Cozy Obsession

‘Why are you here again?’Had Yiheon come here secretly before and run into Do Junyoung? From what Heemin remembered, in the original work, ‘Cha Yiheon’ first opened the door to this studio after being shocked by ‘Seo Heemin,’ who mistook a teddy bear for his deceased child following a miscarriage. Yiheon had even kneeled to beg Do Junyoung, who had teamed up with Kwak Yoonseong to put him in a difficult situation, to transfer the ownership of the officetel. His goal was to allow ‘Seo Heemin’ to paint as part of his mental health treatment in the place where he felt the most stable.Yiheon had only watched from a distance under the guise of surveillance and was adamant about not setting foot in the studio because he didn’t like the idea of another Alpha being there. But why was it different this time? Unlike in Silence, Yiheon wasn’t crushed by regret over the past.Feeling something was off, Heemin glanced at Yiheon. He caught sight of Yiheon glaring at Do Junyoung with a look far more terrifying than when he faced Chairman Yoon. Yiheon’s thick eyebrows furrowed in a menacing scowl, irritated at being interrupted.Heemin was about to ask when Yiheon had come here and why, but the atmosphere around Yiheon was so intense that he tightly shut his mouth. He couldn’t shake the unease that things might escalate into violence, but then Yiheon spoke in a calm and composed voice.“Assistant Manager Do Junyoung. Let’s step outside and have a talk.”There was a gentle tone in his voice, but it carried an undeniable force. It was a command disguised as a suggestion. After hesitating for a moment and glancing at Heemin, Junyoung slowly nodded and walked towards the entrance.Heemin could guess the conversation they were about to have. Yiheon would likely inform Junyoung that he had no intention of coming back here and would soon have all his belongings removed. It would be a hard pill to swallow for Junyoung, who had refused to give up on ‘Seo Heemin.’“Heemin-ah, can you step aside for a moment?”“Ah… Sure.”As their bodies brushed past each other in the narrow entrance, Heemin’s heart ached at the sorrow brimming in Junyoung’s eyes. It wasn’t like before when he had borrowed clothes, but it seemed that Junyoung was deeply wounded by the overwhelming pheromones Yiheon had left all over Heemin.“I’ll be back soon, so stay here and pick out a painting.”“Okay.”Heemin felt a great sense of relief at the rational tone in Yiheon’s voice. It seemed unlikely that he would storm out and start throwing punches. Even though he had entered with a key, Yiheon was still an intruder in Junyoung’s officetel. He would be in serious trouble if he laid hands on Junyoung like he did with his subordinates.With a loud bang, the front door closed, leaving Heemin alone in the studio. Although he felt guilty for the two who were about to have a serious conversation, he was secretly glad to have the chance to explore ‘Seo Heemin’s’ studio without any interruptions.He took off his shoes and stepped inside. With each step, the smell of oil paints and thinning oil pricked at his nose. A surge of indescribable emotions welled up in his chest. It felt oddly like he had returned home, where his mother and sisters were in reality.‘You really missed this place, didn’t you, Seo Heemin?’His throat tightened with emotion, making it hard to bear. Even though it housed another soul, ‘Seo Heemin’s’ body vividly remembered the existence of the studio.Holding onto his pounding heart, he slowly took in his surroundings. As Junyoung had said, nothing had been touched except for some cleaning; it was as if ‘Seo Heemin’ had just stepped out for a moment, leaving all his art supplies scattered around.His eyes caught on the various colors squeezed onto the palette, the metal oil can filled with painting oil, the brushes crammed into a pencil holder made from a cut water bottle, and the large canvas resting on an old wooden easel.The sight made him want to don a paint-splattered apron and pick up a brush immediately. A strong desire to paint surged through his fingertips.Soon, his gaze settled on the canvas perched on the easel. Was this the unfinished painting Junyoung had mentioned?Heemin moved closer to the canvas, carefully examining the incomplete work. On a pastel-toned background of sky blue and light green, the yellow wildflowers that ‘Seo Heemin’ loved were depicted in a unique style.Though the painting only hinted at form and shading, the thick, sticky texture of the oil paint was palpable, unlike watercolor. The energy in the brushstrokes brought the wildflowers to life, making them seem like they were eagerly waiting for ‘Seo Heemin’ to finish them.“I’ll make sure to finish it.”Even an imperfectly bloomed flower might be better than one that never bloomed at all. Perhaps ‘Seo Heemin’ painted this while fervently wishing to bloom like a wildflower, enduring harsh winds and blizzards.Though in Silence, the flower buds never bloomed and eventually withered.After staring at the flowers in the painting for a long time, Heemin turned away, thinking about choosing a painting to give to Chairman Yoon. The living room and studio were filled with stacks of blank canvases, only primed with gesso, with nothing else particularly noteworthy.Just as he was about to pass the bookshelf by the stairs leading to the loft, his eyes caught on a piece of paper sticking out slightly from the shelf.