Vol 6 Chapter 21

The sudden story about Min-hoo's sister, ignoring Kapros's words, felt out of place, but he didn't tell him to stop. The hand on his shoulder slowly caressed the fabric of his clothes.

"The person who said those words to you probably liked you more than you thought of them. That's why they wanted to be involved, and because they were worried, they couldn't help it."

Kapros wondered what this meant. So, was it because Jin Je-hwan liked him more than Kapros thought of him?

"There's a different kind of emotion from just worrying about and liking a friend or an acquaintance. You worry even though you know it's useless for someone like you to worry, you get angry when they're hurt, and you can't stop yourself from doing things you know they'll dislike. A relationship becomes more precious than those with family or friends. A relationship that shakes up who I've been until now."

"Jung Min-hoo... you..."

Unable to bear the unusual tone and the words flowing from his bowed head with an unreadable expression, Kapros called out his name. Just as he slowly reached out his hand, almost touching Min-hoo's face, Min-hoo grabbed it and raised his head, speaking quietly.

"Just as that person wanted to know who hurt you even if it made you angry, I feel the same way now."

His expression, no different from usual, seemed to have not a trace of shadow.

"It's not because I think lightly of you or want to bother you. Of course, I don't have the right to hit the guy who hit you. But you know,"

Min-hoo gently pressed Kapros's hand to his cheek and smiled as if he couldn't help it.

"I'm angry. I can't forgive it. You're much more precious to me, with all your secrets, than you think of me. Do you understand this feeling?"

Kapros didn't understand. He really couldn't tell what was wavering in Min-hoo's eyes right now.

But it was clear that it wasn't as unrelated to him as he had thought. And only then did Jin Je-hwan's words resonate in his mind with a new feeling.

Had Kapros been unable to properly grasp even the feelings behind the words Je-hwan had said, while claiming he would think about them?

It had been just words uttered to avoid the crisis of his relationship with Jeong Seung-jo being discovered, but he hadn't realized that to the guy who had been looking at him with the same gaze for months, it could have sounded like a denial of their entire relationship. The image of him repeatedly asking if he meant nothing to Kapros suddenly struck deep in his heart.

'I just... wanted him to lose interest in this matter and not encounter Jeong Seung-jo again.'

Kapros had casually thought it was too intense a reaction for someone worrying on behalf of another, attributing it to fatigue. But that thoughtless attitude had really come as a shock to someone.

Kapros suddenly felt very unfamiliar with himself for only now remembering the clear wavering in Jin Je-hwan's dark eyes that he hadn't noticed earlier.

'What on earth... did I say?'

As if he had looked into Kapros's mind full of ripples, Min-hoo continued with perfect timing.

"So don't be annoyed by or push away these pitiful feelings. It's okay if you don't understand yet. I can wait as long as it takes. But, at least don't pretend not to know after you do know."

At that moment, Kapros looked at Min-hoo, lost for words. His chest suddenly felt heavy, and a tingling shock reverberated within him. Min-hoo placed his hand over Kapros's hand on his cheek and pressed firmly.

"Your eyes are wavering."

Min-hoo whispered, sounding a bit apologetic.

"If you think my words were presumptuous, it's okay to get angry. You look even worse than before, I'm sorry."

"...It's fine. What apology?"

After a long while, Kapros finally answered, quietly moving his hand from Min-hoo's cheek to touch his golden-brown hair. Min-hoo lowered his head like an obedient animal. The slightly long hair flowed softly between Kapros's fingers.

As he awkwardly ruffled the pleasant-feeling hair several times, the nerves that had been on edge all day, feeling like they might burst at the slightest touch, cooled down, and his original reason returned.

'Yes... I was certainly foolish.'

He could have resolved the situation sufficiently without reacting so sharply, but the stress accumulated over several days and Jeong Seung-jo's sudden visit had undoubtedly messed up his mind.

Looking at Min-hoo again, Kapros felt even more apologetic. With what petty feelings had he called this guy? Without any intention to resolve the issue, he had called him out in the middle of the night, just hoping to share some brightness that might be comforting. It was an incredibly stupid and selfish action.

'No wonder I deserved to be hit by Jeong Seung-jo a few more times for doing such a stupid thing.'

While thinking this, Kapros had been unconsciously continuing to touch Min-hoo's hair, when Min-hoo, who had been silently letting him, suddenly started squirming in his seat.

"Ah, sorry."

Finally realizing that what he was doing might look a bit strange, Kapros withdrew his hand, and Min-hoo waved his hand with a slightly reddened face.

"No, no, you can keep touching my hair comfortably, thinking of it as petting a dog... but the problem is that I'm now a bit..."

A bit? A bit what?

As Kapros slowly lowered his gaze, he saw Min-hoo's hand gripping the front of his pants as if trying to cover it.

Kapros extended his hand apologetically, pointing towards the bathroom.

"Sorry. I didn't realize... If you need to go badly, you can go over there."

"No, that... I mean... It's not that... Anyway, thanks."

After hesitating for a moment with a sad expression, Min-hoo finally looked at Kapros's eyes appealingly a few times before quietly getting up and heading where Kapros had pointed. Kapros wasn't sure what Min-hoo meant by "it's not that," but he understood that he needed to go badly.

'I kept a guest here without realizing he wanted to use the bathroom... I'm doing a lot of foolish things today in many ways.'

Nodding his head, Kapros started to think about how to act from now on, his mind beginning to clear a bit.

Although Jeong Seung-jo had said he didn't want to meet Kapros anymore, as he had already told him, Kapros had no intention of giving up. As soon as his cast was removed, he would go to see him again, this time to have a proper conversation.