By Zephyria “Here, this is a gift.”
A moment later, the manager brought over a gift. It was homemade strawberry syrup. Yeon-rok received the gift with a delighted and grateful expression.
“Thank you. I should give one bottle to the CEO. After all, these are the CEO’s strawberries.”
The expressions of Choi Hwan and Moon Gyeon-woo, who were listening to the conversation, soured. Yeom Cheon-ho wasn’t even present, yet he was gaining benefits for doing absolutely nothing. They were irritated, but there was nothing they could do. It was the difference between someone who had lost favor early on and someone who had built it up.
“He’ll be pleased. He has a sweet tooth.”
“Really? No wonder…”
Seeing the emotion flickering across Yeon-rok’s face as he nodded while thinking of Yeom Cheon-ho made their hearts ache. Choi Hwan bit his lip repeatedly before suddenly glancing around. He felt a gaze watching them from somewhere. Because his profession constantly put him under the scrutiny of reporters, fans, or paparazzi, he was sensitive to this kind of attention.
‘What is it? It feels really gloomy.’
However, since the area was thick with strawberry bushes, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the gaze. Then again, with cult followers scattered everywhere, it made sense for things to feel gloomy. Thinking this, Choi Hwan turned his attention back to Yeon-rok.
The strawberry syrup the manager gave them—based on the amount of strawberries they had picked—amounted to three bottles. Even then, a basket of fresh strawberries remained; even to the oblivious Choi Hwan, it seemed the manager had given them far more than they deserved. With a proud look on his face, Yeon-rok turned to the two men and asked.
“Do you want to taste the strawberry syrup now? I’ll make you a drink.”
“Sure.”
Choi Hwan, who had completely given up on his diet since lunch, readily agreed. The manager quickly brought over sparkling water and cups, then tactfully excused himself, saying he had to get back to work.
“Oops!”
While pouring the strawberry syrup into the cups after washing his hands, Yeon-rok spilled a little. Feeling it was a waste, he licked the sweet syrup that had dripped down to his wrist. Choi Hwan, who had been finding even his clumsiness cute, watched the scene as if possessed. The pink liquid, which had flowed between his fingers down to his palm, disappeared into a deeper red tongue.
“What a waste…”
The impression of him being merely ‘cute’ vanished completely. Watching Yeon-rok lick his own hand, Choi Hwan unconsciously swallowed hard. Suddenly, his throat felt parched, and he felt an intense thirst. It was a desire to drink a whole tub of cold water. Suddenly feeling a sting on his cheek, he looked beside him to find Moon Gyeon-woo glaring at him with a terrifying look.
The usual coldness in his eyes was gone, replaced by eyes burning with a strong possessiveness. It was absurd that he was acting as if Yeon-rok were his own lover. Choi Hwan sneered, staring back with a hatred born of jealousy. He still couldn’t forget the marks that had remained on the neck of the kidnapped Yeon-rok.
“…Why do you both have those expressions?”
Sensing the ominous energy while making the strawberry ade, Yeon-rok snapped his head up and looked back and forth between the two.
“It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing, but Choi Hwan lied with a bright smile. Moon Gyeon-woo also smiled as if to reassure him, but Yeon-rok’s hands moved faster. He intended to quickly put something in their mouths to settle this uncomfortable atmosphere.
“It’s sweet and refreshing. It’s delicious! You two try it too.”
Perhaps because it had been hot while picking strawberries, his cheeks were flushed, and light beads of sweat had formed on his temples. His lips, stained with strawberry juice, looked exceptionally red. Holding the drink in his hand, Choi Hwan succumbed to impulse and kissed Yeon-rok.
“It is delicious, just as you said.”
“Uh…”
It was certainly sweet and refreshing. And the dazed look on Yeon-rok’s face was quite cute.
Wearing a refreshing smile honed through various acting drills, he looked back at Moon Gyeon-woo provocatively. The other man had a murderous look in his eyes, as if he were about to knock Choi Hwan down right then and there. If he did, Choi Hwan planned to take the beating obediently just to gain some sympathy from Yeon-rok. However, Moon Gyeon-woo’s subsequent reaction was completely different from his expectations.
Moon Gyeon-woo leaned down and kissed Yeon-rok. Choi Hwan’s eyes widened. Yeon-rok’s eyes grew twice as large. Moon Gyeon-woo licked his own lips and said:
“You’re right. Sweets aren’t usually my thing, but this is different.”
As he spoke, a smile as radiant as Choi Hwan’s played on Moon Gyeon-woo’s face. Extremely confused, Yeon-rok stammered. The hand holding the glass bottle was shaking.
