By Zephyria Side Story Episode 3
While moving to the airport, Seo Jeong-won, who had been quietly looking out the window, asked Kwon Tae-hee a random question just before arriving. He explained the rules of a balance game that had been a hot topic online, then rummaged through his memory, stammering as he asked a few questions. But, as they say, you have to have eaten meat to know how it tastes; his creativity, memory, and wit for coming up with questions were sorely lacking.
“You choose one of the two. Um… Seo Jeong-won, ten years younger vs. Seo Jeong-won, ten years older?”
Even as he asked the question, he wasn’t sure. Was this how you were supposed to do it? Seo Jeong-won looked at Kwon Tae-hee with an ambiguous expression. It was supposed to be more stimulating and extreme. Anyway, now that the question was out, Seo Jeong-won’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, wondering what Kwon Tae-hee would choose.
“Seo Jeong-won, ten years older.”
“Why?”
“I’m living with someone younger now, so if I have the chance, I’d like to meet Jeong-won who’s older than me. I also want to make Jeong-won, who’s older than me, cry.”
Seo Jeong-won, flustered by the answer that he couldn’t possibly misunderstand, quickly moved on to the next question.
“…Then Seo Jeong-won with 10 billion in debt vs. Seo Jeong-won with 100 people he’s seeing?”
Kwon Tae-hee chose the former without hesitation to the question he uttered hesitantly.
“10 billion in debt would be better.”
“…It’s 10 billion, though?”
“Don’t worry, I can pay it back. More than that, having 100 people he’s seeing is more annoying. It’s unpleasant just thinking about it.”
“This is… just a game.”
Seo Jeong-won, comforting Kwon Tae-hee, who seemed more displeased than he expected, pondered a more creative question before giving up. He had looked up quite a few and practiced a lot, but when he tried to do it, he couldn’t remember anything.
“That was fun.”
“I’m glad if it was. I was worried because the questions were a bit absurd.”
“It would have been fun even if it was more extreme. Except for things like having 100 people he’s seeing.”
Kwon Tae-hee, shrugging lightly, smiled as he entered the airport parking lot.
“Thanks to you, it was a fun ride.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, no one ever asks me things like that.”
Seo Jeong-won, turning the steering wheel, naturally brought his head closer to Kwon Tae-hee, who reached out to him. The large hand gently stroked his hair before sliding down and lightly gripping the back of his neck.
“I was worried it would be boring since it’s quite a distance from home to the airport, but you worked hard.”
Seo Jeong-won thought about what he had worked hard on, just sitting quietly next to him, and awkwardly shook his head.
“Executive Director did the driving.”
“Driving isn’t difficult.”
“It’s not easy either.”
He was about to tell Kwon Tae-hee that he had worked hard, but he stopped himself, thinking it would be too rude. He didn’t think he should offer that kind of greeting to someone older than him. What should he say then? While he was pondering, Kwon Tae-hee perfectly finished parking.
“Wait here.”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
Seo Jeong-won, staring blankly at Kwon Tae-hee as he unfastened his seatbelt, suddenly came to his senses and reached for the belt clip. Then Kwon Tae-hee covered the back of his hand as if to stop him.
“Get out after I unload the luggage. It’s dangerous with the cars outside.”
He had a reasonable suspicion that Kwon Tae-hee saw him and Kwon Hae-ah similarly. Sometimes he felt like Kwon Tae-hee didn’t see him as an adult. He couldn’t do anything from start to finish on his own. Everything had to go through Kwon Tae-hee. It wasn’t that he was complaining, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being overly protected.
In the end, Seo Jeong-won, unable to get out, leaned back in his seat and watched Kwon Tae-hee unload the luggage in the rearview mirror. Actually, he couldn’t see properly because it was blocked by the trunk. He heard the sound of wheels rolling, and then Kwon Tae-hee appeared in front of the hood. He set the carriers side by side and went straight to the passenger seat.
“Shall we go?”
Seo Jeong-won didn’t answer, his expression a little stiff, to the question asked as he opened the door.
“Why are you angry?”
“I’m not angry, I’m just… Executive Director always does everything alone. It must be hard.”
“I want to do everything for you, so I don’t let you do it. Doesn’t that show?”
Seo Jeong-won shook his head slightly at the affectionate answer. He was worried that if he got used to just receiving like this, he would become someone who couldn’t do anything on his own later on. He already knew how easy it was to receive Kwon Tae-hee’s help, so he didn’t even feel like he should do anything on his own now…
Whether his worries were really nothing to Kwon Tae-hee, he held his hand and pulled the carrier with the other, saying,
“I want Jeong-won to become someone who can’t do anything without me.”
