25 Days With Mr. Arrogant

CHAPTER 16

Nevertheless, I decided to speak up, clearing my throat gently and swallowing hard.

"I love him."

He was quiet for a moment, which surprised me. I'd half expected his head to shoot up in my direction, his sunglasses to slide down the elegant slope of his nose, and his jaw to drop agape. What was even more unsettling was the fact that he continued to butter his roll as if what I'd said had absolutely no affect on him whatsoever. After a few long, unnerving moments, a subtle smile formed at the corner of his full mouth.

"I know."

My eyes widened and it was my mouth that slackened after he'd uttered the words. I blinked rapidly in an attempt to comprehend what he'd just said, and he bit noisily into his roll, chewing as he looked up at me.

"You say that as if it's a surprise," he continued. "I've known this, Jeonghan."

I swallowed hard, my cheeks flushing hotly in embarrassment, and let my gaze fall down to the smooth surface of the table. "Was it that obvious?"

He bit into his roll again, leaning back lazily in his chair. "I've seen the way you look at one another."

I was quiet for a moment as his words sunk in, but the rapid increase in my heart rate quickly shook me to my senses and I felt my mouth dry up substantially. "Wha - what?"

He sighed heavily then, popping the last bite of the bread into his mouth. "There are so many things I want to tell you," he spoke up in a quiet, gentle voice. "But it's not my place to say them."

I swallowed hard again, "What - what do you mean?"

"I think you and my brother need to have a long talk," he said after a moment. "I can't - it's just... it's not my place."

I felt that familiar heaviness in my chest and swallowed against the slowly forming lump along the insides of my throat. I shook my head, my words coming out a quiet near-whisper. "I don't want to talk to him."

Wonwoo didn't ask why. He didn't throw questions at me about what Seungcheol had done. He simply sat across from me patiently, his eyes more than likely their usual warm, gentleness behind the large lenses of his shades.

"I came home last night," I spoke up quietly, avoiding his gaze. "And found Seungcheol standing half-naked in my living room." I inhaled shakily, the overwhelmingly awful emotions that had consumed me hours ago reemerging. "He had sex with my roommate."

"He what?"

"I don't understand it," I continued, my voice shaking and my eyes feeling that familiar burning sensation along the sensitive inner linings. "He'd been over hours before I'd gone out ... a-and he - he ...I just - I don't understand. And let's not forget he told me he was straight alright." I trailed off, finding the words difficult to escape my mouth. I didn't know if I should tell Wonwoo that his brother had practically smashed me against the wall and kissed me, so I opted to keep that to myself.

"You went out last night," Wonwoo repeated quietly. "Where?"

I sniffed and shrugged, the image of Mingyu's face coming to my mind. The memory brought some temporary relief to the devastation flooding me. "That guy I had a drink with at Karma last week took me out."

Wonwoo stared at me for a long moment, his mouth slowly parting and then closing. The waitress intersected our conversation, her presence emerging as she set down our two steaming plates of breakfast foods. She had stared longingly at Wonwoo, whose gaze was still locked intently on my figure, and then asked if he needed anything more. He shook his head slowly, waving her off with a casual hand. She hesitantly retreated, her gaze flitting over her shoulder at Wonwoo's motionless form.