SMW 67

“Please… have some tea.”

“Thank you.”

Smooth fingers, looking as though they had been pampered for a lifetime, wrapped around the teacup. The series of movements—supporting the bottom of the cup with his other hand and bringing it to his lips—was clean and elegant, without a single wasted motion. It was a perfect execution of the tea etiquette my maternal grandmother had taught me as a child; I found myself admiring him unconsciously.

“The tea is quite clean.”

The man, having just finished his cup, wore a soft smile on his lips. Fearing I had been caught staring, I followed suit with an awkward smile.

“I’m glad. My mother made it herself using wild green tea leaves picked from the mountains.”

“She is very skilled. It is not easy to make tea taste this good; the color, aroma, and flavor were all perfect.”

“You seem to know a lot about tea.”

“I have never made it myself, but because I [visit our site]enjoy drinking it, my palate has started acting [stolen content]like an expert. Thanks to that, my tastes are becoming increasingly picky.”

So he’s saying he doesn’t even touch cheap tea, right? I should have known from the moment he flatly declined my offer of coffee. I had even used expensive beans—the kind Choi Seol bought because he refuses to touch instant coffee mixes. I guess they really are cousins.

Yet, it wasn’t annoying. How should I put it? He was the kind of person who made me feel like I should treat him with the utmost respect, even though he provided absolutely no help to me. It wasn’t just because of the high-end suit or the title on his business card. His timely manners and disciplined demeanor, never acting carelessly for a single moment, made me feel like I was looking at a noble young master from a historical drama.

As a result, I had brought out the precious tea set passed down through generations to create a sophisticated atmosphere. I hadn’t even done this for Choi Seol. Of course, I had brewed my mother’s tea for him too, but if boiling it roughly in a kettle and serving it in a water glass counts as tea, then sure.

Would he be upset if he saw this? He’s not that kind of person, but you never know. I wondered if I should quickly make the man finish his cup and clear the table before Choi Seol arrived. Honestly, who knows if this man and Choi Seol are mortal enemies.

“By the way, it is not polite to visit someone’s home empty-handed. It was prepared in haste, but I hope you like it.”

The Chief Secretary, if I recalled correctly—the man in the black suit who had vanished from sight—stepped forward and held out two gold-wrapped bundles that looked overwhelmingly expensive. I waved my hands in fluster.

“No, you really didn’t have to…”

“It is a top-grade Hanwoo beef set.”

“Since you’ve gone to the trouble, I will gratefully accept. Would you like another cup of tea?”

I quickly took the heavy boxes with both hands and kindly offered the Chief Secretary a seat.

“Please, have a cup of tea as well, Secretary.”

“I am fine. Vice Chairman, I will wait outside.”

The Chief Secretary politely declined and disappeared beyond the main gate again.

“You don’t need to worry about him. He is simply doing his job.”

“…Yes.”

I’m sorry, but I’m already worrying about you enough.

I felt like I would have been less burdened if the secretary had stayed by his side; being alone with him like this made me feel suffocated. In this situation, I found myself desperately missing my old first love. Noona said the harvesting team was almost finished, so I let him into the house, but why is this brat taking so long?

“Could I have another cup of tea?”

“Ah, yes.”

I quickly filled the empty cup the man held out with the brewed green tea. Then, the cycle repeated. While [unauthorized copy]the man savored the tea and [Read on Read BL Novels]enjoyed his leisure, my throat burned with tension.

“Drinking tea on the wooden veranda of such an old house adds to the charm. Unlike the city, the air is clear and the scenery is beautiful.”

“Hahaha, it is.”

“I quite like the homeowner as well.”

“Aw, that’s a bit much…”

“Perhaps that is why our Seol had no intention of leaving this place, hiding away like a little mouse.”

“…”

“I am joking.”

“Ah, ah! A joke, hahahaha…”

He just took a dig at me, didn’t he? Does he actually think his cousin isn’t going home because of me? This isn’t some cousin version of ‘How dare you look at my precious child without knowing your place.’

Wait… is what’s inside those gold wraps not meat, but money?

My eyes flashed, darting toward the bundles resting beside me.

“You may open them.”

They really must be cousins. As the man looked at me with a smirk, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, the only thing I could do was smile back.

“Hahaha, no. I just… if it’s meat, I was worried it might spoil since the weather is warm…”

“I heard today is the lowest temperature since autumn began.”

“Now that I think about it, beef tastes best when aged. Ah, it’s cold. Shall I give you another cup of warm tea?”

The man’s smile deepened at my quick improvisation. However, he did not hold out his empty cup again.

“More importantly, it seems Mr. Yeo-reum has something to say to me. You may ask freely.”

Is this perceptiveness a family trait? Based on my experience with Choi Seol over the last two months, it was clear that trying to play dumb here would be useless. Deciding to take the opportunity, I chose to be honest.

