Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 50: It Was You, Jongseok-hyung

"What?"

Son Suhyeon couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. For a moment, he couldn’t even comprehend what the guy in front of him had just said.

The one who barged in and grabbed Ha Giyeon was none other than the infamous Ha Dohoon—practically a legend at school. And to Son Suhyeon, the kind of person he wanted to avoid at all costs. Yet here he was, dragging his entourage along with him into the library.

Fine, so what if it was a library. Even during club hours, students were allowed to check out books. But that guy hadn’t shown the slightest interest in any of the books. He’d stormed straight over to Giyeon and grabbed him—roughly, violently.

What’s more, the arm Dohoon had grabbed was the same one where Giyeon had once had bruises. The moment Suhyeon saw it, he shot to his feet. And when Dohoon tried to drag Giyeon out, Suhyeon instinctively seized his other arm.

Normally, he would’ve avoided attention, slipped away, ignored it. But this situation was different. Someone was laying hands on Giyeon right in front of him. The sudden rise of disgust and anger made Suhyeon hold on and not let go.

And then—he heard it.

Hyung...?

Ha Dohoon had said he was Giyeon’s hyung. There were plenty of reasons someone might call someone else “hyung,” even without a blood connection. But this didn’t feel like that. Especially now—thinking about it again—Ha Dohoon and Ha Giyeon. The same last name.

Son Suhyeon was forced to recall the word he hated most.

Brothers?

He was usually sharp, quick to assess and adapt to any situation. But this time, his judgment was slow. Or maybe he simply didn’t want to acknowledge it.

That Ha Giyeon was Ha Dohoon’s younger brother.

"Hey, I asked what your deal is."

"Why are you doing this? Stop it, hyung!"

"What’s up with you and this bastard? Is this why you didn’t join our club?"

Dohoon's voice grew louder, and Giyeon squirmed in distress, trying to calm him down. But Dohoon was too worked up, his emotions bursting through with no restraint. Choi Mujin and Kwon Jongseok watched the scene with amused eyes, as if it were the most entertaining thing they'd seen in weeks.

"You kids—why are you being so loud?"

The advisor approached, frowning.

"It’s club hours right now... What club are you even from?"

"Sorry, teacher. I just came to check out some books and ran into my little brother. We’ll keep it down."

As the teacher looked at them with suspicion, Dohoon let go of Giyeon’s arm, and Suhyeon also released his grip.

She glanced at Kwon Jongseok, her expression softening. After all, he had a reputation for being the model student—first in the school rankings and all.

"Just keep it down a bit, okay? Some kids are trying to read."

With that, she walked away. But Dohoon, visibly irritated, grabbed Giyeon’s arm again and began dragging him out of the library.

"..."

Suhyeon instinctively reached out to Giyeon—but pulled his hand back.

This was a family matter between brothers.

It wasn’t something he had a right to interfere in. So Suhyeon just sank into his chair. Kwon Jongseok scoffed and followed the two out with a grin on his face.

***

"Let go of me...!"

Out in the hallway, Giyeon finally gathered enough strength to rip himself free of Dohoon’s grip.

They had ended up at the far end of the corridor—a place where few people passed.

Dohoon reached out again, ready to grab him, but Giyeon quickly stepped back. He wasn’t about to get dragged around so easily. From the direction they’d come, it seemed Dohoon had come here straight from the Debate Club room.

‘Did he seriously come all the way here just because of the club?’

What about Nam Taekyung, then? What was the point of coming all the way here because he switched clubs?

Dohoon scoffed at Giyeon’s firm expression and spat in a low voice,

"Did you decide to go full rebel now?"

"What the hell did I even do? What’s so wrong about joining the Reading Club?"

This time, Giyeon had no intention of backing down. After everything—being strangled by Dohoon—what was there left to fear? He wasn’t even sure why he was this angry. Maybe it was because it felt like Dohoon was barging into his room again, cornering him—but this time in the library.

"I see how it is. You’re glaring at me now?"

"Giyeon, I don’t think you understand. We’re not saying this is some minor issue—we’re telling you it’s wrong."

"What..."

"Maybe you picked it out of spite after our fight. But you can’t go around making impulsive decisions like that. It’s a club you’re stuck with all year."

"Your homeroom teacher’s gonna be pissed, but what can we do? Who told you to be a damn idiot about it? Let’s go change it now—"

"Wait a second...!"

