By Zephyria “You don’t eat well either. Eat in the morning. Don’t eat cold stuff like cereal.”
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t use too much pesticide. The skin is thin and soft, so you don’t have to peel it.”
“Okay, I’ll enjoy it. Go on now.”
Kang Da-hyun, who patted Seo Jeong-won on the shoulder for his hard work, lightly touched Seo Jeong-won’s cheek before quickly lowering his head.
Something soft touched his cheek and then fell away. A small, ticklish sound echoed. Kang Da-hyun smiled, and Seo Jeong-won’s eyes widened in surprise as he covered his cheek.
Just in time, the back seat of a parked sedan opened. Long legs stretched out, followed by an elegant man who seemed out of place here.
“Surprised, huh? But that car, I thought it was a customer, but it’s that guy again. He said he was some kind of store manager back then.”
“C-c-crazy bastard…”
“It’s not a convenience store, is it? Convenience store managers don’t wear suits like that, do they? Like that…”
The man he faced sober seemed even more refined than when he had seen him drunk. It was a stark comparison to his own appearance in baggy work pants, a stretched-out t-shirt, a straw hat, and boots, making him feel a faint sense of shame.
Kang Da-hyun gripped Seo Jeong-won’s wrist, which he had been loosely holding, a little tighter.
“What… Who is he that he keeps coming here since then? Is he a debt collector too? Does he have money to get from you? How much is it? I’ll take care of—”
“It’s not that. It’s not that, so just… go. You go and rest too.”
Seo Jeong-won, who was scrubbing his cheek, shook off Kang Da-hyun’s grip on his wrist. Despite being told to let go, he stubbornly held on, finally confronting Kwon Tae-hee head-on. A gentle smile appeared on his handsome face.
“We met back then, didn’t we?”
“No, yes, well.”
“Back then” meant the day he was drunk and acting disgracefully.
Kang Da-hyun inwardly scoffed at him for even pointing it out, nodding casually.
“Jeong-won seems to have been somewhere.”
“I run an orchard. It’s not important, but it’s about ten thousand pyong. Every harvest season, Jeong-won comes to pick apples and gets paid… It’s like that every year. Ten thousand pyong, that’s… Ha. You can’t even imagine how big it is.”
Kang Da-hyun stretched out his arms, showing how wide it was, and laughed with a playful air.
“Anyway, it’s harvest season. I pay Jeong-won more than the employment agency, so he likes it. He gets upset if I don’t call him. I’m the owner of the field, so I take care of him so he doesn’t feel left out. He may look shabby like this, but he earns a lot. A local big shot, you could say?”
The smile disappeared from Kwon Tae-hee’s face. He couldn’t understand the situation even if he had gone to help, and his eyes sank coldly at the mention of him going as a paid worker. His gaze, which had been directed at Kang Da-hyun, slowly shifted to Seo Jeong-won.
“Ah, harvest season.”
“By the way, I was drunk back then, so I didn’t hear properly, but what kind of store—”
“You have pheromones on you.”
Kwon Tae-hee, reaching out, grabbed Seo Jeong-won’s wrist and pulled him closer. Kang Da-hyun, who had been loosening his grip, let go of Seo Jeong-won.
“Ah… It just happened.”
Kang Da-hyun frowned, answering with a displeased tone to the questioning words. He thought the tone, as if he were scolding someone beneath him, was a bit rude, so a curt voice came out.
Kwon Tae-hee, still with a hardened expression, only slightly moved his head. He brought his face close to Seo Jeong-won’s neck, inhaling the light scent emanating from him.
“I’m very close to Jeong-won. But… is there a problem?”
“Probably.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled at Kang Da-hyun and turned his body. Seo Jeong-won, whose wrist was still held, moved his feet accordingly.
“Executive Director.”
“Seo Jeong-won has a bad memory. Or he didn’t listen to me.”
His roughly dragged body was shoved into the car, the door opening just in time. Before Kang Da-hyun, who was staring at his crumpled friend, could protest, Kwon Tae-hee also got into the car. The sedan quickly departed, leaving him behind as he shook his fist and chased after them.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay in the garden?”
“…Yes?”
“I said no other work was allowed, did you forget?”
Kwon Tae-hee, glancing once at Seo Jeong-won’s shoulder and cheek, who was looking at him with a surprised expression, frowned as if displeased. It was an appearance that anyone could see was familiar with skinship. At least, that’s how it appeared in his eyes.
“Other… other work?”
“You mustn’t forget, Seo Jeong-won. The fact that I thought you were cute because you were innocent doesn’t mean I liked you because you were stupid. What am I going to do if you act this stupid?”
“It’s not that, Executive Director. That place is…”
“Are you perhaps lacking in comprehension?”
