By Zephyria Why is Song Hae-seop Seo Jeong-won’s Hyung? They shouldn’t be that close.
“Yes? Ah, Hae-seop Hyung. He came, so we ate together, but was I not supposed to…….”
Should I have asked if it was okay to eat together? Seo Jeong-won tensed up at Kwon Tae-hee’s suddenly changed atmosphere and chilling expression.
“Do you two feel some kind of kinship? Or is it a sense of camaraderie?”
“……”
“To think that two people I use are getting along so well, I don’t know what to say.”
Kwon Tae-hee started walking again. The good feeling he had when he faced Seo Jeong-won amidst the lush greenery plummeted.
“Executive Director……”
Seo Jeong-won is still a pretty toy, and Song Hae-seop is a necessary item for him, but looking at Seo Jeong-won made him doubt whether that item was really necessary for him.
“Did I give you permission to be friendly with Song Hae-seop?”
“……No, no.”
“I didn’t realize Seo Jeong-won was so stupid that I had to tell him everything.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be careful…… I’ll be careful.”
Seo Jeong-won bowed his head at the scolding. Apart from letting them meet, being friendly with Song Hae-seop doesn’t seem to be something Kwon Tae-hee welcomes.
“Get a grip. You didn’t come to my house to play. Is this the time to be building friendships?”
“……Yes, yes. I’m sorry. This will never happen again.”
The more Seo Jeong-won apologized, the worse Kwon Tae-hee felt. He stared at Seo Jeong-won with a fierce expression as if he would devour him, and then frowned after confirming Song Hae-seop’s faintly lingering Pheromone.
“You defective product.”
“……Yes?”
He doesn’t need an Omega who can’t even trigger a Heat cycle. Now that the reason to end it has become clear, he decided to get rid of him at the right time. It was an impulsive decision.
Kwon Tae-hee released his Pheromones as a habit. Even if it was just a speck, he couldn’t tolerate the smell of someone else.
Seo Jeong-won stared at Kwon Tae-hee, who was standing still without moving, and then lowered his head when he noticed the subtle scent spreading.
He quietly inhaled and checked the scent flowing towards him once more. What is this smell? It’s not a flower, but it’s not grass either. Is it because he just watered them…… It shouldn’t be that either.
Without realizing it, Seo Jeong-won took a step and gently grabbed the hem of Kwon Tae-hee’s jacket. He didn’t even realize he was pulling, and he put strength into his hand, inhaling the scent that grew stronger as he got closer.
“Seo Jeong-won.”
“……Yes?”
“It seems like you’re trying to get away with it slyly, but it won’t work next time.”
“Yes? Ah…… Th-that’s right.”
With a light laugh that seemed absurd, the scent stopped. Seo Jeong-won became confused about what this was.
It’s definitely a smell coming from Kwon Tae-hee, but it’s not perfume, and the smell that was on him like it was stained was now on me.
“Why.”
“……Thank you.”
“You should be.”
Instinctively, he decided that he shouldn’t tell Kwon Tae-hee. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he shouldn’t let him know.
* * *
That day, Kwon Tae-hee ignored Song Hae-seop’s calls and spent time with Seo Jeong-won. He sat on a rusty iron chair and watched him feed the fish and fill the dried-up water, or he watched him bustling around the flower garden.
Seo Jeong-won, holding a hose and watering every corner as if he were in his own house, was truly hard to take his eyes off of. He must be uncomfortable, but he stubbornly does his job.
What disturbed the peaceful time was the sudden appearance of Seo Jeong-won’s friend, who owned a ten-thousand-pyeong orchard.
“Hey, why aren’t you answering—!”
The shout he let out stopped as soon as he saw Kwon Tae-hee.
“You’re…… you’re here again.”
Kang Da-hyun glared at the man who had interrupted his and Seo Jeong-won’s meeting several times and frowned as if he was displeased.
He stood at the entrance and immediately approached Seo Jeong-won, who was holding a hose in the corner of the flower garden.
“Hey, you…….”
His brow furrowed as soon as he noticed that Seo Jeong-won was not just covered in Pheromones, but soaked in them. Didn’t he say they weren’t in a relationship? If he’s this covered and they’re not in a relationship, wouldn’t that be even stranger?
“Are you seeing that person?”
Kang Da-hyun leaned over and pulled Seo Jeong-won’s arm, pressing his lips close to his ear. He knew that if he spoke quietly, the man who was relatively far away wouldn’t hear him, but he did it on purpose.
“……That’s.”
“Hey, if you say you’re not seeing him, that’s even stranger. You’re currently…….”
“…….”
“What the hell are you doing, seriously.”
