To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 46: Don’t drink too much

"Anyway, I have a favor to ask. Can you do something for me?" Yun-tae asked, shifting the topic right away.

"What is it?" Dong-cha asked.

"So, before I followed Hwa and his siblings, I was still working on my project. I'm done with it but I never got to put it in the slides. Do you think you could email it to me from my laptop so I can finish it here?" He asked but Dong-cha scratched her head and asked,

"Instead of doing that, why don't I put it in the slides for you? It's not that difficult." She said. "And you should enjoy the little time you have to spend with Hwa. You two should bond more and if sparks start to fly between you and that hot Alpha, make sure to let it ignite, hehe." She tittered.

"You..." Yun-tae blushed. "Don't say stuff like that."

"What? Wait, were you on loudspeaker?" She asked in shock but Yun-tae shook his head.

"No, but..." He sighed. "Anyway, I shouldn't let you do my work for me. But since you insist, I'll leave it to you. Thank you, Dong-cha."

"No problem." She tittered. "Also, could you pass the phone to little Hwa? Gotta greet him."

"Yeah, sure." He handed the phone to Chin-hwa.

Chin-hwa stared at it, and let out a deep breath before answering,

"Hello,"

"How's our little baby doing?" Dong-cha asked and Chin-hwa shut his eyes. She was still at it.

Dong-cha was always protective of Yun-tae but it didn't come short from how she took care of Chin-hwa. It was just that Chin-hwa seemed more mature in his reasoning and didn't come off as one who would appreciate too much care and affection.

So, she buried it to the minimum and only went as far as Chin-hwa's personality allowed.

"We're the same age, so stop calling me a baby." Chin-hwa calmly said and she laughed.

"Yes, yes. But I'd like to think you're an overgrown baby with the sense of our seniors, haha. It makes me feel at ease." She said and laughed once more.

"I see you're still in good spirits." Chin-hwa said, a little smile playing on his lips. "Are you going out for drinks?"

"Yeah, we're planning to have barbecue and soju. We were supposed to take Yun with us but it seems you beat us to the punch." She tittered.

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"Don't drink too much. We have a presentation tomorrow and then there's..."

Yun-tae watched Chin-hwa as he spoke with so much maturity to his friends, who he kept at arm's length.

He looked towards Kang-woo whose eyes were twinkling as they were firmly fixed on Chin-hwa.

Something happened between these two that put out a fire in Chin-hwa, and because of that, Chin-hwa was never able to bring people very close.

He kept them at arm's length, smiled smoothly, and kept his thoughts to himself most times.

It did not ruin their relationship, and their friendship was stable but knowing they were at arms length, his friends wanted him to open up more. They wished he would and waited for the day he would.

Even now, Chin-hwa still hadn't opened up to him. He kept his deepest feelings in his heart and bore with the pain alone.

He wondered if Kang-woo knew what that ain't was. He wondered if Kang-woo knew how much Chin-hwa was hurting and that was why he always had this guilt in his eyes when he gazed at his back.

The guilt that twinkled with longing.

Just what happened between these two, Yun-tae always wondered. But he wasn't sure that they were close enough to ask something so personal.

His family was weary of it as well, he felt it in the atmosphere. So, it must've been something very deep. And thus, he did not want to make a mistake and open up closed wounds.

Was the wound even closed?

"Dong-cha, I'm serious. You're not missing the first class even if it's not your major," Chin-hwa said. It looked like he was bickering with Dong-cha.

She was probably planning to drink into a stupor and then sleep in the first class. She loved her alcohol.

And Chin-hwa, who tried to make sure to carry them along in their academics, especially Dong-cha, refused to let her sleep in.

He sighed and then two waiters approached with one of them rolling the cart.

"I have to hang up now. The food is here."

"What are you guys having?" Dong-cha asked and Chin-hwa opened his mouth and called out the classical and exclusive dish at Cal'Air.

Dong-cha's eyes widened.

"Wait, are you serious? By chance, are you guys eating at Cal'Air?" She asked with her face overridden with shock.

"Yes, we are." Chin-hwa answered. He did not expect her to know the dishes at Cal'Air. And it was one of the dishes at the VIP floor, so unless she had entered the VIP floor, there was no way she would know of it.

"Are you shitting me right now? Can you guys even afford the meal there?" She shoved her fingers through her hair looking devastated. "You guys didn't go there without knowing where that is, right? No, from how confident you spoke, you probably know what you're doing. But can you really afford the meal? And for three too?"

Chin-hwa went silent. He still didn't know how she was able to tell where they were dining, but it didn't look like she knew they were on the VIP floor yet.

"Don't worry," he smiled and raised his gaze, meeting Kang-woo's eyes. He flinched and looked away right away. He had been caught staring. "Kang-woo's paying."

"Kang-woo? That guy has that much money?" She asked. "Oh, right. You guys are childhood sweethearts so your parents are close. Then, does that mean you also come from a rich family?"

She almost asked if his family worked for Kang-woo's family when they were younger, and that was why they grew up together, but it was too much to probe into, and it might've been rude as well.

'Though she doesn't act all that bright, Dong-cha is still very smart.' Chin-hwa thought, watching the waiters drop the food on their table.

Dong-cha interpreted Chin-hwa's silence as not wanting to speak about his family. That was how he always was when anyone asked about his family, but she thought she could get something out of him this time.

"Well, it doesn't matter. So, long you guys aren't getting into trouble, it's all good, I guess." She said. "Well, I'll hang up now, so enjoy your meal."

She was about to cut the call when Chin-hwa spoke,

"Dong-cha," he called out softly. "How rich does my family have to be for me to afford three meals on the VIP floor without batting an eye?"