“…That’s too incompetent.”
“That would be so nice.”
“Executive Director is… sometimes a little, very strange.”
Kwon Tae-hee lowered his head at the mumbling answer with reddened cheeks. He pressed his lips firmly on Seo Jeong-won’s cheek as usual. Only Seo Jeong-won fussed and pushed Kwon Tae-hee away. Even when he said they were outside, he didn’t listen.
“We’re a couple.”
“This is the airport.”
“It’s not like we’re having sex outside, who’s going to say anything about a little kiss on the cheek?”
“Please…”
Seo Jeong-won urgently raised his hand and covered Kwon Tae-hee’s mouth. His face was flushed red, and his eyes were anxious as he looked around, worried that someone else might have heard his voice.
Kwon Tae-hee pulled Seo Jeong-won’s palm and pressed his lips firmly on it, then smiled. There hadn’t been a day recently when he wasn’t happy, but especially now, this moment was happy.
Kwon Tae-hee regretted that the flight time for their first trip was too short. Especially when Seo Jeong-won, seemingly surprised by the takeoff, grabbed his hand tightly first, and when he was scared during the landing and hugged him on his own, he wished time would stop.
“Are you okay?”
He asked, wiping the sweat that had formed on his smooth forehead as if he was nervous, and Seo Jeong-won, looking pale, nodded with an effort.
“Airplanes… are scary.”
“Is that so?”
“Very.”
“That’s understandable.”
Kwon Tae-hee comforted Seo Jeong-won, checked that the seatbelt sign was off, and moved his body. He hugged Seo Jeong-won tighter and gently stroked his spine. When he told him that they had arrived and would be in Jeju Island once they went outside, the trembling in his body, which had lingering vibrations, gradually stopped.
“Are you hungry?”
“I am. But has Executive Director ever eaten Pork belly or something like that?”
Seo Jeong-won, wrinkling his nose as if embarrassed, asked, avoiding the gaze that was steadily looking down at him. It was hard to imagine Kwon Tae-hee sitting in front of a grill with oil splattering or eating ramen at an outdoor table. On the other hand, he wondered if he would eat well without complaining since he didn’t have any food he didn’t like, even if he had never eaten it before.
“Do you know that I’m older than Jeong-won?”
“Of course…”
“I wasn’t an Executive Director when I was learning the ropes at the company either. The construction industry is a place with a disgusting amount of outside work, all-nighters, and company dinners.”
His brain seemed to stop thinking for a moment at the confession of the man who seemed like he would have been an Executive Director from the start. Then, he finally burst out laughing at the secretly added words.
“I’ve grilled Pork belly too. I got a lot of praise from my superiors.”
“…Pfft.”
Kwon Tae-hee, confirming that he was relaxed, gently touched his soft cheek. Following the guidance of the flight attendant who approached at that moment, he got up first and held out his hand to Seo Jeong-won.
“Let’s go.”
Seo Jeong-won was no longer awkward about holding Kwon Tae-hee’s hand. He smiled slightly as he took the neat and pretty hand placed in front of him.
“I’m okay now.”
“That’s a relief.”
Seo Jeong-won, getting off the plane close to Kwon Tae-hee, looked curiously at his back as he moved as if he was familiar with the airport. He briefly wondered if he was going the right way at the confident steps that seemed to know where the baggage claim was.
“The luggage is coming out right away too.”
“Ah…, but how does Executive Director know so well? Have you been here before?”
“I’ve been here, and it says it over there.”
Only then did Seo Jeong-won check the electronic display board. The screen kindly showed the airline, flight number, and baggage claim location. But since it was his first time at the airport, the directions were still difficult for Seo Jeong-won to understand. But he nodded as if he understood.
While Kwon Tae-hee was finding the bags, Seo Jeong-won, who was standing a step away, slowly looked around. The airport was crowded with people. There were many families traveling and foreigners. He also saw a couple with a baby in a stroller.
Looking at the couple talking while looking at the baby from time to time, Seo Jeong-won thought that he should have brought Hae-ah too.
“Jeong-won.”
“Yes? Ah, is everything out?”
“Yes. What were you looking at?”
“Ah, that baby over there. The baby in the stroller. I think it’s a little bigger than Hae-ah.”