Harmonious Love

A Perfect Lie (8)

Unlike his usual expressionless face and sluggish walk, Mo Yeon now looked as if he was being chased by something.

Despite the considerable distance, it was noticeable. As a result, it took longer for him to get closer.

At first, Tae Young-won thought Mo Yeon might be rushing somewhere, but contrary to his occasional glances behind, there was nothing visible there. Tae Young-won’s brow furrowed slightly.

At some point, whenever he looked at Mo Yeon, it felt like watching a cat he couldn’t communicate with. Always wanting to understand, but never able to, and frustratingly unpredictable.

His head tilted, and his gaze sharpened. He had seen a similar scene once before, though not as urgent as this.

Back then, when he was quietly observing this newfound interest that Mo Yeon was unaware of, he felt a new kind of amusement watching this never-before-seen entity. Mo Yeon was simultaneously the image of what he never wanted to become and what he wanted to emulate.

He had never seen anyone in his life who roamed the school as freely as Mo Yeon, completely disregarding others’ opinions. Of course, he hadn’t expected him to roam in quite this manner…

The day he first heard Mo Yeon’s name from a classmate’s mouth, Mo Yeon was also being chased by something on the school grounds.

<…What’s that?>

Usually walking slowly like a turtle with his characteristically powerless gait, he suddenly started running as if some extremely urgent situation had arisen. Despite this, his facial expression was completely hidden behind those glasses.

After that, he could often observe Mo Yeon’s strange behavior while walking around the school. Each time, Tae Young-won would seriously examine him with a face that said, “How can such a thing exist?”

Even when he wasn’t particularly trying to look, it was similar whenever Mo Yeon caught his eye.

Mo Yeon would frequently startle, often suddenly start running, and often fall as a result. Sometimes, he even saw him rubbing his eyes inside his glasses two or three times while running. As if he was really being chased and shedding tears.

Really, how can such a thing exist?

From then until now, Tae Young-won had one consistent thought whenever he saw Mo Yeon.

That Mo Yeon was definitely living in his own world. And that he seemed to know that no one could understand him.

Of course, liking men and doing stalker-like things that others would find creepy were also quite difficult to understand, but that wasn’t all he felt.

His peculiar and strange appearance seemed to stem from this. From what he could tell, Mo Yeon was acutely aware that he was an outsider.

It felt like he was building an even stronger wall because of this. As if blocking everything before getting hurt. It was as if he was always buried in his own shadow.

Could he really understand that world?

As the running Mo Yeon got closer, his expression became clearer.

“…”

Whether their eyes met or not, Mo Yeon, who had been running in a slightly different direction, was now heading towards him. His usually expressionless face now looked terrified. Tae Young-won watched quietly and thought.

Yes, he probably wouldn’t be able to understand either.

“How can I understand that?”

The sight of him flailing and running alone on a peaceful street where not even an ant could be seen. What was the reason for running so desperately after coldly rejecting people for days?

“How the hell can I understand that…”

He muttered with deep, pensive eyes. He even shook his head. At this point, he decided to just think of it as having taken in a cat that absolutely couldn’t communicate.

If it was his first time seeing this, he might have tried to find a reason, but not now. There must be another reason of his own. Some reason that he could never understand from his perspective.

“Haa.”

He sighed deeply and stood up from the bench where he had been sitting.

His gaze was still fixed in the distance. He casually tossed the beer can into the trash can beside him.

He probably wouldn’t be able to understand either. And it would likely stay that way in the future.

Nevertheless, couldn’t he try to understand by standing just a step closer than others? If he did that, couldn’t he pull Mo Yeon a little bit into the sunlight if that’s what he wanted? Hadn’t that already happened a little during their relationship? He thought.

From his naturally confident perspective, somehow it felt like it could happen. Since Mo Yeon seemed to have changed a little already.

