* * *
The night at Sagye Beach was deep and silent.
Countless stars were embedded densely in the sky, like diamonds scattered on black velvet, and the moon, peeking out from behind the clouds, cast a faint path over the dark sea.
Only the whoosh, whoosh of the waves regularly crashing and breaking into white foam filled the stillness.
It was a space where no other sound could be heard, existing only with the sounds of nature.
Dojin and Yoonwoo walked side-by-side along the beach without a word.
The sea wind was still cold, but Yoonwoo no longer seemed to feel the chill.
A certain sense of liberation and freshness emanated from his otherwise expressionless profile.
Dojin stole glances at Yoonwoo’s profile walking next to him.
His expression seemed more relaxed than when they were walking in the forest, but an unseen, heavy burden still seemed to weigh down his shoulders.
The deep grooves of sorrow and distrust.
A small comfort from a single day wouldn’t be nearly enough.
How could he break down that hard wall, even a little?
He felt that Yoonwoo needed a place to lean on and feel comfortable.
It was then that Dojin remembered his own long-held secret place and healing method.
He stopped walking and faced the sea.
Yoonwoo stopped beside him.
“…The night sea here is really nice, isn’t it? No people, and quiet.”
Dojin stared silently at the night sea, then turned toward Yoonwoo and spoke, looking a little bashful.
“The night sea when no one else is around is, how should I put it… a great friend to confide in. It listens to everything—my stories, my complaints, even my curses—and keeps my secrets. All my frustrations, my anger, my sadness.”
He pointed his hand toward the dark, vast ocean.
“When you just shout here, the sound of the waves seems to swallow everything up, and I feel a little relieved. The next day, the sea is crashing the waves just the same, as if nothing ever happened. Maybe that’s why, to me, this place is like a secret counseling room.”
He added with an awkward laugh.
“A bit childish, right? But thanks to coming here to shout and cry whenever things got tough, I’m now able to forget all the hard times and live on.”
Yoonwoo silently looked back and forth between Dojin and the sea.
What would change by shouting?
Skepticism stirred deep inside him.
But there was no coercion or lecturing in Dojin’s words.
He was merely sharing his own method cautiously.
Yoonwoo felt the sincerity of his heart, trying to comfort him even by revealing his own story.
As if sensing Yoonwoo’s thoughts, Dojin turned back toward the sea.
Then, he cupped his hands around his mouth, took a deep breath, and shouted with all his might, breaking the night silence.
His voice was filled with sincere worry and encouragement for Yoonwoo.
“I wish Mr. Yoonwoo would stop hurting now!! May the waves wash away everything that causes Mr. Yoonwoo pain!!”
His shout cut through the night air, traveled far, and then dissolved into the whoosh of the waves.
Startled by his loud cry, Yoonwoo stared at him.
Dojin caught his breath and turned to look back at Yoonwoo.
His face was slightly flushed, perhaps out of embarrassment, but his eyes were playful yet warm.
“Now, it’s your turn, Mr. Yoonwoo!”
He gently nudged Yoonwoo’s back.
“There’s really no one here. You can say anything, absolutely anything. I’ll go stand way over there and plug my ears. This is entirely your time alone, so if you have anything you want to say, anything you want to clear out, just shout it all out. I truly won’t listen, I promise!”
He stressed the promise, then turned and ran a considerable distance away, crouched down, and tightly covered his ears with both hands.
It was his sincere effort to give Yoonwoo complete freedom.
Yoonwoo stared blankly at Dojin’s back, hunched over and covering his ears.
Then, once more, he looked at the dark, deep night sea.
The waves endlessly crashing and breaking.
Could that black water really swallow all the feelings knotted up inside him?
Although his mind was still full of hesitation and distrust, he felt a small wellspring of courage rising, inspired by Dojin’s sincere action of shouting first and stepping aside for him.
The emotions he had suppressed for months—no, for the past eight years—were bubbling up like hot lava, ready to burst forth from within. He had nothing to lose.
Perhaps, just perhaps, he might feel a little relieved.
