Chapter 108

Lee Soyul couldn’t take her eyes off Mo Yeonhoo’s face, bursting into laughter again and again. As he glanced around in confusion, he spotted Seo Taemin in the distance giving him a wink.

Ah. Seo Taemin set this up.

Apparently, after hearing Yeonhoo say Ms. Miyoung had rejected him, Taemin had decided to arrange something for his heartbroken friend in his own way. Normally, Yeonhoo might have been at least a little tempted.

But right now...

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

As if telling him to get a grip, his phone started vibrating again.

Incoming Call

Kwon Mieon

Slide to answer

Yeonhoo stared at the three syllables of Kwon’s name and let out a deep sigh.

Kwon, who wouldn’t stop contacting him. Himself, who couldn’t even bring himself to block the guy properly.

He was wondering what the hell either of them was doing when—

“Whoa—sorry!”

A sudden surge of people shoved Lee Soyul straight into Yeonhoo’s arms. Startled, she tried to move away, but with people packed all around them, it wasn’t easy.

“You okay?”

In the end, Yeonhoo had no choice but to put an arm around her shoulders. He jerked his chin toward the distance.

“This isn’t working. We’re right by the walkway, so people keep coming through—let’s just go over to Taemin’s table...”

“Huh? You want to leave and go somewhere else?”

The music was so loud that Soyul misunderstood him.

“Where do you want to go?”

“No, I didn’t say leave. There are just too many people here...!”

“What? I can’t hear you!”

Frowning slightly at the pounding music, she leaned in close to catch his voice.

That was when the phone in his pocket started going insane again.

Incoming Call

myYoung♥

Slide to answer

His head was spinning, the place was packed, and he couldn’t think straight.

Yeonhoo stared blankly at the screen, then raised his phone with the expression of a man who had finally made up his mind.

Fine. I’ll block him. I’m ending this now.

He steeled himself and went looking for the block option.

Then his finger froze.

...Fuck.

Until now, he’d only been reading everything through message previews.

But this time, not only had he accidentally opened the chat, he’d even touched the keyboard.

He hurried to block Kwon, but—

❮myYoung❤⠇

You read it.

lol

Kwon was faster.

It felt as though all the blood in Yeonhoo’s body drained away at once.

❮myYoung❤⠇

I tried to hold back.

Not anymore.

He had no idea exactly what Kwon meant, but the words still made his heart drop.

Yeonhoo was staring dumbly at the screen when a tug on his shirt snapped him back to reality.

“You said we were leaving! Why are you just standing there on your phone?!”

Apparently, Soyul wasn’t pleased that even in the middle of this chaos, Yeonhoo had left her standing beside him while he stared at his phone.

“It’s just—hold on a second...”

Then, all at once, he felt the attention around them swing toward a single point.

Did something happen?

Without thinking, Yeonhoo followed everyone else’s gaze.

And froze where he stood.

Everyone was looking toward the entrance, where someone had just walked into the club.

A huge frame paired with a surprisingly small face. Pale gray hair with a faint blue cast fell across his forehead, but his sharply defined features stood out even more.

The moment Yeonhoo saw that face, he stopped dead as though he’d seen a ghost.

“What...”

He could barely get the word out.

And not because the man was ridiculously handsome.

How the hell is he here...?

Why was Kwon Mieon here?

Sure, this place was famous, but of all times, why did Kwon have to show up now?

Is this really a coincidence?

As Yeonhoo stared blankly, questioning it, he suddenly remembered how Kwon had shown up the last time he was hanging out with Kim Seongjae and Park Taekyun too.

No way...

Yeonhoo immediately opened StarGram.

And a moment later, he knew exactly how Kwon had found him.

<img alt="like.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302049596/epub/images/Images/like.png"/>89 <img alt="chat.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302049596/epub/images/Images/chat.png"/>3 <img alt="share.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302049596/epub/images/Images/share.png"/>

tm.vibe_939 🔥🔥🔥

@RIZE_clubar @sh.parkxxxx @do__y_un.zip @momo01019 @kyul_9____ @yuuullvely_63 @vivijunely @r_zizizizi_z

#bar #ootd #daily #selfie #fyp #like #follow #party

And among the people who had liked the post—

Liked by rnjsaldjs47 and others.

“Fuck.”

It was Kwon Mieon.

Kwon must’ve gone through my following list and seen it!

Taemin had posted the tagged photo forty minutes ago.

Kwon had obviously seen it and come straight here.

Yeonhoo had to get out.

Facing Kwon right now went well beyond awkward. He was so uncomfortable with him now that he didn’t even want to see him again.

But Kwon’s by the entrance. How am I supposed to get out...?

At that exact moment, Kwon—who had been looking around with a slight frown—met Yeonhoo’s eyes head-on.

“......”

