By Zephyria Side Story Episode 4
Kwon Tae-hee’s eyes followed Seo Jeong-won’s gaze, landing on the child flailing his limbs. Kwon Hae-ah came to mind, but instead of wishing he had brought him along, he wanted to check if he was doing well. He wondered if he was being fed on time.
“Where are we going now?”
“Ah, we can go out now. It’s that way. Let’s go.”
With a suitcase in one hand and Seo Jeong-won’s hand in the other, Kwon Tae-hee walked leisurely.
The unique atmosphere of a tourist destination was palpable. Perhaps going outside would make the remoteness of their location more real. Kwon Tae-hee, having smoothly passed through the gate, ordered drinks for the car and checked his phone. The car they would use during their stay in Jeju Island had already arrived and was waiting.
“There seem to be a lot of taxis and buses too.”
“Because there are many tourists.”
“It’s amazing. There are so many people.”
Kwon Tae-hee, having handed Seo Jeong-won, whose eyes were sparkling, a sweet and sour fresh fruit juice, hurried a little.
“Are we taking the bus too?”
“No.”
“Ah, then are we taking a taxi?”
“No?”
Kwon Tae-hee checked the car number he had received in advance and walked slowly. He spotted an SUV with its hazard lights flashing and exchanged a nod with the driver standing beside it.
“We’re going in this car.”
Kwon Tae-hee, smiling brightly, set down his suitcase and received the car keys from the man in a black suit. Seo Jeong-won stood awkwardly, unsure of what was happening.
“Get in.”
The man loading the luggage opened the passenger door as if it were natural, and Kwon Tae-hee put the dazed Seo Jeong-won inside. Only after fastening the seatbelt meticulously did he walk around the hood. He exchanged a few words with the man who quickly approached the driver’s seat and lightly tapped his shoulder.
The man in the black suit bowed deeply, as if moved, and stepped back. Soon, the driver’s seat was opened. Kwon Tae-hee naturally sat down and adjusted the angle of the rearview mirror.
“Aren’t you hungry? I’m a little peckish.”
“I… am.”
“He’s an employee. Not from the headquarters, but the branch. He said there were no parking spaces in the parking lot, so he kept parking here, worrying about parking tickets.”
“Ah…”
Kwon Tae-hee, explaining even the trivial details, merged into the road, which was chaotically tangled with cars. Seo Jeong-won, like a child on his first visit to an amusement park, pressed his face close to the window, looking at the road that wasn’t much different from Seoul.
“The trees…! The trees are palm trees! Real palm trees.”
“So they are.”
“I’m seeing them for the first time. When I was working at the flower shop, we had Areca Palms, but we never brought in real palm trees? But they’re really big. Wow… The leaf shape is really similar, but they definitely look very, very sturdy.”
Seo Jeong-won became talkative. This was proof that he was excited. Instead of tactlessly asking if he was in a good mood and shutting him up, Kwon Tae-hee responded without being overly enthusiastic. He asked appropriate questions to keep Seo Jeong-won talking, allowing him to chatter on.
“The road is pretty. But there are really… really many cars.”
“It’s probably difficult to get around once you leave the airport.”
“I see. I didn’t know. Oh! Executive Director, there’s an airplane landing over there.”
Kwon Tae-hee moved his gaze to follow Seo Jeong-won’s fingertip. Where the blunt fingertip was pointing, there was an airplane just landing at Jeju Airport.
“In Jeju Island, a plane takes off or lands every 1 minute and 30 seconds.”
“…Really? Seriously?”
“Seriously. Now that I think about it, it seems like planes are taking off and landing too frequently compared to the size of the airport.”
Kwon Tae-hee looked affectionately at Seo Jeong-won, who had stretched out his finger towards the plane flying in from afar. What am I going to do if he’s this cute even after having a child? The sinister thought of wanting to lock him up at home where no one can see him only grew.
“What do you want to eat? I looked it up and there’s something called pot rice.”
“What’s that?”
“They make it with abalone, shrimp, eel, pork, and stuff like that. I haven’t tried it either.”
“Sounds good. I want to try it. It sounds delicious.”
Hearing Seo Jeong-won, who usually answered that anything was fine when asked what he wanted, say that something sounded good, Kwon Tae-hee also started to feel excited. He felt strangely proud and reached out his hand without realizing it. As if it were a habit, Seo Jeong-won naturally leaned his head against it.
