To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 103: Hold on, I’ll ask my mother

"That aside, remember when you said you’ve only ever lied to me once?" As soon as he said that, Kang-woo’s heart skipped a beat in fear.

Oh no, why was he bringing this up now? Was he that curious?

"Can you tell me what it was?"

Kang-woo went silent. His heart was throbbing. That question... He didn’t know how to answer.

"I..." Chin-hwa spoke up, slightly pulling down his beanie in shyness. "...have no idea what that lie could be since you’ve always been so genuine but... I’m curious. For you to pie and admit that it was a lie... I just wonder what it could be."

Kang-woo’s heart tightened and his throat hitched.

"Chin-hwa," Kang-woo called out to him, "The lie I told, it’s a lie I’m still telling till now." He pursed his lips and looked Chin-hwa in the eye. "And I..." His eyes trembled. "I’m scared to tell the truth."

Chin-hwa’s eyes widened, seeing that sudden vulnerability in Kang-woo’s eyes. He was scared, genuinely. Just... What was this lie?

"I’m scared and worried," he looked away, tearing his gaze from Chin-hwa. "Because it’s a lie that’s been helping me a lot till now, I’m scared that if I tell you the truth, I’ll lose... Everything."

This got Chin-hwa even more confused. What could it be? What could it be? He got even more curious but then his phone rang.

Kang-woo covered his face, hiding his expression and Chin-hwa took his phone out of his pocket. It was Yun-tae.

"Hey, Yun." He answered.

Though it was a bit loud with all the cheering, he was able to hear his words well.

"Oh, hi, Hwa. Um, I hope I’m not interrupting anything," he said, and Chin-hwa glanced at Kang-woo.

"Well, not really. We’re watching the dolphins right now."

"Oh wow, it’s late. They must be sparkly," his eyes sparkled in excitement and Chin-hwa nodded.

"Yeah, they are. I’ll tell Kang-woo to take a short video for you to see."

"Thanks a lot." Yun-tae said and then gulped. "Anyway, I called to ask if you, by chance, know any of your family members who ordered the same comfy bed covers and Plushies and sent them to me."

Chin-hwa was caught by surprise. Someone did that? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Well, he couldn’t think of anyone but maybe his mother would know.

"Hold on, I’ll ask my mother. He’s right here." He said and then stood up. Though they sat next to each other, there was still a little space between them. "Um, excuse me, Mommy," he called, and they turned to him. "Did you order sheets and plushies for Yun-tae?"

Hae-won, for a moment, looked like he had no clue about it but then he remembered something and nodded.

"Ah, yes. Tell him it was from me." He said. "He was so comfortable sleeping on your bed so I decided to get him similar things."

Though Hae-won said that, Chin-hwa could tell it wasn’t sent by him. But since that was what he wanted Yun-tae to believe, he told Yun-tae that.

"It was my mother," he answered the phone. "And you don’t need to worry about repaying. As long as you’re able to sleep comfortably and be great at your studies, he’d be glad to do more."

"Oh, but isn’t this too much?" Yun-tae asked, looking a bit uncomfortable. "First, it was the outfit, and now this?"

"Oh, don’t sweat it. My mother likes you a lot and this is his way of showing it. Just take it as it is, Yun-tae. If you consider paying him back, it’ll only make him feel like you’re being a stranger."

"Oh," Yun-tae exclaimed. That wouldn’t be nice. He wanted them to get comfortable with him.

Hae-won took the phone from Chin-hwa and answered,

"Yun-tae," he called and Yun-tae got at attention as if he were in front of a military commander when he was simply on the phone.

"Yes, Hwa’s mom?"

"I’ll just think of you as one of my sons," he said and Yun-tae’s eyes glimmered. "So, as a mother, don’t you think it’s normal to get her son presents?"

Yun-tae was silent. He didn’t think he would say that. It touched his heart a lot.

"So, what do you say when you receive a gift from your mom?"

"Thank you," Yun-tae said, his eyes suddenly tearing up. "Thank you for thinking of me. I... I’ll hang up now. Thank you." He cut the call as tears rolled down his eyes.

He trembled slightly as he cried. He never... Had a mother who looked out for him so this felt extremely nice.

"Are you okay?" His roommate asked but he raised his head and laughed.

"Don’t worry, these are tears of joy." He said, "I’m just so happy."

"Then, these things...?"

"Oh, they were sent to me." Yun-tae said. "By someone who thinks of me as a son."

Chin-hwa took his phone back from his mother. He had already told Kang-woo to video the dolphin show but at the same time, he listened in on their conversation.

Maybe his mother overdid it? No, it was okay. He wished Yun-tae would feel the warmth his family had to share. Really, there was just so much to go around why not add one more to the picture?

"So, mommy," he said, "Who really sent the covers?"

Hae-won looked at his son and then sighed. As sharp as ever, was he? He took after Woo-bin in this aspect.

"Well, the sender asked me for a favor." He said. "He doesn’t want Yun-tae to know who he is yet."

"Hm," Chin-hwa gave it a thought. Since it was no one from their family, and it was definitely not Kang-woo since he wasn’t there at that time, then it had to be someone else who was at the house during the time of that discussion. "Is it Myung-woo?"

"Tsk, you’re too sharp I can’t even keep a secret anymore." Hae-won said and laughed, patting his head.

"That’s odd." Chin-hwa said. "I didn’t know Myung-woo was acquainted with Yun-tae. Or is it a one-sided thing?"

"Well, it is one-sided." Hae-won answered. "Apparently, that childhood dream boy Myung-woo used to talk about with Si-Si and Ryu-Ryu was actually Yun-tae." He said and Chin-hwa’s eyes widened.

"What?!"