#71

“I’m Kyung Seung-hee.”

“Ah, I am….”

“You’re CEO Kwon Jung-hyun. I know.”

The man offered a handshake with a bright smile, just as his first impression suggested. Contrary to his pretty face, he was quite tall. While not as tall as Shin Ho-jae, he seemed taller than Jung-hyun.

His mother had explained that Writer Kyung Seung-hee was the youngest son of the Vice Minister of Transportation. She added that his older sister was a current prosecutor. Jung-hyun had wondered what kind of person he was since his mother expressed interest, but it seemed she was more interested in his background than his work.

For the son of a high-ranking government official, it was a somewhat unusual profession. While smiling politely on the outside, Jung-hyun thought this to himself, but Kyung Seung-hee naturally humbled himself with a smile, saying, “I’m not as smart as my sister.”

Perhaps because it was an awkward time of day, there were no other guests in the exhibition hall besides Jung-hyun and his mother. Thanks to that, they had the honor of receiving a docent tour from the artist himself.

“This painting depicts the scenery I used to look at all day during my childhood. What do you feel from it?”

“Jung-hyun, why don’t you try saying something?”

“Me? Ah… well.”

Jung-hyun looked at the canvas, which was large enough to fill an entire wall, with a troubled expression.

The work was filled only with off-white tones that looked almost white. To a layman like Jung-hyun, it simply looked like an unfinished painting.

However, he couldn’t tell the artist to his face that it looked unfinished, so he chose his words carefully.

“Hmm… it feels like, perhaps, a wall.”

He answered vaguely, avoiding any definitive language. At that, Writer Kyung Seung-hee looked at Jung-hyun with a delighted expression.

“How did you know? Not many people recognize it immediately. I think we have a connection.”

“Ah… haha.”

An awkward smile hung on Jung-hyun’s lips at the man’s excessive reaction. His mother seemed to like the painting and called a staff member. In the meantime, Jung-hyun stood blankly beside Writer Kyung.

“Actually, I waited on purpose because I heard you were bringing the CEO today. I’ve really wanted to meet you.”

It was unexpected. Jung-hyun looked at him with a surprised expression.

“Me?”

“Yes. I’ve been watching you ever since you acquired the MJ Blue Wolves. I’m enjoying the games, too. In my opinion, taking first place this season is entirely possible.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

When he replied politely, Kyung Seung-hee glanced at Jung-hyun as if he had something more to say. When Jung-hyun looked back calmly as a courtesy, the man lightly bit his lip and smiled.

“You’re much more handsome than I expected. You seem much more like an Alpha than I am.”

“You flatter me.”

An Alpha. It wasn’t particularly surprising. Being the son of a high-ranking official, he likely inherited Alpha genes.

It was around then that his mother returned to Jung-hyun’s side after finishing the order for the artwork. Writer Kyung stepped aside, telling them to take their time looking around.

In the next exhibition room, there was a massive sculpture. It was a grotesque sight, with fragmented male bodies attached to one another. Every detail, from the veins to the fingernails, was crafted so precisely that it was slightly eerie.

Jung-hyun merely glanced at the small caption with the description of the work and followed his mother with an uninterested face. He had never had much interest in paintings or sculptures to begin with.

When shopping for art with his mother, he simply caught the subtle nuances in her tone and gave her the answers she wanted. He was far more accustomed to gauging his mother’s mood than offering opinions on abstruse works of art.

“What do you think of Writer Kyung?”

“Ah… he seems like a wonderful person. His work is wonderful, too.”

“Right? I was worried at first since you’re both men, but Writer Kyung is such a decent person.”

Both men? The strange phrasing caught his attention, and he turned his gaze toward his mother.

“Writer Kyung mentioned that he’d like to start as friends with you. Isn’t he quite pure, unlike most kids these days? I think that would be better for our Jung-hyun, too. So, Jung-hyun, how about going to the restaurant I reserved today with Writer Kyung instead of me?”

“…And you, Mother?”

“Your father said he’s finishing work early today. I thought I’d go home and have a meal made by Suncheon-daek for the first time in a while.”

It seemed the real reason his mother had called him today was indeed to introduce him to Writer Kyung.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand his mother’s desire for him to succeed by building connections. It was just a bit futile.

If he were to enter another family as a son-in-law in a few months, connections like this would be of little use.

A shadow fell over Jung-hyun’s face as he recalled his predetermined future. Even though there was no need to ruin his mood in advance, the thought naturally dampened his spirits.

Was his father looking for a marriage partner for him? He was inwardly curious, but he didn’t bother asking his mother. If there had been any progress, she would have mentioned it first.

Besides, finding a partner for him wouldn’t be an easy task. Jung-hyun smiled self-deprecatingly.

A Beta of the Myeong-jeong Group. And the condition of being a son-in-law. To anyone, he was like a clearance item on a discount shelf.

The daughters of families that would satisfy his father’s standards wouldn’t want him; his father would have to lower his standards significantly. He’d be lucky if he didn’t end up being sold off with a massive dowry.

“I’ll do that. Please give my regards to Father.”

Jung-hyun smiled brightly at his mother, who was waiting for his answer.

* * *

On the way to the restaurant, they switched to more casual forms of address at Writer Kyung’s suggestion.

Even so, it was only a change from ‘Writer-nim’ to ‘Seung-hee-ssi,’ but Kyung Seung-hee smiled broadly, appearing very happy. Jung-hyun smiled along moderately.

In truth, he wasn’t particularly keen on spending private time with someone he had just met. It was because his nerves kept drifting back to yesterday’s events. If it hadn’t been for his mother’s request, he would have postponed such a meeting.

