By Zephyria Afraid someone might overhear, Seo Jeong-won lowered his voice as he asked, and Song Hae-seop replied a beat late.
—Uh, yeah, I’m a little busy with work, you know, the café is packed.
“……Ah.”
—Why? Did you call just to ask that?
Seo Jeong-won shook his head at the somewhat sharp tone. He glanced at the vehicle as if testing the waters, lowering his voice.
“If Hyung has time… you said I could come visit the café, so I was wondering if I could come today.”
Song Hae-seop’s excited voice came from the other end of the line. He said yes without hesitation. He urged Seo Jeong-won to come quickly, as it wasn’t far from Kwon Tae-hee’s house.
—Take a taxi, take a taxi. You don’t know Seoul’s geography well, do you? Right?
“……Yes, I don’t know it well.”
—It won’t cost much. I’ll pay for the taxi, so take a taxi. Don’t wander around aimlessly.
Song Hae-seop gave him the café address and checked several times to make sure Seo Jeong-won had memorized it, emphasizing once again that he should come quickly. The call ended without any further conversation. Seo Jeong-won, who had been standing with a rather determined expression, shook his head slightly. He also rubbed his stiff cheeks.
Even after ending the call, his pounding heart didn’t calm down, so he couldn’t move right away. Only after hearing the click of the driver’s seat door opening did he move his feet.
“We’ll depart now.”
“……Thank you.”
He got into the back seat and fastened his seatbelt, wondering what he should ask Song Hae-seop. Should he ask if he had heard any more stories about Hyung since then?
He had many questions, but he didn’t know how to ask about these things. Asking abruptly seemed too out of the blue, and he needed to bring it up naturally, but he doubted he could. Would he think it was strange? He was also worried that he might seem like he enjoyed gossiping about others.
There are no eternal secrets in the world, what if Song Hae-seop finds out later? What if he finds out that the person who was kicked out for loving Kwon Tae-hee is his Hyung…? Just imagining it was horrifying.
The vehicle carrying Seo Jeong-won sped along the highway without any traffic. The phone he held tightly in his hand vibrated several times, displaying Song Hae-seop’s name, but he couldn’t answer it.
“Thank you.”
“Drive safely.”
The driver didn’t leave right away even after saying goodbye. He waited until Seo Jeong-won opened the flower shop and went inside, and only moved after the vinyl door flapped shut.
He had to go meet Song Hae-seop, but he had drifted far away without a plan. He squatted down by the door and took out his phone. After pressing the number left in his missed calls, he held it to his ear.
—Jeong-won!
“Hyung, I’m sorry. I couldn’t answer the phone.”
—Where are you? Did you get lost? Bus? Subway? Tell me the name of the station. I’ll come pick you up. Or do you see a big building?
Seo Jeong-won didn’t answer the flurry of questions and held his breath. He waited for Song Hae-seop to calm down before opening his mouth.
“I didn’t get lost, but… it looks like it’ll take about an hour longer to get there.”
—What, you’re wandering around. I was so worried something happened. I told you to take a taxi because Seoul is complicated. Why didn’t you answer the phone?
“I’m sorry. Seoul is so… crowded even at this hour that it was hard to take out my phone.”
—Ah, well, yeah. I guess so. It takes another hour? Where are you wandering around? You’re going to see all of Seoul. Did you have lunch?
His conscience pricked at the voice that was half worried and half amused. Song Hae-seop on the other end of the line seemed only happy to hear from him, but he felt uncomfortable as if he was the only one filled with impure intentions.
“Yes, I ate. I’m not hungry.”
—That’s a relief. I won’t rush you, so come safely. Take a taxi if you don’t know the way. I’ll pay for it.
“I’ll… try to find my way. See you later, Hyung.”
He ended the call with a kind worry. Seo Jeong-won buried his head in his knees and took a long breath. His chest ached as if pricked by needles.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
From the flower shop back to Seoul, after transferring between buses and subways several times, he arrived in an environment unfamiliar to Seo Jeong-won. Unlike Seonam City, where only low buildings of about 10 stories were lined up except for apartments. Is this why people come to the city? High buildings, luxurious and clean streets were well equipped with the convenience of life.
Seo Jeong-won moved slowly, turning his head from side to side, looking for the café name Song Hae-seop had told him. He was dizzy because he kept looking up.
Moreover, the gazes of people had been piercingly fixed on him all the way here. He was confused as to why they were staring so blatantly. He also became discouraged, wondering if it was because of his unsophisticated behavior.
Despite the chilly weather, cold sweat formed on his white forehead. It was then. The phone in his pocket vibrated.
“……Hello?”
