A case of Transmigrating as a Sick Villain chapter 109

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Soohyuk parked his car in front of Jingyeom’s house, now a familiar location, and let out a series of sighs, expressing his disappointment.

“Do I really have to eat alone?”

Though it sounded like he was talking to himself, the words were loud enough to be heard.

Jingyeom felt uncomfortable but had already turned down his offer once, and with Jinwoo saying he’d arrive soon, Jingyeom couldn’t easily offer to eat together.

Soohyuk, aware of Jingyeom’s awkwardness, purposely spoke in a more dejected tone.

“I’ll just have instant noodles again. Nothing’s worse than eating alone…”

“Why would you eat instant noodles? You should eat real food.”

“When am I supposed to cook for myself? I came here today, didn’t I?”

Why did he keep trailing off like that?

Jingyeom glanced at him, and Soohyuk chuckled.

“Next time, eat with me, okay?”

“I will. But today, eat something other than instant noodles.”

“Promise.”

Soohyuk extended his pinky, still looking regretful, and Jingyeom smiled faintly before linking his pinky in response.

Only after they sealed it with a thumb stamp did Jingyeom finally get out of the car.

When Soohyuk followed him out of the car, he immediately spread his arms wide.

“Instead of just saying goodbye, give me a hug.”

“I’d rather not.”

Soohyuk stared at Jingyeom with a blank expression, clearly not expecting the rejection.

He furrowed his brows slightly, confused, and slowly lowered his arms.

The Jingyeom he knew would never turn him down at a moment like this.

Jingyeom had never rejected his attempts at affection before, so this situation was leaving Soohyuk completely bewildered.

Had he done something wrong?

Soohyuk replayed the events of the evening in his mind but couldn’t pinpoint any mistakes.

Jingyeom had refused his invitation for dinner, but aside from that, he’d slept in the car on the way home.

Soohyuk had only lightly teased him after a phone call with Jinwoo.

Was that it?

Soohyuk continued to look at him in silence, and Jingyeom, with his gaze lowered, finally spoke.

“That’s… it’s all in your head, isn’t it? I’m not going to accept you right away, so doing this isn’t good for either of us.”

Soohyuk let out a dry laugh.

It felt like he’d been hit over the head.

He thought Jingyeom had been asleep, but it seemed he’d been deep in thought the whole way back.

“Now you say that, and I feel a little hurt. You held my hand earlier without a problem.”

“That was then. I thought about it on the way back, and if I don’t show a clear stance, I’m just giving you false hope. That’s not good for either of us.”

“Wow… I didn’t realize our Jingyeom was so cold-hearted. Guess I didn’t know you as well as I thought.”

As Soohyuk smiled bitterly, Jingyeom felt like he’d become the bad guy.

He hadn’t intended to make Soohyuk feel this way, but he knew that if he kept acting ambiguously, they would both end up hurt.

It was a boundary he needed to maintain, not only with Soohyuk but also for someone else who wasn’t present: Wonbeom.

It didn’t mean he wanted to cut ties with Soohyuk, though.

He didn’t want that.

While it may seem selfish to both of them, Jingyeom was happy with their current relationship.

He didn’t want to give up this present happiness for a reckless risk.

However, what Jingyeom hadn’t considered was that Soohyuk was inherently persistent.

Standing in front of the gate, Soohyuk gently took hold of Jingyeom’s cheeks, making him look up at him.

Jingyeom, startled, blinked, his cheeks already turning red from the cold wind.

“Then, can I kiss your forehead instead of your cheek?”

“What?”

“Are you pretending not to understand, or do you really not know? Or… did you forget?”

Soohyuk playfully puckered his lips, making a soft kissing sound.

Though the sound quickly disappeared into the air, it was enough to make Jingyeom’s face turn even redder.

“I told you, I don’t do things I hate…!”

“If you don’t want me to, I won’t. If you push me away, I won’t do it. It’ll hurt my feelings a little, but I won’t misunderstand. Even if you let me, I won’t get the wrong idea. You’ll just stay still, and I’ll be the one moving.”

Jingyeom pressed his lips together tightly. If he didn’t show a clear response now, it would be rude to Soohyuk.

As he remained silent, deep in thought, Soohyuk licked his lips and muttered softly.

“…Now I’m really getting greedy.”

Finally snapping out of it, Jingyeom quickly pushed Soohyuk away as he tried to move closer.

Covering his nose and mouth with both hands, Jingyeom looked up at Soohyuk with wide eyes.

“This isn’t okay?”

Soohyuk, though disappointed, took a step back without protest.

Though he hadn’t done anything, Jingyeom’s face was already flushed bright red.

Not just his face—under the streetlight, all his visible skin had turned red, and Soohyuk noticed that Jingyeom’s heart rate, as shown on his watch, had climbed over 100.

Seeing this made Soohyuk’s smile grow deeper.

If there had been no reaction, it would’ve been one thing, but Jingyeom’s clear response gave him some confidence.

Jingyeom didn’t completely lack feelings for him.

Of course, it could have just been shock, but Jingyeom’s subtle decisiveness made Soohyuk think that if Jingyeom truly disliked him, he would have rejected him from the start.

At that moment, Soohyuk’s gaze shifted upward at the sound of footsteps on a metal staircase.

He made eye contact with Jinwoo, who was standing on the stairs, glaring at them.

Jinwoo had come out to meet Jingyeom, who hadn’t come inside yet.

