GOT 146

(End)

As Seo Jeong-won and Kwon Hae-a grew accustomed to life in the main family residence, they prepared to move to the new home Kwon Tae-hee had arranged.

Seo Jeong-won, beyond feeling sorry, was deeply saddened by Madam Shin Mi-hee’s reaction. He promised to visit often and asked her to come to their new home frequently, embracing her warmly. Then, he exchanged a silent greeting with Kwon Hyun-seok, who stood quietly by her side. Kwon Hyun-seok looked back and forth between Kwon Hae-a in his arms and Seo Jeong-won, unable to hide his complicated emotions as he nodded somberly.

“Thank you for everything, Fath… Father.”

“I enjoyed it too. Come back anytime you want. Actually, we’d be fine even if you didn’t leave. Were you perhaps uncomfortable here?”

“Thanks to your consideration, I was very comfortable. Really.”

Kwon Hyun-seok, contrary to his dignified appearance, grumbled about why they were leaving if they were comfortable. Kwon Tae-hee intervened, sensing that they might decide to live together permanently if left unchecked. He sighed deeply and positioned Seo Jeong-won behind him.

“That’s enough, both of you.”

Upon receiving the driver’s report that the car seat installation was complete, Kwon Tae-hee naturally took Kwon Hae-a from his father.

“Let’s go. Let’s go, Jeong-won.”

Even after turning around, his brow furrowed slightly as his parents followed him and Seo Jeong-won. How could they be so clingy after being told to stop? He sighed and looked back again, but his parents’ gazes were fixed solely on Seo Jeong-won and Kwon Hae-a.

“Let’s talk often, okay? Come over anytime if you miss seeing Hae-a. Understand?”

“Yes, I’ll call you. Please go inside quickly. It’s cold.”

“I want to see you off. It’s cold, hurry and get in.”

Kwon Tae-hee opened the passenger door and placed Kwon Hae-a in the car seat installed in the back. Even during this, Seo Jeong-won continued to exchange farewells for quite some time without getting into the passenger seat. Kwon Tae-hee carefully covered Kwon Hae-a with a thick blanket, then put on a gentle expression as if wearing a mask and called Seo Jeong-won’s name.

“We should get going too. If we leave the door open, Hae-a will get cold from the draft.”

“Ah… yes! We’ll be going now. Please go inside.”

As soon as Seo Jeong-won sat in the passenger seat, Kwon Tae-hee fastened his seatbelt and closed the door, cutting off any further farewells. Only his mother’s voice, saying to drive carefully, echoed faintly before fading away.

“Please go inside quickly.”

“Okay, thanks for your concern.”

Kwon Hyun-seok, responding indifferently to his son’s greeting, and Shin Mi-hee, who stood with a sad expression as if sending her child far away, waved wistfully.

Kwon Tae-hee shuddered at the sight of the two of them, shook his head, and quickly got into the driver’s seat. Then, before Seo Jeong-won could lower the passenger window, he quickly drove away from the front gate.

¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸

Seo Jeong-won didn’t bother to hide his disappointment and sighed deeply. To be honest, the house with Kwon Tae-hee and his parents felt more like the ‘family’ he had always longed for than a house with just Kwon Tae-hee.

“Are you disappointed?”

Kwon Tae-hee, noticing Seo Jeong-won’s feelings, asked gently as he stopped at a traffic light that had just turned red. Seo Jeong-won nodded without hesitation.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable? Having other people in the house.”

“Is that so? I… I’m okay with being with family all day long.”

Kwon Tae-hee had a bad feeling that if he indulged the voice that made him want to grant any wish, they would end up living together permanently, which he didn’t want. So, instead of empathizing, he changed the subject. He diverted Seo Jeong-won’s attention with stories about Kwon Hae-a’s vaccinations, feeding amounts, sleep schedule, and whether the babysitter was doing well. He listened to Seo Jeong-won’s voice, which soon began to ramble on about his thoughts, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

The new house, which they arrived at safely, was located in a residential area not far from the main family residence, as Kwon Tae-hee had said. Unlike the house they had lived in before, several houses of similar design formed a complex. There was a barrier installed at the entrance, and a private security guard checked visitors.

After passing through this process, a small park and playground for children could be seen inside, surrounded by houses spaced at reasonable intervals.

“Wow…”

“I heard that living in a house with a yard is good for a child’s emotional development when they’re young. If it becomes inconvenient, we can move to an apartment. That’s my plan for now.”

“It’s pretty. Is this it?”

After passing through the garage and opening a low gate, a very small greenhouse was installed on one side of the yard.

“There’s a vegetable garden…!”

“There’s a flower garden too.”

Kwon Tae-hee told the surprised Seo Jeong-won with a smile. Seo Jeong-won’s gaze, following Kwon Tae-hee’s fingertip, stopped at the flower bed where nothing was yet growing.

