ACTSV chapter 188

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Jingyeom followed Soohyuk around like a puppy, insisting he hadn’t meant it like that.

“I never said we should date! I was just saying, if you want to, this is how it should be. That’s all! This doesn’t count!” he shouted.

He tried everything he could to undo the situation.

Even during dinner, while eating dessert, and during short breaks, Jingyeom didn’t stop complaining about how this wasn’t how dating should work.

You’d think Soohyuk might give in and say he understood, but he didn’t.

‘He’s adorable.’

Even though Jingyeom was short, he kept standing on his tiptoes to meet Soohyuk’s gaze.

It was adorable.

And despite Soohyuk purposely wandering all around the living room, Jingyeom relentlessly followed him, constantly talking.

That, too, was adorable.

Of course, the words coming out of Jingyeom’s mouth weren’t cute at all.

But it didn’t matter.

Jingyeom was cute, and that was enough.

When Jingyeom finally collapsed onto the sofa in exhaustion, his shoulders slumping, even Madam Jeong couldn’t stay silent.

“At this rate, Jingyeom is going to pass out.”

“He’s just so cute.”

Madam Jeong’s eyes widened in momentary surprise before returning to normal.

She had noticed Soohyuk’s fondness for Jingyeom before, but hearing him openly admit it was quite remarkable.

‘He must really like him.’

Even though she’d worked with Soohyuk for a long time, this side of him was entirely new.

When he’d suddenly called her back to Korea for an emergency, she thought he must have caused some sort of trouble again.

‘Turns out he’s just busy wooing a kid.’

Not to mention, seeing Soohyuk squirm because he hadn’t fully won Jingyeom over yet made her feel like coming back wasn’t so bad after all.

“This impatience isn’t like you,” Madam Jeong teased.

Soohyuk’s gaze darkened as he stared at Jingyeom’s feet peeking out from the sofa.

“I just want to date him—whatever it takes. I need to make it clear that he’s mine so no one else gets any ideas. There are already too many pests buzzing around him…”

Of course, he was including Jinwoo and Wonbeom in that category.

The confidence and composure he’d once had when those two didn’t matter to him had long since disappeared.

Especially after what had happened today, he felt the desperate need to tether Jingyeom to his side.

Madam Jeong was surprised again.

She had known that meeting Jingyeom had changed Soohyuk, but she hadn’t expected him to say something so vulnerable.

Her gaze softened slightly as she looked at Jingyeom.

‘I wonder if this change will lead to something good or bad.’

Even if it didn’t end well, Soohyuk seemed happy for now.

That was enough.

But to help ensure a better outcome, she offered a small piece of advice.

“Don’t just say it; show it with your actions. It’s a mark of maturity to give a little ground when he’s trying this hard.”

“Alright. I’ll give him a little.”

Soohyuk’s smile deepened. But then, remembering that tomorrow was Monday, his grin faded.

He didn’t mind going to work himself, but he was worried about Jingyeom’s part-time job.

Jingyeom had been so frazzled by everything today, and given that he’d been out and about, he was likely physically exhausted too.

‘If I push him any further, he might actually collapse.’

Not that he was going to take back his confession or anything, but he decided to ease up a bit, knowing how stressed Jingyeom must be.

As their conversation naturally came to a pause, Jingyeom, who had been eavesdropping from the sofa, shifted his eyes.

‘I can’t hear anything.’

He had been straining to catch their words, but the vast living room made it hard to hear properly.

After flailing around on the sofa for a while, Jingyeom sat up and turned to look at Soohyuk and Madam Jeong.

“I’m heading to my room now.”

Madam Jeong took the hint and quietly excused herself.

For a moment, Soohyuk and Jingyeom’s gazes locked.

Seeing Soohyuk standing there with his arms crossed and a confident smile made Jingyeom pout in frustration.

After a brief staredown, Jingyeom stomped over to Soohyuk, purposefully making a scene.

Standing in front of him, chin raised and eyes blazing, Jingyeom demanded, “Are you really going to give me this house?”

He tried to sound defiant, but his youthful voice betrayed him.

Still, he made an effort, even raising his eyebrows for emphasis.

Soohyuk only found it endearing.

He wanted to grab Jingyeom’s cheeks, smother him with kisses, and leave his mark all over him.

