To Byul (Omegaverse)-Chapter 87: You can just wait in my room though

Hae-won glanced at Yun-tae and Chin-hwa from the door and then went back to the dining table where Woo-bin, Si-woo, and Deok-ryu were still seated.

"They look like they'll be having their conversation for a while." He said. "So, what do you think? Does he know about Kang-woo's secret or not?"

"I don't know." Deok-ryu answered. "He's acting like he's completely fine, and I can't find a hint. What did he do after waking up?"

"He hugged me." Hae-won answered. "That was all he did. It looked like he missed me and just wanted to sink into my embrace. He looked like he was going through a lot, so it made my heart ache for a moment." He pressed his hand on his chest. "I think he's got on his mind."

"So, we have no idea what's going through my baby's mind," Woo-bin said. "And from the looks of things, he's not going to talk about it either."

"I always thought that once Hwa got an idea of why Kang-woo left, he'd come straight to us to confirm the rest of his speculation." Si-woo said. "But he's not doing that at all."

"And that's why neither of us can keep up with his thoughts." Deok-ryu said, dragging his face in exhaustion. "Okay, to get to the bottom of this, let's call him."

"Call Hwa?" Hae-won asked in surprise but Deok-ryu shook his head and said,

"No, Kang-woo. We'll ask him about it."

As soon as he said that, they saw Chin-hwa and Yun-tae walk hand in hand coming in from the backyard.

They were smiling as they had their fun conversation. But Chin-hwa noticed that they were all gathered and asked,

"What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing major," Si-woo said standing from her seat. "So, what are you two up to? You look like you have plans."

"Yeah, we want to head out to the park but we can't do that while we're filthy," Chin-hwa answered, breaking contact with Yun-tae. "So, I'm going to take my bath."

"Oh, that sounds like a fun plan. I wanna come." Deok-ryu said but Chin-hwa pouted.

"And what would you be doing there with us? Just let us have our fun alone, Hyung." Chin-hwa said, causing Deok-ryu to whimper in sadness.

He expected that but the rejection just felt so cold.

"I'll wait here, Hwa." Yun-tae said, "I'll take my bath after you."

"You can just wait in my room though." Chin-hwa said but Yun-tae frantically shook his head.

"N-no, that would be uncalled for. I'll wait here."

"Doing what? Just go use the guest bathroom instead of waiting around doing nothing. If you wait till I'm done before you go get your bath, you'll just be wasting time." Chin-hwa pointed out which got Yun-tae embarrassed. Why didn't he think of that?

Well, maybe it was because he had a few questions he wanted to ask his family while he was away.

He darted his eyes away for a moment and then smiled nervously at Chin-hwa.

"Good idea. I'll... Use the guest bathroom."

Chin-hwa smiled back and made his way upstairs, trusting his siblings to show Yun-tae the way.

Yun-tae sighed in relief and turned to find Chin-hwa's family staring at him in surprise. He got a bit uncomfortable, wondering if he had been a little rude earlier but then Si-woo said,

"You know, you're one lucky guy." She said. "It looks like our little Hwa favors you a lot."

"Yeah, and to think he doesn't treasure that favor. I'm so jealous." Deok-ryu commented, but Chin-hwa was a tad bit confused.

"You might not understand," Woo-bin added, "But my baby has a few 'strict' rules that we all follow."

"Strict rules?" Yun-tae asked and they nodded.

"And one of them is... Do not enter my room while I am in the bathroom. Not for any reason whatsoever, unless I called for you." Woo-bin stated and flushed, holding his cheeks as he said softly, "Isn't my baby all grown up now? He knows how to make such cute rules."

"And... Do you follow those rules?" Yun-tae asked. He had no idea what the other rules were but hearing the first, he had a feeling the rest were not too far off.

"Of course we do." Deok-ryu answered right away. "We don't want to get our little Hwa upset, you know."

"And I'm very disappointed that he's never called for anyone since he made that rule." Woo-bin added. "I'm jealous of my Yeobo in that regard."

As soon as he said that, Yun-tae's eyes went to Hae-won who was casually sipping a glass of water.

"He doesn't have to follow the rules and my baby still doesn't get mad."

