This was strange, no matter how one looked at it.
“Please, have some.”
“Thank you.”
Even a cat could tell. These two men sitting across from each other, calmly drinking tea, were not the sort to be sharing tea together.
What kind of feeling would it be, to serve tea to the fiancé of the woman you loved?
And what kind of feeling would it be, to drink tea offered by the man who loved your own fiancée?
Hae-in could not guess either.
All she could think was that the reason Seo Tae-jun had come to the house was to hit Tae-il again. So she expressed her wariness with her whole body.
My master’s a bit lacking, so I’ll have to protect him myself. Sure, he did something worth getting hit for, but hitting him again is just wrong.
Thinking this somewhat irreverent thought, Hae-in crawled stubbornly up onto Tae-il’s lap. She had no idea that this lightened the heavy atmosphere in the most ridiculous way.
She did not know that her very presence was turning the mood into something strange.
“Uh… kitty?”
“Nya-nya!” (Just trust me, Master!)
Tae-il could not bring himself to push her away, only looking embarrassed.
She planted herself proudly in his lap as though it were her own territory, clearly with no intention of moving.
She even glared at Seo Tae-jun with blazing eyes, her tail swatting sharply against the sofa as though it might tear it apart.
That wasn’t all. At any moment, she looked ready to unsheathe her claws and leap at Seo Tae-jun like a wild animal.
“Does that thing bite, too?”
Seo Tae-jun asked casually as he set down his cup.
Hae-in realized instantly. In his eyes, she was nothing more than a kitten—clueless about the world and not knowing fear.
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
“…Ah, sometimes.”
“I see. I thought only dogs bit.”
“She can be aggressive with strangers. But it’ll be fine, as long as I hold her—”
“Crng, crng!” (What are you looking at, punk! Want me to scratch your face off?)
Seo Tae-jun, however, seemed unfazed by her bristling display. In fact, he looked oddly at ease, like someone who had come for a friendly visit.
Well, considering he had walked straight into enemy territory of his own accord, that said enough about his nature.
“I’ve never kept pets myself, but I’ve heard the saying: dogs see the one who feeds them as a god, but cats think they themselves are the god, and that people feed them because of it.”
“That’s… quite accurate.”
“So if I had to choose, I’d say I’m more like a dog. At least they recognize grace.”
Meanwhile, Tae-il had no such composure. The more casually Seo Tae-jun sipped his tea and spoke, the more tense he became.
“More importantly, how did you know where I live?”
“I had my secretary investigate.”
They had exchanged business cards, and Tae-il had used the address on it to find Seo Tae-jun’s office the day before.
But he had never expected him to show up at his house.
It was shocking enough that he had bothered to look into it.
“…You could have just asked me to meet outside.”
“And risk you refusing? Besides, I don’t have much time. Since you suddenly came to see me yesterday, I thought I’d return the favor. And I had no wish to talk in a crowded place.”
“…I have no answer to that.”
“Well, I didn’t come to fight, so relax.”
That was hardly a statement one could trust.
Hae-in narrowed her eyes at him with suspicion, and Seo Tae-jun thought, absurdly, that this cat really seemed to understand human speech.
Otherwise, how could her eyes and expression be so perfectly timed?
Does it have a person trapped inside or something…?
Of course, he brushed it off as nonsense and turned his gaze back to Tae-il.
And he saw what was impossible to miss: Tae-il’s swollen face, the bruises still vivid from yesterday’s beating. One eye half-shut, the corner of his mouth split.
“First of all, I apologize for yesterday. I lost my temper.”
After staring quietly for a while, Seo Tae-jun set down his cup and bowed his head lightly. It looked sincere, at least on the surface.
Whether that made him honest or just brazen-faced was unclear—probably the latter.
“But don’t you think you were too much as well? You suddenly show up and tell me you’ve been in love with Ha-eun all this time. How exactly was I supposed to take that?”
“That was… something I did on my own.”
“Oh?”
“Ha-eun doesn’t know anything. It was just me—unable to control my emotions.”
Visiting Seo Tae-jun like that was perhaps the most selfish act Tae-il had ever committed in his life. Maybe even the only one.
He knew it was wrong. But he could not bear to do nothing.
Too much had changed since discovering it was not a one-sided love.
All he feared was that Ha-eun would end up being blamed.
Of course, to Seo Tae-jun, this was infuriating.
“That’s exactly what I can’t stand. You and Ha-eun—both alike in that way.”
“….”
“It disgusts me.”
Seo Tae-jun was always expressionless. Every time they had met, his face was unreadable, rarely pleasant.
