By Zephyria Kwon Tae-hee and Chief Jung both fell silent. The silence was broken by a call from a secretarial staff member reporting that the scandal article had been published.
Chief Jung immediately checked the article. The headline was eye-catching, but the content wasn’t as sensational as expected. Kwon Tae-hee’s romantic partner was mentioned as being younger, but without any concrete facts, it remained vague.
“It’s so poor, it doesn’t even warrant a review by the legal team.”
“It seems to be because the other party isn’t specifically identified.”
“Or maybe the reporter knew they’d be fucked.”
Kwon Tae-hee uttered a vulgar word that didn’t quite match his elegant smile. Chief Jung was taken aback but nodded. He agreed with him to some extent.
“Shall we respond? Should we release an article refuting it as baseless?”
“No, leave it. It’s true, and I’m about to become a father, so what’s the point? If I deny it now and everything is revealed later, it’ll only make me look more ridiculous.”
“Understood.”
Although there was no need to respond, they couldn’t completely ignore it, so Chief Jung asked the secretarial office to forward the article link to the legal team. He added that although legal action wasn’t necessary, preparation was needed.
“Will you return to the office?”
“I should. Call Song Hae-seop.”
“Understood.”
Kwon Tae-hee, looking tired, leaned his head back and closed his eyes, sinking into the sofa. He wished he could close his eyes even during the commute, but he had to review at least one more document in that time. His head felt heavy. If Seo Jeong-won were by his side, he would want to hold that soft, warm body, bury his face everywhere, even for just a few minutes. He remembered the particularly sweet scent that emanated from his nape due to his high body temperature.
“Haa…”
He was seized by the impulse to order Seo Jeong-won to be brought to him, no matter what. He felt the urge to give him a Pheromone shower, make him spin out of his mind, and then, as he said, make him beg. Beg to be allowed to stay by his side. Then he would wipe the tears from his pitiful, crying face and gladly grant his wish.
“…Unpleasant.”
Just the absurd fantasy made his lower back ache. “Shit,” he cursed involuntarily.
“Yes?”
“Let’s go.”
Kwon Tae-hee rose from his seat before he showed any more unsightly behavior. He straightened his disheveled clothes and turned around, Chief Jung following behind.
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At the same time, Seo Jeong-won was being introduced to Go Jin-hee by Song Hae-seop. As soon as he bowed, she excitedly grabbed both of their arms and led them to the stove. Then, complaining that their cheeks were frozen, she went straight into the kitchen.
“I didn’t get to properly greet her.”
“That’s all you need to do. That Noona always feeds people first.”
As they warmed their reddened hands, the small shop filled with delicious smells. But ironically, the smell turned Seo Jeong-won’s stomach. He inhaled, trying to withstand the spicy scent as much as possible.
They say food is sincerity, but he didn’t want to reject Go Jin-hee’s sincerity in this way. He wondered if it would be better to look away, so he fixed his gaze on the television, which was playing meaninglessly, but eventually, unable to bear the rising nausea, he covered his mouth and ran out the door.
“Ugh… Haa, ugh!”
He clung to the wall, trying to vomit up his empty stomach, when he heard the sound of the door opening roughly. Song Hae-seop quickly appeared and rushed to his side.
“Jeong-won? Jeong-won! Are you okay?”
Seeing his wide, startled eyes, Seo Jeong-won quickly turned away and gagged again. Because he hadn’t eaten anything, there wasn’t much coming up compared to the violent heaving. Song Hae-seop paced back and forth, then went back inside and came out with a full cup of cold water.
“Should I pat your back? What should I do? Why is this happening? Is it because of the food smell? You were eating well for a while…”
Seo Jeong-won trembled, his face pale. His stomach was churning, but nothing was coming out, and the forced vomiting seemed to have injured his throat, as he tasted a bitter, metallic flavor, causing him to gag again. He was being so rude from the very first meeting.
“Can you go inside? I told Noona you probably can’t eat lunch. Do you just want to go home?”
“Would that… be okay? I want to go home. My stomach feels terrible.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go. Uncle too… I’ll come back on the weekend, so you can greet him then. I should have brought the car.”
Song Hae-seop regretted walking and swept back his hair. He supported Seo Jeong-won and sat him on a rusty chair in front of the restaurant before going back inside.
“Noona, I’ll come back later.”
“Are you okay? Huh?”
