TAF Ch 20

Just as Yeonwoo was about to sit on the bed, he got up and grabbed his phone. The caller was Sanggyun.

“Hello, hyung.”

—Did you two fight?

As expected, the call was about Chahyun. Yeonwoo brushed back his hair and answered calmly,

“Things aren’t good.”

—Why? Because of what happened last time…?

“Is that why you called? Did Chahyun tell you to?”

Sanggyun was Yeonwoo’s acquaintance, but he was primarily Chahyun’s person, so naturally, Yeonwoo wasn’t pleased about the call.

—Yeah. He called saying you’re sick and asked me to give you a checkup. A virtual consultation.

“…Hyung, you do that too?”

—Would I? I called because I was worried after he made such a fuss.

“You’re having a hard time too, hyung.”

—So, what are your symptoms? He said you were sick?

“I’m fine now. It was nothing.”

—I heard you were vomiting, hyperventilating, and even having seizures. Poor blood circulation too.

“He told you all that already?”

—Yeah. Just listening to him, it sounds like a panic attack… I can prescribe medication for the physical symptoms, but you need to see a psychiatrist for the psychological ones.

A psychiatrist. He really might develop a mental illness thanks to Chahyun.

“It’s fine. Consider it a checkup done. You always indulge Chahyun too much, hyung, even when it comes to his personal affairs.”

Yeonwoo muttered accusingly.

—Hey, I can’t. You know what Chahyun’s like.

“Just tell him you gave me a checkup.”

—You think he’d believe that? He’ll throw a fit later and say he won’t donate to the hospital anymore.

Sanggyun shuddered as if the mere thought was annoying.

“He can’t even differentiate between personal and professional matters to that extent?”

—He’s the Heesung heir, you know that better than anyone.

That was true. Hong Yeonwoo himself had witnessed Chahyun’s inability to separate personal and professional matters more than anyone.

—So, what are you going to do? You won’t make up?

“If it were something we could just make up over, we would have already.”

—You’re really breaking up for good?

“So I should keep seeing him? I may be broke, but I’m not so pathetic that I’d live with someone who’s already in a relationship.”

Yes, it wasn’t something he, who had benefited so much from Chahyun, should be saying, but he still wasn’t so trashy that he would leech off a soon-to-be married man. He still had that much sense left.

—…I understand. It’s not my place to interfere with your relationship. But do come by the hospital sometime. Chahyun is really worried. He seemed genuinely out of his mind.

“Okay. If I have time.”

—Don’t answer so half-heartedly. I really thought he was a lunatic when he called me.

“Hyung, he is a lunatic.”

—Sigh.

After ending the call, Yeonwoo planned to lie down for a bit longer. Now that he’d confirmed he wasn’t pregnant, he needed to relax.

He’d rest today and if he felt better, he’d go back to work at NeoBell tomorrow. He couldn’t keep skipping work just because things had gone south with Chahyun.

Recalling Chahyun’s last words outside the door, he didn’t think Chahyun would try to forcibly confine him again. It would be nice if they could talk things out and resolve things peacefully…

✧✧✧

“Boss! Hello!”

Yeonwoo arrived at NeoBell a little earlier than opening time the next morning. He was taking care of some chores alone when his part-time worker, who was usually in charge of opening, arrived.

“Oh, Moonki, you’re here.”

“I heard you might not be able to come in for a few weeks. You’re here early.”

“There was a personal matter, but it was resolved quickly. Minhyuk closed up yesterday, right?”

“Yes. We’ve had a lot of orders this week, I think people are coming from other companies for meetings.”

“Must have been tough. Thanks for your hard work.”

Their small talk was interrupted by the arrival of customers. Even though it was only 7:30 AM, there were quite a few office workers coming in. With tired faces, they stood before the cash register, ordering americanos one after another.

Thanks to the cafe’s reputation for good coffee, not only the employees of the Heesung building but also those from neighboring buildings came to NeoBell.

Customers who visited after seeing the cafe on Instagram usually came after 10:00 AM, so there were two rushes in the morning: the commute rush and the post-10:00 AM rush.

After the first morning rush subsided and things calmed down a bit, Yeonwoo’s gaze kept drifting towards the building entrance.

Wasn’t Chahyun coming to work today?

Whenever he checked his phone during his short breaks, there would always be a message from Chahyun, but there hadn’t been any, not even yesterday.

Quietly breaking up with Chahyun like this wasn’t bad, but…

‘Chahyun is really worried. He seemed genuinely out of his mind.’

‘Don’t answer so half-heartedly. I really thought he was a lunatic when he called me.’

Sanggyun’s words kept bothering him.

If Chahyun contacted him first, Yeonwoo was willing to try and have a calm conversation to properly end things.

It wouldn’t be bad for Chahyun to learn something from this breakup. He was someone who had been sick as a child, the youngest son of a wealthy family, used to getting his way. Perhaps that was why he couldn’t accept a breakup he didn’t want.

‘And don’t worry about the sleeping pills. I was only dizzy at first, I felt fine soon after.’

Besides, Yeonwoo wasn’t entirely blameless. He had drugged his boyfriend.

Was he really alright…? He’d have to ask him again when he had the chance.

He also needed to discuss what to do with NeoBell and the apartment.

While NeoBell was Chahyun’s gift, Yeonwoo had put in the work, from the interior design to menu development and marketing. If possible, he wanted to continue running the business, even if it meant paying proper rent, but he didn’t know if Chahyun would allow it after their breakup.

Both the cafe and the apartment were places where Yeonwoo was unilaterally indebted to Chahyun, so it was only right to leave their disposal up to him.

✧✧✧

“Seriously, boss. I guess everyone forgets what they said once they start working. This guy ordered a hot coffee and then insisted he’d ordered an iced one.”

The part-timer, who had just dealt with a harsh complaint, vented to Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo, who had been there, knew the customer had made the mistake.

“Yeah. There’s always one of those. Just remake it for them without arguing.”

“But it’s so frustrating! Why are they so confident when they’re the ones who are wrong?”

“What can you do? They don’t remember, so just let it go. You can’t fight with every customer.”

Yeonwoo preferred to quietly make a new coffee rather than argue about who was right. Especially during rushes or when there were customers taking photos, it wouldn’t look good for the owner to be arguing with a customer.

“Come to think of it, that scary guy hasn’t been around lately.”

“Scary…? Oh.”

Yeonwoo flinched as he chatted with the part-timer after lunch.

He was right. Since checking out of the hotel the day before yesterday and returning to the cafe, he hadn’t heard from Chahyun.

Chahyun hadn’t come looking for him even while he was away, so it was natural for the part-timer to find it strange.

There was no news from Chahyun today either. He hadn’t seen him come to work, and Chahyun hadn’t visited the cafe, so he hadn’t been seen at all for two days.

Before, he used to show up uninvited even when told not to.

Was he really just going to end things like this? What about his belongings at the apartment and the NeoBell issue…?

Yeonwoo habitually checked his phone. He widened his eyes, seeing a missed call notification.

He assumed it would be Chahyun, but it was his mother.

The swelling and then deflation of hope made Yeonwoo realize how ambivalent he was. If he was this eager, he could have contacted Chahyun first, but he didn’t want to.

“Minhyuk, I’ll be back after a quick call.”

“Okay.”

After checking that there were no customers, Yeonwoo headed towards the emergency stairs to call his mother.

They didn’t usually keep in touch this often, but recently, the calls had become frequent. He hadn’t answered, but his father had also called a few days ago. It made him uneasy. He worried something had happened.

And these ominous premonitions had never been wrong.