—Where are you? Still wandering around?
“I got off nearby, but I don’t know where it is.”
—Is there a big building with a recognizable name nearby? Can you tell me?
At the kind question, Seo Jeong-won mumbled the name of a bank like a sigh. Song Hae-seop told him to stand still there.
—If you take a taxi and tell them the address, they’ll drop you off in front. You’re surprisingly stubborn, Jeong-won.
“……I thought I could find it. I have a map, so.”
—I was teasing you, I’ll be embarrassed if you get serious.
A voice mixed with laughter came over the receiver.
—Don’t move and wait a little.
The call ended with a firm request. Seo Jeong-won wondered for a moment if he could meet Song Hae-seop if he walked slowly, then shook his head. He stopped and looked around. The scenery he had seen every time he went to Kwon Tae-hee’s house and this place now felt different.
Seeing it with your eyes as you pass by and coming directly into the middle of the city was definitely a different matter. It would be difficult to find even if one or two people disappeared. No, I don’t think they’d even know if someone disappeared in the first place.
How long had he been having strange imaginations? Familiar sneakers caught his eye as he looked at his toes.
“Did you wait long?”
“……Hyung.”
“You’ve had a hard time coming here.”
Song Hae-seop smiled brighter than the sunlight. His cheeks were flushed. His breathing was also rough, as if he had been running.
“I’m sorry.”
“I ran for the first time in a while. There are a lot of those people here. They grab innocent and pretty kids like Jeong-won and say their ancestors are hungry and they need to perform ancestral rites, and they take them away.”
“That’s…….”
“There is such a thing. It’s really weird.”
Song Hae-seop grabbed Seo Jeong-won, who was standing innocently as if he didn’t know anything, and started to move. He told him that it was just a little further from here, and asked if he was hungry. And he also told him that Kwon Tae-hee Pheromone was still all over him today.
“Jeong-won is a Beta, so you can’t smell Pheromone, right? So when you come out of Tae-hee’s house, you should always spray Pheromone deodorant. It’s too blatant.”
“……Is it coming off me a lot now?”
“A lot. Embarrassingly so. Didn’t a lot of people stare at you when you came here?”
Seo Jeong-won’s face turned red in an instant as he finally realized the meaning of the stares that had been so obvious.
“……They were covering their noses. I didn’t know why.”
“I’m glad you know now, though.”
He was aware that Kwon Tae-hee’s scent was coming from him due to repeated Pheromone showers, but he never thought that others would stare because of it.
“There’s Pheromone deodorant at the café, so I’ll give you some when you leave. No, should I just take you?”
“No, it’s really okay. Just the deodorant…….”
“What if you get lost again when you leave?”
“It’s okay if I’m a little late when I leave……. You really don’t have to worry about it. I’ll take my time looking around.”
Song Hae-seop didn’t push it any further at the continued refusals. He just told him to call if he got lost.
As he walked, he saw the sign he had been looking for, so dizzying. The café was a single-story building. The entire front was made of glass, and the terrace in particular was very large. Despite the chilly weather, the outdoor tables were full.
“The café is pretty, right? I told you it was busy because there are a lot of customers.”
“…….”
“Do you want something cool to drink? Something sweet? Something bitter? Do you like coffee? The beans we just got are really delicious.”
“I don’t really know coffee. Just… give me something appropriate, Hyung.”
Seo Jeong-won’s voice faded more and more. He was busy looking at the sophisticated and stylish interior. The large and small paintings hanging on each wall added to the style.
“It’s a painting by a new artist. Tae-hee’s taste.”
“Ah…….”
Song Hae-seop ordered a cool and sweet drink from an employee and brought the deodorant that had been set aside and sprayed it on Seo Jeong-won.
Seo Jeong-won’s clothes, which had been standing awkwardly, soon became soaked. Only then did Song Hae-seop lower the hand holding the deodorant and bring his face closer to check the smell.
“I think it doesn’t smell as much now.”
He said that and smiled. Seo Jeong-won shook off the moisture remaining on his damp clothes with his hands and asked where he should sit. Song Hae-seop told him to sit wherever he was comfortable, and Seo Jeong-won habitually found a corner and went inside.
“I think I came for nothing since Hyung is busy.”
“It’s not that I’m busy, it’s that the employees are busy. But what’s really going on?”
Song Hae-seop asked as he put the cake he had taken out first in front of Seo Jeong-won. He even handed him a fork as if telling him to eat quickly.
“It’s not that something’s going on…….”
“Ah.”
“I thought it would be nice to see Hyung when I came to Seoul, so I contacted you.”
“You had such a wonderful thought?”