Suho's breath hitched. "Haraboji?"
"Pick it up," Hauen said carefully.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head.
And the call disconnected.
They barely had time to breathe before Hauen's phone lit up next, Incoming Video Call: Haraboji.
"Oh no," she hissed, "he's calling me now."
"No! Don't pick up," he protested, already looking like a caught teenager.
"If we don't, they'll get suspicious," she argued, hesitating with her thumb hovering over the screen.
"No, no, no... please, don't—" he pleaded, but it was too late. She had already answered.
The screen lit up with the entire Kim family's faces.
Suho froze.
And then, in pure panic, he hid his face straight into her lap.
Hauen's jaw dropped. "Suho!" she whispered, half shocked, half trying not to laugh as his ears turned red.
The screen filled with the entire Kim family. Haraboji in the center, Mrs. Kim and Daehyun beside him, with a worried face, Yuna in the corner with her usual calm expression.
"Annyeong!" Hauen greeted nervously, forcing a bright smile.
"Hmmm," Haraboji grunted, eyes narrowing slightly. "Where is Suho?"
"He's… sleeping," she said quickly.
"Where?"
Her heart skipped. "Uh… here… on my lap."
She slowly turned the camera toward him.
Suho froze like a caught criminal, hair disheveled, face flushed, eyes panicked, and managed a weak smile. "Annyeong, everyone…"
Haraboji's tone was calm but sharp. "I was drinking my evening tea, and suddenly the entire world was watching my grandson crying in the middle of a highway."
Suho winced. "Haraboji—"
The old man raised a hand. "And hugging your wife like the end of a tragic movie. You nearly caused an accident, Suho."
"It wasn't—"
"Haraboji, please don't misunderstand," Hauen jumped in quickly, bowing slightly even through the screen. "It's not as it looks."
His gaze softened slightly but remained firm. "Then what was it, Hauen? Did you two fight?"
Her eyes flicked toward Suho, who looked like a child caught with candy he wasn't supposed to eat.
She took a quiet breath and smiled. "No, haraboji. It was just a misunderstanding. I was leaving to visit my parents, and Suho thought I was leaving him. He panicked and came after me."
"Panicked," Haraboji repeated dryly. "That's an understatement. He nearly shut down an entire lane."
Suho mumbled, "I was emotional…"
"Yes, that was obvious," Haraboji muttered.
Hauen nodded respectfully. "We're really sorry for creating such a public scene. Everything's fine now, we talked, cleared it all, and we're okay."
Haraboji's sharp eyes lingered on the two for a long moment, then he sighed, rubbing his temple. "You two… always turning your life into some melodrama. The entire internet thinks you belong in a K-drama."
Suho muttered under his breath, "They're not wrong."
Hauen elbowed him gently, whispering, "Not now."
The old man's lips twitched slightly, almost a smile. "Next time, if you want to express love, Suho… use flowers. Or a phone call. Or better yet, common sense."
"Yes, sir," Suho said sheepishly, bowing slightly.
Haraboji turned the tablet to Mrs. Kim and Daehyun, who were trying hard to hide their amusement. "Modern romance," he muttered, "too theatrical for my taste."
Mrs. Kim chuckled softly. "At least they're in love, Aboji."
Daehyun grinned. "Suho-ya, you looked like a hero in a movie. Everyone's calling you 'Highway Romeo.'"
Suho groaned, hiding behind Hauen.
The family erupted into laughter.
The call finally ended, only for Hauen's phone to ring again within seconds.
She sighed and picked up. "Omma?"
Her mother's concerned face appeared immediately. "I just saw the news! Were you really crying on the highway?! Why didn't you call me?!"
Suho groaned beside her, falling back on the couch with an arm over his face.
By the time the second round of emotional questioning was over, Suho looked utterly drained. He flopped back with a dramatic sigh. "I think I aged ten years in the last thirty minutes."
Hauen burst out laughing and playfully smacked his stomach.
He yelped, clutching his side in fake pain before laughing along with her.
Their laughter filled the room, light, real, and the kind that made everything feel right again.
"Hm… Mr. Highway Romeo," Hauen teased, folding her arms. "You skipped your workout routine today, all thanks to your melodrama."
He groaned, instantly hiding his face behind the cushion. "Don't call me that…" came his muffled voice.
Hauen laughed softly, leaning over to tug the cushion. "But that's what the whole internet is calling you," she teased.
He whined, still hiding. "That's so embarrassing. I don't even know how I'm supposed to attend tomorrow's office meeting!"
