By Zephyria 
===
Thanks to Cha Se-jin giving him a ride, Eun-won arrived at school early, allowing him to leisurely review the important sections one last time before taking his exam. Since he did well enough to be satisfied, his mind settled, and he felt very good.
“You look like you did well?”
“Yeah, it went okay. Everything came out of the parts I studied yesterday and today.”
“Yesterday? Weren’t you at a honeymoon… no, I mean, at a hotel instead?”
“Yeah… He let me study in the afternoon, so I looked over things for two or three hours.”
“Wow, this is how you get straight A-pluses.”
Yoon Ji-woon shook his head as if Eun-won were relentless, then sucked down an Americano with two extra shots like it was the water of life, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Still, I’ll bear it since exams end this week. He said the chaebol Hyung would invite us for a meal once exams are over… I’m living for that day.”
“…Chaebol Hyung? The Executive Director…?”
“Yeah! Who else would be a chaebol Hyung that I know? Hey, but he was seriously incredible. It was my first time seeing a Dominant Alpha. He was insane, seriously. Wow… He’s so tall, and his face… wow, his face… I was literally speechless just looking at him. How can someone look like that?”
Eun-won smiled as he watched Yoon Ji-woon lower his volume to level 1 when mentioning ‘marriage’ and crank it up to level 8 for everything else, then took a sip of his sweet green tea latte.
“But you were seriously insane too. No joke, everyone at the wedding hall was talking about you. Since they didn’t know who you were, they were super curious. They kept asking me if you were a friend, but I didn’t tell them a thing.”
“Thanks….”
“Don’t mention it. If I were the type of guy to blab there, you wouldn’t have invited me in the first place. But your friends were all great too. We ate at the same table and everything. They told me we should all meet up next time, so we exchanged numbers. Man, I must have been really busy.”
“I think you were busier than I was.”
“Agreed.”
Bursting into laughter, Eun-won pushed a financier—which he had received as a freebie when buying drinks—toward Yoon Ji-woon, telling him he worked hard.
“They gave me this for free, so you have it.”
“Free? They don’t usually give stuff away here. What’s this?”
Picking up the financier to peel off the wrapper, Yoon Ji-woon examined the bag and showed it to Eun-won. A phone number was written on the bag in black pen.
“Holy shit, it’s a flirt. See, I told you they don’t give freebies here.”
If Eun-won had realized what the employee meant when they emphasized that it was ‘specially’ for him, he wouldn’t have taken it; now, he felt an unpleasant sensation. Eun-won glanced toward the counter. His eyes met immediately with the employee who was brewing coffee. Avoiding the gaze, he looked back forward, only to see Yoon Ji-woon, who had already finished the financier, meticulously tearing the bag into several pieces and shaking the shreds.
“I can’t even come here anymore. That guy’s eyes are creepy. Luckily, I don’t have much reason to come this way.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“Yeah, let’s. No wonder he was staring so damn hard. You were sitting with your back to him, so I was the only one making eye contact. Total goosebumps.”
Yoon Ji-woon shuddered exaggeratedly, sucked up the rest of his coffee, cleared the tray, and left the cafe. Ignoring the blatant, sinister gaze that clung to him until the moment he stepped out, Eun-won followed behind Yoon Ji-woon.
Such things had happened often even when he was younger, so he wasn’t particularly surprised, but he felt afraid whenever they displayed ‘persistence.’ Most of the time it ended as a one-off, but there were people who remained persistent until he gave them a certain reaction.
A part-timer who worked at the place where his mother worked had been like that, the CEO of the place where he did flyer distribution had been like that, and the father of a student he tutored had been like that. Most recently, a person who visited the convenience store every day and asked to eat what he bought had shown such persistence. And just now, he could see the cafe part-timer’s eyes blatantly following his every move, which left him feeling uneasy.
“You’re going to study before you leave, right?”
“Yeah. Today is the first day I’m going to the Executive Director’s house… we decided to go together once he finishes work. He’s coming here.”
“Ah, wow. Right. You must be nervous. Now you’re living with a completely different family. You got married so fast that you probably didn’t even have time to get close.”
“Yeah… I am a bit nervous. They’re all such good people… but I’m a bit shy. Still, I’m sure I’ll be fine once I see them every day.”
“Of course. Time is always the best cure.”
