By Zephyria Kwon Tae-hee naturally guided Seo Jeong-won. He let him into the bedroom, a place neither Seo Gyu-won, Song Hae-seop, nor any Omega he had briefly met had ever entered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I don’t think you’ll find it uncomfortable to use.”
Seo Jeong-won felt a little embarrassed. He meant it would be good to keep it in the space Kwon Tae-hee used, but it seemed the meaning had been misinterpreted.
Unable to muster the courage to say it again, he awkwardly smiled and looked around. He found it fascinating that the bedroom had a space like a living room.
Shouldn’t a place for sleeping simply have a bed? Although he had never seen one, it felt like an interior showroom had been moved in.
“It seems too… big for one person. Isn’t there a smaller, a bit smaller room than this?”
“This is my bedroom.”
“…Yes?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about when we’re going to share my bedroom. Do you need a separate room when you’re only staying for three days?”
Seo Jeong-won naturally assumed he would be using a separate space from him. He was a little surprised that wasn’t the case.
Besides, Kwon Tae-hee’s tone didn’t seem to be rebuking him, but somehow it sounded like it, making him feel unnecessarily ashamed.
“Ah… no.”
“If there’s any food you can’t eat, tell me in advance.”
“I don’t really have any. I eat everything well.”
“Change into comfortable clothes and come out. The dressing room is over there, so put your bag somewhere suitable.”
Kwon Tae-hee pointed in the direction of an arched doorway. He gestured as if to ask why he wasn’t moving.
In fact, he was already wearing very comfortable clothes, but it seemed Kwon Tae-hee didn’t see it that way. Seo Jeong-won, scratching his exposed arm, placed the shopping bag on the floor and carefully took out the potted plant.
He placed it on a small table next to the sofa and lightly stroked the leaves.
“Is it okay to put it here?”
“Yes.”
Seo Jeong-won bowed his head habitually. After standing there awkwardly for a moment, he moved towards the dressing room.
The room he entered was filled to the brim with Kwon Tae-hee’s clothes, accessories, and bags.
Not knowing where he could possibly put his clothes, he stood in the middle of the room before placing the bag he had brought in the corner of the closet.
Seo Jeong-won took out a T-shirt and shorts that weren’t much different from what he was wearing and changed.
Did he tell him to change because he saw him fall earlier? Well, he did get dust on himself.
After neatly folding the clothes he had been wearing and putting them in his bag, Seo Jeong-won didn’t give Kwon Tae-hee’s belongings another glance and left the dressing room.
He hadn’t expected Kwon Tae-hee to be waiting for him, so he was a little taken aback when he saw him intently examining the potted plant. Seo Jeong-won hurried his steps and stopped in front of Kwon Tae-hee.
“This, what did you say its name was?”
“Ah, it’s an Alocasia.”
“Alocasia. But it only has one leaf.”
“It just sprouted a leaf. If you wait a little, a new stem will come up soon. It’s a plant that especially likes water, so you can give it a lot at once, but if water droplets form at the end of the leaves, it means you’ve given it too much, okay? In that case, don’t water it until the leaves droop slightly.”
Forgetting his awkwardness, Seo Jeong-won continued to speak as if he would tell him everything about the Alocasia.
“Also… because the leaves resemble the shape of an elephant’s ear, it’s also called an elephant ear plant. So there’s also a story related to Hindu mythology. If you look closely at the leaves, it really looks a bit like an elephant’s ear, doesn’t it… doesn’t it?”
Then, as if suddenly realizing the intense gaze directed at him, he shut his mouth. He had been talking too much without noticing. He probably didn’t want to know this much detail.
“I see. It does look like an elephant’s ear. But I’m not going to give it water or anything.”
Kwon Tae-hee smiled gently. He found it fascinating to hear him chatter away in such a pleasant voice.
Looking at his lips curving slightly, he finally seemed his age.
He had been exuding a damp atmosphere like a rainy day all along, but the moment his eyes sparkled, he became radiant like a newly bloomed flower.
“Shall we go out, or talk a little more here?”
His smooth hand gently stroked the leaves. His gaze remained fixed on Seo Jeong-won.
“…I think it would be better to go out.”
“I don’t think I’ll have the energy to eat anything tonight, so shall we have dinner first?”
“Ah… yes. That’s good.”
Kwon Tae-hee moved first. Seo Jeong-won quietly followed behind him. On the long dining table, warm food was neatly prepared, as if knowing that two people would be dining.
“Try it and tell me what you liked.”
“…Yes, I will enjoy the meal.”
Since Kwon Tae-hee was older than him, Seo Jeong-won didn’t immediately pick up his spoon. He scanned the appetizing food with his eyes, waiting for Kwon Tae-hee to eat first.
“Why are you doing that?”