But knowing that would send Jingyeom storming off to his room, he clenched his arms tighter and said with a smile,

“If that’s what you want, I’ll change the title tomorrow. I’ll cover all the costs and take care of the paperwork. All you’ll have to do is sign.”

Jingyeom coughed awkwardly at Soohyuk’s unexpectedly thorough answer.

“…What if I go back to my old spending habits?”

Soohyuk chuckled.

“I’ll give you a card. I’ll make sure the notifications don’t bother you. You can start with the one I’m using.”

“Ugh! I’ll really rack up charges. Like, really rack them up!”

“Think that’s enough? Spend more. Spend as much as you want.”

Jingyeom sighed internally. He wanted to hear Soohyuk say something like, That’s a bit much.

But when it came to money, Soohyuk seemed intent on giving Jingyeom everything he could.

‘This isn’t working.’

Changing tactics, Jingyeom pinched his thigh to force tears into his eyes.

“Can’t we just go back to the moment we met in the study? Forget everything that happened after that. What do you say?”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“…Yes, it is! Absolutely!”

Jingyeom was about to deny it, but he quickly changed his response.

Seeing this, Soohyuk’s expression turned sour, his brows twitching before the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smirk.

“Our darling must be doing just fine, huh? Looks like you’ve completely forgotten what happened earlier today. Should I take us back to lunchtime instead of the study?”

“……”

“So, does that mean what happened earlier didn’t count?”

“…You’re awful, really!”

At Jingyeom’s outburst, the smile vanished from Soohyuk’s face. In a calm but firm voice, he replied,

“You’re saying this to me right now. Even though I’ve been hurting this whole time. Wasn’t the deal that if I met your conditions, we’d date? But now you’re telling me it was a slip of the tongue? How am I supposed to take that? Should I just assume you were toying with me, that I was nothing more than a fleeting plaything to you?”

Jingyeom’s face turned pale at those words.

His shoulders visibly sagged, and his defiant gaze softened into a round, uncertain expression.

The fists he had clenched in determination slowly unfurled as he clasped his hands together.

He had thought it would be better to be the bad guy, to hurt Soohyuk and call it off, but hearing those words left him deeply unsettled.

He couldn’t help but reconsider if it was right to leave Soohyuk wounded like this.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Jingyeom hesitantly opened his mouth.

“…I’m sorry. I was too selfish.”

“I’ll accept your apology. But I’m not accepting what you said. Say everything you did earlier again. This house? Take it. Spend all the money you want. You can laze around for the rest of your life if you like. Do whatever you want. Just don’t tell me to undo this. Breaking up after only a few hours of dating is too cruel for me to bear.”

Jingyeom’s lips pressed tightly together, his gaze dropping to the floor.

Everything Soohyuk said was true.

This situation was undeniably harsh on Soohyuk.

What Jingyeom had carelessly said, Soohyuk had taken seriously.

Jingyeom, finally acknowledging how selfish he had been, lifted his head again.

“…Alright.”

“Breaking up might be natural in relationships, but I have no intention of letting that happen, Jingyeom.”

“……”

“It’s so obvious what you’re thinking right now that I can’t even pretend not to notice.”

Soohyuk’s pointed remark made Jingyeom avert his gaze.

As Soohyuk had guessed, Jingyeom had been planning to step back for now and bring it up again later after some time had passed.

“…Tch.”

“Oh? Now you’re even clicking your tongue at me?”

“I know I’m awful, but don’t you think you’re just as bad? You were so angry earlier, and now…”

“And now what?”

Jingyeom couldn’t find the words to respond to Soohyuk’s dazzlingly wide grin.

No matter what he said, Soohyuk would counter it, steering things entirely his way.

Even though he felt he would end up being swayed by Soohyuk if he let things slide, he realized there was no way around it.

It seemed better to leave things as they were for now and revisit them later.

‘Are we really going to keep dating like this? Is this the right thing to do?’

If it had been anyone else, Jingyeom wouldn’t have agonized so much.

If it felt right, it was right; if not, it wasn’t.

But because it was Soohyuk, his mind kept hesitating.

Especially because of Jinwoo and Wonbeom.

Those two weighed on his mind, making him even more hesitant to go forward.

After a moment of deliberation, Jingyeom looked at Soohyuk with a determined expression and said,

“…Then let’s date in secret.”

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