Page 79 of Scarbound

Chung-Hee stopped for the briefest moment. Then, instead of touching him, he brought his face close to Noeul’s ear.

“You belonged to yourself only until the moment you chose to visit my brother’s grave two years ago.”

Noeul went still.

“You know about that?”

“Back then, I didn’t know who you were. You left a little money and my brother’s favorite snacks at his grave.”

Noeul slowly turned toward him.

“Last year, I had to visit early in the morning because of an unavoidable business meeting.” Chung-Hee paused. “And I saw you.”

Noeul’s breathing stopped.

“You were crying over my brother’s grave.”

His mouth fell open. “You were there?”

Chung-Hee looked away. For the first time since Noeul had entered the car, the anger disappeared completely. His eyes filled with tears.

“You said you would do anything to ease my pain.”

Noeul stared at him.

“You heard me?” His voice cracked. “Hyung… how could you do that?”

Chung-Hee seemed not to hear the question. His gaze remained fixed somewhere beyond the windshield, trapped in the memory.

“Did you, or did you not, say you would offer your life in exchange for my family’s happiness?” He finally looked at Noeul. “Was that a lie?”

Noeul lowered his gaze.

“No.”

It had never been a lie. At the time, he would have done anything to undo the pain that both he and his brother had caused them.

Anything.

The shame of knowing someone had heard what he had buried deepest inside himself burned through him. And that someone was Chung-Hee.

When Noeul finally looked up again, dissatisfaction flickered in the eyes watching him.

“Yet you still haven’t asked me what would make me happy.”

Noeul frowned. “What would make you happy?”

Chung-Hee studied him for a moment. Something almost vulnerable appeared in his expression. Then the familiar mask returned.

He turned toward the road and started the engine.

“So,” he asked casually, as though the previous conversation had never happened, “what would you like to do first?”

Noeul stared at him. Something had shifted. For the first time, Noeul had seen a crack in the mask Chung-Hee had built around himself. Not anger. Not revenge.

Grief.

Their disagreement was far from over. Nothing had been resolved. Noeul still didn’t trust him. But perhaps, for today, they could stop hurting each other.