My Brother's Friend Wasn't a Guy - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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32.

“Why? Did something happen?”
Worry flickered across Lee Jin’s eyes. Seeing Kang Hyun do something out of character, she grew anxious instead.
Kang Hyun let out a hollow sigh, never getting the answer he wanted.
His chest burned like it might consume him, but unable to trouble or frighten her, he summoned a casual smile to his lips.
“No, just curious. I was wondering all of a sudden where I rank with you, Lee Jin.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.”
Staring into her clear, candid eyes, a curse almost escaped him.
He’d been the one to fall first from the beginning, rushing alone. He knew they’d started from different places, yet now his own desperation struck him as pathetic.
He understood that feelings couldn’t be forced by pushing someone’s back, that they couldn’t be demanded into existence, and yet his mouth had gone dry.
He wanted to grab her and shout that he was her first priority and she should make him hers too. That she had to.
Or he wanted to cling to her and beg her to endure hardship gladly for his sake.
Then, suddenly, it dawned on him.
His love was this ugly.
The raw, selfish face of his love tormented him.
He could fill her life with sparkling beauty, with joy and happiness, and it still wouldn’t be enough—yet this yearning to push her back and have her walk a thorny path with a smile for his sake was truly sickening.
“I’m greedy. I can’t settle for anything less than first place.”
He swallowed his revulsion and spoke casually. This was the best Kang Hyun could do.
“Yeah, you’re plenty greedy. But what can I do? I can’t say you’re first yet, though you’re definitely up there.”
“That won’t do. How can I make it to first place?”
The strange tension dissolved, and his usual manner returned. Lee Jin relaxed and laughed.
“That’s something the person who wants to be first has to figure out.”
“Wow, Lee Jin. You’re merciless.”
“That’s just how life is.”
Watching her laugh, Kang Hyun forced down his self-disgust and impatience.
Originally, he’d planned to build their relationship steadily over six months. He’d believed that much time was necessary to win her heart completely.
So what could he expect at just two months in?
The two of them walked along the beach, chatting idly, then entered a nearby hotel and checked into a suite room overlooking the sea.
“Wow, the view from here is stunning too.”
Kang Hyun smiled slightly, watching her press against the window to peer outside.
“Come here and try this first.”
He called to her as he arranged the food he’d ordered through Room Service.
“You ordered so much again.”
Lee Jin shook her head with a wry smile. Her habit of frugality ran deep—she always ordered just enough to eat.
But Kang Hyun consistently ordered far more than anyone could finish.
Thanks to him, Lee Jin’s appetite was steadily increasing.
She suddenly wondered if he’d ordered this much deliberately, but then dismissed her suspicion as too far-fetched, laughing instead—though she couldn’t have known how exactly right she was.
“Just eat as much as you can.”
“It would be wasteful to leave any.”
So even as her stomach grew full, Lee Jin found it hard to set down her chopsticks, unaware this was precisely his strategy.
After finishing dinner, they watched a movie, bickering good-naturedly over which one to choose as they passed the Remote Control back and forth, until laughter spilled out.
“Back in the day, I used to fight with Hwan like this.”
“That guy was always acting devoted to you, and he wouldn’t even give up the Remote Control?”
“Yeah, the Remote Control was off-limits.”
Smiling, Lee Jin suddenly focused on Kang Hyun. The absence of Hwan, who had once naturally sat between them, made the fact that she could still laugh feel strangely vivid.
His death still ached in her heart, but she was grateful she could still smile.
If Kang Hyun hadn’t been there, she doubted she could smile even now. The thought filled her with sudden gratitude toward him.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever thanked you. I was able to overcome losing Hwan well because you were by my side. Thank you.”
Too embarrassed to meet his eyes, she spoke softly, her face lit by the glow from the screen.
“I don’t think I deserve that kind of thanks.”
A bitter smile twisted Kang Hyun’s mouth. He was garbage who’d exploited his friend’s death.
He’d deliberately carved into the void left by his friend’s passing.
“No, I really do owe you.”
