FLTL 06

Chapter 06
Overstepping Fake Lover

Inhyuk tilted his head and looked down at Mingyu.

At his cold gaze, Mingyu flinched and quickly pulled his captured wrist away.

“What is it?”

It was a sensitive reaction, but Inhyuk casually ignored him.

“Are you alright?”

Instead, Inhyuk checked on Haeyun, who was rubbing the arm that Mingyu had been grabbing earlier.

Haeyun glanced at Mingyu and nodded.

“Ah. Haeyun-ah.”

Only then did Mingyu realize he’d been holding onto Haeyun too tightly.

He hastily reached his hand out to her again.

She flinched and turned her back.

Inhyuk stepped between the two of them.

“Excuse me. Since you’re a couple, why don’t you step aside?”

“It looked like they were breaking up.”

When Inhyuk fired back lightly, Mingyu’s face flushed red.

“Hey, why are you eavesdropping on other people’s conversations…!”

“Others probably heard it too, not just me.”

Inhyuk gestured with his chin.

Only then did Mingyu realize he’d been making a scene right in the middle of the restaurant entrance.

“Haeyun-ah. Let’s go. Let’s step outside and talk, okay?”

Mingyu hurriedly reached out to Haeyun.

Haeyun found it hard to stay in this spot.

Because of the stares from strangers, and because of Inhyuk too.

Of all people, why did that man have to see this scene?

And even get help from him.

After hesitating, Haeyun signaled with her eyes for Mingyu to follow.

Even if she left this spot, he seemed determined to follow her anyway.

She decided it would be better to end things clearly today.

“Let’s talk.”

Haeyun stopped at a spot that was reasonably out of the way.

Mingyu scratched his head and kept glancing to the side.

Annoyed by his restless behavior, Haeyun also looked in that direction.

Inhyuk had followed them out and was watching the two from a distance.

It wasn’t that Haeyun wasn’t conscious of him either.

Still, for some reason, she felt somewhat reassured.

She’d already been seen at her most embarrassed, and at least she’d be safe in case of any unexpected situation.

It was ridiculous to be relying on Inhyuk right now, but that was the truth.

“If you have nothing to say, I’ll go first.”

“Haeyun-ah…!”

“Let’s break up. Let’s end this.”

Mingyu urgently grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry, okay? I really didn’t want to go on that blind date. That’s the truth.”

“Okay, I believe you.”

“Huh? Really? Then…”

“Maybe at first. But you ended up going on the blind date anyway.”

If Mingyu had been honest with her from the start, things might have been different.

Even if she couldn’t fully understand, she would have at least tried to accept it.

But the moment he tried to deceive her, it was over.

“The trust is gone.”

“Haeyun-ah… I… I really love you so much. I regretted it a lot even when we were apart for a while. You know that too. How much I cared about you.”

Mingyu shook his head firmly, insisting that breaking up was absolutely not an option.

“If you really loved me, wouldn’t things like today not have happened?”

Haeyun tried to pull her hand away.

Just as her hand was halfway free, Mingyu quickly grabbed it again.

“Are you going to completely dismiss everything I’ve done for you over two years just because of what happened today?”

Haeyun’s brow furrowed slightly.

She didn’t understand why Mingyu was going this far.

The two of them were just an ordinary couple.

They’d never received anything particularly grand; rather, they’d had a somewhat dry relationship.

“We dated for two years with just kissing. Do you think that’s easy for a man? I held back because I loved you that much and wanted to cherish you.”

“…What?”

“Does premarital chastity even make sense these days? Do you know how much I’ve endured…!”

To be precise, Haeyun wasn’t a proponent of premarital chastity.

“Are you blaming me for that?”

If they were going to point fingers, the physical intimacy between them had faded because of Mingyu.

Even early in their relationship, he’d tried to push things further on his own.

Feeling burdened by the unwanted advances, Haeyun had quickly broken up with him.

It was Mingyu who’d begged and pleaded, promising to match her pace, to get her back.

After that, there was no notable physical intimacy between them.

Yet Haeyun had continued the relationship because she never doubted his sincerity at least.

She liked that he constantly whispered sweet nothings.

Until the stagnation period hit, Mingyu had been a truly affectionate boyfriend.

“Why do you think I got bored! No matter how I was in the beginning! It’s not normal for you to never give in even once over two years either, is it?”

“So I just said let’s get married, didn’t I!”

When they got back together, Mingyu had brought up marriage.

Haeyun was twenty-eight, Mingyu was thirty.

They were at the perfect age to think about marriage, so after a serious conversation about having a committed relationship, they’d gotten back together.

That’s why Haeyun had been trying not to put up walls regarding physical intimacy with him.

Mingyu roughly ran his hands through his hair.

Even though he couldn’t have physical intimacy with Haeyun, he’d endured it.

