To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 97: It doesn’t matter

"Then, can I ask? Where do you work?" Chin-hwa asked, causing Yun-tae to flinch. "Maybe we can just hang out there instead and--"

"Oh, no, it's alright," Yun-tae quickly declined, waving his hands like it was nothing. "You two should just enjoy your time at the aquarium."

"Is it a job that you can't talk about?" Kang-woo suddenly spoke up. "I hope it's not something dangerous,"

"No, it's not dangerous." Yun-tae answered, slowly lowering his head. "But you two don't have to worry," he raised his head. "I'm going to go now, so have fun?"

"Wait, what about your things at my house?" Chin-hwa asked, grabbing his arm.

"Oh, that? I guess I'll have to trouble you to take it back for me." He said. "I'll pick them up from you on Monday."

"Oh, alright." Chin-hwa said and watched him leave wave as he left. He waved back and then slowly lowered his hand, looking worriedly. "I... Hope he's okay."

"He didn't come off like he wasn't." Kang-woo said. "It seems like he's been working there for a long time, so he can probably take care of himself."

"Yeah, let's hope so."

Chin-hwa didn't know much about his friends, but he could faintly tell the ones who had a good relationship with their parents and the ones who didn't.

And among all of them, Yun-tae was the only one who hadn't received a call from 'home'. And his words just now just proved that he did not have a good relationship with his family.

"Then, shall we head in?" Kang-woo asked Chin-hwa who immediately held his breath.

Now that Yun-tae was gone and it was just the both of them, this suddenly felt like a date.

"Y-yes," he answered and watched Kang-woo stretch his hand towards him. He wanted them to hold hands. 'Wait, isn't this cheating? Just because Yun-tae isn't here, it doesn't mean that I can suddenly take his place.'

Suddenly, Kang-woo flicked his forehead.

"Ouch, that hurts."

"Did it stop you from overthinking?" Kang-woo asked. "I know what you're thinking."

"How could you...?"

"Hwa," Kang-woo called a bit seriously and said, "Before I'm Yun-tae's boyfriend, I am your best friend. And we did this a lot back in the day, so why should it be any different now?"

His words made Chin-hwa's heart thump. Was he saying that it was okay to do this even now when they were grown up?

But, it wasn't okay. They weren't kids anymore. Doing this would only make the people around them misunderstand their relationship.

"It doesn't matter," Kang-woo said. "Even if we get seen and Yun-tae hears this, I know he'll understand because he knows that to me, you're the most precious."

Chin-hwa's heart couldn't take it anymore. This was cheating. It was definitely cheating. But... Who was he to reject what his heart wanted so openly?

To walk hand in hand and spend time in each other's comfort, he longed for it. And especially when he had been the one misunderstanding the whole thing all along.

He took Kang-woo's hand and when Kang-woo smiled, thinking it was okay now, he heard Chin-hwa say,

"I'll no longer ask about what happened." He said and he froze. "Why you had to leave all of a sudden or why no one will tell me about it... I won't ask for an answer," he shook his head. "So, for real, this time," he smiled through his closed eyes and said, "...let's really act like nothing had happened and we have been living happily all along."

Hearing this, Kang-woo felt relieved but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that Chin-hwa had discovered the truth on his own.

And because he had discovered the truth, he couldn't help but blame himself for all the heartache he had inflicted on himself.

So, he didn't know if this was a good thing or a rather disturbing one. What if, deep down, Chin-hwa was now living in guilt, blaming himself for making Kang-woo feel so bad when all he was trying to do was keep him away from finding out about his life-threatening disease?

Truth be told, he had two reasons for not telling Chin-hwa about his condition. The probability that he would die was too great.

So, if he was going to die in the end, he wished to cut off all connection with Chin-Hwa and make him feel like he had left him to start another life elsewhere instead of him finding out that he was six feet under.

That selfish desire of his was what drove him to keep away from Chin-hwa for so long. And even after the surgery was a success, when he was out of danger and was in the recovery process, he still didn't try to contact Chin-Hwa.

Though, day by day, he wished he could see him. He wished he could hear his voice, see him smile, and call out to him with that cheerful vigor.

But each time, the image of Chin-hwa's broken expression plagued his vision.

The drive to see Chin-hwa again, see him smile and call out to him, was the reason why he was able to keep going against all odds.

"Then, shall we get going?" He asked, squeezing Chin-hwa's hand in his and Chin-hwa nodded.

"Yeah, let's go."

So long as he could see Chin-hwa smile, so long he could see him happy... He would be content. He just... Wouldn't be content if Chin-hwa ended up with 'some' dude. So, he planned to work on that, wonder why Chin-hwa liked Ji-hoo all of a sudden, and pray for their earliest breakup.

"What's wrong?" Chin-hwa asked, noticing his countenance slightly darken.

Kang-woo snapped out of it and smiled,

"It's nothing." He said. "I'm feeling sushi after this." He changed the topic. "Talking about fish has got me craving it."

Chin-hwa laughed.

"You're so weird. Who thinks of eating fish when watching fish?" He asked through his laugh.

"Apparently, me."

"Well, I'm feeling pork belly." Chin-hwa said. "A little spicy and maybe a little greasy."

"Now, now, you know you can't handle greasy food." Kang-woo said and Chin-hwa smiled softly. He had said it on purpose to know if Kang-woo remembered and he did.

"Yeah, I know," he said and raised his head, smiling. "So, I'll just have it a little bit spicy."

"Yeah, that should be alright." Kang-woo said and Chin-hwa suddenly stopped. He looked down at him, wondering what it was and found his gaze fixed on the two people who had stopped in front of him. They were...

"Mommy and dad?" Chin-hwa called.

Yes, in front of them was Hae-won and Baek-Hyun.

"What are you doing here?"

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.