By Zephyria The attitude and tone that had felt polite and consistently kind back then now felt somewhat aggressive and cynical. It was also indifferent, as if he wouldn’t mind if Seo Jeong-won went back right away.
“The time frame is from Friday night to Sunday. Jeong-won can return on Monday. The location is my house.”
“On weekends…”
“Do you have someone you’re seeing? If so, it would be best to take care of that.”
Seo Jeong-won, holding the pen, hesitated to sign. He glanced up at Kwon Tae-hee’s face as if gauging his reaction, and his hunched shoulders trembled.
He had no experience in that area, and while he was wondering if he should reveal this, a low voice resonated.
“You should pay particular attention to the parts emphasized in bold.”
Seo Jeong-won’s gaze dropped downwards. He could easily find the part Kwon Tae-hee was referring to.
〈In the event of a breach of contract, Seo Jeong-won forfeits all rights to Seo Gyu-won.〉
Could things get any worse than they already were? Seo Jeong-won was desperate to escape the situation that was worsening every day. At least this choice wouldn’t be the worst, would it?
Knowing that there was no better alternative, Seo Jeong-won hesitated before signing.
“If you’re hesitating, it means you’re making the wrong choice. Why don’t you run away before you sign?”
At the smiling suggestion, Seo Jeong-won opened his lips that had been twitching.
“The flower shop… is busy on weekends.”
“What a pity. It’s difficult for me to make time except on weekends.”
At the chilling remark, Seo Jeong-won bit his lip and raised his hand over the document. The hand holding the pen trembled.
What was he so afraid of that he was hesitating so much? If he didn’t manifest within a year anyway, the contract would be terminated.
“What if I manifest but… I can’t get pregnant?”
“I might not consider you my best option then.”
Ah, as soon as he heard those words, Seo Jeong-won instinctively knew. Kwon Tae-hee already had someone to replace him.
But he couldn’t pretend to know. He was afraid that his few words might upset Kwon Tae-hee and change his mind.
“…My brother’s caregiver. Actually, I don’t have one.”
Seo Jeong-won, neatly writing his name on each page, confessed as if murmuring. Kwon Tae-hee, leaning his chin on the armrest of the sofa and watching him, smiled without making a sound.
“I’ll send a caregiver right away.”
“…Thank you. And one more thing… may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“If my brother wakes up, could you keep this a secret? I’d like it if you could say that I’ve been waiting for the director to wake up, just like before.”
At the voice pleading for something impossible, Kwon Tae-hee nodded. It wasn’t a difficult task.
Seo Jeong-won handed the fully signed documents to Kwon Tae-hee. He put them in an envelope without checking.
“I’ll have it notarized. We’ll meet after this document becomes legally binding. So Jeong-won can’t say he can’t do it.”
“…Then I’ll be going now.”
“When you go, what will you do today?”
“Ah… it’s late today, so I won’t do anything, and I heard they’re harvesting potatoes at dawn tomorrow, so I’m going there as a worker.”
Kwon Tae-hee frowned. He couldn’t even understand buying potatoes, let alone going to harvest them. There was no reason to stop him, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like it.
“These days, there aren’t many young people, so they pay a lot for daily wages. It starts early in the morning and ends early… and you can also take home the small potatoes that are discarded in the field…”
The more Seo Jeong-won explained, the more shabby and pathetic he felt, but he continued to the end because Kwon Tae-hee seemed curious.
“Um… why are you doing that?”
“Stay home, don’t go out.”
“Why, why?”
“Do you have any other schedules planned?”
Kwon Tae-hee asked, pressing his temple. Seo Jeong-won hesitated to speak because he seemed upset.
The day after tomorrow, he was going to pick raspberries. It was also a job that had to be done by hand, so the daily wage was quite high.
“If you tell me why you’re doing this…”
“Because I now have the rights to that body.”
“…Ah.”
“I should manage it in advance. To match my standards.”
At Kwon Tae-hee’s explanation, Seo Jeong-won nodded as if agreeing. It seemed he didn’t want him to do physical labor. It would be troublesome if he got hurt.
“Then… is it okay to go to the flower shop?”
“Doesn’t that also involve physical labor?”
“I don’t use my body much there. I water the plants, clean, or repot them… that’s about it.”
“That’s good. From now on, just take care of and tend to the flower shop.”
Kwon Tae-hee snapped his fingers and continued.
