Chapter 51. Jealous Lovers’ Fight

“[Taeseong, why aren’t you answering? You haven’t been responding at all.]”

After Minju returned to Korea, Taeseong had met her only twice—once at the hospital after her accident, and again on the day of the college entrance exam.

Since then, Minju had kept reaching out to him.

But Taeseong kept declining to meet her—first using exam preparations as an excuse, then later his health and condition.

Minju seemed disappointed but didn’t pressure him.

Occasionally, she sent snacks or gifts to his house. But today felt different.

Her drunken voice was filled with a resolve to unload everything she’d been holding back.

“[Why are you avoiding me? I waited for you, didn’t I?]”

“Minju noona.”

“[No, let me finish first, Taeseong. You know why I came back to Korea.]”

“……”

“[I’m sorry. For ignoring your feelings before.]”

“Please stop, noona.”

Taeseong already knew what she was going to say.

Her vague excuse for studying abroad and the constant attempts to contact him—it was all clear to him now.

But he kept pretending not to see it.

The promise he once made to confess when he turned twenty had already crumbled like ashes.

At first, it was hard to accept how his feelings toward Minju had changed after such a long time.

“The idea that ‘Ju Taeseong likes Jo Minju’ had followed me like a habit for over a decade.”

“But I’ve realized now… Feelings shouldn’t move out of habit. They need to move on their own for them to matter.”

“[Taeseong, I—]”

“Stop, noona.”

It was time to face this habit-like affection and end it for good.

“[Is it because of her?]”

Her. She meant Haeyoung.

“…Haeyoung is…”

After a moment of hesitation, Taeseong finally said her name.

Then, in a firm voice, he concluded:

“It’s not because of her.”

It wasn’t that his feelings had ended just because Haeyoung appeared in Minju’s absence.

Feelings that are meant to begin will begin. Feelings that are meant to end will end.

That was all there was to it.

Still, it was a long-standing relationship and emotion, so it needed proper closure—face to face.

“…Let’s talk again when I come up to Seoul, noona.”

There was no reply from the other end.

“I’m hanging up.”

Taeseong ended the call.

His chest felt heavy, like it was stuffed with wet cotton.

He sucked in the frigid outdoor air until the tightness eased.

Only then could he go back inside the restaurant.

But—

“…Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“The girl who was lying down here earlier—did you see her?”

“Oh, she stepped out for a bit, came back in, paid, and then left. You didn’t catch her?”

“What?”

Haeyoung was gone.

Not long after Taeseong had stepped out, Haeyoung woke up.

Realizing he wasn’t there, she paid the bill and left.

She planned to tell him it was time to go home.

But under the streetlamp in front of the shop, she saw Taeseong on the phone.

“It’s not because of her.”

Even from a short distance, his voice was clear.

And Haeyoung could tell right away from his tone that the person on the other end was Minju.

“…Let’s talk again when I come up to Seoul, noona.”

That was when Haeyoung turned around and walked away.

His apologetic tone, the weight behind his words about “talking again,” sounded just like a scene from some cliché drama.

A man explaining himself to one woman while another listens in.

With each step, Haeyoung became more convinced.

The reason Taeseong had come to see her yesterday—no, today—wasn’t out of affection.

“It’s just that I stopped responding, and that got under his skin. That’s all.”

The day had been so sweet that she’d dared to hope for more. And now, this crushing disappointment proved it.

Tears filled her eyes as she stopped and murmured:

“Jerk… You shouldn’t have come at all.”

She had promised herself not to hold on to regrets and just enjoy the day.

“You shouldn’t have been so nice to me.”

But her heart was still full of regrets, bundled like heavy snowballs.

“Ugh, I’m really not going to like you anymore!”

And with that tearful declaration, Haeyoung resumed walking and started crying aloud.

Meanwhile, Taeseong searched every corner near the bar.

She’d been drunk—she couldn’t have gone far.

“Where the hell did she go?”

He ran through the streets, now quiet in the early morning hours past four o’clock.

Occasionally, he passed other drunk people, which only made his heart race faster.

What if someone took advantage of her?

“Why aren’t you answering your phone…”

He stopped and raked his hair back in frustration.

“Seriously, you’re causing trouble in every way…”

Just then, voices drifted from a side alley.

“I just turned 20, like just now.”

That sweet, distinct voice—undeniably Haeyoung’s.

Relieved, Taeseong’s eyes turned icy as he approached.

At the alley entrance, he saw Haeyoung surrounded by two men.

“Wow, you just turned 20?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m 23. Just got out of the army.”

“You’re freaking cute.”

One of the drunk guys reached out and pinched her cheek.

“Whoa, soft as hell.”

Normally, Haeyoung would’ve slapped his hand away or cursed him out.

But tonight, she just blinked, unable to process clearly through the haze of alcohol.

“Wanna have another drink with us? We know a great place.”

“Maybe I should…”

Taeseong, watching from the alley’s mouth, clenched his jaw.

“Hey. Hands off.”

All three heads snapped toward him—Haeyoung included.

“Who the hell are you?”

With wide strides, Taeseong closed the distance and growled:

“Back off.”

“What’s your problem, man? Mind your own business.”

“I’m her husband.”

One of the men, voice suddenly uncertain, asked Haeyoung:

“Is he really your husband?”

“No.”

“…Huh?”

The man, confused and drunk, looked between the two.

Taeseong scoffed and grabbed Haeyoung’s wrist.

“Enough with the jokes. Let’s go.”

“No.”

She yanked her hand away coldly.

Taeseong stared at his now-empty hand, lips twisting bitterly.

A chill colder than the winter night radiated from him.

The man who had touched Haeyoung could feel goosebumps rising all over his skin.

Having sized up the situation, he muttered to his friend:

“Bro, I think this is a messy love triangle. Let’s bounce before we get dragged into some crap.”

The friend, nodding quickly, waved his hand awkwardly.

“Alright, you two settle your domestic drama. We’re out. Haha…”

The men slipped away in the opposite direction from where Taeseong had come.

Even after they left, Taeseong and Haeyoung stood locked in a silent stare.

Eventually, it was Taeseong who broke first.

“Let’s go home.”

He rubbed his temples, voice softer now.

But Haeyoung didn’t budge.

“No.”

“…What are you doing?”

“Go by yourself. Go back to Seoul.”

“Stop this drunken nonsense. I’m letting it go this time, but next time—”

“There is no next time. I’m not drinking with you ever again.”

Taeseong’s brows furrowed sharply at her firm tone.

His face, which had been tired and fed up before, now turned serious.

“Why not?”

“Because you get in the way.”

His expression crumpled like a paper doll.

“Get in the way of what?”

His voice, once cold, now carried a sharp edge of genuine anger.

“What exactly am I interfering with?”

He stepped closer, gaze unreadable—neither warm nor cold.

Glancing briefly at the alley where the men had disappeared, he spat:

“Am I getting in the way of you having fun with assholes like them?”