“It’s polite to wait until you eat first.”
“…?”
“Because you’re older. You seem much older than me. I don’t know how old the Executive Director is, but since you’re the Executive Director, I thought you’d be old, you’d be older…”
No wonder he was using excessively polite language. Kwon Tae-hee, realizing the reason, stared blankly at Seo Jeong-won as if he were dumbfounded. He felt childishly bad about being told he looked old.
Considering the age difference between Seo Jeong-won, who was only twenty-one, and his own age, and his social position, it was a correct prediction, but he still felt that way.
In fact, it seemed he felt that way even more because it was an evaluation he had never heard anywhere else.
“Eat.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Somehow, the atmosphere had turned sour. He had been reading people’s faces for years, so there was no way he wouldn’t know. Seo Jeong-won apologized habitually.
After finishing the awkward and uncomfortable meal, Kwon Tae-hee said he had work to do and went up to the second floor.
He told him to make himself comfortable, but Seo Jeong-won couldn’t. Like a fish out of water, he sat still in the living room for hours without moving.
It wasn’t like he was here for fun, and it seemed strange to look around the house, so he just sat still and killed time.
Then, he suddenly recalled Kwon Tae-hee’s words that he wouldn’t have the energy to eat anything.
What did that mean? It was probably a sexually suggestive remark, right? Seo Jeong-won asked himself, found the answer, and lowered his head.
“Haa…”
He suddenly thought of Seo Gyu-won. Was this really okay? The feeling he was experiencing now was different from guilt. It felt like he was committing a sin that he shouldn’t commit as a human being.
Even if they weren’t sharing emotions, was it right for him to be doing this with his Hyung’s former fiancé?
But the die was already cast. He knew he couldn’t pick it up or undo it, but it felt like a stone was weighing on his heart.
“No, no…”
These thoughts weren’t helping him at all right now. Seo Jeong-won shook his head slightly and raised his hand, which was resting on his thigh, to cover his face.
How long had he been like that? Seo Jeong-won turned his head at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Oh… you, you’re here.”
“I’m going to shower. Have you been here the whole time, Seo Jeong-won?”
“Ah, I could see the garden well. So…”
As he stammered an explanation, Kwon Tae-hee approached. He lightly sat on the table, not next to him, as he had when he first entered this place.
“So, have you seen everything?”
“…Yes. It was pretty even from inside.”
Kwon Tae-hee reached out his hand. Listening to Seo Jeong-won’s calmly resounding voice, he cupped his reddened cheeks. He colored his white skin with just a few words of conversation.
So shy. Was it because he had only seen worn-out things? The purely displayed reaction felt unfamiliar.
Although he had naturally decided on its use, Kwon Tae-hee hesitated as if he had put on the brakes.
Seo Jeong-won, rubbing the back of his neck at the obvious gaze sent without a word, barely opened his mouth.
“Should I… shower too?”
“Would you like to?”
What should he call the feeling he felt whenever he saw his fair and naive face? He definitely knew the word, but strangely, it didn’t come to mind.
Seo Jeong-won, glancing at Kwon Tae-hee, who wasn’t moving, got up from his seat. He asked Kwon Tae-hee, who was following him with his gaze, which bathroom he could use.
Listening to his quietly resounding voice, Kwon Tae-hee replied a little late.
“The bedroom.”
“…Yes.”
Seo Jeong-won walked away without making a sound. He had been there as if he was there and not there even after lunch.
The sound of the door closing was the only noise he made.
* * *
It had already been several tens of minutes since Kwon Tae-hee finished showering and came into the bedroom to wait for Seo Jeong-won.
Judging by the fact that the sound of water had stopped, he had definitely finished showering, but for some reason, he wasn’t making a sound.
At first, he had been waiting leisurely, but as time passed, a slight annoyance spread.
He got up from his seat, thinking he didn’t know what he was trying to do. He was about to move his feet with the intention of dragging him out.
Click, the door opened. Seo Jeong-won, who had walked through the passage connected to the dressing room, finally revealed himself.
Wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and charcoal-colored shorts that covered his thighs.
“…”
“Come here.”
Kwon Tae-hee clicked his tongue, looking at Seo Jeong-won’s red face. He reached out his hand to him, who was hesitating and slowly approaching.
The moment Seo Jeong-won placed his hand on the large palm extended in front of him, he was pulled in.
“Ah!”
He was suddenly made to sit between Kwon Tae-hee’s open legs. It was a position he had never done before, nor had he ever thought he would do.
“Your body seems to have cooled down, but why is your face so red?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Are you nervous? Or are you anticipating?”
“I think… I’m nervous.”
Kwon Tae-hee chuckled at the honest answer. Seo Jeong-won was captivated by the smile of the handsome man in front of him, who was so handsome that it was overwhelming.