His gaze, too, was sharp, accustomed to staring others down.
That was why Tae-il had thought him so hard to deal with. Maybe it was also jealousy, buried deep down.
“You’re like a puppy. Too timid to be bold, too stubborn to let go once you’ve decided something. You try not to hurt anyone, so you end up being the one who suffers most.”
“….”
“But don’t you realize how painful it is for others to watch? You want to know why I was furious yesterday? Because I know Ha-eun isn’t happy right now. I know it very well.”
His voice was firm, more like steady anger than yelling.
“And when I found out you were the reason for that unhappiness—how could I tolerate it?”
Tae-il had once wondered how such a hard, fiery man could possibly love someone as easygoing as Ha-eun.
But now he understood. At least, he knew one thing for sure: Seo Tae-jun’s feelings were real.
“I’ve been rejected by Ha-eun three times, you know.”
“…I know.”
“And I chased her for over three years, even knowing she loved someone else. When we finally started dating, I spent two whole years on edge. And when she accepted my proposal, it didn’t feel like love—it felt like sheer luck.”
Tae-il recalled Ha-eun’s nervous, restless expression when she had accepted. At the time, he had thought it was simply the vague fear many women felt before marriage.
He had not comforted her properly, because deep down, it was jealousy—resentment that she was marrying another man.
Now, looking back, it was shameful. Pushing her away after their engagement had been part guilt, but also jealousy.
He realized that now.
“…No. I didn’t know.”
“Of course not.”
Seo Tae-jun smiled faintly, but it was bitter, self-mocking.
“Ah, come to think of it—it was before we started dating. I once asked Ha-eun if the man she liked was you. She had many men around her, but the only ones she seemed truly close to were you and Kim Gi-do.”
“We always… went around as three.”
“She denied it flat-out. Then I asked her about her type. She said she liked muscular men, athletic, talkative. Now that I think of it, that was the exact opposite of you.”
“…Surely not…”
But wasn’t it obvious?
To Hae-in, Ha-eun was never good at lying. Even she had noticed, and she wasn’t the most perceptive creature.
Though being a cat, she had an advantage when it came to sniffing out human hearts.
Hae-in wondered if Kim Gi-do had realized, too. He had been close to them both, after all.
“I thought it was odd, but you know what’s funny? I started exercising because of that. Boxing, specifically. Never thought I’d end up using it on you.”
“You must have really loved her, Senior.”
“…At first, it was just stubbornness. She kept rejecting me, and I didn’t want to lose.”
“I could tell.”
“Later, the small things she did started to feel… endearing.”
Seo Tae-jun looked into his empty cup, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, at the mention of boxing, Hae-in darted behind Tae-il’s back, grumbling in silence.
How could you learn something like that and then use it to hit people, you brute!
Watching him closely, she thought Seo Tae-jun was strange. One moment he seemed terrible, the next not so bad.
If not for the bruises he had left on Tae-il, she might have been confused.
Don’t be fooled! That man is the very cause of those marks!
What baffled her most, though, was that Tae-il seemed to be warming up to him.
His body was a little less tense, his gaze softer.
Surely he wasn’t that foolish, was he? To feel sympathy for the man who had struck him? Then again, given his past behavior, maybe he was.
“Hey, Shin Tae-il.”
“Yes?”
“I could’ve ignored you, or ended this another way. But the reason I came here is… because of what you said yesterday.”
“…That I could make Ha-eun happy, too.”
“Exactly. That’s the same as me. That’s when I know I love her—when I want her to be happy.”
Whatever else he was, this much was clear: he was the kind of man Ha-eun could have chosen to marry.
“When that carefree girl can keep smiling without a care in the world—that’s what I want.”
“…I feel the same.”
“Then tell me. Can you really make her happier than I can?”
“…What?”
“You don’t sound too confident.”
That wasn’t really an answer. Just a startled question. Hae-in realized suddenly that things were taking an odd turn.
“I’ll give you two days. Not much time left.”
Seo Tae-jun smiled in a way that was impossible to read.
At some point, he had dropped formal speech, but Tae-il didn’t even notice. He had more pressing concerns.
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Settle things clearly with Ha-eun.”
“…What are you saying?”
“I don’t hate fools like you. At least you’re not the type to deceive. If you were, I’d have you strung up by your heels by now.”
Hae-in’s ears twitched in disbelief. She had thought he came here to strike again, but this—this was even more shocking.
“No, wait… how could you say something like that? Are you telling me to…?”