She stubbornly shook her head.
It thrilled him to see himself reflected as virtuous in her eyes, yet the thought of meeting Hwan after death sent darkness crashing over his vision.
It’s not possible to find someone who cherishes your brother as much as I do, he told himself with false confidence.
Since it’s already come to this, just help me out. He’d end up pleading.
He was not afraid of his mother’s opposition. He had already resolved to sever that connection if necessary.
What he truly feared was Lee Jin letting him go. What would he do then? He suspected he wouldn’t be able to release her, no matter what she said.
A dark and twisted possessiveness crept through him, growing inch by inch.
Even if those gentle lips that once spoke gratitude now hurled curses at him, he would still claim her in the end.
Before the darkness could swallow him whole, Kang Hyun squeezed his eyes shut and severed the thought.
“Yeah, and I’m grateful that you’re grateful to me.”
Feigning indifference, he tousled her hair and tilted her head to rest against his shoulder.
She laughed softly and settled against him, focusing on the film.
Kang Hyun couldn’t concentrate on the movie, but the quiet, peaceful time flowed on.

After washing up, Lee Jin came to bed and caught herself, stealing a glance at Kang Hyun.
He was preparing for sleep with an almost austere posture, as if to declare that he wouldn’t lay a hand on her tonight.
Yet he was the one who always gazed at her with yearning eyes whenever he had the chance.
She didn’t know how to ask if he was just going to sleep, if he wasn’t going to do anything, so she slowly lay down.
The Suite Room’s spacious bed, rather than narrowing the distance between them, made it feel as though they were sleeping in separate beds entirely.
“Sleep well.”
“Hm? Oh.”
He offered the tender greeting and pulled the blanket up to her neck. Caught off guard, Lee Jin lay straight and could only blink.
Kang Hyun dimmed the lights in the room.
Were they really just going to sleep like this? Lee Jin felt an unexpected pang of disappointment and startled herself.
But they had never slept together without being intimate, so she’d naturally assumed they would tonight. Kang Hyun bore some responsibility for that expectation.
She felt like she’d become some eager woman, so she closed her eyes to try sleeping, but sleep wouldn’t come. As she tossed and turned, he let out a long sigh and spoke.
“What?”
Lee Jin hesitated, unsure what to say, then asked him this.
“Are you sick somewhere?”
He breathed out sharply.
“No, I’m not sick.”
“Then… are you worn out?”
This maddeningly alluring woman had no idea that he’d deliberately loosened his grip, and now she was walking straight into the trap.
“No, I’m overflowing with energy.”
“Then why……”
Her muddled voice was endearing and pitiful.
Charmed by her innocence and honesty—which would inevitably lead him to regret what he was about to do—he let out a stifled laugh.
His intention not to touch her tonight had probably been born of conscience.
He’d feared that, harboring such unimaginable dark desires, he would taint her.
Beyond that, an unusually twisted possessiveness had surfaced today, and he had no confidence in controlling it. He’d chosen sleep because the thought that he might hurt her terrified him.
Unaware that it was for her own sake, she’d finally reached for the latch he’d firmly closed.
As if he didn’t know what lay inside. Kang Hyun twisted his lips into a smile and wrapped his arm around Lee Jin’s waist, pulling her sharply against him.
“It’s the opposite. I’m overflowing with energy, and I don’t think I can finish with just one time.”
In the darkness, he felt her eyes widen, blinking rapidly in shock.
“If you can’t finish in one time… you mean you could do it more than once?”
Her voice trembled with disbelief, and Kang Hyun exhaled slowly.
Imagining her expression as she spoke, his body responded against his will.
“Yeah, we could do it as many times as you want.”
Startled, Lee Jin drew a sharp breath, and Kang Hyun could hold back no longer. He grasped the tie of her robe and undid it.
“Curious? Want to find out how many times we can?”
He whispered low against her ear, his hands greedily claiming the softness of her skin.
Now he understood. Kang Hyun, whom all the world knew, troubled by conscience?
Such a thing had never suited him in the first place.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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