Chapter 44: Then, Will You Date Me?
by GideonHe answered the phone, his voice low. His tone was the same as ever, but any trace of warmth or welcome had been completely stripped away, leaving only a dry, flat response.
The unexpected shift in his voice froze my thoughts.
“…Uh…”
I could only stammer, completely thrown. If he’d just asked what was wrong, I might have managed to get to the point, but he remained silent on the other end of the line.
“Um…”
Hearing his indifferent voice, my mind went blank. At this point, I felt guilty for even calling him without a plan.
The urge to crawl into a hole and hide was so strong that an apology spilled out of his mouth.
“Sorry, I called you by mistake.”
—Why are you avoiding me?
The accusatory tone was as sharp as an awl, making his heart drop.
Just as CEO Park Ji-bun had said, he seemed furious. If this was all because of him, then talking in person was better than a phone call.
“…Do you want to meet up and talk?”
Jubin swallowed hard before adding, “I’ll come to you.”
—Fine. Come pick me up now.
Only after the line went dead did the reality finally sink in.
I really did sleep with Do Zion.
Jubin arrived at the underground parking garage Zion had specified.
He rarely drove his own car, but he had no other choice—there was nowhere else they could talk alone.
Jubin gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white with tension, waiting for Zion to appear.
It wasn’t long before Zion showed up. After a brief exchange with his manager and stylist, he waved them off and turned to face the car.
His gaze locked onto Jubin in the driver’s seat, his expression sharp and accusing as he strode forward.
He closed the distance in a few quick strides, yanked open the passenger door, and threw out a remark.
“You didn’t run away this time, did you?”
The words stung, dripping with sarcasm, as if Jubin had deliberately fled. Zion was clearly on edge, his tone sharper than usual.
“You’re the one who left me behind,” Jubin retorted.
“I did?”
Zion pulled out his wallet and displayed the exact amount of money Jubin had left for him.
“If I’d left you behind, why would I still have this money?”
Jubin found himself speechless.
Zion pressed the cash back into Jubin’s hand and jerked his chin toward the exit. “Let’s go.”
With a soft sigh, Jubin shoved the money into the center console and pulled the car away.
Han River was always packed on days this hot, regardless of whether it was a weekday or the weekend. But thanks to the rain, it was mercifully quiet.
Jubin pulled over in a secluded spot. He was too intimidated to speak first, Zion having remained silent the entire ride. After riding on edge for the whole trip, Jubin finally broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
“Do you regret sleeping with me?” Zion asked casually, his gaze fixed forward.
I do. I regret it bitterly.
Jubin swallowed hard and closed his eyes tight.
“I don’t regret a thing. Why do you feel like you need to apologize?”
“Because I ruined everything. We had such a good relationship as senior and junior.”
Zion let out a short, dry laugh. “Who ever wanted a relationship like that?”
Jubin turned his head in surprise, his eyes meeting Zion’s. The gaze confirmed that their perspectives were wildly misaligned.
“That’s your standard, Jubin,” Zion said, his eyes filled with resentment. “I never agreed to that relationship—or that distance.”
He took a shallow breath, then added quickly, “And now, there’s no going back.”
That’s the problem.
Jubin had just shattered his own meticulous plan to remain the perfect senior in Zion’s eyes. He had no idea how to fix this mess.
“Why’d you leave the money?”
“People usually split the hotel bill.”
Zion’s tone softened, as if he hadn’t realized that was what the money meant. “I thought you’d just stripped me bare and dumped me over a few bucks.”
The words were so blunt and vivid that Jubin felt a flush creep up his neck.
“S-stripped you bare and dumped you? Me?” Jubin stammered, completely at a loss for words.
“No?”
“No, of course not.”
Really, I’m not that kind of person, Jubin added firmly. He was desperate to make sure Zion didn’t actually think he was that kind of man.
“Do I really seem that shameless to you?”
“If you’re not that kind of person, then why did you run away?”
“Because you weren’t there when I woke up. I thought… maybe we’d just agreed to do that and nothing else.”
Jubin felt a surge of indignation and finally let his emotions show. A low, wry smile touched his lips as he spoke, his tone laced with hurt.
“You promised you wouldn’t run away. You promised you’d remember. But you forgot everything, stripped me bare, and then just threw money at me.”
The words left me speechless. I had no excuse.
I was terrified that he was so disappointed he couldn’t bear to look at me. More than that, I feared this would ruin what we had, making things awkward and jeopardizing the project.
The first step was to admit my mistake.
“You’re right. This is all my fault.”
