He had a cigarette in his mouth and was flicking his lighter on and off.
“I figured you’d come straight here.”
“……”
“You took a lot more detours than I expected.”
Yeonwoo’s initial shock faded, but hearing those cryptic words, he waved his hand in irritation.
“Get out. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation is over.”
“Not for me. Why are you trying to throw me out the second you see me?”
“This is my place. Get out.”
“Yeah. This is Hong Yeonwoo’s home.”
“And put that cigarette out.”
Yeonwoo stormed over and snatched the cigarette from between Chahyun’s lips.
“I didn’t even light it. You don’t like smoking indoors, so I’ve been holding back this whole time.”
“……”
“I did good, didn’t I? You should praise me.”
Chahyun grumbled, strangely petulant for the situation.
“Are you kidding me? What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“You don’t even compliment me anymore.”
“Leave. I’m not in the mood for word games.”
Looking closely, Yeonwoo realized that Chahyun was wearing the same clothes he’d had on when he got off work yesterday. Same long coat, same suit.
He thought maybe Chahyun had stopped by here before work—but had he not slept at all? How long had he been waiting?
As Yeonwoo got lost in thought, Chahyun’s low voice rang out calmly.
“You know… I thought there was nothing I didn’t know about Hong Yeonwoo. I used to be able to read everything just from your expression.”
Maybe the alcohol was finally hitting, or maybe it was just sleep deprivation—either way, Yeonwoo winced at the headache creeping in.
“So I figured you were just hurt because of the marriage thing. I was going to make it up to you. I thought, even if it took time, you’d understand if I soothed you properly.”
Wrong. This wasn’t about pride. It was about trust. About loyalty and basic respect.
Chahyun had betrayed all of that.
“But you just up and left our place. Like it was nothing.”
Click. Click. The lighter kept going.
“Didn’t even look back once.”
“What are you trying to say, exactly?”
“You know… even that, I tried to understand. Thought maybe you just lost your mind for a bit because you were so angry. But I still figured you’d come straight to the officetel.”
“……”
“But you were planning to sell this place altogether.”
Yeonwoo’s head snapped up. A chill crawled down his back.
“How did you…?”
Chahyun knew exactly what he’d said to the realtor just a few hours ago.
“I thought I had you figured out down to the last detail. But maybe I was wrong. Every move you make goes against what I expect.”
Still fiddling with the lighter, Chahyun tilted his head slightly. His words sounded more like talking to himself than a conversation.
“So what?”
Chahyun pulled out a fresh cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag so forceful his cheeks hollowed—then smiled.
“I’ll start over. I’ll figure out everything I don’t know yet.”
That smile—at a glance, it could’ve seemed warm, like nothing had happened.
“What kind of bullshit is that, Baek Chahyun. We’re not even dating anymore. I told you—we broke up. And how the hell did you know I called the realtor?”
As the smoke he exhaled reached Yeonwoo’s lungs, his patience snapped.
“Put that out! I told you not to smoke in here! Go home and smoke all you want there!”
Yeonwoo, furious, shouted and shoved him hard in the chest.
“We’re strangers now. So don’t ever come into my place again without my permission. Got it?”
Pushed to the door, the muscles in Chahyun’s jaw twitched.
After a long moment of silence, he finally opened his mouth, voice cold and composed.
“We haven’t broken up yet. I never gave permission for that. And.”
“What…”
“Don’t be the one to call me first, saying you miss me.”
The line was so absurdly out of place it made Yeonwoo boil.
He was about to tell him he’d never do anything so pathetic—and that he should get the fuck out—but just like that, Chahyun turned around and left the officetel.
“You lunatic. You fucking psycho. He’s lost his mind…”
It felt like the alcohol from earlier had burned off all at once.
Yeonwoo, shaking with disgust, immediately changed the door lock code and double-locked the latch, just in case he tried to come back.
He hadn’t slept at all the night before, and after screaming his head off all morning, his throat was raw. He gulped down some cold water, and the moment the tension eased, exhaustion swept in.
Dragging his heavy limbs, he took a quick shower and changed into fresh clothes. Thankfully, the officetel still had some of his old belongings, so it wasn’t hard to find what he needed.
