My Lovely Husband || meanie

19. Allegations for being Gay

A/N:
Holla!!!💃

Mingyu

"Kim Mingyu!" The loud, insistent call reverberates through the quiet living room, jolting me from my peaceful slumber. Groaning softly, I curse under my breath, feeling utterly drained with barely any energy left. Reluctantly, I burrow my face deeper into the comforting softness of the pillow, trying to muffle the world out. Despite my best efforts, the urgency in Minghao's voice grows louder and nearer with each passing heartbeat, making it impossible to ignore.

The mattress dips down beside me as he jumps onto it, violently shaking me awake from my slumber. Even before I have a chance to kick him away in irritation, he thrusts his phone into my face. "What is it now? Did Mr. Xu finally get an award for his crappy art?" I joke, shoving his phone away with a groan. I can practically feel him rolling his eyes sassily at my snarky remark, exuding an air of exaggerated exasperation.

"First of all, that wasn't funny and second, it's worse than you getting kicked out of your house," he retorts sharply, kicking my fluffy blanket away. Finally, I decide to glance at his face from the corner of my eyes. His expression has morphed into one of serious concern, which now really worries me.

"What happened?" I ask gingerly, noticing how his face has morphed into something bitter as he shakes his head slightly. "Did you and Wonwoo go out together yesterday?" he questions, his expression unreadable and tense. "Yeah, why? Did that make the news or something?" I joke, playfully taking his phone. "It did," he replies calmly, and I almost drop his phone as the news hits me like an atom bomb dropping into my lap.

"You have to be joking me?" I say aloud to no one in particular as I scroll through the news on my phone. The headline - The CEO of the Jeon Corporation is allegedly found gay - hits me like a ton of bricks, making the news even juicier.There are quite a lot of pictures attached to the article, and I recognize every single one of them because the person whose back is visible in every picture with Wonwoo is me. The first photo is from the shopping mall when we went out with the Jeon family. The bright logo of the store we visited that day - The Art Gallery - is visible in the background. In the picture, a glimpse of Wonwoo's side profile is barely noticeable, while my broad shoulders dominate the frame.

The second photograph from my exhibition captures a low-key intimate moment where our hands are gently intertwined while we stand before a painting. Though it appears we are both engrossed in the artwork, the truth is that Wonwoo is the one truly studying the painting, whereas I am covertly stealing glances at him, my face partly hidden behind my long hair to maintain my anonymity. Just gazing at this picture brings a wave of embarrassment that I try to brush off as I continue to scroll through the images. It becomes evident that the reporter has been closely following us for quite some time, tracing back to our very first supposed to be date at the shopping mall.

The third photograph captures a moment from the intimate coffee shop we visited following the exhibition.In this image, the only visible smile belongs to Wonwoo, his face radiating joy even though his entire frame is obscured by my back, once again playing its part. The subsequent picture transitions us to the outside of the cafe, where he's grinning broadly while I hand him a small bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums. If you look closely, you can just make out a fleeting glimpse of the little boy from the florist sprinting in the background.

And lastly, there was the incident from yesterday when I visited his office; in the photo taken during the visit, only Wonwoo's face was visible.His sky blue shirt hugged his fit body, accentuating his broad shoulders and lean frame, while the whole picture was predominantly occupied by my shoulder and my car in the foreground. As I sit here chewing my lip, I can't quite decide what to feel right now.

I've just finished reading an entire paragraph written about Wonwoo's sexuality, alleging that he has been deceiving the business world by keeping it a secret. The reporter even went as far as to predict a significant share loss for Jeon Corporation. An audible sigh escapes my lips as I scroll through the comments. Some people are positive and support the LGBTQ community, while others are worse than negative, spewing hatred and ignorance. I can't help but wonder what must be going through Wonwoo's mind amidst all this chaos.

Minghao's worried eyes linger on mine as I pass him his phone while climbing down from my bed to go freshen up. By the time I emerge from the bathroom back into my bedroom, Minghao is no longer there. I can hear the muffled sound of the TV coming from the living room, so I figure he must be there.

I quickly dial Wonwoo's number, but the call goes unanswered and dies down after ringing several times. Frustrated, I try calling him multiple times but get the same result each time. Sighing in exasperation, I tuck my phone back into my pocket and run my fingers through my curly locks before making my way to the living room.

"Did you talk to him?" Minghao asks as soon as I enter the living room, his eyes lazily flicking over the television screen while he keeps on changing the channels. His face doesn't show much interest in anything he's seeing. "Nah, he didn't pick up. I guess he has his hands full," I explain as I head towards the kitchen, intent on finding something quick and delicious to make for us.

Spotting the leftover pancake batter in my fridge, I decide that's the easiest option. As I start preparing the pancakes, retrieving a pan and setting it on the stove, a question burns at the back of my mind. I can't hold it in any longer and turn my head slightly so he can hear me, "How did you know about the article? I don't remember you ever being that interested in business news."

"Oh, it's Jun who told me," he answers simply as I see him settling on the couch comfortably while Tom & Jerry runs in the background, their playful antics creating a nostalgic atmosphere in the room."You and Jun?" I tease, a mischievous grin spreading across my face as I pour the batter onto the hot pan, the sizzle of the cooking mixture filling the kitchen. I know he's blushing because it doesn't take much to make him turn red, and that thought makes me chuckle. He sighs audibly in exasperation, his discomfort palpable.

"Shut up, will ya?" he shouts, his voice tinged with embarrassment, which only serves to double my laughter. "Also, yesterday he said he hates you, a lot. Apparently, you're the reason why he had to attend extra meetings with the crappy geezers," he adds, making it clear that Wonwoo wasn't free when he offloaded all his work onto Jun just to spend time with me. This revelation alone makes my heart swell with affection, knowing that he chose to be with me despite the consequences.

"By the way, I heard Jun is bisexual," I casually mention while working on the second pancake. "Why are you telling me that?" His voice tinged with embarrassment as he responds, and I feel a wave of pride at having ruffled his feathers. "Because I happen to know that a little birdie has developed a tiny crush on him," I tease, relishing a muffled groan that escapes him in response.

A chuckle bubbles up from me as I revel in the moment. "Oh, by the way, Seokmin is coming over for lunch, and for the record, I don't have a crush on Jun or anyone else," he defends himself, though his assertion lacks conviction. "I never said it was you," I retort with a grin, flipping the pancake with a flourish.