Harmonious Love

A Perfect Lie (5)

“So you’ve never liked women in your entire life, and it has to be men? Is it just about having a dick down there?”

“What… Do you think I’m obsessed with that? I’m not usually interested in other people. Originally.”

Tae Young-won stared at Mo Yeon with deep, pensive eyes. He tapped his cheek with his fingertips while resting his chin on his hand, thinking quietly.

“Originally?”

He was still very uncomfortable, but Mo Yeon’s previous words had a pleasant meaning for him.

“You seemed very interested in me, excessively so.”

“…”

“Strange.”

After saying that, his narrowed eyes stared at Mo Yeon. The fingers that had been fiddling with the glass stopped moving, and his body visibly stiffened.

His lost gaze wandered over the table before fixing on the glass. He picked up the juice, now empty except for melting ice, and slightly parted his lips to suck on the straw. His lips had turned even redder from the cold.

Come to think of it, when had he finished the juice? Watching Mo Yeon’s inability to hide his embarrassment, Tae Young-won’s lips curved smoothly.

“Ah…”

“…”

“So Mo Yeon likes me that much, excessively so.”

As expected, when no more juice came out from the empty glass, Mo Yeon’s eyes blinked rapidly.

His already reddened lips were pressed against his white teeth. Mo Yeon looked as if he was afraid of revealing something he had been desperately trying to hide.

From the beginning, Tae Young-won had never felt morally conflicted, and he was genuinely enjoying this relationship.

It would be fair to say that this was the first time in Tae Young-won’s life that he had experienced so many emotions in such a short period because of one person. No, thinking about it, it was definitely the first time.

“Should I buy you another one?”

“…”

When asked in a gentle voice, Mo Yeon licked his lips as if disappointed, then nodded obediently. Somehow, two glasses of fruit juice had become the standard every time they drank.

“Not eating proper meals but loving sweet things…”

He stood up and playfully ruffled Mo Yeon’s hair.

Indeed, this kid has a talent for driving people crazy.

Of course, he kept that thought to himself as he walked away. Before his hand left, the earlobe he brushed was even redder than the lips. It kept flashing before his eyes.

“…”

At times like this, he would become confused about things he had never doubted before. It was a thought he had been having frequently lately.

Whether Mo Yeon really had no feelings for him at all.

Even if there was nothing at first, could it have changed by now, given that you like men?

***

‘What looks so unpleasant?’

‘I don’t know about other things, but your eyes look unpleasant. The color is dull too.’

Saying such unfitting things with a face that looked like it was about to cry.

‘I’m just saying.’

Despite adding this gruffly, Mo Yeon looking up at him was exactly like that.

A wounded cat.

At first, he thought they wouldn’t get along at all. Given that the two of them had only clashed terribly before, a relationship started in a fit of anger might not even last a week, and even if it unexpectedly lasted longer, there was a clear end that he had set. It was supposed to be a relationship that would last at most one semester.

As they spent time together, they were getting along surprisingly well, which was unexpected. However, this was just an unexpected situation and had nothing to do with whether Tae Young-won was gay or not.

Tae Young-won had never spent most of his time so closely with someone before. Yet now he was closer to Mo Yeon than anyone else, despite their initially unpleasant first impression. But even here, he had vague reasons he could predict himself.

He guessed it was probably because he didn’t have to wear the mask that he habitually wore, even when he tried not to, in front of Mo Yeon.

Although he was currently dating a man, this wasn’t a genuine relationship, was it? Moreover, while he felt much more favorably towards Mo Yeon than before, it was merely a human fondness.

It felt like meeting a junior he wanted to dote on. A junior he wanted to continue getting along with, if possible. Although it started as a bad relationship, he wanted it to remain a good, long-lasting connection.

At some point, Mo Yeon’s attitude had changed very subtly, as Tae Young-won perceived it. It seemed to have started after Mo Yeon received glasses as a gift and showed genuine happiness.

Besides that, the way Mo Yeon would comfortably press close when they slept together, or how he now somewhat naturally accepted kindness that he had flatly refused at first, made it seem like Mo Yeon had opened his heart more to Tae Young-won than before. However, the extent of this change was still unknown.