He had no intention of going into the same shadow, and it didn’t seem like he could either. Anyway, it felt like he could pull Mo Yeon a little towards where he was.

Of course, he couldn’t be certain about the source of this confidence or anything else.

“Sunbae…!”

Even now, Mo Yeon was running towards him. The sight of him running with all his might was desperate in a way, and that made him worry more.

Although he wasn’t sure what Mo Yeon wanted, or how deep and dark the shadow he was hiding was.

Thoughts about cats… what if I can’t understand?

“Shit.”

I want to be with him.

“Sunbae-!”

When he’s running like that, what am I supposed to do?

Tae Young-won quietly opened his arms.

Mo Yeon, who had been running as if he was about to burst into tears, threw himself into Tae Young-won’s embrace. Tae Young-won stretched out his arms to catch and hold him.

Legs wrapped around his waist, and Mo Yeon’s hands cupped Tae Young-won’s cheeks. Both his cold, pale hands and his light-colored eyes were trembling.

“…I’m sorry. Sunbae, I’m sorry.”

Mo Yeon, who had been whispering frantically, lowered his head.

“Just once…”

And he pressed his lips firmly.

Perhaps because he had been running all this time, Mo Yeon couldn’t control his heavy breathing.

Because of this, his lips parted, unable to hold out for long to breathe. Tae Young-won didn’t miss this opportunity. He ran his tongue along the soft inner membrane of the parted lips, pushing it deeper. Hot breaths and saliva intertwined.

The heavy breathing had been obstructed from the start, making it impossible to breathe properly. However, even while gasping desperately, Mo Yeon continued to tightly hug the back of Tae Young-won’s head.

The kiss didn’t last long. It was because Mo Yeon suddenly turned his head away. At the same time, the body that had been clinging to Tae Young-won also came down from his embrace.

As if coming to his senses belatedly, Mo Yeon’s wide-open eyes wandered here and there, unable to look directly at Tae Young-won. Pressing the back of his hand against his moist lips, Mo Yeon stepped backward.

“What are you going to do now?”

“…”

“What should I do now, Mo Yeon?”

Tae Young-won’s voice was calmer than usual. After waiting for a response once, he asked again in a low voice.

“I could pretend not to notice when you subtly grope and touch me every time we meet, but this is a bit harder to ignore, you know?”

“When did I ever do that?”

“As always, you’re quick with the retorts.”

As expected, when hit right on the mark, the response was immediate.

“You say ‘just move,’ but you’re actually groping my body, aren’t you? Were you really born to drive people crazy?”

“That’s not true.”

“Why do you put your hand inside my clothes while pushing me? Was pushing over the clothes too boring?”

“…”

Seeming to feel a bit stung, the eyes that had been avoiding contact finally looked at him cautiously. His eyes still seemed moist, as if he had been crying. The tip of his nose was also redder than usual.

However, there seemed to be no time to think about such emotions now. He appeared to be too flustered, only thinking about how to escape this situation.

After contemplating for a while, opening and closing his mouth several times, Mo Yeon quietly spoke.

“…I’m sorry.”

This was probably the most unwelcome thing to hear in this situation. Tae Young-won’s lips curved up crookedly. Mo Yeon, who had frozen like ice for a moment, spoke again in a shrinking voice.

“It was a mistake just now. Please pretend it didn’t happen.”

“…”

“You know. Me being attracted to men, I thought you were someone else for a moment…”

Tae Young-won said nothing. His expression was surprisingly calm.

“Sometimes I do this without realizing. I don’t think I told you before. When I get crazy about men, I become like this. If you become gay too, sunbae, you should be careful not to follow men around in the future…”

Mo Yeon stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. He looked like he was searching for a slightly less pathetic excuse.

“Following men around?”

Tae Young-won asked back in a strange voice, as if he had received some inspiration. Mo Yeon’s face instantly turned pale.

After all, Tae Young-won’s recent behavior was quite similar to that of a crazy gay man following other men around.