"What would you expect from me?" Hae-won asked. "I'm his mother and though I spoil him a lot, there should be certain things I don't have to listen to." He said with a sophisticated air around him.

He was definitely the boss of the house and Yun-tae's eyes glowed in awe. That is, until Si-woo said,

"Give it a rest, Mom. We all know you follow the rules just as much as we do, but only break them when you feel it's absolutely necessary." She explained and Hae-won cleared his throat.

"As I said, what would you expect from me? I'm his mother."

"That's not answering the question,"

Yun-tae ended up laughing. He laughed and they turned to him. The atmosphere was so lively.

"That aside, Yun-tae," Deok-ryu called. "How has Hwa been throughout the week? How was his mood?"

"Um," Yun-tae thought back. His mood was normal, except for the times when Kang-woo came around.

Oh, and he probably shouldn't spill the fact that he got himself a boyfriend and it was someone other than Kang-woo.

At this rate, there was nothing he could report.

"His mood has been... Normal." Yun-tae answered. "We went to classes as usual but..." He shook his head. "Aside from the fact that his expressions always twist and turn when Kang-woo is around, he's been fine."

Yeah, since they were aware that Chin-hwa and Kang-woo were at odds, this much was fine.

"His expressions still twist and turn when Kang-woo is around him?" Deok-ryu asked and Yun-tae nodded. "Anything else? Does he try to avoid eye contact or something?"

"He always tries to avoid eye contact." Yun-tae answered plainly. "In fact," he slowly lowered his head. "The way he acts when Kang-woo is near makes us think he hates him,"

"Nah, that's not possible. Hwa would never hate Kang-woo." Deok-ryu said, earning a smack on the shoulder from Hae-won. "Ouch, momma! I'm hurt."

"Don't make assumptions about Hwa's feelings." Hae-won said, patting the same shoulder he had smacked.

"I know it's not possible," Yun-tae suddenly said, with a soft tone, causing them to wonder what his reasons were. "Even if I didn't hear it from you, I'd know. From a glance, it looks like Chin-hwa is trying to avoid Kang-woo and that he makes him uncomfortable, but if you look closely, you'd catch his gaze always roaming around, looking for Kang-woo and there's this light in his eyes..." Yun-tae's heart throbbed. Why was he just noticing this? "... That light sparkles when he stares at Kang-woo and it shines even more when he sees his smile. He..." He cleaned his eye. "Definitely likes Kang-woo."

They went silent and watched Yun-tae cleaning his eyes. He had tears in them as he thought deeply about what the surface did not display.

"Are you okay?" Hae-won asked him and he nodded, forcing out a smile.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just got emotional for a moment there." He said, trying to laugh it off. "Knowing that Chin-hwa actually loves Kang-woo and doesn't hate him despite the resentment he tries to exhibit, makes me happy." He said and sniffed. "I didn't like that their friendship was in shambles and that they were both hurting. I didn't like it and wished they would mend things, but I never expected they were actually..."

"Yun-tae," Si-woo called softly and kindly.

Yun-tae just needed a minute. Just one minute to collect his thoughts and clear his head.

"I..." He got up from the chair while hiding his face. "I'll go take my bath now. So, would you kindly show me where the guest room is? Please?"

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Hae-won nodded and stood up.

"I'll take you." He said.

And just as they were about to leave for the guest room, someone rang the doorbell.

"I'll... Get it." Woo-bin said and headed for the door.

Yun-tae knew whoever it was, it was not his business, but Hae-won had paused to see who it was, so he paused as well.

When Woo-bin opened the door, Kang-woo walked in and said,

"Good afternoon, Samchon, is Chin-hwa awake yet?" He asked and Yun-tae gritted his teeth.

It was Kang-woo, here to find Chin-hwa as usual. But it hurt his heart and he didn't want to stand there for much longer.

So, he pinched the hem of Hae-won's shirt and asked,

"Can we get going?" He pursed his lips. "Please."

Hae-won was a bit confused but... He sensed something was off. Not just with the way he cried but how he was now trying to avoid Kang-woo.

"Alright, dear. This way."

(Note: Samchon means uncle, relative. While Ahjussi is someone like an uncle but not related.

Yeobo means sweetheart or honey. Something along those lines, same with Aein which Baek-Hyun calls Hae-won.)