“What’s this?”He bent down and pulled the paper out from where it was wedged under the bookshelf. It had been folded and unfolded multiple times, with a cross-shaped crease in the center and smudges from frequent handling. Knowing ‘Seo Heemin’s’ habit of keeping even doodles, it seemed odd, so Heemin flipped it over immediately. Sure enough, a simple drawing sketched in pencil adorned the back.“…A teddy bear?”Why was this here?If Heemin hadn’t been possessed by ‘Seo Heemin,’ this drawing would have been created in the near future, so how did it end up here? Did ‘Seo Heemin’ like teddy bears from the beginning? He didn’t remember anything like that in Silence.On closer inspection, it seemed more like an abstract representation of a memory rather than a direct depiction. It could have been a warm-up drawing, sketched from a mental image before starting a more detailed piece on canvas.The sight of the worn, creased paper evoked a strange tenderness. The drawing, with its pencil lines slightly smudged from being folded repeatedly, touched Heemin’s heart much more deeply than the large canvas painting of flowers.He wouldn’t sell it even for a fortune.“Let go of that! I don’t trust you, so I’ll ask Heemin directly!”“Assistant Manager Do!”Hearing the loud argument outside, Heemin quickly folded the drawing and slipped it into his pocket. He rushed out and opened the front door to see Yiheon grabbing Junyoung by the collar. The sight made his blood run cold, fearing violence was imminent.“Cha Yiheon, are you crazy? What are you doing? Let go, now!”Even though this was a world inside a novel, Heemin had no desire to experience going to the police station. He managed to pry Yiheon’s fist off Junyoung’s collar and turned to Yiheon, who was red-faced and breathing heavily.“Please, let me talk to him alone.”“No.”“Please. I’ll make it quick, okay?”“I said no.”“You promised to trust me. You don’t need to worry.”“……”“If you keep refusing, I’ll tell everyone that I’m suffering from split personality disorder, and that I’m just twenty-one-year-old ‘Seo Heemin’.”His intense eyes sparkled fiercely. It seemed he was barely managing to suppress the rage boiling from within. However, he didn’t ask Heemin what he was going to say. He simply let out a long, sighing breath with an unreadable expression.“……Three minutes. Not a second more.”Not five minutes but three. It’s not like this is a three-minute curry.Still, Heemin managed to buy some time to wrap things up with Do Junyoung. Considering how angry he got just from a trace of another Alpha’s pheromones on his hand, he should be grateful that he agreed so easily.There was no room for relaxation. Anxious, Heemin quickly led Junyoung into the studio.“I’ll apologize for what happened earlier on behalf of Yiheon. Please calm down, Sunbae.”“What were you about to say just now?”Junyoung, who seemed curious about what had rendered him helpless, asked a question instead of answering.“Oh, it’s nothing. Actually, Yiheon’s hobby is collecting plush toys and figures. He’s crazy about cute things, even though he doesn’t look it. Funny, right? Please keep this a secret.”Although it was actually Yiheon, not ‘Cha Yiheon’, who was the subject of the story, Heemin winked playfully and laughed lightly to shift the serious mood.“……Hah.”Junyoung sighed with a defeated expression, clearly not finding the joke funny at all. He wiped his face repeatedly, trying to calm his emotions, and spoke to Heemin in a subdued voice.“You’ve really changed.”Instead of expressing dissatisfaction or disappointment at the changed Heemin, his tone seemed to blame himself for not doing anything during that time.Of course, it must look different because it’s someone else.He tried to smile awkwardly while suppressing the words he couldn’t say out loud. As much as he was a good person, he didn’t want to hurt him, but this time, there was no choice. He had to cleanly wrap up his presence to avoid any disruptions to the plan.“Sunbae, I want to become family with Yiheon. I’m sorry that I can’t answer your feelings.”Heemin looked directly into Junyoung’s eyes and said his farewells.“Are you… pregnant or something? So it’s unavoidable…”Although the official reason for absence was a business trip, there must have been rumors in the company that Yiheon took the former president’s son out when he was ill.Given the situation, wearing strong, musky pheromones all over his body and having several colorful marks on his neck, it would have been strange not to notice. It was natural to look for a reason related to him.“Nothing like that.”Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Heemin pretended to scratch his neck and covered the traces of Yiheon with his arm.