Hearing the conversation below, he’d started to descend the stairs and spotted Soohyuk and Jingyeom together.

If he hadn’t overheard the conversation, it might have been fine.

But hearing every word had him clenching his jaw and gritting his teeth.

‘So, he finally confessed.’

Jinwoo had felt some relief, thinking Jingyeom had rejected Soohyuk.

But as Soohyuk moved closer to Jingyeom, Jinwoo’s body froze.

Unable to contain the rising emotions, he gripped the stair railing tightly, his fierce gaze filled with an almost tangible hatred for Soohyuk.

Even while sensing Jinwoo’s burning stare, Soohyuk calmly reached out and gently patted Jingyeom’s head, a satisfied smile on his face.

Jinwoo’s expression twisted in rage at the sight.

The two sets of eyes, entangled in the air, carried completely different meanings.

Jinwoo had a sudden urge to grab Soohyuk’s wrist, the one caressing Jingyeom’s head, and twist it.

He wanted to hold Jingyeom so tightly that he’d never leave his side again.

He wanted those soft, golden-brown eyes, like precious gold, to reflect only him.

He wanted to lock Jingyeom away where no one else could touch him.

‘You’re out of your mind.’

Jinwoo ground his teeth, disgusted by his own thoughts.

He knew, more than anyone, that he could never act that way toward Jingyeom.

The foolish thoughts quickly dissipated as he hurried down the stairs.

Just as Jinwoo reached them, Jingyeom took a step back, pulling away from Soohyuk’s hand.

Though his voice trembled, Jingyeom spoke firmly.

“It’s late. You must be tired, so you should go rest.”

Jingyeom didn’t dislike Soohyuk’s touch, but even that could give him false hope, so he couldn’t let it continue.

Soohyuk’s heart pounded as Jingyeom kept rejecting him.

Having never been turned down by anyone before, this situation felt completely foreign. Even if he had experienced rejection before, it would still hurt to be refused by someone he liked.

Soohyuk took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs.

His chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Jingyeom, who seemed intent on avoiding eye contact.

Slowly, he exhaled.

The cool autumn air helped clear his mind a little.

“Alright. I’ll go. No need to watch me go upstairs. You’ve got your dependable brother here.”

At that, Jingyeom turned to see Jinwoo descending the stairs.

Their eyes met, and Jinwoo waved.

Jingyeom smiled naturally in response, his eyes curving gently.

“I’m the one who’s late.”

“I was about to come find you. Thought you’d gotten lost.”

Though Jinwoo’s words were accompanied by a smile, his voice was tinged with irritation.

Jingyeom assumed it was because he’d arrived late, worrying Jinwoo.

He decided to send Soohyuk off before explaining the situation to Jinwoo.

“I’ll text you later. Is that okay?”

“Yes. Take care on your way home.”

With a forced smile directed at Jinwoo, Soohyuk got into the car and quickly drove out of the alley.

Jingyeom remained in place, watching the car disappear, until he turned around to face Jinwoo, who had quietly come up behind him.

It was still early evening, so many houses had their lights on, and the streetlamps were lit.

Yet, Jinwoo’s face, standing in front of the gate, was cast in shadows, making it impossible for Jingyeom to see what expression he was wearing.

He couldn’t figure out what kind of face Jinwoo was looking at him with.

Now that Soohyuk had left and the two of them were alone, the intense possessiveness that had clouded Jingyeom’s eyes softened in an instant.

As Jingyeom opened his mouth to speak, Jinwoo naturally wrapped his arm around Jingyeom’s shoulder.

“It’s cold. Let’s talk upstairs.”

But even after going upstairs and eating dinner, Jingyeom couldn’t find the right moment to speak. Jinwoo kept bringing up other topics.

Jingyeom tilted his head in confusion.

He had been sure that Jinwoo would have questioned him after seeing him with Soohyuk, but instead, Jinwoo awkwardly avoided the subject.

It was strange and unfamiliar to see him act as if he didn’t want to talk about it.

Since Jinwoo didn’t seem interested in hearing it, Jingyeom decided not to bring it up either.

“Jinwoo, I’ll shower first.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Jinwoo, who had been standing at the sink tidying up the dishes, heard the bathroom door close, he sank to the floor.

‘Sigh…’

During dinner, he couldn’t meet Jingyeom’s eyes.

He tried his best to dodge the conversation, terrified that the words he was dreading might come out of Jingyeom’s small mouth.

When he showed a clear unwillingness to hear it, Jingyeom had stopped trying to explain what had happened today.

“…I’m losing it.”

Jinwoo knew he couldn’t keep pretending not to know forever.

He felt like he had fallen into a trap of his own making.

After overhearing the conversation between Soohyuk and Jingyeom, Jinwoo had pieced together the situation, and the moment he understood the meaning behind it, he wanted to run down there and interrupt.

But he couldn’t. No matter how close they were, there were boundaries, even within family.

Every time Soohyuk or Wonbeom tried to pull something, Jinwoo had been the one to step in and block them.

That was always driven by his own selfishness, and Jingyeom had never seemed uncomfortable with it.

But lately, seeing how well Jingyeom was getting along with them, Jinwoo had begun to feel confused about how far he should involve himself.

Now, Jingyeom was even contacting and meeting them without his presence.

If he tried to interfere with everything like this, he feared that Jingyeom might start to get tired of him.

If this became the moment that pushed them apart again, like before…

Jinwoo let out a low sigh and buried his face in his hands. He was truly scared that such a day might come.

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