* * *
For several days after receiving Seoyeon’s proposal, Yoonwoo was deep in thought.
The desire to return to Seoul and work as a designer again clashed violently with the fear of being hurt once more.
More than anything, the fact that he had to leave Jeju, where he had just begun to feel comfortable, held him back.
The peace here was so sweet, and the sense of stability he found was what he had longed for for a very long time.
But he couldn’t hide on this island forever.
Just as Seoyeon said, Yoonwoo didn’t want to let his talent go to waste.
After tossing and turning and agonizing over it for several nights and days, he finally made a difficult decision. He decided to return to Seoul.
To face the world again.
He was afraid, but he resolved not to run away anymore.
He turned on his phone and booked a flight.
Time passed, and it was the last night before leaving Jeju.
Yoonwoo was scheduled to board the flight to Gimpo tomorrow afternoon.
He expressed his gratitude to Dojin and his father and shared the news that he was returning to Seoul to start anew.
The two, unable to hide their surprise and regret, sincerely blessed his future.
And Yoonwoo, for the first time, made a suggestion to Dojin.
“Dojin. If you happen to be free tonight… could you come with me somewhere?”
“Yes? Yes! Of course!”
Dojin looked a little surprised by the sudden proposal but immediately answered with a smile.
“Where do you want to go?”
“…Sagye Beach.”
At the name, the smile on Dojin’s face faded slightly.
He quietly nodded with a somewhat somber expression, as if he vaguely guessed what Yoonwoo was trying to say.
The two spread out an old mat that Dojin had brought and sat side-by-side on the deserted Sagye Beach at night.
Countless nameless stars were tightly embedded in the sky, looking ready to pour down, and the black sea was casting a faint path under the moonlight.
The sound of the waves crashing filled the comfortable silence between them.
They were sitting close enough for their shoulders to brush, but the proximity was no longer awkward.
“…You’re leaving tomorrow, for Seoul.”
Dojin, who had been staring at the night sea for a long time, broke the silence first.
His voice was a little lower than usual, laced with the disappointment and sadness he was trying to suppress.
“Yes.”
Yoonwoo replied briefly.
“…I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad….”
Dojin forced a bright smile as he spoke. His smile looked precarious.
“But you have to go. This place is too small for you, Mr. Yoonwoo.”
He turned to Yoonwoo and continued with sincere eyes.
“Someone like you can’t stay on this small island forever…. You should show your design again… on a much bigger stage. I… sincerely root for you. I know you’ll succeed when you go.”
His words, genuinely cheering for his future, made Yoonwoo’s heart ache.
He was grateful for that pure, warm belief.
“But… I’m still so sad.”
Dojin’s voice finally trembled slightly.
He turned his gaze back to the sea, then, as if making up his mind, he looked directly at Yoonwoo.
He fully turned his body towards Yoonwoo, meeting his eyes head-on.
Dojin’s eyes were tinged red under the moonlight.
His voice was shaking, and the tips of his large hands resting on the mat were visibly trembling faintly.
Yoonwoo clearly sensed how much courage he was summoning.
“So… there’s something I really need to tell you.”
“……”
Yoonwoo watched his trembling and quietly waited for his next words.
His own heart was tense.
“I… I like you a lot, Mr. Yoonwoo.”
He spoke his true feelings earnestly, a little clumsily, as if reciting a prepared line.
His large, clear eyes sparkled with undeniable emotion directed at Yoonwoo.
“Since the first time I saw you at the airport… no, even before that, I was a fan after seeing your design, but meeting you in person and spending time with you… I just came to like everything about you! That smile you show sometimes—really, only sometimes—your gentle way of cautiously taking care of Gaeul, the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about design… even your precarious appearance when you try to hide your pain… just the person Seo Yoonwoo, all of you, I like.”
He gasped for air.
His voice was slightly choked as if emotions were overwhelming him.
Yoonwoo silently gazed at his trembling hand and sincere eyes.
His feelings, his honesty, were painfully clear.
