By Zephyria “Seo Jeong-won.”
At the rather firm call, Seo Jeong-won’s eyes sharpened. Ah, with a small exclamation, the strength left his hand that was moving. The pale sky-blue bottle he was holding fell straight to the floor. Crash— With a shattering sound, glass shards scattered in all directions.
“Hngh…! I’m sorry.”
The pungent smell of alcohol filled the air. Kwon Tae-hee, who had approached, pulled Seo Jeong-won’s wrist to check if he was okay. Seo Jeong-won, seeing his reflection in the light chestnut-brown eyes, was startled. He shook off the wrist that was grabbed and even took a step back.
Any semblance of expression vanished from Kwon Tae-hee’s face. He stared intently at Seo Jeong-won with eyes that had turned coldly indifferent.
“Ah, I, I was surprised… I’m okay. More than that—”
While he was flustered by the glass shards scattered on the floor, an employee approached with a mop. With eyes that showed deep fatigue, he glanced at the floor and then at Seo Jeong-won before quietly asking him to move aside.
“I’m sorry. If you give it to me… I’ll clean it up.”
“No, I’ll do it. Please move aside.”
Kwon Tae-hee, grabbing Seo Jeong-won again, who seemed at a loss for what to do, asked the employee who was clearing the sharp pieces how he could compensate for the incident. At the polite tone, the employee wiping the floor turned his head to look at Kwon Tae-hee.
“Ah, well…”
The face of the employee wearing a green vest flushed instantly. Pushing up his glasses with the back of his hand, he stammered.
“This is just something you pick up and throw away… It happens often. Drunk people often break things, so I’ve cleaned it up a lot. You don’t have to compensate, just… pay when you leave.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s really okay. More than that, I’m worried if your younger sibling got hurt.”
The employee didn’t think the two looked alike, but they certainly didn’t seem like lovers, so he vaguely grouped them as family. Then, he discreetly looked at the items in the yellow basket and leaned the mop against the wall.
“I’ll ring you up first.”
“Thank you.”
Kwon Tae-hee took Seo Jeong-won, who was still standing there blankly, and moved. He quickly placed the selected items on the counter and paid.
“Goodbye.”
As if responding to the kind greeting, Kwon Tae-hee only slightly bowed his head. Seo Jeong-won was dragged along as if he were out of his mind. Kwon Tae-hee caught him several times as he stumbled.
“Jeong-won.”
“…Ah, Executive Director. I’m sorry. That, earlier, the alcohol, the alcohol…”
The words didn’t come out properly. Seo Jeong-won blinked his large eyes rapidly and shook his head slightly. Confirming whether what he heard today was true wouldn’t help the current situation at all. Even if it was true, what would change by resenting it? He was the one who chose Kwon Tae-hee.
“Do you want to drink?”
“Yes? Ah… I just thought it would be nice.”
He thought that Kwon Tae-hee had probably never drunk soju, so he might fall asleep quickly if he got drunk. If he fell asleep first, they could be separated, and his heart wouldn’t feel so heavy. It would feel like he was committing a little less sin.
“Wait a moment.”
As if reading Seo Jeong-won’s thoughts, Kwon Tae-hee went back into the convenience store. A moment later, he came out with a black plastic bag, which was full of soju. It was too much for the two of them to drink. Kwon Tae-hee loaded the things he bought into the back seat of the car, making sure they wouldn’t fall over, and got into the driver’s seat.
There was no conversation on the way home. Kwon Tae-hee focused on driving, and Seo Jeong-won had nothing to say, so he remained silent.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
As soon as they arrived, Seo Jeong-won quickly finished the half-made fried rice and put the soup, which only needed to be heated, into a bowl before going out to the dining room. It was a fairly decent-looking meal.
“It would have been better to eat the lunch box. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll enjoy the meal.”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled quietly and picked up his spoon first. He tasted the soup first, then put the fried rice Seo Jeong-won made into his mouth.
“Executive Director, have you ever tried soju?”
“Are you asking because you think I wouldn’t have?”
“…It’s not that, I just thought you might have tried it a long time ago.”
“That’s right. Actually, I didn’t even remember the taste, but I remembered when Jeong-won broke the bottle earlier. I knew it when I smelled it.”
With a click, Kwon Tae-hee opened the soju bottle and poured it into a whiskey glass.
“I don’t have anything suitable to use as a soju glass.”
“I’m okay, I’m just… worried about Executive Director. I’m afraid you’ll get drunk.”
