Payback AU: What If

Act 2.6 - Light Between the Crack

Yoohan tapped on the leather of the steering wheel, tempted to hum to some tune, even though he rarely listened to any music. The yellow leaves on the side of the road were like cheering scenery. It was as if all the stress he had this morning was a lie.

Did I do well? Will the result be enough for a scholarship? What if—

Yoohan clenched his jaw and shook his head. No. He promised himself to forget about everything. The cSAT was over. All that was left was to wait for the result. Whether he can get the scholarship or not didn't really matter.

Well, it still mattered, but not as much as before.

"Careful now."

Yoohan glanced at the passenger seat where the owner of the car was seated with arms crossed in front of his chest. Unlike his usual three-piece suit attire, the man was in casual clothes today.

Of course, everything was because of him. Yoohan had never liked to be in debt, but he already was, unfortunately. So just a little bit of loan for college tuition on top of that debt with a lot of zeroes on it wouldn't be too much of a significant addition. At the very least, there was no added interest. Of course, it was only in the worst-case scenario kind of situation.

Yoohan knew if he asked for it, Jay would just give him the money without any qualms. That much money was probably nothing for Jay. And it was clearly shown that Jay really didn't think of it as a debt. But Yoohan hated that. It was still a debt, and Yoohan would pay it back someday.

But for today, just for today, he'd forget all of that stuff and enjoy the ride. After all, it wasn't every day he could drive an expensive car like this.

After the whole meltdown at that hospital, the barrier that they created for the past few months was broken down piece by piece. Jay was being so worrywart that he no longer restrained himself from contacting Yoohan every day, if not every hour. It was to the point that Hansoo asked if Yoohan got a nagging girlfriend or something.

Yoohan, for his part, no longer constantly questioned their supposed relationship. After all, it was perfectly clear to both of them how much they think and feel about each other. He found out that with those useless messy thoughts leaving him, his body felt lighter and he could concentrate more on his study. Especially after his mother's surgery went well. It was like a huge burden had been lifted out of him now that he let his repressed emotions out.

There was an emotional episode after his mother woke up where she cried and apologized, and then Hansoo cried too, and Yoohan stood awkwardly with two crying people clinging to him while the nurses watched and whispered about how cute this family was. He had to make excuses about taking out a loan from his boss to pay for the hospital bill, and work hard to hide the receipt from his mother.

He avoided any more interrogation using studying as an excuse. Though he really did need to study. Jay was full-on tutoring him intensely for two weeks, coming to Alice's every day and even taking Yoohan home. Just like before. Just like always.

When the man asked what kind of reward Yoohan wanted after he'd done with cSAT, Yoohan asked for a drive. They used to do it all the time during the fall four years ago, and Yoohan kind of missed it. This time though, he wanted to be the one driving, now that he got his own license.

So here they are now, Yoohan behind a steering wheel, trying to chase away the recurring thought of whether the correct answer for question number X was A or D, or which one he liked more, Yoon Jay on business attire or casual style.

Right. No more thought. Road. The road is pretty. Concentrate, Lee Yoohan!

But it couldn't be helped, anyway, with the way the man showed up in the morning in front of his apartment without any notice. With a simple "I'll take you there," the man drove him into the testing site, looking more like one of his agency's actors than its director. Yoohan thought that would be it, but once the test was over, Jay told him to come into the coffee shop nearby where the man was already waiting, still in the same attire, as if he never left the site at all.