Once I’d admitted it, I had to keep apologizing until he accepted it.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
But an apology wasn’t enough. I had to soothe him, to tend to his feelings until his anger finally faded.
“I know I messed up. I drank too much and caused you a lot of trouble. I really put you through a lot… What can I do to make it up to you? What will make you feel better?”
The moment the words left Jubin’s lips, the man—who had been slumped in the passenger seat—unbuckled his belt in a flash, lunged over, and pressed his lips against Jubin’s.
The warmth of the tongue sliding into his mouth proved that the kiss they’d shared the night before hadn’t been a dream.
This sudden, aggressive advance must be his way of letting out his anger, Jubin thought. Yet, the kiss still tasted sweet.
The pheromones he wasn’t trying to hide mixed with the sweet, thick saliva, making the moment feel even more poignant.
This was a precious heart that Jubin neither wanted to push away nor dared to.
Jubin actively sucked and licked the tongue that had invaded his mouth, stroking the back of the man’s head.
The car was filled with the sound of their wet, intimate breaths for a long moment.
Jubin occasionally glanced out the window to check for passersby, but the torrential rain kept the streets completely empty.
Knowing he needed to calm Zion down soon, Jubin finally broke the kiss.
“…Don’t be mad, Do Zion.”
“Not Do Zion. Just Zion.”
Zion grumbled, his voice low and sullen.
“What…?”
“You kept calling me Zion, Zion so sweetly when we were having sex.”
Zion glared at him, his eyes filled with resentment. Feeling guilty, Jubin softened his tone.
“Alright, I’ll call you that from now on.”
“You should tell me you like me, too.”
Jubin paused, his breath hitching.
He remembered the times he’d carelessly tossed out “I like you” to Zion. It had been less of a confession and more of a drunken slip of the tongue. Fine, he thought, I’ll give him this much.
“Yeah, I like you, Do Zion.”
He had just been devouring my lips, leaning over from the passenger seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Yet now, my face flushed at his casual, emotionless addition of “I like you.”
“Say it again.”
What the hell. It’s not like saying it will wear me out.
“I like you, Zion.”
He stared at me with those heavy-lidded eyes, silently demanding another. So, I pressed my lips to his as a finishing touch and tossed out the words even more lightly than before.
“I like you.”
A satisfied smile spread across his face as he nodded.
Zion must have known. He knew this wasn’t a confession born of sudden passion, nor was it a serious declaration of love. It was just a casual expression of fondness and familiarity—a simple, everyday sentiment.
How could he let go of all his resentment with just this?
The way he melted so easily made me anxious. It was all going too smoothly, far easier than I had feared.
I had a strong feeling this wasn’t the end of it.
“Guess you’ll just have to be my partner from now on, then.”
See? Things are finally heading this way.
I’d always known it would come to this. I’d obsessed over being the perfect senior, drawing a hard line between us, but it seemed my own efforts had come back to haunt me.
“Do you really want to be something casual with me?”
“Better a casual something than a stiff, formal senior-junior relationship.”
The idea of him being framed as ‘casual’ made me uneasy.
“You don’t think I’m an easy target, do you?”
“And you don’t still see me as just some naive kid, do you, Senior?”
By interpreting things only through our own lenses, we’d somehow ended up confirming the wound: that neither of us felt respected.
The future of this relationship depended less on the fact that they’d slept together and more on how they would respect each other’s feelings afterward.
“…Sorry. I went too far.”
Jubin prioritized Zion’s hurt feelings over his own.
At the simple apology, Zion’s expression immediately softened. “Do you really not remember anything from yesterday?”
“Only bits and pieces.”
“Did you hate it?”
“No, it was good.”
Jubin couldn’t deny that.
Waking up, his entire body felt like it was about to crumble, and the heavy, swollen ache deep inside was uncomfortable—but the raw pleasure and satisfaction his instincts registered were a completely different story.
“You’re not telling me I’m the only exception to your ‘open to everyone’ rule, are you?”
Zion asked back in a calm tone.
“And if I am the exception?”
“That sounds like you’re saying you love me.”
He’s backed me into a corner with no way out.
Love him? He could like him, but loving him was out of the question. He didn’t want to repeat the agony of a messy breakup, crying and heartbroken. That was the future Jubin feared most.
“What are you going to do?”
He knew instinctively: if he fell in love with Zion, this life would be a gamble—all or nothing. He had to navigate this crisis as carefully as possible.
“CEO Park said I couldn’t have a partner when we renewed the contract. This isn’t some child’s game.”
“Then will you date me?”
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