“I feel good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… I’m a little excited. I think it was a good idea to come.”
The eyes that had been looking out the window turned to Kwon Tae-hee. Seo Jeong-won stared intently at the light chestnut-colored eyes and the face that only made him think how beautiful it was, before opening his mouth again.
“Thank you for bringing me.”
Kwon Tae-hee, who had been staring at Seo Jeong-won, forgetting to respond to the shy greeting, snapped back to his senses at the sound of the signal changing and started the car. He felt dazed. Seo Jeong-won was expressing his feelings honestly.
“Executive Director, are you okay?”
“…I’m okay.”
Kwon Tae-hee rubbed his flushed cheeks with the back of his hand and answered that he was okay once more. Only then did Seo Jeong-won turn his head back to the window.
Even after arriving at the airport, Seo Jeong-won didn’t seem keen on taking a vacation, and he couldn’t shake the thought that they had come for nothing, but as he said, it was a good idea to come.
After a late lunch and a drive along the coast, they arrived at the villa.
Since he had said in advance that they would be using it, the inside and outside of the building were neatly cleaned. The refrigerator was filled with groceries, alcohol, and drinks so that they could make anything they wanted; there was nothing missing. He had said they would be using it for a week, but judging by the amount of food prepared, it seemed like they could easily last a month.
Seo Jeong-won quietly looked around the place. There was a swimming pool in the front yard, a Jacuzzi in the back, and the landscaping with hydrangeas in full bloom was excellent. He stood near the glass window, looking at the scenery, and then took a step back from the window when he heard the sound of wheels rolling.
“How is it?”
“It’s really nice. There’s a swimming pool over there too.”
“Is there?”
“Yes, and there are hydrangeas blooming in the yard.”
Kwon Tae-hee set down his suitcase on one side and moved to the sofa with Seo Jeong-won.
“If it were spring now, we could see canola flowers too. Executive Director, you don’t know what canola flowers look like, do you…?”
He was more talkative than usual. Seo Jeong-won sat facing Kwon Tae-hee and chattered on, explaining what color canola flowers were and what kind of flowers they were. Even though Kwon Tae-hee hadn’t seen them with his own eyes, he felt like he knew what the shape of the flowers he was describing was like.
“They’re pretty flowers.”
“Yes, they bloom in clusters. They also spread easily. And the fragrance is really strong.”
“There’s nothing Jeong-won doesn’t know.”
“…That’s not true.”
His shy appearance was lovely. Kwon Tae-hee reached out his hand towards Seo Jeong-won, cupped his soft cheeks, and pulled him in. The kiss, which he accepted without refusal, was especially sweet.
As the kiss deepened, Seo Jeong-won pushed Kwon Tae-hee away. The reason was that he had been sweating from being outside. He told him that he needed to wash as he licked his chin and earlobe, but he was lightly ignored.
“Haa… I was hot. So, heuup, I sweated.”
“You only smell good.”
Kwon Tae-hee buried his nose behind his ear and blatantly inhaled, saying it was okay and moving his lips again. The skin that had been sweaty and then dried was only soft. Even when he licked the white skin with his long tongue, it was only sweet.
“Euueut, still…!”
His T-shirt and shorts were quickly taken off. There was no hesitation in the hand that pulled down his underwear. Seo Jeong-won grabbed Kwon Tae-hee’s arm and was bitten lightly on the shoulder. In that instant, all the strength in his body drained away.
He didn’t want to refuse him anymore.
Throughout the leisurely stroll, Seo Jeong-won was in a bit of a daze. He was awake, but his body, which had completely relaxed, kept drooping. He walked almost clinging to Kwon Tae-hee, and when his legs trembled, he would sit on a bench that he saw for a while to rest.
To be honest, he wanted to go back inside, but the man, who was shining more brightly than ever, kept saying to walk a little more, so the night walk was stubbornly continuing.
“Are you tired?”
“Ah…”
Was he asking because he didn’t know? Seo Jeong-won stared intently at Kwon Tae-hee’s face. He wasn’t a man without a conscience, so why was he pretending not to know? But he was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he replaced his answer by subtly nodding his head. He had clearly conveyed that he was tired, but Kwon Tae-hee started walking slowly again as if he hadn’t heard.
Seo Jeong-won didn’t bother pointing out that he was saying the same thing for the third time. He must have really wanted to take a walk, he just thought that and followed Kwon Tae-hee.