Yoonwoo knew very well how much comfort and healing he had received thanks to Dojin over the past few months.
His consistent consideration and positive energy had gradually thawed Yoonwoo’s frozen time.
Yoonwoo would have collapsed without Dojin.
There was no doubt that he was a genuinely good person and that his feelings were sincere.
His gratitude was immense.
He was incredibly thankful that there was someone who showed such a pure and deep heart to a person like him.
But… despite everything, he still lacked confidence in dating a person with a designation.
The burn he had received was deeper than he thought, and his distrust of Alphas hadn’t easily faded.
Therefore, he couldn’t accept Dojin’s romantic feelings.
He wasn’t ready to fully accept anyone’s heart yet. Especially an Alpha’s.
“I accept your feelings with gratitude, Dojin. I know they are sincere.”
Yoonwoo spoke as gently as possible, his voice steady. His tone was tinged with regret.
“But, I’m sorry. I’m not ready… to meet anyone romantically yet. I know better than anyone that you’re a good person, but meeting a designated person again, especially an Alpha… it’s still too difficult and scary for me.”
He drew a line with a gentle but firm voice.
“The person I dated before was an Alpha, and I was dumped because I was non-designated. He went to an Omega, someone who could feel his pheromones. So, I don’t plan on dating a designated person. I trust you, Dojin, but I can’t trust the designation.”
He calmly shared his painful past.
He felt that to reject Dojin’s sincerity, he had to show his own truth.
His calm but firm rejection.
Those words pierced Dojin’s heart coldly.
The color seemed to drain from his face, and his shoulders sagged listlessly.
A flood of words rose to his throat.
He wanted to speak.
He wanted to beg him not to go, to stay by his side, to tell him that he was different from the Alpha who hurt him, and to please trust him.
He wanted to shout that not all Alphas were like that, that the bastard who abandoned him was the one who was evil, and that Yoonwoo did nothing wrong.
But he swallowed all those words, along with the tears that threatened to burst forth.
He knew that pouring out his desperate feelings at this moment would only burden and scare the injured Yoonwoo even more.
He didn’t want to make things harder for Yoonwoo.
Simply respecting his decision and waiting for him.
That was the best consideration Dojin could offer now, his clumsy yet sincere way of loving.
His lips quivered as he struggled to suppress his true feelings and force a smile.
Tears instantly welled up in his eyes, but he deliberately raised his trembling mouth into a smile.
“…Haha, I knew it would be like this.”
His voice was wet, but strangely cheerful.
“It’s okay! Actually… I pretty much knew you’d refuse. Still, I really wanted to tell you how I feel before you left, so I wouldn’t regret it later.”
He quickly wiped his eyes with a trembling hand.
“So don’t feel too burdened! I’m truly okay!”
He paused for a moment and then looked at Yoonwoo’s eyes again.
“Instead… I genuinely respect you and think of you as my mentor. That feeling won’t change. So… if I work hard and build up my skills… would it be okay… if I came to Seoul, to be near you… to learn, someday?”
He asked with an earnest look.
Although he was trying to smile brightly, the tips of his fingers on the mat were still trembling.
Yoonwoo quietly looked at Dojin.
Would giving him a possibility be too cruel to a person who had just confessed his feelings?
If he accepted his offer to stay by his side after refusing a romantic relationship, wouldn’t it be false hope for him?
But his eyes held a pure respect and an ardent desire to learn as a designer, distinct from romantic feelings.
And Yoonwoo didn’t want to ignore that feeling either.
Perhaps this was the only answer he could give him.
A small smile appeared on Yoonwoo’s lips too.
“…Yes. If you follow, I’d be grateful. I think of you as a good student too, Dojin.”
At that answer, Dojin’s face lit up radiantly again.
It was the overwhelming joy of confirming the possibility of a future connection, even amidst the sadness of rejection.
The two exchanged smiles filled with complex emotions under the night sky.
It was Jeju’s last night—painful yet warm, sad yet holding the premonition of a new beginning.
* * *