Giyeon, still dazed by the flood of their words, finally cut in. He couldn’t keep up with what they were saying, but thinking back on it in light of their past behavior, he started to understand.

‘So basically, they think I picked my club out of spite, and now they want me to change it back?’

They really thought he’d just agree to that?

Giyeon wasn’t even angry anymore. He just felt numb—like someone had struck him across the back of the head.

How long were they planning to treat him like an idiot? Like a fool who’d always follow them around? Did they think he was still their little pet?

He’d overlooked it for a while, but the arrogance was suffocating.

They were the same as always.

Self-centered. Never thinking about others. Always trampling over emotions without a second thought.

That’s why, even when he’d died, they hadn’t looked for him.

Even after the regression—despite all his efforts to change—they hadn’t «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» changed one bit. Maybe it was hard to destroy years of perception and start fresh. But wasn’t it time they at least treated him like a person?

To them, he was still nothing but a toy.

"I didn’t make that choice on impulse. It was my decision."

"Are you fucking insane? Since when do you even read?"

"Yeah, come on, Giyeon. That’s kind of hilarious."

"Stop being stubborn and just go fix it already."

Giyeon let out an exaggerated sigh. His math score had been good today, he’d had a nice conversation with Son Suhyeon—and they’d ruined it all.

"Stubborn? Sounds like you’re the ones being stubborn."

"What?"

"Whatever club I choose, it’s my responsibility. Even if I regret it later, it has nothing to do with you."

"You sure talk funny these days, Giyeon. You think we can just not care?"

"You’ll come whining to us again soon enough. Remember how you used to go on and on about wanting to join our club all through middle school?"

"Well, we’re in high school now. Things are different. I’m not wasting my time like I did back then."

Dohoon’s face went blank. Jongseok’s expression cracked. Mujin looked stunned, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Like he was seeing a version of Giyeon he didn’t even recognize.

"Wasting time? You little shit—"

"...!"

Dohoon stepped forward, and Giyeon instinctively flinched, tightly closing his eyes and curling in on himself. It was so obvious, so visible, that Dohoon was taken aback.

Giyeon’s face had gone pale with fear.

And just like that, Dohoon remembered the moment he’d choked him. His eyes flicked to the turtleneck Giyeon was still wearing. It was too warm now—he had to be sweating under it. There was only one reason he’d still wear something like that.

To hide the marks.

To hide what he had done.

"...Shit..."

Mujin and Jongseok were equally stunned. It was the first time since they were kids that they’d seen Giyeon visibly afraid of being hit. That reaction could only mean one thing—someone had hit him before.

And worse—he was scared of his own brother.

Mujin clenched his jaw.

"So you’ve been getting beat up, and now you think you can ditch us and go off on your own?"

"I told you already—it wasn’t—"

"Giyeon. Did he hit you?"

The question cut through the hallway like a blade.

It was Kwon Jongseok who said it. Still smiling.

And everyone knew exactly who he was referring to.

Son Suhyeon—who had just been holding Giyeon’s arm moments ago.

The moment he heard that, Giyeon’s eyes widened, his body freezing.

Jongseok, oblivious to the reaction, kept going, voice sharp.

Sure, maybe he'd accidentally hurt Giyeon once. But he hadn’t told anyone. That’s why Dohoon was still looking for “that bastard.”

He figured Giyeon would never say a word. He’d never expose the truth.

Perfect.

Now he had an excuse to drag Giyeon out of the Reading Club. He’d pin it all on Suhyeon—call it bullying or harassment or whatever it took.

He didn’t even remember Suhyeon’s face properly. That loser wasn’t worth remembering.

"You fucking piece of—"

Dohoon, completely convinced, was about to turn and storm back into the library. Mujin was right behind him, just as ready to explode. Giyeon threw himself between them, trying to hold them back.

"Don’t go! I said no! I said it’s not true!" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

"Let me go! I’ll kill that bastard!"

He was being dragged again. But this time, Giyeon looked straight at Kwon Jongseok—the one who’d said it.

Their eyes locked. Jongseok still had that fake smile on his face, looking like he was enjoying the chaos.

And in that moment, something inside Ha Giyeon snapped.

He knew.

Jongseok knew exactly who had left those bruises on him.

But he thought Giyeon would never speak up. That no matter what, Giyeon would never name him.

That was his mistake.

If he'd just left Suhyeon out of it, Giyeon might’ve stayed silent.

But now?

"That wasn’t Suhyeon-sunbae."

"It was you, Jongseok-hyung."