OH, SERA Noona can’t make it because of the reporters...

Cho Euntak felt sad, but only for a moment.

He perked up when he remembered that Hong Sera said she was with Baek Semin.

I hope Sera Noona ends up with that shy but kind hyung.

Anyway, Cho Euntak should just go home on his own. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Now that he was discharged from the military, he had many things he wanted to do.

Park Sohee couldn’t fetch him as well because today was the high school graduation of Go Gunjoon and the Kim Twins.

Sohee Hyung and Heedo Sunbae-nim will be there.

"Yah, Cho Euntak!"

Hmm?

Cho Euntak was surprised to see Baek Jeho running towards him— fast.

For some reason, he felt the urge to run away from his childhood friend.

And so he did.

"Cho Euntak!" Baek Jeho yelled, obviously frustrated. "Why are you running away from me?!"

"Because you’re chasing me, dummy!"

Haaa.

This was a bit frustrating.

Honestly, Cho Euntak bulked up a bit while in the army.

His stamina had also improved greatly.

Hence, he thought he could outrun Baek Jeho easily.

However, his (ex) best friend caught up with him without even breaking a sweat.

Is it because he’s a stronger Alpha than me?!

That was unfair.

In the end, it was Cho Euntak who ran out of strength first.

He ended up leaning against the wall of a sketchy-looking alleyway while catching his breath.

"Hey, don’t lean on that," Baek Jeho scolded him. "It’s dirty."

Cho Euntak just glared at Baek Jeho.

It was annoying that his (ex) best friend didn’t even sweat after all that running, while Cho Euntak was panting like a dog.

As expected, being a Recessive Alpha is nothing compared to a Dominant one.

"If you really want to lean on that wall, then at least wear my jacket," Baek Jeho said while removing his jacket. Then he gently pulled Cho Euntak by the arm before draping the jacket over his shoulders. After that, Baek Jeho gently pushed him until he was leaning against the wall again. "Are you okay? There’s a convenience store across the street. Do you want me to get you something to drink?"

"Sure, go ahead. I’m going to run away the moment you enter the store."

"I don’t think you have the stamina to run, though."

"Shut up," Cho Euntak said, taking a deep breath. "Okay, let’s talk."

I really can’t run anymore anyway.

"Here?" Baek Jeho asked, frowning. "Can we at least go to a café before we talk?"

"Just get straight to the point."

"Uh, okay. There are two major milestones that happened in my life while you were away for a year."

"Tell me."

"First, I entered the army two weeks after you did."

Cho Euntak’s eyes widened in shock. "You did?"

"Yeah. I pulled some strings so I’d get the draft notice fast."

That was strange.

Some rich kids pull strings to evade enlisting, but Baek Jeho pulled strings to do the opposite.

"When did you get discharged?"

"A month ago."

Cho Euntak gasped. "You got discharged before me?"

"I never used my vacation leaves. Plus, I got several awards right and left."

Tsk.

"Good job."

Cho Euntak was being sarcastic, but Baek Jeho thanked him sincerely.

This guy is acting strange.

"Baek Jeho, why did you not use your vacation days? Your superiors didn’t encourage you to use them?"

"Well, I have no reason to come out since you wouldn’t want to see me anyway."

Tsk.

Hearing that made Cho Euntak’s heart skip a beat.

There he goes again— saying things I might misunderstand.

And, yes, staying in the army for a year didn’t make him forget about his feelings for Baek Jeho.

I’m such a loser.

"And I didn’t want to go home," Baek Jeho said, smiling. But that smile looked a little sad. "Not after my parents got a divorce."

Cho Euntak gasped, shocked by the unexpected news.

I’ve come out of the army during my vacation days and met my friends, but none of them mentioned Baek Jeho’s parents divorcing.

But maybe it was kept a secret.

After all, Baek Jeho came from a very wealthy family.

Plus...

"Sorry for not telling you about my parents’ divorce earlier."

"No, you don’t have to apologize for that. It’s not your obligation to tell me about your parents’ divorce," Cho Euntak said awkwardly while shaking his head. "But when did that happen?"

"Their relationship started to go downhill when my father cheated on my mother, a few months before I entered the army."

"Uncle Namjun cheated on Aunt Jiwon?!"

"With a younger, male Alpha."

Oh, no.

"How could Uncle Namjun do that to Aunt Jiwon?" Cho Euntak asked, and then he shook his head while looking at Baek Jeho worriedly. "I know it’s too late to ask this, but how are you, Baek Jeho?"

Baek Jeho looked surprised by Cho Euntak’s question, and then he chuckled. "Euntak-ah, if you give me an inch, I’ll take a mile."

"Huh?"

"You’re worried about me, even though I don’t deserve it. But it makes me want to act more pitiful in front of you, so just you’d look at me kindly again."

Aigoo.

"Dude, am I the only decent friend you have?" Cho Euntak complained lightly, and then he switched to nagging mode. "And this is why I used to tell you to choose your friends wisely. If you have other good friends around you, then you wouldn’t have been this attached to me and our friendship."

"That’s what I thought, too."

"Right? That’s why you should have listened to me—"

"But I realized that it wasn’t that I was deprived of good friends that I was so attached to you and our friendship, Cho Euntak," Baek Jeho said in a serious voice, cutting him off. "I was wrong, though— there’s another reason why I can’t afford to lose you, Euntak-ah."

Oh?

Cho Euntak didn’t want to be delusional, but...

Why do I have a feeling I’m about to get a confession?

***

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