“Jung-hyun-ssi, you have a habit of smiling when you’re awkward. Right?”

“…Pardon?”

He had been eating the fish dish that served as the main course. Jung-hyun looked up at the sudden remark.

Kyung Seung-hee smiled softly. Jung-hyun felt embarrassed, as if he had been caught smiling without any soul.

“I have that habit too. That’s how I recognized it immediately.”

“…….”

Jung-hyun gripped his fork again and put a piece of fish, heavily squeezed with lemon, into his mouth. Even though it was a food he liked, it tasted like he was chewing paper.

After chewing a few times, he gave up on tasting it, swallowed, and rinsed his mouth with white wine. He felt he needed to speed up a bit to match the man’s eating pace.

“Jung-hyun-ssi, don’t you have anything you’re curious about regarding me?”

“Ah.”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve been the only one asking questions this whole time. They say questions are a measure of interest. I guess I’m not really your type.”

Kyung Seung-hee’s flamboyant face frowned as if he were disappointed. Jung-hyun looked at the man with a slightly bewildered expression. It was because his words felt like flirting.

Of course, it was an absurd thought. He had probably just been too obvious about his lack of interest. Jung-hyun tried to fake some interest and chose a suitable question.

“Your work is very impressive. Have you been learning painting and sculpture since you were young?”

Kyung Seung-hee smiled and rested his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers. Thanks to him stopping his meal, Jung-hyun could also stealthily put down his fork.

“I haven’t been sculpting for very long. I’m still in the learning stage, so I’m quite clumsy. But I’ve been painting since I was quite young. When I was a child, I was so bored because I spent all day staring at one spot.”

“Ah… that ‘wall’ painting.”

“You remembered. Actually, that painting isn’t a wall; it’s a ceiling. A hospital ceiling.”

“A hospital?”

“Yes. I suffered from leukemia when I was young.”

Jung-hyun’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected revelation.

“Ah, I’m fully recovered now. As you can see, I’m very healthy.”

Kyung Seung-hee smiled and puffed out his chest. Indeed, his sturdy build and complexion looked like those of a healthy person.

“But in my family’s eyes, I guess I still look like the child who was lying in a hospital bed. My parents and even my sister try to grant me everything I want. Thanks to that, I’m still a bit immature.”

Jung-hyun smiled lightly, maintaining a proper distance. He wasn’t particularly pleased to suddenly learn such an intimate part of the other person.

Revealing one’s intimate side without hesitation upon a first meeting meant they wanted the same in return, but unfortunately, Jung-hyun had no intention of doing so.

“You probably thought it was strange that the sister is a prosecutor while the younger brother is just painting like a loafer, right? It’s okay. Everyone says that.”

“It’s a wonderful profession. And your parents and sister seem like wonderful people as well.”

“Really?”

Kyung Seung-hee smiled slightly and murmured softly to himself.

“I like it when you say things like that, Jung-hyun-ssi.”

Jung-hyun smiled habitually. He was a man who had a habit of making every sentence sound like flirting.

The food he had forced himself to eat eventually caused a severe upset stomach. On days when he was exposed to pheromones, his condition and digestive functions declined, and it was his own fault for not eating carefully.

Kyung Seung-hee, realizing this late, apologized even though it wasn’t his fault. Since he insisted so strongly on driving him home, Jung-hyun couldn’t coldly refuse.

The restaurant wasn’t far from his house, and he remembered his mother’s stern warning never to make a mistake with Writer Kyung.

However, within five minutes of getting into the car, Jung-hyun realized he had thought wrong. Wasn’t this essentially using someone he had met for the first time today as a chauffeur?

His already uncomfortable stomach felt even more uneasy, as if he were sitting on a bed of needles. Jung-hyun endured it, feeling cold sweat dampen the back of his neck.

He would arrive home soon. He just needed to part ways with the man and get inside. Whether he took medicine or threw up what was stuck, he would feel better.

Kyung Seung-hee, who had been driving quietly, let out a short exclamation of “Huh?” as they reached the hill where Jung-hyun’s house was located.

“This is your house, right, Jung-hyun-ssi? There’s a car parked illegally.”

At those words, Jung-hyun looked up. Just as Kyung Seung-hee said, a car was parked, halfway blocking the entrance to the garage. But the exterior of the car looked very familiar.

Jung-hyun narrowed his eyes and checked the license plate. He hadn’t seen it wrong. It was his own car, which he had given to Shin Ho-jae yesterday. Jung-hyun blinked, frowning.

Why is that car back? I clearly told him there was no need to return it. Did he leave the car like this while I was gone? I wonder if there’s a message. He hadn’t checked his phone during the meal, thinking it would be rude.

“Jung-hyun-ssi, please open the garage door for a moment. I’ll park first and then handle this. You can’t just leave a car in front of someone else’s garage like that. I should call a tow truck.”

“Ah… there’s no need. It’s my car.”

“What?”

Beside a wide-eyed Kyung Seung-hee, Jung-hyun found the garage remote and pressed the button. Soon, with a whirring sound, the garage began to open slowly.

Asking him to park, Jung-hyun got out of the passenger seat first. If the car had really been left like this, it should have been put inside using the spare key.

Looking from a distance, the front windows were so darkly tinted that the interior was completely invisible. Yesterday, it really must have been impossible to see anything. Of course, the real problem was the condensation filling the windows.

Jung-hyun chuckled. See. His consciousness kept drifting back to yesterday’s events.

Just then, the driver’s side door suddenly swung open. Not expecting anyone to be inside, Jung-hyun looked at the person stepping out of the car in surprise.

“Ho-jae-ssi…?”

72 – Puck Drop