“Heemin, is it really not possible?”Junyoung struggled to ask with his parched lips moving. Seeing him waiting like someone who is waiting to have an umbrella opened in a torrential downpour, Heemin felt an overwhelming sense of guilt weighing on his shoulders.If he hadn’t realized his feelings for Yiheon, he might have wavered a little. He would have sympathized with Junyoung’s situation as a supporting character who couldn’t become the protagonist and offered shallow comfort.However, giving false hope is one of the worst things to do to someone. Heemin spoke to him in a small but clear voice.“I’m really sorry.”Even though he was a character in a virtual world, it was unforgivable to drive a nail into someone else’s heart. He could no longer look at Junyoung’s face and instead fixed his gaze on the paint-stained floor.“I—”Breaking the heavy silence, Junyoung spoke first.“I wanted all your sorrow and pain. I wished you would throw everything at me except for one painting. I thought you might stay by my side out of guilt.”“……”“I guess I was too foolish. I spent ten long years waiting endlessly for you to give. I should have begged and pleaded to get it.”“……Sunbae.”“In the end, it was probably my petty pride that kept me from doing so. I was so arrogant, thinking you would naturally choose me.”Junyoung smiled bitterly. His eyes, clouded with deep regret and dizziness, and the crude smile he forced at the corners of his mouth tormented Heemin.Despite being an Alpha, he was the only person ‘Seo Heemin’ trusted and relied on. It was sorrowful to have to sever that bond himself. The pounding of ‘Seo Heemin’s’ heart echoed clearly.He clenched his fist tightly, trying to suppress the turmoil within. With no words or actions capable of comforting him, all he could do was silently wait. He just needed to deflate his inflated emotions and neatly fold them away.“Heemin.”“Yes?”“President Cha asked me to leave the company. He said you’re very uncomfortable.”“Ah…”So that’s why he had been so angry at Yiheon.He hadn’t realized that the mention of removing the studio’s belongings would also include a dismissal notice. He hadn’t expected that at all.Although he had been uncharacteristically kind to him, it was clear that when it came to matters like this, he was very much like ‘Cha Yiheon’. Arrogant and intimidating, with a chilling coldness that easily stirred resentment.“Because you’re going to be the chairman someday. Sunbae.”So don’t agonize over being in a subordinate position, just follow the path given to you, was the look Heemin gave him.It was a refusal that must have felt more sorrowful and harsh due to its indirectness. But as Yiheon said, it wasn’t that Heemin was urging resignation out of discomfort. It was all for his sake.When Kwak Yoonseong is summoned by the prosecution, Junyoung, who is in the same line, will also become a target of investigation. Even if he wasn’t directly involved in the embezzlement, just having his name associated with it would impact his family, who runs an educational foundation, and I hoped it wouldn’t affect him.“Was I such a burden to you?”With eyes that seemed ready to shed tears, he looked at Heemin and asked.“It wasn’t a burden. I was always grateful that you took care of me like an older brother. Truly.”It would be a lie to say his presence wasn’t a burden. Even so, I didn’t want to tarnish the memories of the past days spent with ‘Seo Heemin.’ When Junyoung expressed his feelings for him, he bowed his head deeply and wiped at his teary eyes.“…I thought you had grown to dislike me. But that wasn’t the case.”“Why would I dislike you? There’s no reason for that.”“You kept avoiding me no matter how much I tried to contact you. You didn’t even reply to the messages I sent through Heeyoung’s number.”Messages?Yiheon must have blocked Junyoung’s number from the beginning, so he wouldn’t have received any messages, but he wouldn’t have blocked Heeyoung’s number. Just as I thought it was strange and tilted my head, a memory flashed before me of Yiheon fiddling with my phone on the day we went on a trip, saying he would charge it for me. That suspicious behavior must have been him deleting messages from Do Junyoung.‘You should have just told me the truth instead of pretending to charge it.’I let out a small, incredulous laugh. No matter how jealous he was, I didn’t think he would go so far as to delete messages secretly. How petty.“…So I really was a burden to you. I guess I would have found it unbearable too, someone persistently contacting you through another person’s number.”While I was lost in thought, Junyoung misunderstood again and spoke with a gloomy expression. I hurried to explain that I hadn’t been ignoring him on purpose, but—“Time’s up.”The door opened at just the right moment, and Yiheon entered the studio. Just like the saying, “speak of the devil,” it was as if he heard me cursing him in my mind.Without even glancing at Junyoung, he strode in and, as if to show off, cupped Heemin’s cheek and asked, “Did you have a good talk?”“Yes.”“And nothing happened?”