It became increasingly difficult to understand what was going on in Mo Yeon’s mind. He thought he only needed to know the reason why Mo Yeon had approached him, but now many more things were confusing.

“Mo Yeon.”

“Yes?”

In the midst of this, there was something that had been bothering him since their last conversation.

“Have you ever thought about what might happen if we break up someday?”

“…”

For a very brief moment, Mo Yeon’s eyes showed great agitation. Although his expressions didn’t change much usually, his large eyes sometimes failed to hide his emotions. Tae Young-won didn’t take his eyes off Mo Yeon’s.

“Like what kind of…”

“Like whether we might meet someone else, not each other.”

Someday, this fake dating game would have to end, and most likely, it would be at the end of the semester, which wasn’t far off now.

If they were to end the relationship and go back to how they were before, Mo Yeon would probably leave to find another man. Just thinking about it made Tae Young-won very uncomfortable and quite irritated.

The fact that Mo Yeon didn’t immediately answer and the silence stretched on was already making Tae Young-won quite displeased. After a while, Mo Yeon replied in a sullen voice.

“…I haven’t thought about that. Well, I’m sure you’ll date well like before, sunbae.”

“Hmm.”

Mo Yeon’s answer was very disappointing. It’s not that he had a specific answer he wanted to hear. An answer like ‘If I break up with you, sunbae, I won’t date anyone else and plan to remain celibate for life’ would be too good to be true, something that would only happen in his dreams.

Above all, what Tae Young-won had asked wasn’t about himself.

The more he got to know Mo Yeon, the more he realized he wasn’t a difficult person, just someone who put up defenses. Moreover, he was quite cute the more you looked at him.

So no matter who Mo Yeon might date, regardless of what kind of person they might be, Tae Young-won felt he wouldn’t like them very much.

If they were inferior to him, that would be annoying in its own way, and if they were better than him, that was unacceptable. If Mo Yeon met some guy from who knows where, he felt he couldn’t just stand by and watch. Maybe if it were a woman, that might be okay…

“If I were to introduce you to a woman later, would you be willing to meet her then?”

Mo Yeon looked at Tae Young-won with surprised eyes at this rather abrupt question.

It was a question that stemmed from the simple thought that he wouldn’t want to see Mo Yeon with another man. And Tae Young-won felt uncomfortable with his own question. No, on second thought, it probably wouldn’t be okay even if it were a woman.

“What? That’s a bit…”

“Ah, nevermind. I won’t introduce anyone, so don’t even dream about it. Am I crazy?”

Before Mo Yeon could properly answer, Tae Young-won spoke hastily.

“I absolutely won’t introduce anyone, so keep that in mind. People should have a conscience, Mo Yeon.”

“…”

Mo Yeon, who had been gaping in bewilderment, seemed to decide to just close his mouth.

Then he shook his head with cold eyes. His expression suggested it was too tiresome to even comment. He probably thought Tae Young-won was just spouting nonsense that came to mind.

And Tae Young-won couldn’t shake off the discomfort that had arisen from his earlier imagination.

Would there ever be a crazy person who introduces a woman to their ex? In a very short time, Tae Young-won had imagined a mature and assertive woman who would be perfect for Mo Yeon. Cutting off his flight of imagination made him feel incredibly refreshed.

Ah.

Tae Young-won had a strong feeling that he would keep wondering who Mo Yeon might date later. The fact that he had grown attached wasn’t particularly surprising. It’s natural for people to develop affection when they spend time closely together.

Even if you picked up and raised a stray cat, you’d grow attached to it.

‘It seems a shame to end things like this.’

There wasn’t much time left until the final exams. Tae Young-won’s eyebrows twitched as he checked the date on his phone.

So, he felt it would be quite regrettable to end things like this.

Because for the first time, he had found a junior he wanted to keep seeing and doting on. Although it wasn’t like him, it wasn’t an unacceptable feeling.

At least, not until Mo Yeon kissed him for the first time.