“Uh, y-yeah. I’m glad you both like it.”
Choi Hwan gnashed his teeth. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Moon Gyeon-woo kiss Yeon-rok before his eyes, but he felt a fresh surge of anger. No, that’s not it. He was angrier because it wasn’t the first time. He recalled the time Moon Gyeon-woo had practically pinned Yeon-rok to the sofa and shared a long, deep kiss for all to see. A jealousy more intense than before flared up like a fire. He kissed Yeon-rok again.
“…!”
Having been frozen like a stone due to the sudden consecutive kisses from the two men, Yeon-rok barely managed to react to Choi Hwan’s second kiss.
“Why are you suddenly doing this…?”
Moon Gyeon-woo, his gaze turning fierce, refused to lose and kissed him again. It was a more skillful and longer kiss than the one Choi Hwan had given. Only when Choi Hwan lunged in for a third kiss did Yeon-rok finally snap out of it and shout.
“What the hell are you doing, you crazy bastards!”
Unable to understand why the two of them were suddenly pouncing on him while he was just minding his business drinking a beverage, Yeon-rok was bewildered. Since the two of them had eyes that looked beyond angry—almost insane—as if they couldn’t even hear him, he first put some distance between them. Even then, clutching the strawberry syrup like a sacred treasure, he quickly racked his brain to stop them.
“You two realize this is basically an indirect kiss between you, right?”
“…!”
“…”
Only after hearing that did they seem to regain their reason. As the atmosphere reached a stalemate, a frowning Choi Hwan quickly gulped down the strawberry ade. Unlike last time, Moon Gyeon-woo didn’t gag, but he wiped his lips vigorously with a disgusted expression. Finally grasping the situation and becoming angry, Yeon-rok shouted with a face as red as a strawberry.
“Get lost! Don’t come within 10 meters of me until I say so!”
Regretting it too late, Choi Hwan trudged out of the smart farm. He was always scolded for kissing without permission, and today was no different. He really didn’t intend to do it this time, but seeing Moon Gyeon-woo made him so angry…
Glancing back, his eyes met Moon Gyeon-woo’s. The other man also glared at him with a displeased and spiteful look before abruptly turning and disappearing in the opposite direction. Choi Hwan’s bodyguards approached him with a casual attitude and spoke.
“Young master, what did you do this time?”
“What do you mean, what did I do?”
“Does our young master have no conscience, or just no memory…?”
Tsk. Feeling hit where it hurt and becoming grumpy, Choi Hwan suddenly bolted. Cursing at their charge’s erratic behavior, the bodyguards chased after him. Because Choi Hwan caused so many accidents, the bodyguards had long since thrown politeness out the window.
“You crazy young master! Why are you acting up again!”
Being quite confident in his running, Choi Hwan easily shook off the bodyguards and slipped into a nearby building to hide. After seeing the bodyguards head elsewhere, he returned toward the smart farm. Was this outside 10 meters? He was lingering at a distance, waiting for Yeon-rok’s anger to subside, when…
“Flower name bearer? Flower name bearer Choi Hwan?”
Turning around at the voice calling him, he saw a man standing there. Thinking it might be a fan, Choi Hwan reflexively flashed a dazzling smile.
“Yes, hello. I’m Choi Hwan.”
“Hello, Flower name bearer Choi Hwan! I am a believer named Kim Hyeon-seo.”
The man’s face lit up when his greeting was accepted. He quickly continued speaking.
“Truly, it is an honor to meet you like this. I really wanted to meet you at least once. You are even taller and more handsome than you looked in photos.”
Since the look in the man’s eyes was similar to that of admiring and longing fans, Choi Hwan assumed until then that the man was a fan. However, as he listened to the following words, he felt an inexplicable sense of unpleasantness. He was reminded of the gloomy gaze he had felt inside the smart farm earlier.
“To be honest, I was quite disappointed at first. I had hoped you would be a woman. But thinking about it again, isn’t a man a better companion in many ways than a woman? There are plenty of other ways to carry on a lineage, after all.”
What kind of crazy person has such an anachronistic mindset?
Due to the nature of his job, Choi Hwan had encountered irrational people far more often than most, and his face crumpled instantly. Knowing that the best course of action with such people was to ignore them, he was just about to turn away when the man urgently blocked his path and spoke.
“But you see, as a believer, I feel I must tell you this. I think Flower name bearer Lee Yeon-rok is being a bit too greedy…”
“What kind of nonsense is this now?”