Seo Jeong-won closed his mouth at the cold gaze. He forgot what excuse he was about to make due to the lowered voice and atmosphere. Unable to bear the gaze that looked at him as if he were pathetic, he lowered his head.
Only then did he remember the words he had heard in his office. He had said firmly that he should not do any other work and should only stay in the garden, that no other work was allowed.
Why did he forget? Seo Jeong-won felt a faint sense of disillusionment with himself for having completely forgotten something important. He intertwined his hands on his lap, desperately trying to find a way to explain why he had done something he was told not to do.
The place they arrived at, filled with anxiety and unease, was a villa. Seo Jeong-won looked at Kwon Tae-hee, feeling puzzled by the place they had arrived at. The gaze that had been directed at him, he didn’t know since when, met his directly.
“Get out.”
“Th-thank you.”
“I didn’t bring you here, I’m going in with you.”
Seo Jeong-won nodded, listening to the indifferent voice.
The driver, who had gotten out of the driver’s seat, opened the door for Kwon Tae-hee to get out. Seo Jeong-won also reached out without delay.
Kwon Tae-hee, who was walking around the rear of the car, laughed as if dumbfounded, watching Seo Jeong-won get out alone without waiting for him at all.
Seo Jeong-won followed Kwon Tae-hee, who was familiar with climbing the stairs despite it only being his third visit. He seemed to be angry, but he was frustrated because he didn’t know how to ease his mood. In fact, he was scared.
The fact that he was smiling but it was so clear that he was angry made him want to turn around and go down the stairs if he could. He instinctively realized that Kwon Tae-hee, whom he was facing now, was very dangerous to him.
Kwon Tae-hee, who had stopped in front of the front door, reached out to Seo Jeong-won, who was still climbing the stairs. He carefully raised his hand, thinking he was being asked to take it, but it was rejected as it was.
“The key.”
“Th-the key?”
“I’ll change it to a door lock tomorrow.”
“Suddenly, why… I appreciate the thought, but I’m, I’m not uncomfortable. Executive Director.”
Seo Jeong-won looked up at Kwon Tae-hee innocently, refusing, saying it was okay if it was for his convenience.
Kwon Tae-hee inserted the key he had received into the narrow gap and made a small sound, “Ah.” He had only skipped a week, but it seemed that the stupid thing had forgotten everything he had said.
“Who said you could refuse?”
“…”
“I told you that even if what I give you is trash, Seo Jeong-won has to accept it willingly.”
An overbearing pheromone shower enveloped Seo Jeong-won as if it were attacking him. The pheromone shower, which the other person didn’t even know about, was poured down on him.
Click, the lock turned. Kwon Tae-hee opened the door, gesturing for Seo Jeong-won to go in first.
Seo Jeong-won, even though he was entering his own house, took a step back in fear. As he went down a couple of the stairs he had come up, a rough hand reached out and snatched Seo Jeong-won.
“Where are you going, leaving your guest behind? This is your house.”
Seo Jeong-won was pushed inside without even properly taking off his shoes. His gaze wavered as he looked at the sneakers that had fallen haphazardly.
“Is what I say funny to you, Seo Jeong-won?”
“…Yes? No, no. It’s not.”
“That’s strange. Why is the word ‘okay’ coming out of Seo Jeong-won’s mouth when I’m offering to do it for you?”
Kwon Tae-hee slowly scanned Seo Jeong-won’s figure, who had stopped in the middle of the living room, from bottom to top. His gaze lingered on his reddish cheeks for an especially long time.
He sighed irritably. It was a messy sight. Of course, it was not lacking in making people aroused, but he could not hide the dirty feeling nonetheless.
“Wash up. You stink.”
Kwon Tae-hee wrinkled his nose at the pheromones of another alpha emanating from Seo Jeong-won.
At the firm command, Seo Jeong-won, who was all red, moved his body hesitantly. He carefully took a step, looking around, then quickly took the clothes he would change into and went into the bathroom. The door closed, and after waiting a little while, the sound of water came on.
Kwon Tae-hee scanned the house, which didn’t even have a proper place to sit. It wasn’t much different from last week and today. He naturally moved his feet.
He went into the room where clothes and miscellaneous items were scattered and took out Seo Jeong-won’s phone from the top of the dresser.
“Fucking hell, this vulgar act.”
A curse burst from his beautiful lips. Kwon Tae-hee familiarly touched the screen and drew the simple lock pattern he had seen Seo Jeong-won use when he touched his phone.
As soon as the screen changed, he checked the messages first. The most recent conversation was with the caregiver, and then it was with him. Kang Da-hyun had a high proportion of the phone call list.
He wondered if he had only made phone calls on purpose to avoid leaving a record, and suspicion quickly arose. Seo Jeong-won felt so clever that it was embarrassing that he had thought of him as innocent.