By Zephyria 
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“As for the rest, just do what you usually do. You don’t have to try too hard; just be comfortable.”
“…Yes, I will. Thank you, Executive Director….”
With his usual grin, Cha Se-jin moved all the gifts to the backseat and took the wheel again. Watching his profile in silence, Eun-won let out a small breath that barely tickled his lips. His heart felt overwhelmed.
* * *
The car passed through a garden so vast that the end was not in sight, went past a fountain, and stopped at a place that looked like the main entrance of a hotel. After bowing to the employee who opened the door, Eun-won gazed at the house and garden of overwhelming scale. When he had first visited his father’s house, he had wondered how such a large home could exist, but this place was on a completely different level.
“…….”
As he looked up at the building, which resembled the art gallery where he had first met Cha Se-jin, Cha Se-jin approached and wrapped an arm around Eun-won’s shoulder. Startled for a moment, Eun-won looked back at the source of the warmth.
“Let’s go in.”
“…Yes.”
Carrying the paper bags containing the gifts Cha Se-jin had brought, Eun-won took a deep breath and walked alongside him.
Passing through a pivot door that looked to be four or five meters high, he didn’t immediately find a ‘home’ as he imagined, but rather a hallway. To the left, a courtyard was visible through floor-to-ceiling glass, and on the other side, several paintings were hung. He felt as if this hallway were a path leading to a completely different world, far removed from the one he knew.
At the end of the relatively short hallway, a door opened to reveal a large foyer. While his attention was stolen by the stunning courtyard, Eun-won entered the foyer and came face-to-face with Cha Se-jin’s parents, who were waiting for them. Though slightly surprised by the sudden encounter, Eun-won didn’t let it show. Following Cha Se-jin’s lead, he neatly took off his shoes and stepped up into slippers.
Even during this trivial process, the sudden surge of tension made his breath tremble. Eun-won pressed his hand firmly over his heart once before facing Cha Se-jin’s parents.
“My parents.”
At Cha Se-jin’s introduction, Eun-won managed a slight smile with trembling lips and bowed politely from the waist.
“Hello…. I am Seo Eun-won. Thank you for inviting me….”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Se-jin’s mother. I’m sure this was sudden, so thank you so much for coming.”
“Oh, no. I was… very happy to be invited.”
After greeting Cha Se-jin’s mother, Eun-won looked up at Cha Se-jin’s father, who was quietly observing him from the side, and quickly bowed again. It wasn’t necessary to greet him again, but in his nervousness, he found himself bowing repeatedly without realizing it.
“Honey, you can’t just keep staring at him like that.”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I just couldn’t believe the brat actually brought someone he’s going to marry, so I was just looking…. Welcome. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Taking the hand of Cha Se-jin’s father as he stepped forward with a trembling hand, Eun-won barely managed to finish the handshake before offering the gifts in his other hand. He wished he hadn’t been shaking at that moment, but it was embarrassing that even the shopping bags were visibly trembling.
“Ah, my darling prepared something for Mom and Dad.”
Eun-won had been wondering when to present the gifts, and thanks to Cha Se-jin bringing it up first, the atmosphere flowed naturally. Eun-won handed the gifts to Cha Se-jin’s father and mother in turn.
“Why did you go to all this trouble? You could have just come as you are. Thank you. May I open them?”
“Yes…. Oh, and please… speak comfortably with me….”
Looking at the youthful face that was clearly fraught with tension, Cha Se-jin’s mother, Min Seo-young, looked at Cha Se-jin’s father, Cha Tae-jun. Although she had a daughter of a similar age, her children weren’t typically the gentle type, so seeing such a clear, trembling face made her feel a sense of pity.
“Shall we do that then? Let’s go inside first. Se-jin.”
Calling Cha Se-jin to take care of Eun-won, Min Seo-young headed toward the living room. Understanding the meaning, Cha Se-jin leaned down toward Eun-won, who was shaking like a baby rabbit that had wandered into a tiger’s den.
“You did great, so why are you shaking so much?”
“…I’m sorry….”
“You did everything right, so what are you sorry for? Let’s go in.”
Cha Se-jin stroked Eun-won’s back and patted his waist, grinning as he looked down at Eun-won’s face. Even that face was excessively pretty. So pretty that he wanted to relieve his tension in a different way.
