Page 178 of Scarbound

The answer left Noeul immediately.

Minho’s expression shifted.

Noeul looked down at his plate. “It wasn’t okay,” he repeated, quieter this time. “He was sick. He was scared. But he still hurt him.”

For a few seconds, Minho only stared at him. Then he nodded.

Noeul swallowed. The words felt strange coming out so easily now. A year ago, he might have heard them as a betrayal of Gong.

Now they were simply true.

Minho leaned forward slightly. “You were trying to protect him, weren’t you?”

Noeul looked up.

“Because you knew how ill he was.”

His eyes burned. For years, people had looked at his loyalty to Gong and seen guilt. Complicity. Proof that Noeul was somehow like him.

Minho was looking at the same thing now and seeing something else.

“You took on things that weren’t yours,” Minho said quietly. “I can see that now.”

Noeul focused on breathing. Minho didn’t push.

“It will take time,” Noeul said eventually. “I don’t know if we can go back to what we were.”

“I know.”

“But…” Noeul hesitated. “I hear your apology.”

Minho’s shoulders eased. “That’s more than I expected.”

Noeul looked at him for a moment. “Thank you for saying it.”

Minho gave a small, tentative smile. “If you ever want to talk, I’ll listen this time.”

Noeul almost smiled. “Oh, so now you listen?”

“I deserved that.”

A quiet laugh escaped Noeul before he could stop it. Minho’s smile grew.

“What do you say we grab a drink after work? Like old times?”

Noeul considered him. Not like old times. They weren’t those people anymore. But maybe that didn’t mean there was nothing left.

“Yeah,” he said. “But not coffee. Let’s go to the bar where Duri works. You remember him. Ji-Woo’s best friend.”

“Of course.” Minho picked up his glass. “Drinks are on me.”

“They better be. It’s still your birthday.”

Minho laughed.

After work, Noeul and Minho headed to The Neon Peacock. The dim lighting and low murmur of conversation wrapped around them, familiar enough to calm something inside him. Noeul took his usual seat at the bar, Minho beside him.

Duri noticed immediately. “Long day, hyung?” he asked, setting a beer in front of Noeul. His eyes lingered on him a second longer than necessary.