“I heard that the sprouts will come out when it gets a little warmer. But do you usually plant seeds directly in the flower bed?”

Kwon Tae-hee gestured to the sitter, who had been waiting at the house and came out to meet them upon their arrival, to take Kwon Hae-a inside. She quickly understood and hurried to take care of the baby and went inside the house. After confirming her departure, Kwon Tae-hee turned to Seo Jeong-won.

Seo Jeong-won gently touched the empty flower bed with his hand and then spoke.

“You can plant from seeds, but most people… that is, they buy and plant flowers that have already bloomed or have buds.”

Kwon Tae-hee’s eyes naturally turned to Seo Jeong-won at the sound of his voice, which was trying to suppress a laugh. Seo Jeong-won dusted off his hands and explained that it was rare to plant from seeds like this.

“People want to see the flowers bloom quickly.”

“Ah, is that why? Chief Jung asked me several times if I was really going to plant them.”

Kwon Tae-hee imitated Chief Jung’s tone with a straight face.

“Are you really going to plant this, here?”

Seo Jeong-won couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the raised tone.

“I thought you were cheeky, but I was wrong.”

Kwon Tae-hee nodded, wiping away the tears at the corners of Seo Jeong-won’s eyes with his thumb.

Seo Jeong-won couldn’t hide his pleasant smile as he looked around the garden, and then burst out laughing again when he checked the vegetables planted in the small greenhouse.

“I never imagined you would make something like this for me.”

“I’m glad you like it. I was wondering if I had done something unnecessary.”

Seo Jeong-won carefully examined every corner and then slowly approached Kwon Tae-hee, who was waiting for him a few steps away.

“I wanted to give you a flower garden, but Hae-a is still young.”

“A flower garden is fine. This is enough for now.”

The garden he had looked around was full of young trees that needed constant care. They were the kind that grew well with care and attention. There were many kinds that bore flowers and fruit, and the emerald green that surrounded the edge of the yard was also still a young tree.

“Still, you chose all pretty trees.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you knew this when you brought them, but the fruit trees in the garden are all different. Fruits will ripen at different times from spring, summer, autumn, to late autumn, so Hae-a will probably taste new fruits every season.”

Kwon Tae-hee, hearing something he had never known, wondered if he should lie and say that he had intended it that way, but since he had no knowledge in this area, he just smiled.

“It will be pretty when the flowers bloom.”

“Let’s bring Hae-a out and look at them together.”

“He’ll really like that.”

Seo Jeong-won touched a small tree with his fingertip and smiled as he looked back at Kwon Tae-hee. Just a few minutes ago, he had been sad to leave his main family residence, but now he was so happy that he was looking forward to living here. He felt like brilliant, colorful bubbles were bubbling up in his heart.

“You can hug me, you know.”

“……Yes?”

“I thought you wanted to hug me. If not, let’s just go inside.”

Seo Jeong-won, who had been making an awkward expression at the playful words, soon scratched his cheek with an embarrassed smile. He hadn’t been thinking about it, but now that he heard it, it seemed like it would be okay.

“The house is pretty.”

Seo Jeong-won, quietly admiring the house, moved his feet and lightly hugged Kwon Tae-hee. He rested his face against Kwon Tae-hee’s chest, listening to the loudly beating heart, and paused for a moment before trying to pull his arms away, but this time Kwon Tae-hee hugged him even tighter.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I can’t do anything for Executive Director…”

“You gave birth to Hae-a. That’s all you needed to do.”

Those words were sincere. Most of what he did was just spending money to make Seo Jeong-won’s life more comfortable, but Seo Jeong-won had created, nurtured, and brought a life into the world. Kwon Tae-hee had decided to devote himself to him for the rest of his life just for having accomplished that miraculous process alone.

“Hae-a is together…”

“Are you trying to weigh the importance?”

“……”

“Even if we weigh the importance, isn’t Jeong-won bigger?”

Kwon Tae-hee lowered his head and kissed Seo Jeong-won’s forehead and cheek. He slowly let go of Seo Jeong-won, whom he had been holding, while admiring the skinship that now flowed like water and familiarly hiding his inner thoughts.

“Should we have the wedding before Hae-a gets any bigger?”

“……”

“If a wedding is too much, please allow me to at least take pictures so we can have something to remember.”

“I want to have a small wedding with only close friends and family…”

Kwon Tae-hee took Seo Jeong-won’s hand at the quiet reply. Then, he lifted it up and pressed his lips firmly on his left ring finger with his eyes closed.

“I will.”

“……”

“I’ll do whatever Jeong-won wants. I’ll match it for you.”

There was Kwon Tae-hee, who voluntarily took the role of the weaker party, and Seo Jeong-won, who had no idea about that fact.

In the middle of a languid and exciting spring garden, heralding a new beginning.

[The Garden of Tedium End]