Because her looks were so beautiful that he couldn’t find them anywhere else.

Having a beautiful fruit by his side that he couldn’t eat only made him more anxious.

So Mingyu had been seeing Haeyun while casually playing around with other women.

Still, he’d gone around telling everyone that he would definitely marry her.

“Once we get married, all that stuff gets resolved anyway! That’s why I went to that blind date to convince my mom!”

Finally, he stomped his feet like a child.

It was to strongly emphasize just how much he felt this way.

However, Haeyun found even the faint remaining affection she had dissipating.

No matter how long he explained, in the end it all just sounded like “because you wouldn’t have sex with me.”

“Oppa, really…”

Haeyun’s expression turned cold.

“I’m disgusted.”

“Hey! Yoon Haeyun!”

Despite Mingyu’s outburst, Haeyun coldly turned away.

The moment he followed and reached out his arm—

Inhyuk, who had been waiting, shielded Haeyun behind him.

“Fuck! Who the hell are you!?”

Finally exploding, Mingyu hurled curses that made one frown just to hear.

He was already frustrated to death, and with Inhyuk interfering, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Yoon Haeyun-ssi.”

Despite Mingyu’s fury, Inhyuk calmly called Haeyun’s name.

She looked at him with slightly red-rimmed eyes.

“It seems like you don’t have a boyfriend anymore.”

She wondered what he could possibly say in this situation.

At the completely unexpected remark, Haeyun let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“Wouldn’t a normal person offer some comfort at a time like this?”

“Do you need my comfort?”

Well, that was funny too. It wasn’t like they were close enough for that.

“I can give it to you if you need it.”

Inhyuk turned his gaze back to Mingyu.

His face was turning red and purple as he fumed.

“Let me deal with this first. Then we can talk.”

What kind of talk could they possibly have in this situation?

When Haeyun just stared without answering, Inhyuk shrugged.

“One reason you can’t marry me has been eliminated.”

“Excuse me?”

“Then excuse me for a moment.”

Inhyuk twisted Mingyu’s flailing arm behind his back.

Mingyu let out a painful scream as he struggled.

But such small resistance was laughable to Inhyuk.

He held the bent arm and pushed Mingyu forward.

Mingyu moved his feet comically as he was forced away from Haeyun.

Left alone, Haeyun checked the time.

Ten minutes had passed since Inhyuk and Mingyu had left.

That was also the time she’d spent agonizing over whether to actually wait for Inhyuk or just leave.

“Haa…”

It was a sigh she’d lost count of.

Haeyun leaned against the wall, continuously rubbing her face dry with her hands.

Even if he wasn’t a boyfriend she’d loved passionately, there was no way she was completely unaffected.

It was a breakup reason she couldn’t lament to anyone.

Because she wouldn’t have sex.

Her face, buried beneath her palms, was contorted.

Something suddenly pushed through the gaps between her fingers.

“…I’m not crying.”

It was a handkerchief Inhyuk had offered.

Haeyun shook her head slightly and looked in the direction he’d come from.

How had he managed to deal with Mingyu, who seemed like he would never calm down?

Inhyuk returned without a single strand of hair out of place.

“He understood the situation and went home.”

“…That guy did?”

“Yes.”

There’s no way Mingyu would have left like that.

Haeyun tilted her head and straightened her leaning body.

“…Thank you for helping me, first of all.”

“If you’re thankful, please spare me some time.”

“Excuse me?”

“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Let’s go. We can talk over dinner.”

“Wait a moment. Today…”

Haeyun looked around and lowered her voice.

“Didn’t you have dinner plans with Actress Siyeon?”

“Ah. I did, but Hong Siyeon-ssi has probably already gone home.”

Inhyuk had sent a message to Siyeon while following Haeyun and Mingyu when they’d stepped aside.

It had taken time to resolve things, as expected. And he had things to discuss with Haeyun too.

All things considered, sending Siyeon home early was a good decision.

“Um, Do Inhyuk-ssi. I really appreciate your help, but I don’t think I’m in a state to have a conversation right now.”

Even though she’d gone through a situation that made her lose affection, Mingyu had still been her boyfriend.

There was no way she was fine after finding out her partner had gone on a blind date behind her back.

Inhyuk observed Haeyun’s pale complexion.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you.”

She waved her hand.

“I can go alone.”

“You don’t realize how bad your expression looks right now, do you?”

Haeyun avoided Inhyuk’s gaze.

The truth was, the shoot that had started early this morning had ended slightly past evening, and she wasn’t feeling well.

After a long break from manager work, fatigue had hit her hard.

Inhyuk let out a short sigh and gently pushed her back.

“I won’t pressure you to marry me, so let’s go.”

When Haeyun just stared silently, he shrugged.

“At least for today.”