By Zephyria 
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[Jeong Ji-seong: Sending the address. 1st Floor, Unit 103, 45 Dopyeong-ro 12-gil, Seongun-gu, Seoul (Fast Way Dopyeong Branch)]
[Jeong Ji-seong: You just need to arrive before 11:00.]
Cha Se-jin spoke the address from Secretary Jeong into the navigation system. Seeing that it would take 34 minutes, he drove out of the parking lot. He had considered calling a driver because he was tired, but no matter how tight-lipped a driver might be, there was too great a difference between having a witness and not, so he decided to drive himself.
Today, he was in “good son mode,” granting his mother’s earnest wish for him to just stay quiet and not cause any trouble for a while. Of course, the act of personally going to see a marriage partner who rejected him already strayed from the definition of a “good son.”
As he headed toward Seongun-gu on roads that were clear due to the late hour, Cha Se-jin suddenly felt a strange sense of dissonance and re-checked the message from Secretary Jeong.
“…….”
It was Seongun-gu, alright. But wait, doesn’t Chairman Baum live in Baekdam-dong? Why suddenly Seongun-gu?
Seongun-gu was not what one would call an affluent neighborhood—not the kind of place a chaebol family would consider when choosing a home. Wasn’t it a place where redevelopment had only recently begun, with buildings being torn down here and there to make room for apartments?
Furthermore, there was one more thing that made no sense. He could assume that since Baum had a high reputation in construction, they might be staying there for a few years to oversee the redevelopment, but the words “Fast Way Dopyeong Branch” in parentheses were not easily interpreted.
That’s a convenience store.
…Was it a convenience store run by Baum? No. That’s run by Gi Jae-hyeok’s family. When did it transfer to Baum? No, even if that were the case, why a convenience store? Is he telling me to meet him at a convenience store right now?
Realizing the “absurdity of the address” just three minutes before reaching his destination, Cha Se-jin immediately called Secretary Jeong. However, Secretary Jeong did not answer. Cha Se-jin pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue in frustration, left a message asking what this convenience store was about, and turned the steering wheel following the guidance to turn right in 60 meters.
Destination is 180m ahead.
After driving straight down a narrow alley, the announcement that he had arrived at his destination and the guidance was ending echoed through the car. Leaning over the steering wheel, Cha Se-jin looked up at the convenience store, which emitted a uniquely bright light in the dark alley.
Because it was a one-way street, it was incredibly narrow, and there was no particular space to park. He pulled the car as close to the store as possible, but the wheels were still sticking out into the road.
Cha Se-jin parked roughly in front of the store and got out. Beside the convenience store, he saw bars, motels, and houses, though it was unclear if they were even in business.
“…….”
The sign on the door read “Fast Way Dopyeong Branch.” He couldn’t understand how on earth he was supposed to meet someone in a place like this, but since he had already come this far, he figured he’d go inside just to see. If he went in and decided it was truly unacceptable, he could just tear into Secretary Jeong tomorrow.
Cha Se-jin opened the door without hesitation. A mechanical melody rang out as the door opened. It had been quite a while since he had visited a convenience store, and it was his first time in a small one tucked away in such a secluded spot.
Secretary Jeong must have given him this ridiculous address just to screw with him; he should go back and find Secretary Jeong and tear him a new one…
“Welcome.”
Just as he was about to turn around, thinking there was nothing more to see, a soft voice reached him. Reflexively turning toward the sound, Cha Se-jin laid eyes on the male part-timer standing at the counter.
“…….”
Wow, fuck. That face.
A top-tier exclamation erupted in his mind. It was a thought he had never once had while looking at anyone, and naturally, an exclamation he had never let out before.
He couldn’t understand how a face like that could exist inside the Fast Way Dopyeong Branch. No, just by looking at the face, he started to think that perhaps Secretary Jeong had given him the correct address after all.
That was how beautiful he was. The face that was looking at him, and the face he was looking at. Fucking beautiful. Moreover…
“…Is there something you need? If you tell me, I’ll find it for you.”
A scent, far too sweet and soft to be a convenience store smell, was wafting from somewhere. It was a scent like… boiling milk with plenty of sugar syrup poured in, white and fragile… that kind of scent.