If he just came once, the tension would melt away, and he’d feel languid and good.
Regretfully erasing the thought that could not be uttered in this atmosphere, Cha Se-jin led Eun-won to the living room and sat down opposite his parents.
As he secretly watched Cha Se-jin’s parents open the gift wrapping, Eun-won suddenly recalled something Cha Se-jin had said. He had thought it was a joke when Se-jin said he was the softest person in this house, but now he thought it might actually be true. Both parents were kind, but the overwhelming power they radiated when facing them was incredibly strong.
“Oh my, these are the teas and desserts I love. I’ve never seen this one before.”
Min Seo-young, who opened her box first, looked at the contents with genuine delight. She opened the lid of the tea leaves to smell the aroma and mentioned how much she wanted to eat the beautifully packaged desserts.
Cha Tae-jun, who received the fountain pen, also liked the gift very much. Seeing him examine the sleek body and immediately tuck the pen into his shirt pocket, a faint smile finally spread across Eun-won’s lips. He was so grateful to Cha Se-jin for making sure things turned out this way.
“May I ask why you chose a fountain pen? I know it’s rude to ask such things, but I’m curious. Usually, people bring more conventional gifts like flowers or wine when they come to pay their respects.”
Eun-won was slightly flustered by Cha Tae-jun’s question. Although Cha Se-jin had told him the reason, since he hadn’t chosen the gift himself, it wasn’t easy to say the words calmly.
“I asked him earlier, and it seems he saw an interview where you mentioned you enjoy transcribing. Our darling is quite attentive, isn’t he?”
At that moment, Cha Se-jin, who had naturally wrapped his arm around Eun-won and leaned in, answered on his behalf. Nodding as if pleased, Cha Tae-jun thanked Eun-won with a smile. Eun-won quickly bowed his head in response.
“Butler Yoon.”
“Yes, Chairperson.”
“Please prepare these so we can have them for dessert.”
“Yes. Shall I serve them with the desserts originally prepared?”
“Yes, please do.”
Handing the tea and desserts Eun-won had gifted to Butler Yoon, Min Seo-young looked at Eun-won, who was sitting quietly. She had heard he was twenty this year, but he looked even younger than expected. Especially sitting next to her son, who was always surrounded by all sorts of scandals. To think such a child, whose baby fuzz hadn’t even gone, was in an arranged marriage.
Though it was an arranged marriage because both parties wanted something, she secretly hoped that since they were marrying anyway, he could be someone who could handle her son, even if he was young. However, it seemed she would have to give up on that part. He looked so kind and gentle that she felt the need to be careful with every word she spoke, to the point where she hoped he would never be hurt by Cha Se-jin.
“What about Hyung and Cha Se-na?”
“Ah, Se-gyu is in the annex for a moment because of an important call. Se-na will arrive soon.”
While answering Cha Se-jin, Min Seo-young observed Eun-won and naturally shifted the topic with a smile.
“We could meet at the formal family meeting, but I couldn’t wait until then. Se-jin keeps telling me how pretty Eun-won is every time he sees me, and I knew you were pretty from the photos, but you really are so beautiful. I’m very glad to meet you.”
“Thank you… for welcoming me. Uh…. And, more than me… M….”
“…….”
“…Uh, Mother is… prettier.”
He suddenly thought that calling her ‘Mother’ would be better than ‘Madam,’ so he spoke it aloud, but it felt far too awkward. The problem was that his awkwardness bled into his speech. He felt like a broken robot. He was embarrassed that neither his words nor his actions were natural, but instead creaked and stuttered.
“Oh my, it feels so good to hear that from such a pretty child. How do you speak so sweetly?”
Cha Se-jin, seeing that his mother seemed pleased with Eun-won’s answer, looked at his father. While he possessed a terrifying coldness in business, contrary to that image, he was a family-oriented man.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was the type to express affection openly to his children. He was tender toward his mother and often showed affection and physical touch when it was just the two of them, but otherwise, he wasn’t one to use warm expressions often, making it difficult to gauge 100% how he viewed Eun-won.
Knowing that he wasn’t the type to give an ‘OK’ sign just because he liked a gift, Cha Se-jin became even more attentive.