Seo Jeong-won could not give any explanation, so he just smiled awkwardly. He pulled away the arm that Kang Da-hyun was holding and moved away a little, but Kang Da-hyun came even closer.
“You’re an Alpha, right?”
“……I don’t really know.”
“Your constitution might change if you keep doing that. It’ll be a disaster, you idiot.”
“I…… I know. I’ll take care of it myself. More importantly, why are you here?”
Seo Jeong-won, who had rolled up the hose and put it away, glanced at Kwon Tae-hee, who was staring intently at him, and started to move.
“I came because it was open. You even turned on the sign like you were telling me to come. I thought something might have happened because you’ve been closed for days, but you’re…….”
“……I’ll call you later, so please leave today.”
“Why do you always tell me to leave? And when is later? Tomorrow? The day after? You always say you will, but you never do.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow. I really will.”
Kang Da-hyun pressed down on his ball cap and clicked his tongue. He should have known when he rejected his marriage proposal.
He doesn’t know how big of a store he runs or what he does, but it seems like he’s dating the manager or something.
“Hey, isn’t that man way too old just by looking at him?”
Kang Da-hyun emphasized ‘way too’ on purpose. He didn’t actually look that old, but he was just being spiteful.
“……Be quiet.”
“It’s true.”
“What’s true? Go, please.”
Seo Jeong-won was worried that Kwon Tae-hee might hear him, so he covered Kang Da-hyun’s mouth, which was opening as he pleased. Kang Da-hyun stuck out his tongue as if he was being spiteful and licked his palm.
“Are you crazy?”
Seo Jeong-won, horrified, took his hand away and stared at his saliva-soaked palm in shock before rubbing it roughly on his pants.
“That’s what you get for covering my mouth. And what’s with these clothes? You really look like a beggar. You look like a street performer.”
Kang Da-hyun glared at him spitefully and moved to the front of the table. It wasn’t intentional, but he inevitably made eye contact with Kwon Tae-hee.
“We meet often. Do you live nearby or something?”
“No, I live in Seoul.”
“The flower garden is starting to get customers little by little, but aren’t you making him take too many days off? How big is your store that you’re taking away his livelihood? You’re too much, considering you’re a businessman. Is it okay because it’s not your store? Is it okay because this place is small?”
Kwon Tae-hee scoffed at the presumptuous meddling. He doesn’t know what kind of misunderstanding he has, but should he really clear up such a foolish misunderstanding? How many more times will he see him? There’s no need to.
“Stop talking nonsense and leave, please.”
“That’s right. You’re being too much. What are you doing, taking an innocent kid and doing, doing what? Seriously.”
Seo Jeong-won reached out as if to beg him to shut his mouth. Because Kang Da-hyun dodged him, his hand slipped and landed on his chest.
“Da-hyun, I’ll call you. I’ll really call you, so please leave.”
“You need to get a grip too. Something really bad will happen if you keep doing that. Just because you have a pretty face doesn’t mean everything’s okay. Do you think it’s normal to cover a Beta with this much Pheromone? Since when have you been meeting an Alpha, especially a man? Huh? And if you’re going to meet an Alpha, a man, you should meet me.”
“What are you talking about, seriously.”
Seo Jeong-won was afraid that Kwon Tae-hee might respond to the crazy talk. He pushed Kang Da-hyun, hoping that he would ignore him.
Seo Jeong-won took a light step back, but he failed to cover Kang Da-hyun’s mouth, which wouldn’t shut up until the end. He glared at him spitefully and slapped him annoyedly.
“Stop it, please.”
“I’m……!”
Just as Kang Da-hyun was about to pour out his excuses as if he was wronged, they heard the sound of an iron chair scraping against the floor. At the same time, both of them turned their heads towards the center of the flower garden.
Kwon Tae-hee moved, exuding his unique lazy and relaxed atmosphere. Each step was elegant.
“Jeong-won.”
“……”
“Put that down and come here.”
Seo Jeong-won took his hand away from Kang Da-hyun, whom he was holding, with a dazed expression. He frowned slightly and glanced at Kang Da-hyun before stepping back and approaching Kwon Tae-hee.
“Introduce who I am.”
“Yes? Suddenly……?”
“Yes, suddenly.”
Kang Da-hyun’s gaze was fixed on Seo Jeong-won, who was flustered. His troubled expression was unfamiliar. All of his ears were red. He was frustrated because he couldn’t figure out what kind of conversation they were having that made him react like that.
“Should I introduce you as someone who helps me……? As Hyung’s fiancé.”
“That’s a bit of a shocking answer.”
“…….”
“Well, I don’t care, but at least that friend won’t see Jeong-won the same way he used to. It’s like we’re advertising that we had sex.”