on the family room door. Yejun took advantage of the moment Junhyuk’s attention, which had been focused on him, was distracted, and stepped back two paces, shaking off his arm.

“Yejun, it’s Wooju hyung. Is something wrong in there?”

“Ah, no. I’m just talking with a friend.”

Wooju, who carefully opened the door, hurriedly approached Yejun, whose face had turned deathly pale. Wooju squeezed in between Junhyuk and Yejun, and Junhyuk had no choice but to take a step back to widen the physical distance between them.

“You need to get some rest. Lie down for now.”

Wooju brought over a blanket that was in the corner of the room and made a bed for Yejun. Then, in a somehow sharp tone, he spoke to Junhyuk.

“Yejun seems to be having a hard time, so please leave now.”

“I will stand in his place as the chief mourner.”

“…What?”

“I am also Yejun’s friend. I really want to help.”

At Junhyuk’s unexpected answer, Yejun shot up.

“N-no! Junhyuk.”

“You lie down. I’ll greet the guests in your place.”

Junhyuk left Yejun, who was too stunned to say anymore, and walked out of the family room.

☂︎

Sanghyeon, sitting on the balcony lost in deep thought, took a sip of strong whiskey. The rich flavor of the alcohol and a not unpleasant bitterness filled his mouth. He put down the straight glass in his hand and swallowed the liquor. The burning sensation, as if his esophagus was on fire, felt particularly good to Sanghyeon today.

Sanghyeon switched glasses, reached out his arm, and picked up a round piece of ice from the ice bucket. The ice, large enough to fill the glass, sparkled. He poured whiskey into the glass with the ice and gazed at the distant scenery for a while.

He thought his job was done once he handed over the consolation money. Because he was a sponsor. But Sanghyeon, unable to shake the unsettling and dirty feeling in a corner of his heart, got up from his seat and leaned against the railing.

“Hoo…”

The sight of himself sighing involuntarily made him laugh bitterly without realizing it. He picked up the on-the-rocks glass he had left on the table and downed the liquor. The image of Yejun crying so sorrowfully kept coming to mind, to the point where it was now starting to feel agonizing. No matter how hard he tried not to think of Yejun, the image of Yejun completely filling his mind made his irritation flare up.

“Hah…”

Come to think of it, Sanghyeon was thinking only of Yejun right now. Suddenly realizing that fact, Sanghyeon let out a scoff as if finding it absurd and shook his head vigorously from side to side.

Fuck… He’s just a sex partner.

“Hah… This is so annoying, I’m going crazy.”

Even after reaching that conclusion, he didn’t feel refreshed, and something kept nagging at his mind. It was then.

“Father.”

Junhyuk, who had barged into the bedroom, pushed aside the butler’s urgent hand that was trying to stop him and came out onto the balcony.

“Leave us.”

The butler, sweating coldly, glanced between the two before hurriedly leaving the room. A suffocating silence flowed between the two men. They glared at each other like that, neither backing down an inch.

“What is it, all of a sudden?”

“I will no longer keep Yejun by your side.”

“Is that so?”

Sanghyeon pressed his temples firmly and placed the glass he was holding on the table.

“Cha Junhyuk.”

“…”

“Sponsorship was the result of that child’s choice.”

“That can’t be true.”

“Is that what that child, Yejun, tells you? That being sponsored wasn’t of his own free will?”