Seeing the part-timer speak again, perhaps because it was strange for someone to just stare intently without saying a word, Cha Se-jin took a breath—though he wasn’t sure if he was actually resting—and approached the counter.
Up close, he was so beautiful that Cha Se-jin was momentarily speechless. To the point where he wondered if this was even real. There was no way a son of Baum would be here wearing a convenience store vest, so it seemed Secretary Jeong had sent him here after finding a face like this just to ruin his life.
Fuck, he knows my taste perfectly.
“…Is there something you need….”
“Ah, something I need.”
Suddenly trying to find something he needed in a convenience store he hadn’t visited in a long time, nothing came to mind. Cha Se-jin barely managed to tear his gaze away from the part-timer’s face and pointed to the top row of cigarettes displayed behind him.
Seeing the part-timer immediately understand and turn to retrieve the cigarettes, Cha Se-jin felt a vibration in his pocket. He checked the name of Secretary Jeong on the screen and answered the call.
“Yes.”
Executive Director, have you arrived?
“Yes. Explain yourself.”
I should have provided additional details when I sent the address, but I forgot to contact you because I had to enter a meeting urgently. I apologize.
“I get it, so just tell me what’s going on. What is this place?”
The person you are discussing marriage with is Baum’s illegitimate child.
“What?”
At the mention of an illegitimate child, he lifted his downward gaze and locked eyes with the part-timer, who had placed a pack of cigarettes on the counter and was waiting for the call to end.
‘I thought we’d get along since the other side has a handicap too….’
The word “handicap” his mother mentioned this morning flashed through his mind. His handicap was a dirty image; the other’s handicap was… being an illegitimate child.
While checking the address, I found it strange that it was a convenience store, so I looked further, and it turns out he’s not just a simple illegitimate child.
“Then what is he?”
It seems they knew he was illegitimate in the past, but they didn’t bring him into the house. That’s still the case. Therefore, Mr. Seo Eun-won is living independently of Baum, and it seems the Baum side needs time to persuade Mr. Seo Eun-won to make this marriage happen.
“Even his name is pretty.”
Pardon?
“No, I understood. Let’s talk again tomorrow, at home.”
Hanging up the phone, Cha Se-jin gazed at the part-timer, Eun-won, who was still waiting quietly inside the counter.
Now it finally made sense. Why a son of Baum was at a convenience store, and why Baum—who had lost their only card to play in these marriage talks after their son died in a riding accident years ago—had suddenly appeared.
“…Do you need anything else? Shall I just charge you for this?”
“Yeah, just this for today.”
“Yes, I’ll process the payment. Please insert your card in the front.”
He had seen countless pretty omegas in his life, but a face like this was a first. It satisfied everything in Cha Se-jin, whose standards were so high that he had never seen a face that truly caught his eye.
As he pulled the card from the reader, Eun-won handed over the cigarettes with both hands. Cha Se-jin looked down at the white, clean hands reaching toward him. The fingers were slender and long, and even the nails at the tips had a pale pink hue. In short, every part of him visible outside his clothes was beautiful. Enough to make one imagine the parts that weren’t visible.
“Do you work until 11?”
“Huh? Ah… yes.”
“From what time?”
“From 7….”
“Ah, you only work a few hours.”
“…Why do you….”
“Ah, I’m coming again tomorrow, and I don’t want us to miss each other.”
Wariness spread across that clear, beautiful face. It was obvious that he thought Cha Se-jin was a weirdo, but he didn’t feel bad at all. Rather, he felt like he was going crazy wanting to tease him more.
He wanted to make him more flustered, make him more confused, and then act scary just to see him cry. Ah, a crying face would be fucking beautiful, seriously.
“…Is there something else you need….”
“No, nothing. I’ve seen your face, so I’ll go.”
“…Goodbye.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Watching Eun-won, who didn’t ask back but simply said goodbye with a face that looked like he had no idea what Cha Se-jin was talking about, Cha Se-jin grinned. He crushed the pack of cigarettes he had just bought with one hand and shoved it into the trash can near the convenience store door.
Then, listening to the same melody as when he entered, but one that now felt entirely different, he left the convenience store.