His restless gaze stopped.

For a long moment, he stared silently into Yeonhoo’s eyes.

Then his gaze slid downward.

From Yeonhoo’s head to his feet.

Then slowly back up again.

Finally, it moved to Lee Soyul, who was pressed tightly against Yeonhoo’s side.

“......”

Kwon’s head, which had been held perfectly straight, tipped slightly to one side.

He stared in silence at the places where their bodies were touching.

Then he raised his phone, gave it a casual little wave, and brought it to his ear.

There was something strangely magnetic about him, something that kept pulling people’s eyes back his way. Even the simple motion of lifting a phone drew every wandering gaze around him.

Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

Yeonhoo’s phone vibrated again.

He sucked in a breath.

The music was still blaring. A hi-hat scraped endlessly at his ears, an electric guitar whining like it was being strangled....

Incoming Call

Kwon Mieon

Slide to answer

There was nowhere left to retreat.

In the end, Yeonhoo had no choice but to answer.

—......

Even after the call connected, Kwon said nothing.

All Yeonhoo could hear through the speaker was the same deafening music around them, confirming that they were in the same room.

Then the song changed and the noise briefly died down.

As if he’d been waiting for exactly that moment, Kwon gave a short, humorless laugh.

—Looks like you’re having fun.

The question that followed was cold enough that Yeonhoo could no longer bring himself to meet Kwon’s eyes. He lowered his head.

—Why haven’t you answered me all this time?

Sure, Yeonhoo had mistaken Miu for Ms. Miyoung and acted... kind of weird.

But if anyone had the right to be upset here, it was him.

I’m scared out of my fucking mind.

Why was his heart pounding like he’d committed some terrible crime?

“Just...”

Yeonhoo tried to force his hammering heart back down as his eyes darted around.

He was trying to act calm, but his face had gone slightly pale, and his mouth was so dry that he had to swallow.

“I just came out with some friends.... What are you doing here?”

—I’m looking for something.

“I’m looking for something.”

The same voice overlapped the one in his ear.

Yeonhoo wasn’t stupid enough to miss what that meant.

A pair of combat boots entered his lowered field of vision.

“How long are you planning to keep pretending you don’t know?”

The call ended.

But the low voice was still coming from directly above his bowed head, and Yeonhoo couldn’t make himself look up.

He kept staring at the floor.

Then his hand was pulled.

Kwon threaded their fingers together like a snake winding itself between them. Their knuckles pressed together around the quiet warmth of his skin.

Yeonhoo flinched when Kwon’s fingers slowly brushed over his °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° palm.

Finally, reluctantly, he raised his face.

Their eyes met at once.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“What are you...”

“Why are you pretending you don’t know me, Yeonhoo?”

His eyes curved into fine crescents, but the long line of his mouth bent into a sharp, almost vicious smile.

He was clearly smiling, yet naked irritation bristled beneath the expression, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.

“I’m the Miyoung you were looking for, sweetheart.”

Yeonhoo had not expected him to say it like that.

The line came out as though Kwon had been waiting for this exact moment, and whatever composure Yeonhoo had left shattered instantly.

“I-I...”

He stood there stiff as a board, unable to come up with any answer.

“Uh, wow, um... who are you?”

Lee Soyul, who had been watching all of this from beside them, tilted her head and finally addressed Kwon.

Only then did he look at her.

“You weren’t home, and you didn’t answer me once. I thought maybe something had happened to you.”

But the glance lasted only a moment.

His eyes dropped to where Soyul’s arm was still pressed against Yeonhoo’s.

Then he gave another short laugh.

“Guess you’ve been too busy having fun at someone else’s place. Right?”

Kwon placed unmistakable emphasis on someone else’s.

Then he reached out, seized Yeonhoo’s arm completely, spun around, and started forcing his way through the crowd.

“Excuse me!!!”

Soyul, who had been staring after them in disbelief, finally shouted.

It did no good.

With his sheer size, Kwon cut through the crowd without slowing. A few people bumped hard into him and scowled—only to see the murderous look on his face and quietly lower their eyes.

“Kwon Mieon! Wait, let go of me...!”

Meanwhile, Yeonhoo was dangling from Kwon’s left side like a keychain.

He twisted and pulled with everything he had, trying to wrench his trapped arm free.

Is this guy an athlete or something? Why the hell is he so strong?!

Kwon held Yeonhoo in an iron grip.

Then, after a moment, he stopped and looked to his side.

Yeonhoo was a complete mess.

Apparently he really had put his entire body into trying to escape during those few seconds, because his hair was disheveled, his face was flushed red, and he was breathing hard with fury.

“If you seduce me that thoroughly and then try running away again...”

Kwon only smiled, wrapping the threat in playful words.

“Sweetheart.”

Shut the fuck up.