|Weak Hero| Reincarnated as the Villain's Big Brother!

Chapter 13

Changhui didn't show up at the tea shop at his usual time. Devlin thought that he must have been preoccupied with Cheongang business and would be late. He waited and waited, but closing time came and Changhui never appeared.

Devlin was now worried. He quickly closed up the shop and headed to Mapo to try to find out what had happened to Changhui. 'Fights usually happen in parking lots, alleys, or construction sites. Actually, fights also happen in plain sight in the middle of the roads and somehow these people don't get run over by angry drivers,'

Still, Devlin prioritized searching through alleys, parking lots, and construction sites. He located Changhui in one of the farther construction sites. The black haired man was lying on his back, covered in wounds. His suit was stained with dirt and blood. 

"Changhui!" Devlin rushed over to his side. 'He's not having trouble breathing, so that's a good sign. It doesn't look like he has any broken bones,'

Changhui stared at Devlin with wide eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You didn't show up at the usual time, so I came to look for you—"

"Leave," Changhui's voice was ice cold, so unfamiliar compared to the usual warmth when he spoke with at the tea shop.

"I can help treat your wounds—"

"I said leave!" Changhui snapped. "I don't need your help! This has nothing to do with you, so just leave!"

Devlin unconsciously took a step. "Sorry. I'll just leave then," He quickly left without turning back. 'The only interactions we had were at the coffee shop. We were only customer and staff. I probably overstepped boundaries by coming here. I stupidly thought we had gotten closer and were now friends, but I'm just an idiot with a one-sided crush!'

Tears started streaming down but he was for once glad that it had started to rain. His tears blended in with the raindrops sliding down his face. He just had to put up a convincing fake smile when he got home so Donald wouldn't notice that something was wrong.

XXX

"Fuck!" Changhui sat up and leaned against a large steel pipe. 'I already accepted my defeat against Joowon. I already knew that I needed to get stronger and hone my skills before challenging him again,'

He slammed his fist against the steel pipe. 'Why did Devlin have to show up!? Why did he have to see me in such a sorry state!' He was embarrassed and angry at himself.

"You didn't show up at the usual time, so I came to look for you—"

'He came looking for me because he was worried about me,' Changhui thought. 'He cares about me. He cares about me but I snapped at him and told him to get lost,'

"I fucked up," 

Changhui didn't show up at the tea shop for two weeks. He focused on recovering and increasing his strength. He recalled all of the attacks Joowon used on him and thought of ways to counter some of them. He was victorious in his rematch against Joowon.

When he finally returned to the tea shop at his usual time, he frowned when he saw a different person at the register. "Where's Devlin?"

"Devlin Na? That guy resigned two week ago,"

'Two weeks ago was when we last saw each other,' Rather than ordering, Changhui left. He knew his usual black tea and mousse would taste like sand if he were to eat them right now. 'Did he quit because of me? But where is he right now? He's gotta have a job to support himself and his little brother, so he's gotta be working somewhere in the Yeongdeungpo area,'

He looked through the glass windows of each store and restaurant, hoping to catch a glimpse of Devlin. 'Maybe he got a job a bit out of the area, like in Noryangjin? Maybe he got a job during the day and only works day shift instead of the night shift?'

It started to rain, just like on the night Changhui had snapped at Devlin. 'I can't believe I actually fell for him, just to end up snapping at him and causing a rift between us,'

Changhui had also realized his growing feelings for Devlin but he didn't want to mess up what they currently had. Would it had even worked out between them? Devlin left Cheongang because he truly never wanted to be a gang member and had only joined for survival. Changhui was still a gang member and had no intentions of leaving.

He decided to buy himself a hot drink to warm himself up before heading home. He saw that the cashier that was just getting off his shift at that moment was none other than Devlin. Devlin stared at him before looking away and walking past him.

"Devlin," Changhui asked. "Did you eat yet?"

Before Devlin could answer, his stomach growled loudly. 

"I think most of the restaurants are closed right now, but I can treat you to some convenience store food," Changhui told him. "As repayment for the times you've given me those treats,"

"No thanks," Devlin declined. "You don't need to pay me back,"

"I want to talk to you," Changhui grabbed his hand.

The two sat at a counter next to each other. Both young men had a bowl of hot ramen. Devlin was glad that Donald was sleeping over at Gray's house so Donald wouldn't be worried about why he wasn't home right away again.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you two weeks ago," Changhui apologized and got straight to the point. "I didn't want you to see me like that,"

"You're wounded again," Devlin noted Changhui's bandaged wounds. "You beat Joowon this time around,"

"Yeah," Changhui nodded. "I like you, Devlin,"

Devlin immediately choked on his ramen. Changhui had to pat Devlin's back to help him.  Devlin took several gulps of water. "W-What did you say? I think I misheard?"

"I like you," Changhui repeated. "Romantically,"

"You're lying," Devlin accused. "Did Gijoo convince you to prank me or something?" 'Gijoo's the only one with a playful enough personality that I can see him actually pranking people,'

"Who's Gijoo?"

"Gijoo Seol? Red hair and gold eyes? A cross earring in one ear? He's a member of Cheongang?"

Changhui blinked. "There's no one named Gijoo Seol in Cheongang,"

'Fuck, I guess Gijoo didn't join yet,' Devlin realized his mistake. "I probably mistook that one member for someone else then," 

Fortunately, Changhui was more focused on his confession. "Do you like me back?"

Devlin blushed and looked away. "Yeah, I do,"

"You may now kiss the groom—"

Devlin shoved the convenience store cashier, who had purposely been restocking the shelves nearby to overhear the tea, away. "Ignore him,"

Word Count: 1086

And now they are dating.