Tae-il staggered to his feet in a daze, so rattled he banged his knee against the table without even noticing the pain.
He probably had no idea just how much he was stumbling over his words.
“What you’re thinking right now—it’s correct.”
“Seonbae!”
“’Either cut Shin Tae-il off completely and choose me, or cut me off completely and choose Shin Tae-il.’ I only want one clear decision between the two.”
“…Why?”
“Because if she wavers, it’ll only become an unhappy marriage. Lingering attachment will soon turn into regret.”
Tae-il collapsed back onto the sofa, though it wasn’t deliberate—his legs had simply given out beneath him.
Hae-in, startled, tumbled off to the side as well.
“I told you, didn’t I? What I want is for her to be happy.”
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
“Listen, remember this: it’s not about yielding—it’s about letting her make her own choice. Which path does she believe will bring her more happiness?”
“I’m confident… and not confident at the same time.”
“Either way, I won’t tolerate a runaway bride on the wedding day.”
Seo Tae-jun’s words lingered in Tae-il’s ears long after he had left.
Would Lee Ha-eun finally discard her lingering attachment and choose Seo Tae-jun?
Or would she brave all the criticism and condemnation and still choose Tae-il—the man she had reached out to for the very first time?
If it were me…
Hae-in tried to think seriously about it, but in the end, realized there was no way of knowing. It wasn’t her choice to make. Either way, it was certain that Lee Ha-eun would face a painful, difficult decision.
Hae-in recalled the day she herself had reached out and grasped Si-yul’s hand.
For a woman, deciding who to bind her life to forever was never an easy decision. It might be the single most important decision of her life.
But right now, my owner is what I’m most worried about.
Watching Tae-il drift off into his own personal Andromeda after Seo Tae-jun left, Hae-in could only shake her head.
It seemed Tae-il, too, lacked confidence in being chosen. Hae-in worried that he might recoil again, crushed by the weight of expectation, and run away.
Tae-il was good in many ways, but his lack of strength often made him passive.
Well… if my owner had been the confident type from the start, things wouldn’t have turned out like this at all.
In that respect, her boyfriend was outstanding. Overconfident to the point of being annoying sometimes, but still impressive.
Sprawled by the window, Hae-in suddenly jumped to her feet and went looking for that familiar red leash.
Si-yul always hid it away carefully, but she inevitably found it, clamped it between her teeth, and scratched at his bedroom door.
Scratch, scratch, scratch—until he opened.
It’s walk time!
“What’s going on?”
“Nya-nya!”
In other words, strategy time.
As always, Si-yul didn’t look thrilled to see her standing there with the leash in her mouth. Walks always ended up tormenting him.
“…Honestly, I’d rather go on a date than a walk.”
And what he truly wanted was something else altogether. Si-yul muttered under his breath.
“Meow!”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll go. Like I have a choice.”
“Meow-meow-meow!”
“All right, all right. Just let me get ready, okay?”
In the end, he always got dragged along anyway.
These days, the balance of power between them had shifted completely in Hae-in’s favor.
Si-yul got ready half-heartedly, not even realizing that by now, he could more or less understand what Hae-in was saying just from her cat sounds.
________✧⑅˖♡∘˚˳°↝^._.^_________
“So, my owner’s totally out of it right now!”
Of course, when it came to Seo Tae-jun, the story had to be told in human words. And since cats normally couldn’t talk, their conversations usually had to take place hidden away in the car.
All the while, Hae-in pressed her chubby little paw pads against the seat, voice rising with passion.
Whenever her paw splayed wide, it meant she was especially worked up.
“He said he absolutely refuses to let the bride go missing on the wedding day!”
Si-yul listened silently at first, then pulled out his phone, a faintly pleased smile on his face.
“So that’s how it is.”
“Yeah! But… why bring up Kim Gi-do?”
“Because I don’t have Lee Ha-eun’s contact information.”
“…And why do you need Lee Ha-eun’s number?”
So, he wanted to get it from Kim Gi-do? Hae-in tilted her head left and right, baffled, her expression almost humanlike.
“We can still have our date today.”
“Huh?”
“Because I’m about to call Ha-eun over to Tae-il’s place.”
“…To the house he’s alone in?”
“Exactly.”
True to form, Si-yul’s methods were always direct and forceful. Whether seduction or problem-solving, he bulldozed straight through.
He was the kind who resolved things while others were still hesitating.
But he never left room for breathing space—especially not when it involved other people’s affairs.
“There it is. Her number.”
Si-yul waved his phone with a grin, looking more pleased than Hae-in had seen him in a long time.
