Hidden Motives || Chae Hyungwon

[ twenty-one ]

Chae Hyungwon

i decided to drop eun gyeol to her house after she drank a bit and got tipsy at the dinner.

the thing is, she was only tipsy and i knew she had good tolerance. it takes a while before she actually gets drunk. i could certainly call on her driver using her phone, but she insisted back at the restaurant that i should be the one to take her home. 

i adjusted the air conditioner in my car as it started to get chilly in the night. afterwards, i stopped the moment the traffic light eventually shifted red.

"you know what, you drive well enough... you could certainly save some more money if you cut minhyuk off his job..." eun gyeol started.

i looked at her through my peripheral vision so that i was able to keep my head and attention on the road.

"getting minhyuk was my dad's idea.. and besides, he's not a driver for nothing. he certainly knows the way to certain places more than i do. he's very convenient for me on top of that."

eun gyeol pressed her lips into a thin line as she started nodding at my answer.

"thanks for deciding to drive me home. i just love the smell of your car. it strongly reminds me of you." she smiled.

i kept silent and didn't bother responding to her expression of gratitude.

"hey? why aren't you saying anything back? you should at least assure me that it's no problem and that i'm welcome anytime." she slightly frowned at my silence.

"if i'm not mistaken, i came up with this decision not by my own will, but rather because you almost created a scene back there insisting you were so drunk. you can't fool me eun gyeol-ah, i know you can handle your alcohol very well." 

"no?! i really did drink a lot of wine! do you not care for me if my driver took advantage of me?" she started to raise her voice.

"if you didn't trust your driver, you should've fired him a long time ago. it's not like he's never taken you back home before when you were drunk." i replied calmly.

she crossed her arms and looked away hearing me speak to her.

"you're so cold to me.."

"... i don't even know why i'm so attracted to you." eun gyeol uttered under her breath.

"if i'm testing your patience, you don't have to force your feelings for me. we could stop being together anytime." 

"that's not how it works for me." she spoke firmly.

i listened to her silently as the light turned green and i had to focus on driving. i knew she had more to say.

"i know how you treat me and i know how you see me. but even if i do, my longing for you just grows bigger." she turned to face me.

"i really want you, hyungwon-ah. it's been like this ever since we were young." she confessed.

"we went to school together and i knew how you were like. you didn't make an effort to get along with the others and you've always been so distant. you often spoke the harsh truth and you didn't like sugarcoating your thoughts and feelings. many admired you, but at the same time, you treated yourself like an outcast."

i listened to eun gyeol's words carefully. she was confessing every detail; everything she probably must have thought of me. 

"i liked you for it. i've always had my eye on you. you were smart and achieved a lot in high school. the others must have also thought you felt superior because of your handsome looks, so some of them despised you for it. but i knew you were also a warm man. what's there for me not to like?"