Lying down in bed and closing his eyes, Yeonwoo ran through the mountain of things he had to worry about.
What to do with the café. When to go collect his things from the apartment. What to do if Chahyun showed up again like he did today…
There was too much to think about.
“Bastard…”
Surely he wouldn’t keep pulling this kind of shit forever… right?
Even half-asleep, what lingered in Yeonwoo’s mind was the eerily calm look and voice Chahyun had earlier.
***
The sound of his alarm woke Yeonwoo. It was 2 p.m. He’d only gotten about three hours of sleep since collapsing into bed that morning, so he was still groggy.
But he had to get up. He was scheduled to work at the café that afternoon.
He’d probably run into Chahyun again—but that didn’t mean he could skip work. At least he wasn’t on the morning shift.
Yeonwoo splashed cold water on his face and mentally listed what needed to be done at the café. A delivery of beans and disposable supplies was arriving today, so he had to sort those. Any expired ingredients would need to be tossed.
Once the urgent stuff was handled, he planned to contact the building manager. He was seriously considering shutting the place down.
He couldn’t close immediately, but he also couldn’t keep working in the same building as Baek Chahyun.
“…I have to start cleaning things up.”
Yeonwoo muttered to himself as he got dressed.
He finished preparing quickly and slipped on his shoes. With no car to drive, he figured he’d head down and catch a taxi.
He opened the front door.
“…Who are you?”
Two unfamiliar men stood directly outside.
They were broad-shouldered and had positioned themselves squarely in front of his officetel door with an air of unmistakable threat.
“You’re not allowed to leave.”
“…What?”
Yeonwoo blinked, confused, staring up at them.
“This is my place. Why can’t I leave? Is something happening outside?”
“The Executive Director has ordered a restriction on your movements for the time being.”
At the words “Executive Director,” Yeonwoo’s face twisted.
Baek Chahyun—this motherfucker really was insane.
Yeonwoo threw the door wide open and glared at them.
“So, I’m trying to leave my home, and you think you can stop me? Under what right?”
“We’re sorry. Please return inside.”
The men didn’t answer his question. Instead, they hoisted him off the ground and carried him back inside.
Yeonwoo kicked and flailed midair.
“Wh-What the hell are you doing?! Let go of me! Don’t touch me!”
No matter how much he struggled, it was useless. They didn’t even flinch.
“Put me down!”
Despite his flailing, they gently set him back down in his own foyer.
He tried several more times to get out—but it was clear he couldn’t handle this kind of muscle on his own. They were obviously professionals—some sort of private security.
Just like that, Yeonwoo became someone who couldn’t take a single step outside his own officetel.
“Fucking hell… what the fuck…”
He briefly considered sneaking out another way—but he was on the ninth floor. The only exit was the front door.
He called the police, but they just said people standing in a public hallway couldn’t be arrested.
He called Chahyun dozens of times.
Not once did he pick up.
“Am I… really trapped?”
Baek Chahyun. You fucking lunatic. What the hell is wrong with you?
Why are you doing this? I’m even stepping aside, letting you go live happily married with someone else. Isn’t that what you wanted?
The chaos of the morning was so surreal it shook the very foundation of Yeonwoo’s worldview.
After spending hours struggling, he finally remembered the café and called his part-timer.
—“Oh, boss! I heard you weren’t coming today. You’re not feeling well, right? Don’t worry and get some rest!”
That’s what he heard. He hadn’t even contacted them, and yet somehow everything at the café was going fine?
But hearing the cheerful voice say “just rest, we’ve got this,” he couldn’t bring himself to say: “I’m trapped, come get me.”
“Today’s the day the beans were coming in…”
—“Yep! We got them, checked the count, and organized everything.”
“……”
—“We also tossed out the expired refrigerated stuff and syrup.”
It was so absurd he was speechless. Yeonwoo hurried to end the call and collapsed onto the officetel sofa, holding his throbbing head.
Suddenly, he felt overwhelmingly pathetic. Would anyone even believe this if he told them?
And how was he supposed to fix something like this?
“Don’t be the one to call me first, saying you miss me.”
…Is that why Chahyun said that this morning?