“Are you close with Choi Seol?”

…I should have been more cautious. The man’s eyebrows rose, as if it were an unexpected question. I quickly employed my improvisation once more.

“Well, my mother is the youngest of six siblings, so there’s quite an age gap between me and my cousins, and we aren’t that close… Of course, it’s not just because of the age, but anyway, that’s how it is. But seeing you come all this way to find Choi Seol, I wondered if you were close… Hahaha.”

As far as I knew, the Vice Chairman of Yuseon Holdings was close to forty. I knew he was divorced and had one son. He was at an age where he would naturally be much older than me or Choi Seol. Of course, age is just a number, but the problem was the family itself.

“Let’s just say we are moderately close.”

As expected, the man’s answer was ambiguous.

“There is indeed a bit of an age gap for cousins, but that is a common phenomenon in our family, so I tend not to mind. The elders of our house have been tirelessly sowing seeds here and there. In fact, my youngest sibling is even younger than Seol. It’s possible there are siblings even younger than that child growing up somewhere.”

Excuse me. I just asked if you two were close.

Suddenly, I had overheard the dark secrets of a certain group from the source himself. Could there be anything more burdensome than this?

Moreover, it felt like he had subtly mocked the fact that Choi Seol was an illegitimate child, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Though, from his perspective, it might be an unavoidable reality.

“Is there anything else you are curious about?”

“No. I have nothing else to ask.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

As I waved my hand emphatically, the man’s eyes narrowed.

“It seems like you have many questions.”

Of course I did. Whether the ‘Seol’ he spoke of was truly the Choi Seol I knew, what the name Baek Seol-ha meant, how he found this place, why he only came now after more than a month if he really shared the same blood, whether he knew about Choi Seol’s amnesia, and what his true purpose for coming here was.

But I was no fool.

“No. If I’m really curious, I’ll ask Choi Seol. I think it would be rude to pry into another family’s affairs with someone I’ve just met.”

I figured it was best to drop my curiosity here. It was just a hunch, but I felt like if I greedily accepted whatever this man offered, I would end up with a severe case of indigestion. Didn’t my uncle say once? The kindness bestowed by people of that sort always comes with a price.

“My, you still do not trust me.”

Above all, that ghost-like intuition was terrifying.

“If you don’t trust me, how could you let me into your home?”

“Well, you said he was Choi Seol’s guest…”

“I could have been a fraud.”

“I don’t think you’ve scammed me yet.”

Yuseon Group was a multinational conglomerate ranking first in brand awareness and sales among the major corporations in our country. Naturally, the owner’s family leading that giant enterprise was famous. I was looking at a face that appeared whenever I searched on my phone; there was no way I’d think it was a scam. And once Choi Seol arrived, I’d be able to tell if the rest was a lie or not.

Since Choi Seol had remembered that he had entered his biological father’s household, he should know where he belonged.

The only thing that bothered me was when Seo-woo Seonbae mentioned the name Baek Seol-ha. Choi Seol had said he didn’t know who that was. I wondered if that was the truth.

Questions always birthed doubts.

“As Mr. Han Yeo-reum said, I do not scam. Business is [unauthorized copy]essentially a trade of trust; once a relationship is broken, it cannot be restored. Who knows? Mr. [stolen content]Han Yeo-reum might become an important business partner of mine.”

The man’s narrowed eyes gazed steadily at me. Just as I began to feel uncomfortable under a gaze that seemed to be appraising my value, the conversation resumed.

“By the way, I heard you are on a leave of absence. Do you plan to return to school next year?”

What is this? I felt like I was seeing a polite version of Seo-woo Seonbae. More importantly, how did this man know such things and feel the need to ask? This felt a bit—no, a lot—unpleasant.

“I don’t think I have any obligation to tell you that.”

“I would like to help you if possible.”

“…What?”

What on earth is this now?

“What kind of trick is this.”

Exactly. At the voice that perfectly spoke my mind, I nodded and whipped my head to the side. Choi Seol was standing in the yard, glaring toward us.

“You’re here?”

I quickly jumped up from my seat. However, Choi Seol didn’t look at me in the end. Instead, the gaze he fixed on the man was nothing short of murderous. ‘Moderately close’ my foot; if he’s looking at him like that, aren’t they practically enemies? Just as regret washed over me that I should never have let him into the house, I heard a chuckle right beside me.

“Vice Chairman Nam was right. I wondered where the little mouse was hiding, and he really was here.”

Vice Chairman Nam? That title naturally brought Seonbae to mind. Come to think of it, I believe his title was listed as Managing Director on the business card he gave. Could it be that the fact that Choi Seol was here was…

“Seol-ah.”

At that moment, the man called Choi Seol in a voice that was profoundly affectionate.