“He’s having morning sickness. He was fine for a while…”
Song Hae-seop shook his head at Go Jin-hee, who asked with a serious expression.
“Didn’t you walk here? Should I give you a ride?”
“You smell like food, Noona. I think it’s soaked in.”
“Wouldn’t it be okay if I sprayed some deodorant? Still, how can you walk when he’s in that state?”
“Just call a taxi for me.”
At Song Hae-seop’s request, Go Jin-hee clapped her hands! She made a fuss about catching a taxi, but then complained that they weren’t coming because the distance was too short. She clenched her fist in anger, saying that all the taxis were at the terminal.
“What should I do? Or should I go get my car?”
“That’s too much trouble…”
Go Jin-hee looked at Song Hae-seop, who wasn’t clearly saying what he wanted, with a frustrated expression, then took off her apron and went outside. Seo Jeong-won was sitting pathetically on a worn-out chair right next to the door.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. I’m okay now. I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry about? You’re pregnant. It happens.”
Go Jin-hee’s gaze lingered on his reddened eyes before slowly scanning him. His face was much younger than she had heard, strangely stimulating her maternal instincts. Was it because there was nearly a twenty-year age difference between them? He didn’t seem like a son, but she felt like she was looking at a nephew.
“I bet you’re hungry. I wonder if you could eat something like scorched rice.”
“…Ah.”
Seo Jeong-won couldn’t even put water in his mouth, but he nodded, feeling sorry to refuse.
“If you give it to me… I’ll eat it gratefully.”
Go Jin-hee clicked her tongue at the muffled voice. She left him with the words to wait a moment and went back into the shop, where Song Hae-seop was filling a small water bottle.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to fill this with water and walk.”
“Wait, I’ll get you some scorched rice.”
She came out of the kitchen with scorched rice made from glutinous rice and scorched rice sprinkled with sugar.
“This is just scorched rice, and this one is with sugar.”
“Yes.”
“Are you really not taking the car?”
“It’s too much trouble to bring it back down. I have to go to Seoul too. If you have time, please check in on Jeong-won later.”
Song Hae-seop slightly raised and lowered his eyebrows at Go Jin-hee. He turned his back and left the shop, ending his mumbling with a request to take care of him. He carried the heavy scorched rice on his wrist.
“Jeong-won, let’s go now.”
“I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
Seo Jeong-won, who quietly replied and stood up, turned his eyes to Song Hae-seop’s back. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that he would go inside for a moment. With a pitiful look, he only blinked his big eyes, when suddenly the shop door opened.
“When you feel better, come down for a walk.”
“I’m sorry about today. I’ll come again next time.”
“Okay, goodbye. Watch where you’re going.”
Go Jin-hee saw Seo Jeong-won, who bowed to her, as just a child. He was much younger than what Chief Jung had told her. Looking at his pale face, she recalled the age she had heard. She thought he was in his early twenties. But he looked like he was only a teenager. Did he lie about his age? Just looking at his voice and face, it was hard to believe he was an adult.
Seo Jeong-won wrapped his arms around himself and repeatedly bowed to Go Jin-hee, who was staring at him. It bothered him that she hadn’t properly put on a coat in the cold weather and was occasionally stroking her arms with her hands. He mumbled his worries that she couldn’t hear, telling her to go inside, and crossed the street with Song Hae-seop.
“Is your stomach still churning?”
“I feel a little better with the breeze.”
“The breeze isn’t a cure-all…”
“But really, the cold wind calms it down a bit.”
Seo Jeong-won muttered awkwardly. Song Hae-seop patted Seo Jeong-won’s back, saying that since he had never been pregnant, he had no way of knowing if that was true or a lie.
“I wonder if I’ll have morning sickness like Jeong-won when I have a baby later.”
“Wouldn’t you? But some people don’t get it.”
“If my morning sickness is mild, I’ll pretend it’s really bad and order all sorts of things. I’ll shake you awake at 4 a.m. and tell you I want watermelon and peaches in the winter, and persimmons in the summer.”
Seo Jeong-won’s expression hardened as he quietly listened to the voice that continued as if he was enjoying the thought.
“I’ll cry and fuss about wanting to eat things that aren’t in season and make it difficult for you. I’ll confirm your love for me with things like that. And it’s kind of unfair. I’m suffering like this, how can I just watch you eat everything you want?”