CHAPTER 398: YOU AND I WERE DATING

Ki-hoon looked at a trembling Jo-Pil and then held him close, his hand behind the back of his head, pressing his face against his chest.

He didn’t know what had been going on while he was away, and why Jo-Pil was suddenly having these insecure thoughts.

It hurt him to see him hurt.

And while it looked like Jo-Pil just wanted to hear those words and be reassured, it wasn’t that simple.

Just telling him those words would spark more of his insecurities, he felt.

So, what could he do at a time like this?

"Jo-Pil," he called softly, his lips pressed to his temple. He could feel the dirt against his lips, but it didn’t matter. He could taste the saltiness of his sweat, but it still didn’t matter. He could taste the blood... Why was he so hurt?

"You can’t say it?" Jo-Pil asked but Ki-hoon held him tighter.

"You’re not a slave." He said. "And as for the other questions you asked... Please calm down and consider this. While living in this house, has anybody ever treated you like a salve?" He asked. "Have they ever made you do things you didn’t want to do? Have they ever not considered your feelings beforehand? Is there anything like that, Jo-Pil?"

Jo-Pil went silent, thinking with his turbid mind. And as he thought of this, his mind began to slowly calm down and he shook his head.

"No," he mumbled. "Nothing like that."

"Then, do you believe that’s how a slave gets treated? Even if they are favored by their master, do they get treated that well?" He further asked and Jo-Pil once again dove into his thoughts.

’My masters care for me, they ask me whatever I want, they lower themselves and apologize for fear of losing me. This... I don’t think this is a game to them. They aren’t just toying with me.’

"If we wanted to mess with you just because you interest us for the moment, we won’t go that far, Jo-Pil. Please consider everything."

At this moment, Jo-Pil began to regret.

He had so boldly shunned the impersonator in his dream but coming back to reality, and seeing the cruelty he had carried out in his dream, his mind broke.

He believed a bit of what the impersonator said.

He doubted. He cried.

He was scared of the truth and also scared of himself.

How could he hurt her? Why did he hurt her?

These thoughts swirled around his mind like spirals, making him dizzy.

"Jo-Pil," Ki-hoon called. "I told you that you and I used to know each other in the past, right?"

"Y-yes," Jo-Pil answered, his eyes soft with worry. "You said we were friends."

"Yes, I said that." He said, his gaze falling slowly. "I felt it would be convenient to tell you that since you didn’t remember anyway. But the truth is... You and I were dating."

Jo-Pil did not show any vivid expression on his face. He already knew about this and was prepared to act shocked if Ki-hoon ever brought it up but as he was, he couldn’t bring himself to act.

"Your disappearance felt like a betrayal to me." He added. "We made promises to be together forever, and even went as far as keeping chaste, only to break them after we got married." His expression saddened. "But then I heard you were seeing others. I heard I was nothing but a fool falling for your lies. I didn’t believe them at first. I believed in you, since I trusted you but then after hearing another man pick up your phone, doubt sprouted in my heart. And then, you disappeared. It’s said you eloped with another man and that broke me. I searched for you, but the more I searched for you, the more hatred and anger filled my heart."

Jo-Pil pursed his lips. He knew they would have to come to this topic one day but it was so sad listening to Ki-hoon say it.

From his point of view, he had suffered far more from their breakup without even knowing why it happened.

’I wish you didn’t have to get hurt so much because of me.’ Jo-Pil thought.

"I searched everywhere but found no trace of you, as if someone didn’t want me to find you. But then just last year, I found you walking into the auction stage in such a mess. But despite how ragged you looked, I knew right away that you were you. The anger I felt stirred in my heart and I raised my paddle, determined to get you for what you did. I was ready to make you suffer for what you made me go through, Jo-Pil." He held Jo-Pil’s hand and rubbed it against his face.

The expression on Ki-hoon’s face was melancholic and leaned more on the sadder side, thinking back at how their life changed so much because of the rumors someone spread and then the timed accident.

He knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence, and the fact that traces of all this disappeared just as fast as they appeared, made him suspicious.

After hearing Jo-Pil’s side of the story, he began to ponder all this deeply.

Who would benefit more if he had thrown a fit and messed up his reputation at that moment?

If he couldn’t get his act together, who would snicker and raise a glass in victory?

He came to a conclusion. He knew who it might be but he wasn’t certain. So, instead of going to confront them and taking away all chances to see the truth, he put a tail on them.

While it still didn’t look like he knew that he had found out all these things, he acted naturally with them.

Through that, he was able to find out what other things were going on behind the scenes when this person.

Ki-hoon shot his eyes and then opened them.

"Jo-Pil," he called softly, brushing his lips against his hand and kissing lightly. "In the past, I promised to never hurt you." He said. "But I was about to go back on that promise just because I believed others and not you."

Jo-Pil twisted his lips once again.

’If this was the original then you would’ve definitely broken that promise. The setting was for me to lose my memory and the fact that I don’t remember you as well as my hatred at being bought, would infuriate you. We would’ve never had a decent conversation and that would’ve been bad.’

It was horrible just thinking of the despair Ki-hoon would’ve gone through if he had hurt him first before hearing him out.

"I’ll remake that promise to you, Jo-Pil," Ki-hoon said. "I will never hurt you and I will never make you shed painful tears. I want to be someone you can rely on." He brushed his hand towards Jo-Pil’s face, smoothening out the dirt.

"Do you still have feelings for me?" Jo-Pil asked and then Ki-hoon laughed softly.

"Wouldn’t it be weirder if I didn’t have feelings for you, Jo-Pil?" He asked, but his eyes held traces of sadness and a little bit of regret.

At this point, even if his heart was the biggest and only Jo-Pil occupied it, it wouldn’t change the fact that he couldn’t have Jo-Pil to himself.

And he wouldn’t be the only one in his heart.

"I love you, Jo-Pil." He said and Jo-Pil’s eyes gradually grew.

What did he say?

"I love you so much." He repeated and Jo-Pil’s heart began to thump. "I would love to hold your heart in my hand, but unfortunately, I can’t do that. Unfortunately, I am not the only one who has such feelings for you, but I wish for your happiness more than anyone else."

Jo-Pil went silent. His heart kept thumping and then his face heated up. He couldn’t have imagined he would get a confession like this right now.

Sure, everyone else did their part but they made sure to omit the confession part, knowing it would only cause a divide.

But for Ki-hoon... It looked like he didn’t care about the consequences. He just wanted to express himself, his feelings that he had held on to for more than five years... He wished more than anything that Jo-Pil could see his heart and know that, in the whole wide world, there was no one who loved him more than he did.

Even if the first thing that came out of him at the auction house was hate and anger... His love for Jo-Pil lay dormant deep in my heart.

It was only a matter of time before it came out and all it needed was that trigger.

"Do my words make you feel more at ease?" Ki-hoon asked him and Jo-Pil nodded, though he was still blushing.

It was the first time getting a confession like this in a long while.

"Y-yes," he said.

"I hope it helped clear your insecurities," Ki-hoon added.

He turned on the tap, letting hot water rush into the tub.

"You were scared that you would one day get abandoned, right? But I’ll assure you that no matter what happens, if the others feel such strong feelings towards you like I do, then you will always be our first and last choice."