“No, nothing happened.”Jealousy can make even a man who loves to maintain his composure become petty and childish. Despite hearing that nothing happened, he continued with the show of affection, as if to flaunt it.The touch of his thumb brushing my eyes tickled, so I turned my face slightly. Maybe because it was in front of Junyoung, he thought I was avoiding him on purpose and frowned, then suddenly grabbed my hand and sniffed it, checking thoroughly if there was any trace of another alpha’s pheromones.“Really, nothing happened. We just talked, that’s all.”When I insisted one more time, Yiheon finally looked satisfied and let go of my hand. Then, turning his back to me completely, he spoke to Junyoung.“It’s getting late. If you’ve finished your business, you should head out.”It was a polite tone, masked with courtesy. But just by his voice, I could tell. Yiheon was at the end of his patience.Junyoung sighed softly at the cold dismissal. From his perspective, it must have felt like an outsider was kicking him out, but perhaps he didn’t even have the energy to be angry anymore. In a weak voice, he bid farewell to Heemin.“I’m leaving, Heemin. Take care.”Watching Junyoung turn away with slumped shoulders, Heemin felt deeply sorry for him. Regretting that things ended without proper closure, Heemin hurriedly called out to him, knowing full well what Yiheon would say.“Junyoung sunbae.”“Yes?”“This situation we’re in—it’s my fault, not yours. Please don’t blame yourself.”“….”“But if you regret the past… Next time, when you meet someone, express your feelings openly. Don’t just wait for them to reach out to you.”Even if it was presumptuous advice, it was something he had always wanted to say to him.No matter how much you care for and love someone, if you don’t express it, that feeling won’t be conveyed. We don’t have enough time in this world to just wait around, swallowing our words.“…Thank you.”Junyoung gave a pained smile. Though he still seemed unable to remove the thorn lodged in his heart, it didn’t seem like he would join forces with Kwak Yoonseong to bring Yiheon down, as in the original story.Watching his retreating figure slowly fade away, I clutched my chest. Someday, a day like this will come for me too. To make sure that separation doesn’t bring pain or regret, I felt a surge of determination to do my best within the limited time I have.“Seo Heemin.”“Yes, why? Ah, what is it?”I unconsciously slipped into informal speech, quickly correcting myself and turning my gaze to him. Realizing that the inevitable had finally come, I anxiously watched for his reaction. Sure enough, Yiheon raised an annoyed eyebrow and said,“Why are you crying? It’s driving me crazy.”“…Am I crying?”I quickly raised my finger to my eyes. Sure enough, transparent tears had gathered on my fingertips. He was someone I had only met a few times, but I must have grown quite attached to him in that short time. Crying over the end of this connection showed how much it hurt.“Stop crying.”His large hand completely covered the back of my head. He pulled my head to his shoulder as if he couldn’t stand the sight of me crying over another man.Even so, the way his hand gently patted my back was so kind, and his embrace so warm, that the tears I had been holding back burst forth like a dam breaking.“…Hyung.”“What?”“You’re really the only one for me. There’s no one but you.”Struggling to breathe through my tears and overwhelmed with sorrow, I desperately tried to convey my feelings to him.“I get it, so stop crying.”Yiheon wiped the tears from Heemin’s wet eyes with his lips. He licked and rubbed them as if savoring the sweet and salty taste of the tears, then pressed kisses on Heemin’s cheeks, nose, and lips in turn.“Stop it. It tickles.”“I’m doing it to make you smile instead of cry, so bear with it.”He then leaned back slightly, checking Heemin’s face after giving a final lick to the tears that had trailed down to the corners of his eyes.“See? You’ve cried so much that you’ve made yourself look ugly.”Just this morning, he’d been showering Heemin with compliments, telling him he was beautiful to the point where it was almost embarrassing. But his playful teasing made the tears that had been welling up suddenly vanish.“Honestly. You were calling me beautiful just a moment ago.”Heemin replied in a huffy tone, only to be met with Yiheon’s smirk, as if he didn’t understand what Heemin was talking about at all. He seemed more like his old self, becoming increasingly shameless and constantly teasing Heemin.Still, after crying in Yiheon’s arms for a while, the heavy emotions that had been weighing down Heemin’s heart started to fade away. As Heemin wiped his cheeks, now feeling somewhat relieved, Yiheon changed the subject.“Did you pick out the painting?”“Oh, well…”For some reason, Heemin didn’t feel like showing him the drawing of the teddy bear in his pocket. There was an inexplicable desire to keep it to himself, a secret he didn’t want to share with anyone. After a brief hesitation, Heemin hid his true feelings and responded in a calm tone.“I was too distracted by looking around the studio, so I didn’t really get a chance to choose.”“Just pick anything, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”“But since it’s a gift, I want to make sure it’s something the chairman will really like.”