Dear. My Darling | Gongfourz / Taehan

Chapter 44

Leehan stood inside the storage room at Taesan's apartment, his heart pounding in his chest, fingers trembling as he gripped his phone.

He had been pacing, running through the words he would say, rehearsing the conversation a dozen times in his head.

But now, standing at the door, everything felt wrong. He had seen the photos. He had seen the letters, the way Taesan had been smiling at that girl with a happiness that wasn't meant for him.

But maybe... maybe he was overreacting. Maybe it wasn't what it seemed. Maybe those photos were old, taken before everything between him and Taesan had started.

Maybe the letters weren't what they seemed. He could have explained, Leehan tried to reason with himself. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

Still, doubts gnawed at him, and the knot in his stomach only grew tighter with each passing second.

The image of Taesan laughing with the girl-so carefree, so full of affection-kept replaying in his mind, suffocating him.

What if he found someone else?

He exhaled sharply, shaking his head to clear the thought. No. He had to talk to Taesan first. He couldn't just jump to conclusions.

Leehan walked out of the room and onto the living room. His chest was tight, but he tried to breathe through the anxiety.

The door closed, and Taesan stood before him. His eyes were tired, his posture slumped, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him.

Leehan hesitated for a moment, but the words had already formed in his mind. He had to ask. He had to know.

"Taesan," Leehan said, his voice steady but tight with the pressure building inside him. "What's going on? Why are you avoiding me?"

Taesan's eyes flickered, and he ran a hand through his hair, his face blank, expression distant. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but the words didn't come.

The silence stretched between them like a void, and Leehan felt the cold air around them suffocate him.

"I'm not avoiding you," Taesan said at last, his voice quiet but laced with something Leehan couldn't read. "I just... I just have a lot on my plate right now."

Leehan's heart clenched. There was something in Taesan's voice, in the way he spoke, that didn't sit right. It was like he was trying to convince both of them, but Leehan could tell-it didn't add up.

"What kind of things?" Leehan pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Taesan hesitated again, glancing away, his gaze shifting to the floor. "It's not something I can explain right now," he muttered, his words barely audible.

Leehan felt the cold rush of suspicion tighten in his chest. Something isn't right, he thought, but he pushed the thought away. He had to keep calm. He had to give Taesan the chance to speak, to explain.

But his patience was wearing thin. The tension between them felt like a heavy curtain, one that neither of them could pull back.

Leehan took a step forward, his voice softer now, filled with quiet frustration. "Taesan, you've been distant for days. I don't know what's going on, but I can't keep doing this. I can't keep chasing after you while you're shutting me out."

Taesan's shoulders slumped, and for a moment, he just stood there, his face a mixture of exhaustion and guilt. His lips parted, but again, nothing came out.

Leehan's chest tightened even more. Why is he doing this? He wanted to scream, to shake Taesan and make him tell the truth.

Leehan swallowed hard, his voice cracking as he asked the question that had been gnawing at him ever since he had seen those pictures. "Taesan... are you... are you in love with someone else now?"

The words hung in the air, and Leehan immediately regretted asking. It was too direct, too painful. He couldn't take them back now. He tried to look at Taesan, but he couldn't bring himself to meet his gaze.

The silence that followed was deafening, and in that moment, Leehan wasn't sure if he was more afraid of the answer or the lack of one.

Finally, Taesan looked up at him, his eyes tired and hollow. There was a brief flicker of something-pain, guilt-but it quickly vanished.

"Leehan... I-" He stopped himself, rubbing his forehead as if the weight of the question was too much to bear.

The room seemed to close in around them, and Leehan's heart twisted.

What if it's true? What if Taesan had fallen for someone else, someone who could love him in ways Leehan couldn't?

The thought felt like a blade to his chest, and the tears threatened to rise up again, but Leehan fought them back. He wouldn't cry in front of him. Not yet.

And then, Taesan spoke, his voice low and almost distant, as if the words themselves were a burden he could barely carry.

"I'm getting married," he said softly, his gaze falling to the ground.

Leehan's world shattered. The words didn't make sense. They couldn't. He didn't hear them right.

His breath caught in his throat, his chest constricting as he tried to grasp the reality of what Taesan had just said.

"Wh-what?" Leehan whispered, the words barely escaping his lips.

The room spun, the walls closing in on him. His mind struggled to keep up, to make sense of the reality Taesan had just dropped in his lap.

Taesan didn't say anything else. He simply stood there, his face filled with quiet anguish, his eyes avoiding Leehan's. His expression was empty, as though the confession itself had hollowed him out.

Leehan didn't know what to do, where to go. He wanted to scream, to ask how this had happened, how it could have happened. But the truth was right there in front of him, and it was more than he could bear.

"I-I can't..." Leehan's words broke apart in his throat.

The pain was too much. The world around him had gone silent, the noise of his thoughts deafening in his ears. He took a step back, his mind scrambling to catch up to the reality he didn't want to accept.

"I'm sorry," Taesan whispered, taking a small step toward him, but Leehan couldn't hear him anymore. His heart was drowning in confusion and hurt.

Everything they had built together, all the love they had shared-it was crumbling. Cracking under the weight of a secret Taesan had kept from him.

Leehan could feel Taesan's presence as he moved closer, but it felt like there was an invisible wall between them, one that had formed in the space where trust had once lived.

How could he do this? The question echoed in his mind, but no answer came.

"I tried to tell you..." Taesan began, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of Leehan's own heartbeat, pounding painfully in his chest.

But before Taesan could continue, Leehan raised his hand, cutting him off. His voice was broken, barely audible, but it carried the weight of everything he had been holding back.

"Don't," Leehan whispered. "Don't explain. I can't... I can't hear it."

Taesan's face fell, and for the first time, Leehan saw the raw pain in his eyes. The silence between them was thick with regret, with things unsaid, with a relationship that had fractured beyond repair.

Leehan couldn't look at him anymore. He turned, walking out of the apartment, his legs heavy and his mind a blur of pain. Taesan was getting married.

Is this how Taesan wants to fix their relationship?

The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence that followed felt like the loudest thing in the world.