“Worry about yourself.”
Who was he to worry about someone when he had only just become an adult? Kwon Tae-hee laughed as if he was dumbfounded. The lukewarm soju didn’t go well with the fried rice at all. The taste of ethanol lingering on the tip of his tongue made his brow furrow.
Seo Jeong-won drank the alcohol faster than he ate the rice. Before Kwon Tae-hee could even empty his glass, he had already downed his second glass.
“Drink slowly.”
“I can handle my alcohol well.”
“Even if you can, you’ll get drunk if you drink like that.”
Despite Kwon Tae-hee’s warning, Seo Jeong-won didn’t slow down. He barely ate any rice and had already emptied a bottle of soju. Kwon Tae-hee didn’t stop him anymore and just watched.
Seo Jeong-won glanced at Kwon Tae-hee, who was eating the fried rice with a dignified demeanor instead of using it as a side dish. His manners were perfect, as if he were having a neatly prepared meal. There was no sound of the spoon hitting the dishes, and he never spilled anything.
There was a lot of ham, so it was a little salty, but he still emptied the bowl without complaint. The way his mouth moved and the way he quietly met his eyes were admirable.
“I enjoyed the meal.”
Could there be anyone as beautiful as him? He’s so beautiful, so why did he do that? His head was filled with questions. With that beautiful face, he could have a normal relationship and get married. Why did he bring people in like that…?
When Kwon Tae-hee put down his spoon, Seo Jeong-won, with flushed cheeks, couldn’t overcome the rising intoxication and half-closed his eyes.
“Yeesh…”
His pronunciation was all slurred. He said he could handle his alcohol well, but he was staggering after just one bottle of soju, which was ridiculous and particularly pathetic today.
“You seem drunk, how about you stop drinking?”
“…You shouldn’t leave alcohol behind. Didn’t you know that?”
Seo Jeong-won, tilting the newly opened bottle of soju that he had barely touched, drank the full glass in one gulp. Then, he rubbed his wet lips with the back of his hand and sighed softly.
“I’m not drunk. Reallly. You can go to sleep first…”
He didn’t have the courage to look Kwon Tae-hee straight in the eye, so he listlessly looked at the area around his chin. Seo Jeong-won lamented inwardly that Kwon Tae-hee, who hadn’t even touched his glass after the first drink, wouldn’t get drunk and go in first.
“I’m going to drink slowly and a lot…”
“Drink slowly.”
“You can go in and sleep…”
“You just said the same thing.”
“Ah.”
His watery eyes trembled weakly. Seo Jeong-won swallowed the resentment and questions that seemed like they would burst out with the alcohol.
“Who did you learn to drink from?”
“I drank with Dahyun for the first time… after the funeral. It was the first time I drank, and I was surprised that I could handle it better than her.”
His pronunciation was getting a little slurred. Even the fingertips holding the glass were flushed with heat. His eyes, cheeks, lips, ears, and neck gradually turned a reddish color. Seo Jeong-won’s body swayed as if he was drunk. He sighed more often. He made a cute sound, “Achoo.”
“I didn’t eat anything all day today…”
“That’s informal speech.”
As if he couldn’t hear the correction, Seo Jeong-won didn’t answer.
“I was hungry, but I didn’t want to eat.”
“…”
“How do I get home? I have to feed the fish, and I’m here again.”
With those last words, Seo Jeong-won’s posture began to collapse. Was he drunk? Eventually, he put his cheek on the table and lay down, blinking slowly before closing his eyes. After waiting a little longer, even breaths spread.
Kwon Tae-hee moved slowly. He lightly picked up Seo Jeong-won’s bag that was placed next to him. The way he looked around, checking his expression, made him wonder what was inside.
Inside the bag, which was marked with the passage of time, were clothes, underwear, and socks that he had worn here, all tangled together. Without any hesitation, he rummaged through them, revealing a small medicine box underneath.
There were two: one was a Pheromone suppressant, and the other was an Omega birth control pill. When he took them out, he saw that they had been used quite a bit. He always took his bag with him when he showered alone, so it must have been because of this. The pieces of his actions, which he had wondered why he did so much, were falling into place one by one.
Kwon Tae-hee left the dining room with Seo Jeong-won’s bag as it was. He went up to the study on the second floor and stashed the bag in his space, where Seo Jeong-won would never enter. Since he was drunk, he would agree if he said he lost it somewhere. He would believe it even if he said it was never there from the beginning. He could make up any excuse he wanted.