To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 122: Love is cruel...

"How long have you known, Ahjussi?" Yun-tae asked, his heart thumping seriously.

Woo-bin glanced away and then back to him, smiling brightly.

"From the beginning," he answered and Yun-tae flinched, feeling even more uneasy. "And I also know Hwa helped you to get together with Kang-woo. I don’t know what he was trying to achieve but he did go far there. I honestly don’t know what my baby is thinking."

Yun-tae stayed silent, staring at Woo-bin whose eyes were once again peering into the binoculars at their targets.

Seriously, why was he so laxed about this?

Why was he okay with the fact that the triangle was all messed up? Chin-hwa and Kang-woo were in love with each other, but Chin-hwa pushed Kang-woo to Yun-tae, who was equally in love with Kang-woo because he could not take the hurt in his heart.

He probably wished he could get over his feelings and if he watched Kang-woo date someone else, it would make him feel better and make things easier for him, right?

But as it stood, it did not make things any easier.

And now, Yun-tae, who thought was deeply in love with Kang-woo at first sight, was now in love with Chin-hwa as well.

Maybe Woo-bin did not know that last fact yet but judging by how he knew all of that from the start, there was no telling when he would pick up on that hint.

And now, Woo-bin was trying to figure out his thought process.

"So, tell me," Woo-bin said, placing down the binoculars and interlocking his fingers on the table. "What are your feelings towards this matter? You can tell me anything, I won’t bite." He smiled. "I promise. I just want to understand things better to know which direction things will head in soon."

Yun-tae stared at him. That friendly look on his face, that warm atmosphere, and the sincerity in his tone.

He just wanted to know, huh? He was so relaxed and unconcerned talking to the Omega who was dating the guy that his son loved so much.

It was as if he had so much faith in Chin-hwa’s choices and even though he didn’t, he did not wish to interfere in his child’s business too much.

There would be no room for growth then. Pain brings growth and even if it pained him to let him let his son go through all that needless pain, this was one thing he would not compromise on.

So, the best he did was spy on him and if it looked like it was going too far, he would step in right away and stop it all.

"I think..." Yun-tae played with his fingers, "I shouldn’t have been involved to begin with." He said and pursed his lips. "If I had known something like this was going on, I wouldn’t have gotten in the way."

"But it’s not like you knew. Hwa likes to keep things to himself." Woo-bin said and Yun-tae nodded.

"And, and now that I know," he grabbed his own arm, squeezing tightly, trying to control himself. "... I don’t feel okay about this. I want to..." He lifted his head. "...make sure Chin-hwa is happy, with the guy he likes, even if it’s Kang-woo."

"Do you like Hwa so much that you would give up your own feelings for him to be happy?" Woo-bin asked him, his gaze fixed on every inch of Yun-tae’s face to catch every single reaction.

Yun-tae, whose head was raised but yes apart, nodded his head.

"I do." He answered. ’I like him a lot, just like I like Kang-woo but I don’t think there’s a place for me in-between them. I can only stay a few feet back and watch them smile in the little world they create for themselves. I want... Them to be happy, most especially Hwa. So, if I have to give it up, I will.’

At this moment, the words Si-woo said to Yun-tae began to make sense and his eyes became teary.

’Love is cruel, just as it is kind. So one has to be both cruel and kind to be able to handle the word called Love. It didn’t mean cruel and kind to others but...’ he began to understand why she had that expression on her face as well. ’...one has to be cruel to oneself when needed and kind when needed. It’s cruel that I have to be the one to give up when I can keep fighting like the rest of them but why fight? Why struggle when the result is very much set in stone?’

He cleaned his eyes but his tears wouldn’t stop flooding down. It was as if a piece of his heart had been torn to shreds.

He shouldn’t be doing something like this in front of Woo-bin but he couldn’t help it. How would he look up at him now and say he would throw his feelings away?

Would he believe him?

But he just couldn’t stop crying. His heart was...

"I’m sorry, I really am." Yun-tae said over the years, it refused to stop flowing. "I don’t want this but it just keeps..."

"It’s alright," Woo-bin said, his hand patting Yun-tae’s head, startling him. "You can cry all you want, it’s all part of life. With this, I can tell that you’ve already resolved your heart to helping Hwa and Kang-woo, but simply making a decision is not easy, right?"

Yun-tae nodded.

"It hurts when you tell yourself to let go but don’t worry, with time, you’ll feel better." He assured and took his hand off his head. "That aside, I’m not asking you to stop loving them either."

Yun-tae raised his head, his eyes still tearing up but with a confused expression this time.

"I don’t... Understand."

"Well, you don’t have to stop loving them just because you can’t be together with them, right? Love will open up your heart more so don’t give it up."

Yun-tae was a bit confused. Then, what was he asking him to do then?

To keep loving them would only be torturous for him, wouldn’t it? And yet... He looked at Woo-bin’s smiling face and wondered why he felt so assured all of a sudden.

"It’s not easy to give up on love but what you can do is give up on the idea of being in a lovey-dovey relationship with the other person. Resolve yourself to wanting to see them happy more than in your arms." Woo-bin said.

Yun-tae slowly bowed his head. His heart was suddenly filled with something besides the aching he was feeling a minute ago. It was relief, but there was something else he could not describe.

"Now that that’s settled, how do I deal with Hwa’s boyfriend as well?" Woo-bin asked and Yun-tae’s eyes widened.

"You know about that as well?"

"Kid, I know everything that’s going on cause I always keep my eyes out." Woo-bin said. "Nothing I want to know slips me by."

"Did you hire a detective or something?" Yun-tae asked and Woo-bin opened his mouth, surprised.

"Wow, how’d you know?"

Yun-tae slumped in his chair.

’He hired a detective to watch his kids? Just how much more protective can he be?’ Yun-tae thought and then sighed. ’At least he’s not dictating their lives.’

"Hwa might want to catch a few fish in the water before he settles down later, but why go for someone who majors in P.E.? I seriously can’t understand my kids sometimes." Woo-bin had suddenly become a worried father who was explaining his problems to the family therapist. "One moment, I understand what he’s up to, and the next, bam, he takes a turn that I can’t understand anymore," he rested his back on his chair, flung his arms around the chair top, and sighed. "They worry me a lot."

Yun-tae watched them and then suddenly chuckled.

Woo-bin watched him, wondering what he suddenly found funny when Yun-tae said,

"I’m sure it’ll be fine." He looked out the window. "Hwa must’ve used dating as an excuse to not look at Kang-woo, nothing more. He doesn’t have feelings for Ji-hoo, I’m sure of it."

"Oh, so his name is Ji-hoo." Woo-bin said in discovery, suddenly penning down the name in a small notebook he brought out of nowhere.

"Just where did that come from?" Yun-tae asked, surprised.

"Well, one can never be too prepared." Woo-bin said over a snicker and shut the notebook, putting it back in his inner pocket.

Yun-tae brushed his face, suddenly finding this entire situation quite funny. He laughed but only a little bit when he got a message from someone on his phone.

He took out his phone, but as soon as he saw who the message was from, his smile immediately fell, replaced by a heavy and suffocating feeling.

It was as if he couldn’t breathe for a moment and cold sweat broke out on his face.

"Hey, kid," Woo-bin called and he snapped out of it, raising his head to find Woo-bin worriedly staring at him. "Are you okay?"