Her laughter deepened; she couldn't resist how adorably flustered he looked. She reached forward, trying to pull the cushion away, but he clung tighter like a stubborn kid.
"Come on, Teddy, let me see your face," she teased.
"No! Leave me to die in peace!" he said dramatically, making her laugh even harder.
"Since when are you this shy, Suho?" she grinned. "I never saw you being shy with Yerin."
That made him pause. For a second, she worried she'd touched an old wound. But instead of tensing, he slowly peeked out, meeting her eyes softly.
"I used to be, back then," he said quietly. "Then I got comfortable." He looked away and muttered, "And stop bringing up my ex."
She smiled, eyes glinting with mischief. "So… does that mean you've officially gotten over your ex?"
He turned fully toward her now, lips parting in disbelief. "Seriously? After everything I did to confess to you? After embarrassing myself in front of the entire nation for a lifetime, you're still asking me that?" His tone was half-offended, but irresistibly cute.
Hauen bit her lip, fighting a smile. "Just curious… wanted to make sure I've completely occupied my teddy bear's heart."
He glared or tried to. She could see him fighting hard not to blush, but failing miserably, his ears turned pink. His face betrayed him completely.
"Stop being flustered," she teased softly, running her fingers through his hair.
He hid his face again, giving up. "You're flirting too much with me," he mumbled into the cushion.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Teddy," she said, smirking. "I thought I was allowed to flirt with my official husband."
He groaned dramatically, dragging the cushion over his head. "Stop teasing meee…"
She couldn't help it; her laughter spilled out, soft and genuine, echoing through the living room. And he, despite all his sulking, smiled into the cushion.
"Alright, alright," she said, standing and offering her hand. "Enough being shy, come. Let's walk for a bit."
He peeked up at her lazily. "Can we skip it today?" His voice was soft, sincere. "I'm really drained after everything. And…" He hesitated before his gaze dropped. "I just… want to be with you today. Beside you. Talking with you, feeling your warmth… lying on your lap," he finished softly. Then he looked up, his eyes gentle and pleading. "Please?"
Her heart melted instantly. That one word, that look, she didn't stand a chance.
She smiled, eyes softening. "Okay," she whispered with a smile, sitting down on the couch and patting her lap. "Come"
His face lit up, boyish and relieved, and without wasting a second, he lay down across her lap, wrapping his arms around her waist like he belonged there. She smiled, fingers threading through his messy hair, brushing it back gently.
"Talk to me," he mumbled, his voice already drowsy, eyes fluttering shut as if her warmth was enough to calm his entire world.
"What do you want to talk about, Mr. Romeo?" she teased again, smirking.
He cracked one eye open and frowned. "I said talk, not tease. And don't call me that. A teddy bear is enough."
She smiled at his face. He immediately hid his face against her stomach, again shy. And she could feel him smile there.
She continued stroking his hair, talking to him about random little things, memories, food, old habits, Bora's cooking, silly news she read online, and he just listened, occasionally humming or adding a word, like it was the most peaceful sound in the world.
They laughed. They fell quiet. They breathed together.
Somewhere in New York…
Yerin sat on her couch, phone in hand, staring at the viral video playing on the screen.
Suho, her Suho, was crying, clinging to another woman. Hauen. His voice trembled as he confessed, "Please don't leave me."
Her heart clenched painfully.
The man who once whispered I love you to her for nine long years was now crying for someone else, like she had never existed.
Tears welled in her eyes as she watched him hold Hauen like his life depended on her, his face buried in her neck, as if the world began and ended there.
Her breath came heavy, uneven. her eyes fell on the video freezing mid-frame, showing Suho's tear-streaked face buried in Hauen's shoulder.
Her heart clenched painfully. Jealousy and grief tangled in her chest, burning through her ribs until her hands shook.
Rage surged through her veins. She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white, then hurled it across the room.
It crashed against the wall, shattering into pieces, the sound echoing in the empty apartment.
"How…" she whispered, voice trembling. "How can you forget me so easily, Suho?"
Her breath came out in shaky gasps. "You said you'd love me forever… and now look at you," she muttered, tears rolling down her face.
Anger and heartbreak tangled inside her. She pressed her palms against her face, shaking her head. "You promised me forever… and now you're crying for her?"
Her stomach twisted. The video replayed itself in her mind, his tears, his desperate voice, the way he said Hauen's name like it was sacred.
And that was what hurt the most.
"Did you really move on, Suho…"
She sank back onto the couch, the screen still glowing faintly towards her, frozen on the moment she wished she could unsee.
The air felt heavy, almost foreshadowing something dark stirring again in the quiet hum of the city.