Yoon Ji-woon patted Eun-won’s back encouragingly, checked his phone, and showed it to Eun-won. On the screen was a message from Ju Yi-deun with many exclamation marks.
“Ju Yi-deun just went to the reading room and says there are still plenty of seats. Let’s hurry!”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
As he hurried his pace, a breeze—slightly cooler than last week’s—brushed against his cheeks.
It was shortly after 5 PM when Cha Se-jin arrived at the school. After saying goodbye to Yoon Ji-woon, Eun-won packed his bag, left the reading room, and stepped outside. Seeing Eun-won emerge, Cha Se-jin got out of the car, took the heavy bag, and opened the passenger door. After helping Eun-won in and placing the bag in the backseat, Cha Se-jin climbed into the driver’s seat.
“It feels a bit strange. Usually, when I came to meet you at school, I’d buy you dinner and then take you home. Now, instead of taking you separately, we’re going together.”
“Yes….”
“Since we were at a hotel yesterday, it didn’t feel as real, but now that we’re going home together, it suddenly hits me. That we’re married.”
As Eun-won nodded, a large hand reached over to the passenger seat, playfully messing up his hair before smoothing it back down. Leaning his head into that hand, Eun-won smiled softly.
“Um… I didn’t prepare anything….”
“Prepare what?”
“Since it’s the first day I’m living there… I wanted to give a greeting gift….”
“You don’t have to worry about that. My mom actually called earlier. She told me not to buy any gifts. She said she doesn’t want you to feel burdened and just to come comfortably.”
“…They were so kind when I first met them, and on the wedding day too… I didn’t do anything, but they hugged me and thanked me… I’m so grateful, and I’ve received so much… I felt bad going empty-handed.”
“If you really want to do something, instead of a gift, just spend some time with my mom when you’re free. My mom loves that kind of thing, and she gets bored because we’re all so busy. Well, she’s busy too, but still.”
That was not a difficult task at all. The only problem was that he felt he could never fully repay this gratitude with something so simple. Eun-won nodded quickly.
Smiling at Eun-won’s enthusiastic nodding, Cha Se-jin reversed the parked car and drove out of the school.
[Madam: Did you have a good time over the weekend?]
[Madam: Give me a call when you have time]
Seeing the messages that arrived around the time they reached the house, Eun-won replied that he would call later and put his phone away.
Passing through the security gate and driving deep inside along the path leading toward the garden, the car stopped in front of the annex rather than the main house.
“No one is in the main house right now. We can go there once we get word that they’ve arrived. Let’s look around the house first.”
“Okay.”
When he had visited the house to give his greetings before, he had only spent time in the main house and the garden, never stepping foot in the annex. This was because it was a bit cluttered as the renovations for the home they would live in together were not yet complete.
“Welcome.”
“Butler Yoon, you were here?”
“I was just about to leave after one last check, but you’ve arrived early.”
“Yes. Mom isn’t back yet, right?”
“Yes, I received word that she is on her way.”
Cha Se-jin nodded and, as he entered the foyer, pulled out his vibrating phone. Seeing the secretary’s name on the screen, he answered, and the voice of someone asking about company business was heard. Telling the secretary to wait a moment, Cha Se-jin called out to Butler Yoon, who was about to leave.
“Butler Yoon.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“I think this call will take a while, so could you show the house around instead of me?”
“Yes, I understand.”
After making eye contact and nodding to Eun-won, Cha Se-jin went up to the second floor of the annex where the study was, continuing the call. Watching his retreating back, Eun-won followed the kindly smiling Butler Yoon, changed into slippers, and entered the house.
“I am so glad to have you with us. I look forward to your kindness.”
“Ah… thank you for welcoming me. I look forward to it as well.”
“This annex was used by the Young Master—well, the Executive Director—and since it has great natural light, I’ve coordinated the interior in overall soft tones.”
As Butler Yoon said, the inside of the house was decorated entirely in warm colors. Eun-won liked the calm atmosphere. Despite the space being very large, the soft colors made it feel peaceful and cozy.
“I’ve prepared everything so that there is nothing lacking for the two of you. This is the living room, and you can use the annex garden through the door leading from the living room. If you go straight, it connects to the main house garden, so it’s great for walks. And this way is the dining room….”
After touring the spacious living room, dining room, and kitchen in turn, they looked at Cha Se-jin’s exercise facilities in the basement and then went up to the second floor. On the second floor, there was a large living room and several large bedrooms.