“From now on, there shouldn’t be anything related to Seo Jeong-won that I don’t know about. It’s out of the question to secretly do other work.”
Seo Jeong-won quickly nodded, as he had briefly considered doing so.
Kwon Tae-hee told him to leave and got up from his seat first. He said he was busy.
“Buy anything you need, use it comfortably.”
Taking out his wallet from his inside jacket pocket, he took out the black card and all the cash inside. There were checks and 50,000 won bills mixed in.
Seo Jeong-won shook his head, refusing the moving hand as if asking why he wasn’t taking it.
“It’s really okay. Really.”
“You didn’t read the contract carefully.”
“…Yes?”
“Seo Jeong-won can’t refuse anything I give him. No matter what it is.”
At the information, Seo Jeong-won reached out his hand that had been pathetically waving in the air. His voice, as he thanked him, was subdued.
Kwon Tae-hee watched the pitiful sight for a while longer before moving first.
“I’ll have a car prepared for you, so take it.”
“…I can’t refuse that either, can I?”
“Why, do you want to refuse?”
“I don’t know where… how much I’m supposed to receive.”
The quiet and gloomy voice scattered in the air. Kwon Tae-hee took out a mint-flavored candy from a small glass jar on the desk and put it in his mouth.
“Shall we kiss, now?”
“…Yes?”
His startled eyes widened and shook helplessly. It was difficult to tell if he was serious or just teasing him.
His unchanging expression seemed serious, but he didn’t have the courage to respond. Above all, he felt like he was sinning against his brother, even though he had made this decision for him. Even though he knew that the two of them were already over.
The hand holding the money and card he had received from Kwon Tae-hee trembled. The soft brown eyes, unlike their color, had turned coldly.
Seo Jeong-won, who was standing there unable to do anything, turned pale, almost blue.
“Seo Jeong-won.”
At the call, he hesitated, then put what he was holding on the table and stood up. But he couldn’t bring himself to move and sniffled.
“Can’t do it?”
“…”
“The contents written in our contract are like this. Whatever I order, Seo Jeong-won has to do it.”
His beautiful face turned cold in an instant. He ordered in a low voice.
“If you understand, come here.”
Kwon Tae-hee, leaning against the desk, stared intently at the trembling eyes and nodded. Seo Jeong-won began to move one step at a time.
Finally, he stopped in front of Kwon Tae-hee and reached out his trembling hand to grab the end of his jacket.
“You have to look up.”
Along with the low voice, the scent of mint wafted over him. Seo Jeong-won cautiously met his gaze, inhaling the sweet and cool scent. The face that had been difficult to look at was right in front of him.
Kwon Tae-hee’s head tilted slowly. Velvet-soft lips touched the chapped and rough lips, unlike their beautiful color.
He licked the cracked gaps, crushing the dry skin. A tongue that lightly penetrated, touching his front teeth, moistened his dry lips.
With a soft, ticklish sound, Kwon Tae-hee’s lips parted.
“You’ll be doing even more than this, is it still difficult? Do you still think there’s something Jeong-won can refuse?”
At the quietly asked question, Seo Jeong-won shook his head. No, it’s not difficult. I don’t think there is. At the answer that he finally understood, Kwon Tae-hee smiled with satisfaction.
“Stay at the flower shop.”
“…To my brother’s hospital too…”
Seo Jeong-won mumbled in a somewhat dazed voice. Kwon Tae-hee stared at Seo Jeong-won without any particular response. Was his learning ability a bit lacking?
“I’ll… stay at the flower shop.”
“Okay.”
Kwon Tae-hee briefly kissed Seo Jeong-won, who had finally given the right answer, again. He hugged the body that was not calming down from trembling. He slowly stroked his dry back and asked how he was feeling.
“Are you upset?”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head as he listened to the affectionate question directed at him. He wasn’t upset, but he was consumed by the guilt of having to do even more than this with the man who had been his brother’s former fiancé.
Seo Jeong-won, who had been hugged, took his body away and kept his eyes on the pin that fixed his tie, unable to lift his head. A large hand stroked his cheek. His palm was still soft. Like a tender leaf.
“You have a lot of tears, Jeong-won.”
“…”
Seo Jeong-won didn’t even know he was crying. When he didn’t answer and just blinked his eyelids, Kwon Tae-hee’s hand stroked his eyes this time.
“I think I’m going to like it. The job of comforting a crying Seo Jeong-won.”