He slowly turned to face the sea.
The strong night wind brushed against his face.
He took a huge breath.
At first, only a small whimper, caught in his throat, emerged.
But he did not give up.
Taking another deep breath, and yet another, he finally began to pour out the emotions buried deep in his chest, like a scream.
“…Cha Joowon… you son of a bitch!!”
Anger, sadness, injustice, betrayal, and even self-loathing erupted, all mixed together.
His voice cracked and ripped as it echoed toward the night sea.
“How… how much I loved you!! Eight years! It was eight years, you betrayer! How could you do this to me! How… how could you just abandon me overnight!!”
Tears streamed down his cheeks without cease.
“Because of your precious Alpha instinct! Because of those damn pheromones! Our eight years became trash! Do you know that?! I devoted all my time, my heart, my entire life to you! Is this all I get in return?! You selfish bastard! You cowardly prick! You threw my eight years into the trash can!!”
He shouted until his voice was hoarse. His chest felt like it would explode.
“Yes! I’m a Beta! So what! Was it because I’m a Beta that you went to that Omega? Was I inadequate? No! You’re the trash! Your love was only worth that much! I was the fool for loving a guy like you! You’re the idiot who abandoned love for that petty instinct!”
He screamed, swinging his fist in the air, full of rage.
“I don’t need a guy like you anymore! I can live well without you! No, I’ll live even better! I can be happy without the likes of you! Just watch, you bastard! You watch closely how the man you abandoned lives!”
Dojin involuntarily flinched at Yoonwoo’s faint screams from behind him, which seemed to be a mix of pain, anger, and sorrow.
Just by hearing that heart-wrenching voice, he knew how deep Yoonwoo’s wound was.
And the name he heard in between the cries, ‘Cha Joowon.’
The CEO of CS Design, a famous dominant Alpha in the industry.
And… Yoonwoo’s ex-lover.
So that was the man.
The one who had broken Yoonwoo like this.
Instantly, a vein stood out on Dojin’s jaw, and his fists clenched white.
The truth was… he wanted to run back right now, ask what was wrong, and hold the crying Yoonwoo in his arms to comfort him.
But he kept his promise.
He gripped his hands over his ears even tighter so that Yoonwoo could feel safe enough to pour everything out.
He didn’t turn around.
He just closed his eyes and desperately hoped that Yoonwoo would be able to vent all his emotions in this moment, lightening his heart even a little.
At the same time, the anger toward Cha Joowon, who had done this to Yoonwoo, boiled inside him.
With his final scream, all strength drained from Yoonwoo’s body.
He gasped for breath and collapsed onto the sand.
Hot tears still streamed endlessly down his eyes, but strangely, a faint smile played on his lips. He was crying, but he was also smiling.
“Hahahaha….”
He felt unburdened.
It felt like a heavy, hard stone that had been pressing down on his chest for too long had finally shattered, clearing the way.
Of course, this didn’t make all his wounds disappear, but at least tonight, he had definitely overcome and broken one of the emotional knots that had been binding him.
After catching his breath for a long time, Yoonwoo slowly stood up and looked toward Dojin.
He was still sitting with his back turned, his ears covered.
That consistent consideration touched his heart once more.
Wiping his wet eyes with the back of his hand, Yoonwoo staggered over and gently touched the back of Dojin’s shoulder, which was still tightly covering his ears.
“…Mr. Dojin.”
Feeling the touch on his back, Dojin lowered his hands from his ears and slowly turned around.
Yoonwoo’s damp eyes, the faint smile visible through his tears, and his expression, which seemed much lighter than before.
All of it struck a painful chord in Dojin’s heart.
Suppressing the overwhelming emotion, he faced Yoonwoo and smiled brightly.
Yoonwoo spoke to him, his voice filled with sincerity.
“Thank you… truly… thank you so much for today.”
The hint of tears still lingered in his voice, but it held a calmness and a genuine gratitude that hadn’t been there before.
The night sea, which had swallowed his tears, continued to crash its waves quietly, embracing the two of them.
* * *
